Fanfiction: Lord of the flies & Hetalia!
'Hayaaaah!'
The sound vibrated through the air ending in a high-pitched tone. The man who had created it was sitting on a beach, looking bewilderedly around him. At one side there was the ocean, the cause of all his problems, and on the other side was a jungle filled with all sorts of trees and plants.
'Just because they were shipwrecked doesn't mean we have to do it too!' A tall fair guy said, looking around as well, before looking at his friend.
'I agree-aru.', the boy who had shouted answered. He had pulled off his soaked shirt and tried to get the water out of the fabric. The waves, which had been very high and wild just a few hours ago, where now gently crashing on the beach. In the distance, you could see some seagulls flying leisurely towards the beach. He pulled back his long, dark hair and put it in a ponytail.
'This is a real mess.', the black-haired guy said. He seemed angry to be stuck on a god forsaken island, but who wouldn't be?
'Seems like we got separated before we washed up.' The American guy said solemnly. He sat down next to his Chinese neighbour looking at their surroundings. The long, dark haired guy stood up with a determined look on his face.
'Alright, there's no time to lose!', he said. 'First off, we need to find shelter from the rain and secure a supply of food and water-aru!' he said looking at the blond guy.
His American companion seemed a tad confused. 'Why?', he asked. Yao looked at Alfred as if he was crazy, which was probably quite accurate. He sighed.
'If a squall came, we might freeze to death. Finding a shelter is key for our survival…!'
Alfred seemed to finally grasp the importance of a shelter and then he happily asked: 'Then why don't we use this place as shelter?' He pointed at a cave surrounded by all kinds of green, making it hard to notice. Yao looked perplex at the taller guy, then suddenly he shouted: 'I think you found that a little too fast!' He shook his head and then realised something.
'What about foo-?' Before he could even finish his sentence, Alfred had already stood up and lifted his shirt. All kind of sweets and chocolates were falling from underneath it. Yao's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but not soon after he noticed a disturbing fact.
'All this food looks like it's bad for you-aru!' The American guy was already stuffing his face with his delicious treats and asked with his mouth full: 'You think so?' Yao had to lean in closer so he could understand Alfred's babbling.
'Yes-aru! It's all Spam and snacks!'
The Chinese man generously decided to bestow some of his wisdom on his younger comrade, who seemed busy eating. 'Good food will lead to a good body and lifestyle.' After a silence, he decided to add a warning: 'If you aren't more cautious with your lifestyle, you could find yourself in an early grave.'
Alfred didn't seem to be impressed and said with a big smile: 'Yeah, but if I can take my favourite foods to the grave with me, it still beats going on a diet.' Then he smiled and offered with a wink a piece of chocolate to Yao.
'Here, try some chocolate!' His Chinese counterpart hesitated, but then gladly obliged and took the offered food. He happily started munching on the heavenly goods. Alfred was watching his friend enjoy the chocolate, when suddenly his face fell. Distracted by Alfred, he had completely forgotten where they were.
'Wait a minute! We need to stop eating and find the others!', Yao said.
'You're right. I bet we can find them if we stand on that hill.' Alfred got up and pointed at a hill that seemed to be in the middle of the island. 'Also, I will look very heroic standing there,' he added with a devious grin. He took of his glasses and wiped them with the hem of his blue shirt, before putting them back on. Then he went through his blond hair trying to flatten it, but one piece stubbornly jumped back up, defying gravity.
During the storm, he had somehow managed to lose his shoes, so he was barefooted. He rolled up his pants until it came to his knees. For the first time, he took in Yao's appearance. He didn't have shoes either, but his legs were wrapped in some sort of white fabric that went up till his knees. That's where his pants continued their upwards journey. The pair of trousers were held up by his belt and on top of that he wore his shirt, that had already dried a bit in the blazing sun.
Yao got up and a few strands of hair that were too short to fit in his ponytail covered his face. Alfred was taller than him and more muscular, but too much fast food and snacks started to take its toll on his body. He smiled at his friend. 'Let's go climb that mountain!'
'Maybe we should bring the food. It's the only thing we've got that's edible and who knows when we find something else,' Yao said and he started to pick up the scattered food. Alfred helped him and then put everything back underneath his shirt and everything miraculously stayed there. Yao smiled for the first time, it was a small smile, but it was a start.
They started heading into the jungle and the only thing that they left behind were their footprints. The forest was dense and hard to get through. Plants were everywhere blocking their path. The heat was also a real pain, making the climb even harder. Alfred regretted not having shoes and having his trousers rolled up till his knees, because the plants were sharp and cut in his legs. The only thing that stopped him from putting his trousers back in the normal way was the heat and his pride, he was the hero after all.
Yao was also struggling with reaching the summit. His breathing was loud and uneven. He stopped a few times to 'look at the view', but he was just trying to catch his breath. A blush was forming on his cheeks from the effort.
'Huff, huff… this is though-aru…', he managed to say while putting his hands on his knees, trying to even his breathing. The American, who seemed completely fine, his breathing was normal and he was still able to happily skip up the mountain, turned around to face his friend. He was going to say something; probably about how awesome he was, but when he turned around he lost his words.
There was a small gap in the thick plants and trees, giving you a magnificent view of their surroundings. You could see all the way to the beach where they had stranded, the ocean was glittering in the sun and the low sun seemed to give everything some sort of glow. Without a second thought, Alfred blurted out: 'Amazing.' His voice sounded soft, like a whisper which is quite rare for the American guy. Normally he was loud, always yelling that he was the hero, usually saying nothing useful, but now he was still.
The Chinese guy walked over to where Alfred was standing and turned around. 'That's quite a view, isn't it?', he asked looking at his buddy with a smile. His brown eyes got a golden edge to them, the glow of the sun lighting them up.
'I bet the view is even better standing on top of the hill,' Alfred said excitedly. He turned around and continued their way. Yao stayed for a few more seconds before also turning around and following his loud partner. He noticed that the American had fastened his pace and was almost running. He chuckled, amused by the eagerness of his younger companion, when he froze in his tracks. The scream echoed off the island, scaring birds and animals in its wake.
'Come back! Come back!'
The scream was coming from the top. Yao's heart stopped for a moment, then it started beating again only much faster than before. All kinds of thoughts were going through his head. This couldn't be true. He too started running even when only moments ago he was exhausted from the climb, his legs heavy as lead, but now he could run faster than ever before. It seemed like the sound had given him wings or that he was running on air. Memories were coming back, flashing before his eyes. He knew this sound, this heart-breaking sound, and he never wanted to hear it again, but here it was again. The sound of a children's voice in distress, begging to come back.
After finally arriving at the top, they found a group of boys. They had gathered here not so long ago and they too seemed to have been in a hurry to reach the summit. Yao, even when he had run, arrived later than Alfred, who was looking surprised at the kids, they couldn't be older than twelve. The boys were sweaty with cuts scattered all around their bodies, probably from these sharp plants.
There was a boy with blond hair, who was currently combing his fingers through his hair in distress, looking at the horizon. He had a nice built, but his hair was longer than normal for his age, indicating that they had been here for a while. Next to him stood a black-haired guy. He was smaller than the others and quite skinny and on the other side was a rather tall boy. The kids hadn't noticed the adults yet.
Then suddenly, a boy half fell half stumbled through some bushes. The kid was a tad overweight and pretty short. He was wearing glasses and his hair was a short mess. He was gasping for air, desperately trying to fill his lungs with the much-needed oxygen.
'Ralph…' The boy had managed to say the name in between his gasps. Then he noticed Alfred standing there. He almost fell over from surprise. Apparently, he hadn't seen an adult in a long time. The boy who had screamed turned around. He was about to say something when his breath caught in his throat. He had only just noticed the two much older persons. He was taken a back, confused and he didn't know what to do. That's when Alfred stepped forward.
'Hi,' he cautiously started as to not scare the kids, 'my name's Alfred Jones.' Then he looked to his right, a small smile playing at his lips. 'And this is my friend Yao Wang. We're sorry for scaring you.' The boys relaxed if only for a bit. The guy with the blond hair stepped forward, taking the lead, and he answered. 'I'm Ralph, Sir.' Alfred blinked, nobody had ever called him 'Sir' before, so he didn't really know how to react to that. That's when Yao stepped in. He smiled reassuringly and squatted through his knees, so he was at eye level.
'And what are your names?', he addressed the other boys. The guys seemed very shy and nervous, but managed to answer nonetheless. The tall boy stepped forward and introduced himself as Maurice, then the short, black-haired, skinny boy told them that his name was Simon. However before the other guy, the one who had stumbled on the mountain, could introduce himself, he was interrupted by the others.
'That's Piggy,' they said without hesitation. Yao seemed perplex, but didn't question it.
'Are there perhaps any other grown-ups here?', he asked with an encouraging smile.
'No, Sir.' The reply was short but polite.
'So, you're stranded here all alone?' Yao looked briefly at the other boys, before focusing back on Ralph.
'Oh, no Sir, there are some more kids down on the beach, Sir.' Ralph turned around and pointed at a small streak of sand, which was just visible from where they were standing. Yao got back up, looking to where Ralph was pointing. One of the other boys, Maurice, spoke up.
'Are you going to rescue us?' Simon poked him in his side and he quickly added a 'Sir' to his question. Yao shared a look with Alfred, who was thinking the same thing. The boys, who had gotten excited when they had heard the word rescue, waited anxiously for their response.
'I'm afraid not, little guys,' Alfred said. He looked uncomfortable while saying it. He was the hero, and having to tell twelve-year-old boys that he couldn't save them was very hard on him. The kids' shoulders slumped. Their hope for rescue flying away like a young bird on the wind. Yao didn't like the solemn look on their faces and decided to try and cheer them up.
'We're stranded here ourselves, but we'll definitely be rescued-aru,' he said. 'Mark my words.' And with that the boys looked up again, their solemn looks made way for hope. It was still a small spark, but it would hopefully bloom out in a nice burning fire. 'There was a ship there,' Ralph said and pointed to where he had last spotted it. 'We could have been saved, if the fire wasn't out.'
All eyes went to the remnants of the fire, a pile of wood lying next to it. 'Wasn't someone responsible to keep the fire going?', Alfred asked. 'Yes, Samneric was responsible, but I don't know where they are right now,' the blond-haired guy answered. It was quiet for a moment. Deciding it was time to change the subject, Yao asked: 'Do you have a camp or some shelters where you can sleep?' He always kept his head clear and thought about practical things.
'Yes, we made some shelters at the beach, but they're not very sturdy,' Ralph answered. 'Alright then lead us the way,' Alfred said while combing his fingers through his blond hair. Ralph turned around towards Alfred grabbed his hand and tugged. Alfred quietly allowed the boy to pull him down the mountain, Yao following close behind them and after him came the other boys.
The descent was maybe even harder than the climb. At the steeper parts of the hill, you had to be very careful as to where to put your feet, because one wrong step could have you sliding down the mountain. Yao stopped a few times to help some boys get across these difficult spots, while Alfred and Ralph just kept going.
When they finally got out of the dense jungle, with some new, fresh cuts, they were exhausted. The sun had already started to set and daylight was fading quickly. The camp didn't look like a camp. There were some shelters, but they looked like they could collapse any minute, there was some sort of platform with logs to sit them and there was a shallow lagoon where the kids could play and wash themselves. Some trees were bearing fruit or coconuts and here and there were some pink rocks scattered on the beach.
Even though it was already evening and getting dark, there weren't any kids at all. No one was taking a late bath, no one was playing in the sand or working on the shelters, the camp was abandoned. Ralph was the first to arrive and took in the view. There were no noises, no children running around, screaming and yelling, just nothing. Ralph blinked as to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Where was everybody?
The others had finally reached the camp. They too were perplexed. Everyone was looking around, trying to spot one of the other kids, but no one was there.
'Where is everybody?' Once the thought was voiced panic started to set in. Simon walked to the shelters and looked inside.
'They're not here,' he shouted. Everybody scattered and started to look for them. Where could they be?
'Ralph, blow the shell, maybe they'll come when they hear the noise,' Piggy said, keeping his head cool. Ralph nodded and walked towards the platform under the trees. He took the conch from underneath his shirt and blew on it. The others stopped their search and gathered around the platform, hoping that the rest of the group would follow suit.
Alfred and Yao also came to the platform, not really grasping the situation. For a moment, the only sound that could be heard, was the sound of the shell. Then they could hear shouting. Kids were coming out of the forest, looking like small, black dots. Then two bigger dots joined the little ones. They were too big to be the silhouette of a twelve-year-old, so they could only be adults. The kids were hurrying down the beach, running towards the platform, with the bigger men not far behind.
When the others saw their friends coming their way, everyone felt relieved. The boys started cheering and when the kids heard it, they quickened their pace even more. When they reached the platform, everyone was happy and they forgot about their problems. They forgot about the ship, about the signal and rescue. For one small moment, they forgot everything and could be happy.
Alfred and Yao greeted the new adults with big smiles. One of them was a British guy with fair hair and very thick eyebrows. He was wearing a white dress shirt. The sleeves were rolled up till his elbows. He was wearing green trousers and didn't have shoes. The man next to him was tall and had very light hair, almost white. He wore a grey shirt, a black pair of shorts and a very long, white scarf.
'I'm surprised to see you're still alive. You never were a good swimmer,' the British guy said with an evil grin. 'Shut up Arthur,' Alfred responded with a blush on his face. Yao sat down on the sand. 'I'm exhausted-aru.' He looked up at the Russian guy and frowned. 'Why are you wearing a scarf-aru?', he asked. 'It's his favourite scarf and he doesn't want to lose it,' Arthur responded looking at Ivan. 'Isn't that right big fellow?', he asked. Ivan nodded in agreement, he never has been a great talker.
Arthur looked around. 'Where's our French guy?', he asked the others. 'Are you worried about him?', Alfred teased. Arthur scoffed. 'Of course not, I just thought he was with you guys.' 'Nope, we haven't seen him after we got separated, but he'll be alright. It's Francis after all.' Nobody reacted.
During their short conversation, the children were talking about their adventures and how they had met the adults. Some of the kids were wearing masks of clay. Apparently, they'd gone hunting and that's when they met the two other adults on a beach. Ralph kept his distance from the others. He had a weird look on his face and didn't seem happy. The others were excited, because now there were adults to help them and everything would be alright.
A loud noise came from the forest. It sounded like a wounded animal and the group fell silent. 'What was that?', Alfred asked. Even though he claimed to be the hero, he sounded very scared. A littlun with the name Percival Wemys Madison said: 'It's the beastie.'
'There is no beast,' was the short response of Ralph, who stepped closer to the group. 'Then what was it? Everyone is here, so what else can it be?', a boy named Roger asked. 'The little kid is right, something's out there. So, someone has to go check it out,' Alfred said, founding his courage once again. After a long pause, Arthur decided to take action.
'Alright, Ivan, Alfred and I will go look for the beast and Yao stays here with the kids.', Arthur said. He sounded very authoritative and no one dared to contradict him. Everyone agreed. Yao started a little fire on the beach to keep the beast away and cook a small meal for the kids, while the others prepared themselves to climb the mountain. The group of hunters handed them some spears and then they walked into the forest to hunt down the beast.
They had gotten quite far, when they found some tracks. A twig that was broken, some plants were squashed. 'Alright, we're on the right track, the beast passed here not so long ago,' Arthur said after having studied the trail. Alfred was looking around him. He didn't seem at ease. Then he felt something on his shoulder. All the colour drained out of his face and he looked mortified, afraid to turn around. 'Boo.' Alfred screamed and ran away.
Arthur looked up from what he was doing. 'Ivan, can you please stop scaring Alfred? If he keeps on screaming like that, he might scare the beast.' 'I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself,' was Ivan's response. He had a creepy smile on his face. Alfred peeked his head out from behind the tree where he was hiding. 'I wasn't scared. I was just practicing my cry in need, that's all.' Arthur rolled his eyes. 'Of course, you were. Come on scaredy cat, we still have a long way to go.' He continued the climb, Ivan following suit and Alfred in the rear.
Once they'd reached the summit, they were breathing heavily. 'That was harder than I imagined, but we've made it and no beast in sight. Let's go back.' Arthur turned around again and found him standing alone on the hill. 'Guys…' No reaction. 'Okay, this isn't funny. Come on out.' Still no reaction. 'Bloody twits, leaving me behind when we're almost there.'
'Honhonhonhon.'
'Who's there?' Arthur lifted his spear and turned around. The top of the hill was surrounded by bushes and plants which made it hard to pass. The kids had made a way through those plants to make access to the hill easier. On one side were less plants, but that was a spot where the hill was some sort of cliff. It gave you an unobstructed view of the island, but it was hard to climb and very steep. If you fell of it, you would probably break something. 'I have a spear and I'm not afraid to use it!', Arthur shouted.
'Honhonhonhon. What have we here? If it isn't our friend Angleterre. What brings you here on this wonderful evening?' The voice who had spoken was soft and melodious and sounded very familiar. 'Francis?', Arthur asked in the darkness. 'Is that you?'
A figure came out of the shadows. He had long, blond wavy hair and a small beard. His shirt was shredded and covered in blood. His blood. It was indeed Francis, but something was off. Arthur tried to think of what was wrong, but his mind stayed blank. He lowered his weapon. 'Francis,' he said. 'I'm glad that you're alright.'
'I'm not alright,' came the answer. 'And I'm not Francis. My name is François Bonnefoy.' The man stepped closer. Arthur was scared, because the man in front of him really was Francis, but something was terribly wrong. 'Where are the others?', he asked. 'Where are Ivan and Alfred?' Francis came even closer and Arthur lifted his spear, creating a distance between them. The man stopped in his tracks surprised by the spear, but then he grinned wickedly. He grabbed the spear and pulled it out of Arthur's hands. 'You don't need this,' the man said, throwing the spear far away. Arthur saw for the first-time Francis' eyes. The nice blue colour was darker than usually and his eyes were filled with madness. The wicked grin grew bigger and the man licked his lips. 'Let's dance, shall we?', the man asked and after that everything went dark.