Doctor Who: The Adventures of The 14th Doctor

Skinwalkers (Part 1)

"Any suggestions Larn?" The Doctor asked as he glanced at his daughter. She was standing next to him as he stared at the monitor on the console. As soon as they had left London and the year 1886 behind, the TARDIS seemed to be acting up again.

She kept flashing the name of a location on the monitor in Gallifreyan. It seemed like she was making a suggestion.

"Surprise me!" Larn exclaimed with glee as she resisted the urge to press some buttons.

"Alright then!" The Doctor said as he flicked a switch. "Ah, yes here we go! You'll love this place Larn. It's five hundred and twelve acres of land in Utah!"

"Utah?" Larn piped up.

"Yes, Utah. It's a nice place. Beautiful this time of year! And I won't need to park the TARDIS in a alley somewhere. We can park her in a lovely glade or maybe a clearing."

Larn shuddered at the word "clearing." The encounter with the Hound flashed in her mind.

"So that's all that will be there?" Larn asked.

"Well, there is an old abandoned ranch, Sherman Ranch..." He saw Larn look unsure. "Hey, we could camp! You've always wanted to camp in actual woods."

Larn smiled, it would be cool to camp in actual woods instead of in the TARDIS simulation room.

"And," The Doctor continued, "There is a city called Ballard if you want to walk around and mingle with the locals."

"Okay!"

"Jolly good, now grab onto something, we are about to land!"

"I still can't believe it..." said Greg as he handed Janice a steaming cup of coffee.

"Me either. We literally just talked to him like two days ago..." Janice replied as she took a sip. Mr. Fugal was a nice guy; he was passionate about their work and what they could discover here at the ranch. But now he was dead. He was found by one of his maids in his bathroom, his body torn to shreds according to her, she had quit and fled the next day.

So now Greg, Janice and the rest of their team were now waiting to see what would happen next. Fugal had brought them here in the 2017, and that's when they began their work....but now they we're stuck here until the police finished their investigation.

"You think it was murder?" Kyle, asked. He had just joined the band of scientists.

"I honestly don't know." Greg replied. "This place has had a...reputation for misfortune and it wouldn't surprise me if that was a factor in Mr. Fugal's death." Greg was very superstitious.

"Oh please Greg not now!" Janice snapped.

Before she could continue, a sensor went off. Kyle flew to the computer and exclaimed, "This readings is off the charts! The energy signature suggests that it's...right outside..."

The sound of a guttural growl shook the team to their very core.

The last thing Janice saw was a set off vicious black claws flying straight at her, the sound of her colleagues screams was the last she ever heard.

"Ah yes, here we are! 2021! Utah!" The Doctor exclaimed as the TARDIS landed with a lurch.

"Now why don't we get out the camping gear and we can camp outside?" The Doctor suggested.

"Really?" The only camping experience she had was them camping in the TARDIS. Now she could do it for real.

"Yeah as long as you don't wonder off..." The Doctor said as Larn rushed to the TARDIS doors and flung them open.

"Oh wow!" Larn exclaimed as she became enthralled with the sight she beheld. The sky was a brilliant blue and the ground, although dry and dotted with tufty grass, fascinated her.

Larn reached out and touched a tuft of prickly grass and giggled. It felt so strange and wonderful. When she scooped up a handful of gritty dirt, the Doctor went to go find the tent and the rest of his camping gear, relieved that Larn seemed to be back to her old self.

"The stars are so beautiful, even when they are so far away..." Larn murmured as she gazed up at the stars. Her and her father and peeked out of the TARDIS to watch the stars all the time before...before the TARDIS took them to 1886.

"They most certainly are." The Doctor agreed as he handed Larn a s'more. They had set up a couple of chairs and built a small fire and cooked hotdogs and s'mores together as they watched the sunset.

But now it was night. "We better head in Larn." The Doctor said with a yawn as he put out the fire while Larn cleaned up their mess.

Minutes later, the duo was inside the green tent they had pitched. Larn was already fast asleep.

The Doctor smiled fondly as he tucked Larn in and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Goodnight Larn Rema Vliyaya." The Doctor whispered softly as he lay down next to her and went to sleep.

Larn sat up with a yawn as she rose to her feet and tiptoed out of the tent so she wouldn't disturb her sleeping father. She unzipped the tent and dashed to the TARDIS.

When Larn returned excited the TARDIS after she finished using the loo, she closed the door gently and froze in her tracks.

There was a wolf right by the tent. She knew it was a wolf. It was exactly how a wolf looked in the pictures she saw in her father's library.

The wolf seemed to be curious, as it was gently sniffing the tent. But an gray silky ear was tilted in her direction, which meant that it already knew it was being watched.