Hey everybody! Here's the next chappie of Light upon Man. It's gonna be a lot longer than the first chapter. I wanted to keep all of the original meeting of characters in one chappie. So without further adieu, chapter 2 (unintentional rhyming done on my part there)
Disclaimer Time: I don't own LotF, William Golding does. But if I did, I probably would have introduced females and twisted it into a romance novel for sure.
"The wickedness of others becomes our own wickedness because it kindles something evil in our own hearts."
-Carl Jung
A couple days passed on the island. Cassie was unaware of the time passed though. She slept, or was unconscious, a majority of the time. Sometimes a bird might trill in the early mornings or a wild pig would fearfully run by and jolt her awake, but she was asleep again in a matter of minutes.
The nightmares returned. Dream Cassie ran through a jungle, sprinting passed the trees and gracefully leaping over the undergrowth. In her hand she held the familiar grip of a saber, light but lethal. She'd break free of the vegetation and wield her weapon to her frightened opponent, a young girl. She was small, barely seven years old with dark blonde hair and large green eyes. Cassie would grin triumphantly and she could see the glint of her sword reflect in the girl's terrified eyes. Then, Cassie would leap forward and plunge the metal deep into her chest. Blood spurted out and left scarlet spots on Cassie's exposed arms and face. The little girl's screams would drive Cassie more and inch the saber deeper into her flesh.
The nightmare would end when Cassie was startled awake. Each time, her head never ceased to throb with pain. She'd fall back asleep though and the nightmares would repeat.
Again. And Again. And Again.
Cassie awoke on her third day on the island. Her head wasn't throbbing anymore, but was a light pain on her head. At least it was more bearable. After five minutes, she was still conscious, and Cassie took that as a good sign. Her head was hot and sweaty though. She reached up and felt familiar soft cloth. She'd left her sweater wrapped around her head. She carefully unwound it and tied it around her waist. There was a large rusty stain on the back from her head wound and the occasional dirt mark, but otherwise in good condition.
Cassie breathed in deeply and took a long look at her surroundings. The plant life looked exactly like the pictures of the jungle from her father's study. Everything was green and lush with bright, colorful flowers. As for the animal life, birds could be heard every so often and Cassie vaguely remembered hearing pigs running in the brush. She wondered where the animals went to drink. Her mouth was dry, and her skin was hot and itchy, begging for a cool down.
She stood up slowly and leaned with her back against the tree. Judging by the lack of shadows everywhere, she made a guess it was close to midday. That wouldn't help her thirst a bit. Cassie trudged through the jungle as much as she could fit. Some parts were so dense that she would have to turn around the find another way. She had no clue where she could find a stream.
"Come on," she muttered to herself. "What do you know from Father's books?"
She knew plants grew around water. She knew water ran downhill. She also knew a human's body could only last a few days without water.
After an hours worth of unsuccessful hunting, she came across a path cutting through the jungle. It was small with strange prints embedded in the dirt. She carefully leaned down and studied them. They were small, with two indentions directly next to each other. They looked like hoof prints. The pigs on the island created them most likely.
"This path will lead me to some pigs and maybe even where they get their water," Cassie whispered excitingly. Happier now that she had a plan, she walked quicker. After following the trail for a few minutes, she saw the trail stop before a huge clump of vegetation. She halted, and tried to peer through. She couldn't really see much, but the trail might continue on the other side.
A rustle in the bushes startled her. She turned and squinted against the bright noon sun and stared into the brush on the sides of the small trail. The rustling became a rumbling.
"EEEEHHHHH!" squealed a large boar. It broke free from its cover and charged towards Cassie. Instinctively she stepped backward. Her first steps backward were met with firm footing, yet as she stumbled backwards through the course thicket, her foot met nothing.
She didn't have time to scream before she was falling backward down the side of a large hill. She was rolling and banging her already sore head against various fallen branches and scattered stones. Everything around her was become a colorful blur. She felt like she needed to vomit. She hurtled off a bump and was tossed in the air. Gravity eventually slammed her against a clear patch of hot dirt, where she remained still and winded.
Cassie heard voices before she could open her eyes. They were soft and many of them. A whole group of people it sounded like. Her eyes fluttered open. She was greeted with a bright white light. Voices? White light?
Oh no! I've died and went to Heaven! she thought.
She opened her eyes wider and the light dimmed. Above her face was a dark shadow. It was speaking to her, but what was it asking? Her game? No, her name. The figure was asking for her name. The shadow brightened and Cassie could see the figure's face. It was coated with ebony coal and crimson blood, like war paint. Its hair was a dark red and its eyes were a chilling blue. It stared expectantly at her, but she couldn't speak. For once, she was speechless.
Oh no! I died and went to Hell instead! she screamed to herself.
She felt a pressure building in her throat. It built to a point where she couldn't breathe. The pressure was the plane crash, her head injury, being charged at by a beast, rolling down a hill, and meeting a savage from Hell. Women had an interesting way of relieving pressure when the time called for it.
"AHHHHHHH!" She screamed piercingly. She scurried backward, still screaming, and glanced around. There were at least a dozen painted savages. They varied in sizes, but wore similar designs on their faces. Cassie screamed louder. Several dropped their crude weapons and covered their ears. If she could distract them, perhaps…
She was too busy screaming. Cassie failed to notice the red-haired savage creep up to her and roughly cover her mouth. She squealed and tried to bite him.
"Stop. Screaming." He commanded. Cassie experienced several emotions in those seconds. Surprise. Rage. Sly calmness. She nodded slowly. The red-haired savage exhaled and removed his hand.
"That wasn't so-"Cassie swung up her leg between his opened legs. The savage yelped and dropped to his knees.
"Damn you," he squeaked out. He moaned and gripped himself. Cassie scuttled backwards out of his reach. Shakily, she rose to her feet. She heard footsteps behind her. Someone had crept up from behind. They had a knife against her throat and an arm around her thin waist.
"You'll pay for that," a dark voice whispered into her ear. The remaining savages whooped and hollered.
"You get her, Roger!"
"Avenge Jack!"
"Slice her throat!"
Cassie leaned forward trying to pull away. The savage, Roger, leaned backward trying to keep her from moving. Cassie grinned inside her head. She changed directions and leaned backward with all her might. The sudden change unbalanced Roger and they both tumbled into the dirt in a tangle of limbs. Roger flailed his arms, and the arm with the knife made contact with Cassie's thigh, right above the knee. She screamed again and clamped down on her bleeding leg.
Roger lay beside her, slightly dazed from their fall. The knife was no longer in his hand, but lying in between them. She slung her free arm out and scooped up the knife. It felt perfect in her hand. The blade shone with her blood.
Soon, not only my blood she thought darkly.
She raised the knife high above her head. She held it in her fist with the thumb placed on the bottom of the hilt, ready for stabbing. She remained still for a second. Roger's eyes were wide, his mouth opened, his whole face screaming with terror. It fueled Cassie's fury. She brought the knife down upon Roger in a final stabbing blow.
Midway, a hand flew out and grabbed her wrist. Cassie pulled and jerked, yet the hand didn't loosen its grip. She twisted her head and gazed upwards. The red-haired savage was up and moving. He was also glaring at her.
"Let go of my knife," he ordered. Cassie glared back up at him. She was vaguely aware of Roger crawling away, but she didn't avert her stare. Meanwhile, the savage was quickly tightening his hold on her wrist. Neither of them blinked. She was losing feeling to her hand. They continued their stare-down.
Cassie blinked. She dropped the knife and it landed harmlessly onto the dirt. The savage released his wrist and everybody cheered. He leaned down and scooped up his knife.
"Alright everybody! Return to camp. Roger! Tell Ralph what happened," he ordered.
Roger nodded and disappeared into the jungle along with the rest of the group.
Cassie had many questions. Who was Ralph? They had a camp? What was the name of the red-haired savage? Was he their leader? Why weren't there any adults in the group?
"I'm Jack Merridew," the red-haired savage announced. He stuck out his hand. Cassie stared down at it. Her right hand was still numb from their previous battle, so she stuck out her left hand, the same one that was covered with blood from her thigh. Jack gazed down at it.
"Err…no thanks," he said. "Let me take you to our camp. We can fix your leg and you can tell us about yourself."
Cassie nodded curtly. Jack leaned down and wrapped one of his arms around her waist. She weakly draped one of hers across his neck. He lifted her upwards and she balanced on her right, uncut, leg.
It's funny she thought. I've lost so much blood from the crash, haven't drunken any water in days, and now I'm bleeding from my leg. I should be- Cassie's sight disappeared and her legs gave out beneath her. She tumbled to the ground and experienced the all-too-familiar feel of unconsciousness.
She didn't dream. Perhaps she'd lost so much fluid, there wasn't enough left in her brain to power a nightmare. She was awake now though. She could feel warm, fine dirt beneath her. It wasn't the hard packed dirt of the jungle. Whatever she was lying in, it was shifty and pleasant. Cassie could hear voices chatting above her. She heard Jack's voice accompanied with two unfamiliar ones.
"I told you two, I didn't do anything. She just passed out for no reason. We'd barely gone two steps!"
"Just a cut on her leg caused her to pass out?"
"No. Look at the back of her head. It's all matted and there's dried blood. She probably hit her head recently. Combined with her fresh cut there must not have been enough blood reaching her brain. So she passed out. The problem is cleaning her wound."
"What do you mean Piggy?"
"If the wound gets infected, she could lose her leg. We should probably boil some water and pour it over the wound, then wrap it in a clean cloth."
"Why boiling water?"
"Hopefully it'll rid the wound of any bacteria or early infection."
Oh no. They are not about to pour scalding water over my open wound. Cassie thought angrily. She opened her eyes and attempted to catch their attention. She could barely see three boys. One was slender with fair blonde hair. Beside him was a chunky boy with short brown hair and small circular frames. He looked like the type of person who would know about scientific stuff. The last one, and the nearest one sitting to her, was a sinewy lad with dark red hair. It looked liked Jack. His paint wasn't on his face though.
Cassie couldn't speak. Her throat was too dry and hoarse from screaming. She could move her hands though. She peered along the ground looking for something to get their attention. Perhaps a stick or a particularly sharp stone would work. All she could see was Jack's hand resting about half a foot from hers.
She inched her hand over to his and tapped it gently. Jack didn't notice, but continued to argue with the hefty boy, Piggy. She tapped again. No response. Cassie groaned inside her head. The boy must have leather skin. She raised her fingers an inch into the air and brought her fingernails down into Jack's hand.
"OW!" Jack jerked his hand up and rubbed it. Piggy peered at him from behind his small frames.
"What happened?" he asked. Jack glared down at his hand.
"I dunno know. Something-"He glanced down at the girl that was supposed to be sleeping next to him. She was glowering at him. Piggy noticed.
"Quick! Ralph, get her some water," Piggy ordered. Ralph left and returned shortly with a coconut overflowing with water. He handed it to Cassie who chugged it down. It flowed down her dried esophagus and wet her mouth. She dropped the empty coconut beside her. Ralph returned with another.
"You," Cassie pointed at Piggy with a slightly upraised finger. "Come closer. I want to thank you." Piggy looked smug and made a point to make it known to the other two boys. He leaned down close to Cassie. She calmly drank a mouthful of water and leaned up close to Piggy's face. She squirted her mouthful into his face.
Piggy fell backwards sputtering and dripping wet. Jack and Ralph burst out laughing.
"Wha…what was that for? I thought you wanted to thank me!" Piggy babbled.
"I did…for almost pouring scalding water onto me!" Cassie shot back.
"But it has to be done! You could catch an infection!"
"I don't care. I'm not doing it."
"Yes, you are," said Ralph. "It's for your own good. We've already got the water boiling and everything."
"I don't know any of you, but you're gonna pour boiling water on me?"
"Hold on, you never told me your name. I was kind enough to tell you mine."
"Cassandra McCartney. Call me Cassie." She muttered. Ralph stood up and walked away. Piggy reached up for his glasses and began to polish them.
"Jack, you're gonna have to hold her still. I bet she's gonna try to hurt me the minute I start pouring," he said. Jack rolled his eyes, but agreed. He picked up Cassie from underneath his arms and heaved her into a sitting position. From there, he positioned himself on his knees and wrapped both arms around her middle, securing her arms in place. Cassie glared at Piggy.
"I bet I'll hurt you before you start pouring," she threatened. Piggy polished his glasses again.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. It'll be over before you know it," he said. Jack leaned in close to her ear.
"Why do you have such long hair?" he whispered. It gave Cassie goose bumps along her arms and legs. Back home, everybody said she looked just like her mother with her hair. It was dark brown and reached mid-back.
"Perhaps I shall cut it in the middle of the night," Jack threatened. Cassie twisted her head around and smiled at him.
"Perhaps I shall steal your knife that same night and cut off your-"
"Ahem," Ralph had returned. He obviously had overheard Cassie. His face was bright red. "The water's boiling and ready to use." Piggy nodded happily. He had Ralph pin Cassie's legs down. Piggy then nervously rolled her skirt up almost all the way to her hip in able to see the entire wound. The cut had stopped bleeding, but the entire left thigh was stained red with blood and looked all around disgusting looking. Piggy brought over several coconuts of boiling water and a strip of cloth cut from the sweater that she had tied around her waist earlier. He glanced over at Cassie.
"Prepare yourself," he said. He raised the first bowl of hot water and tipped it over the wound. The pain was indescribable. It felt like lightening was drilling itself into her skin. She thrashed and squirmed under Jack and Ralph's grip. The pain was driving her wild. The first coconut was finished. Piggy poured a second, and a third, and a fourth. By the time the fourth coconut was empty, Cassie was on the verge of passing out from the pain.
"That's done. Jack, hand me your knife," Piggy said. Both Jack and Cassie looked at him suspiciously.
"Why?" Jack asked. Piggy paled and looked away.
"I want to let it get hot in the fire then use it to close Cassie's wound." Cassie picture Piggy holding a hot knife and digging it into her skin. He would laugh at her screams and bury the small weapon deeper into her flesh.
"Oh no you're not. Don't you even come close to me with that knife," Cassie threatened. Ralph shifted uneasily. He wouldn't like it if someone tried to press a hot metal knife to his leg after having four bowls of hot water poured onto him.
"Piggy, can't we just wrap it up?" Ralph asked politely. Piggy sighed dejectedly.
"I suppose, but I don't want it to reopen. Cassie, you can't apply any pressure to it, or it could reopen again and we'll have to pour water over it all over again, do you understand?" Piggy asked. She glared at him.
"I'm not a child. I'm fifteen; I know what the consequences are. Now someone help me up. I wanna go lie in the shade." Piggy slid his glasses off his face and polished them with his shirt.
"I said no pressure. That means no standing. The only way you can move is if someone carries you Cassie," he said gently. Her nostrils flared, and her eyes brightened.
"I will not be carried around." She announced proudly. Jack scoffed from behind her. She jumped. She had forgotten he was behind her. She turned and stared at him.
"What are you complaining about? You don't have to carry someone around for the next few weeks," he said. Cassie had to admit he had a point. Hold on though.
"Are you volunteering?" she asked curiously. Jack sat on his knees and didn't respond. After a minute he nodded. Ralph sighed with relief. He released Cassie's legs and collected the empty coconut bowls. Piggy frowned, but stood up and walked away. Jack released his grip around Cassie's middle. The returning circulation in her arms tingled. Then he placed one arm under her knees, and the other under her back. Cassie groaned to herself and wrapped her arms around his neck. Jack lifted her up.
"Oh my god. Do you just sit around and eat all day long?" he huffed. Cassie glared up at his face. She wasn't thin, but she was far from large. As she was carried along towards a group of crude shelters, a boy ran up to them with a suggestive smile on his face.
"Hey Jack. Where are you two-"the boy stopped. Both Jack and the new girl were scowling at him. Their frowns were identical. Both of them looked liked they were going to attack him. Their matching expressions were intimidating. Maurice felt like he was going to pee in his shorts. Jack's glares were frightening, but now it felt like he was receiving a double hit.
"…going," he squeaked out. He turned around and ran away. His body disappeared behind a clump of large rocks buried at the edge of the ocean.
Jack brought Cassie over to one of the wooden shelters. It was decent in size, big enough for several boys. Sticks were driven into the ground to create three walls, leaving one open. The ceiling consisted of large palm leaves. Jack dropped Cassie onto the soft floor. It was the same shifty material that she was lying in earlier. She lifted a handful into her palm and let it slip through her fingers. She had never seen or felt sand before. She had only heard stories about beaches being covered in the fine, white material. She looked up at Jack who was staring back at her.
"I'm thirsty. Can you get me something to drink?" she asked. He rolled his eyes.
"I may be carrying you around, but I'm not your caretaker."
"Well, then carry me to some water," she demanded. Jack shook his red head.
"I don't have time to carry you all over the place. Like it or not, you're gonna be sitting in here for awhile." That was it. Cassie not only had to depend on an arrogant bully, but he wasn't even gonna let her depend on him.
"No. You volunteered to carry me around and that includes whenever I want, wherever I want. It also means you are going to take care of me," she pointed at herself, and then crossed her arms. Jack raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"I didn't know I was supposed to be watching over a spoiled princess."
"I'm not spoiled! And that's beside the point. Why would you volunteer for something you weren't gonna do?" she asked. Because you feel guilty? Because you're bored? Because you like me? Cassie's stomach twisted into a knot.
"Because I'm the only one that can carry your dead weight," he replied smugly. Cassie covered her face with her hands and rolled away from Jack's imposing figure. Hopefully he couldn't see her reddening face.
AN: Alright, first off, the medical stuff in this chapter, i.e. Piggy pouring boiling water on Cassie, was purely unrealistic. Not only would that hurt, but I don't think it really works. Time being decades ago though and the boys are stranded with limited resources, it sounds like a believable option at the time. So do not attempt at home.
Thanks to StarLove18 for her review!