Hey guys! Sorry it's been like an eternity since I last updated this story, but I'm making up for it by giving you a suuuuuper long chapter! Yay for super long chapters! It took me so long to write this one just right. I decided I wanted this to be one of the best chapters, and I think I may have succeeded but I'm not quite sure. May I prestent to you my chapter of a grand total of 5,056 words! Yay! Excitement! That's more words than any in this story, or any story I've written! Isn't that exciting? I think it is. Oh, FYI, that 5,056 words doesn't include this little beginning note or the little note I put at the end. That's the amount of words in the actual chapter. But yea, me is excited! Anyways, here it comes!
Simon: You're forgetting something.
Hammsters: No, I don't think I am.
Simon: Yes. You are. Again.
Hammsters: Okay fine. Wait a minute, whaddaya mean by again?
Jack: Well, you always forget it.
Hammsters: DO not
Jack: Do too
Hammsters: Do not
Jack do too
Hammsters: do not
Leah: Do too! Now will you all shut up? (Jack and Hammsters mutter angrily.) Hammsters doesn't own Jack, Simon, Ralph, Roger, or any of the other characters that appeared in the original stories. Those Lord of the Flies boys belong to William Golding. She is not William Golding. She only owns me and my fictional family. Got that? Good.
Hammsters: THank you Leah. Now everybody, on with the show!
I wait a few minutes, but nobody comes. The uneasy feeling greatens and my heart pounds harder and faster. Simon should be here by now. Right? What if he got lost? What if the hunters got him? What if they got Jack? Oh no, what if the hunters got both of them? I pace back and forth in the meadow, rubbing the living daylights out of the sides of my forehead. Should I go look for them? What if Simon comes while I'm gone? What if he's hurt, lying somewhere in the jungle cold and scared and alone? What if he isn't? What if he is? I guess it's possible. You bet your bottom it's possible! But what if I can't help him? What if you can? I really shouldn't leave. No, you really should. Jack would kill me. JACK COULD BE DYING! What if the savages get me? That's an awful selfish way to be thinking ain't it? The "voices" in my head argue and conflict. Finally, my conscience beats out the voice of reason and I hurdle myself into the jungle where Jack was headed. I'm gonna hate myself for this aren't I? Yes. Yes you will.
I've been running a few minutes when my foot hits a snag and I take a nosedive into the dirt. I cough, wipe a smear of mud off my forehead and spit the dust out of my mouth. There's a rustling in the bushes about ten feet to my right and a thin, pale, black-haired head peeks out from the brambles.
"Leah? What are you doing here, you're supposed to be with Jack," Simon says, sounding worried and confused.
"What are you talking about? He left about fifteen minutes ago to switch places with you. When you didn't show up I got worried and came to find you or Jack." I explain.
"I haven't seen him." That's not good. If Jack never made it here… No. None of the boys are smart enough or strong enough to take him. That can only mean one thing.
"Shit! That fucking idiot!" I shout.
"What?" Simon asks.
"It's Jack, Simon. None of the boys could catch him if they tried. Where do you think he is?" Realization spreads across his face.
"Fuck." He mutters. We hear an ululation from somewhere nearby. Fuck indeed.
Ralph's POV
I've been waiting in the jungle for hours and hours. I admit, I dozed off a couple times, but luckily, nothing has happened. Well, they did have one mouth-watering feast that almost made me wish I was one of them. But that's not really what I'm supposed to be watching out for.
Roger just called for more food. God, does this guy ever stop eating? Now I have another ten minutes of watching them eat food I'm dying to have to endure. Ain't life grand?
As predicted, the feasting lasts another ten minutes. I'm really stating to question whether my job is really all that necessary. Rofer calls Maurice, his right-hand man and temporary waiter. HOW HUNGRY CAN YOU BE DUDE? Wait a second, I don't think he's demanding that Maurice bring more for him to eat.
"Maurice, fetch me my stick sharpened at both ends. And Leah's head." Maurice nods.
"Sure thing chief." A stick sharpened at both ends and Leah's head? What could he possibly want to do with that? Wait. You don't think... Oh I get it now! Aw, that's nasty man! Focus Ralph, focus. You have more important things to worry about than what they were planning on doing with Leah's head, however nasty it was. Her body isn't going to be there, and signs will show that it never was. And that? Yea, that's gonna cause some serious problems. I know I should run and tell the others. I know that they need to be warned. But I can't tear myself from the scene. I can't bring myself to leave without knowing exactly what's gonna happen. Maurice comes back with a frightened expression on his painted face. "Chief?" he asks nervously. Roger groans in irritation.
"What?" Maurice cringes.
"It's- it's- it's Leah sir," He stutters.
"What about her?"
"She's not there," He confesses in a rush.
"So? Her body rolled out to the ocean. It's only a few feet away." Roger shrugs it off. I sigh in relief. He doesn't suspect a thing. But of course, stupid, persistent Maurice won't give up on the topic..
"But sir, there's no blood." he whispers. An outraged expression crosses Roger's face and he howls in anger.
"What? But that's-" Suddenly, realization hits amd he knows what happened. "Jack. Listen up! Get your spears boys. We're going on a hunt!" The boys cry out in savage excitement.
"What are our orders chief?" Robert asks. Roger grins evilly.
"We unleash hell. No survivors. Capture Jack and bring him back to camp. Leave Leah to me." Roger tells him.
"Why are we letting Jack live and killing everybody else?" Maurice asks.
"We're not. We're gonna make him be there to witness the final moments of his dear, beloved, precious little Leah. Then he gets brutally slaughtered like everybody else." Roger explains. He laughs darkly, beginning with a low chuckle then deepening into a booming laugh, a vicious, heartless laugh. It sends shivers down my spine. Maurice begins to laugh a similar bellowing laugh, but not as frightening. Roger punches him in the gut and he begins couging. "The evil laugh is my thing." Maurice nods.
"Right. Sorry boss."
"Let's go boys!" Roger commands. The boys cry out and yell and shout and chant randomly. Soon, all the savages have vanished into the trees. This is not good, not good at all. If those ass-wipes find Leah, or Simon, or Sam, or Eric, or Jack, or Piggy, or me, we're in some very deep shit. Somehow, it feels like we already are. I can't figure out why I'm being so paranoid. Has it been this hot all day. Bloody fuck, the forest's on fire. Oh yea, this is some very deep shit.
Leah's POV
Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, guess what? They did. THe fucking forest caught on fire. Of course it's on fire. Why wouldn't it be on fire? What else could be expected on this hell hole? Simon and I take off running away from the hunters and the raging flames. Smoke is thick in the air, billowing in endless clouds of heat, ash and cinders. Flames hiss and spew, the heat burning and stinging our eyes. We run at full speed through the trees. As time wears on, the smoke clears more, but the hunters grow closer and closer. The hoops and hollers and ululations become louder and louder and louder. We hear someone calling our names.
"Leah! Simon!" We run faster. The person keeps calling. THey sound closer by the second
"Simon, they sound close! What do we do?" I yell over the chaos and eruptions of noise.
"Just keep going! Maybe we can outrun them!" We run for two or three more minutes when it becomes certain that we most definitely cannot outrun them. I feel a hand on my shoulder and I scream at the top of my lungs.
"Relax Leah, it's just me." I sigh in relief.
"You scared the shit out of me Ralph!" We hear an especially loud yell from behind us..
"Maybe we should get back to-" a spear flies past Simon's head, "running for our lives!" Simon finishes. We take off running once again. Within minutes, the hunters are mere yards away. In the last five minutes, they have gained twice the ground we have.
"Guys, there's no way we can outrun these hunters!" I yell.
"Well what else do you suggest we do then?" Ralph asks. We stop short just as we're about to run into a tree. Inspiration hits me.
"Climb!" I order them. The boys do as I say. I"m almost immediately two or three feet higher than them. We stop about twenty feet above the ground, each on different branches several feet apart. The hunters, too caught up in the wildness and mob mentality, run right past us. We sigh in relief. "That was a close one,"
"I'll say!" Simon exclaims. A little too loudly.
"Did you hear that?" Maurice asks.
"I think it came from over there." Shit.
"Guys, I think that's our cue to get a move on." I whisper.
"But there's nowhere to go," Ralph protests. I sigh.
"Follow my lead." I crawl to the end of the branch I'm on. Here goes nothing, I think. I launch myself from the tree into the next one. I land on my feet, but slip and fall off the branch. I catch myself on the branch below it and pull myself up, groaning from the amount of strength (which I don't possess) it requires.
"Are you all right?" Simon asks.
"I'm glorious," I groan sarcastically, examining the scrapes and bruises left by my fall. I crawl over to make room for the boys, and as I'm doing so, my phone falls out of my pocket. I react fast and catch it just in time, then hold it in my hand, too lazy to put it away. The boys leap over into the tree then climb to seperate branches like we'd done before. Out of habit, I slide the phone open and look at the screen. Sad to say, I have not gotten any texts (sarcasm XD) It's 3:00 in the afternoon, good to know. I take a glance at the upper left hand corner. Holy shit. "Guys, I got a signal! I GOT A SIGNAL!" I shriek excitedly. I wave my phone in the arir frantically. SImon and Ralph cheer in excitement. Suddenly, a spear comes whizzing through the tree past my head, taking my cell phone with it. "And there it goes."
"Shit," Simon mutters.
"Bye signal," Ralph jokes sadly. We hear the approaching shouts of the incoming hunters.
"Go, go, go, go!" I command. We drop out of the tree. My fall is less than gracefull. Lucky for me, one of the boys landed before me and catches me before I face plant into the mud. Yay Simon!
"Are you okay?"
"Yea thanks." He smiles and puts me down. The three of us sprint into the woods. The hunters are so close, I can practically feel the sting of the whip, the burn of the vines, Roger's fingers digging into my wounds. My eyes begin to water from the smoke still thickening and billowing in clouds from the inferno.
We've been running for a few minutes when we come to a dead end. The flames eat away at the forest everywhere I look and hunters pour in from all sides. We're trapped. Not thinking, I charge at the nearest line of boys. I somehow manage to get through. Red rover, red rover... I spring all out for about five minutes before collapsing to my knees. I cough and gasp and, sadly enough, puke a little bit. I fall onto my back and rub my head with the palm of my hand. It suddenly occurs to me that I've left behind Simon and Ralph. Oh my god, what have I done? I was so stupid, so selfish! Now the only hope left is that they were able to escape the hunters as well.
Jack's POV
It was all planned perfectly. I went to the hunters camp, I made sure Roger left with the others to lead the hunt for my hide. Then I used the specs that I , ahem, "borrowed" from Piggy to set the whole forest on fire. It's going so well! Now, to find my target. He will pay for what did to Leah, I'll make him if it kills me. Which, it most likely will.
Roger's a good hunter, one of the best. After all, I taught him everything he knows. But he learned all his tricks from me. I know all of them like the back of my hand, the flaws in the tricks themselves, and the mistakes he always makes. He makes easy prey. I find him after about five minutes of searching.
"McAllistor!" I yell. He turns and a look of shock and rage crosses his face.
"You are a dead man Jack Merridew!" Roger yells. I smile like a psychopath (I'm beginning to think I might be one.)
"Oh, I know," I say. I put the tip of my spear into the fire. I stare at the newly enflamed weapon, completely mesmorized and stick my fingers into the flames for just a moment, for good measure. "It's really not a good idea to play with fire Roger," I say, sounding slightly more crazy by the second. I snap out of my trance and thrust the flaming spear at Roger's head. He ducks just in time to avoid getting hit, but it hits a tree behind him creating a wall of fire. Just according to plan. There is now only one narrow pathway through the raging flames, and it's behind me. Roger sees the situation here, do or die, and he's the kind of guy who's always thinking of himself first. He's eyeing the path, trying to figure out how best to get past me.
"Jack, let me past. We can both get out of here okay, just let me past." He reasons. I laugh a malicious, deranged laugh, a madman's laugh.
"You're not going anywhere." I say.
"This is insane. You're insane!" He yells.
"You're going to pay for what you did to Leah, I'll make sure of it."
"Seriously Jack, if we- don't get the- hell out of here,- we're both gonna- pay for- what I did- to Leah! I- can hardly- breathe!" He chokes out between coughs.
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!" I holler. He looks at me like I'm the craziest person he's ever seen. Well he's sadistic! That definitely makes him crazier than I am!
"Screw this!" he cries. Roger turns and leaps through the flames. He's not getting away that easy.
"Get back here McAllistor! I'm not done with you yet!" I yell, sprinting into the fire after him.
Leah's POV
I sprint through the woods in search of Samneric, or Simon, or Ralph, or any of my friends really. I've been looking for them for the longest time, but have seen no sign of them. I'm really starting to worry that I won't find him, that the hunters got to them first, when I see a certain blonde boy emerge from the jungle up ahead. He takes a look around and sees me. He waves and starts jogging over to me. All of a sudden, one of thesavages, Robert I think, appears behind him, moving at a slow hunters tread, a hunting knife in his hand.
"Ralph!" I scream. He looks confused. Robert quickens his stride, raises the knife, and plunges the blade into Ralph's back again and again and again. Ralph collapses to the ground, clutching the place on his stomach wher the blade went all the way through his back and stomach. I duck out of view, peeking out wo that I can see what happens. Roger sneers as Ralph coughs and sputters, blood dripping from his mouth, then runs off into the forest. I dash out from my hiding place behind a tree and fall to my knees at Ralph's side. "Oh my god, oh my god, Ralph, I'm so sorry! Ralph, it's going to be okay, I promise, I'm gonna take care of you," I put my arms around him, hugging him gently and supporting him, blood soaking my hands and the front of my tee shirt. Ralph's breathing slows, along with his heart, and his eyes begin to droop. "No, no, no Ralph stay with me."
"L-Leah," he manages to whisper.
"I'm right here. Ralph please. Please, please stay with me, don't give up. It's all going to be okay. Someone will find us, you're going to be okay, just please Ralph, don't give up." I plead. His eyes shut. I gently hit his face repeatedly, but he doesn't wake up. His heart is barely beating. I begin to sob, softly, then steadily growing to hysterically. "Help! Somebody please help us! Somebody! Please." But nobody comes. I cry into Ralph's shoulder. If somebody doesn't come here, Ralph is going to die for sure.
The fire is beginning to spread towards our direction, but I can't bring myself to move. Ralph is somehow hanging on, but barely. I feel like I'm being watched, like there's someone there, seeing everything that happens but refuses to do anything to stop it. I decide to ignore it. Big mistake. I feel a hand clamp over my mouth. I hear a deep chuckle.
"Looky what we have here. I don't think Jack would be very happy about this at all." Roger says. I yell every profanity I know at him, but my screams and curses get muffled by his hand. Roger chuckles again. "Say goodbye to your little friend Leah. You're never going to see him again." With that, he kicks Ralph right where Robert stabbed him and drags me, kicking, punching and screaming, away from him. He's finally taken his hand off of my mouth.
"Ralph, Ralph! Simon, Eric, Piggy! Somebody! JACK! JACK HELP!" Roger snickers at my attempts to get somebody's attention.
"Jack, help!" He repeats, taunting me, sneering. "Scream all you want sweety. No one can hear you." He whispers harshly in my ear.
"Jack," I whisper, a tear rolling down my cheek.
Roger drags me to the pond that Ralph and I used to swim in. Ralph. I start to cry louder.
"Shut up!" Roger barks in my ear. I whimper softly, but stop crying. He shoves me forcefully and I fall face first onto the rocky ground at the edge of the water, banging my head hard. He grabs my collar and pulls me forward till I'm lying face-down in the water. I prop myself up on my hands only to be pushed back down, hitting my head once again. Roger continues to hold my head under the water for a long time. I squirm and struggle and fight him, trying (and failing) to free myself. He just pushes down harder. I finally break free and sit up, gulping in deep breaths of sweet air. Roger growls and shoves me back underwater. "Stay down!" He hisses. If I were above water, I'm pretty sure I'd be crying again. My heart drums faster and faster, my blood pounding harder. Pressure is building up in my brain and I feel like my head's about to explode. The sorld spins around me. I slip in and out of consciousness, my heart beats becoming weak and far apart. I feel less and less need to fight for my life. My mind begins to go blank, my vision becoming spooty and blurred. All of a sudden, the pressure on my head releases and I push myself up out of the water. Over my gasps for breath, I hear yelling and grunting. I look behind me and see Jack pinning Roger to the ground, fists flying. Roger attempts to fight back, but Jack's a lot taller and a lot stronger, so he gives in and just tries to shield his face. Jack lashes out in blind fury, hitting Roger wherever he can land a punch. Meanwhile, I'm still gasping for breath. Jack gives Roger one last blow to the head, knocking him out. Jack wipes the sweat from his forehead with his arm, then rushes to my side.
"Leah, are you all right? Did he hurt you?" He asks, checking me over for any sign of injury.
"Oh god Jack, it's horrible! Simon and- and Ralph and me, we were running, and then I had cell reception, and then I didn't. And- and the hunters, they were everywhere! And I lost them, but then I found Ralph. Oh my god Ralph! He was- and then Robert- and then I tried calling for help but- and then Roger, he-" Jack rubs circles on my back.
"It's okay, it's okay," he comforts me, "What happened to Ralph?" I sniffle and wipe away a tear.
"I think he's dead." I whisper. A shocked expression crosses Jack's face.
"It's going to be okay," He whispers. I see movement out of the corner of my eye. I start tapping on Jack's shoulder.
"Jack, Jack!" I point behind him and he turns around just in time to see Roger vanish into the woods.
"Aw shit! Come on," he lifts me up in his arms amnd starts running after Roger, carrying me bridal-style. I curl up in his arms and snuggle into his chest. Something doesn't feel right. I feel dizzy and nauseas and my head is pounding. My head is extremely sore from where I hit it on the rocks when Roger pushed me. My injuries feel worse than usual and I feel beyond light-headed. Jack continues running through the forest, branches snapping and smacking us in the face. We reach the beach and Jack sets me down on my feet. "Stay here," He takes off after Roger and I take off after him. Jack catches up to Roger in about five minutes, while I'm still pretty far behind. Jack tackles Roger and returns to pummeling him. I finally reach them and try to pull Jack off him, but I'm not strong enough. "Leah, let go!"
"Stop it Jack, don't kill him!" I yell.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't." He demands furiously.
"Don't sink to his level, Jack. You're better than that! I won't have you becoming a monster." I say. He sighs.
"But Leah, think about what he's done." he reasons. We hear a deep cough grom behind us, a man clearing his throat. We turn and see a young naval officer staring at us curiously.
"Might I ask what this you man did to deserve getting the crap kicked out of him?" The officer asks.
"Um, you see sir...'' Jack begins explaining. He is cut off by the loud cries of the hunters. Three boys come charging out of the jungle: Eric, Simon, and Piggy. Eric is supporting Sam and Simon is carrying Ralph's limp body over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The hunters sprint out soon after.
"What have you been doing, having a war?" The naval officer asks, taking a look at both the injured and the painted boys before him.
"Somethin' like that," Maurice says, leaning on his spear.
"No deaths I hope," The officer says jokingly.
"Not so sure about that yet," I say, glancing at Ralph and Sam.
"Ah, one girl on a deserted island with only boys? Hope you men have been treating her well," he says.
"Some of us have," Jack says, shooting a dangerous glare at Roger. "Show him the casualties boys," Jack commands. Simon and Eric set Ralph and Sam down in front of him. Jack gives me a soft push forwards so I'm standing in front of him as well.
"What happened her?" he asks, looking at Sam and Ralph.
"He got the shit kicked out of him," Eric says, gesturing to his brother.
"By him?" The officer asks, pointing to Jack.
"Hey!" Jack shouts indignantly.
"No, by him," Simon points to Roger. "And we're not sure what happened to Ralph.
"He was stabbed by one of the hunters," I say, 'I saw." Robert stares at his feet guiltily.
"And what about you little missy?" The officer asks me. Reluctantly, I pull up my shirt halfway and turn away, revealing my ribs, lumps and bruises and showing off my battle scars.
"Ew," He says.
"She got the shit kicked out of her too," Simon replies.
"By him?" The officer says, pointing to Jack again.
"What the hell man?" Jack asks, sounding extremely insulted.
"No, by him," I say, pointing to Roger.
"I see. You are in a heap load of trouble young man. Come on, me and the rest of the crew have a ship over there. We came when we saw your fire. You'll all be okay now." We begin walking toward the rowboat that will take us to the Navy ship the young officer came on.
"Are you all right Leah? You don't look so good," Jack says. Great. Just what every girl wants to hear from her boyfriend. I shakd my head. Everywhere I look there are black spots and my head is pounding like crazy. I see three of everything and the world has begun to spin again. I become dizzier and dizzier. My whole body has gone numb. There's a loud ringing in my ears. I can see Jack's lips moving, but I can't hear a word he says. The next thing I know, I'm crashing onto the rocky shore and the world has gone black.
Jack's POV
One second I'm talking to Leah, and the next thing I know, she collapses onto the rocks. Her head begins to bleed from where it made contact with the ground and her body is shaking and convulsing. Her open eyes have rolled back and she's gasping for breath.
"What's going on?" I shout, fear creeping into my voice.
"She's having a seizure!" The officer shouts.
"What do we do?"
"I don't know!" He admits, "Get her onto the rowboat. There's a doctor on the ship, he can help if we can just get her there." Roger begins to laugh maniacally.
"He's not gonna help her." I send him a glare.
"What are you talking about?"
"Did you know that there's a kind of toad, where it's blood is fatally poisonous? I learned that from the last "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. I do remember seeing a toad in the water she was in, and it just occured to me that the water was an odd color."
"You sick bastard!" I yell.
"Guys! Sorry to interrupt your little crime show, but Leah's not breathing! Neither are Sam or Ralph!" Simon exclaims. The officer curses under his breath.
"Get them all into the boat, now!" he barks. "We've got to get them to the ship, that doctor's the only chance they've got!" Roger continues to laugh insanely as we load our dying friends into the rowboat with the officer.
"There's not enough room! Jack, Simon and me should go with to help carry them, we'll have to come back for everyone else!" Eric says. We pile into the boat and row like there's no tomorrow. Soon, we reach the shi[. Simon, Eric and me carry Ralph, Sam and Leah into the doctor's office.
"My god, what's happened here!" The nurse exclaims when she sees them, Leah still experiencing her seizure.
"They're not breathing! They need to see the doctor as soon as possible!" The doctor comes in and makes us leave. We try to protest but he says we have to. They might have to operate, and apparently that's not a pretty sight. Please let them be okay. Please let Roger be wrong, I think as I take one look behind the closing door into the doctor's emergency room.
About an hour later, Eric and I are both still awake, waiting outside the office for news of Ralph, Simon, and Leah's condition. The nurse comes out, looking uneasy.
"What's happening? Are they all right?" Eric asks nervously.
"I have good news and bad news." The nurse tells us. "The good news is, we've managed to restore the heart rate and breathing."
"What's the bad news?" I ask.
"Your friend, the girl, she's gone into a coma. This could last days, weeks, months, or even years. The young man that was stabbed, his wound hasn't been healing well. It's infected meaning that we won't be able to give him stitches. Also, the blade went all the way through his spinal chord. If he should survive, he'll most likely be paralyzed. Both the young woman and the other young man have severe internal bleeding. I'm surprised they've survived this long with it. And the girl has been poisoned." She says.
"So, what does that all mean?" Eric asks.
"The three of them probably won't make it."
Duh. Duh. DUH! Btw, that was supposed to be dramatic piano music. Oh no! THat crazy son of a bitch poisoned dear sweet little Leah! Fatally poisoned I might add. Except if the doctor saves her. THen it won't really be fatal will it. But she might not live! Oh no! And Ralph and Sam might die too! Oh noes again! What will happen next? I don't know, I haven't quite decided yet. Especially Ralph. His fate is the most iffy. Sam's destiny has already been decided, I'm pretty sure I know what'll happen to Leah, but I have yet to come close to making a decision on Ralph! Review and tell me if you want them to live or not! Review and tell me what you think will become of our dear friend Roger! The Fate of the Boys is in your hands! Heheh, see what I did there? But anyways, only you can save them/condemn them, so review like there's no tomorrow!