A/N: Thank you everyone for you're helpful reviews! I would reply, but it feels silly seeing as there has been such a gap in time between this chapter and the last. I'm terrible, I know, but I was rereading the story and felt like I was so close to finishing and I couldn't believed I'd stopped. My muse kicked in and well, here's the next chaper. I apologize guys! I'm so sorry! Thank you all who've read the story and given you're reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope my writing hasn't lost it's touch.

Jack was beyond angry. He was infuriated. Things on the island were not going in his favor. Ralph was still leader, however incompetent Jack knew the boy to be, and now all the girls were gone. It was very boring without the girls. And now there was a beast. Perfect. Just one more thing to add to his wonderful life.

Even the beast wasn't the worst thing though, no, the worst thing was Catie. He still couldn't get that stupid redhead out of his head. He couldn't understand it, but he was worried about her, actually worried. He'd never worried before, but that was when they were still one tribe. Now Catie was off god-knows-where doing god-knows-what, and Jack could do nothing to stop her.

In his anger, Jack stabbed his knife into a nearby tree trunk and dragged it across the bark on his way back to camp. It had been several hours since their meeting in the woods in the early morning. For a moment back there, he'd actually thought she was going to agree to join them again, but then she'd run off once more, claiming she'd be able to take care of herself. Foolish, stupid girl. If the threat of the beast were true, then she was not safe. Sure, she may be a good hunter, but Jack doubted she could handle herself against a beast, especially a demonic one as she'd described it.

When he'd held her in his arms, he'd been able to feel her bones. The curves he'd so loved to admire were gone, and now she was skinny, unhealthily so. Jack hated to see such a strong girl crumble like she was. Jack worried for her, but that was silly. Catie could take care of herself, and even if she couldn't Jack didn't care about her. No, he certainly didn't. She meant nothing to him… right?

Jack sighed in frustration as he entered camp once more. Littluns were running around crazily, and the bigguns were just laying around. Odd. Where was Ralph? He was usually here, telling everybody to build huts or watch the fire or some other trivial task.

Shrugging, Jack began to make his way to where the conch was perched. Before he'd taken so much as a step towards it however, someone grabbed his forearm and pulled him back.

Jack turned at the touch and found Roger standing beside him, one hand clasped on his wrist and the other clutched around his spear. His face was already painted in bright red and black, and he looked more menacing than usual.

"Where are the girls? I thought you said they'd be joining us?"

"Oh. They were, I thought, but Catie thinks they'll do fine on their own," Jack said, rolling his eyes to express his aggravation at this fact.

Roger's eyes narrowed and he banged his spear into the sand angrily, "Are we at least going hunting then?"

"Jesus, Roger, calm down. You're more cracked than usual today," Jack said. Roger didn't reply, but the look on his face darkened and Jack continued, "Yeah, we're going hunting. I was just going to summon the hunters now."

"Well, what about the girls?"

"We've got to take care of the beast first," Jack insisted. "There won't be any girls left if we let it live. Come on."

Roger looked like he was about to reply, but the familiar sound of a horn being blown reached them. It seemed someone had beat them to calling the meeting. With a shrug to Roger, Jack headed off towards the meeting spot to find Ralph holding the conch with Piggy at his side. Big surprise there, he thought bitterly.

"What do you want Ralph?" Jack demanded the moment he reached the growing group. He pushed his way past the others and came face to face with Ralph.

"I just wanted to talk to everyone, about some things that have been going on…"

Jack rolled this eyes at this and exchanged a look with Roger. Many of Ralph's past speeches had started out just like this, and they always ended up being so bloody long and stupid that Jack usually left half way through.

"Things have been getting out of control," Ralph continued, very aware of Jack's hateful glare but trying his best to ignore it, "First the whole thing with Roger and Taylor…" There was some chuckling at this, which Ralph snapped at, "It's not funny! Things have really been getting out of control! Nobody watches the signal fire anymore and nobody does any work-"

"Give it a rest, Ralph. The beast is the most important thing right now," Jack interrupted, forcefully yanking the conch out of Ralph's hands. "We have to kill it before it gets us!"

"We aren't even entirely sure there is a beast though," Ralph argued.

"I talked with one of the girls this morning, and she said she saw it. Samneric did too. Honestly Ralph, how thick can you get? I say we hunt and kill it. Maybe give its head to the girls so they'll join us again. What do you say?"

There was a great deal of cheering at this, and the hunters thrust their spears in the air in glee. "Kill the beast! Kill the beast! Kill the beast!" They chanted over and over. Ralph and his only comrade, Piggy, were at a loss to stop the mania.

"Samneric, lead the way to its lair!" Jack ordered, grabbing a spear from Roger and giving Ralph a snide glare before following the twosome into the jungle. Who was Ralph kidding? He'd never have what it took to truly lead. As soon as they killed the beast, he'd get Catie back, and they'd kick Ralph and the other dead weights out.

Ralph sat beside Piggy and Simon on the log, watching as the boys retreated into the jungle. "It's no use. They're never going to listen to me. We might as well just go join the girls."

Piggy shook his head and grabbed the conch from the log where Jack had left it, as if the conch would offer him strength, "You have to lead Ralph. Without you we'll have no chance of rescue. You're our only hope. You know no one listens to me and-"

"Well, no one listens to me either!" Ralph protested, quite tired of hearing the same retorts from Piggy over and over again. It was no use. No one was going to listen to him. He was supposed to be fighting the beast right now too, but the more he thought about it, what Simon had said was beginning to make a lot of sense. What if there really was no beast? What if they were it? What if the beast was just some wild fantasy they'd conjured up out of fear? In the darkness Ralph knew very well how one's mind could play tricks on you.

Piggy was just started to begin a long speech about why Ralph was the best leader and why they should try harder to get the rest under control when a dark head emerging from the jungle caught his attention.

"Diana?" He exclaimed, watching in surprise as she exited the dense jungle, followed by a dozen or so girls. It looked like at least half of the girls' tribe had followed her.

She smiled shyly when she saw him and quickened her step, slowed quite a bit by the little girl who was clutching her hand. Alicia came too, following close behind. Simon stood up when he saw her and Piggy nearly fell off the log in surprise at the new arrivals.

"Ralph," Diana said his name like a prayer and hugged him tightly when she reached him. All over again, he felt warm and tingly in her embrace. "We split up. Our tribe, I mean. I know… I mean I'm sorry I was so… short with you before. I just… well I'll talk to you about it later. Right now I was just hoping that we could join you. Catie kicked us out."

"Kicked you out? For what?" Simon asked from beside him.

Diana blushed at this and didn't seem to want to answer. Alicia supplied one for her, "She blamed Diana for… fraternizing with the enemy."

It took a moment for Ralph to realize what she was talking about, but when Diana reached up and guiltily touched her neck almost automatically, Ralph noticed the marks on her neck. Marks made by him. Was he responsible for getting her kicked out? A wave of guilt struck him. This was all his fault.

"I'm so sorry Diana, I-"

"No it's my fault. I should've been more careful…" she trailed off, remembering.

"You're welcome to join," Piggy chimed in, almost giddy. He was probably seeing this as an opportunity to mutiny against Jack, and when Ralph thought about it, it was.

"Great. Thank you," Diana said, smiling wide. "Where's the rest of you?"

"Off hunting the beast."

"Oh," her smile fell just a little.

"Worried?"

"Well yeah, I don't want anyone to get hurt, you know? Should we wait for them? Are we going to stay here or…"

"We better stay here and wait for them to get back," Ralph said. "See if we can get any of the boys to come with us."

"Good idea. We'd better wait."

But they'd be waiting a long time.

Samneric led the way up the mountain, the hunters following in their wake, spears raised and out for blood. The thrill of the hunt had gotten into all of them, and as they made their way up the mountain, their chant rose thick through the air: "Kill the pig! Cut her throat! Spill her blood!

The midday sun was slowly setting, leaving the group in a shimmery, red-orange glow. Jack followed close behind Samneric, intent on the beast's demise. The fear of the unknown was in all of them, but few chose to admit it. They had a mission to complete, and nothing was going to stop them.

Except perhaps the girls.

Roger saw them first, tiny figures in the distance making their way up the mountain through the trees across from them. At first they thought Ralph and his friends had followed, but the curvy silhouettes of young women said otherwise.

"What are they doing here?" he sneered, catching up to Jack easily and pointing to the figures through the foliage.

Jack turned in the direction Roger was pointing, and stopped dead in his tracks. Even through the dense forest he could recognize that fiery mane of hair. Catie was nearby.

A sneer formed on his face. What was she doing here?

"Come on," he gestured to his tribe to follow him as he headed diagonally up the mountain and towards the girls. The girls met the boys halfway, but to Jack's surprise they were far fewer in number, and looked as if they'd just been through a war.

His emotions jerked between smugness and pity. He smirked at Catie, who glared back at him with her hands on her hips. She was even more beautiful in the setting sun, and he did not hide his interest as his eyes racked over her.

Her bra was pretty much nonexistent at this point, and she'd replaced most of it with leaves and twigs, although it barely covered anything. Her leaf skirt was surprisingly still intact, and Jack could not help but admire her craftsmanship. More than that however, he couldn't help but admire her body.

"Jack Merridew! Stop looking at me like I'm your prized sow and tell me why you're up here!" she ordered with her hands on her hips.

Some of the boys could not help but chuckle at this, although many had been looking at the girls with the same look Jack had.

"I told you last night, Catie, that we were going hunting for the beast, or has your feeble mind already forgotten?" he asked snidely.

Catie blushed faintly, but still stood strong. "And you suppose it's up there?" she asked, ignoring his insult and gesturing towards the mountain.

"Exactly, and we're off to kill it, so if you don't mind." He trudged past her, his shoulder banging into hers as he passed. The other boys followed in his wake.

Catie climbed up the mountain behind the boys, and intended the girls to follow, but most fell back.

"They seem like they can handle themselves fine," Anna said softly, backing away.

Catie rolled her eyes. "You're all cowards. But fine, go back and wait at camp if you like. I'll defeat the beast myself."

Several of the girls seemed to consider this suggestion, and gave each other appraising looks, but in the end they continued to follow Catie up the mountain. After all, how dangerous could it be if all of them, including the boys, were going to face it?

"Jack, they're still following us. Want me to go down there and teach 'em a lesson?" Roger asked Jack, venom practically seeping from his tone.

"No, no it's fine. If they want to get themselves killed it's their problem," Jack muttered, although he really just didn't want Roger to touch Catie. She was his, as far as he was concerned. He'd been so certain she was going to give in to him last night… It really pissed him off that he hadn't been able to even get one little kiss! It wasn't that he liked her, nah, not at all... but his physical attraction to her was so great that it was worth putting up with her just for the chance to get some… At least, that's what he told himself, remembering how horrible it had been to feel her bones so easily through her flesh…

His pushed his newly awakened concern for Catie to the back of his mind and pressed forward into the ever growing darkness. It was nearly night time now. The sun had fallen and the stars had burst forth from the sky to shine. It wasn't a wise plan to go after the beast at night, and he hadn't intended to. He'd led the boys out early, but the trek had been longer than he'd thought.

He knew the girls were still close behind him, and frankly, he was quite surprised he could still hear the same number of them panting heavily in their tiredness. He was sure at least half of them would have chickened out by now. Perhaps they were tougher than he thought…

Soon they'd reached a small cave nearly at the top of the mountain. Jack thought he saw something flapping deep inside it, but he couldn't be sure. They were nearly there now. Samneric came to a complete halt in front of him and pointed with shaky fingers towards the flapping in the distance.

Catie came up beside them. "This is it," she stated simply, her voice only wavering slightly.

Samneric stood trembling beside her, and Jack cast them aside without a word. The whole lot of them were cowards. Most of them looked ready to run screaming down the mountain. He strode to the front, intent on moving forward.

"Well then, come on! What are we all wai-"

He was interrupted by a bloodcurdling screech. They all whipped around in the direction of it, and found Taylor standing with her arms wrapped protectively around herself and screaming at the top of her lungs.

"What the hell is it?" he asked.

It took her a moment to speak. "Something… something grabbed me…"

"It must have been the beast!" Roger yelled.

Everyone except Jack and Catie gasped. Catie saw through his fake face of concern to the smirk that hid underneath. He stood next to Taylor. His warning was not genuine. He'd touched Taylor, she knew instantly, and was trying to pass it off as the beast. His idea of a sick joke.

Catie's blood boiled, and she realized he was even more vile than Jack! He'd practically raped her friend, and here he was grabbing her in the darkness! Hadn't he learned his lesson? Without even bothering to consider whether or not it was the right thing to do, Catie reached down and grabbed a large rock off the ground and chucked it at Roger.

Her weeks of throwing spears at pigs paid off, and it hit him straight in the forehead. Roger wobbled on his feet for a moment, a dumb-founded expression on his face, and then he fell backward into a tangle of creepers.

"Catie! What the hell?" Jack cursed, pushing her over in his haste to check on his friend.

"He's done it again! He's after Taylor and trying to put it off as the beast! Christ, you're all retarded." With these words spoken she headed off in the direction of the cave.

Jack turned just in time to see Catie rushing off in the direction Samneric had indicated the beast. Although he wished it didn't, a feeling of worry shot through him and he darted away from his fallen friend after her. "What do you think you're doing?

"Going after the beast, that's what!"

"Not without me."

"I thought you were too concerned about your sidekick to care."

"The beast is more important right now."

The others watched their conversation in complete surprised. "Wait!" Taylor called. "You're going-you're actually going to go inside that cave?"

Jack looked at her as if she were stupid. "Yeah. How else are we supposed to kill it?" He tried to appear strong, although fear itself was gnawing at his heart as well.

"I'm not going in there," Someone said from the darkness.

"Me either."

"Hell no."

"Let's wait till morning."

"It's too dangerous!"

Jack looked at Catie in disbelief. All these kids, all these hunters, were too afraid to finally face the prized mark: the Beast. For once, Catie and him stood on the same side.

"Let's at least wait till morning, Jack," Robert spoke imploringly.

Jack scoffed, "Oh, so it can come out and kill us in our sleep? Great idea, Robert. Brilliant!"

"SHH!" Catie silenced them. "I hear something."

And sure enough, they heard a quiet scraping sound from within the cave. Many of them paled even further in the darkness. It was clear none of them were going in now.

Catie raised her spear high in the air and aimed inside the cave. All her limbs were shaking. Jack came up behind her and grabbed her arm, yanking it down.

"Are you stupid? Don't throw it! Maybe it's sleeping. We have to sneak up on it."

Catie scowled at him. "Oh yes, because you know everything, don't you?" But she knew he was right and spoke in a whisper.

Jack turned back to the others briefly, but it was clear from the petrified looks on their faces that they weren't coming anytime soon. Gathering his courage, Jack strode forward into the cave with Catie close behind.