An Alternate Ending to Lord of the Flies (Denman Island Version)
by Cylon2036 we/us Pseudopod Certified
The rock that Roger had loosened did not strike Piggy. It skidded past him, and instead it tore a white scar through the cliff face before plunging into the sea. The conch slipped from Piggy’s hands and struck the ground, but it did not shatter.
It rolled once, hollow and intact, and came to rest at Ralph’s feet. For a moment, the boys stood frozen. Even Jack seemed startled, as though the violence he had summoned had arrived incomplete, uncertain of its task.
Piggy’s breath came in sharp gasps, as he looked at the conch. “You see?” he said, his voice trembling but loud enough to carry. “You see what almost happened? We nearly killed one another, over nothing but fear and control”
Roger shifted, suddenly aware of the cliff beneath his feet. The power he had felt drained away, leaving only the sickening realization of how close he had come. Ralph lifted the conch. “We can still choose. This doesn’t have to end this way.”
Jack laughed once, harshly. “Choose? You think we can stop what’s coming?” Piggy turned toward him, squinting. “Rules didn’t fail us, Jack. We failed each other. There’s a difference.”
Something in Piggy’s voice, its honesty, caught the others off guard. The littluns huddled together, staring between the two older boys. The others hesitated, dry skin peeling on their faces as the afternoon sun bore down.
“There is no beast,” Piggy went on. “Not on this island. There’s nothing to fear in the dark. The only thing we’re scared of is each other.” The words hung in the air. Jack opened his mouth to deny them, but no sound came.
Jack remembered the hollow claims of injustice, and how fear had twisted it. His grip on the spear loosened. Ralph held out the conch toward Jack. “We don’t have to be in control,” he said. Jack stared at the shell.
Piggy said quietly. “We can keep the fire going. Build shelters. Look after the littluns.” The fire burned steadily on the ridge-top. It was smaller, but it did not go out. The boys sat around it without spears, listening to the sound of the sea.
