XXVII
Oranges and Lemons

The Island
The Woods

For some odd reason, April is suddenly reminded of a memory from her childhood. There isn't much she remembers of it other than the pure happiness and joy she felt at the time.

She finds herself in the middle of a wood in broad daylight. It's the height of summer and the sun shines through the emerald green leaves on the trees. The ground beneath her feet is covered in a beautiful layer of grass with the odd, colourful wild flower here and there.

April sees a younger version of herself running through the grass that tickles her ankles. She is no older than seven or eight years. She wears three quarter-length denim shorts and a bright yellow top. Her trainers are smeared with mud. April's long black hair is tied up in a ponytail and falls down her back. She runs into a small clearing in the woods and stands still to catch her breath.

Young April looks up at the sun shining through the trees. She is then joined by Max who is also dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. He wears a red baseball cap on his head and bright blue sunglasses that almost covers up his whole face.

Young Max laughs. "Come on, April. He's going to find us!" His voice is full of excitement, and yet he is out of breath from running.

April beams at her brother before looking around the clearing, trying to look for a hiding place. "Over here!" April says enthusiastically. She takes hold of her brother's hand and pulls him towards the trees. Max runs with April and they hide behind a large oak tree. They giggle amongst themselves as they shush each other, trying their best – and yet failing – to be as quiet as they can.

The young April peers around the side of the oak tree trunk, looking back at the clearing. Max peers over the top of April's head, his mouth slightly agape.

"Can you see him?" Max whispers loudly, placing both his hands on April's shoulders.

"Not yet." April whispers back.

"But I can see you both!"

April and Max jump and turns around to see their father, Declan Hollerford, standing right behind them with a broad smile on his face. "Gotcha!" Declan laughs as the twins scream excitedly, trying to run away from him. But Declan reaches froward and catches them both, one arm around each waist.

Max and April giggle hysterically as they wriggle in their fathers grip, pretending to try and run away from him in this chasing game they have been playing all afternoon. However Declan loses his balance and they all tumble over backwards on the grass, the three of them laughing.

In a motherly instinct, Suzette runs forward, wanting to catch them from falling, but is ever so relieved to see them laughing and unhurt.

Suzette then starts to laugh. "Well it isn't going to be me that will be washing those grass stains out of your clothes when we get home!"

Their laughter echoes around the woods, blowing in the rustle of the leaves...

Years later, April suddenly awakes with a start, and in the few moments that follow, she is confused. April finds herself lying flat on her back in wet grass as she looks up at the leaves above her. There is no sunlight, but she can see the grey clouds just through the gaps.

Without thinking too much about it, April knows that she is back in the woods. How she is here again and no longer in that white cell, she does not know, but this factor does not concern her. Then for a while April makes herself believe that she is a few days back, in the woods with Jason where they are yet to break into the Heat Miles base. She must have just slept heavily and her nightmare just foreshadowed something that may happen.

But when April turns her head and sees Jason's grey, lifeless face, the reality hits her. April, still resting her head on Jason's chest, curls up into a ball, holding her knees to her chest and sobs quietly to herself.

All she can think about is that Captain Jason Hoffman is dead because of her. He volunteered to go back in time and help April with their second chance to set things straight. But she allowed him to be killed.

April does not care what time of day it is, nor does she care if she has finally caught up with time yet. But she finds herself lying there in the grass for a long time, vaguely noticing the woods around her getting slightly darker. April does not want to move either. All she wants to do is to stay there with Jason's body. Even if he starts to rot, she'll rot with him.

However, as soon as it starts getting darker, the sky above her reaching dusk, a siren starts ringing out, sending terrified chills down April's spine. The same siren that went off not long after she and Jason triggered a trap in the woods. The spine-chilling siren to warn you of an ambush.

Remembering what Monroe said to her before he left, April knows that this is just a warning call to let her know that Heat Miles are on their way. They are on their way to collect Jason's body.

April sits up again and looks up at the twilight sky between the leaves before looking back down at Jason's lifeless body, his skin now looking as grey as ever.

"No," April manages to say, her voice weak. "You're not taking him!"

Then without thinking about what it is she is doing, April scrambles to her feet. She holds Jason by his shoulders, trying not to do too more damage to his already dislocated shoulder, and starts pulling him through the woods. She walks backwards as she drags him, looking back over her shoulder to see where she is going.

"We need to go, Jason!" April cries as if expecting him to reply. But of course he does not.

The air raid becomes louder and louder and April's panic only becomes stronger.

There is a sudden heavy gust of wind that shakes the trees. A large hovercraft slowly flies above April, just skimming the tops of the trees, letting out a loud, dull humming as it moves. However April continues to drag Jason through the woods, desperate to get away from the hovercraft as quickly as possible.

But April only gets so far before she feels something sharp hit her in the centre of her back. Then all of a sudden, she can no longer move her limbs. Her jaw has been clamped shut and it feels as if her feet are now planted to the muddy ground beneath her. All that she can move are her eyes which dart from side to side frantically.

Then two shape shifters appear in front of her. Like always, they are wearing their blue and white fencing suits with their monstrous heads concealed by a blue fencing helmet.

Just from seeing these two shape shifter prize Jason's body out of April's firm grip, only makes her even more angry and hysterical, yet she cannot move to save him. Tears fill her eyes and she lets out childish whimpers as she helplessly watches these shape shifters carry Jason's dead body away from her.

Soon enough, a hand lays on her shoulder and she can move again. And then without thinking twice, April spins around and throws her fist forward, hitting Lucien squarely in the face. He stumbles backwards in surprise, covering his nose which is now leaking with a heavy flow of blood.

"Oh, for fuck's sake! You're really going to regret that now." Lucien snarls.

April tries her best to dodge out of Lucien's way as he comes storming up to her, but his knees hits her in to stomach. Winded, April falls down to the ground. Lucien, however, catches her by grabbing hold of her hair at the back of her head. He holds her head at an angle so she has no choice but to look at him.

"You don't want to make us your enemy, April." Lucien says through gritted teeth is such a vicious manor that makes April feel like that he'd probably be happy to kill her there and then.

"Monroe," April manages to say. "He's going to take his revenge on you."

Lucien smirks. "Yes I'm sure that you'll know all about our psychopath that has escaped," Lucien then turns to the shape shifters standing around him. "Take his body back to base."

"No!" April screams but Lucien kicks her one more time before pushing her down to the ground. He turns on his heels and starts to follow the shape shifters. After passing through a few trees, they disappear out of sight, and the hovercraft flies away.

April is left alone in the woods, lying helplessly on the ground.

Heat Miles are aware that Monroe has escaped their cell, and yet Lucien did not seem at all that concerned about it. Did they plan for Monroe to escape? Was she supposed to stop this from happening? As April lies there on her side, looking at the blades of wet, muddy grass just in front of her, she ponders if Jason would be alive now if perhaps they stayed in the Heat Miles base. She could have stopped Monroe.

But he still murdered Jason. And he blames her for it. April cannot help but to believe that it is all her fault. From the Doctor warning her that she messed up just by showing up to the fight in the arena, to then bumping into Monroe on their way out.

Jason volunteered to go back in time for April's benefit, and this is how she repays him.

Oranges and lemons,

Say the bells of St. Clement's.

April closes her eyes, attempting to will herself to keep going. To carry on with this battle. But she can't. She can't do this without Jason, especially knowing that she is the blame for his death. April's breathing is unsteady as she digs her finger tips into the mud.

You owe me five farthings

Say the bells of St. Martin's.

Even with her eyes closed, April cannot rid the image of Monroe shooting Jason without any sign of remorse or any emotion. It was like shooting Jason was as meaningless to Monroe as a daily chore like flossing his teeth.

When will you pay me?

Say the bells of Old Bailey.

What is it with this song? How is it since April first met the Doctor, that she keeps hearing this song everywhere? No matter where she finds herself in the universe, this song always follows her. Feeling a dull ache in her forehead, just between her eyebrows where she has been scowling so harshly, April opens her eyes.

She did not expect to find Amelia Lustworve sitting there in the grass, looking down at her pityingly.

For a long while, April and Amelia stare at each other, April confused and Amelia looking rather sorrowful. She sits there with her legs crossed and her hands resting on each knee. Then after a while Amelia tilts her head to the side and frowns ever so slightly.

"Monroe is planning an attack." Amelia eventually says.

April opens her mouth to speak, but the sound she makes is so weak she can't form any words.

"He's going to try to attack Heat Miles," Amelia's frown deepens in concentration. "I think anyway. He's found a spare spaceship I think he's trying to fly. I don't think that destroying the Heat Miles base is going to stop this battle. But you can stop him."

Why Amelia's words have given April the sudden motivation to move, she does not know. But despite the aching pain all over her body, April pushes herself into sitting position and then onto her knees.

"Where did he go?" April asks in a croaky voice.

"He stole a spaceship from one of the buildings in the arena..." Amelia trails off as April starts to get back onto her feet. She does the same, her face full of concern, scared that April is going to be too weak to move.

But to Amelia's relief, April stands firmly on her feet, looking around the woods. However, April tries to ignore the tremble in her knees and her desire to sit back down.

"Can you do me a favour?" April asks, her voice stronger than ever.

Amelia nods, still staring at April with concern.

"Report to Jack Gruntler about Monroe. Tell him that he has escaped and that I'm after him," then April fishes in her jean pocket. "And then give this back to the Doctor," she takes out the psychic paper and passes it to Amelia. "Let him know that I have left him a message on it."

"What are you going to do?" Amelia asked. "Monroe is armed."

"And I'm prepared," April breathes out heavily, knowing that Jason would not want her to give up. "Go, Amelia."

With that, Amelia turns and runs through the woods. However, she stops and turns back to look at April.

"Remember that time heals." Amelia says in a sweet voice before running again.

April stays standing there, watching Amelia as she disappears through the trees. What does she mean by this? April ponders. Has she and Jason helped save the Island from the chaos from what they have done? But the thought of it hurts April's mind to think about.

The wind howls around her, leaves passing April as they blow manically through the woods. It is then that April reminds herself that she has no time to waste. She turns on her heels and starts to run, feeling more revengeful and angry than she has ever felt before. Nothing is going to stop her now.

Picturing the place she wishes to go to, she runs in between two trees and finds herself no longer in the woods, but the arena.

April halts for a moment, the twilight of the night slowly getting ever darker. But the second she runs into the arena, the hovercraft Monroe has somehow managed to hijack now lifts off the ground and slowly arises into the air.

For a second, April is pushed backwards by the force of air blowing her way as the hovercraft rises. But April runs towards it, pushing against the strong gale.

"MONROE!" April bellows as she runs as fast as she can.

Seeing three long ropes dangling from the bottom of the hovercraft with frayed ends, almost as if they have been hacked at badly by a blunt knife, April leaps up into the air and grabs onto one of the ropes, not thinking twice about what she is doing. Her feet lift off the ground as the hovercraft continues to rise.

The moment April hangs there, gripping onto the rope, she immediately knows that this is a terrible idea. She can only imagine what the Doctor would say to her if he saw her doing this. But April pushes the Doctor to the back of her mind and uses all of her might to pull herself up the rope. This is for Jason.

Her body shakes and every so often, she can feel her grip on the rope slipping, but with clenched teeth, April is not determined to give up. What she is going to do when she gets onto the hovercraft, she does not know. It was only hours ago that she was telling Jason that she wants to kill Rodger Barratt, but now Monroe is high on her list.

Not daring to look down at the ground below, April can only guess how high she is. She can just about see the roofs of the tall buildings in the arena from her peripheral vision. Once again she is reminded that her bright red t-shirt is not going to do her any good in terms of camouflage.

When April manages to climb at least halfway up the rope, a hatch at the base of the hovercraft opens and Monroe looks down at her, with the same manic look in his eye as before.

"You're going to kill me now, Hollerford? Well you'll never get to me. Because you let me kill Jason!" Monroe yells down at April, his hair blowing wildly in the heavy gust of wind. "You'll find my army in the woods during that race. And I bloody hope they kill you!"

Monroe lets out a wild cackle which makes the hairs on the back of April's neck stand on end.

April can hear Monroe saying something, as if talking to himself, in angry tones, as she starts to climb up the rope. She expects Monroe to slam the hatch shut, but the sonic screwdriver still sits in her pocket, she would still be able to open it again.

What April does not expect is for Monroe to start hacking away at the rope with an evidently blunt knife. Panic flushes through April as Monroe does this. The rope slowly ripping. However April only continues to climb.

"No you don't!" She mutters to herself through gritted teeth as she continues to climb up the rope, despite the pain in her arms.

The problem is that there is still quite a distance between April and Monroe, and Monroe continues to hack away at the rope. Noticing the way that the rope is getting thinner and thinner, April manages to pull out the sonic screwdriver.

But she catches Monroe's eye and he only looks amused.

"I'll see you in hell!" Monroe snarls.

Then before April has the chance to try and repair the rope, it snaps.

And then she is falling.