I love you guys. I seriously do. For the support, for the reviews, and for just reading the story. A bigillion and one thank yous :D.


Arrows: Chapter 9

Catalyst

Samneric crouched down low to the wet forest floor, careful not to disturb the dripping creepers and vines overhead, inspecting a faint trail of crushed plant life. A few feet behind them, Percival is manipulating his injured spear arm into a less cumbersome position, wincing at the pain from the healing puncture wound. He'd been lucky; Ralph's arrow had missed the major vessels and nerves surrounding the boy's shoulder, only damaging the muscles in his upper arm. The same couldn't be said for the other victims; one still couldn't move his arm at all. Luck didn't make the injury any less painful though and since most of the tribe did not possess much knowledge in first aid, Jack simply had four of his senior hunters hold the boy down while he pulled the projectile out. It was probably a good thing the arrow head was so small; otherwise, Percival might have lost the use of his right arm for much longer than a couple days. As it was, the boy had recovered sufficiently to be put back on full duty the day before.

Castle Rock was already tense from the news of the ship arriving; it was made even more so when word got around that their chief had personally gone to investigate. Then from the new information Samneric had given Jack and Roger of where they thought they'd seen the strange symbol, the tension in Castle Rock had spiked to fever pitch. Last night, when the twins were taking their guard shift, Sam had nearly choked on a cry and his brother had swung around to stare at what appeared to be Ralph's corpse. Under the faint moonlight, the crusting blood and wounds on the blond's skin were thrown into sharp relief and emphasized into grotesque clarity. On top of that, he wasn't moving. Identical eyes had filled with guilt, remembering that the blond had come from a military family. Of course he would be the first person to go to for information about a Navy ship. Both boys spent their night shift casting worried glances at each other, sincerely hoping that their words had not killed their friend. So, the next morning, when they reported to Jack, the sight of the pale eyes open and glaring at the ginger's back was an immense relief. Reassured that Ralph hadn't been tortured to death, the twins had slipped off to find Percival for the scouting mission.

The small group travels on in silence; the clear skies and beaming sun is lost on them, Roger had already expressed his doubt on their abilities to complete a successful scouting mission and they all knew what happened to failures. Samneric shiver at the unpleasant thought, urgency now evident in their stealthy movements. Something ahead of them moves, and all three boys freeze. When no other disturbance follows, Eric relaxes minutely, hazel eyes scanning the moisture-laden scenery. There's nothing out of the ordinary; an elbow gently nudges his brother and the mute question receives a negative on the auditory check as well. The boys are on a time limit; Jack wants them back before noon and the sun already high up in the East. They're going to have to assume that the movement was not important. The trio pushes on towards the beach, following an invisible hunting trail; several meters away from the tree line, Eric waves at Percival to stop while they push on. A few more feet forwards and the twins split although they stay within visual distance; it's a necessary precaution if one of them is caught. One brother watches the huddled group from the left; the other observes them from the right.

The newcomers don't appear to be doing anything at first. If they were, the tight circle of bodies obstructs everything from prying eyes. Then suddenly, one person breaks away and begins charging towards the trees like a madman. As he passes the camouflaged hunter, the boy briefly catches the insane light in the bloodshot eyes before the man turns away and begins tearing down the creepers and branches of a tree with a knife. He pauses briefly to take a bite of the sour fruit that inevitably comes down, snarls at the taste, and spits it out angrily, crushing the remainder against the tree. Sam is within an arm's length of the invader and mentally prays that the man doesn't come towards the cluster of plant life concealing him. They're too close to the main group and the twin can't take out the large figure in one strike. Fortunately, one tree seems to have provided enough of what the man is looking for. He makes his way back to his companions, puts the stuff down, and settles next to one of them shoving none to gently in order to fit; around thirteen meters away from his brother, Eric frowns at the sudden glints of silver that appear. The newcomers might not have guns, but all of them carry knives; this is worrying. Tawny pupils flick upwards to the sun. Time is up. They have to get going now if they don't want both Jack and Roger waiting for them.

Sam sees the signal to leave through a screen of creepers. After glancing quickly at the newcomers on the beach to assure himself that none of them are paying attention to the jungle, he slips out from behind the tangle of leaves and begins to silently make his way back to where they'd left Percival. So far, there's been no trouble. Of course that can't last. The moment they'd stained their hands with Simon's blood, misfortune had dogged their heels. First Piggy had died, and then they'd been forced to betray Ralph and take part in the hunt to kill him. They'd fallen as low as the rest of the hunters had and Justice couldn't forgive them any more than they could forgive themselves. The moment all three boys join up again, a man who'd strayed from the main group earlier in the morning runs into them. For a few seconds, they just stare at each other then the man tries to grab Percival. The hunters react instinctively, spear hands reflexively repeating the pattern drilled into them. Shoulder level, aim, thrust, stab. The man goes down with two spears embedded in his chest and one lodged in his back; all three have found and tore through his heart.

Upon regaining their senses, Percival begins to cry, tugging at the man's limp arm in a silent plea for him to respond, to not be dead. Eric staggers off to the side and retches into the bushes while his twin brother stares white-faced at the scene. They'd ended a human life. Again. Numbly, Sam grabs Percival and jerks the boy away from the body, hollowly muttering empty words of comfort in hopes to quiet the younger boy. By now, Eric is done emptying his stomach and is staring blankly into the distance. Sam grabs his twin's arm, forcing his mirror image to his feet and all three blunder back to Castle Rock. They are too shell-shocked to consider the fact that they'd potentially just left undeniable clues telling the newcomers that the island was inhabited. As it is, numbness and denial wraps around the memory, warping the event into one that never occurred; all of them silently agree to never speak of it, it's done and over. Out of sight, out of mind. Behind them, the victim's glassy eyes stare unseeingly up towards the silent sky as if imploring the heavens for a salvation that would never come.


And for my long suffering editor and friend, thank you for drawing the cover picture. I will refrain from talking about Lord of the Flies around you XD.