"Aud?" Jack whispered.
"Hm?" I said.
"Do you like me?"
I paused. Standing in the now freezing water, he was standing in front of me. His green eyes glimmered with hope. I didn't know what to say. Did I like him? I finally managed to get an answer out, "I think so." I almost said it as a question. Jack must have taken it as a yes because his lips were on mine. His hand was on my cheek while the other was on the small of my back. But something felt wrong about this kiss. He kept kissing me, not realizing I was hardly kissing him back. We he finally came up for air all he said. "Wow!" he leaned back down but I stopped him, "Jack it is getting late we should go back to camp."
"Fine." He said obliviously unhappy. He took my hand and walked out of the water with me. He yelled at all the boys that it was time to leave and marched off with me in his hand. We walked back to camp and had our dinner. After I announced I was going to sleep because I wasn't feeling great, Jack immediately jumped up saying he would walk me to my hut. I saw Ralph sitting next to Piggy; he faced my way and just stared at me. No smile but a look in his eye I could not understand. I hadn't spoken to him in a good week let alone smiled at him or made eye contact. I sighed and Jack grabbed my hand. We walked away from the crowd and I heard Ralph tell the boys they should go to sleep too. Jack walked me to my hut and whispered, "I can't wait to go hunting with you tomorrow."
I smiled flakily. "Yeah."
"Hey, what's wrong?" He said touching my cheek lightly.
"I don't feel good. I think I need sleep."
"Yeah you feel kinda warm. If you need anything I'm not far away."
"Ok." I whispered.
He pulled me in for a quick kiss, "Sleep well Aud." I touched my lips as he walked away. I saw something moving in my peripheral and turned to see Ralph eyeing me coldly. He looked like he was going to walk over and talk to me but I turned and went into my hut.
In the middle of the night, I woke up freezing and pulled the blanket I brought with me, up tighter around me. I tossed and turned for five minutes, which felt like forever but then I felt really hot. I finally fell back asleep again sweating but I had goose bumps. I woke up to sunshine and Jack in my face, "Aud?... Aud?... Audrey?" I groaned in response. I closed my eyes again but his hand flying to my head kept me from sleeping, "Aud, you're burning. You must have a fever." He stood up and ran outside I heard him yelling for help. Piggy came in my hut follow by Ralph with Jack standing outside the door. "She has a fever, alright!" Piggy announced. Ralph made his way next to me, "Audrey, can you hear me?"
"Yes." I said faintly. My vision was blurry and I felt like the room was spinning. The world went black. I was surrounded by blackness in the middle of the woods, I heard a noise behind me and I started to run. I ran and ran until I came to a place in the path where it split. The one path was light and beautiful, it shone with comfort. The other was dark, but intriguing. I started to walk down the dark path, but I stopped and ran down the lighter one instead. I woke up still feeling horrible to Jack shaking me. "Audrey?" I opened my eyes and I saw his dark green eyes, which looked like the color of the greenery in darker path in my dream. "I have to go hunting. I need to get you meat so you can feel better. Piggy will take care of you, but I will be back shortly." He kissed my forehead and walked out. I saw Piggy's face enter the hut again. He shoved a piece of fruit at me, "Audrey, you must eat."
"Nooo" I moaned and I was surrounded in blackness again. The dream came to me again and I did the Aude exact thing, I picked the lighter path. The third time I woke up Ralph was there. He held my hand and had a bowl from the plane in the other. "Audrey!" His eyes lit up at seeing me awake.
"Hi." I said weakly
"You need to eat." He said handing me the bowl. I reached for it with shaky hands. He must of noticed because he said, "Here I will do it, sit up please." I did what I was told and he fed me the soupy liquid. After I finished eating, I noticed my breathing was bad and I was wheezing. "Aud are you ok?"
"Yes." I said barely in a whisper, "This is normal."
"Can I help?" He asked looking worried.
"No, there is nothing you can do I left my inhaler at school."
"Is this your ass-mar?" I nodded. "Go back to sleep Aud." And I did. Again, I had the Aude dream but this time I ran down the darker path and found the beastie, who chased me away onto the lighter path, which led me to my home. The fourth time I woke up I felt much better. I rolled over and saw Ralph asleep by my side. He looked tired so I decided not to wake him, but I did not have to for he woke up. He sprung up at the sight of my eyes, "Oh Audrey, I've been worried sick. Your breathing was horrible and your fever got bad last night and…and I thought I was going to lose you." He took my hand. "How are you feeling?"
I blushed, "Better, much better."
"Good, I brought you more of the pig soup we made for you!" He handed her the bowl, this time she could hold it. After I finished the soup, I asked Ralph, "How long have I been sick?"
"A good four days. You didn't wake up at all yesterday, I was afraid…" his voice drifted.
"Did you stay here all four days?" He nodded.
"Thank you." He smiled.
"Where is Jack?" I asked and his smile faded.
"Hunting, I suppose." His tone changed from when he first started talking to me.
"Oh, where is Johnny?"
"He has been worried about you I will go get him." Ralph left the hut. I heard him yelling and little feet running my way. Johnny's yellow hair popped in the hut and he sat next to me. Ralph walked in behind him.
"Audi?" He said in his little voice.
"Hi Johnny."
"I've missed ya, Audi. Me and Ralph were worried." Tears started streaming down his face. "I've missed ya before you were sick too. You never came to the hut Ralph built for you, me, and him."
"I'm sorry Johnny. Please don't cry. I am ok now." I tried to clam the little boy.
"Me and Ralph were scared. Ralph stayed up all night watchin' you struggle. I tried but I fell asleep." I looked at Ralph for confirmation about what the little boy had said. He met my eyes and nodded.
"Johnny, where was Jack during all this?"
"He was worried too, but not as much as Ralph. He kept on tryin' to get a pig claiming it would heal you."
"Did he ever come to see me?"
"Yesterday morning, not for long though." I looked at Ralph and he seemed to know why I was asking.
"Thank you Johnny."
"You missed a lot, Audi. We had a meeting. Talked about the beastie and all. Jack and Ralph were fighting" he whispered the last part just to me. I smiled at him but we all heard a loud voice making his way through camp.
"Is she up? I heard she is up. I must see her!" I recognized Jack's voice right away. Ralph moved very quickly in front of the door. "Move Ralph." And he came in, "What is a littun doing in here, go outside and play boy!"
"Go Johnny, come back and visit me later. Ok?" I said to the cute little boy.
"Ok?" He said giving me a quick hug and darting out of the hut.
"Audrey!" I heard Jack say as his eye lit up. He moved quickly to my side, pressing a light kiss on my forehead than kissing me on lips. The kiss felt cold and distant. I noticed Ralph cringed watching us. Jack's eyes followed mine focusing on Ralph. "Can you give us a moment?" Jack said to Ralph.
"Fine!" Ralph said exiting the hut.
"That is much better." Jack whispered kissing me again. "How are you feeling?"
"Good!" I said.
"That's good. Did you hear I got my first pig? Well of course you did, you ate it and it made you better, just like I said it would."
"Thank you Jack."
"Of course. Now let me tell you how I killed it." He told me the whole story about how he killed it and I wasn't really listening though. That was Jack always talking about himself, where Ralph…Ralph he would always ask about me first and take care of me. I smiled, but Jack thought the smile was for him. He kept going on about hunting and how he thinks he should be chief.
I got better quickly and I started to go back to my normal self. I watched the little kids play and told them stories. One day I saw Jack talking firmly to Johnny.
"You don't throw sand at me" Jack said.
"I'm sorry it was an accident."
"No, it wasn't. I didn't see your sandcastle and stepped on it then you threw sand at me." He was screaming at Johnny making him cry. I rushed over to them and said, "Jack stop!" He looked at me and was at a loss for words, "But..I…he!"
"Shh." I said to Johnny and hugged him, "No throwing sand anymore ok?"
"Yes, Audi!"
"Go play now!" He hugged me again and ran off. I stood up to face Jack who did not look very happy. "Audrey, we have to enforce order."
"I know Jack, but the littuns are already scared about the so called Beastie. We don't need them to be scared of you too do we?" I smiled at him. He pulled me into a hug, "Nah, I'm not that scary am I, Audi?" I laughed, "Oh don't you start to!"
"Come on. I found a place I want to take you." He grabbed my hand. We walked along the beach our feet in the water. I picked up a pretty shell and he handed me a rock. We started to come upon big boulders in the sand and he helped me get across the bigger ones. We entered a huge opening in the rock and Jack announced, "I'm calling it Castel Rock!"
"Jack it is so big and cool. I love it here!" I smiled at him.
"Well maybe we should make it our home!"
"I'm sure the boys would love it down here."
"I just meant for us and maybe a few of the hunters." Jack said grabbing my waist. "I thought it would mean we could spend some time together, alone."
"That would be nice." I smiled and kissed his cheek. That was the first time I kissed him first. What is happening to me?
Jack laughed, "Aud, I want to know everything about you. I mean I know a lot already but I need to know more. I want to spend everyday with you. I want you to come hunting so that we can kill a pig together." He smiled and I smiled too. Jack was actually being really sweet. He pulled one of his hands from my waist and placed it on my cheek. He pulled my messy ponytail out and let my hair fall down my back. "God Aud, you really are beautiful."
"I'm not that…" but before I could finished his lips were crashing on to mine. He did make me feel beautiful, when he kissed me in a way where he thought he would never kiss again. He backed me up against one of the walls of the cave and just kept on kissing my lips. He threw his ripped t-shirt off and I felt his muscles and his toned chest against me. "Jack Merridrew, you are one strong boy." He smiled on my lips. I noticed his hands move from my waist to my back and fiddle with the buttons on my dress. I broke the kiss to get air and said, "Jack, what are you doing?"
"I…uh…I wanted to see all of your beautiful self. Remember from the plane I liked what I saw!" He smiled again and blushed a little.