Chapter 13: Rescued and Reunited

Several hours later, all of the boys had been bathed and clothed. By now, most of them were sleeping, or at least resting in the bunks, but not Ralph. He was standing on the ship's deck, leaning over the railing, staring into the deep blue-water, lost in thought. He could hardly wait to arrive at the port, but at the same time he was dreading it. Sure, he would get to see his father for the first time in who knows how long, but he would also have to face the families of those who had died or been lost.

This was how the two weeks on the ship passed for Ralph. While the other boys laughed and played happily because they were finally going home, Ralph thought about, had nightmares about encountering Piggy's aunt or meeting Simon's parents. His sleep was rarely restful; his wonderful dream of being reunited with his father was always interrupted by Simon and Piggy along with their families blaming him for the deaths. But finally, on his final night on the ship, his wonderful dream wasn't ruined by guilt. He was reunited with his father and together they retired to the little cottage, the wild ponies greeting them at the gate...

He opened his eyes as realized someone was trying to wake him and jerked back with a small yelp as the young sailor who had been leaning over him did the same.

"We'll be reaching the port in about and hour; you should probably get dressed."

Ralph gave a muttered thanks as the sailor left the small quarters. He quickly pulled on the provided clothing and ran a comb through his now much shorter hair. As he stepped out onto the deck, he could sense the excitement in the air. It was nearly tangible and you could see it in everyone. It was in the littluns' happy giggles, in the older boys' constant fidgeting, in everyone ones smiles and expressions. Ralph couldn't help but grin and join in the excited activity. As the port came into view, all of the boys, and even a few sailors, lined the railing.

Ralph noted with a bit of surprise that they still lined up by size. He also noticed that two, besides Simon and Piggy were missing: Jack and Roger. Both had repeatedly tried to attack Ralph and, in the process, the sailors that had tried to stop them. On the first day, both had had to be sedated so they could be cleaned and clothed. They had been locked in away for most of the trip and if they were out they each had tow sailors escorting them and seemed to on some sort of sedative to keep them calm. As they were now. Jack and Roger, along with their escorts, were the first off the ship and onto British soil. Once the could get a clear look at the crowd of people on the ground, the boys started frantically looking for their family members, but all they saw were reporters and strange, unknown faces.

Jack and Roger had started struggling to get away when they were lead away from the crowd. They seemed sure that their families were in the crowd and thought the sailors were trying to keep them from their families. Many of the other boys appeared to think the same thing, but unlike Roger and Jack, when it was explained that their families weren't in the crowd but in a nearby building, they calmed. The other two just seemed to become more and more agitated the further they walked.

When they approached the building, Ralph squinted at the tinted windows and could make out the dark images of people sitting or standing in small groups. As soon as they entered the building, all of the boys were squinting, trying too see what, or who, was inside of it. It took several minutes of blinking before their eyes adjusted to the bright, warm interior of the building from the overcast, cool exterior. When they registered who was in the building, they surged forward into the awaiting arms and comforting embraces of their parents. Ralph watched from the safety of his father's arms as Jack and Roger were both led off into separate rooms with their parents in tow.

His eyes followed the ship's chaplain, who approached three clearly worried people, "We are very sorry but Ms. Grant, you nephew, Jonathan, and Mr. and Mrs. Bishop, you son, Simon, they died while on the island. We're not sure how; all the boys would say was that they died. We offer our deepest condolences Ms. Grant, Mr. and Mrs. Bishop," he turned and slowly walked away sensing that they wished to be alone in their grief.

Several minutes later, Ralph approached the grief-stricken adults, feeling that they had a right to know what had happened to their children, "Mr. and Mrs. Bishop, Ms. Grant I know what happened to Simon and Piggy...uh...Jonathan."

They both looked up at him with a desperate need to know present in their eyes along with a deep, eternal sorrow. Ralph launched into his story, mentally becoming trapped on the island again. He became so lost in thought that he didn't notice his father come over and wrap his arms around him or the crowd of families surrounding them, wanting, no, needing to know what their children had gone through. He told everything, from first landing on the island and discovering the conch and calling the first meeting to Piggy's death by the boulder and Simon's final beating. When he finished the tale, he wasn't the only one with tears streaming down his face, nearly everyone else was crying too.

Ralph smiled as his father said how proud he was and when Ms. Grant and the Bishops said he was brave for telling the story, especially because it had just happened. He looked down at the floor, embarrassed by the compliments, "Thanks," he muttered and looked up at them, "You deserved to know what happened to Simon and... Jonathan. They were great friends; their loyalty and optimism never faltered."

He then turned and walked outside with his father to the cab that was waiting to take them home.

Epilogue

Ralph kept in touch with Sam 'n Eric over the years, but lost track of the others over time. The last time that all of them were ever seen together was at the joint memorial service for Simon Bishop and Jonathan 'Piggy' Grant. Ralph had insisted on giving a speech at the service and that act, to his immense relief, lessened his guilt over their deaths or, in his mind, murders.

After he finished school, Ralph followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Navy. While serving his country, he earned a degree in history. He was honorably discharged, after serving for nearly seven years because of a serious knee injury. He became a history teacher and married soon after. He and his wife, Catherine, had three children: Jonathan, Sarah, and Simon. The first and third were obviously tributes to his lost friends.

Sam and Eric followed similar paths to no ones surprise. Both married and had children: Sam had identical twin girls and Eric had identical twin boys. They even had similar careers. Sam became a psychologist for severely neglected or abuse children and Eric became a psychiatrist who dealt mostly with severe psychiatric disorders.

Jack and Roger on the other hand weren't so lucky. Soon after being taken home, the Merridews made a tough decision. They decided that it would be in everyone's best interests if Jack was institutionalized. Due to his violent and erratic behavior, he has yet to be released. Roger's family made a similar choice after bringing him home. Although unlike Jack, he was unfortunately able to convince his doctors that he was fine as long as he stayed on his medication. So just after his eighteenth birthday, he was released. Sadly, not even a year after being released, he was charged with and convicted of multiple counts of kidnapping, torture, child abuse, and first degree murder. He is now awaiting execution on death row in a high security prison in solitary confinement.