DISCLAIMER:
I don't own Lord of the flies, or any of the characters. Except Jidda, and her stupid name.
2
Adrenaline
They plummeted in a death spiral towards the sea. Screaming in a very un-manly way Jidda jumped from her seat and ran to the front of the plane.
"Parachutes!" she yelled, "Where . Are . The . Parachutes?!?"
She pushed her way though the busy isle, boots clacking on the linoleum as she ran. Finally Jidda got to the front of the plane; she ripped the door to the cock-pit open and screamed abuse in the faces of the drunken pilots. Slamming the door she stomped back up the isle, "Where are the fucking parachutes?" She screeched to no-one in particular, Ralph shrugged; Jidda threw her hands up in the air and hissed in his face, "Well then bloody find em!" She whirled around and flew to the back of the plane.
She hesitated before a door with 'CARGO HOLD. STAFF ONLY' written on it, her hand resting lightly on its knob. If the parachutes weren't here then there was no hope. They were all doomed. She pushed away the sickening thought and launched herself through the door, silent prayers running through her mind.
She saw one of the most beautiful sights she'd ever seen. A huge inflatable life-raft and a crate of parachutes, along with a dozen or so life jackets. Relief flooded through her. They would survive.
Jumping up and down like a little kid she yelled joyously
"There here! I found them! C'arn you fools, let's get the hell outa 'ere!", a cheer went up throughout the plane as the men rushed towards her. She strapped a parachute to her back and took the hands of the two boys nearest her, Moments later, they jumped.
She slipped into the water, the parachute ballooning behind her. The water was unusually warm, and felt good against her icy skin. "Who's got the raft?", she asked the boy next to her,
"Jack", he replied, looking confused "Who else?".
She puzzled over that for a minute, Was Jack the leader then? Did he hold the command? Suddenly a horrible thought squeezed itself into her mind
Did he know she was a girl?
The sound of whooshing air interrupted her train of thought, the raft was up. Jidda swam towards it slowly with even strokes, stopping once to take off her boots and trench coat.
"Hey Jed!" Jack said to her as she reached the side, "Yer saved the lot of us!" Ralph congratulated her
"Can you see any land?" She huffed, pulling herself up into the raft, "Sort of" another boy rumbled
"We're not really sure", Jack corrected" It just looks like a streak across the horizon". Jidda scanned the waters, stopping at a black-brown lump protruding from the edge of her spectrum. It was tiny. Not much longer than the tip of her finger, but it was something.
"Worth a shot", she mused, taking up a paddle "No-one's gonna find us anyway"
"Who said?" Ralph replied hotly
"Ralph" Jack sighed, "No-one even knows we went down, and even if they did, how would they know where to look?"
"Besides", Jidda cut in "They'd think we died in the blast"
Ralph groaned "I don't wanna get stuck on some friggin island for the rest of my life! If that thing even is an island"
A fat boy with glasses started to cry "I wanna go home" He wailed, "I don't wanna die" Jidda cuffed him over the head and said dryly "Neither do we, so get paddling".
The island, for it was and island, was almost a perfect circle with a radius of about five kilometres. It had a very tropical climate and the jungle was filled with birds and animals, The Sea with fish, and turtles.
The first night, after they got out of the boat, everyone just fell asleep on the warm sand; none of them had the energy to look for food, though they were all starving. Jidda woke at first light. The sun had burnt her skin in a thousand different places. Groaning, she rolled over and forced herself into a standing position. She thought she could hear a creek nearby; eventually, she managed to muster the strength to take a step. It felt like she was trying to walk against a hurricane! In this way she stumbled towards the sound, and practically fell into the water. Ungh, the water felt so good, she lapped it up, nearly choking in the process, The cool wetness swept down her throat. It was heaven, smack bang in the middle of hell. The burning of her skin subsided into a dull ache, and she lay in the water for a long time, musing.
The same horrible thought she'd had before crept into her head. Tainting her thoughts. In her desperation, Jidda had almost completely abandoned her 'man' façade. The others either thought she way gay, mad, or a girl. The latter could get her killed.
Jidda began to realize what a dangerous situation she was in. If, for example, they had figured out she was in fact a girl, the consequences were horrendous. Being the only girl on an island of boys was not a place she liked being in. She valued her virtue fairly highly, and had no intention of losing it.
A very un-nature like sound interrupted her thoughts; it sounded like a fog horn. A ship! After a moment of hesitation Jidda leapt to her feet and flew through the undergrowth, dodging obstacles with frenzied intensity. The horn sounded again, she was closer now, she ran even faster as she reached the beach, her booted feet hardly touching the ground. There were figures in the distance; one was playing a strange kind of trumpet thing. Where was the boat? Jidda slowed her manic pace to a walk and scanned the horizon. The coast was clear; she winced mentally at the cliché. No boat, But what was that sound? It blasted again in her ears, coaxing her feet into a run. What was the boy holding? Wincing into the sun she stared at the strange object.
Almost immediately she groaned and fell arse over tip into the sand.
It wasn't a horn, it was a bloody conch.