Carmen Pitka

"What are you boys doing?" the captain yelled. Ralph moaned, as he looked up at the captain and started to cry. He had been wounded and was in pain. He glanced at Jack and then at the soldier and told him what was going on. The other soldiers immediately grabbed Jack and the other boys and put them in the helicopter. Then the captain sat down by Ralph and asked what had happened to them.

Ralph got up and brought the captain (whose name was Malcolm) over to where the bodies of Piggy, Simon, and the pilot were located. He began to cry and told him who killed the two boys. While walking back to the other soldiers, Ralph also told Malcolm how this all began. Malcolm then ordered the soldiers to recover the two bodies over near the rocks on the shore by their camp.

As they left in the helicopter, Ralph watched the island disappear. He thought of his mom in Denver, Colorado, and his father who was still out looking for him with the Coast Guard. They would be happy to see him.

After he got home the first night, Ralph couldn't sleep so he stayed up watching MTV, the show he had really missed with all his favorite music. His mother, Aubrey, later came upstairs and told him that Malcolm had found him a lawyer.

The next day Ralph went to court and testified against Jack and the other boys. When Ralph saw Jack and Roger there, he stared at them, and before they could say anything he turned and walked off. Jack was in tears and so was Roger. The police officers then took the two boys away and the next day the judge pronounced his sentence. The boys, he said, were to be sent back to the island for one whole year instead of going to prison.

As Jack and Roger were walking towards the helicopter, I walked by to see if they were really leaving. I wondered if they would both come back alive, or maybe dead. As I watched, I pictured Simon and Piggy laughing at some jokes I'd told them and I wondered what they would be doing if they were still alive. Jack and Roger, I could never forgive. I thought Jack had been a caring person but I saw him bring Roger into his own world of death and killing.

When I was back home again my mom called me and told me my father was coming. I didn't know how to react at first but when he came in I ran over to him and hugged him. Looking at my mom, I started to cry. My father, Samuel, wiped my tears away as I smiled and asked how I was doing? "Dad, how long have you been looking for us?" I asked him. Then I told him the long sad story. As I was finishing up, I started sobbing again, and my mother said,"You don't have to remind yourself of that place. It is in the past. Just be happy you are home with us now." Then she changed the subject.

"So what have Jack and Roger's parents decided? Are they coming over?" I asked my dad.

"Yes, they want to talk with you. I think they are planning on taking you for a surprise trip in the mountains, maybe to the cabin near the lodge. We'll be going too. guess they feel a bit guilty because of what their boys did to you. It's good to know they are still our friends. I do not understand why Jack would do such a thing. He is a born-again-Christian, and I never thought he'd turn out to be the way he is. On the island iIguess he got a bit jealous!"

Meanwhile, back on the island, Jack asked, "Hey, Roger, do you think I'm a mean person? Do you think we did the right thing?" Roger replied, "Jack, I was scared in the first place, and I'm still scared now. I thought you were doing the right thing because you were older and had more sense. Hey, I only did things to make it right with you.

Back at Ralph's, he was also having doubts about his own role in the fiasco. He told his parents, "I know I caused everything, but I can't change the past, and I know was a bit demanding, and it made Jack crazy to know I had the power and the courage to do what I did. I wonder if he'll ever be happy or think of the bad things he did while we were on the island? I really don't think I'm ready to see their parents, but I don't blame them for what they are trying to do to help me see it wasn't my fault. I tried the best I could, and I thought Jack had decided that I would be a good leader."

But his dad replied, "Ralph, you know you did the best you could on the island and it wasn't your fault. Jack might have made you feel bad, but don't worry, you're home, and it's all over with.

Over the years Ralph still felt bad about the ordeal, especially Simon's and Piggy's murders, and sometimes he thought he could never forgive himself until he finally realized his moods really shut him down with his other friends. So he decided to get out more and begin socializing again. After that his life returned more to normal.