LOTF: Before and After

Phase 3: Chapter 8

As the Flag State interviews were in process, the news about what had happened to the boys on the island began roaring through the media. It seemed like everyday there was a new headline:

22 of the 40 Missing Georgia Cadets Rescued from Deserted Island Nearly Five Months After Plane Disappearance

Military Plane Crash: How 22 Cadets Survived for Five Months on Atlantic Ocean Island

How the United States Marine Corps Discovered the Island Where Missing Military School Boys Were Stranded

Only 22 of the 24 Cadets who Survived Plane Crash Were Rescued from Deserted Island: Here's Why

Consequences for Two Boys Killed while Stranded on Island? The Circumstances That Led to their Deaths

Flag State Jurisdictional Interviews of Rescued Military School Boys Prompts Questions of Potential Murder Investigation into On-island Deaths

Nation-wide Debate Sparks Around Whether Surviving Cadets Should be Held Responsible for the Deaths of Two of Their Own

Thankfully, the Flag State still protected the identities of minors involved in their cases. But even if the whole world didn't recognize Ralph from the news, people who knew him did. As a matter of fact, anyone who knew any of the Unit 8 Bainbridge Military Academy boys knew the news stories were all about them these days. It made the prospect of returning to school (whether that be military or otherwise) a controversial issue.

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"State your full name for the record, please."

"Tony Hughes."

"And how old were you, Tony, as of September 6th 1990?"

"I was ten, almost eleven."

.......

"What led to your decision to follow Jack's example instead of standing with Ralph?"

"I was scared."

"Of?"

"The monster."

"What monster?"

"The one in the cave, the one Larry found. I didn't know what it was, but I wasn't taking chances with it. But Ralph wouldn't listen, he didn't believe it was real, and he didn't listen to the others when they said they were scared. So I left to join Jack because he was willing to do his best to protect us from whatever it was, and Ralph wasn't."

.....

"Were you present when Simon Bennett's death occurred?"

"Yeah, I was there."

"Were you involved in his death in any way?"

"I followed the others. But I didn't stab him."

"To clarify, you ran at him with the rest of the group but you did not use your stick to attack him even though you were under the impression he was a monster and therefore a threat to your safety?"

"That's right. I didn't stab 'im."

"Do you remember the names of those who you did see use their sticks to stab Simon?"

"Maybe. Most of them were running at him too. I don't know who actually got 'im though. I couldn't see anything. Everyone looked the same in the dark."

"Do you remember if Ralph and his group took part in this at all?"

"Probably did. I wasn't paying attention to them."

.....

"Were you present at the time of Pieter's Kingston's death?"