Serendipity

Seven~Build a drawbridge why don't you

I guess we had two sides now. One for evil and one for the good. Except it wasn't like that, I didn't know where I belonged. I wanted to be with Ralph, be safe and sure with my decision. But a part of me longed to be with jack. I shooed that ridiculous thought away from myself. Come on Rey you're better than that. Pigs blood and knifes and dirt. What would mother think? Oh shut-up about whatever mother thinks, she doesn't care.
"Simon? Where did you live? You know, before the island." I pondered. Me and Simon were sitting before the ocean. Ralph at work with piggy and the twins, the littleuns playing as usual. Jack. I didn't know.
"Not far from fountain valley." He had his legs crossed, eyes closed and inhaling the soft salty sea breeze.
"I had a mother and father, sister and a grandmother who lives with us. She taught me things about the world." He had opened his eyes. The last sentence made me emotional. Simon was a special child, taught by his grandmother to learn all about the world and to think more deeply about things. He sees things we don't.
"That explains a lot." Smiling, I placed a hand on his shoulder and we sat back, pointing out the clouds above and sharing knowledge of science. Here on this island Simon was so much more than a friend, like the brother I never had.
The younger ones, Percival and Peter came scrambling up to me with their toothy smiles and innocent demeanour.
"We need your help!" One of them squeaked.
"With what?" I asked, forcing a smile for myself.
"Roger knocked our sand castles over so we need you to make another and protect it!" They exclaimed in unison. I stood, waving to Simon then returning to the happy children, well pleased that I was obliging to their task.
I plopped down on the sand and began to dig and mould a small castle with my hands, smoothing it out gently and patting it down, adding a few sea shells here and there.
"There. A nice sand castle." I finished, jazz handing my way over back to Simon.
"Wait!" Peter pulled me back with my shorts and dragged me weakly over to my lame attempt of a a sand castle.
"It's not big enough. It needs to be really big!" Percival cried. I nodded, biting my lip and this time grabbing a stick and plunging it in and out of the sand, fixing up a huge pile to be a 'castle'. I delicately carved some patterns into it, adding turrets along the top and small shards of broken sea shell for the wall. That should work.
"Happy?" I smiled weakly as they hugged me tightly around the legs and ran off.
"Remember to keep guard!" The distanced voice of Peter echoed down the cove as they went off to resume their childlike play. I did as I was told and sat by the castle, watching the waves flow by it and the birds soar above. Simon was still calmly and peacefully sitting by himself, undisturbed.
I sighed, this was my life now.
A small sand crab scuttled by my feet, scarcely missing my feet, blending with the colour of soft white.
I pick at it with my stick, curious by its ever so small features. Something so small, but I was so drawn to it, this must be how Simon felt.

The sound of the conch filled the island, Ralph was blowing it, followed by piggy closely by his side. Reluctantly, I stood up, taking off my hoodie in the intense heat and slouching over to the shortened crowd. Even so, the hunters came running, with a pig in their midst.
"We caught a pig!" Jack yelled, Roger and Larry glued to his side like guards, blood slashed over them like they've committed to murder. If I'm honest, they looked horrifying.
Jack chucked the pig down in front of our feet, avoiding eye contact with me. The rest of us just shrugged, not knowing what to make of that. I was only interested in what Ralph had to say.
He shuffled to the rock to stand above, his trousers now removed and only showing his deep red shorts.
"Now that jack has made a new camp down the other island, it's obvious he wants something more than we do. We need to protect that something before he and the rest of his 'minions' take action."
Ralph declared. What was he talking about? The conch?
"And what would that be, chief?" Jack mocked, his head tilting to the sand, pouting.
"You know what it is. Don't play dumb with me merridew." Ralph snarled harshly.
I looked down at my feet awkwardly, not knowing where to look.
"Her." I blinked. Her. Last time I checked there wasn't a her amongst us except me.
"You're not so stupid then are you chief?" Jack laughed, swaying over to my direction. I didn't dare to look at him before he did, already feeling his piercing blue eyes force themselves into my head. This boy.
"As I said, we need to protect Rey." Ralph repeated. I rolled my eyes as I watched jack slide near to me.
He dragged his spear to my neck and kept it there, there was nothing I could do but look.
"Build a draw bridge why don't you?!" Jack laughed sarcastically, tossing back his head, pushing in the spear.
"I get to choose." I declared firmly, shrugging off his spear hold and hovering back over to Ralph and piggy.
Jack smirked casually, but I wasn't going to play nice.
"You better watch your back Ralph." He winked typically, then wandered away with the rest. Surprised to see samneric joining him along with a few other littleuns. I shivered, watch your back Ralph. This meant I needed to watch my own back as well as everyone else's, he's on the look out for me, god knows what else. This boy was playing games that he shouldn't.
As I was about to strut away to my own doings, I felt a strong hand turn me around.
We stood, facing each other for a moment, just captivated by each other's glance.
"You need someone." Ralph says. Not knowing what he meant, I pulled a side eye, twisting my face into a 'what?' Look.
"Someone? Someone for what?" I say, although it was slowly becoming clearer of what he was pointing out.
"You need someone to protect you. Jacks dangerous. And besides, you heard what he said." Watch your back Ralph. Yeah, I sure did. I nodded, both of his hands stretched out to my shoulders, holding me there.
"Ralph, I'm perfectly capable of fending for myself, Jack won't hurt me."
"It's not that he'll hurt you, it's just he'll kidnap you and take you to his side without us knowing or maybe be will hurt you." The matter of how long he lingered for the word, will, meant he was serious. He really did want me to be careful, how could I stop him?
"And who would that, someone, be?" I smirked, glancing at piggy who was being buried by Peter and Percival, his head popping out the sand just about.
Poor kid.
"Well, uh, i.. uh.. guess it's me... if it's okay with you?" He stammered, biting his lip with his eyebrows tilted.
I kissed him on the cheek lightly, nodding even though I hated the idea of being 'protected.'
"When does it start?"
"Now." I tapped his head, stroking his cheek.
"So, king Ralph, where am I to go first?" I teased, ruffling his hair and placing my hands behind my back.
"The royal castle of beach hut." He laughed, gently towing me to the hut as I sat, himself standing in front of it, pacing back and forth.
I rested my shoulders, my knife held in my pocket with the tip carefully positioned by my belt. I flicked it out, digging it continuously in the sand again and again and creating small lines. Why would Jack want me? He hates me right now, he knows I 'cheated' on him with Ralph but who cares. We're on an island anyway, an ISLAND!
"Surely this can't go on all the time." I practically screeched, chucking the knife elsewhere.
"It stops when jack stops, and that will probably be..." he rested, and reluctantly I finished his sentence that I couldn't deny was true.
"Never." I sighed, the wind slightly picking up.
The sky was unusual today. A growing grey with the clouds surrounding the scar like a hug, cold and staring. No birds were up in that sky today, not that I've seen any. Which was unusual for this particular island, usually with the sky swarming with them everywhere you looked.
No matter how many times I tried to linger away from the fact jack possibly hated me, the thought always dragged itself back. I couldn't avoid him, the island was small and there was no way around me somehow not bumping into him in the woods one day whilst hunting. That got me thinking, with the hunters gone and no one available for hunting, I was the only one left willing to do so. Grabbing my knife, I subtly edged my way out of the hut and stood beside it, what would my next move be? He would notice I've gone if I leave, and I couldn't go without him seeing I would, there was no way around my 'guard.' There was only one thing I could do.
I grunted, catching Ralph's attention. He coughed and pointed back inside the hut; he wanted me to go back inside, but no.
Lol mood.
"We need food." I say, knife in hand.
"You can't go on your own, they could ambush you-"
"I'm asking you to come with me." I cut in, placing my knife down to tie back my hair that was repeatedly blowing in my face with the intensity of the wind. He nodded, took my knife and fled from the 'castle.' This was a date I guess, I mean that's what it seemed.
I smiled to myself, a date!
I laced my hands through Ralph's and took lead, twisting in and out of the forest and lost complete control of what I was doing. I was to focused on the boy I was with, not the sheep, no pig I was attempting to hunt.