LOTF: Before and After

Phase 3: Chapter 19

"No" Ralph confirmed. "Why are they still talking about it anyway?"

"You should read it" Jack said, his eager tone replaced with a more hesitant and reserved one.

"Why? There's dozens of articles about it, have been since we were rescued. What's so special about this one? It's old news by now" Ralph presumed.

"Just read it" Jack insisted strongly. "Trust me."

"Okay, but stay with me" Ralph said as he pulled himself out of his chair and made his way to his dad's office.

"No place else I'd be" Jack agreed, and something about the comment sent shivers down Ralph's spine as he walked.

Ralph held the phone to his ear as he sat down in his dad's office chair and turned on the desktop. He opened the search engine, a comfortable silence stewed between them as Ralph typed.

"Revelation of heart wrenching death of Bainbridge Military Academy pilot" the most recently published article was titled.

"Captain Benson?" Ralph spoke quietly and reluctantly into the silence as his eyes found the words on the screen. Jack didn't respond as Ralph clicked the article and began reading:

"The United States Marine Corps have recently released the details of what happened to the pilot flying the plane of military school boys that went down in the North Atlantic Ocean.

The family of the Bainbridge Military Academy captain spoke out to CNN about the heartbreak they experienced when they discovered what really happened to the pilot on the island.

Despite the children's claims that the man had vanished after swimming into the ocean shortly after their arrival on the island, Marine officers found Benson's body during the additional search of the island conducted for the Flag State's investigation. Sources reveal the man was found deceased in a cave within the forest area; a puncture wound to the abdomen the ultimate cause of death. The stick investigators determined was used to inflict the wound was found approximately a foot away from his body.

The Flag State Jurisdiction has yet to close the cases on the deaths that occurred on the island, that of the pilot being one of them. As new information continues to be brought to light, Flag State investigators continue to collaborate with the United States Marine Corps to navigate the complexity of this unique case."

Jack sat in silence on the other end of the line as Ralph read. He knew the younger boy would take it harder than he had, and Jack was courteous enough towards Ralph to give him the news himself as to prevent Ralph from coming across it some other, more upsetting way.

"Simon was right" was all Ralph said as he sat frozen in place, his tired arm paralyzed in time and space as he held the phone to his ear.

"Simon? About what?" Jack wondered.

"Don't you remember? He thought Captain Benson was still alive. But I didn't listen to him."

"Your guess made more sense than his did" Jack pointed out in Ralph's defense. "But that's not the point. Don't you get it?"

"Get what?" Ralph could barely find the words through the shock he was experiencing.

"Larry got attacked by the monster in the cave. The same cave Captain Benson was found in. Larry said he stabbed the monster to get away... But there was never any monster. Captain Benson was the monster" Jack explained for Ralph's lagging brain.

Shit. He was right, Ralph realized.

"Oh my god" Ralph's words left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"They're gonna tear that kid to pieces" Jack added.

"What?"

"Larry. He killed a military veteran slash captain. You don't think they're gonna nail him in the investigation?" Jack explained.

"But... it was an accident. Larry didn't know. He was scared, it was an accident..." Ralph yammered on as he began to feel like his words weren't a part of him. Shock had taken over his body and mind.

"Yeah? And Simon's death is still an open case for the exact same reason" Jack revealed.

"Larry's just a kid" Ralph said sadly as tears finally began to form in his eyes. He thought he was getting better, finally learning how to live with the island without living on it. But here he was now, reliving the trauma as the news poisoned his recovery.

"We all are, doesn't make a difference" Jack admitted. Ralph thought he could hear the slightest of pain in Jack's static-filled voice.

"I can't think straight" Ralph practically whispered as he clutched the phone like a lifeline, pinching his eyes shut in agony, confusion, hurt, and despair. The wound he thought was healing had been slashed open again, and Ralph didn't have the energy to start from the ground up in his recovery.

"Should I not have told you?" Jack wondered.

"No, it's not that. It's just... I can't keep doing this" Ralph admitted, and Jack could hear in his voice that he was crying.

"Doing what?" Jack asked curiously.

"Trying to get past it. Trying to move on and act like it didn't happen, like it doesn't matter anymore. Because everytime I feel like I could get my life back, something like this brings me back there, to the island" Ralph rambled on as his mind began to run away from him.

"Hey" Jack gently interrupted him. "You aren't in this alone, alright? We're all in it with you, every last one of us. Me, Larry, the twins, all of 'em. Even miles apart, we're in it together."

"It isn't enough" Ralph whispered with a sadness that travelled through the phone and plunged into Jack's heart like a knife. Jack tightened his lips as he became desperate to rid Ralph of the pain.

"What can I do?" Jack asked desperately, longingly.

"Come back" Ralph whispered softly.