captured // lord of the flies

chapter two

"bloody hell..." ralph complained, as he pulled his arms back through the bars of his cell. they had injected him with his daily dose of CFr, but today they decided to try to combine it with a type of chemical that helped with his anxiety. not that they cared about ralphs feelings, they just didn't want to worry about two people passing out in the lab.

ralph squinted his eyes as he adjusted to the light of the sun, shining through the window. he grabbed his toothbrush, and began his morning routine. sometimes he would try to be funny, and say things like "today ill be using my absolute favorite toothpaste!" but that had gotten old the first six times.

he walked to the front of his cell, and looked to the one across from his. as he brushed his teeth, he watched alex stretch her arm between the steel bars, and was injected with a whitish-yellow substance. she was then handed a small blue pill to swallow dry.

one of the soldiers stood in the middle of the room, and yelled something that sounded like "soldeatee" which ralph believed to be "soldiers!" she yells it everyday, and they respond the same everyday.

the men and women lined up in front of each of the childrens cell doors.

the bald one, the one ralph hates, was to open his cell today.

"hands behind your back 26." he growled. ralph shot him a dirty look, and obeyed. "what was that, kid?" he questioned, visibly irritated by ralphs attitude. the blonde boy just stared at him. he knew he was making a dumb decision, but did nothing to stop himself. he had an odd temper this morning. most likely because he was up all night thinking about how he can help alex.

"don't try me, piz'da." he warned. ralph sighed, knowing if this went any further, ralph could end up in the DR again, or worse. he looked at his feet while the man threw his wrists in metal cuffs. "lets go." he said sternly. ralph walked in front of the soldier, and went in line behind the other boys, and paige. he looked back and saw them carrying alex's unconscious body out of the hall. ralph gasped at the sight and stared until he was scolded for stepping out of line once again.

"you are on very thin ice this morning, 26."

---

most of the patients were sent to the main hall for "fresh air." sam and eric were send to room 12 for twin experimentation. roger was sent to room 4 for testing which chemicals caused certain rashes.

ralph paced around the room. he walked in circles again and again until eventually, he bumped into another body.

"oh, sorry paige." he said, and kept to his business. his breathing was rapid, he couldn't control it.

"ralph, what are you doing?" paige asked, grasping his shoulders to keep him from pacing. "i don't know. im freaking out." he said, trying his best to restrain his anxiety. "what happened?" she asked, worried. ralph is one of her closest friends. "its alex. i talked to her." he whispered, trying to avoid getting in trouble. "the girl!? she's weird. why are you so troubled?" she whisper-yelled.

"she's not weird paige! she's in danger!" he replied. "arent we all!?" she shot back. ralph rolled his eyes. "you don't understand! we have to help her!" he said with sorrow in his voice. "ralph, are you crazy? we can't! for all we know she could be working with them!" she argued. ralph sighed. "fine. if you won't help me, ill do it on my own." he said, and began to walk away. "no. im not letting you." she insisted. "you don't control me." ralph said, strongly.

he walked over to the boy he knew could help. "jack, i need to talk to you." ralph turned him around. "whats up?" he asked. his eye was still bruised from the week before, when he was sent to the DR. "the girl, alex. i think they're gonna kill her, or something." he whispered. jack looked at him confused. "kill her? thats absurd." he rolled his eyes. "are you serious? you saw what happened to elizabeth!" ralph told him.

ralph pondered elizabeth's death about two years ago. no one knows what happened.

besides alex.

"that's it..." he whispered, unintentionally.

"what are you on about now?" paige snapped.

"paige, i know you want to learn what happened to elizabeth. the only person who knows— besides the dick guards— is alex. if we can gain her trust, she will tell us what happened to her!" he cried. "ralph, how do you know she'll know?!" paige fired back. "because she was there! remember?! when they carried her body back, alex stood behind them covered in blood. she knows paige. she has to. and if you help me to help her, i can tell you what happened to your best friend. please." ralph was ready to beg paige, if that's what it took. he was desperate to get this girl to safety.

he didn't know why he was so worried for her, or why he was ready to risk his life for hers, but didn't care to figure it out.

"this is a bad idea ralph. we're all gonna end up dead." jack intervened. "whatever! dead is better then this life anyway." he growled.

jack and paige looked at each other in modest fear for ralph.

"you guys don't get it. i talked to her last night. she's in so much pain. she's dying. please help me. truly, i'm begging you guys." the blonde boy frowned.

paige sighed, and rolled her eyes.

"how do you even expect to do this, ralph." jack said softly. he felt sort of bad for him, they were all going crazy in this place.

"they let us outside the building on saturdays, if we can get some kind of wire cutters-"
"are you mad? where are we supposed to get those?" paige groaned.

"listen paige i don't-" he took a deep breath. "i don't know, but we're gonna have to figure out something. got any better ideas?"

"...play dead."

the trio turned around to see a skinny, vivid little boy, with dark hair flowing behind his ears.

"simon, what did you hear?" jack gritted his teeth threateningly, and got face to face with simon.

"i-i won't tell them. i swear, i-i just want to help." simon stuttered.

"jack," ralph slid his fingers into the back of jacks collar, and pulled his body away from the small boy.

ralph knew that simon was a wise child. he was open to trusting him. simon gave him a sense of safety in a place where no such thing existed.

"that's actually not a bad idea... they just changed my medication. maybe i can pretend i'm sick, from it. obviously they won't help me, but if i pretend to die-"
"are you thick? they're gonna know you're not dead just by looking at you." paige interrupted. "well maybe if he's outside and covered in mud or something."
"he can fake a seizure outside."
"we can make fake vomit."
"what if he just 'falls' into the electric fence."
"or we can actually kill him and tie a camera to his body."
"what?! guys! come on this isn't funny." ralph sighed.

"okay, i have an idea." jack smiled.
they looked at him confused, waiting for him to finish.

"suicide."