Ralph continued to stand on the beach, the other bigguns standing beside him. They watched the beast's body be taken away from them. They had succeeded in their task, they'd killed the evil. Ralph's eyes couldn't focus. Or more so they didn't want to focus. Ralph's eyes shut tight as he heard the sound. Once he opened them it was over, the body was gone. A single fin slowly swam away, its stomach filled with a pleasant meal. Ralph's heart pounded in his stomach, he felt nauseous, his body felt too small to fit his consciousness.
"T-that was Simon..." Ralph muttered to himself. He muttered the words over and over again within his head. "That... t-that..."
Ralph looked around. No one else knew, no one else realized they had killed one of their own. Ralph's eyes locked upon Roger's body. It looked so...relaxed...it looked so calm compared to his own. Roger looked happy...too happy. As Roger's mouth moved it always fell back to a smile, a toothy grin. He could see Roger giggling like a little girl, the boy's muscles couldn't help but relax.
"Look at those idiots~ what can i say chief. Now that Simon is gone we don't have to worry about him tryna comfort the littleuns." Roger spoke, not a hint of effort to quiet his words. "Come~! Let's go hunt a pig as celebration!" Roger grabbed a bloodied spear into his left hand, he practiced his stabbing motions. Roger would poke Jack's hand with the spear, "Jack! God are you even listening! Fine I'll go by myself if you want to be such a bitch." Roger's body slithered away from the crowd off into the forest.
Ralph noticed it aswell. Jack looked...unwell. His face covered by crimson curls looked...empty. His only expression being that of the forced smile painted upon himself.
"Am i... crying...?" Jack thought to himself. He lifted a single finger to his right eye. It was moist. The red paint underneath his lid softly smudging. "W-wh...why?"
Ralph took a step towards the taller boy. But Jack had cemented himself back into his regular personality. Jack took his spear, flipping it to the duller edge, he lifted his right arm before slamming the wood upon the back of a boy's head. "Get out of my way." Jack spoke in his tone of authority. Jack didn't even need to move the kid. He simply wanted to demonstrate his power.
"The feast is over. You bigguns better sleep well tonight! We are going on a hunt." Jack glanced upon the littleuns who weren't listening to him, his jaw tensed with what seemed to be anger. "And to the useless littleuns you better start cleaning up camp." Jack would make his way over to the oldest of the littleuns shoving him to the ground. He would turn to the other littleuns who were now staring with wide eyes.
"J-Jack!" Ralph yelled out, he needed to remember his goal, he was here to eat, and to get his rule back. He felt at his waist where the conch used to rest, it had disappeared... and before Ralph could say anything Jack was gone, the only evidence of him even being present were the footprints buried into the sand.
Without much else to do the boys got to work. They all had to climb back up the small hill, back to their camp. As the still burning bonfire was visible the littleuns began to run. Their small hands grabbing at whatever was deemed "messy" to them. The bones of the pig being taken up within seconds. The bigguns would make their way to a line of trees. Jack never had built them huts to sleep in, the hunter apparently never saw it as an issue as they slept in bushes or simply laying on the grass.
"Ralph! What the heck do you think you're doing! We went here to put a stop to this dumb tribal thing, not join in on the dances!" An annoying nasally voice popped out of the fat boy's throat. "And where is the conch!" Piggy looked mad, his eyebrows furrowing. Piggy continued to berate into Ralph. Ralph was too tired to care, and to in his mind to listen.
"We...no... I killed Simon..." Ralph looked at his palms as his thoughts tornadoed inside his mind. He was the one to pierce Simon's throat... he did that on his own accord. No one forced him... no... no he was forced! Of course he was!
"Ralph! RALPH!" Piggy's voice struck Ralph like a thunderbolt, Piggy's mouth was practically right against the boy's ear as the fat one screamed his name. "Ralph I worry for you sometimes." Piggy smacked Ralph's back. The two boys slowly walked down the beach once more. They slowly returned to huts built during the first week they crashed.
"Piggy..." Ralph spoke in a broken voice. "Am i... a bad person...?"
"What?" Piggy responded quickly.
"Am I a bad person!"
"Ralph i dont know why you're aski-"
Ralph's hands went to his hair, his fingers tightly grasping the strands. He pulled with just enough force for it to hurt, but just enough to not pull out his hair. He booked it into his hut. He couldn't handle any more. It wasn't fair. Why could Merridew act all high and mighty. Why could Merridew not feel guilty...
Ralph exited his hut after a minute. His thoughts were getting to him. Piggy had gone to sleep, his snores filling the beach. Ralph's feet smacked against the wet sand overpowering every other sound. He had one destination. Jack's camp.
The sand squished underneath the boy's toes, its residual heat transferring into the sole of his feet. As he lifted them the sticky sand would shoot up behind him. Ralph didn't care if he looked like a mess. He slowly approached the now dull bonfire circle. Where was Merridew. Where was Jack.
Ralph quietly moved to the patch of trees the other hunters slept upon. He wasnt there. Ralph moved to the stump Jack was sitting on during the feast. He wasnt there. No traces of Jack's footprints were even at the camp.
Ralph heard the sound of a voice. It was a sob. It came from further in the forest. Ralph made his way over the sleeping bodies of the hunters, he stepped carefully to avoid breaking any branches. Ralph's breath was quiet, his body stilled as he approached the source of crying.
Looking out over a pool of water stood the redhead. Soft crying noises could be heard from his direction. Ralph could just barely pick up on him muttering to himself.
"He's gone..." Jack's voice was rough, his throat sore from his own tears. "I-...w-why did i let them..." Jack could barely speak, even to himself.
The redhead turned around, his painted face now a mere jumble of colours. The moon softly glistened on his painted skin, the light refracting off each tear drop. Ralph had been caught with his pants down as Jack stared into his eyes.
"Shit." Jack muttered as he ran over to Ralph. As his feet pushed against the ground underneath him his arm reached out grabbing a branch off a tree. His wrist ripped it from the trunk. He lifted his arm back slamming the branch into Ralph. Ralph had no time to react still shocked to see the other boy crying. As Ralph fell to the ground he could just barely hear a soft "im sorry... i cant let you tell the others..."
