Disclaimer: Lord of the Flies is rightfully owned by William Golding and The Berkley Publishing Group.
I darted through the forest this way and that, not really sure where to go. I didn't even think that we'd find any of them on the island, let alone an entire swarm of them. I let out a bloodcurdling shriek as one of them bit me on the back of my ankle.
"Yowch!" I hollered.
I tried my best to outrun them but slowed to a stop once I felt something wet on the bottoms of my feet. I'd forgotten the kind-of-important fact that I was stranded on an island and unless I wanted to drown, I'd better stay on land. I wondered for a split second as to which one would be worse, drowning or death by pissed off squirrels. I made a sharp turn to my left as the wave of squirrels tried to swerve so as to not hit the water.
"Somebody help me!"
"What happened this time?" an angry voice shouted from a distance. Judging by the vibrant red hair, it was none other than Jack Merridew.
"They're gonna eat me!" Jack's eyes went wide.
"Dammit, Maurice!" He vanished behind the rocks and pretty soon him (along with several others) emerged and made a run for it.
I desperately tried to pick up the pace and continued to shout for the others to wait up for me. I spotted Roger's dark hair flopping around and once I got close enough I reached for it. I caught a few small tangles but he managed to escape before I could get a good grip. I sped up to my maximum speed and groped for someone else nearby. I found a tuft of hair and went for it, ultimately sending both of us toppling to the ground. I heard the squirrels getting closer and yanked the kid up into the forest. The herd (Is that what you call a group of batty squirrels?) bypassed us now that they had a larger target to chase. The boy that I'd pulled out of the group began whimpering. I assumed that it was a littlun. I bent down to ask who it was.
"P-Percival Wemys Madison…"
Oh, great, I groaned. He must've heard me because he started crying again.
"Calm down," I said a little too harshly. This, of course, had little to no effect. I tousled his hair and he simmered down a bit.
"Where's everybody else?" he choked out.
"Probably still running from the squirrels," I said. "Looks like we'll be stuck here for a while until it's over."
"What if it's never over?" Percival wailed.
"It will be," I reassured him, "I know it will."
The two of us hid there for a while (a few hours) before I heaved myself into a squat to see if the coast was clear. There were no killer squirrels in sight so I placed a hand on Percival's shoulder and urged him to follow me. He clung to me for the duration of our trek and every time he'd hear the slightest rustle he'd stiffen and I practically had to drag him for half of the hike. I gritted my teeth every time I'd feel a warm wet spot on my thigh.
"Well," I stated once we'd reached the top of the mountain, "let's see what's going on from up here."
I surveyed the island from the mountaintop with Percival clinging to me in an annoying fashion. Why did I have to grab a littlun? Then again, why did I have to grab anybody? I could've just dove into the bushes by myself and let the squirrels chase everybody else. I nearly smacked myself for not hiding alone.
I felt something tug at my shorts. Percival looked up at me with fear in his eyes. I stared at him for a minute before telling him that I hadn't spotted any noticeable signs of life below. He whimpered again. I moaned but wrapped my arm around him protectively to settle him down.
A few moments passed when an eerie shadow loomed over the platform that we stood on. I slowly craned my head upward to see a fluffy tsunami about to devour us whole. I screamed and-
"Maurice," a voice said, "wake up."
I awoke with a start and when I snapped my head up I felt the top of it collide with something. I heard an "Ouch!" and rubbed my head. I blushed sheepishly once I realized who it was.
"Sorry, Jack."
"What were you dreaming about?" he snapped. He pinched the bridge of his nose to stop the blood flow.
"Squirrels," I murmured. Unfortunately, he heard me anyway.
"Squirrels?" He snickered. "You're afraid of squirrels?"
"No."
"I don't believe you."
"You'd be worried too if you dreamt what I did."
"So you are afraid of squirrels." An evil smirk spread across Jack's face as he leaned back. His nose hadn't completely stopped bleeding so he looked a little ridiculous.
We stared at each other for a while before Jack spotted a dark mass float ashore. We raced down to see what it was and once Jack picked it up and showed me, I could feel the color drain out of my face. What he held gingerly by the tail was the very same animal that I'd just had a nightmare about.
A/N: I know that this is a weird one to start with but I like to surprise people. I got the idea for this one while I was out walking with my parents and we were comparing the size of squirrels in a cemetery to the ones in our backyard which led to us coming up with crazy titles about squirrels. Thus, this chapter was born. I might post another one-shot either later on today or sometime tomorrow. No promises. Anyway, thanks for reading!