Lord of the Flies
New Book Ending
By Cat Homan
Chapter 12: starting on page 200, about the middle of the page.
…Then he was down, rolling over and over in the warm sand, crouching with arm to ward off, trying to cry for mercy.
He opened his eyes, amazed not to be dead. Next to him was a circle of boys, surrounding Jack and Roger as opposed to him. It appeared as though they were arguing although the voices didn't register in his brain. The children in the circle appeared to be elated, and he couldn't tell why. On the outside Sam (or was it Eric?) was looking sad and confused. His dirty face had tear tracks and there were marks all over his body from being bound. He was without his brother, which was unusual in itself. But this only vaguely interested Ralph. A thought pushed through his mind.
He was alive.
There it was; pure fact. He was alive and nobody was paying any attention to him.
But they might soon.
A second fact burst through his head and he tried to force himself to think of what to do. How to live another day. What Piggy would have done. Where Piggy would have gone.
The ocean was right there.
This third and final fact exploded through. Ralph knew that this could be the only chance for him to escape from the insanity of this island.
The weight of the three facts wore on Ralph for only a second. In a moment he was on his feet, stumbling towards the endless turbulent water. He didn't think that there was nothing for miles, nor that he would probably die swimming out there. He only thought of getting away from Jack's wild painted face and Rogers doubly sharpened stick as possible.
The water was colder than he had expected. Ralph let out a gasp as he plunged further and further. His father had taught him how to swim in his former life and it was this life that he called on again. He was struggling through the waves as hard as he could, concentrating hard enough not to hear the splash behind him.
But his strength wasn't enough to struggle through the walls of water trying to force him back and soon he felt himself being pulled under, sucked under. Ralph's world went black.
Jack glared at Roger and Roger glared right back at Jack.
"I'm chief! I should get to kill him!"
He brandished his spear at the insolent boy in front of him.
"Oh, and you would?" Roger sneered. "He'd beg you for mercy and you'd trot away."
Jack flushed. He'd do no such thing.
"I'd do no such thing!"
"You probably liked Piggy too!"
A few of the boys laughed at this.
"Did not!"
"Then why do you still carry around his specs on your waist?"
"How else will we light the fire?"
"See? Sounding like Ralph again." He turned towards the circle surrounding them. "Jack's always liked Ralph! See?" He pointed to where Ralph had lain just a moment ago. "Where is Ralph now?"
Jack was astonished. Where was Ralph? But that didn't matter now. The hunt could resume once he had dealt with Roger.
"I'm chief. I can take someone's specs to light a fire to cook our meat in-"
"Coward!"
Jack did a double take. "What did you say?" He looked furious.
"I said you're a coward!"
"No I'm not!"
"Coward!"
"Shut up!"
"Coward! Coward! Coward!" Roger started dancing to his tune and soon the boys started chanting with him. "Coward! Coward! Coward!"
Jack charged. Roger was taken by surprise for a moment but was able to recover enough in time to parry the blow before it struck his chest. Jack struck again and again and again. It was all Roger could do to be on the defensive. But after all the running and chasing, Jack was growing tired. From Jack's weariness Roger was able to grow stronger. Now it was Jack on the defensive. He could feel some of the heavy blows hitting him, getting through. Then a stab on his hand and his spear dropped. Roger bowled Jack over and sat on his chest. He was able to reach down and grab the knife from Jack's waist. He drew it up over Jack's head. Jack's eyes widened in shock. He opened his mouth, whether to beg for mercy or to sing a perfect C sharp nobody would ever find out because at that instant Roger's hand swung down. The knife flashed silver then it was over.
The boys backed away from where Roger stood and fled into the forest. His hands were covered with blood. He had chopped off Jack's head and stuck it on the double edged spear originally intended for Ralph's. The body remained on the beach, the blood not on Roger's hands was seeping onto the sand and his feet. After the head was artfully placed on the spear, Roger carried it to the old platform by the lagoon. He placed the spear in the middle and sat on a log, facing the chief's. From this angle it almost looked like Jack was sitting in Ralph's old seat.
"You're chief now, eh Jackie?"
Jack's head only stared back at Roger. The Lord of the Flies. The Chief of the Flies. Roger giggled.
"Just like that first sow's head, eh Jackie?"
Screams started to erupt behind him. The forest fire they had started to drive Ralph into the open was eating the island and the littleuns with it.
"We were offering it to the beastie, the snake-thing, eh Jackie?"
More screams. The boys couldn't outrun the fire that they had built themselves.
"Foolish of us. There was no beastie, was there, Jackie?"
Now there were pig squeals to match with the human screams.
"Maybe Batty Simon had it right, eh? Maybe we are the beastie. Crazy idea, huh? What do you think Jackie?"
If Roger had turned around he would've seen the fire getting ever closer to where he sat.
"What happened to us? How did everything go wrong?"
Heat was searing the trees directly behind Roger now. He couldn't escape even if he wanted to.
"Jackie?"
Then the fire hit. Roger was screaming now, the very last left. And as the fire blazed over and consumed him, he looked up and saw Jack, the Lord of the Flies, laughing at him from on his stick.
Ralph felt large hands pulling him out of the water. He was plopped down on the ground. He opened his eyes and gazed up at the man looking down on him.
The man was wearing a white drill, epaulettes, a revolver and a row of gilt buttons down the front of the uniform. What topped it off though was the white topped cap, and above its green shade of the peak was a crown and anchor and gold foliage.
A naval officer then. This would make the hard ground that Ralph now lay on a naval ship. The naval officer spoke first.
"Hullo."
"Hullo," Ralph said shyly and stood up.
"Quite lucky we were here, you almost drowned."
Ralph just stared dumbly. The officer looked away towards the other boy standing by Ralph.
"Did you and your friend light that fire?"
Ralph looked back toward the island that was now ablaze. Then he looked back at the officer and nodded.
"Were you two the only ones on the island?"
Ralph looked over at Eric who looked at the island where faint screams were just able to reach them then looked back at Ralph who looked back at the officer. The answer was passed through that glance.
"Yes." It was the first word the naval officer heard him speak. The officer nodded. The boys needed a wash and some proper food.
"We'll try to get you back to your homes. Your family and friends."
At this Eric began to up. Then he started crying. Ralph too began to shake from sadness, then he too was sobbing. The officer turned away to give them privacy. Eric wept for the loss of his beloved brother, Sam, whose body was lying on Castle Rock. Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.