Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the story idea and only some of the witty remarks. I own so little; so please don't steal.
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[=]
There are a lot of things that could go wrong, Simon knows. He could be walking well into a trap. After all, the Lord of the Flies is after him. But people can't do anything without taking a little risk. He hasn't seen anything bad in his dreams, but then again, he hasn't seen anything about this meeting at all. Sometimes life surprises him.
(He had seen himself tumbling into bed with Jack, but that still surprised him all the same.)
The informant wants to meet in the square, where there is an open area with a glistening fountain in the middle. It is spot on in the middle of The Island, right out in the open where everyone can see them. This is exactly the place where the Lord cannot get them; he works too much in the shadows to venture out into the light to confront him, the man had said over the phone. Simon skips afternoon classes and wanders cautiously into the square; at high noon, businessmen and stay-at-home mothers are chatting and eating lunch and this is no place for a child.
The sun is bright above their heads and Simon squints in the shades. The man said he would know who he was just by looking at him. Well, that could be anyone here. Looking around, he tries to see who does not fit the picture. He quickly eliminates all the women; but there are some men in shades with briefcases. There is a man sitting easily under one of the trees that decorate the square, reading a thick tome. Simon gripes his schoolbag tightly. If only he could expand his powers to a small length into the future, he could at least see something.
His eyes settle on an unsuspecting man, probably in his late forties. He is wearing the typical garb of a middle-aged man, with slowly graying hair. The way he carries himself and the demeanor he gives off suggests a veteran of sorts. He has seen the world and he is not sure if he likes it. Somehow, something about him convinces Simon that this is the man from the phone. He is sitting in front of a café under an umbrella, in plain view of everyone in the square. Simon takes a breath and walks over to him.
"You are…"
The man does not look up from his coffee. He is studying it carefully, like it is a mysterious, unworldly object. "You couldn't see me, could you," he says in answer to Simon's unfinished question. "Your powers are not developed enough to that point." Finally he looks up, and his eyes are tired and are beginning to look as if they are developing glaucoma. "Simon Green, the pleasure's all mine."
"Ah, yes." Awkwardly shuffling over to the seat across from the man, Simon sits himself down and lets his bag drop to the ground. "Your name…"
"It doesn't matter anymore," the man says, waving the question away. "My part is done. I was a player a while ago but the Lord has displaced me. But if you must call me something, Crusoe." He let this sink in before continuing. "I have much to say, so please get comfortable. Would you like anything? My treat."
"No, thank you."
Crusoe nods, as if Simon passes his test. "I will start at the beginning, so please try and keep up." There is nothing else; no frills or small talk to lead up to the big idea. Simon licks his lips nervously and switches his brain to record mode. "You and I, and your little group, are part of a small, collective group of individuals called 'specials'. Nice and original, isn't it? From the research that specials before us have gathered state that there is something in certain humans' genetic code changes the makeup of that person and gives them unusual powers. I was not aware of my own power – foresight, like yours – until I was in my twenties and I had joined the navy. I would wake up at night with the vivid images of things to come, and when they occurred in higher frequency, I had to retire prematurely. I knew such information was dangerous, especially when you're involved in the military.
"I wandered around for some time, lost and afraid of my own skills. I happened to stumble upon the Counsel a couple years later and they graciously took me in. The Counsel is…or was, a group of influential specials that dictated the rules and regulations regarding other specials. Our powers allow us to have a clear advantage over ordinary humans, so we need someone to keep a check and balance to make sure none of us are abusing our abilities. To realize what gift you have and to find others like you early on is a fortunate thing. In the past, the Counsel had specials stationed all over the world to make sure young or new specials had a place and someone to turn to in their discovery stage.
"I say was because the Counsel is no more. The Counsel had their headquarters here at The Island, where they maintained an outward appearance as an insignificant corporation. However, they were able to keep contact with all the branches outside The Island and kept a close watch on the coming and goings of the specials in the world. I was an officer in the navy and they allowed me a low-ranking place on the Counsel. Foreseers are extremely uncommon, you know; what we have is a unique power.
"A year or so ago, a young man came to the Counsel in seek of aid. He had the power of shape-shifting and it had backfired to disfigure him. He had not been able to change back to his former human self and he had somehow convinced himself that the Counsel had the power to turn him back to normal. While we were a Counsel of specials, we have no more powers over others than the ordinary government has on its people. The Counsel is there to keep order; that's all. We told the young man that his power was his own and if he could draw deep within himself, he could tap his power again and reverse its effects. In short, we could do nothing but advise him. He accepted these words and left.
"A couple months later, the man was back. He stormed into the Counsel's headquarters and slaughtered all the specials in his path. We attempted to reason with him but he had amassed a following and easily overcame us. It was a coup. I managed to sneak out from the fray, but his targets to begin with was the heads of the Counsel who had, in his opinion, damned him to his appearance by not turning him back. That was the rise of the Lord of the Flies, and he has been staying in the headquarters since."
[=]
Jack looks at the silver disk in Ralph's eager hands. "What is that," he deadpans.
"This, my dear ginger," Ralph says, "is the menace that chased us and totally tore up Piggy's car. You should see the thing. It's like scrap metal now. But hey! We were thinking you could use your powers to see where the hell this thing came from and who sent it! Genius, isn't it?" He beams at Piggy, who does not smile back. Jack thinks the fatty is upset at the state of his car. In his defense, Jack supposes he would be too.
"We should wait for Sam and Simon too," Jack maintains. "We're in a group effort."
"We can't afford to wait for them," Ralph says exasperatedly in a way that makes Jack know that he has been waiting for the college student to get out of class to get him out of a state of suspense. He has quite the life; underage boys are always attacking him after lectures. "If this thing really poses some kind of threat, we've got to know now so we can warn them! And come on. A touch won't hurt."
"You're a prat," Jack shoots, but he leads them to a secluded corner on campus. Sitting down on the grass, he waves at Ralph to hand him the disk. It looks exactly like the ones that chased him and Simon weeks ago. Truthfully, he would like to know what has sent them too. Ralph drops to the grass quickly as Piggy slowly eases himself down. "Come on. Hand it over."
"Careful with it," Piggy warns as Ralph nearly tosses it at Jack.
"What do you mean," Jack scowls at Piggy. "It looks plenty broken and I can use my power on anything, whatever condition."
"I mean," Piggy retorts testily, "if it's going to blow up in your face, you wouldn't like that, would you?" He snorts indignantly. "I try and look out for you and this is the thanks I get."
"Don't you have class?" Jack grumbles, taking the disk carefully in his hands, running his fingers on the metal. It appears smooth, or it used to be – now it is scratched up and the machine parts inside are threatening to spill out like a gutted pig. Lights that would have been flashing are now dull.
"Okay, I'm not going to keep such a dangerous piece of thing in my locker the whole day," Ralph says, rolling his eyes. "If Piggy didn't stop me, I was going to take it to you yesterday, but he told me to wait until today after school. But come on, I'm not going to do that. And a couple classes skipped isn't going to do me any harm."
"I didn't know you two went to the same school," Jack says, eying the two. While Ralph is dressed casually – public school garb- Piggy is wearing a neat button-up and pressed slacks.
"We don't," Ralph explains. "But our schools are somewhat close and I pulled him out of class to accompany me. I don't trust meeting with you alone. You could kill me." He raises his eyebrows suggestively and Jack nearly throws the broken disk in his face. Bastard. He runs his fingers over the metal again and suddenly he sees.
[=]
"The embassies overseas for the Counsel are only aware that there has been an exchange of power. They trust in the Counsel to tell them how to act. They are not aware of the Lord's intentions. Any special attempting to get into contact with the specials abroad have either been put in custody or killed. The Lord is keeping close watch on specials' communication to make sure the messages he sends the embassies are the ones approved by him. So far, he has not given them any offensive directions, but I believe they will rise up at his call. They are mindlessly following him; they don't even conceive that there is an anti-humanity movement rising.
"From what I gather, the Lord has two goals: one is to eliminate the human race – he blames them for scarring him and has made cases that specials and humans cannot coexist peacefully. Humans with powers will forever be under the scrutiny and terror of humans without powers, he claims. Radicals have joined him under this philosophy. The second part of his goals is to make a primary special planet. He does not approve of our need to live secretly. He has appointed himself the leader of this uprising. His first mission is to take over The Island, and with that, the world.
"Recently, I have gotten dreams where you show up. Flashes of you; and you are part of the Lord's Most Wanted list. A couple of nights ago, I finally got your name and I tracked you down. If you, a mere child, pose a threat to the Lord, then I have to assume you can do something to topple his growing reign. If that is the case, I must assist you. I can give you information, information valuable to possibly vanquishing the Lord of the Flies.
"First, I know the layout of the headquarters. The Lord has not left the building since he has seized power due to his paranoia that leaving will be dangerous. I can give you accurate blueprints for you to take it in a siege. Second, I am going to guess that neither you nor your team has much knowledge on specials, so I can provide you that too. The passing on of special data has been a ritual from seasoned specials to novices.
"Third, and most important, I can teach you how to hone your power. The art of foresight can be welded in more sophisticated ways than the random spots you have now. With my teaching, you will be able to see short distances into the future and control what parts you can see. I wish to help you refine your abilities to have them serve more use to you in the future. I apologize I have no one to help your friends, but I expect they are worthy individuals who can figure out these things for themselves. From what I have seen, they have relatively malleable abilities and are easy to fine-tune. Do you accept my offer?"
[=]
Jack sees them in rapid succession. The creation of the separate parts of the disks. The scientists working on them. The sending of this disk, along with a couple others, to an office in a dark building. A man with a pig's head – this terrifying man – is inputting data into them. A manila folder; two – one with Ralph's picture and stats and one with Piggy's. The discharge of these disks from the roof of the dark building. The figure with the pig's head watches as they fly off to their targets. Jack shoots past these fragments of the disk's memory and he cannot stop the train and get off. He rides the memories to the end.
Assassins. These are metal assassins sent by the man Simon talked about. Jack feels himself jolt back to the present. Ralph and Piggy are watching him curiously, with concern. "Well?" Ralph asks, with a hushed, forced calm. "What did you see?"
"The Lord of the Flies." The name spills out of his mouth. Where did it come from?
"…what?" Piggy scrunches up his face. "I've never heard of such a thing."
"It's a person," Jack says, feeling a chill up his spine. These things had been programmed for him and Simon earlier. "The man Simon talked about. With the pig's head. The one with Sam's brother and the one who wants us dead."
"Shit," Ralph swears, in awe. "It's real." They sit there in shocked silence, before he digs into his pocket to pull out his phone. "I gotta call Simon. He's got to know! And Sam too. Piggy, you call Sam. Jack, can you get anything else?"
"Look, some things only have the memory of places and things they've been with. I can't just look into the scenes imprinted in them and see parts of it. It's just what this thing's been through." Jack frowns at him as Ralph presses the phone to his ear. Piggy is already chatting with Sam, telling them to meet.
"That's funny," Ralph says, looking troubled. "Simon didn't pick up." Piggy shuts up. Jack blinks once.
"You don't think…"
"We have to find out," Ralph announces, shooting to his feet. "Let's go find Simon."
[=]
Note: Hopefully this answered a few questions you might have had. I hope I tied up all the loose ends and incontinuity problems! That's the issue with multi-fics, you gotta cover all the grounds. And yes, this is indeed the naval officer from the end of the book. He does save them, or attempts to, at least. Thanks for reading!