XXVI
The white cell
The Island
The first thing April is aware of when she slowly comes back to her senses, are the distant voices around her. There is a male voice saying something in angry tones. There is some distant humming in response. She is aware of the sound of someone, or something whimpering close to her. But for a long moment, April feels like she cannot quite open her eyes yet for there is a blinding pain on the right side of her head.
She can taste blood in her mouth.
April remains motionless as she tries to get her bearings with her eyes closed. She knows that she is sitting down on a cool, tiled flooring with her back up against something. She can feel a small twinge in her left knee as if her legs have been bent in a funny way for a while. She wriggles her toes, just to make sure that she can still feel them.
The voices around her flutter through her ears, but the words seem rather incoherent. April adjusts herself ever so slightly to make herself a little more comfortable before, hoping that she isn't going to be seen.
"April?" A voice whispers weakly from somewhere close by. "April, are you awake?" The voice is then followed by a painful groan and April instantly recognises the voice of Jason.
April's eyes flicker open, but she is immediately blinded by the brightness of the room. She screws her eyes tightly against the bright lights around her, but she forces herself to take in her surroundings, desperate to find Jason.
However all April can see is bright white light everywhere. And a few feet away from her, she can see a fuzzy image of someone lying in a heap on the floor.
Eventually April's eyes adjust to the brightness of the light and soon finds herself in a completely white square cell. The ceiling, walls and the flooring are completely made up of brilliant white tiles, apart from the odd splatter of blood here and there. The cell isn't particularly large, but there is no one else in the room other than herself and Jason. There is one large grey, iron door directly ahead of her.
However, Jason looks worse for wear, as if he has been attacked while April was unconscious. His left shoulder has once again popped out of his socket and it looks as if his leg has also been broken as it bends in an unnatural way. There is blood all over his face, and he looks as if he is struggling to hold up his own weight on his elbows.
Just from the horrific sight of Jason, April starts to panic.
"What happened to you?" April cries, desperately wanting to crawl over to him, but quickly realises that her wrists have been bound behind her, and her legs are too numb to move.
Jason tries to quieten April, but he is too weak to say anything.
"Is this Rodger Barratt's doing?" April asks in a panicked voice as she attempts, and fails to free her wrists from what feels like rope. But Jason weakly shakes his head no before spitting out some blood, followed by a loose tooth.
The iron door suddenly swings open and in steps Monroe, followed by two Nobody's. Just from the manic look of Monroe with his unkempt hair that still falls into his eyes and his hunched shoulder look, April can not quite believe that the pain inflicted on Jason was down to Monroe. Surely that is something that Rodger Barratt would do.
Monroe lets out a shriek of a laughter as he sees April. "Ah she's awake!" He gleams. "Here to join the party now, are you?"
April says nothing, but tries to kick feeling back into her legs. She only panics even more the closer Monroe steps towards her. April whimpers in fright when he kneels down by her side and runs a cold finger down the side of her face.
"That's a nasty cut you've got on your face there, my love. I suppose you'll live." Monroe says rather unsympathetically.
"What happened to you?" April growls through gritted teeth.
Monroe smiles broadly, showing off his yellowing and cracked teeth. "Hundreds of years of torture. But I have to say so myself, it has done me a favour!" Monroe then grips onto April's face by her jaw, tilting her head in different angles as if studying her face. April whimpers in his grip, wanting to hit him and get back at him for what he has done to Jason. But Monroe only looks down at her in mock amusement.
"So where is it?" Monroe demands in a low voice.
"Where is what?" April hisses back.
"April, don't tell him." Jason calls weakly.
Monroe's grip on April's face tightens as he turns back to Jason. "Shut up you! You've had your chance," he then turns his attention back to April. "Now I can destroy you like I have done with Jason. Or you can make your life simpler by just telling me the truth. Tell me where the Doctor is hiding the Cytracik."
"The Doctor no longer has it." April responds sternly.
There is a hint of panic that flashes across Monroe's eyes. "You liar! I'm giving you the chance to tell me the truth one more time!" He releases his grip on April and stands up, his hands twitching every so often as he moves, almost like a reaction to touching something hot. "If you fail to tell me the truth, then you might as well at least tell me about this revolution."
April stares at Monroe for a while, feeling ever so slightly optimistic over the fact that Monroe does not know as much about this battle as she does. She remembers being in a situation like this under the ice in Antarctica, only with Peter Bursnell. "Slightly behind the times are we, Monroe?" April snaps as confidently as she can pretend.
"April..." Jason's weak voice croaks which suddenly angers Monroe. He looks back at one of the Nobody's who raises its metallic hands. There is a sudden invisible force coming from the Nobody as Jason suddenly curls into himself in agony. Yet he is so weak, he can't even scream properly.
"Stop it!" April screams.
Monroe laughs but then waves at the Nobody, indicating for it to stop. The Nobody drops its hands, ceasing the force that tortures Jason. Jason whimpers quietly as he shakes violently on the floor.
April makes a move towards Jason, but there is suddenly a force that pushes April up against the cold wall behind her. "What do you want?" She snaps.
"I want you to tell me the truth, Ice Girl," Monroe spits his words out like venom. "I suppose you are against Heat Miles as much as I am. And I want revenge from what they have done to me. All I need is to get my hands on the Cytracik." As Monroe speaks, April notices the way his eyes flicker across the room every so often, almost as if he can see something in this cell that she cannot.
"But why are you torturing us?"
"Because you are utterly useless to me. And so is he. It wouldn't matter if you are dead. But because you are here, you must know about the Cytracik and the revolution."
"Don't tell him!" Jason groans before being kicked hard in the stomach by Monroe.
"Fine," April declares through gritted teeth. "Kill us. If we're that useless to you then there is no use for us to be here alive."
Monroe looks at April as he stretches his neck, turning his head from side to side as he does so. However is eyes are vacant. They glass over as they fall down to the ground. For the seconds that follow, Monroe looks like he is concentrating on something. Then after this brief moment, he lifts his head and stares at April.
"Tell me all you know, or we are going to take this the hard way." Monroe growls. He clenches his fists tightly that seem to shake, almost as if in shock.
But April shakes her head. "I refuse."
"Then the hard way it is." Monroe pulls out a gun and points it directly to Jason's heart.
Jason lays there on the floor with his wrists bound together, looking up at Monroe dead in the eye. All of a sudden, Jason looks braver and stronger than he did a couple of seconds ago. But his jaw is tight and he does not blink as he stares at Monroe.
"No!" April yells the moment Monroe draws his gun and finds herself starting to cry hysterically. "Please, no! Fucking hell, don't!"
Monroe looks exasperated as he turns his attention back to April, yet his gun is still pointing directly at Jason. "Then just tell me the bloody truth! Tell me everything, Ice Girl, so I can destroy this Island and have the Cytracik for myself." Monroe's voice rises in hysteria as he speaks and the hand holding the gun trembles.
"Destroy this Island?"
"Along with the Doctor," Monroe eyes glisten as he knows that he has struck a core with April. "If you can tell me about the Cytracik, then I might have a higher chance at also killing the Doctor."
"Why do you want to kill the Doctor?" April shouts.
Monroe lowers his aim from Jason and before April knows it, Monroe is by her side again. He somehow has moved immensely fast to get by her side. His face is very close to her.
"Because there is not a single creature in this universe that does not wish for the death of the Doctor!" Monroe barks, spitting saliva in April's face as he does so, making her flinch and whimper closer to the wall. "The Doctor thinks he is all high and mighty but he is not. If there are two things this whole universe wants, it would be told have the power over the Cytracik and to see the Doctor die," Monroe grimaces. "And I'm happy to kill him myself."
"Please, stop this," April begs, her voice almost a whisper. "I know this isn't you wanting this!"
Monroe's face turns stonily cold. "I see." With that he grabs hold of April's ankle, that is bloodied from one of the aliens attacking her, and pulls her roughly so that she slides forward and is now lying flat on her back. April screams as he does this. Monroe clambers on top of her, digging his knee into her ribs and holding her down by her shoulders.
April cries under Monroe's grip, memories of Bruce Fey attacking her flashing across his mind.
"If you won't tell me about the Cytracik," Monroe growls. "Then you can tell me how you destroyed the Nobody's lair under the ice in Antarctica."
April shakes her head, her emotions too overcome with fear that she cannot think straight. "I don't know. Please. I didn't do anything!" She cries.
"Don't be so stupid!" Monroe shouts in her ear as he pulls off the ropes that were binding her wrist together, burning her skin as he does so. "You knew exactly what you were doing! My battle would have won if it wasn't for your trick."
"Please." April whimpers as Monroe holds her arms down to the cold flooring, out to her side. April then screams out in pain, withering sternly under Monroe's body weight as she feels him stabbing the base of her arm, just below her elbow with a dagger.
April's scream's echo deafeningly across the cell as she can feel the blood dripping down her arm. Monroe stabs the dagger in deeper before drawing it out. With that, she feels one of his hands clamp onto the side of her head as he holds it firmly against the flooring. She can feel as if her skull is being crushed under the weight of his hand. She continues to cry out helplessly as he does so.
Jason remains lying there, watching this happen, unable to move and help her.
Eventually Monroe is satisfied with the amount of pain he has inflicted on April for he removes his hand and moves away from her. He stands back up and walks to the other side of the cell, holding his gun in his hands.
April remains lying on her back, her head to the side as she looks blankly to the wall opposite her, feeling like she cannot move. However, it is the sound of a gun being reloaded that draws April's attention back to Monroe. She shifts her body ever so slightly so that Monroe, Jason and the two Nobody's are in her line of vision.
Monroe turns around so that he is facing April and Jason. He holds his gun in his two hands, looking down at it as if contemplating on whether or not he wishes to use it.
"Ice Girl," Monroe says in a calm and matter-of-fact voice. "Are you, or are you not going to tell me all you know about this battle? Because I know you know everything. If you tell me, the Captain will live and we can move on. Remain silent and you will have killed him."
April's eyes fills with tears and she manages to shake her head. She tries to say the word 'no', but the voice just croaks into something incoherent.
Monroe sighs heavily. "Well then. You can spend the rest of your life knowing that you killed Captain Jason Hoffman."
And then Monroe does it.
He lifts his gun and pulls the trigger. The bang echoes across the cell as the bullet soars through the air and hits Jason, right in his heart. For a split second, Jason looks at April, the look of betrayal, or disappointment, before he rolls on his back.
Jason does not move again.
April screams manically as she looks over at Jason's lifeless body. There is now a gaping hole in the left side of his chest where the bullet pierced his heart.
"Jason, no!" She sobs hysterically as she scoots her way across the cell, not caring about the pain in her arm where Monroe stabbed her. She eventually reaches him and just from the sight of him makes April want to be sick. His face is grey and his eyes, now black and emotionless just vacantly stare up at the ceiling.
Holding onto Jason's dead body, April looks up at Monroe. "Why do you do this?" She cries angrily. "Why do you let them do this to you?"
Monroe knows that she means the shape shifters and this battle but he just carelessly shrugs his shoulders. He twiddles his gun in his hands. "Here's the thing. Tell the villagers they have a chance of survival, it'll give them something to root for. Tell them the truth that no one is going to survive by the end of this, you'll kill them, just like you killed him."
"I did not kill Jason!" April screams.
"Yes you did. Well I did the act for you. But you had every power to stop me. I guess you're not as loyal to your loved ones as you think you are. But thanks to my own mind. I do have the power to read yours."
April stares at Monroe, seething with rage. "What?"
"I can read your mind, April. So thanks for letting me know all about the revolution Sullivan has started with this year's volunteers. And that the Daleks are apparently the next to open the Cytracik. But like I just said. The Day of the Destruction is just a way to make the villages think they have a life and it gives them hope. But the truth is they are only alive because of the Cytracik," Monroe shrugs theatrically and laughs manically. "But I guess I'll see you in the woods for the race. Someone will have to replace him."
Monroe heads towards the iron door along with the two Nobody's, but he then halts. "You'll probably have an hour to cuddle this corpse before Heat Miles are alerted of his death. They'll be taking his body." For a split second, there is a look of guilt ridden across Monroe's face.
April is left speechless as Monroe leaves the cell with the Nobody's, shutting her alone in the cell with Jason's body.
April stares at the door for a long while before she looks down at Jason's face that was always full of life and laughter. Her tears rolls down her face and splatter onto his grey face.
"I'm sorry, Jason. I'm so sorry I didn't do a better job." She sobs quietly, her body shaking. She remembers the seconds before they collided with Monroe, the Doctor pushed her away saying that she has messed up. Now because of her, Alic is badly injured from the fall, and she is the reason why Jason Hollerford has been killed.
She killed her best friend. The one person who always guaranteed to make her laugh and be by her side. The first person to make her feel at home at UNIT.
April gently closes Jason's eyes before leaning down and kissing him fully on his cold lips. When she eventually pulls away, she strokes her fingers across his face.
"I will end this battle, Jason. And I will see you soon. I promise." April's voice cracks as she says this but she looks down at his face, still hoping that his eyes will open. But they never do. And the more she stares at him, the more the hysteria inside of her builds up.
And then in a sudden rush of anger and revenge, April rips out the UNIT dagger from Jason's belt and throws it across the cell. The dagger soars through the air as fast as the bullet did, and catches itself right in the wall opposite her.
April screams one more time, sobbing uncontrollably as she bangs her fist roughly against her legs and stomach, wanting to cause as much pain to herself as she possibly can. But her body is too weak.
April eventually falls forward and rests her head on Jason's unmoving chest, trying to avoid the hole where his heart once was. And she just lays there, praying for Jason to come alive again.