Written in 2000 for 12th grade English class while studying Lord of the Flies.
The Survival and History
On July 14, 1939 United Airlines Boeing 747 number UAXN0001 crash landed on and uncharted island. Most of the wreck was never recovered, and the cause of the crash was never determined. Four passengers survived the wreck. They were left with few supplies, and had to rely only on their wits to survive. The survivors were Tyrel, Bane, Nathan, and the young girl Jenni. The following is an account of the measures they took to survive.
When the need for food was realized, Bane, the natural leader, took initiative to manufacture weapons. Within a few hours of the crash he brought forth a slain wild boar. The group, unwilling to feast on raw mammal fibers, looked to Jenni who was talented in cooking. On the first night of their stay, and most nights thereafter the group enjoyed sizeable feasts.
Upon the first signs of thirst, as complained by Tyrel, the group attempted to drink from the ocean. This water, contaminated with large deposits of salt, was found to be quite distasteful. The group looked to Bane and his animal instincts to find water worthy of a human’s stomach. After hours of Bane’s searching and Tyrel’s whining a hot stream was found. Tyrel eager for drink dove into the stream and began to lap up the water. Nathan looked to Tyrel, and Tyrel responded by nodding. With this silent conversation Nathan declared, “The water is good”.
After the discovery of the stream the group thought it best to construct a base near the water. Nathan, who served in the military, suggested that they dig a bunker system, consisting of underground tunnels that would connect to all parts of the island. The remainder of the group agreed, and without hesitation Bane began digging. It wasn’t until seven years after their arrival on the island that the bunker system was completed.
The bunker, after completion was a marvel of human construction. It consisted of four fair sized rooms to serve as sleeping and rest quarters for each of the survivors. There was a much larger room built for group meetings and dining. The tunnel system connected to all parts of the island for safe underground transportation. Several booby traps were laid out for any hostile creatures unlucky enough to wander into the tunnels. An enormous aqua-duct system was also constructed to carry water to all parts of the island.
While it was true that the group looked to Bane as the fearless leader who provided protection, Nathan was truly in charge. He used Tyrel who was capable of time telling to assign duties on a systematic time schedule. Bane would dig the bunker from 5 AM to 4 PM then hunt for food. Jenni would mend together animal furs to form fabrics from 5 Am to 1 PM, she also had two breaks in that time, one to cook breakfast the other for lunch. Following these duties she was permitted to rest. Tyrel was known only to be lazy and complained much about work. He wandered around the island at will and eventually wrote what he saw on a map. Nathan, in actuality, did very little. His only known tasks were to tell others what to do.
After eight years of entrapment many of the group members became lonely and longed for companionship, these feeling struck Tyrel and Bane most strongly. These two looked to Jenni. For Jenni had changed much from the violent girl of eleven she once had been. She was eighteen, full of life, and had developed a very pleasing figure. Tyrel began a courtship ritual. Jenni was a bit disgusted with his sloppiness at first, but humored by his sense of life, so she decided to allow the custom. Bane, however, still wanted companionship and obeying his natural instincts decided to fight for Jenni. Tyrel unwilling break up with Jenni, decided to defend his rite. Bane and Tyrel eventually engaged in battle. Tyrel’s, being overweight, was slow and was no match for Bane’s large stature. It was never recorded exactly how the battle proceeded but historians agree Tyrel was slaughtered by decapitation. Jenni disgusted by Bane’s behavior never looked at him again, and Bane’s attempted courtship was a failure.
Following the described battle, now known as the ‘Lover’s brawl’, the party members discontinued dialogue.
The Aftermath
Upset at his inability to win Jenni, Bane wandered throughout the island. His primary territory was within the bunker system’s tunnels. He would surface from the tunnel only to hunt for food. His hunting was consistent with a wild lion. He would chase after animals and strike them down with his bare hands and then proceed to chew into their raw flesh. He was known to the survivors as the “Beast” and was much feared. Fearful of Bane’s animal instincts, Nathan barricaded the bunker’s tunnels from the living quarters. At night the animal howling of the “Beast” could be heard.
Jenni, who would have broken up with Tyrel and courted Bane if he had asked, began unusual behavior. Nathan recognized this as insanity. He thought it best to prevent Jenni from hurting herself and tied her up in her quarters. Often at night she would reply to Bane’s animal howling with high pitched whines of her own. Nathan knew that one day she would break free, kill him, and join Bane where together they would form their own animal kingdom.
Nathan, shrouded in fear, and unable to hunt as Bane, was barely able to survive. He was only capable of picking berries and never tasted of soft animal flesh again.
On December 1, 1948 a military platoon set out to explore the island. They found Nathan first, distraught and barely clinging to sanity. Nathan led them to the bonded Jenni, her violent spasms forced to soldiers to cage her. Nathan then told the soldiers of the “Beast”. Skeptical, ten soldiers went in to hunt this so called “Beast”. Hours later, three men returned with Bane tied up in nets and ropes. None of these three soldiers would ever speak of the horrors that happened to their fallen comrades.
And thus is the record of Bane, Nathan, Jenni, and Tyrel as written by Alberich the scribe as compiled by historian’s written works and actual verbal accounts of Bane, Nathan, and Jenny.
Alternate Ending
After the three remaining party members were rescued, Bane and Jenni made a complete mental recovery from their beast-like states. Bane is now studying law at Princeton University. Jenni is married to Bane, they have three beautiful children.
Nathan, who held on to his sanity until the end, lost it on the helicopter ride from the island. He is now being held at Harpington’s Emotional Help and Research Institution. He just finished his novel My Journey to Hell and Back, a gibberish account of his experiences on the island.