The Island

Standing Up

Violence warning- this entire chapter is pretty violent, but it has a lot to do with the plotline, so if you can handle it, I suggest reading, but if you trigger easily, you can skip it and I'll include small hints of what happened in the next few chapters without making it too violent or triggering.

"Jack Merridew!" I yelled as I walked up the steps into Castle Rock. He had returned from hunting, along with the other boys a dead pig. He was beaming from the adrenaline of his first kill, but his face still held confusion as he turned towards me. I paused for a moment, deciding whether or not to let him have his moment of glory before getting on his ass, but I decided it was long overdue.

"Lizzie, I killed it! I killed a pig!" Jack hollered, jumping around the dead animal; the other boys following alongside him, hooting an unknown chant.

"Never mind your stupid pig!" I snapped, crossing my arms across my almost completely exposed chest. Jack stopped for a moment, his smile faltering, before he regained his joy and hopped towards me, his arms open wide and ready for me to embrace him as if nothing was wrong.

"We're going to have a feast, and you'll be the star of it. I promised I would get you meat; here's your meat!" He hadn't noticed the uninterested look on my face; he was too caught up in his ego to realize that 'his girl' was angry.

"Jack Merridew, you listen to me right now!" I snapped. He stopped, his smile dropping as he peered down at me, a confused and worried expression crossing his features. "I am sick and tired of how you've been treating me! I deserve so much better than this!"

"Lizzie, what are you talking about? I treat you great. I got you meat," Jack defended himself, obviously not used to me standing up to him.

"I don't give a damn about your fucking pig, Merridew! I've had enough; you can't treat me like shit anymore. I'm not your toy to play with anymore. I am my own person, and you will no longer push me around whenever you want. I'm not playing anymore of your fucking games, boy!" It felt good to snap at him. The look on his face fueled my adrenaline, and I almost wanted to throw a punch at him, just to see his reaction. He looked almost defeated, and I thought for a moment that he would give in, in front of all the other boys.

I knew he wouldn't give in; I should have known that Jack Merridew does not back down, and he does not let others talk back to him.

"Do you really want to do this, Lizzie?" He growled in an almost threatening tone. He had begun to lean closer to me, getting in my face and bearing his dirty teeth. I knew the worst was about to come. "I have complete control over you. You're just a girl, and I'm the fucking chief! I can send you off into the ocean if I wanted to! You have no control over me, girl." His vile breath hissed in my face as he glared down at me, his chest almost pressed onto mine as he got closer and closer.

I refused to move my ground. I wasn't going to let him win without a fight. I knew he controlled me; I knew I couldn't do much before he ended whatever I had going for me. I wasn't strong in his eyes, but just standing up to him made me feel so much better about myself.

[violence starts now, so if you aren't comfortable or may get triggered, I suggest skipping this part. It's a bit graphic, imo, and I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable or anything. I'll let you know when it ends by putting a * ]

"Jack, I will not tell you this again, you cannot control me anymore. I will fight back again and again until you realize that my life does not belong to you." I couldn't say anymore. It's not that I had nothing else to say, it was because I was now clutching my cheek that Jack had just slapped. I felt it grow hot as the pain made my cheek throb. I thought I heard a few gasps, but they were barely audible as I screamed in both pain and anger. I tried lunging at him, wanting nothing more than to kick him; punch him, and give him a piece of my now-jumbled mind. Jack wrapped his arms tightly around my body, squeezing tightly and slightly restricting the airflow in my tired lungs as I continued to scream and thrash around.