Jessica’s+Assyrian+Attack

Jessica Prince

Period ¾ October 11, 2012 The Surprise Attack I live in Sumer with my mother, my father, my sister and my brother. My mother is in the fields cutting grains with my bother. My father and I are in the middle of the town to help with the brick making. Today is the day of the brick making. It is held on the 1st of June because it is warm enough to dry the mud so they can make hard mud bricks. My hut is made out of the strong mud bricks that were made last year. I am so excited because it is my first time being able to help with the mud bricks. My brother has done it five times before so my mother said I could go this time. We were just getting started when I heard thunder. I look up to the sky, no clouds. Then my gaze meets the mountains. There were these goat like creatures with people on top of them flowing over the top like a stream. These people must be the Assyrians. I have heard about them in stories. These people are mean, cruel, and vicious. The animals they are riding on must be the horse. The Assyrians were advancing. Then the thought occurred to me, “If these people are so bad, why am I standing out in the open?” I started for my mud hut but it had caught on fire by, what it looked it looked like, a flaming arrow. Oh, no! I needed to find a place to hide and quick. Then I heard my neighbor calling me. “Here, come quick!” she said. “To the very top of the ziggurat, there you will be safe.” I ran toward the ziggurat. Then I looked back just in time to see my neighbor’s guts spilling out. It was the adults’ job to help the children get out of trouble first. I felt bad but I kept running. Running for my life, running for everything I had. When I reached the ziggurat I was out of breath. No time to stop now. I started climbing the long stone steps. Then I remembered, the top of the ziggurat was only for priests and kings. I then realized that I could obey the law and die, or break the law that probably won’t even exist anymore and live. I chose to live, so I sprinted up the stairs faster than I have ever sprinted before. One of the Assyrians started yelling and pointing at me but another one told him to not worry about it. I decided he probably figured the Gods would get mad at me for going up there. I was half way to the top. The whole city was on fire. The Assyrians were all shouting. I could hear the cries of my family and my friends. My mind was racing. It was all happening so fast. I was at the top now. This was the decision that could kill me. If I didn’t go in I could be killed by the Assyrian warriors, but if I did go in my chances of being killed were much lower. I decided to take my chances and go inside. The first thing I noticed was my neighbor’s daughter laying on the floor, crying. I have seen her playing in the yard with her dog. She must have seen her mother get killed. The rest of the room was beautiful. It had a soft thing to lie down on. This must be what the priests called the bed. The walls were beautiful. They had messages from the Gods themselves written on them, and they had beautiful paintings that only the best artists could have made. The most wonderful thing was the grand supply of food. There were fruits, vegetables, grains, and every other type of food you could think of. My mind went back to all the things that had just happened. Then I remembered that I was not alone. I saw the tiny, frail, girl who lay crying on the floor. I tried to comfort her, but death was a wound only time could heal. After she had stopped crying I risked a peak outside. The fire had died down a bit but there were still some Assyrians and other people fighting outside. There were a lot of dead people on the ground. We would have to stay in here until they were all gone. I asked the girl what her name was. “My name is Emma,” she said. Then she changed the subject. “I saw my mother helping you. You’re the reason she’s dead!!! If you never came here she could have lived!!!!!” Her sadness turned to anger. She charged at me. Her blow would have knocked me out the door, but I was faster than she was so I was able to step out of the way easily. She didn’t realize I had moved so she kept going. She ran right out of the entrance. Panic swelled up inside. If the Assyrians saw her I would be dead. I couldn’t help to take a peek. One of the Assyrians heard her scream. He looked up, saw her falling from the top of the ziggurat, and pointed her out to everyone else. She was almost to the ground. I closed my eyes and prepare for the smack. It never came. I open my eyes. One of the young Assyrians had caught her, but why? Then I saw the look in his eye and I realized he had a crush. The leader of the Assyrians asked her if there was any one else was up in the ziggurat. I started sweating. She said…. yes!!! My only hope was to hide. I looked around then I remembered the bed. The Assyrians were already halfway up. My heart started pounding so hard I was afraid it would pop out of my chest. I was under the bed as far as I could go. I could hear the Assyrians outside the door. Apparently they weren’t very good finders because they looked around the room one or twice than left. I didn’t want to risk it so I stayed under the bed for a few minutes. While I was under there I remembered something Emma had said, “If you never came here she could have lived!” I know what she meant. I was born in an Assyrian Village. When they saw how weak I was they threw me out. Luckily my mother here, Sally, was near to the Assyrian Village when they threw me out. She took me in and raised me. This place became my home since that day, and here I have grown healthy and strong. I felt tears welling up inside my eyes. A small grunt disrupted my daydreaming. I realized that I was not alone. I saw the young man with Emma. Emma was complaining. “I was sure she was in here!! I saw her in here!! She is the reason I fell out of the door!! I was going to push her out the door so you guys would kill her, but she moved and I kept going. Then you caught me…” her voice trailed off. “Yes, yes I did,” he replied with a smile. Finally they stopped their talk and left. Well at least I thought they left. I didn’t hear anything so I snuck out from under the bed. I walked toward the door. Then someone yelled, “Ah, ha! I knew youwere here! I’m going to turn you into Jake!” It was Emma, no surprise. “So Jake is that guy you have been talking to?” I guessed. She ignored me. She dragged me down the mud steps that were baking in the sun. Then she got excited and started running. “Ouch!!” Emma was literally dragging me behind her. The Assyrians loaded me up in a chariot. It was kind of nice because it gave me time to think. I realized a shocking thing, Emma was an Assyrian! That explains why she feels so comfortable with Jake and the other Assyrians. When we finally got to the large town of Assyria we drove up to a large ziggurat I got scared. As I, once again, climbed the long mud steps of a ziggurat my heart was starting to pound for the third time that day. As we were going through the door I saw the leader of the Assyrians, King Sargon. I started shaking. The Assyrians sent me outside with Emma and Jake. A few hours later they came out of the door. “You may live but you will serve in my army,” King Sargon told me. “Thank you so much!” I exclaimed. Although he let me live I kind of wished he didn’t because now I would have to stand alone. That means I can’t see my whole family ever again, but I suppose death was a wound only time could heal. A few years have passed since I have become a member of the army. I am now a very strong Assyrian Warrior. The only thing I like about the Assyrians is their giant library. Today we are going to attack the Hittites. We started marching to the town and I decided that today was the day I was going to escape. When we got to the mountain everyone let out a battle cry and charged down the mountain, everyone except for me. I sprinted down the other side of the mountain. By the time I was out of the Assyrian’s land I was out of breath. I was finally out of the Assyrians grasp. I was free forever!! Then I started for the long road to Egypt, but that is another story.