The Beast

After the party, Ralph left abruptly, saying only that he would call a meeting. After that, I stayed to finish my meat, and I quietly left as well. Ralph put his lips to the conch, and with the familiar symbol, everyone, even Jack, came to the meeting. It was a somber and quiet gathering, with no one laughing or even talking. Everyone seemed to understand to seriousness of the situation, even the littluns. Ralph began to talk like he had never before, laying down rules and order. He talked about the water shells, shelters, bathrooms, and the fire. He decreed that the fire only ever be on the mountain, which made sense, but which was met with large opposition. I tried to talk at one point but Ralph left no gap for discussion. Ralph moved on to address the infamous beast, and Jack piped in as well, using his hunter credibility to bolster the point. I took the conch after that, and decided to introduce a scientific aspect, when suddenly I realized something. "Unless-" I said, and Ralph prodded: "Unless what?" "Unless we get frightened of people." Although that might not have been the right thing to say with the kids, and it was met with an assembly of laughter. Now I have waved the thought away, what a silly thing to think! As I was thinking about this, an argument started as Percival, a littlun, brought up the report that the beast came from the sea. This was met with dead silence. To the boys, it was possible that it could come from the sea. Arguments started. 

In the midst of the commotion, Simon requested for the conch. "Maybe it's only us." The assembly shook with yells. What did Simon mean? I was shocked that Simon would believe in a beast, too. He's quackers, he really is. He shoved the conch away, without further explanation. After that, Jack rose up, and caused a commotion. "We're strong - we hunt! If there's a beast, we'll chase it down!"  he said. Everyone followed; the assembly was unofficially adjourned. I feel like this represented the laws of reality slipping away, along with hope of rescue.