Of Love and Lords
A/N: Hello beloved readers! Thank you for your amazing reviews. I'm going to clear a couple things up after having been voiced some concerns from a few reviewers. From the beginning this story has strayed far from William Golding's masterpiece in terms of canon. The reason for this was that I actually based this fanfiction on the happenings of the movie version of Lord of the Flies made in 1990 which I watched in school at the age of fourteen, which I admit I didn't understand completely. Shortly after I watched it I wrote this story. I read the book when I was seventeen, around the time I wrote the fifth chapter of this fanfic. I tried my best to incorporate more facts from the book itself to create a sense of authenticity, but from the beginning this story was never going to follow the story in the first place (there is a girl on the island after all) and it would end up confusing both the readers and myself if I went back and changed everything to cater more closely to canon. This fanfic is based around a newly invented character 'Emma', and so the story has been written in order to cater to her and her history with her family. Ralph is out of character to some degree, but as I stated in chapter five, his age has been altered to sixteen, and let us not forget that there is now a female on the island. This fact alone would cause the boys to act differently, and out of everyone I felt that Ralph would be polite and well behaved. In William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies' Ralph did not have a romantic connection with anyone, so we cannot compare his relationship with the character 'Emma' to anything that happened in the original. Ralph's history with his Father had been altered because at that point I hadn't read the book (chapters 1-4). So sorry for the long Author's Note! Once again, thank you all for taking your time to read this and enjoy Chapter Eight of 'Of Love and Lords'!
Disclaimer: I do not own 'Lord of the Flies' nor do I own any of William Golding's marvelous characters.
Summary: A girl's uncle offers to take her flying as a present for her sixteenth birthday. Though her uncle would be on the job, and would be transporting an umpteen amount of boys to their destination, nothing could shatter Emma's dream of finally being able to fly. During the flight, the plane encounters a horrible tropical storm, sending the fiery plane, crashing down into the ocean. Emma Sinclair awakens on the sandy beach, only to be surprised at having two boys confusedly starring at her. And so the battle of love and lords begin.
Chapter Eight: When it Rains, it Pours
The forest had gone dark except for Simon's glow stick, still resting in the palm of his hand. Emma had pinned Simon's convulsing frame down onto the forest floor, and she could feel his seizing begin to decrease. Emma fleetingly glanced at the bushes and then turned her attention back to Simon whose bright eyes blinked furiously and starred directly through her. She could no longer see the painted face peering out of the bushes but if one thing was certain, they were not alone on the Island. A sense of dread began to grow in the back of Emma's mind. If the painted faced man had found them, chances were he had found Ralph too. They had to find him and soon. Emma was taken from her thoughts as Simon let out a groan.
"Simon, are you alright?" Emma spoke his name softly so as not to alarm him.
"He missed." Simon squeezed his eyes shut momentarily, and then opening them again wide and he pushed Emma away from him as he turned over and heaved out the contents of his stomach.
"What do you mean he missed?" Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
After a moment Simon sat up and brushed off the beads of sweat that had formed on his face.
"He missed." Simon reiterated, except this time he pointed to the tree located on Emma's right.
Jammed deeply into the soft bark of the tree was a wooden spear, still swaying faintly from the speed it had been thrown at. It had been wedged into the tree right where Emma had been standing moments before. She let out a horrific sob, covering her mouth with her hands.
"Oh my God!" Emma yelped, tears rushing to her eyes. The white faced man had tried to kill her. It suddenly struck Emma that maybe he had already succeeded in killing Ralph. This left her in a blubbering heap on the forest floor. She wished she had her gun.
"R-Ralph!" Emma cried into her hands.
"Emma, stop this nonsense! You have to pull yourself together. Ralph is counting on us!" Emma felt Simon gently place his hands on her shoulders. She stopped her crying at once and looked into his bright eyes. They held a new sense of conviction in them. Emma wondered why.
"You're right, Simon. Please forgive me." Emma nodded, wiping the tears away from her eyes. Crying would not help Ralph in any way. Emma rose to her feet, brushing the dirt off her makeshift dress.
Walking over to the tree where the spear had landed, Simon planted his foot onto the trunk of the tree for leverage, and pulled until he unwedged the thick piece of wood. The spear was a simple one, the only decorative feature on it was revealed when Simon pulled it out. The sharp tip of the spear was painted a deep red.
"Right. Let's move." Simon began to lead the way, using the spear as a walking stick of sorts.
Emma observed him curiously as they trudged onwards through the thick trees. Simon seemed almost…brave?
"Simon are you feeling alright after your…your fit?" Emma asked, causing Simon to give her a backwards glance.
"I'm fine." Simon said quietly, increasing his speed.
It continued to rain in heavy sheets for what felt like hours. Emma could barely see three steps in front of her so she and Simon both held onto the length of the spear to prevent being separated. That was one less problem they needed. Already Simon and Emma had traveled deeper into the woods than any of the other boys had dared to.
"Ralph!" Emma yelled his name for the umpteenth time. She and Simon's efforts had been fruitless up to that point.
"Emma look there's a clearing up ahead!" Simon announced, unheard to Emma who began to cry.
"Oh Simon we're never going to find him!" Emma wailed loudly, she had simply had enough. She wanted to go home. To her Father and Brother, to her Uncle, to her Mother.
Emma was silenced by Simon's rain soaked hands. He had covered her mouth, his eerie blue eyes starring widely into hers.
"Shhhhhh." Simon whispered, motioning to the clearing ahead with a tilt of his head.
Simon and Emma silently creeped forwards, Emma's mouth still firmly clamped shut by Simon's hand. The two of them crouched behind a bush, out of sight but still with an unobstructed view of the clearing. It took a moment for Emma to see what Simon had. The sky was slowly but surely beginning to lighten, helping Emma to see. She squinted her eyes and silently gasped.
In front of her Emma could make out the wiry form of a man standing with his back facing them, his long wet hair reaching the middle of his back. The man was naked except for a flimsy rag wrapped around his lower half. He suddenly crouched and observed something on the ground in front of him. Within moments he was on his feet again, turning around in one fluid motion, facing Emma and Simon head on. The white paint on his face had begun to wash off. His wild eyes feverishly observed his surroundings. Emma could feel Simon tightening his grip around her mouth. She was sure the man could hear her heart thudding from where he stood. And as quickly as he had appeared and vanished earlier that night when the lightening struck, the man quickly bolted off into the trees without a backwards glace.
Simon relaxed his grip, Emma letting out a sigh of relief. The man had not seen them. If he had, who knew what would have happened.
"That was the same man who tried to kill me." Emma said quietly, looking at Simon.
"We'll find out why, after we've found Ralph," Simon rose to his feet, offering Emma his hand. "I wonder what the savage was looking at over there?"
Emma took Simon's hand. Everything was aching and all she wanted was to find Ralph and for the both of them to warm up by the fire.
Emma and Simon curiously walked over to the area the white faced man had been observing.
"I don't see a thing!" Emma announced, taking a step forward only to feel the ground disappear from underneath her. She let out a scream moments before she hit the water below her. Instinctively, she kicked her feet until her head was above the water.
"Emma!" Simon yelled her name. "Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm alright! I can't see anything!" Emma looked around her blindly. She reached outwards, paddling with her arms. As she extended them, she yelped as she came in contact with something. "Simon there's something else down here!" Emma could feel her throat closing from fear and hysteria beginning to set in.
Simon, peered over the edge of the deep hole that Emma had fallen into, trying to illuminate it with the light of his glow stick.
"Emma, I'm going to throw the glow stick to you! Make sure you catch it." Simon yelled, throwing the glow stick to Emma gently.
She grabbed hold of it with her right hand. As soon as the glow stick was in her possession Emma could see the unconscious form of Ralph floating just a meter away from her.
"Simon! It's Ralph! Ralph is down here!" Emma screeched, wildly swimming over to him.
"Is he alive?" Emma heard Simon scream.
Emma quickly took Ralph into her arms. He was still breathing, but it was labored and as Emma held the glow stick above him, she could see a wide gash erupting blood into his golden hair.
"Ralph! Ralph wake up!" Emma screamed. She resorted to slapping him.
Ralph's eyes shot open and he began to flail his arms wildly, sputtering and spitting water out of his mouth.
"Emma?" Ralph had difficulty gathering his bearings. "Jesus Christ, what are we doing here?" He was still flailing about in confusion.
"I'll explain after! We need to get out of here! The water is still rising!" Emma yelled over the roar of the pouring rain.
"Emma, how do I get you two out?" Simon yelled from above.
Emma had an idea, and she hoped it would work. She began to unravel the parachute from around her, making sure to not let it slip from her hands. It was heavy and weighed down with water. Emma was left in her measly camisole. She held the parachute above her head and began to wring the water out from it.
"Ralph, will you be able to throw this to Simon? You're stronger than I am." Emma said to Ralph gently. He still seemed a little delirious.
"Yeah, yes I can." Ralph shook his head, taking the bunched up material from Emma's hands.
"Simon," Ralph yelled up to him. "Incoming!" Ralph pelted the parachute upwards to Simon, who successfully caught the pass.
"Tie it to something, Simon! Then throw it down to us so we can climb out!" Emma yelled.
"Okay!" Simon affirmed, disappearing from view for a few moments.
"Ralph, I'm so happy you're alright, I was worried sick!" Emma took their moment alone to kiss him furiously, almost kissing him on his lips but stopping herself just in time. She still didn't know where they stood in terms of what happened in the cave. Emma looked around her; the water was steadily rising in the hole. She turned back to Ralph, a look of uncertainty on her face. Suddenly, Ralph swam back to her, gripping her shoulders with his hands. Her look of uncertainty was replaced with shock and surprise at his sudden outburst
"You shouldn't have come looking for me, Emma. It was too dangerous! You're a stchu-pid, stch-upid girl!" Ralph said, taking a look upwards to see if Simon had returned yet. His deep blue eyes momentarily bore into hers, searching them. And without notice, Ralph hotly planted his lips on hers. Emma opened her eyes widely in shock before allowing them to close, succumbing to Ralph's kiss. Emma lifted her hands from the water, running them through Ralph's drenched locks. The distinct clearing of a throat caused Emma and Ralph to jump back from each other. Ralph had left Emma breathless and blushing. She began to blush more when she realized that Simon had seen everything. Emma peeked upwards at Simon awkwardly.
Simon smiled back at her timidly, "Are you two ready to get out of there?" His icy blue eyes locked with hers. Emma turned away shyly.
Emma and Ralph looked at each other, announcing "Yes!" in unison.
Simon tossed the length of the parachute to Emma. She looked at Ralph hesitantly. He nodded for her to go up first. The water continued to rise. Emma clambered upwards clumsily, digging her bare feet into the muddy side of the deep hole. Just shy of the top of the hole, Simon grabbed Emma under the shoulders and pulled her up the rest of the way. Without warning, Simon's arms were around her in a tight hug, taking her by surprised. Emma allowed herself to hug him back. If Simon had not offered to help her find Ralph, the white faced man would have succeeded in killing him.
Moments after, Ralph reached the top of the hole, climbing over the edge and collapsing into a heap. The three of them sat silently, the only noise around them was the pitter patter of the rain hitting the trees. It was no longer down pouring.
"Now that we have a moment where we're not being hunted by a deranged savage with a face painted white," Emma began, turning to Ralph "How on Earth did you manage to end up in that hole?"
A/N: Thank you for reading everyone! Please review!
- Jam2008