Ralph coughed, his chest heaving with the effort, and he lifted his head up. The room was dark and moist, black smudges covered Ralph's bare chest, and he reeked of something awful. His hair was matted and his face grimy. His back was a charred husk, the explosion having blackened his skin badly. Ralph hung in chains and a dark corridor in front of him stared at him malevolently. Water dripped around him, as though the sky were crying. Ralph hoisted his head up, trying to get a good look at the sky above him, but there was nothing but ceiling lost in darkness. What little light there was in the room seemed to emanate from the walls, with no obvious light source.
A deep chuckle interrupted Ralph's observations, "Wakey, wakey!" boomed the voice.
Jack, thought Ralph. The form of a well-built, muscular man in a suit materialized out of the shadows. Jack's long blond hair hung over his eyes, as though he wore a mask of shadows. Roger, in a new cloak, filed into the room behind Jack. He waited next to the entrance, a smile of satisfaction seemed to be forcing it's way onto his lips.
"Long time no see." remarked Ralph.
"Hilarious." said Jack, though he didn't smile, "Do you have any idea what I have gone through since the last time we saw each other?"
"Didn't you go to work at an ice cream shop?"
"I scream, you scream, we all scream, but I mostly want to hear you scream, Ralph." snickered Jack. Roger smiled from the entry. Jack suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Ralph's jaw, "I could kill you right now if I wanted too." he snarled.
"Then why don't you?" asked Ralph.
"Because, I want to watch you suffer." he growled. "Let's see," said Jack, releasing Ralph, "What do we have here?" and Roger pulled something out of his cloak. "Torture device number one, personally I like this one the best!" he laughed as he brandished the branding iron.
Ralph stifled a gasp, anticipating the pain that was sure to come.
"Let's see, I think I like the fly attachment." he slowly screwed on the metal outline of a fly. "Now, where should I put it?"
He pressed the burning hot metal right up against Ralph's chest. Ralph screamed, the burning metal charred his flesh. Jack's delighted laughter was drowned out by Ralph's screams of agony. He thrashed, trying desperately to evade the branding iron. Smoke from his seared flesh rose up, wafting through the air.
Jack stepped back, "Behold, the Lord of the Flies!" a large black fly was burned into Ralph's chest, it's mirrored eye seemed to regard Jack with deep interest. Jack sagged in his shackles, breathing heavily.
Roger smiled delightedly from the corner.
"Do you have any idea what an asylum is like?" Asked Jack.
Ralph had barely enough strength to answer, but he muttered, "I don't, but I'm sure you would."
Jack smiled, "It feels like this! I constructed this room to mirror what the asylum was like for me. And you know what they do to the insane criminals who scream too loud, right Roger?"
"Yes." smiled Roger.
"They do this," Jack suddenly drew a whip from his belt, lashing it out with a snap, "Roger, how many lashings was it for making loud noises?"
YOU ARE READING
Lord of the Flies ~ Aftermath
ActionIt has been twenty two years since Ralph was rescued from the island. But the horrors of that perilous time have not yet disappeared. . . Jack and Roger were sentenced to decades in an asylum for "reconditioning" after they were apprehended for thei...
