AN: Well this is the final chapter to The Bitter Seed before the epilogue! I hope everyone who read this enjoyed it thouroughly, and I want to thank everyone who followed this and put down reviews. I should probably say I had to write either a sequel, a prequel, a parrallel story, or rewrite chapter 12 of Lord of the Flies for and English assignment, and this sequel was what I had in mind, although I decided to tweak the ending a little. Don't worry, I'll post the original ending too! Anyway, I decided to put this story on fanfiction, but break it down into chapters instead of one long story. I'm glad everyone liked it!
Ralph thrashed one last time as Jack was about to hit him with the rock. Ralph began to feel a sharp pain on his right temple, and then blood was in his eyes.
But he was still alive.
Ralph heard a splash and then a cry for help. He blinked the blood out of his eyes and turned his head. The rock had missed his face by inches, but left a gash on the side of his head. Plus, his thrashing had thrown Jack off balance and left him tumbling in the river.
"Help!" Jack cried, "Ralph! Please!"
Ralph tried to stand up, but he was still dazed from the blow and sank back to his knees. Using the eye that didn't have blood in it, he looked out towards the river.
The current was carrying Jack quickly away.
Jack was holding on to a piece of driftwood, but he was too exhausted to pull himself up or hold on for much longer to it. His pleas and the rushing water were all Ralph heard.
Finally, Ralph struggled to his feet and stumbled over to a bridge where Jack was headed. When the Jack passed under it, Ralph hopped on the driftwood unsteadily and sank back down to his knees for better balance. Jack's face looked pleadingly and pitifully up at him.
It'd be so easy to just grab his fingers and thrust them off the driftwood. So easy.
But that's just it. Ralph wasn't the savage beast Jack was.
But Jack tried to kill him.
But I can't bring myself to kill him.
Ralph sighed. "Give me your bloody hand, you insane twit," he said.
Jack eagerly grabbed Ralph's hand. "Oh thank you! Thank you, Ralph!" he exclaimed after he was pulled back onto the driftwood.
Applause interrupted the boys.
"Ralph!" Ralph's father called to him, "Well done, my boy!"
Ralph's mother was crying from relief her son was alive, and Tessa was there too. She even had a few tears in her eyes. Other neighborhood boys were there, friends from school or just friends. The pride in their eyes made Ralph's eyes swell with tears as well. He smiled.
He had done the right thing, after all, saving Jack.