Blog 1 - A New Day

"Hey! Look over there! There's another one! He has quite a bit of pallor about him, though. Might not be alive. " I heard a voice say. I tried to open my eyes, but it felt as if they were glued shut. I could feel they humidity around my body and the jumble of what felt like leaves and sticks that I layed on. I felt as if a grating had fallen on top of me, but I couldn't tell. I speculated it was just the pressure of the burning air.

We were flying through the air trying to escape the atom bomb in England. Suddenly, the plane jerked to the side and I heard adults shouting from the front of the plane, and the shouts were soon met with stridents from the children. I could feel the plane falling from the heavens and into reality. Then the fire came, adding even more chaos to my own personal hell. You see, Mummy made me get on the plane. I have a fear of flying. I begged her to let me stay with her, but she said that I needed to be safe, and England wasn't. The last thing I remember was the intense heat from the flames that licked the plane like a child with an ice cream cone.

When I finally opened my eyes, I was startled to see three children circled around me. One was very tall and had hair as black as the midnight sky. Then there were two young boys that looked like they must be twins with their matching red hair and freckles.

"He's alive! Henry, he's alive!" One of the twins said excitedly. His eyes lit up and looked to an older boy that I hadn't noticed. He sat on a fallen tree trunk, amazingly uninterested.

"Yes, I noticed. Your first squeal was probably heard all over the island." The boy said decorously. He got up from the trunk, and walked a walk that matched his tone of voice. "So. Are you injured?" Henry asked, interposing me and the tall boy. I noticed the boy was quite vain.

"Umm... I don't think so. Just a little sore." I answered. I was just happy to be alive.

"Man! You took a pretty hard fall!" The tall boy exclaimed, as if re-telling a great movie.

"What? I don't remember a fall." I said, confused. That would explain my sore back, I thought to myself.

"You were ejected from the plane! We watched you fly out the window! It was quite scary! I can't believe you don't remember! " He continued. I listened in terror. Did I really fly out of the plane?? I remembered Billy, the boy sitting next to me. He was only six. Where was he?

"Where's Billy?" I thought aloud.

"Who?" Henry asked, with a bit of irritance.

"Billy. The boy sitting next to me. Where is he?" I asked, frustrated. I had much indignation for Henry's tone.

"Well..." The tall boy murmured, searching for a right answer,

"Dead." Henry said very matter-of-factly, seeming not to care. I quivered at the thought of his body laying somewhere on the jungle floor.

"I see. I'm Charlie." I said. I couldn't believe that the little boy was gone. He was so optimistic, saying that his dad was in the Army and was going to come and get him America. I wondered if his dad was waiting for him in America this very minute.

"Well, we must be going. Come with us. You'll be much safer if you're not alone." The tall boy said, pulling me off the ground. Once I was on my feet, Henry immediately started walking out to the beach. Henry looked back at me and said,

"We heard a lot of clamor coming from the shore. I suggest we check it out. See if we're not alone." I agreed, though I knew Henry didn't care. He was just announcing to me what he was planning. We began to clamber through the jungle.

We continued through the brush, and finally made it out to the shore. I could see a lagoon off in the distance. There were many groups of children walking towards a large plateau where two boys stood. One was rather pudgy and short, the other long and lean.

"People!" I shouted, in relief. I recognized some of the boys from the plane, others were unfamiliar. The pudgy boy ran up to us immediately, smiling.

" 'Ello! What's your names, chaps?" The pudgy boy asked. We introduced ourselves, and he ushered us up the plateau.

As soon as all the boys had arrived, Ralph (the boy with the conch) began to speak. He was immediately interrupted by a final group of boys, dressed in omnious dark robes. They marched in a single file line behind one very dignified boy. The boy introduced himself as Jack. Ralph politely waited forthe late-comers to join the flock, and continued to speak. I watched as a boy next to me devoured what looked like a bug. Many people were starving. We decided as a group that we needed a leader. As I looked around everyone except for the choir boys had raised their hands for Ralph. And it was decided that Ralph would be our leader. I thought that the pudgy boy would make a fine leader... he's smart, friendly, and compassionate. But Ralph has a more commanding prescence and was good at maintaining order. But I was very worried about how Ralph treated "Piggy" (what Ralph calls the pudgy boy now). But, I reluctantly voted for Ralph, because I don't think Piggy could control all these little kids. If only Billy could see this.

Ta-ta for now,
Charlie