All alone he turns to stone

While holding his breathe half to death

Terrified of what's inside

To save his life, he crawls like a worm from a bird.

I was still ripping at the last remaining vines around my midsection. It was almost off. Just a few more claws-yes! I shook them off me and sprinted towards Ralph. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I madly tore the vines off of him. Before anyone could process what was going on, I had freed Ralph's legs from the clutches of the unforgiving vines. Ralph and I sprung to our feet and tore off towards the exit of Castle Rock. Ralph had a difficult time running with bound arms, but nevertheless, we ran as if our lives depended on it, because it unfortunately did. We sprinted in an unknown direction, hearing savage cries behind us, figuring if we went to our side of the island, it'd be too obvious. We ran madly looking for a decent place to hide. Finally, we saw a thicket and we both dove into it, ducking down. I helped Ralph tear off the remaining vines on his arms and as soon as they were free, he immediately wrapped them around me.

"What were you thinking?" he whispered madly.

"I wanted to give myself up to Jack so they wouldn't get you! I couldn't stand the thought of losing you forever," I cried, my eyes swollen from sobbing. "But Jack obviously wasn't true to his word."

Ralph swallowed and exhaled a deep breath.

"You shouldn't have. My death is better than you being a play-thing for Jack."

I cringed. "Don't ever say that."

Ralph leaned forward suddenly, pressing his lips carefully to mine. I closed my eyes in bliss. I thought I'd never get another chance to do this again. I savoured the moment for all it was worth as we passionately kissed in the middle of no where.

"I'll never leave your side again," I told him as we pulled apart.

Ralph smiled. "I'm never letting you out of my sight."

I pulled him back, kissing him wildly with passion and want. He leaned me back against the ground, his lips never leaving mine, as his body pressed up against mine. Neither one of us could get enough of each other as we hungrily kissed and panted, caught up in the moment. I wrapped my legs around him, bringing him closer to me. My hands began to explore his body before he suddenly stopped me.

"Not here, sweetie," he said sadly. "We can't risk getting caught. I'm sorry."

My face fell, but I knew he was right.

We stayed wrapped in each others embrace as we pondered what to do. We certainly couldn't risk being seen, yet we knew we couldn't hide forever. Eventually we'd have to come out of hiding to eat or bathe. We remained silent in the middle of the thicket so no one could easily track us down. Ralph's wounds were swelling up and still bleeding. Not knowing what to do, I leaned over and lowered my voice to a soft whisper.

"What are we going to do about your wounds?"

Ralph looked down at his beaten flesh and ran a finger across them. He hissed with pain and quickly pulled his hand back.

"I don't know. They really hurt."

I scrunched up my face in concentration. The blood needed to be cleaned off his ribs and face badly.

"What if we snuck off to the bathing pond?"

"We can't risk capture," Ralph said solemnly. "It's not worth it."

I shook my head, feeling terrible for him. My eyes grew heavy as I realized I was exhausted. I stiffed a wide yawn and leaned back into the ground. Ralph leaned back next to me, his arm immediately taking it's usual place around me. As I lay, a horrible thought popped into my head.

"Ralph?"

Ralph opened his eyes. "Yeah?"

"What if they find us while we're asleep?"

He silently cursed under his breath. "I hadn't thought of that." He fixed his eyes to the sky. "We'll have to sleep in shifts."

"Shifts?"

"You sleep for a few hours while I keep awake. If I hear anything, I'll wake you up. After a few hours we switch."

I nodded. Sounded like a good plan to me. Ralph volunteered to take the first lookout shift. As he stayed awake, I was asleep before my head touched the ground.

I was running through the forest with a sick feeling in my stomach. I was the only one left. Bruises and scars covered my body as I bolted through the creepers, my long hair flying behind me. In the distance I heard the savage war cries, forcing me to run faster. My legs felt like rubber as I ran in an aimless direction, dodging spears as I ran. I came to a dead end in the forest and quickly looked around for an escape route, but it was too late. The savages had caught me and began to form a circle around me. The Chief, unrecognizable from the paint, started forward. His once loving eyes were now full of evil and hatred as they bore into me without mercy. I looked up into his cruel face, silently begging for mercy, but it was useless. He swung his spear into my stomach that landed with a sick thud. Many other savages saw his actions and came over to help. Several spears slammed into my body as I realized I was dying the same way my brother had. I took one last look at The Chief as my vision slipped away and became black.

I woke up in a cold sweat, my hands shaking furiously. Ralph instantly hovered over me.

"Are you okay?"

Vision blurred, I absently nodded.

"Yeah. How long have I been asleep?"

Ralph thought for a moment.

"About six hours I suppose."

I blinked dumbly. Six hours?

"Why would you let me sleep that long? What about you?" I whispered loudly.

Ralph rubbed his tired eyes and sighed.

"So you could be well rested."

I shook my head in disbelief.

"You need rest too!" I argued.

It was true. Ralph looked like a train wreck. His mangled body was discoloured and had spots of dried blood stuck to it. His eyes were dull and he had heavy bags under his weary eyes.

"Y-yeah you're right," he murmered. Sleep was soon to consume him.

I propped myself up on one elbow ready to stay awake. Ralph closed his eyes and was instantly asleep. I stared into the darkness for hours hoping nothing would happen during my shift. I didn't know how much time had gone by, but I was starting to become bored. I raised my face to the sky and began counting the stars.

"One, two, three, four," I counted under my breath. After eventually counting to 247, I gave up and sighed. I rolled over and watched Ralph. Hot tears stung my eyes as I took in his condition. I tore my eyes away and re-fixed them onto the sky again. I blankly stared up at the night and zoned out. I was pulled back into reality when I heard sticks and leaves crunching. I shot straight up and strained my ears. More rustling. I swallowed a dry lump in my throat. Someone was out there! I quickly began to shake Ralph awake.

"Ralph!" I whispered as quietly as I could. "Ralph wake up! I heard something out there."

Ralph began to awake and looked blankly at me.

"Huh?" he asked in a daze. His bloodshot eyes were focused on me.

"Somebody is out there," I softly repeated.

Ralph, more alert now, also shot up and listened. He too heard the vague crunching noise. He looked at me nervously and proceeded to peek his head out of the thicket. A dark outline of a figure from far away could be seen from his spot. He turned his head back to me.

"Someone is here. We've got to get out of here."

I nodded and followed as we began to crawl deeper in the thicket. My heart beat raced faster and faster as I crawled, desperate to not make a sound. I cringed when I heard voices.

"We've got to find them," a silk like voice rang out.

"We will. Then they'll get what they deserve," a sadistic voice muttered.

I instantly recognized them as Jack and Roger. A few other voices I didn't know began to softly murmur to each other. Panic struck me as Ralph and I made our silent escape. A few minutes later we plopped down where we were.

"This is far enough away for now," Ralph stated. His voice had a nervous uncertainty to it.

Nighttime faded and the sun began to slowly rise. Despite the sun, our thicket remained somewhat dark. Shadows from the tall trees surrounded me in darkness. Ralph and I clung to each other not knowing how much longer we could go on like this. I felt like I was slowly going insane. How much longer would I be able to last?