AN: So we finally get on the Island this chapter, and meet all our favourite characters! I hope none of the characters are out of character, and if they are then please tell me. I hope you enjoy :)
Chapter 2- Meeting the boys!
Golden blonde locks combined with the equally golden sand, as the scorching sun roasted Bell's rosy skin. Her hazel orbs remained closed as she listened to the delicate waves hitting the shore in a gentle rhythm. The comfortable, blanket of sand warmed her body, as she sighed deeply, feeling relaxed.
Suddenly, her amber eyes shot open, panicked and confused. She squinted and attempted to adjust her eyes in the strange, tropical sun light that she had never felt before. Vague memories flooded into her brain all at once, causing Bell to grip her head in pain. She remembered falling asleep on the plane, and then waking up to what felt like an earthquake...
Bell gritted her teeth in frustration as she failed to recall what had happened after that. Unknown to her, a thin, trickle of blood raced down the side of her face.
'Am I dead?'
Her eyes scanned the foreign place for any signs or indications as to where she actually was. Her eyes traced across a long scar, that had smashed into the jungle of tangled trees and creepers. The sharp, jagged edges of the bark and roots looked sinister, almost as if they were daring her to approach the endless gloomy oblivion. Turning to the vast field of cerulean water, shining like diamonds in the dazzling heat, Bell's eyes searched the horizon but saw nothing.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she wrapped her arms instinctively around her body for protection. Small tears pooled in her eyes, as she prayed that Marie and Louise were safe, or at least at peace.
Hearing a groan, Bell froze in shock. She turned her head sharply to the side and held back a scream, when her eyes landed on a familiar, small body in a hand-made light green, tattered dress. Fighting back the excruciating pain, Bell launched her body towards her friend, crawling across the itchy, soft sandy ground.
Seeing the rise and fall of Marie's chest, Bell was overcome with relief, but wouldn't feel completely satisfied until Marie was awake.
"Marie! Marie! Wake up." Bell shouted, forcefully gripping Marie's shoulders desperately.
Marie's emerald eyes opened slowly, confused as to why Bell had her in a painful death grip. Bell hastily helped Marie to sit up straight, and immediately began to fuss over her like a worried mother.
"Are you okay!? Are you hurt!? Can you speak!? Say something!" Bell yelled tearfully in her face. All of the rapid questions were making Marie's head feel worse.
"How am I supposed to speak, when I can't get a word in edgeways?" Marie teased, rubbing her bruised arm.
"Sorry." Bell grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.
Marie cracked a smile, happy to see Bell was being her usual self.
'Some things never change.'
Bell was hit with another wave of panic as she realised the absence of Louise.
"Where's Louise!?" Bell screamed.
"Right here you numpty!" A voice snapped from behind.
Marie and Bell whipped their heads around to see Louise looming over them, with her hands on her hips, clearly annoyed.
"Louise thank go-. Hey!" Bell whined, remembering what Louise had called her.
Louise rolled her eyes coolly.
"Glad to see you two are finally awake. I had to drag you both out of the ocean before you drowned out there." Louise pointed to the vast ocean, smirking proudly at her achievement of once again protecting Bell and Marie.
'Some things really never change.' Marie repeated in her head.
Bell grinned at Louise in gratitude, completely forgetting about the previous remark. Marie brushed her fingertips across the sand, savouring the beauty of nature that she was rarely able to engage with.
Bell whimpered, as she examined the rips in her cotton, cream dress, made from a pair of old curtains she had found in the trash. The girls dresses were made from bed sheets and curtains, so it was no surprise that they had been torn and damaged.
"If only I had some cotton and a sewing needle." She muttered to herself, fiddling with her ripped dress.
"Do you know what happened?" Marie asked Louise.
"Yeah, the plane crashed into the shore. You and Bell were unconscious so I left you on the beach, while I went and looked around." Louise explained, gesturing to the scar on the shore that had crashed into the wild jungle.
Upon seeing the scar, Marie was reminded of her own, and her hand automatically began to caress it.
"Survivors?" Marie inquired.
"I'm not sure. Haven't seen anyone yet."
Marie nodded, contemplating over what they should do.
Louise noticed the trickle of blood oozing from the top left corner of Bell's forehead.
"You're bleeding." She sighed.
She ripped of a small piece of cloth from the bottom of her dark blue dress, and began to dab the side of Bell's head. Bell smiled softly at the gesture, allowing Louise to clean away the drying blood. Bell and Louise couldn't have been any more different from each other, yet the bond that they shared was something that not even Marie could understand.
Marie resisted the urge to giggle, as the light winds tickled her freckled cheeks, and blew the ginger stands of hair away from her face. Her body was filled with a soothing sensation as she absorbed the intense heat of the sun, and her eyes fluttered shut, as she listened to the various birds, belting soft melodies, that were being carried by the elegantly flowing wind.
Most people would be terrified if they had been stranded on a deserted island, but a life on the dirty streets of London, caused the girls to see the island as a blessing. To them, it was paradise.
Louise stood abruptly, causing Bell to squeak in surprise, and fall backwards onto the blanket of sand.
"Do you hear that?" Louise stared into the distance, alerted by the strange noise.
"Hear what?" Bell drawled out lazily, lying on the comfortable ground.
This time all three of them heard the odd noise, erupting from further down along the shore.
"A trumpet?" Bell suggested.
Louise tapped her on the back of the head for such a stupid remark.
"Idiot. Who would randomly blow a trumpet at a time like this?"
"Maybe they're a musician!" Bell retorted in defence.
Louise face palmed.
Marie, sensing an impending argument, quickly stepped in with a distraction.
"We should go and check it out." She spoke up.
Louise considered this idea for a moment. "Fine, but be cautious. We don't know what's out there." She warned.
She began to stroll towards the direction of the peculiar noise, with Marie and Bell close behind.
After a difficult trek though the sharp, obstacle course of creepers, the trio had finally reached the source of the strange sound.
From the distance, they could see a large group of school boys, who Marie recalled as the same boys from the airport. A tall boy, who looked about the same age as Louise and Bell, was on slightly higher ground then the others indicating he was in charge. In his hands, he held a large pink, creamy shell that sparkled and glowed in the sun. The way it was held proudly in the air, told the girls that it was of great importance and required their respect.
Bell and Marie looked at Louise expectantly for further instructions.
"They look harmless, lets go."
Although gathering with fellow survivors was probably a smart move, Louise couldn't stop the nagging feeling she had as they approached the boys. She didn't like the idea of having to trust and co-operate with complete strangers, especially if Bell and Marie were involved, as they had an annoying habit of putting themselves in unnecessary danger.
A large, fat boy adjusted his glasses as he saw the three figures in the distance. He gaped like a fish gasping for oxygen, when he realised they were girls.
"Ralph! Ralph! I can see girls." He cried, pointing at the three girls in the distance.
This sudden outburst caused all the boys, including Ralph, to look in Piggy's direction. Upon seeing the girls, the boys began to whisper and murmur to each other.
Finally reaching the assembly of boys, Louise quickly scanned the area for any signs of threat or danger, she found none.
"Hello, I'm Ralph." The boy holding the strange shell, addressed himself with a sense of authority.
He smiled genuinely, eyes twinkling and the dimples in his cheeks creased his sun kissed skin. The girls noted that he was indeed very handsome as he stood before them; his blonde, shaggy hair swaying in the breeze. Ralph was tall and well built, with broad shoulders and strong arms like a boxer, yet there was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil.
He grinned charmingly at each of the girls , his eyes lingering slightly on Bell which caused the her to blush shyly.
"N-Nice to meet you." Bell stuttered, twirling a lock of matching golden hair around her finger.
Louise and Marie exchanged glances and rolled their eyes.
'Typical.' They thought simultaneously.
Both of them knew that Bell was a sucker for a pretty face as they watched her practically drool over him.
Marie's eyes wandered curiously to the object in Ralph's hands that appeared to have made the odd noise.
"What's that?" Marie pointed to the object.
Her question was answered not by Ralph, but by the chunky kid with glasses standing next to him. It was only until he had actually spoken, that Marie had even noticed he was there.
"Its called a conch. My auntie had one just like it. If you blow into the little hole, it will make a loud noise, like the bell at school. My auntie wouldn't let me blow it, on account of my ass-mar." He explained proudly, tilting his round glasses.
"Ass-mar!?" Bell giggled, amused by the fat boy and his ramblings.
"Sucks to your ass-mar!" Ralph joked, causing Bell to break out into full blown laughter. The chubby boy flushed in embarrassment, which made Bell laugh even more.
'Great, Ralph must be the male equivalent of Bell.' Louise noted, sourly.
Marie felt guilty for giggling at the remark, but Bell's laughter was contagious, and if Bell was happy then so was she. Louise felt the same, but would never openly express it.
Having the fat boy the centre of social derision, seemed to unite the rest of the group.
Louise's eyes drifted along the shore, and to her surprise she caught sight of a dark mass moving along the beach.
"What's that?" Louise gestured to the strange shape, which upon closer inspection, appeared to be two straight parallel lines.
Everyone looked in her direction, the laughter now ceased as they observed the peculiar shape. They realised the shape was actually made from a group of boys in large, thick black cloaks, marching towards the assembly in the scorching heat.
'Those cloaks must be killing them!' Marie thought, as she watched the boys in pity.
The boy at the front, presumably the leader, came to an abrupt halt a few yards from the assembly.
From what could be seen under the large cloak, was that the boy and very tall, even taller then Ralph, and just as well built as him. He had a mop of fiery red hair under his black cap, and a pair of icy, piercing blue eyes that bore into Ralph, clearly unsatisfied.
"Where's the man with the trumpet?" He asked sternly.
Bell turned to Marie and Louise with a smug smirk plastered on her face.
'Who's the idiot now?' She silently taunted.
Marie couldn't help but allow a small smile to form on her face, while Louise shot a 'You're still an idiot' look.
"There's no man with a trumpet, only me." Ralph replied coolly. "We are having a meeting, come join us."
Thud.
A boy from the choir had toppled over dramatically, his head colliding with the sand roughly. Being fairly close to the incident, Marie rushed over to the fallen choir member, and helped the other boys drag him to a shaded area under a palm tree. To Marie's dismay, the choir began to laugh and jeer at the boy's misfortune, while their leader wasn't even lifting a finger to help him.
'Some friends they are.' Marie thought bitterly.
Marie gasped slightly, when she recognised the boy as the same one she had very briefly encountered at the airport, as he had noticed her staring at him and the other boys.
Deciding to stay with him, she gently placed his head onto her lap and placed the back of her hand on his forehead which felt like it was on fire. Marie began to carefully unbutton the burdening cloak and pulled it off him, tossing it carelessly to the side.
After removing their own cloaks, the choir settled themselves within the assembly, while their leader remained standing next to Ralph, trying enforce his own power and authority onto everyone else. As his pale, icy eyes scanned the crowd, he noticed the three girls amongst the survivors. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Why are you girls here? The plane was supposed to have been reserved only for our school." The boy questioned, almost accusingly.
Marie and Bell's bodies tensed apprehensively.
"There was a mix up with the seats on the plane we were supposed to be on. They had to transfer us to another plane that had space." Louise replied smoothly.
Bell and Marie thanked the heavens that Louise was such a quick thinker.
"I see." The boy and Louise appeared to be engaged in some sort of glaring contest. They both stared intensely at each other, silently daring the other to challenge them. To Bell, the atmosphere was so tense that it was suffocating so she decided to intervene before things escalated further. After all, she didn't want a repeat of what had happened in the past.
"Well, now that we've cleared that up, allow us to introduce ourselves!" Bell suggested, smiling sweetly. Her tactic appeared to work as the angry red head and Louise forced their eyes away from each other, yet the tension still very much lingered between them.
Marie had always admired Bell's ability to avoid conflict. That smile was enough to soften anyone's heart.
"She's right. Lets get introductions out of the way. Ladies first." Ralph agreed, sending another charming smile in Bell's direction, causing a rosy blush to spread across her cheeks.
"Well, my name is Bell. This is Louise, and over there is Marie." Bell gestured to Marie, who was still tending to the fallen boy. Not liking the sudden attention, she awkwardly waved at the staring crowd and offered a weak smile. Louise just stared thoughtfully towards the horizon, seemingly uninterested in making any positive first impressions. Jack mentally noted her name bitterly.
Bell stepped back, signalling that she was finished.
The choir were next.
"I'm Maurice. The one who fainted is Simon." Maurice explained.
"Bill."
"Robert."
"Harold"
"Henry."
"...Roger." A gloomy boy muttered, a mop of dark hair shadowing his face.
Bell shivered, feeling the temperature drop a few degrees.
"I'm Jack. Jack Merridew." The leader announced arrogantly.
"I'm Ralph." Ralph stated simply, nodding at Jack.
The fat boy decided to make himself known.
"That's Johnny. Those two are- they're twins, Sam n' Eric. Then, that boy- I forget-"
"You're talking too much. Shut up Fatty!" Jack snapped angrily.
"He's not fatty, his real name is Piggy!" Ralph exclaimed, attempting to hold back his laughter.
'Oh god, here we go again...' Louise inwardly sighed.
A laughter erupted from all the boys, as they jeered and mocked Piggy. Bell also began to laugh, but was quickly silenced by Louise's scolding glare.
"Don't be so immature." Louise hissed.
"Sorry." Bell looked at the ground in shame.
Marie stared at Piggy in sympathy, guessing that he had probably suffered through similar experiences at home. Like her, he was also seen as an outcast to the 'normal people' in society. Why is being different such a crime? Why do people have to suffer because of it? These were questions that Marie just couldn't answer.
Her eyes flickered down to see the boy's head, that had been resting on her lap, begin to stir. The boy, who looked about a year older then her, peeked through thick, dark eyelashes. His black messy hair was twisted and ruffled in various directions. To her, his eyes were youthful, yet wise and matured, as they stared at her in confusion.
"Y-You fainted, I think. Are you okay?" Marie wasn't used to talking to anyone except for Bell and Louise, so she wasn't surprised that her hands felt clammy, and that her voice wavered slightly. There was something about this mysterious boy that was different from the others, like there was a constant light surrounding him, a natural human goodness.
"Yes. Thank you." He looked away from her observant eyes, feeling embarrassed to be in her presence after his 'incident'. He remembered her from the airport, as he had been captivated by her bright, emerald eyes that he could only describe as beautiful.
He tried to swiftly sit up, however the sudden movement caused his head to rush, and he fell back. Marie supported his body before his head hit the ground again, and helped him into a sitting position next to her.
"I'm Marie." Marie smiled and held out her hand to the shy boy, as she had witnessed that most formal greetings involved a handshake.
"I'm Simon." Simon smiled innocently, and grasped her hand gently.
Marie held back a giggle at Simon's unbelievably gentle nature, and predicted that they would become good friends.
Ralph raised the conch, and the crowd fell silent as they admired the power and order the conch seemed to reflect.
"We need a chief, to decide things." The crowd immediately buzzed, and of course the candidates were narrowed down to Jack and Ralph.
Jack's simple arrogance was consistently evident in his voice.
"I ought to be chief. I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C-sharp."
'Who cares...' Louise inwardly scoffed. She could already tell that Jack would be a problem for her.
Roger spoke up.
"Let's have a vote."
This democratic approach seemed a good resolve, but it didn't sit well with Jack's nature of dictatorship.
The girls felt a shiver run down their spines at Roger's voice. It was deep, shadowed by an intense darkness and brutality. He was almost like a reminder of that night...
Ralph once again, raised the conch for silence to regain order amongst the group.
"Okay, raise your hands. Who wants Jack for chief?" Obviously, the choir raised their hands.
Next to Marie, Simon sighed and slowly raised his arm, his face telling Marie that it was only an act of dreary obedience. Jack gritted his teeth at the lack of votes for him.
"Who wants me?" Everyone could hear the smugness in Ralph's voice even if he hadn't actually intended it.
Bell's hand immediately shot up with such enthusiasm, that Marie was worried that she had dislocated her shoulder. Following Bell, Marie also raised her hand along with the rest of the crowd, even Piggy. Louise didn't move, as she continued to stare into the horizon.
"I'm chief then." Ralph clarified, even though it was obviously going to be him from the start.
Bell applauded him in admiration, which began a chain reaction, as the rest of the crowd also congratulated their new leader, even the choir seemed satisfied with the new turn of events.
Jack slumped his shoulders, a glum expression on his freckled face. Ralph looked at him, eager to offer him something.
"The choir still belongs to you of course. What do you want them to be?"
"Hunters." Jack replied quickly.
That one word gave Marie a feeling of such dread that her body began to shake. She had a bad feeling.
Simon, noticing her fearful reaction, placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, comforting Marie.
"Don't worry. I wont be a hunter." Simon's soothing words calmed Marie's mind, and she smiled thankfully. She was glad that instead of questioning her odd behaviour, he had left her to her own thoughts, which she much preferred then having to talk about her problems. She patted his hand on her shoulder in silent gratitude.
"Three of us will go exploring and decide whether this really is an island or not." Ralph explained. "The people going will be myself, Jack and...Simon." Simon stood, nodding at Ralph, his coarse hair swaying in the breeze.
Jack whipped out a survival knife and stabbed it into a near by tree. His eyes drifted across the crowd, challengingly.
To Marie and Bell's surprise, Louise stepped forwards with determined eyes.
"I'll go too." She declared defiantly.
"No way! She's a girl." Jack protested angrily.
"Okay, you can come too." Ralph smiled kindly, completely ignoring Jack's protests.
"But-"
"I'm chief." Ralph reminded Jack, which caused the red head to sulk and storm ahead of them, towards the mountain. Ralph rolled his eyes and gestured for Simon and Louise to follow. The trio began to follow Jack, trotting to catch up with his angry strides. Louise quickly glanced back at Marie and Bell, nodding at them with a silent goodbye.
Piggy attempted to follow, but was stopped by Marie.
"How about you stay here and help me with names?" Marie offered Piggy, knowing that he wouldn't be able to catch up with them anyway.
"He told me he wouldn't." Piggy muttered under his breath, sadly.
Marie and Bell furrowed their eyebrows in confusion, shuffling closer to Piggy to hear his muffled speech.
"What did you say?" Marie asked.
"Ralph. He told me he wouldn't tell anyone about what they used to call me at school. They used to call me Piggy. Now every one here..." Piggy's bottom lip quivered as if he was about to cry. He was in need of consolation, which the two girls failed to provide him with.
"Better Piggy than Fatty." Bell shrugged bluntly.
Piggy's shoulder's slacked and he walked away, most likely to go and collect names.
Marie turned to Bell, and saw that the she was staring at the mountain in worry.
"Don't worry. Louise will be fine." Marie smiled reassuringly.
"I know. I just have a bad feeling about that Jack Merridew." Bell murmured.
Marie couldn't help but silently agree.
The girls turned away from the mountain, and began to assist Piggy in taking names and organising the group of young boys. The failed to notice Roger watching their every move...
AN: Remember, any comments or questions you have, just let me know in your review :) Thank you for reading!
-MephistoChild XD