Master of the Insects

Flames on the Rock

     The next meeting was much more efficient. The first line of order was the three boys explaining their discovery. About how this was an island and how there are pigs. Shouting started from the boys all wanting to talk, Ralph rose the conch and spoke.
     " Since there are no grown-ups we'll have to take care of ourselves."
  He paused not knowing what to say at first but then was able to speak fluently again.
     " We need rules."
  Jack stood up next to Ralph.
     " Yes we need rules, and lots of them. Anyone who doesn't listen will get punished."
     " Wacco."
     " Boink."
     " Slonk."
   All the boys agreed and cheered. Jack looked around uncertainty almost seeming as if he didn't have a place, contrary to the knowledge of Jacks association with the choir boys. He glanced at Ralph who gave him a soft smile and patted the place next to him on the log for Jack to sit down. Jack smiled back at him and took up his offer.
   The boys agreed that to speak they'd need to have the conch, and just like that Piggy took the conch. He talked about how no one knew they were here, how they knew where they were going but not ended up. Piggy wishes were to simply inform the boys of their predicament but only gave fear and sadness to the boys.
    Ralph took back the conch and spoke.
     " There ain't no island that hasn't been discovered, that's what my daddy said. So that means that boats will pass by and all and find us."
   Although clumsy in it's own right, Ralph's speech gave hope back to the boys as they cheered and clapped for him. Ralph flush and glanced at Piggy who was also clapping and Jack who contrary to belief, was happy for someone else and clapped loudly for          Ralph while having a huge grin plastered on his face.
   A little boy in the group was getting shoved ahead by the other boys. He had a birthmark the colour of mulberry on half of his face. Ralph noticed and told him to speak up. When he tried to reach for the conch the other boys started laughing and the small boy retracted his hands. Now seemingly refusing the get the conch, Piggy went up to him and the boy started whispering in his ear.
    " He says he wants to know what you're going to do about the snake-thing."
    " Snake-thing?"
    " Now he says it's a beastie."
   The boys erupted in laughter once more and the mulberry boy shrank into himself. Ralph explained how there couldn't be a beastie on an island of this size and the other boys agreed.
   The birthmark boy continued to explain how he saw it at night. The other boys then claimed it was just a nightmare but as the boy went on the more scared they got. He explained how it was going to come back at night and eat them.
    " But there isn't a beastie!"
   Ralph explained this but the boys didn't seem as satisfied as before. As the birthmark boy continued the more the air grew dense. Ralph repeated himself.
   " But there isn't a beastie!"
   " We'll make sure when we go hunting," Jack chimmed in, trying to aid Ralph in relieving the tension.
   " But there ain't no beast!"
  The assembly grew quiet. No one attempted to speak, preferring to let the air grow thicker and thicker. Ralph, having enough, finally made an attempt to speak, having his upbeat personality return and all thought along with it.
  He stated their mutual desire to be rescued, shot a grin and came up with an idea. " If a ship comes by they'll need to see us, so we'll make a fire. A fire so then the smoke will make em see us, on the mountain, a place way up high."
   " A fire! A fire!"
  All at once the boys clammered with excitement. Shouts and cheers erupted but much less focused then before. Jack wanting to be supportive of his new friend lead the group of boys to the mountain.
  This left Ralph and Piggy standing there not seeming to have the situation fully sink in yet. Piggy muttered about how childish they were but quickly shut up when he saw Ralph had ran to go join them.
  All the boys were running all over to get wood for the fire. Ralph found a good place to collect wood and Jack nodded in agreement. The twins Sam'n'Eric were the first the find the most suitable wood unlike all the dead pieces the littluns were collecting. Roger, the dark haired boy with slightly darker skin and a scary face, along with Maurice, a much more silly boy with floppy brown hair, made up for the littluns uselessness.
  Some time later, Jack and Ralph found each other alone with a big log. The two grinned at each other as not only was the alone time they had finally received gleeful to them, but also for the burden the two boys would face together.
   The two boys stared at each other yet again as they were now known to do and Ralph grinned
    " Almost too heavy."
  Jack grinned back.
    " Not for the two of us."
  The two boys carried the heaviest of the logs together. They smilled at each other the whole time. When they finally reached the top of the mountain, they grinned once more ear to ear at each other and then erupted in laughter.
  After finishing laughing the two boys suddenly realised something. Ralph and Jack looked at each other while society paused. The realisation making the air grow stiff, Ralph spoke first, crimson in the face.
    " Will you?"
   He cleared his throat then continued.
    " Will you light the fire?"
   Ralph looked at Jack embarrassed, hoped and believed that Jack somehow knew what to do. Jack was on a pedestal for Ralph with his leadership skills, supportive attitude and overall being a fun person to be around.
   Jack now suddenly flused too. Not wanting to disappoint Ralph he tried his best to gather any knowledge about this he might have and speak. He started, stuttering and muttering.
   " You rub two sticks, You rub-"
   He glanced at Ralph, the two caught up in a stare again. Ralph understanding what Jack was going through, sacrifice some dignity to blurt out the truth.
    " Has anyone got any matches?"
   The boys confirmed that none of them indeed had matches. As soon as that happened Piggy finally reached the rest of the group, after being asked if he had any matches they realised something.
    " His specs! We can use his specs!"
   All the boys leaped to Piggy and with one swift motion, his glasses were removed. Piggy was shouting for his glasses back but received no such thing. Jack had the glasses in his hands and handed them to Ralph, thinking he was most fit to light the fire. Ralph looked at him greatfully for this honor. After a couple of seconds the fire went ablaze.
   The boys were chanting and cheering for a fire. Though the fire didn't last long, going out soon after. The boys were left confused and hurt. Roger claimed they'd never get rescued but was quickly dismissed by Ralph. Piggy kept trying to speak up but repeatedly got told to shut up by Jack. Ralph realising the situation explained
    " The conch counts everyone, not just in the meetings. We need more rules and we need to obey them."
   Almost instinctively, Jack added.
    " I agree with Ralph. We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English; ans the English are best at everything. So we've got to do the right things."
   Piggy finally raised the conch he had brought with him and shouted.
    " Look at all you kids! Acting like kids, that's what you're doing! If you had just listen to me I could've told you a fire like that wouldn't have worked! You listen to Jack, Roger, Maurice, but the second I try to talk you tell me to shut up! What we need is shelters on the beach on cold nights! But the second Ralph mentions fire you all go running around like maniacs! You wanted a fire not a tornado!"
   It was at this moment that Piggy ran out of breath and when he went down to clean his glasses he noticed something.
    " You got your small fire all right."
   Piggy started laughing aloud. The boys, confused, looked at what Piggy was staring at. What they found was the forest ablaze in flame beneath them. Not the whole forest was on fire but a good chunk of it was. The boys stared in awe as the dancing flames ate up the trees. They slowly started giggling then laughing. Piggy continued to try to make his point but wasn't being listened to this time.
   " Shut up, ya fatty!" Jack exclaimed.
   " No! I've got the conch, that means you have to listen! Right Ralph?"
  Ralph having to avert his gaze from the fire looked at Piggy.
    " What's that?"
   " I've got the conch which means he has to listen to me."
  The boys continued to dismiss Piggy so he erupted in another tantrum.
   " You guys said you wanted a small fire then ya set half the Island on fire! I'm telling ya the shelters are important! It gets cold down by the beach at night! You vote for Ralph as chief and you don't even give him time to think!"
   Jack looked offended by that last part.
    " And what about the littluns huh? Did anyone pay attention to them while you were all running around like animals?"
    " I told you to get a list of names!"
    " And how could I? Not with everyone running around like that!"
    " That's enough!" Ralph shouted. " If you didn't you didn't."
    " And then you come and swipe at my specs-"
    " Shut up!" Jack shouted. He was not having Piggys attitude right now and feeling that   he is being rude and disrespectful to Ralph.
    " Some of an littluns could be wandering around in the fire right now! We don't know if they ain't there!" Piggy suddenly gasped. " Where's that little one with the birthmark?"
   The rest of the boys realising the same thing looked around. None of them wanting to say what they were all thinking.
    " Maybe he went back to the beach, to play or..." Ralph had said it in a quiet tone. He went back to silence with the other boys with the unspoken knowledge of the fire that was still hammering down at the forest below.