The noise was relentless, it continued to grow louder. I thought I knew what it was, but I wasn’t sure. I stopped to see if I was right. Why I stopped I do not know. I turned and looked behind me. I could see the tops of tall trees falling violently to the ground. Then I saw what I had been dreading, the huge boulder which had stood on Castle Rock was pursuing me through the vegetation. In its aftermath followed the boys, sticks in hands, paint on faces like the savage creatures they had become. These creatures had developed a taste for killing. I certainly had no intention of quenching their hunger. I started to run, the forest was taking its toll on me, I was a moving mass of blood, sweat and tears.
I knew that I would be caught, I simply just didn’t have the energy to carry on. I had managed to get out of eyesight and I dived into the bushes, they turned out to be brambles, I just ignored the pain, I had no choice. I knelt there waiting for an opportunity to escape. But nothing, there was always a savage there. At one point there was complete silence, I plucked up the courage to move, as soon as I revealed myself I heard the running of footsteps.
Once again I found myself thinking about the time I had spent on this island, how it had turned from a paradise to hell. My thoughts were interrupted by the frantic shouts of ‘fire, fire’. I could see the thick smoke beginning to fill the sky. If I had stayed where I was, I would have died, either from the smoke or form the savages. I had no option but to make a run for it. As soon as I emerged, so did a savage, he screamed for the others too help him I smacked him hard with a rock I held in my hand. Blood oozed from the wound in his head, I had no time to feel guilt, by now death was common practice. I ran to the beach, by now all the tribe knew where I was. Every savage was on my tail. I thought this was it. I had nowhere to go. The resistance left me. I fell to the floor desperate.
I looked up and saw a smartly dressed naval officer. My heart lifted and for the first time in a long time I smiled.
On the journey home I had to sit opposite the late Jack. I felt awkward, and I hadn’t done anything. He must have felt even worse, but I could never be sure, he was not a normal person. We traveled on the cruiser to a port in Australia. The journey home was a long one, the seas were rough and there was the constant booming of the turrets, firing at the Japanese ships and planes. Although outnumbered we made it home, however not without loss, Jack who desperately tried to get involved in the running of the ship mysteriously disappeared. There was no where he could of gone so he is presumed dead. The rest of the boys were all very quiet, it was the first time they had had the opportunity to reflect on what had gone before. I think that they at least eventually came to realize that what they had done was wrong, they probably won’t have understood why however they became so evil.
Although I have not talked a lot about my time on the island, it is something which Is always on my mind. My whole life I have searched for answers; Why did it happen? What happened? and How did it happen? I have come to conclusions for all of these, although I will never stop thinking about it as I can never be sure if I am right.
Why did the situation develop? I remember Simon saying ‘Maybe its only us’ I wasn’t sure what he meant at the time, but now I understand. He was saying that the evil on the island was not the beast, but it was the children themselves. Simon was suggesting that there is evil in human nature. The way he died was symbolic of this. What happened? is a lot simpler to answer. The group went from being a civilized pack of British boys, to a savage group of ruthless hunters. How it happened? the is an interesting one. Jack gave the group the opportunity to be evil. His tribe had no rules, they did as they pleased.
What can we learn from my little adventure? Undoubtedly the fact that young boys can resort to murder shows there is something wrong with civilization. I feel that evil is lurking everywhere waiting for the chance to rear its ugly head. We have to stop it getting that chance.
