[And the Evil Triumphed...]

[PG-13]

[One Shot]

Ralph watched the silver streaked pendulum of the clock swiftly tick back and forth. The deep chocolate of his eyes shadowed the misty movement of the metal droplets. The minutes slowly ticked by, and still he didn't say anything. He didn't want to move, but he was lying on a creaky spring bed, and the creaks and groans of movement would slice through the stillness and silence of the air. He flinked, holding his breath and allaying his heart, embracing the silence he had grown so fond of.

It had been five years since he wept with infected emotion for the end of innocence. He had been so overwhelmed with the euphoric feeling of safety, yet so melancholic at the same time. He thought he would be safe; free, when the bright white of the Naval officers uniform had greeted his burning eyes. But he was wrong.

Ralph had watched gravely on the stern of the trim cruiser, witnessing the final remnants of the island disappear beyond the horizon. But only moments after, the noise began. Endless crashes, exploded through the secureness of their trim Saviour. Their Redeemer rocked and swayed on the once cleansing spirit of the ocean. Land approached quickly, saving them from the harsh sea, but sending them into a more vile and thundering place.

The noise here was immense. Cascading demons strew into the rubble that was the Home Counties, disintegrating lives, and souls. Shrill screams echoed in Ralph's heart, ploughing through his home, grinding his family into the powder of memories. It was everywhere - the noise of death upon death. The desolate gnawing of evil nipping at Ralph's feet, crunching, feeding on his last threads of goodness. He couldn't escape it.

So now the silence, that came so rarely had settled itself upon him again. The silence that is calm and comforting. It holds you in a cool embrace and blocks you from the rest of the world. A world you don't want to see, because you've lived it's worst. A world you don't want to feel because you know what's hiding under its bed, because you know what it keeps in its pocket. A world you don't want to hear because you've heard its screams in the night, heard the sound of it tearing at the seams. The deep solace of silence was his shield from the pain of his world.

Ralph settled his gaze back on the tarnished metal of the pendulum; its journey breathing the stagnant wind of destiny. Left, right, left, right. A constant motion that was etched in stone, unchanging, tedious. Its fate was decided, and now all it had to do was wait for its final passing; its last breath of its pathetic existence.

Fate. The Father's heavenly idea to keep us all tied together, like puppets on a string. Is our life pre-determined? Was it the Father's decision that made the world end up boiling in a sea of flames? Is this our punishment for humanity's mistakes? Is that why Simon and Piggy were killed? Punishment for their mistakes?

He could remember quite distinctly the pungent smell of death when Simon had perished. The waxy rush of fearful children; grinding of frenzied instruments piercing the vernal flesh; crimson rivers of blood spilling onto the sand; the now anonymous child coughing up blood and spittle onto the soft, radiant grains of paradise.

Piggy's death had been different. It was serene, calm, silent. The blurred movements of Piggy were frosted into the glaze of Ralph's stare. It was tranquil, the way the monstrous red thing had bounded off the cliff and had struck Piggy a four penny one from chin to knee. It was simply beautiful, the way the rounded child had fell forty feet, smashing onto that square, his head hatching to the gooey stuff that seeped out and turned red.

So now the Father had let evil cocoon itself around humanity, entering into our hearts, its cold fist tightening around the good, crushing the angel's souls. The darkness of a man's heart was able to seize control, roaring into life and sending its demons to spread its word. Slowly the hatred spread, and war spread, enveloping the Earth.

Ralph heard the loud boom of erupting life explode nearby. His silence was shattered, the drunken shards ceasing to exist, just like the conch. Screams of fear filled his ears; cries of pain wafted up his nose; tears of sorrow swirled on his cracked lips. Ralph sighed deeply, and changed position, letting the creaks and groans of the bed mix with the noise of death.

Pure and unadulterated evil had overcome man. No one is spared. Nothing is spared. Light had been disintegrated by dark; life had been defeated by death; and good had been conquered by evil.

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Now, I can't remember whos fic it was that I read, but it was great, and I was inspired by it. So, if you're out there, and can see couple of similarities in this fic, then you're the person who I'm thanking! (Wow, don't you feel special. ^^;;)

Hope you all enjoyed it. And yes, I did do it who English - no suprises there! Its basically a sequel to the the story, 5 years after Ralph and the others got back from the island.

There are a couple of words in there that I got from the story - such as 'flinked' which is a word Golding made up because he thought the other possible words - blink and flicker - couldn't display what he wanted to. So he joined them up and so now we have flinked. :)

What else? Oh right, theres 'a four penny one' which just means super hard. Annnd... the Home Counties. Thats just the regions near London. :)

Happy fic reading guys! Make sure you check out NewFF.com for RPG news/reviews/walkthroughs and visit our forums too! Nerf!