"By now it was dawn, but the light was still dim and faint. The buildings round us were already tottering. ... This finally decided us to leave the town. Once beyond the buildings we stopped, and
there we had some ... experiences which thoroughly alarmed us. The carriages... began to run in
different directions though the ground was quite level. ... We also saw the sea sucked away and
apparently forced back by the earthquake: at any rate it receded from the shore so that quantities of sea
creatures were left stranded on dry sand. On the landward side a fearful black cloud was rent by forked
and quivering bursts of flame, and parted to reveal great tongues of fire, like flashes of lightning
magnified in size."
- Pliny the Younger,
as quoted in Eyewitness to History
Why did the carriages start to run in different directions?
a. The earth was shaking.
b. The horses were on fire.
c. The wheels were melting.
d. Each was headed to a different town.