A Raid For Fire

I took it on me to have a celebration of sorts. With Jack gone, and his hunters no longer here either, I hoped that we would be left alone. Yes! I thought that we would be able to be rescued. This kind of hope had not come in a while, and I decided to have a small celebration for it. I called Samneric and us three went into the forest, gathering the choicest fruits. When we returned Ralph was staring into the fire, looking haggard and exhausted. When he saw what we had brought him, our chief's eyes lit up with gratuity. He thanked us, then thanked us again, more enthusiastically. We happily munched down on the fruit.

After a while, we began to realize the real effect of the sudden fall in population when the large log burned out. How would we keep the fire going? Ralph began to talk to me. He was exasperated at the little priority that the boys gave the fire, how they were blind to the fact that it was their only chance to get off the island. He then added that sometimes he himself didn't care either. He began to unburden himself and throughout his talking I was a bit pleased to notice that for the first time since we landed on the island, we were starting to become real friends. We began to think similarly, and we both identified Jack as the culprit, the stem of all this chaos. I was just thinking about what Jack and his hunters were doing, when suddenly, as if in spite, rustles and screams came from the forest behind us. Two anonymous boys stole past and grabbed burning branches, and quickly left, running back into darkness. Jack and two other savages had already seemingly made the transformation, with nothing but belts and painted masks. They came to inform us that a feast was being held in their tribe. His words, few but appealing, sparked many of the boys' interest, who began to propose going there to get some meat. Ralph tried to convince them to stay, saying that they must tend to the fire. They were wanting meat, and fun, however, and they left us to go to the feast.

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