Ralph looked at the sky. It was beginning to lighten. He had an hour at most until dawn. He tugged at the ropes binding his wrists. They were loose. Ralph scooted to a rock and began to saw the rope across the rock, thinking about where he was.
Jack couldn't have taken him too far without Ralph waking. Looking at the trees, Ralph realized this was most likely Pen Forest, about two and a half miles northwest of Bourton.
Ralph looked at the sky again. It would be lighter towards the east, since that's where the sun rises. The light would lead him home.
The ropes finally gave and cut in half. Ralph rubbed his chafed wrists before getting up and bolting towards the lighter sky.
Barely avoiding low branches and tripping on vines, Ralph knew he would survive and make it through.
A cackle split the air. Spooked like a horse, Ralph tripped and fell.
"I was going to wait until dawn for you to die, but if you want to start now, that's fine by me."
The voice was Jack's, Ralph knew that, but as far as where Jack was located, he wasn't sure.
Ralph got up hastily, ignoring the cuts and bruises all over his body and began running. Adrenaline was pumping in his veins.
Plink! Plink! Tiny stones were being thrown at the trees around Ralph. They were coming from different directions, making it impossible to know which areas to avoid.
Ralph winced as something hard hit his arms. Jack was now throwing rocks instead of stones and was now aiming at Ralph.
"Coward!" Ralph shouted, slowing to a stop and looking all around him, "Show yourself!"
Then, Jack was on top of him.
Ralph gasped in surprise as the two boys tumbled around to the edge of the forest and starting to go downhill.
At the base of the hill, the river, normally so calm, raged menacingly.
"Jack! Stop!" Ralph yelled over the river, "You'll kill us both!"
"I have nothing to live for," Jack spat, "I'll kill myself if it means killing you."
At the base of the hilll, the boys stopped rolling, and Jack had Ralph pinned, a big rock in his hand.
"I've been waiting so long for this," Jack smiled cruelly, "To smash your head and toss the body in the river! What a perfect crime!"
"Jack, no, please-"
"No," Jack snarled, "Nothing will convince me to stop. You deserve it. It's all your fault. All your fault."
Ralph didn't know what to say. He was stunned. After all these years, Jack hadn't been admitted into an insane asylum, yet it was clear now he had gone mad. All that childhood trauma must've done it...
Before Ralph knew it, the rock was coming down unbelievably fast, and he could never forget the evil look in Jack's eyes.