The Time of Change

Run

After a moment, I hear the dull thwoom that tells me we've just materialized in our destination. The Doctor winks at me conspiratorially and jogs to the door, waiting for me next to it as he straightens his jacket over his bowtie. I smile to myself, and I start toward him very slowly. He squints at me in a knowing way. When a full minute passes and I still haven't made it even to the ramp, impatience overtakes him. He runs up to me and grabs my waist, and with a strength I had no idea he possessed, he slings me over his shoulder, marching out the door. I laugh, "Doctor! Put me down!"

He sets me back on my own feet as we step into bright, chilly sunlight. After straightening my shirt and giving him a fake-annoyed look, I take stock of several things at once: the hard cement sidewalk, the tall and squat buildings all around, the unhealthy brown grass. A bone-chilling breeze blows through the bare trees and makes my hair fly about my face. I shiver and wrap my arms around myself. With a glance behind me I see that we're parked in a skinny alleyway between two of the stouter buildings. A bright red double-decker bus motors past us, barreling down the street a little less than one hundred feet to our right.

"Where are we?" I ask curiously. The Doctor shakes his head, glancing around the busy city streets. Something catches his attention, and his eyes snap the other direction almost like a cat watching a fly dart back and forth in the air. I smile, amused. I pull the leather jacket tighter around me and start forward, but the Doctor gently grabs the crook of my elbow, holding me back.

"We have no idea who or what is here," he reminds me. "We have to be careful."

I smile as he lets me go. "Wherever we are, and whoever with, it must be awfully advanced," I muse, gazing at people as they hurry past. "All the buildings and the buses? I'm fairly certain we're on Earth and a recent Earth at that. Relax, Doctor," I add, taking his hand. "We don't have to go far, but let's go somewhere."

He shifts his weight from foot to foot uneasily, and his grip on my hand tightens just a little. I furrow my eyebrows. "Hey," I say softly. His eyes meet mine. "I'm a big girl. You don't have to be so worried about me all the time."

A brittle smile appears on his face. "Can't help it. I'm wary."

"Well, stop it," I chuckle. "I can handle myself! You've only seen me when I'm a tiny bit angry. If I ever get really mad—whew. Watch out, buddy."

The Doctor laughs, shaking his head at me, and he releases my hand. "You're twisting my arm here," he complains good-naturedly as he turns to lock the TARDIS door. I shrug, even though he can't see me.

My feet begin to carry me a few steps away, and I look around, transfixed. This city seems vaguely familiar. I'm not entirely sure why. The buildings are simple, the streets are that same uniformly pale concrete with black asphalt roads, and the bright blue sky is blinding with chilly sunshine. Cars whiz past like every other place on the planet. Normal humans stride past, noticing nothing abnormal about me or my appearance. Some look kind of touristy, holding up disposable cameras or smartphones to take photographs of the urban scenery. Couples stroll on their way, holding hands, chatting idly about who-knows-what. None of them take any interest in me whatsoever.

I make it to the end of the block and pause. Despite the odd normalcy, something does seem off. I cast my eyes around in search for it. On my right, a car rolls up idly to a stoplight, and the man sitting inside taps his fingers rhythmically on the wheel.

All at once it hits me. The wheel is on the wrong side of the car; the car is on the wrong side of the road. I look up at the skyline in an almost comically slow fashion, and my breath catches in my throat. Big Ben towers over me, his hands very clearly telling me it is half-past two.