Author's Note:
Wow. I never expected myself to write fanfiction for a novel I read in English class... And for one I really liked.
For an English assignment, I wrote this alternative ending to Lord of the Flies, since the original ending kind of pissed me off a bit with how...well, convenient the ending was. The book was pretty good overall, and I hope I'm not the only one who thought the ending was kind of cheap.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this alternative ending to a classic novel and please review!
"He's coming to see if we're keeping watch. Quick, Ralph!"
Samneric's eyes widened with fear as they heard the tribe of savages approach them. Ralph gave a sad look as the twins kept gesturing for him to leave. The sounds of footsteps grew louder and louder, twigs breaking with every step as the beasts came closer and closer. Giving one last look at the Samneric, Ralph dashed into the wilderness. He forced himself not to look back, for he feared for what he may see. He had to run as far as possible, run to a place on the island where no one would find him.
Run to a place where Jack wouldn't find him.
When Samneric mentioned that Jack, the new chief of his tribe of savages wanted to hunt him down, Ralph felt an overwhelming amount of fear rise up inside of him. The image of Piggy's murder played over and over again in his mind. Jack's second in command, Roger throwing a rock at Piggy's head as he fell down into the ocean, his blood turning the water red. Ralph tried to fight back the tears. He had to be strong if he was going to survive.
I'm the only person trying to keep civilization alive.
In the background, Ralph could hear the screams of Samneric. It sounded like someone was beating them. Ralph stopped all movement as heard the twins' cries.
No...!
"And so I find you at last."
Ralph's blood turned to ice as he turned around to see Jack approaching him, his hunters right behind him. Ralph stared at them, though he said nothing. Jack gave a bloodthirsty smile.
"You've put up a good chase, Ralph," he said. "You've really been a pain the whole time we've been on this cursed island."
He held up his spear.
"And it will feel so good to finally get rid of you at last!"
Ralph narrowed his eyes, trying to seem fearless.
"Don't do this, Jack," he said in a soft voice. "There is still some humanity left in you. Think about what you are doing!"
Jack laughed. "So what? Right and wrong is all a matter of perspective. Face it, Ralph. We are never going home! We are stuck here forever and ever and ever. We must learn how to survive with our instincts rather than our heads. We've all learned that, and we've all accepted it. All except you."
Ralph's face paled as Jack stepped closer, tightening his grip on his spear. Ralph backed away, his eyes never leaving Jack's.
"Jack, please," Ralph said, like he was talking to an injured wild animal. "Jack, thinking reasonable..."
But it was too late for reason.
With a wild look in Jack's blue eye, he charged up at Ralph. Ralph quickly dogged out of the way, the savages cheering in the background for their chief. Jack tried to stab Ralph with his spear, but Ralph quickly jumped out of the way. He ran as fast he as could, hearing Jack's voice ordering, or more like threatening, his hunters to chase after him.
Blindly running, Ralph could hear the others catching up to him. Panic swelled in his mind. It was all over. There was nowhere to run. He could not hide from Jack forever, he would be eventually found. And murdered in cold blood, just like Simon and Piggy.
Finding himself back on the beach, Ralph stopped running and put his hands on his knees, panting heavily. He looked around his old camp, desperate to find something to defend himself with. Buried in the sand, there was a small spear. Ralph quickly ran towards it and grabbed it.
"There he is!"
The savages barged out of the forest, yelling and shouting at the top of their lungs. Jack emerged out of the forest and blindly lunged at Ralph. Ralph narrowed his eyes and shielded himself from Jack's spear with his own. Jack's eyes widened with surprise, and Ralph took this opportunity to kick him in the stomach. Jack fell backwards and Ralph aimed the end of his spear at Jack's chest, hoping he would surrender.
But that one second of hesitation gave Jack the opportunity to pick up his own spear and scratch Ralph's ankles. Ralph yelped in pain and took a step back. That gave Jack time to get back on his feet, his tribe cheering for him. Ralph felt his blood slowly drip down his feet, but he did not hold back. He tried to make a stab at Jack, but Jack blocked it. They started to sword fight with their spears, their feet moving through the sand as the desperately try to get a hit.
As the sun started to rise in the horizon, Ralph felt himself growing tired. He has been up all night and was losing strength fast with this duel. He couldn't keep up with Jack's amazing speed and swift movements. It was like he would never grow tired, the lust for blood and power giving him unending amount of strength. A twisted smirk appeared on Jack's lips, as he noticed Ralph weakening. He then backed away from Ralph, letting Ralph approach him and try to stab him. And then, with a small chuckle, Jack used all his strength to charge at Ralph.
They both collided and Ralph fell to the ground, Jack on top of him. Ralph tried to throw him off, but he no longer had the strength left. He was too tired and he was too strong. Jack aimed his spear's point at Ralph's throat. A large smile appearing across his face.
"Any last words, Ralph?" Jack asked.
Ralph glared into Jack's eyes, restraining the spear from this throat. Jack laughed at this pathetic attempted to defend himself, until Ralph, with his free hand, retrieved his fallen spear. Before Jack could realize what was happening, Ralph pushed away Jack's spear away and gave him a clear enough shot to stab him straight in the stomach. Jack's eyes widened with shock and pain, gasping for air. He stared into Ralph's eyes, who gave him a sympathetic look.
"...I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't want it to end this way."
Jack made gargling sounds, the light slowly leaving his eyes. Ralph gently pushed him off of him as he slowly died. The savages watched in complete shock, as if they could not believe what had just happened. There was a long silence as Ralph slowly stood up, his eyes never leaving Jack, whose dead eyes stared at nothing. With pity, Ralph leaned down and closed his eyes.
I never wanted to kill anyone. I never believed that someone could become so...
A small tear ran down his cheek.
Ralph then slowly turned to Jack's tribe, all of them staring at him in shock. In the back, he caught the eye of Samneric, both them bruised and beaten up, with Roger standing next to them. Ralph looked at each one of the boys in the eye.
"This is what happens," he said loud enough for everyone to hear, "when you forget that you are human. This is what you turned into."
He gestured towards Jack's body.
"We cannot allow ourselves to become as...savage as that. We should not allow ourselves to become animals, the true beast."
He dropped his spear.
"And now I will rebuild our society back up from the ground of savagery. For even if we don't get rescued like Jack said, we can at least try to keep the little civilization we have left in us. So we don't forget who we are."