The Island

Eat Your Meat

Violence warning, not too bad but it could be triggering to some people.

"Simon, please tell me where you're going?" I asked, lightly grasping the young boy's arm as he tried to walk away from the camp.

"Lizzie, I promise I won't be gone long, just please let me go. It's not a big deal." Simon urged, trying to shake himself from my grasp. I held on tighter and turned him towards me. He was trying to hide something from me, and I could see right through his façade.

"It is a big deal, because you tell me where you're going every other time. Why can't you tell me this time?" I pried. The look in his eyes told me that I wouldn't be finding out even if I had to threaten the answer out of him. It was obviously either dangerous or scandalous, otherwise he wouldn't be trying so hard to keep it a secret. "Are you going to see another boy?" I asked, my eyebrows raising. His face blushed red and he averted his gaze to anywhere but me as he suddenly grew embarrassed.

"N-no! I'm just going out. I'll be back soon." He sputtered. I laughed and let go of his arm, finally letting him leave.

"Just be back before we go to Jack's. I don't want to go without you, it'll be boring." I fake pouted and smiled as he smiled back before walking away, submerging himself into the thick brush.

My back still ached, but it was slowly beginning to scab over. I was told to both bathe to keep it clean, and not to bathe so the scabs that have formed wont come off. Simon had pretty much turned into my doctor, and he was actually doing a really good job. He looked up to his dad a lot, and he had learned a ton from him.

I sat slowly in the sand near the water, looking out at the clear ocean and the bright blue sky. If I were to come back one day after being rescued, I would paint the view from so many different spots. The entire island was gorgeous.

"Hey, Lizzie," I heard Ralph's voice behind me, and I turned to smile at him. He sat down next to me, flashing a quick smile before looking down at his feet. "we don't have to go to the feast tonight. I know you said you wanted to, but-"

"Ralph," I cut him off, looking him in the eyes. He looked up at me and we held eye contact. "I want to go. I can't give Jack the satisfaction of knowing he's winning. If I don't go tonight he'll know that I'm afraid of him."

"Are you afraid of him?" Ralph asked seriously, placing a hand on my knee.

"Honestly," I sighed, "no." I wasn't scared of him. I was scared of what he was capable of, sure, but I wasn't scared of him.

Ralph and I began building a sandcastle in silence. Neither of us suggested it, we just did it. We didn't talk for a long time after that. Once we finished the sandcastle, we began piling sand on top of each other until we were both sandy and satisfied. He wiggled his sand-covered toes and I giggled.

I stood up, the sand falling from my body, and slowly walked into the salty ocean water, letting it wash the sand from my bare legs. Ralph watched in amusement as I jumped when a piece of seaweed grazed my foot, running back to the shore and to safety from the harmless plant. I collapsed next to him and he smiled brightly, his teeth showing. They most definitely weren't clean, but they were still white-ish and I couldn't help but smile back at him. He laced our fingers together and I let him, not thinking much of it. We sat until the sun began to set; reds and oranges and purples littered the sky, turning it into a watercolour-like canvas.

"Ralph?" Piggy called from farther down the beach. His voice echoed slightly and I laughed at the prepubescent tone of it. He was still a boy, and I often forgot. I forgot we were all children.

"We're over here!" Ralph called back, standing up and pulling me up with him. He dusted his legs and butt off and I did the same to myself. We watched as Piggy hobbled over in his fat state and caught his breath for a moment before speaking.