The ginger's hands gripped his stone throne until he was white-knuckled. His cool blue eyes scanned his savages until they rested on his second in command.

"Tomorrow," he growled, looking at the others reactions. They all feared them. Well...almost everyone, at least. "Tomorrow...we recruit."

"Recruit who, chief," Roger piped up. "Fatty?"

Jack snarled at the mention of the fat boy, losing all composure. "No you fucking twat! Rover! I want the blonde!"

Roger raised a thick eyebrow quizzically. "Ralph? Why do ya want him? 'e's no good. He'll just get in the way. We should do 'im."

Jack shook his head. "No. He's useful. Stubborn little bugger, but useful still."

"But he'll never join us," Roger rebutted. "He's too...good."

Jack's face wrinkled. "Then I'll force 'im!"

He stood and jammed his spear into the ground. Roger fell silent. "All of you get ready. I need you all for this."

The others nodded before dispersing to prepare.

Jack was covered in warpaint. Red and brown clay coated him with white streaks running down his body. His choir hat perched on top of his head, his shorts tattered and sagging from the weight of his knife and the glasses. His hair was messy and long so he tied it back.

Taking up his spear Jack called out. "Everyone ready?!"

"Almost chief," came the reply.

After some impatient waiting the other boys revealed themselves. They all looked respectable, would make any proper chief proud. They bounded out of their rocky home. As they came to the cliff's edge they could see two bodies approach.

Jack's heart skipped a beat and his stomach twisted into a tight knot as he knew who it was. When they got close enough to properly make out Jack could see that Ralph was holding the pink, glossy symbol. That thing sickened him. It diminished his authority.

They stopped and Ralph muttered something to Piggy, giving him the conch as he stayed behind and Ralph stepped up, holding a spear of his own.

"I'm calling an assembly."

There was a mixture of laughter and jeers. However the blonde continued, unabashed.

"I've come to see about the fire," his eyes scanned over Jack and rested on the glasses, "And about Piggy's specs."

"You really think you're going to get either of those things," Jack inquired rhetorically. He held up the glasses, taunting. "Fatty's never getting his specs back."

Ralph flushed as if some great injustice had been said. "You thief! We'd have given you fire if you'd asked for it." He turned darker. "You could have had fire whenever you wanted. But you didn't. You came sneaking up like a thief and stole Piggy's glasses!"

This outburst sparked the animosity between the two, setting it ablaze with the intensity of a million forest fires. Jack quickly climbed down to Ralph's level on the rock and pointed the blunt end of his spear in his chest, ignoring his hunters protests and curiosities.

"I'm not a thief!"

Ralph replied by brandishing his own spear on the defense. "Yes you are. You're a beast and a swine and a bloody, bloody thief!"

Roger toyed with a rock on the cliff, his mind racing as he watched the event, almost unable to continue hearing the blue eyed boy talk about his chief like this.

"Ralph—remember what we came for. The fire. My specs."

Reluctantly, Ralph lowered his spear. After a few moments, Jack did the same.

"Listen. We've come to say this. First you've got to give back Piggy's
specs. If he hasn't got them he can't see. You aren't playing the game—"

More laughter. Jack's laugh was loud and condescending. "You think you can tell me what to do?!" He snarled, disgusted in the fact that Ralph was acting like he didn't know him whatsoever.

Ralph looked him in the eyes. It was a look that would make anyone submissive tremble in their spot. "Yes. Yes I do. I'm your chief, you elected me-"

Scoffs echoed the mountain as Roger messed with the rock with his foot, his eyes resting on Piggy, a sick thought invading his mind.

"Let me speak," Piggy said, holding up the conch. He took a half step forward and squinted up at the painted, naked savages. "I got this to say. You're acting like a crowd of kids."
The booing and hissing that erupted from the gallery did not deter the fat boy. "Which is better-to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like
Ralph is?"

Yelling. Loud, almost eardrum breaking yelling as Ralph and Jack screamed at each other. Yet in all of this noise even they heard the distinct noise of rock scraping against earth. And then Ralph saw the mighty rock tumble down and strike Piggy in the head. The conch flew up and he fell back, his body flung out to the sea.

Ralph's eyes widened. Everything was silent until the conch hit the ground and broke into a million glassy shards. Then cheers and jubilant cries burst from the boys throats. And all Ralph knew to do at that moment was run.

So he ran.

He ran off the cliff and to the ground. He sped through the jungle, the creepers and moss hitting his aching feet. Spears brandished, Roger and Jack led the group, wild, crazed, shining in their eyes. Ralph ran to the beach, not really knowing where to go.

Jack ran faster, going ahead of Roger, clearly wanting to capture Ralph himself. He dropped his spear to the ground and reached out when he was in arms distance from the blonde. He was so close he could practically taste him.

He pounced and toppled atop of him, atop the sandy beach. They rolled with Jack stopping him and pinning him down forcefully. Ralph squirmed under the ginger's grasp, which only made Jack tighten his grip. The others caught up, brandishing their spears.

"Let me go, let me go," Ralph squealed.

Jack's heart beat faster. It was like hunting a pig, a very noisy, feisty pig.

"Be civil! Don't kill me!"

Jack gave a very hollow, bellowing laugh, both at the notion of acting civilized and the notion of killing the blonde.

"Oh don't worry Rover I'm not going to kill you."

Ralph stopped and looked Jack in the eye, flushing pink at the use of his surname. "You're...you're not? Then wha-what are you going to do to me?"

"I'm going to make you a hunter."

Ralph's eyes widened. "Never."

Jack's grip tightened. "How cute. You think you have a choice."

Snapping his fingers Roger obediently trotted over, his spear aimed directly above Ralph's heart.

"You join or you die like your batty little friend."

Ralph's eyes flickered between Jack and the spear. He took a deep breath. "I'd rather die than join your sham of a tribe."

Jack's smirk faded and turned to noticeable worry as Ralph closed his eyes and went limp, ready to accept his fate. A sadistic gleam twinkled in Roger's eyes as he looked at Jack for the signal.

"No," Jack shouted, getting off of Ralph and jerking him up. "We're keeping him! He's ours! To do with what we please!"

Roger was displeased. "What's the point o' keeping him? You're torturer."

"You can torture him too, if you want, if he doesn't become one of us."

Roger's face lit up while Ralph's appeared sunken with a mix of shock and worry painted in bold expression. It almost made Jack feel bad. Almost.

"Come on," he growled, leading Ralph back to Castle Rock.

When they got there he lead Ralph to a small cave and pushed him in.

"These'll be your stomping grounds now."

A brief look around the cave revealed a full coconut shell, cooked pig's meat, a bed of furs and a hole in the roof. Ralph slouched.

His look made Jack frown. "Hey, stop looking like that! What's your problem? I let you live!"

Ralph muttered. "I'd rather die than be a savage."

"Stop saying that," Jack growled. "Stop saying that!You're a savage now! You're mine! You're...," he trailed off, flustered red and looked away from Ralph.

"You can torture me all you want but I won't be a no good, dirty, low life savage." His eyes held a defiant glint, something Jack so desperately wanted to take away.

Jack reached for golden locks, grabbing fist fulls. Ralph gulped and looked Jack in the eye, noticing the fire burning beneath ocean blue irises. Jack took his spear and lightly ran it across Ralph's neck.
"Maybe I should just kill you then. I think your head would be a perfect offering for the beast."

"You're nutters. There's no beast, except for you."

Jack snarled and jerked Ralph's head back forcefully. "I'm no beast. I'm a hunter."

"You're a murderer. You murdered Simon and Roger murdered Piggy."

"What did either of them have that I don't," Jack screeched, voice cracking. "Why did you choose them instead of me?!"

Ralph cringed. "They were compassionate! And kind! A-And smart...They weren't bloody, beastly savages like you are!"

Jack let go of his hair and punched Ralph in the gut. Ralph fell to the ground, the air being sucked out of him.

"You just had to choose them over me. We were friends until you decided to be 'Mr. Leader.' "

Jack kicked him in the ribs.

"You couldn't just let me be leader!"

"You're...you're a...shite leader."

"Bullocks. I'm a perfect leader."

A weak cough was Ralph's only response.

"Hmph. Not that any of it even matters. You're mine now."

Ralph growled, not liking being referred to as if he were a thing. Jack smirked. He liked to irritate the boy. It wasn't often that he got a reaction from Ralph.

"No resistance... an island of my own. Paradise."

"This isn't paradise. This is Hell on earth."

Jack bunted him with the blunt end of his spear. "Don't talk out of term."

Ralph rubbed his now swelling cheek and fumed. "Don't tell me what to-"

Jack turned the spear around and scraped it down Ralph's bare back.

"What was that, Ralph?"

A cry lodged itself in Ralph's throat.

Jack stopped. "That's what I thought."

Ralph rested his head down on the cold, gray, rocky ground. Thin lines of red trickled down his back. Sharp, stinging pain made him utter a small groan.

"I think that's enough for today."

Ralph heard Jack turn, walk away and push something against the entrance. After a while Ralph lifted his head. The room was dark, a rock pushed up against the entrance. As he looked up through the hole he saw the sun setting.

Thoughts started to run through his head. Piggy's death... he wondered if the boy's body was still overlooking the ocean, if his eyes were glinted with disdain at the crowd of kids. Ralph's brains were gone.

Ralph was done. He was weak, like Piggy. He was going to die, like Simon. Before he knew it, tears spilled down his cheeks.

He was crying. His lip quivered and, with little resistance, he broke down crying. With no one to see him he cried. He felt shameful.

'Leaders don't cry,' he told himself.

But shame was being drowned in a sea of grief and agony. After crying for what felt like hours his eyes were red and swollen. Snot dripped out of his nose, the backs of his arms coated. He felt like a child.

'I am a child.'

And then something in his brain clicked. He was a child. They were children. He could try to...but...no.

He wasn't smart. There was no way that could work, Maybe though...maybe if...He drummed his fingers on the ground and bit his lip. This could very well work.

Jack returned at late night. It was time to put his plan in action. Ralph stood, the pain in his back making him twitch.

"Jack."

Jack eyed him carefully. Ralph's mouth twitched into a very forced smile.

"Jack," he repeated, softer, feeling like he was going to vomit.

"What," Jack questioned, put off by Ralph's attitude.

"I...I want to join your tribe."

Jack could not hold back his jubilance. "Jolly good news! Hold on a second Rover, I've got to get something."

Jack left the cave. Ralph cautiously approached the edge and his heart dropped when he saw that Jack was still in view. He returned with an armful of paints and clay.

"I'll call a feast for your joining. It's dark now, perfect for a feast. This is great Rover. We can finally lead as one."

A snarky comment about how the two could have led together from the start almost escaped his lips but he bit his tongue. Jack scooped some clay up and spread it across Ralph's cheeks. Ralph could smell the distinct smell of grapes and dirt and he almost cringed as he felt the cool touch of it spread across his cheeks, Jack's fingers an all too familiar touch. When he was done Jack examined his handiwork.

"Perfect," he purred. "You're ready."

Grabbing Ralph by the forearm (gentler than the last time, Ralph noted) Jack led him to the beach. It was dark out and a large bonfire burned not too far away. It was the exact same spot they had been when Simon died.

The reopened scars that were his memories made his bottom lip quiver but he'd be damned if he was going to cry in front of Jack. The others looked up as Jack called for their attention and explained how Ralph had decided to join. Roger looked skeptic, Maurice raised an eyebrow, Bill gave an approving nod and Robert shrugged nonchalantly. The twins looked mortified, unbelieving that their great leader had fallen to boys armed with sticks.

Ralph tried to convey a look of hope at them but it didn't come across. They looked as mortified as ever. Then, Ralph felt Jack's hand on his shoulder.

"Go stand next to the fire Rover. We have a special dance planned out just for you."

Ralph was hesitant, but he stood by the fire regardless. Staring into it he looked at the dancing embers. They flicked around. Fire...fire had been important when they first arrived.

Now...it seemed arbitrary. He thought he'd seen a ship pass by earlier but...rescue seemed like a foreign concept now. Ralph's zoning out made him unaware of the whooping and dancing going on around him. All around him were savages waving around lit torches like they were performers.

They danced around in a circle, around him, around the bonfire, stirring it so that it blazed ferociously. Ralph felt so compelled to join them. Dark clouds rolled overhead. Jack stepped towards Ralph and the dancing stopped. Ralph could hear the thundering in the sky as Jack raised his torch and then jammed it into the ground.

Ralph was enthralled. Jack approached him, a mere few inches away. Ralph's heart started beating like a hummingbird.

"Ralph..."

Ralph gulped, not knowing what to expect. Jack's voice was devoid of it's usual guard. It sounded sweet, kind and gentle.

"You're now my co-chief."

The whooping and chanting riled up again as rain started to pour overhead, extinguishing their torches. The boys long hair clung to their faces as Jack smiled.

"You can come back to my cave, if you want."

"I...uh...of course."

They walked back to Castle Rock. As they got in there Ralph looked around. Jack's cave was luxurious. There were carved out windows, crude clay paintings on the walls and spears littered around.

Ralph briefly considered using one against Jack, but the thought was quickly diminished. Jack yawned, stretched and shook out his hair, drying it like a dog. Ignoring the slickness of the rest of his body he lay down on his large bed of furs. Ralph watched him.

"Go to bed when you want," Jack mumbled.

Ralph opened his mouth and almost questioned where he would be sleeping until he saw another, slightly smaller, bed.

"It was Roger's," Jack mumbled, as if he could see Ralph with his back turned, "But I kicked him out."

Ralph's eyes widened. "What? You kicked Roger out?"

"Out from the cave, not from the tribe," Jack revised. "He'd go bonkers if I kicked him out of the tribe."

Ralph breathed a small breathe of relief before laying down. He turned to his side, thinking. He honestly couldn't say that he hated his little "initiation."

'What the hell is wrong with you,' his conscience, or whatever the hell the voice in his head was, argued with him.

'Well...I didn't,' he admitted.

'Are you saying you want to be a savage?!'

He rubbed the clay paint on his face and waited to answer.

'No.'

The voice didn't answer and Ralph reasoned that he'd won his inner argument.

'Silly thought, really. I don't like this...I just...need to fake it. Until I find some way to get rescued.'

He rolled to his side and felt his eyes flutter shut.