Chapter 6
"Okay, yeah." Ralph said from the front of the group. He had been given the task to do the problem listing by Jack. Why? He hadn't known but when they had gone for the food in their year, Jack and him had discussed the problem and Jack had told him he was calling a meeting and Ralph was going to be there one doing the speaking. Ralph guessed since most of the current boys were from the choir and knew Jack, the red hair was trying to include him in the group. This was a togetherness work and that means working as a team so no loners or in fighting like last time. They had a goal to reach after all. "We have kind of run into a bit of a problem."
"What problem?" A man no longer a boy, Matthew, from the back of the group questioned. He looked confused just liked more than half of the young men in the meeting. They had no idea why a meeting was called when they were supposed to be feasting over their victory. "I thought we did it? We won so what is the problem?"
"Yeah! We won!" Another young man's voice sounded but Ralph didn't look to see whom it belonged to. He had a meeting to get going.
"Whooo!" The crowd cheered and the blond man felt a slight smile on his face but it quickly dissolved. No. No time for smiles. The real problem starts now.
"Yes we did win-" The blond man replied and the crowd grew even louder. Yellow eyebrows knitted together. The young men continued to cheer and yelled. Some even started to banged on the ground they were seated on. Ralph realized this meeting was going to go longer than he thought. "But…"
The young men ignored him and kept on cheering and celebrating. Some even got up and started dancing a victory dance. They hadn't even been the ones to grab Joseph yet they celebrated.
"Enough!" A booming voice echoed from behind Ralph after the cheering and dancing and shouting had gone on for a bit longer then needed. The voice shockingly enough came from Roger and not Jack. "We have a meeting to get to and a problem to solve! So sit down and be quiet!"
Instantly the area was quieted. Everyone knew never to get on Roger's bad side so they stopped and did as was told just like little school boys though some of them had been outside of school for at least some years now. Not all had gone to college like Jack and Ralph had done.
"Good." This time it was Jack who spoke. "Ralph has something to say and you all will listen. If you want to speak, raise your hand like in school. Anyway, Ralph."
The blond nodded then cleared his throat. He guessed there was going to be no power struggle this time around. Good.
"So like I said we have a bit of a problem." Ralph continued before anyone else can make a comment. "And that problem is the fact that we don't know what to do with the boy."
A young man, Peter Ralph, remembered raised his hand. He was frowning. A lot of the young men in the meeting where frowning as well.
"Yes." Ralph said, trying to be polite as always.
"What do you mean? Do with him?" Peter questioned.
Ralph smiled at the young man and gives him a reply. "It mean what are we going to do with him?" He continued. "If none of yall have noticed this boy is considered dead in our timeline and that mean we all remembered him as dead dead dead. So the problem is that if we rescue him and it become publish knowledge we in the future only remember to go back and rescue him since our younger selves doesn't have there knowledge of how we rescued him. Thus creating an endless loop of us rescuing him and then not remembering how we did it thus repeating the cycle over and over again. Do you understand?"
"Oh." Peter said once Ralph was done speaking. "I see. So the problem is time looping and how to break the cycle?" He had read up on the topic of time travel and asked around during the 3 months they had been preparing ro rescue Simon and maybe that other boy Piggy, James. He even read the book The time machine by the author H.G. Wells and he didn't even like reading that much.
"Yes." Ralph continued glad someone did a bit of research on the matter. "Thus, what are we going to do with him?"
The crowd of young men were silent for a moment then the young man, Matthew, raised his hands. His dark brown eyebrows were knitted together in concentration.
"Yes." The blond haired boy called on the brunette.
"We could tell his parents the truth and tell them to keep it a secret until we figure out what to do?" He suggested. "I mean we could have them write us in the past a letter which they don't have to open until a later day explaining what happened and thus causing us to remember to build a time machine and go back and rescue him."
Ralph eyes wilden. That was brilliant. They could do that. Yes they most likely should do that. Ralph smiled and was about to put the motion to a vote when Jack spoke up.
"Yeah that won't work." He said. "I was the one who built the time machine. My order self said it took him years to build the machine by figuring our the time equation and what not. Even how to run the machine via solar power. He said it takes years into the future for humans to realize how to make solar panels and what not. So no. "
Ralph nodded, realizing the problem. Well he guessed that plan was out,
Peter again raised his hands and Ralph called on him.
"We could just keep him until we rescue Simon then we decide what to do." He said softly. "I mean this is not something we decide in one meeting. This is something to think about."
Ralph frowned, then smiled and nodded. He supposed Peter was right; it was not something to be decided in one meeting. But he had to check.
"Jack?" He turned and asked the red hair man. Jack frowned for a moment then nodded his head.
"I supposed." He said. But paused when an image of a shadowing figure crossed his mind. For a moment he found himself in a room and around him were two men much older asking him questions about Joseph. They were yelling at him. They looked like cops or MI6. Then the vision ended and he was back in front of the other boys.
"Um…." He frowned as the vision disappeared. This was why he had wanted Ralph to do the meeting today. The visions have started to get worse since they rescued Joseph. "We can have another meeting to discuss this issue. For now let us feast and celebrate."
And with that the meeting was over.
Elsewhere on the island another group was deciding if they should have a meeting of their own or not.
"Jack." A 12 year old Ralph stated to the red hair 12 year old. "Some of the other boys have been saying that we are not alone on this island and that there is a beast and death on this island waiting for us all. Should we have a meeting on the matter?"
A 12 year old Jack looked at him. There was slight annoyance in his eyes.
"No." He said not wanting to do much. He just wanted to hunt some Pigs and survive their situation. "But if you want, go ahead."
And with that a meeting was called.
