I do not own Lord of the Flies, that is owned by Sir William Golding. This chapter is dedicated to all those who reviewed my stories and messaged me. Feedback helps me write better!
JACK'S POV
Simon bobbed up and down with the life raft, so I could not tell if he was breathing. Roger looked over my shoulder, peering down at Simon.
"Is he breathing?" Roger asked solemnly. I leaned back and turned my head away from Simon.
"You check," I said. I scooted to the far end of the life raft, watching as my classmates began to emerge from the wreckage, dog paddling towards the various life preservers and rafts. I leaned my back against the orange rubber, staring up at the storm clouds running away in the sky. Those damn storm clouds! A bit of lightening flashed teasingly, a bird flipped over the shoulder when an enemy walked away.
I felt cold as I watched Roger bend over Simon's motionless body. I rubbed my hands over my arms to push down the goose bumps that had obviously come from the cool breeze of the sea, not apprehension about Simon.
Roger turned to me grimly.
"He's not breathing," Roger muttered.
SIMON'S POV
I'm cold. Why is it so dark? Where am I? I stood up quickly and tried to yell out, but no sound came out. I was standing in a dark space, unable to say anything or hear anything. Some invisible chains choked me, I could barely breathe, and something kept me glued to the floor. Not that I would have moved anyway, for all I knew I was standing on the edge of a cliff.
I stayed this way, confused, scared, and cold, until I light began to form in front of me. At first, it was but a spec, but it began to widen and glow. The light began to paint itself colors, shapes began to form. The chains slowly fell off my body, and I could feel a cool breeze and hands pressed against my chest….
JACK'S POV
One time, I had a dream I would press my lips against Simon's. It was a horrendous and awful dream that I tried to erase from my memory by replaying at least a thousand times over and over again. Because that is the only way to erase dreams: watching them over again until the little tape recorder holding the dream breaks.
Anyway, when I had that dream I did not imagine it like the moment I really pressed my lips against Simon's.
His heart was still beating and Roger hadn't known CPR, but I did, so I had no other choice than to help the stupid kid. My open mouth was against his as I slowly breathed air into his lungs, silently begging him to wake up.
I'm taking some of my life from within me and letting it slowly into his lungs…. Wait, where the hell did that come from? I thought as I began to pump at his small chest.
I pulled back and looked at small, frail Simon. His green eyes popped open and he let out a gasp in time with my sigh of relief. His eyes darted around the raft and finally landed on me with a cloudy look of confusion, gratitude, and fear.
"Jack?" he squeaked abruptly. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.
"Simon," I said plainly. Simon sat up and saw Roger staring curiously over my shoulder.
"Hi," he said quietly. I crossed my arms and turned my head to the side, staring at my reflection in the water.
"How's it going?" I growled. Wow, way to show the intelligence Jackie.
"I'm not quite sure," said Simon.
SIMON'S POV
"Ralph said everyone's okay. That is, except for the pilot," Jack said as he bobbed up in the water. Beside me, Roger muttered a curse word.
"Is there anything left from the plane? Like, a radio or something?" I asked. Jack held up a finger, as if to say "One minute" and dived back into the water. I watched as his dark figure shot out towards the other lifeboat, which was about a block's length away. Unfortunately there was only one set of paddles, and it was getting dark so no one bothered to bring the boats together yet.
Ralph was one of those semi-popular kids who kept out of trouble and went with the flow. He had been sitting up front when the plane crashed, so everyone turned to him for information on what had happened. Since Jack wouldn't let me swim myself ("I don't want you passing out again," "Why not?" "Because giving CPR to you was nasty!") I was communicating to Ralph through him. By this time the sun had nearly set, and only a sliver of yellow peaked up from the horizon, making everything covered in an eerie shadow. Roger sulked at the opposite end of the raft, bent over like a gargoyle with shadows sweeping across his sharp features. At last, a dark figure began to make it's way back to the boat, and Jack broke the surface. He drew in a sharp breathe, rubbed the salt water off of his face, and blinked.
"First Aid kit. Three flashlights. And floatation devices," Jack said.
"Alright…. What about-"
"No more questions. I'm bloody tired," Jack said, hauling himself back on the boat. Roger shot us a glare as the boat rocked.
"I'm out of here," he said in a low tone. Jack gave him one of his famous evil looks. I shrank back from the situation, hoping I could make myself invisible.
"What do you mean your out of here?" Jack said threateningly. Roger smirked.
"I'm going to Ralph's raft," he said simply. Before Jack could say another word, Roger dived into the water with his clothes still on. Jack watched silently with a sour face as Roger swam away.
"I hope he gets eaten by a shark," Jack muttered to himself, sounding extremely similar to an angry toddler. I rolled my eyes.
Without saying anything, I inched towards were Roger once sat, pulling off my blazer and bunching it into a ball. I was about to lay down to sleep when Jack grabbed my arm.
"And where do you think your going?" he said. I snatched my arm away from his, and gave him my most threatening look possible. Who did he think he was, trying to control me like I was a little kid? At least I wasn't throwing a tantrum.
"To sleep. Do you have a problem with that? Or would you rather have me stay up all night so I can listen to you bitch about how it was such a bother to save my life?" I snapped. Much to my surprise, Jack's face looked hurt for a second before resuming it's resentment.
Jack muttered something about "Should have followed Roger," before turning his back to me and laying down on the opposite side of the boat. I curled up in a ball, propped my head atop my blazer, and wrapped my arms around my bare chest to keep warm. My mind fell in and out of foggy dreams, mainly involving the events of the day. It may have been minutes, seconds, or even hours before I woke up to the pitch black and roll of the ocean. First, I panicked because I couldn't remember where I was. When I calmed down, my eyes adjusted to the light that was pouring from the moon, nature's lamppost. A sense of loneliness and fear washed over me, but than I felt something warm brush my toes. It was Jack's leg.
Without a second thought, I crawled up to him, stilled dazed and half asleep. I could see the outline of his face in the dark, could hear his inviting soft breathing, and his red hair shown in the moonlight. I lay beside him, turned my back to him, and reached over to catch his arm. I looped it over me like a blanket and the comfort brought rest to my soul; I closed my eyes.
Author's note: Wow, this has been gathering dust in my computer for ages. I totally love going back to Simon/ Jack conflict! Thanks for all of the writers who inspired me with their amazing stories, the fanfic community for LOTF is small but mighty! Updates for this story may be kind of slow, I usually edit this and work out the plot a little more than my other stories to ensure good quality. Review!