HEEY GUYS!!! Thanks to those of you who read and enjoyed chapter 1; hopefully this one will be as pleasing, even though it seems short to me o.O Is that just me???

Disclaimer: If I owed LOTF, Roger would have said LOOK. WOW. I KILLED PIGGY. Just so the misconceptions people seem to have about Jack killing Piggy cease to exist XD.

ENJOY LOVES!!!

Chapter 2

The fire sent the boys' shadows dancing swiftly across the walls of the dark, damp cave. They had arrived at Castle Rock just as the vines that held their captive, Ralph, began to come loose. He was still unconscious, and tucked behind one of the rather large boulders that stood solidly inside the cave, he lay silent and still, wrists and ankles rebound. Robert was assigned to stand near the lifeless boy in the event that he awoke and attempted to escape, keeping a sharpened stick close to his chest.

Thunder rumbled and shook the mountain, and bolts of white, ferocious lightning filled the evening sky. Littluns huddled fearfully near the back of the deep cave with backs facing the opening, for the frightening lightning could be ignored with greater ease if they could not see it slice through the clouds. Meanwhile, a discussion had began over what they would do with their prize. Presently, a clamorous argument ignited over whether they would kill Ralph the following day, or choose a more torturous means of captivity.

"We can kill him tomorrow and have a feast to celebrate," one of the smaller boys chimed in, "and we can do our dance!" "That idea is bollucks," Bill stated, "why must each hunt end up the same way?!" "I agree, Bill." Jack said furtively, scanning the restless boys with blue eyes. Suddenly a stillness was unleashed when the Chief's bright, glowing eyes trailed across the group, and silence thickened in the air. After a moment, Jack stood and spoke.

"Here's what we shall do. We will go out tomorrow morning and kill a pig and bring it back here. It should be rather easy, I assume, because they'll all be asleep." The crowd wordlessly agreed. "One of us will remain here with our captive so he will be unable to escape, and will not speak a word of our plan to him, no matter how much he may ask. Whomever I chose will also deny our captive food of any sort, but will be permitted one drink of water. In fact, one drink each day. And he cannot leave this cave under any circumstances." A few of the boys snickered and giggled with elation. The thought of denying Ralph necessities whilst allowing him to survive seemed brilliant and exciting. "When we return with our kill, the one I put in charge will tie him up, and we will have a feast. Afterwards," he paused, glancing challengingly about the cave, "we will begin the first round of torture."

An outburst of cheering and clapping erupted, echoing from the small cave. Jack's painted face beamed with his usual pride, and smiled contentedly. "Who will you choose, Chief?" Maurice asked, and others verbally showed agreement. In the boys' opinion, the idea of such a task being chosen specifically for one person to accomplish, by their Chief nonetheless, seemed a great honor and carried with it a sense of power and prestige. This was something many of the boys wanted: possessing the same air of leadership and strength as their Chief, and Roger, did.

"Hmm..." Jack searched choicely for those he figured would perform the duty best. Dirty, young faces looked down at the ground; all feared looking directly into their leaders oppressive eyes. His bright eyes went to the so called second-in-command, who appeared to be sharpening his spear to a deadly point. 'Not Roger,' Jack thought to himself, 'he stays with me. I'm not about to lose the opportunity to get at...him...first, and he's too good a hunter to not bring along.' He sat silently.

After another glance, he decided. "You two! Samneric!" The twins, who sat wordlessly at the far back of the group, shot their heads up and faced Jack's general direction. "You two will only slow the rest of us down, as I saw earlier today. You will remain here with the captive until we return. Obey the rules I have laid down; you know what will happen if you don't." They simultaneously allowed their eyes to follow the ground, and kept it there. They knew there was no way for them to aid Ralph and attempt some sort of revolt, not after the abuse Roger had put them through of his own accord. Jack knew this well, because he had witnessed it firsthand. At that moment they were shot a hateful, ominous glance by Roger himself, who began to blow the excess dust and small wood fragments off his spear's tip, and succeeded in instilling a greater fear into the boys. Jack gazed into the flashing clouds emptily.

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The night had cleared up, and the air smelt fresh and new after the fallen rain. The stars were clearly visible, and a small, bright crescent moon hung daintily in the speckled blackness. Ralph lay slightly awoken, but kept his heavy eyelids closed with fatigue. As he came closer to consciousness, he heard droplets of rainwater drip, in a rhythmical pattern, into shallow puddles. He squinted his eyes and wiped them with the back of his hand. The dull, unrelenting pain that still existed in his ankle reminded him to keep his scraped body as still as possible.

Ralph cracked open his golden brown eyes, which watered with sleep, and allowed them to slowly open further. He noticed his position behind a gargantuan, dark boulder, which served as a sort of comfort to keep him shielded from the danger that may be around it, although his head lay completely exposed. As the environment around him cleared up to a degree, he noticed the heathens that had failed to take his life, those who denied reason as though it were a sin and who took the lives of his beloved comrades, lay in their own respective places on the hard ground, sleeping soundlessly. It was as if they knew nothing of evil, and the blanket of tranquility and peace which hung in the air clouded their savagery like the paint they wore on their faces.

After yawning and stretching in the most comfortable way possible, Ralph's attention left the cave and traveled to the outside. He knew he couldn't have moved if he wanted to; there was no way for him to escape in the poor condition he was in. He decided to wait out the duration of time it may have taken for his ankle to heal, but would he be alive by then? Would they kill him tomorrow, the next day, the next week...in a few hours? When would he see Simon and Piggy in the light?

As Ralph lay motionless on the ground, feelings of desperation and anxiety mixing in a horrible puree, he looked to where the cliff stood outside the cave's entryway. He could not be sure, but he thought he saw what look to be a figure, and in order to make out the "person" more accurately he inched forward to peer into the nighttime. It was, in fact, a figure, and before he could hide, or even pretend to be dead, the person stood. Ralph saw that it was Jack, and a feeling of utter dread and alarm sent a cold shiver down his spine, paralyzing him. He began to make his way towards the cave, and Ralph noticed, even in his fear-induced numbness, that his face looked different than he had ever seen it.

Ha...internal conflict is so rich XD

JackxRalph coming soon, you eager beavers .!