The day started like any other.  The sun was shining so bright I had to squint my eyes and I could feel the heat on my cheeks.  My younger sister was accompanying me, her hand wrapped tightly in mine.  She was skipping, trying to keep up with my large strides.  As we went to cross the street, I led so that my sister would follow my steps, knowing where to put her feet.  We were heading to the theater today.  I wanted to get us good seats this time.  She kept laughing and giggling, excited to see our older brother in the play.  He had a small role as a soldier, but seeing him perform made us all happy.  We turned a corner, heading down an alley, with walls on both sides.  A couple people were ahead of us, heading in the same direction as the theater.  Suddenly, a noise thundered through the streets.  Everyone walking stopped in their tracks.  This was not a sound we were used to.  It seemed to shake the stones, sending a chill up my spine.  My sister squeezed my hand harder, her laughing turning silent. "What was that?" she asked.  I just shook my head, not knowing what to say.  The noise seemed to come from the mountain and my head faced it, my eyes searching for any inconsistency.  Just as I was about to look away, dark gray smoke began to emerge from the top of the mountain.  "We need to get out of here," I said and we took off.  Running through the streets, trying not to trip over stones.  We shoved through people still not aware of what was about to happen.  My sister was crying out, scared of why I was dragging her along, scared because of what she saw in my eyes.  My mother had told me about this sort of thing and she told me if I heard the thunder coming from the mountain, to run.  We ran through the streets, ran through the alleys, my hand never letting go of her's.  Suddenly, we heard screams.  We stopped, turned around and saw the crowd running towards us.  Every pair of eyes held fear.  Behind them a dark cloud that was as far as I could see was descending upon us.  I turned back and took off, pulling my sister behind me.  The screams continued but it only pushed me further.  "I can't sissy! I can't!" my sister cried.  We paused and I turned around, bent down to face her.  "We can't stop. If we stop, we might not make it. Okay? We can't stop."  My words seem to make her body go stiff, her breath catch.  "We can never stop."  She nodded slowly, and I ran down the street, my sister going with me more willingly this time.  The screams were increasing.  I dared to look behind me and instantly regretted it.  The dark cloud was closer, nipping at our heels.  I could only see a few others running in the same direction as us.  But in a few seconds, they'd be engulfed in the same cloud that had claimed the others.  My sister and I rounded a corner, running like we would never run again.  All of a sudden, my sister's body plummeted down, almost bringing me with her.  I whipped my head around to see her digging her foot out of a notch in the stone.  Her foot must have gotten caught.  I bent down to help her wedge her foot out.  As I looked at her, I realized we wouldn't escape this.  We could run and run and run, but the cloud was running with us.  I knelt at her side and looked her in the eyes.  "Don't ever stop, okay?"  She stared back and I know she understood.  Just then, we were covered in darkness.