Ch1
Present day
Declan was floored. After weeks of tireless digging, he'd pulled out a perfectly preserved statue from the edge of Pompeii just like the one brought to the museum yesterday from the heart of the city. Both statues had been covered by lava when the volcano had erupted. That much was obvious. But how had not one, but two, statues survived the destruction in their entirety?
Declan was giddy and lightheaded with the discoveries. He brought the second statue to his patrons at the Museo della Civilta Romana, who of course, wanted them in pristine condition as soon as worked on the second statue in the lab; his team was split between this statue and the first. They were working all the built up ash and pumice from the stone.
"You must all be very careful," he told them suddenly, momentarily halting their work. "This may not be stone," he continued, as he pushed a gloved finger through some loose ash. "There's something much softer in here." He was whispering in astonishment now, bending down to look closer at the hole his finger created.
He pushed his light brown hair out of his eyes then, carefully, he took a small scalpel to the hole. Just as it hit something solid inside, one of the students on the projects, Thomas, leaned over to look with Declan.
Thomas was a more than competent student who was normally light on his feet. Today, however, he leaned a little too close and lost his footing; only momentarily, but it was enough to nudge Declan's arm and the scalpel in about an inch deeper. Thomas winced and gritted his teeth at his seemingly simple mistake. He knew the real severity of what he had done, even if it did seem like a small matter.
Declan gasped. He'd felt the scalpel slide effortlessly inside whatever material was behind the dirt and rock. Slowly, trying not to do anymore damage, he pulled the bloody tool from the inside of the statue.
'Wait. Bloody?!' Then his mind began to whirl, as he stared at the tool in his hand, spinning ideas like a tornado.
"Everyone!" he yelled excitedly. Having been on Declan's team for quite some time now they were trained to realize the tone of his voice. The team of archeological students came to a complete and silent standstill immediately. "Do you remember the intact mammoth that was found not too long ago? The one that was so perfectly preserved in ice that it still had blood sitting in it?" Declan paused dramatically. "I think we've found a similar occurance here, that was somehow caused by the lava!" He held up the scalpel, a trickle of blood flowing down the handle for them all to see. "I think we have intact, ancient people encased in lava! I want you all to work carefully," he glanced scathingly at Thomas, who looked beyond remorse. "And quickly. We need to free the specimens as soon as possible to find out what has caused to blood to still look so fresh." Declan finished dispensing his orders and got back to work with an eagerness he hadn't felt in ten years. The team set to work in shifts so the two 'statues' could be worked on around the clock. Thomas volunteered for the night shifts, glad that he was lucky enough to still be on the project.