My Version
By: Vigan Osmani
Chapter 12
“Let The Games Begin”
Daylight was gone. The night terrors were about to summon. Ralph stood with his back on the long tree. “No. They aren’t like this no,” he repeated to himself. “No they didn’t kill Piggy. No he is still here.” The night was worn out. Ralph tried to set his mind to things other than the agonizing pain the darkness could bring.
Ralph stared at the sea. It was quite beautiful at night. The way the moon reflects of the gentle ocean waves. He waited for the pack of monsters that were coming for him, about Jack and the rest of the savages that wanted nothing more for his head to be mounted alongside the pigs as a trophy.
Ralph allowed himself to drift into better days and took his mind of the murder that was lurking in the forest. About camping with his Dad on the bleak English sea-side. About how he always tracked sand into the tent and how he could never satisfy his father’s naval standards.
It reminded him of Piggy. All he wanted was for the camp to be organized and neat. Ralph’s imagination brought him to when Piggy’s head exploded into a million tiny shards and he was casted off the cliff and into the ocean with his crimson fluid gushing all over the sand.
Ralph rose to his feet. He was not going to suffer the same fate. And he most certainly wasn’t going to give these animals the satisfaction of killing him; he wasn’t going down without a fight.
He could hear the cries of the hunters deep in the forest; they were coming; coming for him. A sudden explosion came from their direction and trees erupted in flames. “What the….” he said, confused. Had something just exploded?
In the distance, he heard Jack scream, “IF WE DON’T KILL HIM THEN THE FIRE WILL!” Cheers rose up from within the forest and quickly dispersed; the games had begun. Ralph knew that the beach was the first place they would look so he ran into the trees to hide among them. The savages prowled through the creepers and vines with their blood-shot eyes wide open.
As Ralph got deeper and deeper into the forest, he saw the first figure. He looked like yet another littlun under Jack’s spell and was holding a spear. His silhouette looked tense against the wall of flames behind him. Ralph snuck away without getting noticed, he walked close and close to Castle Rock; the last place they would look. He could just about see the fortress after a few minutes of walking. Before the fortress stood two identical figures that Ralph knew very well. He could make out the fear in their painted eyes.
“Sam! Eric!” He whispered. The two terrified twins snapped to attention,
“Ralph? Is that you?” Sam asked.
“You’re not supposed to be here!” Eric informed.
“I know, I know. Can u just let me through please? I need to hide!”
“The last time we helped you—“
“—Roger tortured us.”
“I’m sorry,” Ralph apologized, “But if I don’t hide, they will kill me!”
“Ralph, we are tired of your rules!” Sam shouted,
“We’ve listened to you and all it’s gotten us is more and more suffering!” Eric finished as he raised his spear, “If I were you, I’d leave.”
Ralph watched in amazement from his muddy hole in the soil. “But—but…you have to help me! We’re friends.”
Eric gingerly jabbed Ralphs arm creating a small cut, “Not any more Ralph, not anymore.” He stabbed at Ralph again, this time actually causing pain.
Ralph winced and pulled forth his weapon, “I could kill both of you if I wanted to,” he warned.
“I dare you to lay a finger on us.” Sam grinned.
Ralph accepted the challenge and lunged out of the trees. He drove his spear through Eric’s torso and listened to the horrific crunchy sound the stick made as it ripped through his organs and poked out of his back. The stick was drenched with blood as was Eric’s back. The liquid burst all over the ground and the savage vomited red. Ralph let the spear sit for a second before violently twisting it. Eric let out a scream of agony and fell to the floor. Ralph ripped the spear out and jabbed it at Sam. The remaining twin cowered against the wall but suffered the same fate.
The spear was driven through his throat and blood was splattered across Ralph’s face. The stick penetrated the rock and Sam stood impaled, futilely grasping for breath. Ralph watched him suffocate and spasm until eventually, his face turned bright-white and his eyes closed shut. He then turned to Eric’s body that was ripped open from the stomach outwards. Blood was frantically spewing out of the hole and Ralph grasped his spear with blood-coated hands.
He smiled at his new weapon and jogged over to Castle Rock. He entered the small opening and walked through the tunnels with the feces of bats and savages. He tried to hold his breath as he held his spear in front of him just in case a savage jumped in front of him.
The tunnels seemed clear so he proceeded to the top of the castle. He walked onto the roof and felt his feet heat up as they touched the hot surface. He crept to the edge of the rock-roof and looked out over the island.
It was engulfed with flames and blood-thirsty children. He could see the bodies of Sam and Eric, Sam seemed to have suffocated to death and both bodies were fuelling a huge puddle of blood.
“Oh no, oh damn it no!” Ralph said to himself as he realized he had forgotten to hide the bodies. It was only a matter of minutes before a savage found the two corpses. He screamed for the others to gather and within seconds, a group of savages were staring down at the two most recent casualties’ dead bodies. They all seemed devastated. Ralph looked down at his hands—they were still covered with the blood of the twins.
“What have I become?” he asked himself. He had killed two people who were doing no more than protecting themselves.
“Oh Jesus, oh Jesus no!” he started to punch the rock with sadness and anger.
“What did I do? Oh god, what did I do!”
His guilt grew up and he started screaming with pain, not physical pain, but the worst pain; physiological.
The savages looked up from the bodies to see blood dripping down Ralph who was sitting on the rock, crying madly. “I knew we couldn’t trust those weaklings.” Jack remarked, referring to Sam’n’Eric. “Go kill him.”A team of savages ran up to Castle Rock, chanting, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” Ralph was too concerned with his actions than the gang of monsters coming to kill him. He felt like he deserved what was coming to him, he sat down; watching Jack and Roger as they threw the bodies in the ocean, and the savages were going to arrive in a matter of seconds. Roger wrenched Sam from the wall and Sam’s head rolled off due to Roger’s slovenly work. Ralph decided that he wanted his head to roll off because of his work. He wanted respect, dead or alive. He stood up and turned to the opening in the roof. Eventually, the savages appeared.
“Hey guys,” Ralph greeted. The savages didn’t respond with words, they just grunted angrily. Ralph was so emotionally numb after Sam’n’Eric that he didn’t fear them. He threw his spear off the rock and welcomed the monsters, “Let’s let the games begin shall we?” The squad rushed towards him with their spears high. Ralph rolled under the tips and shot through one of the savage’s legs. He quickly got on his feet and kicked a savage in the back. The savage fell forward and fell on the rock, he plummeted towards the rocks and made a splat sound as gravity smashed him against the rocks.
The remaining savages turned angrily to Ralph who smiled back at them. He picked up a rock that sat on the floor and chucked it in the face of the closest savage. His fore head cut open and he started bleeding as he lost his balance. Ralph quickly grabbed another rock; this one hit him in his painted chin. The savage fell off Castle Rock with a splat, just like the first one. There were six of them left. They started chanting again, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood, “and ran at Ralph who quickly turned around and jumped off the rock! He aimed for a non-rocky part of the ocean and held his arms in front of his as he flew. He tilted forward and tucked his head in-between his arms. He hit the water with a splash and he glided underwater like his father had taught him how to.
He started swimming around Castle Rock and towards the beach. When he first popped his head out of the water, he saw lights in the distance. He swam to the sand faster than he knew how to and turned to face the distant lights from the beach. He squinted his eyes and stretched his vision as far as possible. He recognized the distant object almost instantly; it was a ship.
Chapter 13
“From Russia With Love”
Ralph started at the ship in total awe. The ship was moving in a different direction. Ralph fell down to his knees. He started to cry as he was screaming in agonizing pain. He drifted back to a time when he was visiting his father in Navy training. He remembered how his father told him to warn passing planes or ships with his bare hands. With other parts of the memory filling Ralph soon made up his mind and knew what he had to do. He rose up to his feet. He was running to the little cliff where he and his forgotten tribe had tried to start a fire. Ralph found a stick and tore of remaining pieces of his shirt. He put the pieces on the little sharpened edge of the stick. It looked like Ralph had built a signal flag. He was screaming and waving “Over here, over here.” He stretched his vision and could barely manage to see seamen with scopes looking in Ralph’s direction. Suddenly the ship changed course. It started turning until it was facing the island. Ralph nodded as he was astonished that his technique to trigger the ship had worked.
The ship soon arrived at the Island. He could see seamen with loads of guns and barrels. The seamen looked at Ralph in total disgust. They paid close attention to the drips of blood that dropped from parts of his wounds and from his blood-coated hands. Movement came from a few seamen. They walked down the long gang-way. Their uniforms were dark green and padded with sand. Ralph’s watch was at the badges of their uniforms. He knew they were veterans. He noticed an emblem on their hat. It was Russian. Ralph’s body formed a shaky habit. The Russian veterans could see Ralph was scared. One general called a few soldiers. They were whispering something in a language that was unknown to Ralph. The Russians finally turned “Sie sint Deutsch?” he said something Ralph had no clue what it meant. The General repeated again in a tone that finally made sense “Are you German?”
Ralph’s voice was trembling, “I… I… I don’t know,” he said.
The Russians stared in confusion. The General said “Silly boy. How do you not,”
“I just don’t know. Things… Things changed,” Ralph vaguely interrupted him.
Ralph and the Russians looked behind to see the whole Island burning. “The savages,” “The savages will kill us. I can hear them. They are close. Please let’s get out of here.”
The cries of the hunters were audible now, “Kill the beast. Cut his throat. Spill his blood,” the chanting echoed. “What are you? Who are these savages? What is happening here,” said the confused general.
The horrific creatures were near. They could sense Ralph’s fear from a long range. “There he is,” Ralph heard one of savages say. The creatures came jumping from the dark forest. “Shoot them. Shoot them all,” said the general. The field soon became a horrible bloodbath. Numerous shots got fired from the Russian’s not even one missing the savages. All of them were growling and screaming in an excruciating pain. All savages fell to the sand and were killed like animals. The Russians didn’t recognize them as boys or either as human beings. They recognized them as creatures which led them to kill them
The liquid blood was flowing and was covering the area. All the savages were dead. Nothing remained besides cruel animals and dead pigs. Ralph watched the general do the job he was made for. Kill. The hunters were now replaced.
“Him too,” said the general. Three shots came with light’s speed from the guns of the soldiers. Ralph stopped to stare. The tremendous change savagery has done to him. He looked down to see his stomach covered with holes and blood. He wanted the reign of death to stop. Ralph’s final words came irregularly “Pe… Peace. Promise me peace in the next life,” he barely said while trying to stop the blood coming out of his mouth while he was coughing. Very soon Ralph joined the other creatures. He fell down on the red sand, joining the other dead bodies. His last sight came, the Russians leaving from the dark isle. Ralph’s eyes closed and his neck fell on the other side. His body stopped shaking. The blood was still trailing down his wounds.
The boys all drifted away, into a different place. A place ruled by the Lord of the Flies.
Rationale
The Lord of the Flies was an incredible book. However I felt like the ending was very predictable. I decided to change the ending as how it is in the following. Ralph is totally devastated after the death of Piggy and how things turned up with the savages. He realizes that things had to get order. Later with the death of Sam’n’Eric we can tell that Ralph had fallen to the ways of the savages. We can see how powerful savagery and the lack of society and civilization could be. I think my ending explains it very well with the death of Sam’n’Eric how Ralph becomes depressed and traumatized then he goes insane and doesn’t fear the savages anymore.
At the very end with the Russians I wanted to show how the war was still a high threat and that Jack and his tribe weren’t the only creatures. When all the boys die we can see the change of shifts between the boys and the Russians. The boys had changed from the status of the hunters to the ones of the innocent pigs and animals that were brutally murdered. In the end the boys seem to be the ones innocent and the Russians the ones who had the hunger of killing. Ralph believed that everything is perfect in life and the only savages were Jack and his tribe. He realized that with the war still raging on he wanted things to come back the way they were before the whole conflict between the tribes in the island. We came to realize that there are other savages beyond the island of the Lord of the Flies. I felt like this was the corresponding ending that should have been attached to this amazing book.
