Thanks to PineconedOwl, Pink Polar Bear, Turtlemoose, and Scc for reviewing! :D
Disclaimer: LOTF is Golding's, FA is mine, blah blah blah.
4 reviews for Chapter 6!
I'm having an extreme case of writer's block, so bear with me if this chapter isn't my greatest. I tried to make this chapter really good so my writer's block wouldn't show as much. :]
To those who read Meimei in Darkness's story, Devils and Angels, she's my best friend, just told me about her Fanfiction account, and said she'd update ASAP. She's had some major family issues and problems, so she hasn't been able to update recently.
Thanks!
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Ace ;]
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(Continued, Amarie POV)
"What?" I gasped in awe, as I realized Roger and Rose and Jacqueline's knife were missing. It was just so surreal. How could an insane boy and a screaming and fighting girl (AND a knife about five feet away from me) go missing…without me noticing at all? And what was worse was that I was totally helpless and probably now looked unbelievably stupid. As the fact that I almost died hit me, nausea overcame me. Then things were uneven and the whole scene unfolding in front of me felt like a bad nightmare. Any minute now, I'd wake up, thinking, 'Wow, that was some crazy dream,' and glance across from me, and there Rose would be, sleeping peacefully on a pile of soft palm fronds with a smile plastered on her face. I tried to hold back a sob, but, because of my hard efforts, a small cry pierced my lips. "This is all my fault…" I started, tears slowly seeping down my blood stained face. And these tears definitely weren't fake.
Ralph peered down at me with a strange combination of pity and hate. He was obviously torn between the two emotions as his eyes glanced left and right. "You can worry about that later. For now, though, we need to find them," Ralph sighed, reaching out his tanned hand.
So pity had won.
Maya stared daggers at me. If looks could kill, I would've been dead. But, if I stared daggers back, then she'd think I only cared about my well being and not Rose's. I attempted the best sniffle and sob I could, and it wasn't really fake.
"Hurry up!" Simon said anxiously, moving a few strands of black hair out of his blue eyes.
"Sorry…" I mumbled, declining Ralph's helping hand and standing up on my own.
"Which way do you think he went, Amarie?" Maya asked coldly, "You ARE the expert of perception." Then she dropped the bitchy act, and nervously peered around the maze of creepers and animal tracks.
"What does that have to do with anything? And I'm pretty sure those are his footprints," I said, pointing to a set of wide human foot prints on the soft mud. "There are no sets of smaller tracks, which probably meant he threatened her with the knife and---" I strolled over to the deep marks on the earth and pressed my hand into one set. "---slung her over his shoulder, as the footprints are sort of deep."
Ralph stared at me with wide eyes, amazed that I could interpret so much information out of footprints. Simon glanced at me admiringly, a small smile spread across his face, his blue eyes shining with excitement. Maya just kept on glaring.
There was an awkward silence, and I slowly gazed down at the beige military jacket I was wearing. The intricate gold buttons were worn out, but a small shine was forever locked inside. The fabric wasn't worn out despite its age. The oversized sleeves reminded me of him…my Dad. Dad died in the army after serving for quite a while, and, ever since, I'd always worn his jacket.
"Okay…let's go, then," Ralph started, breaking the silence and my thoughts, but held a hand out to stop us, "…someone needs to stay here to watch Jacqueline and Rebecca."
At this, all four of us glanced at where the two bodies were laying. It seemed like Rebecca had fainted or something after Ralph tore her off me. Did she faint of exhaustion? She didn't drink water or rest like most of us when we got inside the huts. Even I drank some water from one of the bottles (we didn't need to conserve water after all, as there were clean lakes spread throughout the island) before falling into Jacqueline's trap.
"I'll stay," Maya volunteered. She quickly added quietly, "But please make sure Rose comes back safe." She plopped down next to the two girls while nervously twisting a strand of wavy brown hair around her slim index finger. "What if they wake up?"
"Hmmm…here, take this. It's Jack's, but he lent it to me so I could help build his hunters a hut," Ralph said, placing a slender knife almost identical to Jacqueline's in Maya's hand.
"Don't be afraid to use it, if you need to," Simon added abruptly. Maya flashed a small weary smile and nodded.
As we started off into the menacing jungle, I wrapped my jacket closer to my now frigid body and glanced up to the darkening sky. I felt a drop of water fall on Dad's jacket. It formed a dark spot on the beige sleeve. I slowly touched my face. To my surprise, the water was coming from my own green eyes. My eyes were suddenly cloudy with tears, which made it hard to follow the blonde leader in front of me. I glanced up at the sky again, and mentally prayed:
'Dad, please tell me that everything will be alright…that Mom didn't hate me…that Mia didn't try to overdose me on purpose…that I'm not a monster after all...'
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Rose POV:
Roger had slung me over his shoulder, and my head wearily flopped down on his hard-as-rock chest. He stole Jacqueline's knife and told me that if I didn't follow his every command he'd hurt me. He also had a double-edged spear so I was, indeed, afraid to question him. I didn't understand why he was doing this to me. I barely knew him, he barely knew me, yet he still wanted to install fear or hatred inside my heart. My tears from him barking commands and scaring the hell out of me were now dried up remnants, stains on my red cheeks. My eyes were apathetic and staring. I didn't need to show this boy how scared I truly was. A scar ran down the length of my arm from when I tried to fight him. It had scabbed up a bit.
"Roger…" I croaked, "where are you taking me?"
"It doesn't matter," he replied. Of course. This was just like him, enough words to keep you wondering, enough words to make you fear him.
His rough hand lay on my aching back, and his iron grip became steel when I questioned him.
I felt another tear slowly run down my face, stopping at my chin, and dripping down onto the already-soft earth. I watched it make its journey, and, when it reached the ground, I noticed something. Roger didn't know he left footprints! I silently cheered. Someone would follow the footprints, and save me. I then peered up again quickly so Roger wouldn't follow my happy gaze.
My happiness was short lived. Roger roughly placed me on the ground, and I took the opportunity to observe my surroundings. The place he took me to was a meadow.
Multiple shades of blue, yellow, pink, and red flowers decorated the field. The grass here was soft and tall, and could hide an average-height kindergartener from view. The earth was still a bit mucky, but not as mucky as it was in the jungle. Roger had laid me against a tree with rough bark and soft leaves.
The moon had sprung up in the sky, giving the beautiful meadow an eerie appearance. Everything was tinted with black, and the rays of the moon disproportioned everything. I slowly squinted at Roger, trying to make up the contours of his face.
He smashed his fist right next to my face, and I gasped sharply at the sudden attack. "What now?" I asked quietly, looking at a tall blue flower. I picked it up, then twisted the stem between my fingers.
"Just shut up. You know, you're exactly like your mum. Always trying to seem innocent, when, really, you're just another demon!" his voice came out in a crescendo, and at 'demon', he punched his fist into the tree again, breathing in and out heavily. Then, his breathing slowed as a smile spread wide across his face. "Thank Goodness your mother always talked about her daughter, Rosalique. And she even gave Dad a description of her gorgeous little girl in detail, down to the ceramic rose ring you were given at birth."
At this, I glanced down at my rose ring. The color was faded but it was still quite beautiful.
"I don't even really remember much about my Mom…she was killed a while back…" I mumbled, tears overflowing my eyes again. I tried to hide my tears, but as soon as Roger caught a glimpse of them, he grinned. I turned my face away, but he grabbed my chin with his thumb and index finger and forced me to look his way.
"That's right…cry, like I did when my Father beat me every night," he hissed wickedly.
I suddenly felt a pang of fear hit me right in the gut. I feared for my life.
"I don't understand---" I started, trying to hold back cries, but I just couldn't. Tears from my eyes kept on flowing out like water from a broken dam.
"Your mum was a drug dealer. Ever since she and my Dad met at a job interview, my Dad became her best customer. He was under the influence of drugs AND alcohol all the time, every day, and he took out all his anger on ME. He needed to work hard to buy drugs and booze, and he entered me in fights all the time and made people bet on me. If I lost, which I did often, he'd beat me!" Roger barked, and I could've sworn I saw a reflection of light on his cheek. Perhaps from anger.
"Roger…I didn't know about my Mom selling drugs…I'm so sorry…" I whispered hoarsely.
"There is nothing you can do to make up for all the pain I went through. So now…you'll have to suffer like I did," he smirked and added an evil snicker at the end of his sentence.
Roger ripped a part of his shirt off, and I tried to run. He grabbed me by the arms, threw me onto the floor again, and tied the piece of fabric around my wrists.
"Stop!" I cried out, though it was muffled by the colliding of one of his hands on my mouth. "…stop…" I started, but this sentence came out much clearer. Roger stopped his advancing on me for a second, and his eyes seemed to go cloudy. He shook his head, and his old self was back again.
He kissed my neck, and then my shoulder.
"Hey, Rose, lookin' good!"
"Let's see how good she looks with her clothes off!"
"You don't know how badly I want you…"
"Please…stop…I don't want this…"
My arm, my thigh, my lower leg came next.
"Roger! Stop this!" I cried out, but he seemed to be in a trance that no one could undo. I kicked and screamed, but he really was in a strange kind of trance.
"You're mine and mine only. No one could love you after you've become dirty."
"Stop! Please--" I started, but I let out a quiet moan as he started to kiss higher up my thigh. My body didn't work well with my mind, obviously.
Roger seemed unemotional.
"Please…don't do this…" I attempted again, but now the teen was enraged with my protesting.
"Talk again, and I swear to God I'll kill you," he threatened quietly but darkly.
'I guess…I guess I'll just have to go through this again…' I thought, tears running down my now-pale face.
A twig snapped in the entrance to the jungle.
Roger seemed to be on alert, standing up quickly and glaring around.
"Rose! You're okay!" a female voice cried out. Amarie. I was saved. Even though it was Amarie, the bitch who started this all, I let out a sigh of relief and grinned widely.
"Amarie! Help me!" I replied, attempting to stand up. But I forgot about the demon that wanted me for his own entertainment. Roger threw me on the floor yet again.
"Roger! Don't bloody touch her!" a male voice yelled ferociously.
"Ralph, please help me!" I cried out again, this time more desperately.
"Don't worry, Rose. I promise I won't let him hurt you," Ralph shouted from across the field. 'Too late for that…' I thought sadly.
I think Ralph noticed how my eyes glanced at the floor when he said that. He rummaged through his pocket for something.
"Dammit…I left the knife with Maya…" he cursed, crossing his arms and glaring at Roger.
"Let her go, Roger," Amarie growled, cracking her knuckles and taking confident strides towards the dark skinned boy. How she managed so much confidence when she looked so messed up beat me.
"Amarie! Careful! He has a knife and a double-edged spear!" I warned her, but it was too late. Roger broke into a run and tried to strike Amarie with the slender knife.
She dropped backwards, and then stood up again. The blonde girl tried to leap at Roger's hand and snatch his knife, but he lifted it up just in time for her to get a wide gash on her palm. She recoiled with a pained cry. While Amarie and Roger fought, Ralph sprinted towards me with Simon tailing behind. One look at my scars and my tears were all he needed to put the pieces together. "I'm so sorry, Rose…" he whispered, untying the fabric from my sore wrists. I had no answer to that. It wasn't his fault at all, but I couldn't just say "it's okay" either. I was scarred forever, from either Roger or the fact that my Mom was a drug dealer, and nothing anyone said would change that.
"Are you okay?" asked Simon sadly, gingerly poking the scab on my arm.
"It doesn't hurt that much…" I said, attempting a small smile, "I'll live."
"Got it. C'mon…we need to calm Roger down," Ralph said, tearing the fabric off my wrists.
I stood up slowly, though my legs now felt like jell-o. "Ralph, there is no way in Hell he'll calm down," I whispered slowly. Roger was still launching at Amarie, trying to inflict a fatal wound. She was quick, and I was impressed.
It would be nearly impossible to knock Roger out, so I was stumped on how to stop his anger.
"What do we do, then?" Simon asked, worry creeping into his normally calm voice.
"Well, we can't calm him down, and we can try to knock him out, but that would be--" I started.
"Extremely difficult," Simon ended my sentence with a sigh.
"Ralph, what do you think---" I started again, but I had to stifle a scream with my own hands as I realized what he was trying to do. A sneak attack on Roger, with his double-edged spear. I had a sudden urge to scream, to just stop Ralph, but fear made me stand numbly.
Ralph slowly crept behind Roger, carefully avoiding objects that would make sound. Amarie caught a glance of him, but she glanced for too long. Roger turned around quickly, and slashed his arm. He staggered back, clutching a now bloody arm, and collapsed to the floor. He wasn't knocked out, but he obviously was in shock. I ran as quickly as I could to snatch the spear in Ralph's arm, and knew what I had to do.
"Rose, are you insane?" Amarie cried out, as I grabbed the spear and twisted it horizontally. Roger stared at me with anger in his eyes, and tried to throw a punch at me. I easily avoided it by shifting towards the left, and when his face was close to mind, I held the spear like a baseball bat and hit Roger right in the jaw. Of course, the shock from a blunt object temporarily dislocating his mandible made him faint.
I ran towards where Ralph was, and helped him up. "Are you okay?" I asked him worriedly. Simon also dashed over from where Roger laid, prying Ralph's dirty hands away from the new wound. It was a small slash, but it was deep and blood was overflowing from it.
"He should be fine. We just need to stop the blood," Simon said quickly. "Amarie, can I borrow your jacket?"
Two pairs of eyes glanced up at the tall girl, and she sadly glanced down. "It's really important to me," she mumbled, while trying to stop the bleeding in her palm with her unhurt hand.
"Oh, we can use the piece of fabric Roger used---" I started.
"Already bound his arms with that," Simon said. Then he quickly glanced down at his own shirt and tore off a piece of the sleeve. He wrapped it tightly around his friend's arm, and he winced.
"We'll put salt water on it when we get back," Amarie instructed. I nodded.
"Wait, what should we do with Roger?" I asked timidly. Just saying his name wanted to make me vomit.
"Get Jack to help his little friend out," Amarie snorted.
"That's actually not such a bad idea," Simon said with a small laugh, "he can walk, though. I'll bind his feet as well." Simon ripped a piece of grey fabric off his other sleeve and strolled over to Roger, tying it in a triple knot around his ankles.
Ralph stood up then, and as soon as I met his eyes, he looked down angrily. We all started off to where Maya, Rebecca, and Jacqueline were.
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Maya POV:
They had been gone for quite a while, and I nervously kept on glancing at the two girls to see if they were awake or not.
There was a while of eerie silence, without any bird noises or random cricket sounds, until the pitter-patter of footprints coming from the beach area interrupted it. But the three went deeper into the jungle, not back to the beach…
"Maya. What's going on?" an angry voice asked. Jack.
"Well, Jacqueline led Amarie and Rose here as a trap, and apparently Roger was part of the trap, and Ralph and Simon and Amarie went to find Rose because Roger kidnapped her or something, and Jacqueline and Rebecca and Amarie fought, but you know, they lost--" I started, taking in a deep breath after my breath had been taken away by the string of run on sentences.
Jack sighed, and walked towards where I was sitting. "Give me my knife. I suppose Ralph lent it to you," he said coldly.
What the hell was his problem? "N-no! And yes, Ralph did. Because he's not a selfish idiot," I said, holding the knife protectively towards me.
"Fine. You want me to kill you then wrench it out of your cold, bloody dead hands?" he snarled.
My eyes narrowed like Jacqueline's would've. Oh, that bitch would've been proud right then. "Don't even joke like that."
"Who says I'm joking?"
I didn't answer to this. Instead, I lowered my eyes so they concentrated on the knife in my open palms.
Jack sighed again. "I understand how a defenseless girl would want a knife to protect her, so…" he trailed off.
Defenseless girl? Oh great. So now I was weak. I decided not to think up a witty comeback so I could keep the knife. For some reason, I felt safe with the sharp blade cradled in my hands. It made me feel like if anyone tried anything, I had the power of their lives in my hands. Domination…it was a sweet feeling.
Jack kept on staring at me with empty eyes, even when I shuffled uncomfortably. I coughed, and abruptly his gaze switched to a mossy tree. A blush crept up from his neck to his cheeks.
We didn't move for a while, until new sets of pitter-patters interrupted the silence again.
I spun around and found now four people running from the jungle.
"You guys are safe!" I squealed excitedly. I thought they were screwed, to be honest.
Though they all (except for Simon) had some kind of wound on their bodies, they were relatively okay.
"Yeah…" Ralph mumbled.
"Jack, go get your asshole of a friend. He's in a meadow in the middle of the jungle," Amarie said quietly, her eyes narrowing. Jacqueline would be proud of Amarie as well. Her big green eyes were now reduced to small slits.
"What? That's where he was, the whole feast?" Jack growled, now seeping through the mass of creepers, grumbling angrily to himself.
"I'll take Jacqueline and Rebecca to their shelters. I think they shared one…I remember you telling me the shelter roommate arrangements," Simon said. "It may take a while, they're pretty well-built girls…"
"I'll help," I volunteered. After all, I'd done nothing but watch a pair of evil unconscious girls the whole time to make sure they didn't try anything stupid.
Ralph nodded his head in approval.
Simon started with Jacqueline, placing her arm over his shoulder and standing her body upwards. Then I grabbed Rebecca by the arm and placed her other arm over my shoulder as well.
As Simon walked, since he was shorter, Jacqueline's ankles and feet dragged against the mud behind him, leaving serpentine-like tracks.
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3rd Person, Jungle POV:
The four figures became simple silhouettes in the distance soon enough, and Amarie, Ralph, and Rose were alone. Amarie figured she needed to apologize to Rose somehow, so she took a deep breath and sighed, "I'm so sorry for revealing that secret, Rose."
"Amarie…I think I'll be able to forgive you eventually, but it'll take some time. The scars that Roger left on me won't be healed any time soon," Rose whispered. She involuntarily glanced at the scar running down her arm.
"Sure. I'm going to my hut now, if anyone needs me…" she mumbled, starting off for the beach. But as she left, her stomach let out a monster-like growl.
Rose would've giggled if she wasn't so miserable.
"There's fruit…Piggy might've saved some from when he gathered a whole lot of them this morning," Ralph said, as Amarie kept walking off. Soon she was a silhouette as well, and two people were left in the jungle.
"We'd better get going. Jack and Roger will be coming back soon," Rose said in a hushed tone, as she, too, started towards the beach.
"Just…wait…what did Roger do to you?" Ralph asked, while grabbing Rose's arm suddenly.
Her eyes widened and she quickly pulled her arm away. Ever since the Roger incident, she'd been even more sensitive and weary towards boys.
"He…well…if you guys didn't save me, he would've raped me. And he also yelled at me insanely, and struck me a couple times with the knife," she explained, tears welling up in her blue eyes. She didn't mention the bit about her mother. A whole back story came with that part.
Ralph clenched his fists, and started to march down to the beach. Rose quickly followed his steps. While somewhere towards the beach, Ralph spun around unexpectedly. "I promised you I wouldn't let them hurt you. It's been only a couple hours and you're already scarred for life."
"Ralph…it wasn't your fault---" Rose started softly.
"It may not have been my fault, but I'm still angry all the same. Roger better watch it," he snarled.
Rose didn't comment. Instead, she played with the ceramic ring on her finger.
Ralph spun around again and continued towards the beach.
"You can eat the fruit Piggy gathered. There's no way any meat will be left."
****
The boy and girl made it to the beach, and already the whole population of boys were whispering. With one glare from the blonde leader, though, it became deathly silent. Rose took a reddish fruit Piggy offered her and ate it hastily. She started to climb up towards the huts, but Ralph caught her arm.
"Do you want me to go with you?" he asked.
Even though Rose didn't want to seem weak, she nodded helplessly. The day's events had all caught up on her, and she was a bit afraid of being alone.
He escorted her to the hut, and as soon as she entered the flimsy structure, she plopped down on a pile of palm fronds. They weren't that comfortable, but Rose didn't want to sleep on just the sand.
Ralph started to leave, but stopped in the entryway and said, "I'm sorry, again…"
"Don't worry about it," Rose sighed. After all, only she should be worrying about something that happened to her.
Ralph left, and she remembered something extremely important: her pills. Luckily, she had scavenged the pill bottle, but she had no clue as to if there were any pills inside or not. She rummaged through the palm fronds and bumpy white sand until she found the light blue bottle under a pile of sand. The cap was missing; it probably went missing sometime in the struggle to get out of the plane. There were no pills inside. They probably sank to the depths of the ocean.
"No…" she cried out softly, because without her pills, she was clinically labeled as psychotic.
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