The morning after, Ralph and Jack tell the other boys about the beast on the mountain. Ralph is distraught because he thinks there is no way to light a signal fire if everyone is scared of the beast. Jack takes the conch and calls an assembly. In the assembly, he claims Ralph should not be chief because he doesn’t hunt, and he's afraid of the mountain. When his attempted impeachment fails, Jack storms off on his own and says anyone else is welcome to join him.
After Jack is gone, Piggy suggests they get right to work with building another signal fire on the beach, while Simon suggests they face whatever is on the mountain. Ralph and Piggy get to work, while many of the biguns sneak off to join Jack’s new tribe. Simon sneaks off as well, but he goes to his hidden glade in the jungle.
Meanwhile in Jack’s tribe, they very graphically hunt and kill a nursing sow, and put its head on a spear in the hidden glade as an offering for the beast, while Simon stays hidden. They proceed to invade Piggy and Ralph’s camp, and invite them to a feast where they will eat the pig. Many of the boys are tempted by the offer.
In the hidden glade, Simon is alone with the pig’s head, which is now surrounded by buzzing flies. He begins to hallucinate having a conversation with the “Lord of the Flies,” which tells him that there is no escape from him. Simon eventually collapses from an alleged seizure.