The Island

Rescue

"Lizzie?" A soft voice woke me from the groggy unconsciousness I was in. The pain in my back was the first thing I felt, and I almost cried out as I tried to sit up quickly. A hand stopped me, and I rubbed my tired eyes before looking at the source of the voice. Ralph, Simon, and Piggy were sitting around me, looking at me worriedly. Simon was holding a cup of water, and I grabbed it and gulped it down, my dry and sore throat thanking me for the cool liquid.

"What happened?" Piggy asked, gesturing to my back.

"I had a bit of a disagreement with Jack." I replied The boys winced, and I could tell Ralph was angry, but he refused to show it as he studied my face for any other injuries. His eyes landed on my cheek, and I bought my hand up to it, gently pushing on my dirty skin. It hurt; there was probably an obvious bruise. I hadn't thought that Jack had hit me that hard, but my face told me otherwise.

"I can't believe he would do that to you," Piggy said, "I thought he cared about you."

"He's turning into a monster, Piggy. He isn't the same guy he used to be. I told him I didn't want him to control me anymore and he went out of his mind." I attempted to shrug, but my back didn't really let me. Ralph helped me stand up and him and Simon softly put my arms around their shoulders, slowly walking me to the bathing pool, I assumed.

"You wounds aren't too bad," Simon spoke for the first time, "you need to wash them, but I doubt they'll get infected." Piggy followed behind us; I could hear his heavy breathing, even though we were walking slow. He surprisingly hadn't lost much weight since we got here, which was saying something considering we didn't have much to eat.

"Thanks, Simon." I replied softly. We walked in silence until we reached the bathing pool, where Simon suggested I take the remains of my shirt and my bra off, his face holding a bright red blush. I obliged, making sure the boys were turned around before stripping my clothes and slowly wading into the pool. It was cooler than it used to be, and I was thankful for the coolness against my back. The water stung my wounds, but not enough for me to cry out. I didn't think I would have been able to handle bathing in the ocean; I was grateful Simon had a clue what to do, otherwise I would have almost killed myself jumping into the ocean.

I let the boys turn around and look at me when I had submerged myself into the water, but all three of them avoided looking at me in fear of getting flashed. It was almost funny, how even though they would soon be hitting puberty (Ralph was probably going through it at the moment), they all had no interest in seeing any bit of me that may seem inappropriate.

The boys and I had small conversations as I floated around, the water cleaning my wounds and easing the pain. We joked about how I was always the one to get hurt the most, and how I was pretty much the unlucky one of all of the other boys.

"I hope we get off this Island soon," I said, my eyes closed as I slowly floated across the pool. Simon and Ralph had their toes dipped in the water, and Piggy was sitting in a more shaded area a bit farther away. "I'm done with these natural healing treatments. I'm pretty sure my foot will be fucked up for the rest of my life, in some ways, and I'll have nasty scars on my back. I just wish I had some ointment or something right now."

"We'll get off soon," Simon said softly, staring into the water with an emotionless expression. "I have a feeling it'll be sooner than we think."

"I hope we get rescued tomorrow, honestly," Ralph added, "I can't wait until I can sleep in my own bed again." he was looking out into the water as well, but he had a hopeful look on his face' probably daydreaming of his home. I was unsure where I would go once we got rescued. My father sent me away, and even though he would be thrilled to see me again, he wouldn't be able to afford to keep both my sister and I.

"What'll happen when we get rescued? I mean, where will we all go? I know we'll all go back to our homes, but will we still be able to see each other, or will we go back to how it was before we left? Are we going to ignore that we were ever on this island?" I asked. The boys were quiet for awhile before Simon spoke up.

"I'll keep in touch. I'll call all of you every day." He said, smiling slightly.

"Me too." Piggy agreed, along with Ralph and I. I smiled and thought about how fantastic it will feel to finally get rescued. I couldn't imagine how great it would feel to sit next to Simon, Ralph and Piggy in the ship or plane, and know that we're all safe and going home.

After awhile I started to prune, so Simon and Ralph helped me out of the pool- while shielding their eyes- and I got dressed slowly, not wanting to put too much strain on my raw back. We walked back to the camp slowly, and talked about how our lives were before we got stranded on the island. We were all smiling and laughing, finally enjoying ourselves in what seemed like a long time.

Once we reached the camp, however, we grew quiet. Waiting, sitting on a log, was Jack, his face makeup fresh and his face almost a bit cleaner, as if he had washed his face and put on more makeup. I scowled at him as we approached, but he had his head down, looking into the sand with a far off expression. Ralph cleared his throat and Jack looked up, sprouting from his seat and pushing out his chest, trying to appear bigger, in a way. I wondered how- he had already asserted dominance over all of us, that much was clear.

"I'm having a feast tonight! You're all invited." Jack said. He tried to sound strong, but I could swear his voice wavered as soon as his eyes landed on my swollen and bruised cheek.

"I don't know if we'll be coming-" Ralph started.

"You can all come, and I expect you to. I have fresh meat- it's an offer you can't put down." Jack cut him off, looking around at the boys, yet avoiding meeting eyes with me. I crossed my arms as best I could, glaring at the tall blonde with the most menacing look I could conjure at the moment. He still avoided my gaze.

That was all he said before he quickly glanced at me once more, a pained look on his face, and walked away, back to Castle Rock where he would be haunted by the memory of what he had done.

"We don't have to go," Ralph said after several minutes, "we can-"

"We're going." Was all I said before walking away from the sight of Jack's back. His clean, scar free back.

/////

You guys probably thought they were going to get rescued;)))
It's pretty much just Ralph, Simon and Piggy rescuing her from her ouch pain back.

This chapter was a little more light-hearted? I don't know. I was listening to Eminem for half this chapter so I was all "I'm gonna make this hard core and shit" but halfway through I turned the music off bc I had to do something, so the rest of the chapter I was like "I'm gonna make this kind of nice and upbeat because they are still children, not hard core rap gods."

I hope you enjoyed this, and it's shorter than the last chapter because if I had put everything I have planned in it, it would have been too long, so I cut it off.

The next chapter is probably going to be one of the darkest and most hard-core chapters that I will be writing. I have tons planned and I really hope it turns out as good as I have it planned in my head.

Vote, comment, tell your friends even though this is trash<3

~sadies