JACK THE KING (Lord of the Flies reimagined)

Part 32 - SOLDIERS

''I am a soldier as you can probably tell from the uniform'' the pilot told them ''The army planned this as an experiment. We were given instructions, from the top, to take a plane full of boys and crash the plane. This island was chosen as the location to crash near because we have army bases on the other islands nearby''

''There are other islands nearby?'' Craig said in surprise

''Oh yeah, much closer than you know but you can't spot them with the naked eye from here. Anyway, we were to take a plane full of boys, any plane at random. None of you were selected you were just unlucky to be on that plane. I was to be the pilot because I am trained in how to crash a plane and survive. There weren't supposed to be girls here but they were put on the plane at the last minute and we had no choice but to go ahead with them too'' 

''The girl, Dani, said she saw you drown?'' Liam said

''I didn't drown, I pretended to drown and then swam to the other island where our base is''

''And why was this done to us?'' Maurice said angrily ''We've been through hell you know''

''Oh yes I know that'' the pilot said ''We've been watching everything the whole time. It was done as an experiment, a test to see what would happen if you were left alone to survive on an island without adults. I have to say, you boys didn't let us down. It's a shame so many of you had to die, I would have liked to meet Jack, Roger, and Ralph especially and congratulate them on their contributions. Jack in particular was quite an evil tyrannical king''

''And what was the point of this experiment?'' Liam demanded to know

''No real point as such'' the pilot said matter of factly ''It was done out of curiosity, just to see what would happen. It was fun and entertaining. We've even been broadcasting it on television around the world, it's the latest reality show. Ratings are sky high I hear, people have been glued to the television screens''

The boys all stood open-mouthed and stunned

''And no one wanted to stop this and say it was wrong?'' Paul asked, incredulous

''Sure there were complaints but not many. Most people enjoyed it. I think the majority of complaints were from people who thought it was their sons, or two daughters, on the island''

''This is sick, sick and twisted'' Maurice said and the pilot just laughed

''How long were you intending to keep this going?'' Maurice asked

''It could have gone on for years, and I am sure it would have had Jack lived and stayed the king. But now that you've burnt the island down we had to step in and stop it here. You will be taken off the island now but I am afraid to say every single one of you is heading to prison for life''

''Prison, for life, are you kidding us?''

''No, you're all murderers now. We saw it. You all participated in several murders and you will be punished with life sentences''

Now the boys were furious

''But you fucking assholes set us up for this shit'' Craig said ''Now you're telling us we're all going to prison for life because of it?''

''Yes, that's right. You all played a part, certainly in the deaths of Simon, Roger, and Ralph''

Maurice shook his head angrily ''Ralph committed suicide and Roger was killed on Jack's orders, we were just obeying our king. Simon was killed by Piggy...erm...Jason'' he said

''Yes but you all encouraged Ralph to jump, you all stood by and let Jack sentence Roger to death and you were all involved as a group in Simon's death, it wasn't just Piggy. Well now, boys, you can all reflect on what animals you are while serving your sentences behind bars''

''In that case, we may as well add another death to the count right boy?'' Maurice said and all the boys knew what he meant and agreed and they all attacked the pilot with the intent of killing him

Quickly the other soldiers in the boat got out and rushed ashore to help the pilot. They were armed with weapons and used them to beat and subdue all the boys. Handcuffs were slapped on each boy and they were marched to the boat 

But when, finally, the boys and the soldiers were all on the boat and leaving there were two boys missing. Jason and Eric had been left behind...on purpose. The soldiers knew that Jason was trapped in the punishment pit and was at Eric's mercy. They decided to leave them behind just to see what Eric would do next

The fires on the island burnt out eventually, hours later. Eric took a walk to look at the damage, most of the island, about 90%, was badly burnt but there were still little areas that were untouched and had fruit trees intact. Some of the pigs had also survived somehow. It wasn't quite as devastating as Eric had planned it to be. But still, at least he had enough to live on and he figured that everything would grow back eventually anyway. He also knew that it was only he and Jason left on the island. the others had all left   

Eric had seen the soldiers and wondered why they hadn't come for him and Jason. Maybe it was because of what the pilot told him on day one when they both pretended to be dead and then saw each other alive

''Boy if I let you into a little secret will you keep it to yourself?'' the pilot had told him

''Yes, Sir, what is it?'' Eric had replied

The pilot had explained everything to him, about the experiment and Eric had listened intently, not saying anything just nodding his head and smiling every now and then

''So son if you want to help us, you could hide and cause mayhem for them. Maybe when this is all over we'll reward you somehow for helping us''

''I'm more than happy to help you and keep the secret Sir. I'll have fun messing with them all Sir''

''Good boy''

Eric figured this was his reward. They had left him here with a toy to play with and torture  

Jason was in the punishment pit, crying and in a lot of pain with his broken leg, when Eric returned and peered down at him

''Piggy, I have some exciting news for you'' he said

''Are we being rescued?'' Jason asked looking hopeful

Eric shook his head with mock sorrow ''No, it's just the two of us now, the others were rescued but not us. I tell you, Piggy, we'll have some fun here, just the two of us'' 

''Can I get out of this pit yet? Please?''

''No not for a while yet''

''But I am in agony, my leg is broken. Please I am in a lot of pain''

And poor Jason wailed like a pig, wailed like a Piggy. Eric laughed and laughed with sadistic delight