𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

The percussion of thunder cracked in the sky while flashes of light eliminates the darkness momentarily, filling the island's terrain. Silver walls of rain plummet down from the clouds and trickled through the maze of the criss-cross foliage that was used for our shelters exterior. I wince when the cold droplets pelted my forehead, and I sit up abruptly at the realization. The storm barged in. It commanded the next wave of destruction.

Ralph and Simon are in the same hut, hunched over to cower from the leaky walls. They both turn to me as I wake. Breathing heavily, my head darts to the side, and I can see Eric and Piggy. 

"Are you alright?" Simon expresses his concerns.

"It's just a storm," the chief strains his voice to dominate the crashing of nature outside. 

"Just a storm?" I emphasize sarcastically, and find myself jerking at another loud boom -- the way it seems to sizzle to match the pitter-patter of the whipping rain.

Little ones would be scared shitless right now with the strong gusts of wind bulldozing over the terrain. It whistles in an eerie whine, drilling a needle into my eardrum.

"Where's Peter?" I don't yell at any specific person in particular, only seeking an answer.

"I dunno!" Eric yells back. Fuck, there's so many younger ones that could have run away into the night out of fear. They would be so hard to find. I wrap my blazer tighter around my torso to shield myself from bullets of rain. My hair moulds to the shape of my face, plastered to my skin quicker than I can notice.

"I think he's in the other shelter!" Ralph still seems uncertain. Maybe Mikey would be in there, too? I don't take time to answer. Instead, I jump up and brave to cold for a few moments to get to the other hut.

Four young boys huddle up in the corner of the shelter, trembling. As I crawl in, their eyes seem to light up. Tony, Pablo, and Will are also there, huddling up, though far apart. Pablo is sitting the furthest away from them.

"You guys okay?" I speak loudly over the noise. Thunder claps its hands together with the means to intimidate, building on the ripples of sound.

"I'm scared," Percival whines. On cue, he bursts into a mess of tears. Peter looks at his friend and his lip begins to twitch. I can see the faucet in his eyes slowly creaking on due to the domino effect that I'm coming to curse at.

Shit, shit, shit. Please don't cry. For the love of God, don't cry.

"Hey, hey!" I try to console them. Tony and Will who are sitting at the opposite wall groan and cover their ears. 

"The storm will pass, it's okay!!" While frantically trying to hush them, a voice breaks through the wind outside; It's Ralph's.

"Quick, get outta there! That tree is gonna go!"

What is he on about? -- That tree's gonna go? That tree's gonna... Oh.

"Fuck. Guys, get up. Now!" I grab as many wrists as I can and hoist the kids up. As I motion to three confused older boys, I shove the little ones out in front of me. A splitting sound slices through the air, and I refuse the let myself, nor any of the others to look back to view the source of it. We ran out of the shelter as a towering tree tilts over with a crack and wipes out the entire hut, crushing it.

We would have been in there if Ralph hadn't noticed it. We stand in the sand for a moment, shocked. That would have killed us -- God, Veronica, snap out of it. I usher them other to the hut with Ralph, cold droplets making goosebumps swell on my trembling skin.

"Go, now!"

They all pack inside and cover their heads. About half of my body is still outside of the frame as the structure gets filled to its capacity.

Another tree crashes down almost right next to us. Some of the branches catch the top of the roof and the walls fall in on us before the harsh wind carries all of the foliage away. Someone shrieks -- I think it's Peter.

We disperse, and most of the tribe heads for the treeline. The thing is- I know for a fact that we have more people than this... Despite half of this group leaving for Jack's tribe, we still have more, so that raises the question -- where are they? They must have given into fear a while ago and already hurried away.

"Where are the others?" My voice sounds gritty, burning my throat when I question Ralph. He gives a helpless shrug. 

"I dunno!"

My wet hair is clumped into thick strands that are flying wildly, taking over my line of vision and splattered across my face. Swiping it away all annoyed, I scan the greenness of the jungle for more children. A hand yanks my wrist to move... It's Ralph, urging me to run, of course. The many fallen trees move under our feet with the fresh mud and vines, making it difficult to travel... our hands clinging together. We push through the mess, but the rain profusely continues its cold attack on our faces.

"Help!"

"Help me!"

"Help- ah!"

So many young voices scream out as they attempt to venture through the storm. I turn to look behind myself, oblivious to anything else that was going on.

"Duck!" Ralph screams. He takes my shoulder and yanks me down. We watch in awe as a humongous branch hurdles over our heads, carried by the whipping winds. Cold tendrils of shock zip through my chest and lace through my vertebrae.

"Shit, thanks." I forcefully rasp, shaken up by the discombobulating mania from the close call. The phrase is probably too quiet for the chief to hear. He takes my wrist and keeps pushing us forwards. I don't know where Piggy is, nor Simon. Eric broke off the group when we all dispersed -- I hope he's in a safe place.

At this point, leaves and greenery have fallen everywhere, posing like walls that tower above your head. That just makes it extremely hard to navigate and move through. Like marching through a pool of tar that pulls you back with every step.

Splitting crackles bear the atmosphere, letting me know that another tree has plummeted to the ground, but a high pitched scream pairs with it this time. My heart lurches at the noise.

Ralph lets go of me for a moment to cup his hands around his mouth, and bellows out. 

"Peter where are you?!" 

I stare at him with a crippled expression, but gasp suddenly as a patch of mud gives way under my feet on the steady incline. I huff at my sharp landing. Rising back up, I squint and finally spot the small boy far away. Mikey nor Percival are with him. He shrieks as more huge branches fall in all directions around him, creating a labyrinth of danger.

"I have to get Peter!" I exclaim to Ralph, turning to go. He grabs my hand to stop me.

"You can't! He's too far, and I don't want you to get hurt!" 

Hearing that, a frown twists on my face. I can't understand why Ralph would say that. Glancing back to the small boy, I say, "He's just a kid, Ralph! He's terrified, and I need to help him."

The chief shakes his head vigorously again and says, "You're no help to him if you're on the ground unconscious or dead after a branch hits you while you try to get to him."

Mustering up the heart to move, I wince and relentlessly go with Ralph. 

We come across a part of our group sitting together in a muddy ditch. I stare at them in shock, but Ralph takes my arm and helps me to lower down with the rest of the boys before sitting down himself. It's so slippery, but it's alright. Just gotta wait this thing out.

The storm climaxes as the thunder rages louder than before. The force pounds against my heart. You know- they sound like bombs or gunshots. This is where I can say I was most affected after high school. Anything that booms frightens me way more than it should. My eyes squeeze shut, and I give into my thoughts to slip away from reality. At least for a little while.

♕︎♕︎♕︎

Just as the sun peaks out over the horizon, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. 

"I hate everything," I grumble and reach down for my blazer.

"I didn't think I'd be able to sleep through that," a boy mumbles. Most of the others are gone, probably to find the rest of our missing boys. Regardless, me and the remaining kids hoist each other up out of the ditch. Scrunching my nose, I brush the dried mud on my hands off on my skirt.

Another grumble boils in my stomach. I'll have to see if any of the trees that didn't fall have some fruit. Emerging out of the treeline, I almost gasp at the wreckage rendering in front of me. The beach is now littered with foliage, dead fish, and shells that washed up on shore, speckling the golden sand, now turned to a damp brown. Most of the fruit that got blown off their branches are smashed on the ground, oozing sweet pulp and bitter juices.

Bark is torn away from most of the trees, revealing their age through the twisted patterns of their rings. Now it's an oaky color of moist beige and sandalwood that lets off an earthy scent to mix with a metallic smell of rain. 

The rain had completely soaked the leaves and vines, shifting the shades of vibrant green into a painting splattered with water colors and oil paint.

I trudge up the small mounds that bump up against the ground, my feet digging into a mix of mud and sand. As I approach, more ant-like boys dot the beach. It seems like more than I saw last night, and that provides some relief that they are okay. Washed up driftwood twists across my path, mimicking the torn up trees and dead coral. I have to make a point to step over them so as to not roll my ankles. 

Piggy is cleaning his glasses in front of the high tide, muttering to himself. Striding over to him, I smile nervously. 

"So, how'd you enjoy the storm?" 

He looks at me with a drained expression.

"To say that I hated it would be an understatement." He rolls his goggled eyes. I nod in the utmost agreement saying, "No doubt there."

We stand, trying to decide what to do next. 

"Where is Ralph?" Piggy asks. 

"Not sure. Lets go find him." 

We begin walking over to where most of the group is congregating. Everything sounds mostly peaceful, opposing last night's chaos. The water makes pleasant, calm noises. And the waves breathe rather than roar. As the cherry on top, we have a cool breeze instead of what could be half of a tornado. Breathing, I enjoy the solitude as I stroll by Piggy's side. Of course, as I should have expected, he broke the ambience with a noisy call.

"Raaaaalph?" It dragged out painfully long with an obvious southern accent. With all respect, that kid's voice could get so nasally and annoying. I cringe at it, like I was hearing nails on a chalk board. He didn't seem to notice my reaction.

"Yeah?" Ralph calls back from somewhere, seemingly unsure. Me and Piggy change our course of direction to accommodate our aim in finding Ralph. I almost trip over a coconut when I don't pay attention to the ground.

"Watch your step before you kill yourself," Tony grins as I pass by him. I raise my brows and give a small two-fingered salute. 

"Noted."

We reach what is practically a hill of pure fallen foliage. That stuff created a whole dang labyrinth. We make a pitiful attempt at marching through with a bit too much wobble in our steps, ankles becoming itchy.

"Where are you?" A loud squish follows Piggy's shout as I crush a thick branch under my weight, softened by the water soakage. 

"Over here!" Ralph answers somewhere to our left. At that, we scramble over logs, trying not to gracelessly tumble over.

"Hey, wait for me," a voice rises through the foliage. He sounds offended, but I realize the phrase isn't directed at us when I hear Eric's answer. 

"Well, come on!" 

Sure enough, the twin and Pablo appear nearby, walking cautiously.

My mood increases for the better when I spot the conch that was tucked away under a pile of wood. Darting over, I retrieve it and brush off some clumps of wet sand. The shell is unscathed, spotless of any scratches or chips. Tucking it under my arm, I trot over to Piggy. A few boys are feasting on bananas hungrily.

"Where'dya get that?" The boy asks, immensely interested.

"Right here," Andy gestures. I never liked bananas growing up -- more of a texture thing. Things like that don't matter when you're starving. I've learned that during my time on the island. I eat one fruit, then two, then a third one that finally hits the spot.

"Ralph!" Piggy yells excitedly with a stuffed mouth. 

"... Yeah?"

Something tells me to reach into my pocket, so I do.

"Over here, we found fruit!" Piggy exclaims, nearly bouncing with joy. My brow arches at the emptiness of all my pockets. It feels like having an empty chair at a dinner table. Something's gone, and I can't put my finger on what. It hits me -- my rose quartz. I groan out in annoyance and even a bit of disappointment. Darn, that sucks. Only had the thing for like a day or two and I've already gone and lost it. This is why we can't have nice things.

More boys run over as Ralph makes his entrance. Pushing my disappointment aside, I hand Ralph the conch. He stares at it, clutching it in a hand while chewing a banana.

"Do ya' think the other guys are okay...?" Tony raises his concerns. For a kid that can always put up a big front like he never gives a shit about anything, him seeming so worried for the other team is interesting to see.

"Who cares?" Eric scoffs, taking a bite of fruit. Tony frowns, and threw the one insult he was sure would touch Eric's nerve. 

"Dork, I was just asking!"

The twin does twitch his face for a moment, but nothing more. He just continues to eat the sad breakfast. Tony also leaves it at that. Everything is oddly silent afterwards.

"We should relight the fire," Ralph finally says, looking around at us all. Pursing my lips, I bob my shoulders in a shrug. 

"I'm cool with that."

"I don't wannaaaa," a little one whines noisily.

"Yeahhhh my feet huuuurt!" 

The whiney voices make me wanna rip my hair out. Ralph and I exchange glances.

"You guys can stay here on the beach with Andy then," says the chief. The little ones rejoice happily. I look at Ralph and Piggy, and we all gesture to go.

♕︎♕︎♕︎

We climb up the mountain to get to the fire pit, greeted by a rancid stench to coat our lungs and olfactory nerves like a fervent tar. A dead pig is laid out on the rocky ground for display, a victim of the hunters, and reminiscent of my night terrors. Flies buzz around the stinking corpse in a hovering black cloud. The wretched smell curls up in my nostrils and triggers my gag reflex.

"Ain't that a sight and a half..." Ralph mumbles sarcastically. I scrunch my nose in an attempt to block off the wafting stench. Crimson blood coats itself across the rocky floor, spreading like a malevolent infection to taint.

"Gross."

On a real note, where does this leave the hunters to be? We stare at the kill in disgust while Eric's first thought is to jab at it with a stick, ignoring the innards that are strewn around, feebly clinging together by bloody strands of tissue. I pinch the bridge of my nose to further banish the smell of rot.

"Where are they?" Will asks, referring to the hunters as if he read my mind. Ralph shifts on his feet before answering.

"If they didn't get blown away, they've probably just gone hunting..."

I pull my hair away from my shoulders, pushing it behind my neck and sighing in disbelief. Ralph nor I can still process that a whole half of our old team split off because of Jack.

"C'mon guys..." I mutter, tugging Eric by his shoulder who is now digging in the pig's ear with a twig. 

"Wait!" Eric protests. 

"Let's go, you can't kill it more." I have to practically drag him away.

We arrive at the grassy patch that was dotted with a big black circle of charred ground from the first incident. The sun is much brighter now, perfect to start the fire.

"Get sticks and pile em up." Ralph starts directing us. We all obey while Piggy stood off the the side, getting out of the dirty work. It truthfully didn't bother me all that much. We snapped longer sticks on our knees to make them a reasonable size for the fire pit.

"Have any of you guys gotten splinters yet?" I ask out of curiosity since I've so far gotten off scotch free without earning splinters during my time here.

"Nope." Someone pops the "p" sound.

"I have," groans Will. I show him an apologetic smile before tossing my wood into the pile with the rest. 

"Alright," says Ralph. "That'll do for now."

The chief holds out a hand to Piggy, referring to his glasses. When he retrieves them, he reflects an orb of light from the sun down onto a piece of wood. It took a few times to get the angle right. I kneel by, and gently blow on the slowly rising smoke.

I sigh for the repetition when a flame finally flaps up in the air. Ralph and I high five each other, then I held out a fist to Piggy who stood by us. He looked at me, unusually confused at the offering for a fist bump. My eyebrows wrinkle at his reaction and I gesture more obviously at my fist. Piggy shakes his head apologetically.

"I don't understand..." He trails off. 

"It's a fist bump," I say, slightly staggered by his confusion. I grab his wrist and bump my knuckles with his, and for a split moment, I see the glimmer of a smile on his face.

"So who's gonna stay on the watch?" Eric pipes up.

"I'd rather not for this shift," I cut in quickly. "I wanted to go find Simon."

Getting Ralph's confirmation, I head off to the jungle to find the clearing we sat at. A little safe haven. It's a surprise no one else has found it yet.

At least not that I know of.

"Simon?" I yell out cautiously, brushing away some vines that pose in my line of vision. Simon has become like a little brother to me. I think it began to develop when I realized how isolated he was from the others. Or maybe that's just the only-child within me desperately searching for the sibling experience. I wander into his spot in the forest.

"Simon?" Calling a bit louder this time, a rustle tempers in the foliage off to my right, and he pops out from behind a tree. The boy has a finger to his lips, gesturing that I need to be quiet.

"The hunters are out, and we don't want them to hear us," he explains lowly. Nodding, I shoot him a thumbs up and we sit down together on a rock.

"By the way..." He digs into his pocket before I can say anything. I don't know what I was expecting him to present, but I certainly wasn't expecting to see him pull out the rose quartz. But sure enough, the small pink stone sat perfectly in his palm, and Simon had that thoughtful smile. Gasping, I take the quartz between my thumb and index finger.

"How did you..." My voice trails off in astonishment and I feel pretty much breathless. 

"I somehow came across it through all the fallen trees," he explains. "I really don't know how I managed to do it, but I was sure you'd appreciate to have it back."

Sighing through a disbelieving laugh, I just nod again, swallowing before speaking. 

"I- yeah. Thank you so much, Simon."

He pats me on my hand and says, "The things we lose always have a way of coming back to us in the end."

Something about that simultaneously made perfect sense and also no sense at all. Learning from my last mistake, I decide it'd be better if I kept the quartz in my safest pocket -- the one that zipped closed on the inner flap of my blazer. I drop it in right with my travel size hair brush. Then, I smile promptly, satisfied with the decision.

We start walking down a path we just mapped out in our heads on our own a while ago, muttering remarks about different plants we saw growing, birds we heard, piglets we saw - Let's hope Jack and his tribe don't find those little guys. 

Simon begins humming a tune, one I don't recognize. The soft lulls of his song soothe the stifled air. Impressed, I look at him in surprised amusement for how well it sounds, even if it is only humming.

"What's that?" I question curiously. 

"It's a song from choir," Simon smiles. "Kyrie Eleison. It means; Lord, have mercy."

Pursing my lips in understanding, I show a quick nod of the head and let him resume the hummed tune.

The peace gets broken by a piercing of the air; A prolonged, splitting scream lopping off the song from its middle. Simon and I jump at the noise, grabbing onto each other. The screaming lingers in the same area somewhere out in the distance before it slowly went further away. I can only describe them to sound like pure terror. With my heart pounding out of worry, I turn to Simon and say,

"I gotta go check on the people at our camp. I need to know who was screaming bloody murder."

He nods to me. "I'll come with you."

♕︎♕︎♕︎

"Ralph? Hey! Ralph!" I sprint down the beach, burning my legs to find the chief. When he notices me, surprise grows over his face as he walks over, seemingly bracing for some bad news.

"What? What's the matter?" 

"Is everyone here?? Is everyone okay?" 

He raises a brow, nodding slowly as his eyes descend into concern.

"I- yeah." He confirmed. "Yeah, everyone's here... Veronica. What's wrong?" 

I try to calm my breathing, but I ignore his question.

"Are you sure? Like- totally sure?" Again, he only nods, becoming more puzzled by the passing second. 

"Everyone's here."

I sigh in relief, but that means it was one of Jack's hunters. How do I know that one of them didn't get hurt? 

"Simon and I heard screaming," I translate seriously. "They sounded horrified."

"Seriously?" He quizzes in disbelief. "Shit."

I nod knowingly and swallow hard, pressing my hand to my forehead. 

"Someone should go over there to check up on them," Simon walks up behind me. Ralph and I face the normally quiet boy as he catches our attention.

"I'll go! I can go right now!" With me volunteering so eagerly, Ralph furrows his eyebrows at me, making a weird look that says, slow your roll.

"I'll go with you, or you can bring Simon." I imagine Ralph doesn't favor the idea of me being over there, but then again, what are they gonna do? They sure as hell won't hurt me. He may be out of his mind but Jack isn't totally gone.

"I don't mind going," Simon answers shyly. Showing a quick small half smile, I look back at Ralph and flash a small, two-fingered salute. The chief smiles softly and rolls his eyes before saluting back at me.

♕︎♕︎♕︎

Ever since Jack left, it didn't once come to mind that I'd be sprinting over to their camp. To be fair, it's the right thing if we're just checking up on them.

"Wait, Veronica, slow down," Simon touches my arm and eases the movement in his legs. We start to approach Castle Rock with more caution. Loud voices echo to us from where the cliff is at.

"What's this dumb shit I hear about a monster?" We hear Jack bark hastily. Ignoring Simon's words, I trot a bit faster up the rocks to hear the conversation. Simon whispers something to me frantically before following behind.

"We're gonna have to send you back over to Ralph's camp if you can't stop with this fucking fairy tale crap." He threatens, and I can tell by his tone that his teeth are gritted. Carefully walking up the path, I place my hands of the side of the hill and crane my neck to better understand.

"I'm serious!" Whichever boy is trying to convince the rest of the group about some beast, he sounds like he'll burst into tears at any moment. Jack laughs nastily before snapping back.

"Okay, what kind of monster?"

Dumbly, I poke around to view the scene. Greg is the boy being interrogated -- not super young, but not considered to be an older kid. I watch as he trembles, sputtering more nonsense to Jack. Something that I notice is that he constantly glances behind himself in fear, like he's half expecting an attack to sneak up on him.

"I-It came at me! Its mouth -- it was wet!" Greg glances back again and I quickly jerk behind the rocks to avoid being seen.

I only move forward again when Simon taps my back, urging me to look at them. Chills leak down my spine when Roger appears at Jack's side, looming a few inches above him. An expression of pure disgust and amusement is written on his face as he listens to Greg's story, twisting uglier by the moment. Maybe he was half aggravated by it, because his fingers wrap tighter around the spear that he grasps. His iron rings scratch loudly against the wood.

"Did it have fur? Or poison fangs?" A condescending tone that peekaboos through Jack's words eats away at me -- he sounds so cruel. There's a nasty smile that creeps on his lips, like he enjoys taunting the boy. His eyes widen in mockery, and he snakes his fingers in the air to match his next words. 

"-Or long slimy tentacles?"

Greg stammers out while shaking his head. 

"N-No! It growled at me!" He flashes another glance behind himself and I barely move out of the way in time. Of course, I don't believe what he saw was a monster. Maybe he heard a wounded pig and got scared. Jack feeding into his fear is what's angering me. Simon and I exchange puzzled looks.

"Maybe it was a bear," suggests one boy.

"It sounds more like a reptile," Rapper chuckles, crossing his arms. Shoving hair that was blown over my face away, I daringly step closer.

"Sounds more like bullshit!" Jack spats harshly. Roger is stone-faced still, but his jaw clenches at the sound of Greg's whiny voice when he continues the justifications. Even being so many yards away, I can hear him panting.

Jack rolls his eyes. "Where did you see it?" 

Greg looks startled that his chief was asking a question which takes him seriously.

"It's just west off our camp, in that cave," he answers timidly, bowing his head. Jack mutters something to Roger, and they both snicker, unbothered by Greg's words.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll check it out, I guess." Jack brushes him off and picks up his spear. I watch him test the sharp tip for precision. 

"And if nothing's there, you're going back to Ralph's camp. We can't have babies holding us back."

Greg's eyes widen, but he answers quickly. 

"Yes, Jack -- I mean, Chief!" 

The blonde scowls and he snaps around.

"Hunters!" Grabbing their attention, they all scurry over, looking nervous while Roger stands in place coolly. I even see Sam there with his new crowd of close friends, clad in harshly applied black and red paint.

"I don't go by 'Jack' anymore!" He announces, slamming the butt of his spear to the nearby rock. "It's Merridew, or Chief, you hear?"

"Yes, chief!" They all answer back in unison. 

"Fucking narcissist..." I mumble so no one can notice. He really has somehow gotten more full of himself than before. Who knew that was possible?

"Roger and I are heading out. Everyone stay here, and don't go hunting till we get back or else you'll regret it."

They all are taken aback by how much more vindictive Jack had gotten over night, but they nod anyway. Satisfied, Merridew shoos them away, and Greg scrambles over to his friends. Now's my cue -- better to make myself known rather than be caught lurking in their camp.

I step out from behind the rocks without any warning to Simon, and stood in the boys' path. The look on their faces are a mix of pure shock and confusion. They weren't expecting me. Roger pauses, but a sly grin steadily develops on his face as I stand in discomfort.

After some moments go by, Jack breaks the silence. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" As the words leave his mouth, Simon hesitantly slinks next to me. Again, Jack appears all the more bewildered, but it quickly melts away.

"You too?" He motions to my friend. Simon lowers his head to the ground, keeping his hands behind his back. I speak up before anymore time can slip by.

"We heard screaming, so... we came to check on you guys." At that moment, I also clasp my hands behind my back in embarrassment, standing as stiff as a statue. Roger's head cocks to the side.

Jack huffs in exasperation and turns to his friend. 

"Can you give us a moment?" He mutters, preparing to go through some argument with me. Roger doesn't answer. His vacant eyes just drift to me, hold for a moment of regard, then he walks off.

Jack looks at Simon, and without saying any words- makes him hurry away. I frown sympathetically as the boy retreats. We're alone now. 

"Jack, there was no need to send them away," I stress. "I just wanted to make sure everyone was alright."

A lift of his cheek, and my heart races against my chest as he struts down the small incline that separates us, closing the gap almost immediately. I let in a sharp inhale without even backing away. Instead, I try to see past the harsh war paint that's streaked down his cheeks.

Shoving a piece of hair behind my ear, he whispers, "You really can't stay away from me, huh, Sawyer?"

Squinting my eyes, I huff a laugh. 

"In your dreams, Merridew." I make sure to emphasize his last name which he so childishly insisted on going by. He presses his tongue to the inside of his cheek and leers down at me. A feeling of his hand snaking across my waist pleasantly chills my bones.

"Not here," I start to push him back.

"Yes, here," Jack counters, leaning closer. I groan inwardly and pull away. 

"I'm serious, I'm not in the mood."

The chief raises his arms in mock surrender. 

"Don't get so bitchy on me," he teases. "We've only just started to catch up."

I scoff and start to walk back a few steps.

"Don't you have a monster to go hunt?" Making quotation marks in the air, I widen my eyes to show the humor of it. We stare at each other until he slips a brief answer freely. 

"This conversation isn't over yet."

My brows bob to show my lack of care, but I do end up feeling anxious when he calls Roger back over. Watching the boy sulk over without breaking eye contact, I figure I'd be able to do it back. So I do. I start holding my gaze. I've played this game with people for minutes on end but- I can't ever win with Roger. Something freaks me out, and I look away. I curse myself for being such a down right idiot.

"Back so soon, darling?" I hear Luke's voice enter.

A few of the hunters in the back wolf whistle when they see me, though Jack makes no move to shut em up.

"And unfortunately, you're still here." I begin loftily eyeing Luke with disdain.

"Oh, of course," he says. "I mean, I am Second in Command of this new tribe that Jack's got running here." He motions to the surrounding area with a finger. Not true. It's Roger. I know that much.

"I'm sure it's just amazing," my words come out sardonically as I note their untidy appearances. They look crazy. Jack leans back at my sarcasm, grinning widely like he thought it was funny.

"Yeah," the chief cuts in. "How's Ralph managing things?" He questions all too innocently. 

There's a glint in their eyes when they see that they've touched a nerve. Crossing my arms, I speak in as much of a dignified tone as possible.

"Incredibly well, actually."

The three exchange another glance wordlessly, nod, then look back to me with repressed grins. I struggle to maintain a neutral face. God! What's with them and that constant back and forth??

"Yeah?" Luke arches his brow, and rests against his spear that's pressed into the ground. I only nod. 

"Hey, uh," Roger starts slowly, pointing to his own cheek bone. "You got a little something on your cheek there, hun."

There it goes; That familiar anger unfurling in my gut. My jaw clenches. I want to punch the air -- no, I wanna punch him. Then again, I'm smart enough to realized he'd stomp me into the ground with ease.

I stare at him stone-faced for a moment before brushing it off like I never cared. That doesn't matter, because it's obvious that Roger knows what he did. Satisfied with their doings, the conversation comes to a close. It's mind boggling that Jack could be so oblivious to the immense discomfort I feel around Roger.

"Catch ya' later, Vera." Jack winks. "You and I will leave off where we started, privately when I get back."

His friends sneer when they brush past me, Roger skulking by a bit too roughly.

"Later, boys." I call back breezily, hoping that I didn't give them much of a reaction like they wanted.

Those parting words I uttered in an attempt to appear nonchalant makes me want to puke in my mouth. Roger was right. God damn. Jack Merridew is a piece of work.

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♕︎♕︎♕︎

God, have mercy on my soul