Disclaimer: I do not own these characters and settings. They're the property of William Golding. I own the rest.
Warnings: Coarse language, violence and mild suggestive themes.
Intro
One day, a mass group of schoolgirls from the United States were going to Brazil. Even though they knew that this was due to the start World War 2, they were all excited and psyched nonetheless. As they boarded it, they said their sad goodbyes to their parents and relatives. At least they'll be safe from all the trouble out there.
Or so they thought...
Even though there were several passengers on it, they were in the middle of eating, reading, sleeping, or even watching a movie. Not one of them were aware of what would take place. Then...
The right wing was caught on fire. The lights were flickering and the plane was heading downwards. Down, down, down it fell.
The very last thing that the girls can recall was getting their parachutes on and following the captain's safety procedures. Since the plane was caught on fire, they'd have to jump out before it crashes. They were very scared, but they had no other choice.
Now they found themselves washed up on an island. They spent the night among the bushes before attempting to search for other survivors. Little did they know a group of military schoolboys were close by.
-x-x-x-
(01) The New Life
Imagine leaving the ones you love and cherish.
Last goodbyes are depressing whenever unpredictable.
A group of kids found themselves on land, in an unfamiliar place. As they stared at the horizon they felt hopeless. The sky darkened in a candascense of purple, red, pink and orange; but they had no time to enjoy its beautiful colours. They stood on damp, white sand in their soaked shoes and sneakers. The hem of their pants dripped at their small feet as they kicked their shoes about. Eighteen disappointed young faces snorted, sobbed and scrunched as they came to a realization of their situation; they were lost. Stranded. Marooned. Heaven only knows whether or not they'll make it back home, and see their parents again.
In front of them, parachutes lay in a heap on the ground from where they've miraculously landed, safe from an unexpected, deadly plane crash. A flock of seagulls were seen flying from the tall, palm trees. The ocean roared angrily as its tidal waves taunted them. They had absolutely nothing to smile about. Their expressions were neutral at first; some turned to anger while others looked mortified. At this point they shivered since their navy blue school uniforms were dripping, drenched and damp.
An island is not the best place to be. Anything can be out there, ready to snatch their prey. Anyone could wait with devious tricks in mind. Hopefully that wasn't the case; they've assumed they were the only kids in a contorted place. None of their parents or friends would know. Maybe someone was looking for them, and they'll get rescued- somehow. This feeling of uncertainty was frightening.
Night has settled, and two bright lights flashed. Each of them fell asleep, all except three little boys. They held their own flashlights and told each other funny stories to brighten up the mood, hoping things won't go wrong.
One was a brown-eyed blond with curly hair, soft spoken and curiosity was read on his face, but he felt slightly scared and unsure. On the right, a black boy with cornrows looked everywhere, often pointing his flashlight in seperate directions in the dark. He was just as curious as his white buddy, but he kept his antennas up without growing tired, and stayed silent. At this point, his brown eyes shot in another direction. The boy in the middle was a contrast of the two; he had a caramel complexion and soft baby skin. His dark, short, straight buzz cut glowed in the light. Most people would call him mixed due to his features, but he had an attitude where no one knew who's side he was on. At this point, a smile crawled on those mischievous lips, fixing his features. His friends looked at him apprehensively.
"Do you think we're the only ones here?" asked the blond.
"Yeah, we gotta be the only boys on this island," the dark boy replied.
"And to think, we're the very youngest," the boy in the middle added.
Before they could say anything more, a shriek was heard from a distance. The three little boys jumped up in fear, startled by the unknown- whatever it was.
"There must be other people," Tyrick said, as he ran his hand through his braids.
"Sounds like they're in trouble!" Rudy exclaimed. His smile grew wider.
"That's not funny," said Matt, his voice in an audible whisper. He pulled his blond, mini curls away from his eyes; it was still wet from the water earlier. "Let's get to sleep before we get in trouble."
They had no idea they were not alone.
-x-x-x-
The next day, the little boys told the older girls everything they've heard the previous night. The rest of them asked silly questions and discussed the possibility of survivors.
"Where are we?" Lexy asked for the tenth time.
"It's an island," Bosnia replied out of frustration as she rolled her eyes. "Gosh!"
"Maybe we should set up some kind of SOS," a girl named Mandy suggested. "That way, we won't be stuck here for long."
"How's that supposed to work when we haven't found any survivors from our plane yet?" Heather asked.
"We'll need fire," Mandy beamed. "Duh!"
Heather shook her head, annoyed by Mandy's cocky tendencies. She followed Brenda, Sherie and Bosnia into the jungle. The rest of them sat around and waited impatiently.
-x-x-x-
The older girl was Bosnia. She's thirteen and has dark hair that curled at the ends. She was the same height as the others despite their age difference. Her eyes were almond-shaped and her irises were black. The next three were all twelve years old.
Brenda was the shortest of the oldest set. Her skin was golden and it seemed to glow brightly in the sun. Sherie normally had an afro, but before she had arrived she was wearing extension braids that reached her mid-neck. Heather, on the other hand, was a brown-haired go-getter who had a tendency to be curious. The rest of the older girls were between ten and eleven, while the younger ones ranged from eight to nine years of age.
They were very short in stature as the ages gradually fell. As they trotted down the dirt path, passing through the creepers and following the pig run, they were in awe at the sight of everything.
The island was lush and beautiful in many colours and varieties. Scarlet pimpernels, lantanas, blue gems and calla lilies formed an entourage where the girls stood. The flirtatious whistles of robins were heard from the tops of tall, deciduous trees. The girls looked up and playfully whistled back as a ray of sunshine flowed through the leaves. On the ground a miniature army of ants marched in single file and broke apart. Heather took a little stick from nearby and traced lines on the damp ground. In five seconds the ants got back together and followed in its path. A smile formed on her lips. To her, this couldn't get any better.
Four sets of curious eyes kept looking as they walked deeper into the forest. They were easily fooled by a few other flowers to be food, such as a grape hyacinth and a single hydrangea. Their stomachs growled in frustration when they found out that they weren't grapes or blueberries. To make matters worse, as they were walking down the pigrun, two piglets ran into a bush.
Bosnia rubbed her belly, knowing that a good food source was present. The rest of the girls just stared, thinking about their own hunger. Thankfully, real fruits on a nearby tree caught the corner of Bosnia's eye and she made mention of it. Sherie followed her lead, but Heather and Brenda were more focused on strange set of "foolish" plants.
"Are those candle buds?" Heather asked, holding one up.
"I don't know if that's what they're called," Brenda replied, pushing her hair away from her eyes. "They kinda look like it."
"Maybe we should check to see if there's any drinkable water," said Sherie. "At least we know there's fruits and coconuts."
"And pigs," Bosnia added. "No one can survive without them."
"Pigs?" Sherie commented. "I wish there was chicken."
"I wish I was home," Brenda added. "I'd eat all the chicken I want."
"I wish this never happened," Heather said. "It still feels like a dream to me."
The realization that it did, indeed, feel more like a dream than something that had actually happened dawned on all of the girls at once.
Just yesterday they were on their way to Brazil when the plane crashed. It would take a while longer before they could finally find a way to adapt to this new lifestyle. Away from civilization, with no parents and teachers to guide them, things were bound to change.
The girls quickly shook off the thought and resumed exploring. They passed Castle Rock, which was huge. It had the looks of a fortress, even in its gray colour tones, and a few whitish-pink rocks lay in front of it. Tidal waves from the surrounding waters splashed against the boulders. As the water settled down, the boulders appeared to be glossy thanks to sunshine. A crow sat on top of a pointy rock, located at the very top, possibly the darkest shade of gray. It didn't seem to move, and as boastful as it looked, Bosnia had an idea.
"Let's have a rock throwing contest," she said, "and hit that bird!"
"Okay!" Brenda replied.
"Em, I know crows can be ugly," said Heather. "But why would you want to hit it? That's cruel!"
"I'd rather throw rocks at this fort rather than the crow itself," said Sherie. "It didn't do anything to us, so what's the sense?"
Brenda picked up a few rocks while Bosnia put her head down. Slowly.
"Hm, makes perfect sense... I guess."
The girls giggled as they picked up small rocks from the ground and tossed them in the direction of the castle. They competed versus each other and, as it turned out, Bosnia was the fastest.
"I have good aim," Bosnia said boastfully. "Better than the rest of you!"
Sherie shot her a competitive look, "Oh yeah!" She swung her arm when the rock she held flew in a totally different direction - through the forest! That was not what she intended. An expression of uncertainty and silliness was read on her face. "Oops!"
The others looked at her and chuckled.
"Maybe competition wasn't a smart idea after all," Bosnia said. "Let's keep looking where your rock went!"
As they went, the scar looked crumbled and narrow, and it was complicating for them to walk through. Brenda tripped over a few rocks and scarred her right leg, while Sherie came to realize the hem of her pants (near her black shoes) ripped. They've decided to stop running and took their time to get through. This utterly annoying part of the island was not favourable to them; but as soon as they've made it to the lagoon, it was the best vacation resort ever!
The water glittered beneath the sun, as little ripples traveled in the wind's direction. It's surrounding areas were lilies and tall grass. Rocks of different shapes and sizes were placed in front of the grass stems, forming a border between water and land. Flamingos and dragonflies, although they were very few, dominated this area; it brought an emotion that, well, promised these girls an adventure they'll never forget.
Within a split second, the girls ran freely through the forest, crashing through the bushes and scaring a few piglets while they were at it. Although they weren't aware of their actions, this was freedom. What looked like despair yesterday became something for the better. They can't wait to tell the others about this island. It's theirs without any adults!
Or so they thought. Their short-lived hopes died when, out of the blue, they've seen something quite contrary to their wishes...
A bunch of boys!
As feelings of despair paid them another visit, neither of them moved a single muscle as they feasted their eyes on the boys. They were in the middle of fishing, playing and sitting around. They didn't take notice of the four young ladies standing out in the open.
"I guess we're not the only ones here," Sherie concluded.
"We gotta go tell the others," Bosnia said.
They observed the entire area from where they stood. Shelters were built, coconuts were in place, and there was a tent occupied by someone sick. The sight of it made them shudder.
"What if one of us gets sick?" Heather asked with a hint of panic. "I mean, that little boy in the tent looks grossed out."
"Green to be exact," Brenda filled in. "There might be some medicinal herbs around. Besides, this is an island."
"But what if there isn't?" Heather pointed out. "There's no way you can tell the difference of what's not poisonous. Besides, I don't think you know how to make medicine!"
Brenda was about to argue another point, but in order to avoid too much trouble she decided to let the matter drop.
"Well then. Let's go back and set up a camp of our own." With that, the girls went back to their starting point, feeling quite satisfied with their discoveries.
-x-x-x-
As soon as they made it back, the group got on their feet. Everyone made inquiries about survivors and what was out there. Bosnia quieted them down.
"Listen up!" she announced. "There's water to drink, a lagoon to take baths in, tons of fruits, pigs, trees for shade."
The group became giddy and psyched. Heather shushed them so that Bosnia could continue.
"You'll see them running along a path if you ever go in that direction." She pointed in its direction.
"We also found a mountain that's as pink as icing!" Sherie said, excitedly. "In fact, we're not the only ones here; there's already a signal fire. Someone else has set it up."
"Maybe it's Mr Jester," Gen chimed in. Many of the girls laughed before Sherie could speak up again. She waited for a while.
"What if Mrs Peccin survived the crash?" Trishina asked. "We could very well go home now without being trapped here."
"Yeah. There's no TV."
"Games to play with."
"Friends to hang out with."
"No more pedicures or hairstyles."
"No more 'girl' stuff!" Ashley complained. "Being far away from home is horrible!"
The only three boys in the girls' group were Ashley's little brother Matt and his two best friends, Rudy and Tyrick. The trio was short, smart and all were seven years of age. They snuck into their plane with the intent of going to Brazil to get away from the war. They thought they'd be forced to help fight with the other men. Now they collectively regretted it, but they didn't show what they felt. They already miss their parents and- wished the war never broke out. If it didn't, they wouldn't have had to end up in the situation that they were in.
"You know, we were on the same plane as you guys," said Matt. "But the only problem is, y'all are complaining about not having makeup and Barbie dolls and stuff."
"Only difference is we can live without GI-Joe and Nintendo for once," Rudy said. "If we can handle it, so can you."
The girls were silent, taking what the only boys in their group said into consideration. Life was bound to be different, for now. There was no doubting it.
"Well, anyways," said Sherie. "There's a group of boys on a beach nearby. They've already set up a camp and everything. Therefore we should build one of our own. And about the survivors, only eighteen of us made it alive. We haven't found anyone else from the plane we took."" All eyes seemed to be on her.
"I guess that means we're stranded," Gen said hopelessly.
"How long before we get rescued?" Lexy asked.
"I don't know."
The girls sighed heavily.
"Let's just go and see what we can do," Sherie said, as the kids gathered their things.
The afternoon sun guided the way for the group. They gathered wood, rocks and coconuts. Some of them went up the foliage, heading for the creepers.
-x-x-x-
A few hours later, the sound of snapping interrupted some of the boys playing in the sand.
"What's that?" Mikey asked, twisting his face.
"I don't know," said Tony.
"Maybe it's Roger making whips," Tex stated. "Besides, he's been acting weird lately."
The snapping continued. The three boys glanced at each other before getting up.
"Do you think we should check it out?" Tony asked as he brushed his hands.
"Yeah," Tex replied. "We'll be the first to see what it is."
As they headed their way into the forest, they met the twins on the way. The five of them continued to follow the sounds of snaps and whips. Seven minutes later, they stood near a deciduous tree and watched a group of girls work on shelters of their own. Tex hid behind Tony while Mikey followed suit.
"How'd they get here?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't know," Tony said. "All I know is that they look like schoolgirls."
"Maybe they are," Eric said. "Why don't we approach them?"
The others backed up and shook their heads.
"They might have cooties," Mikey stated matter-of-factly.
"Good point. They might turn our uniforms pink," Tex added.
"If they ever raid our camp," Sam pointed out. "I'd be pissed. Like, real pissed!"
"That would be the worst nightmare I'd ever have," Tony said. "Besides, I don't think approaching them would be smart."
"Fine," Eric said, "let me do the job you freaks are scared of."
"You'll regret it," Sam warned him. "Trust me!"
Eric, who refused to listen, walked up towards Gen. As he approached, he found that he really didn't care what they thought. Although they assumed he was stupid for jumping into something regrettable, he didn't give a damn. If they went and told the younger ones in their group about him, they're the real idiots. Even his twin brother seemed to have something against him for once.
In the midst of it all, he really didn't care what they thought. He knew exactly how to deal with new people- well, not everybody. Often times he'd intentionally mistreat them if they didn't have the attitude. When Piggy first came to school, both him and his brother started calling the fat boy names, and circulated it throughout the entire school. What troublemakers they were back then!
The other boys, including his twin, showed no interest. They were already taken up with horrific thoughts of these girls ruining their fun, acting like mother figures. This island would've been theirs; if only the girls weren't here.
"Hey," he said in greeting, "sorry if I startled you or anything, but I'm a little curious about something."
She looked at him and just stared.
"How did you get here?" he asked, trying to sound polite. His left leg twitched and he felt rather shaky, although he tried to look confident.
Gen looked from the boy to the ground beneath her; she felt uneasy meeting new people when they made an approach.
"We... we were... on our way to Brazil from Massachusetts. It was a part of evacuation plans, but unfortunately our plane crashed here."
His eyes lit up. "Where?" he asked. The thought of food filled up his mind as he felt his stomach rumble. He hasn't eaten for a while and going on a fishing trip (such as spear fishing) didn't help make things better. It would be nice to eat banana chips and hamburgers again. "Is there a wreckage?"
"Um, yeah," she replied, gathering her thoughts. She pointed in its direction, "It's somewhere down there, I think."
'Perfect!' he thought. Just as he dashed off without saying good-bye, his fellow cadets called him. He literally forgot they existed. He never asked for her name.
"Hey Eric! What are you running from?" Tex asked.
"Scared you'll get diseased?" Sam teased.
"Shut-up!" Eric hollered. Just then he covered his mouth; he did all this in front of Gen. To his embarrassment, he looked away from everyone else.
'So, he has a twin brother,' Gen thought. 'Interesting.'
She tied up another end of two sticks shortly before placing her attention on the boys.
"Never mind him," Sam said with an icy undertone, smirking. "He's always like that."
"All those outbursts tend to get in his way," Tex said. "You'll get used to it."
On the inside, Eric felt like crying. He hated being in the center of gossip. It was very embarrassing, though he'd gossiped about others in the past. On top of the boys talking about him, he was suddenly worried that the girls might call him a dork. He had no idea they were the first set of boys to make this encounter with them.
He still had his back on them. His left foot occasionally tapped the dirt ground beneath him. As he thought rationally about his actions, he couldn't bring himself to apologize.
"So where are you guys from anyway?" Gen asked, leaning against a tree with her arms crossed.
"Hawaii," Tex replied. "We were in military school someplace else, though."
"Um, no. That would be Hawaii. That's where military school is," Sam pointed out. "We were going on a trip somewhere. Probably the same place you were going, but our plane crashed here."
"Maybe they told you guys it's a trip," Gen replied, "but it was an evacuation because of the war."
Shocked, Sam stood there. His lips twitched while Tex shot a knowing glance at him. At this point they were thinking about rescue, their parents, and the way life used to be. Two days ago, the boys' plane was shot down in the Atlantic near the Caribbean. It was by far the most horrendous moment in their lives. They didn't know what to do then - except scream for help and panic.
"I guess you're right," Sam said with a sigh. His stomach flipped and he cringed at the thought of that dreadful day. Hopefully someone will lighten the mood and change the subject.
"Remember what the fat kid said?" Tex asked Sam.
"During assembly?"
"Yeah. He said 'We're going home.'"
They burst into laughter. To her surprise, Eric was laughing his head off too.
"What about him?" she inquired. "Is he in your group too?"
"Yeah," Eric managed to say, tears long forgotten. "His name is-"
"-Piggy!" Sam blurted out. At this point, the three boys were rolling on the ground laughing hysterically. Gen sighed heavily, as she came to realize that boys on an island could mean trouble.
'I guess they're too hyper now. Gosh! Why does there have to be boys here in the first place? Why didn't they just crash somewhere else?'
Her thoughts were interrupted by her sister's call. "Yo Gen! I need help with this stick. It's hard to stick into the ground."
"Why don't you sharpen it at the very end?" she suggested.
Sherie leaned to the side to catch a better glimpse of her little sister. "Because I don't have the knife," she replied. "Bosnia took it just as I was close to being finished."
"Hol'up." She went and grabbed a rock nearby, using it to beat the butt end of the stick while Sherie held it. "Is it good?"
"Yeah. Good enough. The other two are behind this one."
Gen took a quick look, followed by Tex and the twins. The shelters were standing tall, with some roofs made of straw. Tony and Mikey had already left, but the others had no idea they did.
"So who will occupy these?" Gen asked.
"The girls. Besides, Ashley's lil'bro and his musketeers will either be in the same shelter as Brenda or Bosnia. I really don't think having them mix in with the little g's is a wise idea anyway."
"Why don't they stay with Ashley instead?" Gen suggested. "Matt's her little brother."
"Okay. Then that settles it. Right now we could see if there's any food left back in the wreckage."
"Can we come?" Sam asked earnestly. While hope glowed in his eyes, both girls exchanged glances before looking back at him. They shook their heads.
"Why not?" Eric asked.
"I know we just met, but can't we at least follow you two?" Tex asked.
"Go back to your camp and wait there," Sherie ordered.
"There's a bunch of wild boars," the twins enclosed.
"What?" Both sisters looked puzzled. Sherie can't recall seeing a wild boar on her exploration earlier. In fact, what was a wild boar? None of the girls had a clue about what it was, either.
"Nothing!" the twins beamed. It seemed as though Sam and Eric were friends again, because, well, they were in hysterics and forgot about Sherie and Gen.
The girls exchanged funny looks before looking back at the twins. As they walked away, the twins still laughed with each other.
