XXXIII
Eye of the weapon

The Island
The Barn
01:30, Fourteen and a half hours until the Day of Destruction

Will leaves the hospital shortly after Alic falls back asleep. He finds the two shape shifters awaiting him patiently by the door to escort him out of the hospital. With reluctance, Will leaves Alic's ward, only looking back once before exiting. He marches down the corridor with his head held high and a harsh scowl formed onto his face. He marches sternly, his arms swinging rigidly at his sides and his jaw clenched tightly. He marches on as if he is heading straight into battle.

The two shape shifters silently follow behind him. The hospital is still as empty and as eerily quiet as it was when Will first walked down here a couple of hours ago, but now this silence and emptiness is the least of Will's concerns.

You'd better win with this revolution.

They were the last words Alic said to Will before falling asleep. And Will is not one to let his best friend down. While back in the parallel world, not even twenty-four hours after April left, Will started making plans to reunite with her. He knew that the only way he was to see her again was to go to this Island. So Will did everything he could to research into this Island and find where it is. He shut himself away from his family and his friends from UNIT in desperation to find ways to this place. He even regretfully turned to Morgarn in means to try to move on from April on days when he felt less hopeful.

Will was lucky enough to come across Ellis Lustworve. Using Declan's special computer he keeps hidden in the bottom floors of the UNIT base, Will was able to access data all about the Island. This is how he learnt all about Heat Miles and the village on the Island. He learnt all about the Day of Destruction and about the cold star that had suddenly appeared in the sky. And through this computer, he came across a message Ellis was sending out to UNIT. It was a call to help.

Will did not think twice before replying to Ellis' message, who claims to have been sending out a call for help to UNIT since he started working at Heat Miles. Ellis had access to information about all universes in the Heat Miles base. And that's where he stumbled across files about UNIT and their connection to the Doctor and the twins.

For the next two years, Will and Ellis stayed in contact through that computer. And here is where they made plans for the revolution. Will promised that he would come alone to help and Ellis gathered people he knew who would be more than happy to take part in the revolution. Then Will and Ellis got to know each other, knowing that the only way they could trust one another would be to know everything about each other. So Will told Ellis about his past and vice versa. And so Will learnt of the man who lost his wife to Heat Miles five years ago, and has the amazing ability to turn himself invisible, and to split himself in two so that he can be in two places at once. This is something he kept a secret from Heat Miles. Will made a vow to not discuss Ellis' ability to anybody. The only other person who knows of this is his daughter, Amelia.

When Will found a way to transport to the Island (stealing as many weapons and devices from Declan's office as he could), Will gave Ellis a date to go there. It was just before Will left to go to the Island that he turned to Morgarn one last time. However, he was not expecting her to follow him to the Island and to volunteer for the Day of Destruction.

Since their first meeting at Ellis' house, Ellis gave Will and the rest of the revolution a small clip-on silver earring that they can attach to the top of their left ear. They use this as a means to commute to each other when a meeting is needed. The earring grows ever so slightly hot and immediately the revolution goes to the barn for a meeting.

And as Will marches down the corridors of the hospital, he fingers the earring on his left ear. He presses down on the earring till he hears it click, while trying to pretend that he is only just scratching his ear. As he drops his hand, he can feel the earring warming up, and he quickens his pace. And so do the shape shifters.

Soon Will is outside of the hospital walls and he marches across the full car park without another glance backwards. It is dark. The sky is covered in a layer of stars and there is a bitter chill in the air around him. He knows that now he is out of the hospital, the shape shifters are no longer with him, but he can feel them staring after him from the entrance doors. Will keeps his eyes glued to to the exit of the car park.

Soon he reaches the exit and he turns the corner behind a bush so that he is out of shot from the shape shifters. He takes one step forward and then he enters the barn. And there are the ten members of the revolution, including Morgarn. Zane, Orion, Buddy, Joshua, Kace, Kathyrn, Billie, Blake and Ellis stand around the wooden bench in the centre of the barn, discussing something amongst each other. However they automatically stop as soon as Will walks in.

Ellis steps away from the group and walks over to Will who is marching into the barn. "How is he?" Ellis asks, his voice somewhat careful.

"He'll be fine," Will mutters before he stops marching. "We need to make more plans for the Day of Destruction."

"Haven't we already discussed this?" Orion snarls, sounding rather irritated at having been asked to come here in the middle of the night.

"We have but we need more plans," Will sighs. "I don't know. I'm starting to doubt that what we have planned is a strong enough idea."

There is a brief silence.

Billie is the first to speak as she folds her arms. "We said that the first thing we'll have to do is to dislodge all the traps in the woods before they kill us."

"Yes but I don't think it's going to take ten of you to do that," Will snaps. "The woods is only so big. Things are different now that April has volunteered. I'm sure she probably has other ideas but she needs as much help as she can get."

Ellis clears his throat. "I agree with Will," he says. "We can still meet at the end to focus on destroying the Cytracik. But we don't need all ten of us to remove all the traps. Just for extra precaution, I think at least half of us should stick to the original plan and the other half to work on hunting down the aliens. Truth is I'm feeling far more underprepared for this than I hoped."

"And what is pretty boy going to do about it?" Orion hisses.

"Oi!" Will snaps as he steps closer to Orion. "There's no point cursing at me. Remember who it was who brought this revolution together."

"Well aren't you the hero."

Orion and Will stand very close to each other, glaring into each other's eyes until they are pulled apart. Kace pushes them apart. Everyone in the barn looks more than irritated.

"Look, just for now be friends. Or even mere acquaintances if that's too hard. Just until the Cytracik has been destroyed. Right now we have a task at hand to do and more than anything, we should be discussing who is going to take up Hoffman's place in the race." Kace says calmly looking from Will to Orion with a knowing look in her hazel eyes.

Will and Orion stare at each other for a little while longer before Will offers out his hand. Orion takes it firmly in his large hand and shakes it. When the shake is done, Orion and Will immediately turn away from each other. Orion moves towards the bench, rubbing at his bald head and Will turns back to Ellis who is staring up at him.

"So who's going to take the free spot?" Billie asks, but this is followed by silence.

Will folds his arms across his chest and glances over to Morgarn who stands at the other end of the barn, leaning against the wooden wall. When she eventually catches his eyes, he shakes his head no. For a moment Morgarn's face is completely blank but then she nods her head in acknowledgement.

"It's really between Joshua and Morgarn," Billie continues. "Shall we draw names out of a hat?"

"Let Joshua volunteer," Morgarn speaks up and everyone turns to look at her. "I feel that he may be more of use in those woods than I."

For a moment everyone just stares at Morgarn, not saying anything. But then Billie takes in a sharp breath.

"Do you want to take part in the race, Joshua?" Billie asks, glancing at a terrified looking Joshua who suddenly looks like a child again.

"He's just a kid." Ellis mutters more to Will but Will does not respond.

Joshua trembles in fear but then nods his head. "I'll do it." And then as soon as he says it, he suddenly stands up straighter, almost as if he is ready to take on the world. Will watches him but Ellis looks down at his feet, his lips forming a tight line.

"Okay," Kace says. "Now what?"

"I guess we shall split the team. Who's willing to take down the traps, and who's willing to track down the aliens?" Ellis says quietly.

"How long will we need before we meet up again?" Zane asks.

"An hour?" Buddy suggests.

"The woods are a vast land," Ellis says as he scratches his beard. "We'll just have to use our earrings to meet in the middle," Ellis then rubs his eyes. "There's a clearing in the centre of the woods. I remember seeing it on the map. And as I believe it is where the shape shifters will be going for the battle. It's easy to find."

"You don't suppose the shape shifters will take on the form of people we know to trick us?" Billie wonders aloud.

There is silence as everyone thinks about this.

"I guess it's a reminder to not trust anyone in the woods." Will says darkly.

"I second that." Orion mutters more to himself but everyone hears.

Ellis then tilts his head backwards and whistles. "We've got nine hours and we're as close to destroying the Cytracik then we were five months ago."

"Five months for you, two years for me." Will says bitterly. While Will and Ellis were communicating to each other, a mere five months only past on the Island before Will arrived, yet for Will, a long two years went by.

"It's fine. We've got this," Kace says, trying to sound more confident than anyone really feels. "We're the revolution. We're the only people on this Island who knows the truth about the Major and Heat Miles," she points at Will and Ellis. "You both brought us together knowing that we will stop at nothing to bring this world down. Yeah it is the only world we have, and a pretty shoddy one at that. But a future without Heat Miles and the Day of Destruction is a future we deserve. We will fight for our freedom. We'll fight for the end of the Cytracik. If it saves the twins and the Doctor then brilliant. But if it saves everyone on this Island, then all the better."

Kace suddenly stops short when the lights in the barn suddenly go out and they are completely surrounded by darkness. Will looks through the darkness in the barn, aware of Ellis' steady breathing to his right. He can just about see the open entrance of the barn, but the moonless sky does not create any light.

There is a chilling silence around them as no one dares to move. Although everything suspects the same thing: their hideout has been discovered and they are about to be caught. Will slowly places a hand on his belt where his gun is, ready to attack if needs be.

The air around them becomes chillier and Will is suddenly brought back to his days in Antarctica. The air always seemed as chilly as it does now every time they were near the Nobody's.

Then a manic laughter echoes around the barn. A laughter that is so familiar to Will it makes his blood boil. However this time, the laughter seems more manic than it ever did before.

Suddenly there is a flash of blue light and then Will is falling to the ground in excruciating pain. The darkness consumes him. And then there is nothing.

April finds herself walking down a dark corridor. The walls around her are covered in shiny black tiles. They curve and meet at the top like an archway. The floor however is like stone. Her feet echo down the corridor which looks like it has no end. The corridor is only dimly lit by the odd oil lamp here and there. But April has this weird wave of confidence so that she knows exactly where she is going.

Somewhere further up the corridor, there is the sound of water dripping into a puddle. Each drip echoes loudly down the corridor along with April's loud footsteps. However her shoes feel far heavier than what she usually feels. It's as if every step she takes is being weighed down. Yet this is a minor thought hidden at the back of her mind. Instead her head is filled with something she cannot comprehend.

She has to focus on the task at hand. And she is filled with an overwhelming urge for revenge.

The whispers around her fill her ears, almost as if the whispers are inside her head.

"Don't give him a chance. You know you've been waiting for this moment for years. Kill him!"

April's lips curl upwards into smirk as she quickens her pace. She is desperate to find the prisoner she captured from the barn. The whispers in her mind continue, telling her to kill and she will abide every rule. She will not let them down. She is the weapon and she will get the revenge she deserves.

Just up ahead, there is a light coming from above. And on the floor in the light is a man lying on the floor. For a split second April stops walking as she observes her prisoner on the ground. This man is still unconscious. But April wants him conscious before she kills him. She wants to see the look in those blue eyes before he dies.

April then starts to hurriedly walk towards the man, feeling the fiery anger rise inside of her. She clenches her fists, wanting to beat this man to a pulp, knowing that he will wake up from the blow. She wants him to suffer as much as he made her suffer.

The man on the ground gets closer and closer. And once April is mere steps away, she raises her fist to attack.

"Don't do it."

Suddenly very fearful, April jumps at the male's voice and immediately drops her fist. Standing just across from the unconscious man is Rodger Barratt. He stands there firmly on two legs without a cane for support. He is looking over to April who looks down at the unconscious man and back at Rodger Barratt.

"I did not send you to kidnap Will Sullivan for you to kill him, Monroe," Rodger Barratt's voice is low and sharp, making April suddenly feel small. "We need him alive. But you can torture him as much as you like. As long as you keep him alive."

Rodger Barratt looks directly at April as he says this and all of a sudden, April is amused by his comment. "What? Like you did to me all those years? Left me to rot in a silent cell where I had nothing but my mind to live for." April says in a voice that is not her own.

Rodger Barratt does not take his eyes off April. "We did it for your own good, Monroe."

"How many centuries was I in there for?" April hisses.

"The time that passes does not matter."

"HOW MANY?!" April then bellows, so overcome with anger.

For a moment Rodger Barratt continues to stare at April as if he is contemplating something. But then he sucks in a breath before speaking. "Long enough for you to be like this."

"You drove me crazy." April spits through gritted teeth.

"No, we freed your mind. It has done you a favour."

April says nothing more on the matter. But the whispers in her head tell her to go with the flow. To follow Rodger Barratt's orders for the time being.

"Time heals, Monroe Setzik. And it will heal you. You just need to let it."

April steadies her breathing as she looks down at the unconscious Will Sullivan on the ground. Her want for revenge slowly subsides away as she stares down at this man she once thought was a friend. She then looks up at Rodger Barratt with her eyes. Rodger Barratt nudges Will's shoulder with his foot, and immediately Will wakes up.

Will wakes up with a start and panics, scrambling on the floor, but April hauls him up onto his feet and pins him to the wall. The anger sears up inside her and she can feel her army of Nobody's coming here to support her. She looks deeply into Will's blue eyes, her teeth clamped together. Will looks weak and pitiful as he stares at her. He knows what she wants to do.

"Please," he says weakly, his voice breaking as he speaks. "You don't have to do this."

This comment only makes April feel angrier.

"You are our weapon," Rodger Barratt says as Lucien joins him. "You will do as we say. And without fail."

April continues to stare at Will. "What is your plan?" She hisses is a low snake-like voice. "Tell us everything that the Doctor is doing. Tell us how April Hollerford volunteered for the Day of Destruction."

Will says nothing and for a second, April hesitates.

"You don't want to make us your enemy." April says, holding onto Will tighter.

"Torture him." Rodger Barratt orders calmly.

Using all of her strength that is holding Will against the wall, April manages to throw Will across the corridor. He lands in a heap on the stone floor and without further ado, she marches straight over to him. Will barely manages to get up on his hands and knees before April uses her power to torture him. She throws her hands forward and a force hits Will, sending him into fits of agony. Will clutches his body as he screams out in pain. April feels joyful to put Will Sullivan in this much pain. She throws her hands forward constantly, sending out jets of force trying to destroy Will.

"April, get up now!"

April shakes her head and continues to torture Will, hearing both Rodger Barratt and Lucien laughing. But then someone is vigorously shaking her shoulder and soon the view of the dark corridor and torturing Will vanishes...

April wakes up in the spare bedroom to Jack Guntler's house. Rose, Terry and Rex Middleton look over her. All three faces are pale and twisted in anguish.

Rose breathes out heavily. "She's still suffering from the Island." she says to Terry.

April finds her body trembling as she tries to remember everything she saw. "Will..." April manages to say.

"He's not here." Rex says calmly.

April pushes Rose's hand off her shoulder and tries to sit up. "They've got him!" April suddenly panics. "They're torturing Will! They're going to kill him!" April's words roll into one being incoherent, but before she has the chance to finish speaking, she leans over the side of the bed and vomits violently onto the floor.

Rose jumps out the way. "Get the Doctor!" She snaps and Terry runs out the room. "April, what did you see?"

"Will is being tortured by Monroe!" April cries, completely panicked before vomiting again, her throat and chest burning. She is in agony. "Rodger Barratt has got him and they're torturing him in some dark place," April struggles for breath. "They want to know our plans for the race."

Rose looks completely bewildered. "April, it must be a dream."

"It wasn't a dream!" April shouts.

"We'd better send out word." Rex says darkly.

Rose continues to look at April. "What makes you so sure?"

"Because I was Monroe."