Final Draft of Chapter 13

Epilogue: Home at Last
Ralph looked at the Naval Officer with tears welled up in his eyes and said, “We would like it very much if you would take us home,” The Naval Officer just nodded once, then looked back at the huge ship that was now only a few hundred yards from the shore. Ralph looked back at the boys, they had tears dripping from their faces as well. Ralph picked out the faces, one by one, noticing that if he had seen them 2 minutes ago, he would be saying his prayers to God to make his death quick and painless. But now, he just felt bad for them, they had turned into savages, whereas Ralph had resisted.
When Ralph looked at Jack, he was surprised- Jack was in tears as well. Ralph had never seen Jack cry, he'd barely seen him show emotion other than hatred. Jack was just as emotional as Ralph at the moment. They'd all realized the same thing. That they'd all become savages. Even Samneric were somewhat disgraced. The Naval Officer's presence made them want to impress him, show him that they were once composed and knew how to behave.
Once all the boys were out of shock, they started to talk to to Naval Officer. They asked him if how he had planned to take them all home. There were quite a few of them. He simply responded, “I'll just take you on the ship,” he gestured backward to the ship off the shore, “It'll be big enough for everyone,”
They were all very pleased. Ralph had been worried that some of them would have to stay there and wait for the second trip around to get back home.
The Naval Officer went back to talk to some of his crew members and let them know what the plan was to take these stranded boys pack home to England. Just then, Jack walked toward Ralph with his spear still in his hand. To Ralph's surprise, Jack held out the spear in front of him. He slowly released one finger at a time until he dropped it at Ralph's feet. Ralph knew what the gesture meant and smiled. He knew that it meant that Jack realized what a barbarian he'd become, and wanted to stop hunting Ralph.
Jack broke the ice, “Ralph, I'm sorry. I guess I never fully realized the consequences of hunting until I saw Piggy- even then, I wasn't really right in my mind until now. I apologize,” Ralph thought he sounded as sincere as ever and decided that it was worth it to accept. He wasn't sure what was going to come from it, but he said, “Thank you, Jack. I'm sorry, too. We all took part in the murder of Simon, and Piggy's death I suppose was an accident. I'm sorry for the split in tribes,”
The Naval Officer came back with a few of his crew members, “All right, it's all set. We're going to take you boys back to England now if you want. You can just gather you're things- that is if you still have any...”
Ralph spoke up for the first time to the Naval Officer, “No, we don't have any items. Unless you boys wanted to take your spears?”
Jack nudged Ralph with his elbow. Ralph laughed an went on, “We're ready to go,”
“Good. If you boys will follow me,” the Naval Officer and all the other men started loading into a rowboat. There were 3 rowboats lined up along the shore, ready for loading. In each rowboat was a man in a uniform with the oars in his hand. They each had on a navy blue sailor had and a handkerchief around his neck secured with a little badge of some sort. The boys started loading into the boats.
Once they were all in the rowboats, they started back toward the ship, and back to civilization. The boys got off the rowboats and onto a huge ship. The ship was equipped with every sort of weapon the boys had ever seen. It was stocked with food, water, emergency aid, sleeping bunks, bathrooms, and everything else you could possibly need when out at sea for months on end. All of this excited the boys. It had been a while since they had gotten to have fun in a place they were sure was safe. They all immediately went toward the bunks, where they each chose one that satisfied them. Ralph was on the bottom bunks, and Jack was on top of him. Roger and Percival shares, and the rest didn't have a preference.
The boys learned a lot about life at sea, but more importantly, they learned how to be civilized again. The boys had been eating like savages for so long, they weren't used to eating with forks and knives. They especially weren't used to using napkins, chairs, a table, plates, and cups. Some of the boys slipped up during dinner the first night. Jack included, some of them burped and others ate with their hands. Both the Naval Officer and Ralph thought it was funny. Ralph, the only one who had not become a total savage, had it the easiest when it came to dinner, he was the most civilized.
At dinner on the third night on the ship, the Naval Officer brought it up that he didn't know where in England the boys were from. Percival, oddly enough, was the one to speak out, “I'm from Crawley,”
“So am I!” Roger seemed happy about the similarity with Percival. The Naval Officer asked all the other boys where they were from. Most of them were all near Crawley, and only a few were a little further inland. So, the Naval Officer set his coordinates for the coast near Crawley.
* * *
A few days later, the ship docked in a little town by the sea. The town was full of fish stores, fishing stores, fish cleaning stores, and every other imaginable store that involved fish. The boys quickly figured out that the small town made a living on the fish that they caught. The boys hopped off the ship and ran straight for the land. Ralph and Jack led the way, heading for the closest store, a fish store. They walked up to the clerk and started talking to him, asking him about the war, what was going on, what was England's state in the war, and what had happened in the past month or so. The Naval Officer was only informed on what he was concerned with, all the water attacks, and what might endanger him; therefor, he and the crew members didn't provide much information to the disconnected boys. The fish store's clerk informed them that England was currently in the lead, getting ready for a victory, but the most people weren't sure about that. The clerk went on about how if they won the war, life would get just that much better, but the boys were just pleased that they were finally back to civilization, where life would be a whole lot easier. They wouldn't be hunting for their food, or fighting to stay alive. They would be able to live normal lives, not needing to worry about being rained on, or eaten by a beastie.
There was one thing that Ralph was worried about, though. He was worried that he would forget. He was scared that he would forget all the experiences from the island, and that he might forget Piggy and Simon- the only people that gave Ralph hope of surviving. The thought of Simon made Ralph think about what Simon had said before he died- “You'll get back all right,” Ralph was confused, he didn't know how Simon could've known that he would get back. Ralph thought about what it meant- maybe that Simon knew he would die.
That night, when all the boys were asleep, Ralph thought about his parents. He wondered what they were doing now and what they thought he was doing. He wondered if they worried about him being bullied, or doing badly in school. Surely they wouldn't worry about him being stuck on some uncharted island. He hoped that he would get back soon enough, and that he would see his parents again.
That morning, the boys woke up to a cloudy day, and fish pancakes and French toast as a complimentary breakfast at the local hotel that they were staying at (the Naval Officer helped to cover some expenses). Not many of them ate the fish pancakes, but a few tried them. After they finished their breakfast, a shuttle arrived outside the hotel. It was a pale blue with the paint chipping off near the back. All 8 of the boys could tell that it was old, but the best they could get around here. The shuttle seated 9 including the driver, so it worked out perfectly.
The eight boys, Jack, Ralph, Sam, Eric, Maurice, Percival, Roger, Robert, barely talked the whole ride into Crawley. But who could blame them? There wasn't much to talk about anymore. Most of the confessions and apologies had already been made on the ship. Ralph tried to start a conversation about school, but it went nowhere and eventually, everyone was silent again. The ride was only about two hours long, but to most of the boys, it seemed like more. The only real little one, Percival, kept making awkward popping noises with his mouth. Sam and Eric were whispering something about mum and dad to one another and started giggling now and then. Maurice and Roger were playing a little finger game, and Roger was drumming on his knees, as if he were listening to music in his ear. Ralph and Jack just sat there, silent, only fidgeting now and then to get more comfortable.
The first one to get dropped off at their house was Maurice. The shuttle only stopped briefly for Maurice to get out, and say goodbye to the rest of the boys, but then, after about 2 minutes, the shuttle was on its way again. Next were Sam and Eric. They were so giddy and happy to be home, they only gave a quick wave (at the same exact time) and ran inside the house. Percival, Roger, and Robert did the same, and only Jack and Ralph were left. At this time, they started to talk to each other. Ralph asked Jack what his parents were like.
“I've only got a mum. Me dad died in the war a year ago,” His face was glum and facing his feet. Ralph felt horrible for bringing up the subject.
“I'm so sorry, Jack. I had no idea,”
“It's alright. I guess I'm over the whole thing, but its still sad for me,”
“Of course. I'm very sorry. What's your mum like?”
“Oh, just like any other mum. She cleans, cooks, and everything else. She's got red hair like me, and she's got the best singing voice in the world. That's why I'm the lead in the choir,”
“That's cool. My mum's kinda like that, just like any other mum. She's got blonde hair and she can play the piano real well. I wish you could meet her,”
“Yeah, me too. I want you to meet my mum. I think you'd like her,”
The shuttle pulled up to Jack Merridew's house, and came to a stop. Jack whispered something to the driver, then shot inside. He came right back with a piece of paper and a pen. He held it out to Ralph as he caught his breath. Ralph took the paper and wrote down his address and phone number, then gave it back to Jack, who was leaning up against the car with complete ease. Jack waved goodbye, and went into his house.
Ralph pulled up to his house, and got out. He took a deep breath, and opened the door to the shuttle. He walked slowly to the front door. He placed his hand by the doorbell, then hesitated. His hand shook, then it quickly pressed the button by the door. He waited with a hopeful heart and the door swung open. His mum hugged him, and he began to explain his experiences...