Doctor Who - Storm Warning Fan Novelization

A Problem in the Vortex

The TARDIS whirred as it wheezed its way through the time vortex, hurtling ever towards its next destination. As it careened through the vortex, the Doctor, owner of said ship, was browsing through the shelves that lined the walls of the TARDIS console room, muttering to himself all the way, "TARDIS manual, TARDIS manual, TARDIS manual, not here, are you... You know, I really must sort through these shelves properly some century soon."

With brown curly hair, a light British accent, and a large frock coat, the Doctor was the very image of an Edwardian adventurer. Suddenly, the Doctors eyes lit up as he found a treasure; though not the item he was looking for, it was a delight nonetheless, "Oh! Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, first printing, signed, with the last page missing." With a sigh, the Doctor threw it to the side where it landed between UK Habitats of the Canadian Goose and How to Run for Your Life Without Getting Shot By a Dalek, subtitled, Spoiler Alert, You Don't.

After quickly rubbing his hands together to prepare for diving into the next set of shelves, the Doctor began again, "Now, let's see," he said, "War and Peace, the I Spy Book of British Birds, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." He tossed each of these aside in turn before moving onto the next one, which caught his eye much more.

"Just look at the binding on this one. Published 1831 and in mint condition too," his eyes flickered over the cover, "Now, isn't this the edition with the preface all about that time when... Yes! Yes, it is. 'In the summer of 1816, we visited Switzerland and became the neighbours of Lord Byron," he read. "At first we spent pleasant hours on the lake, or wandering on its shores, but it proved a wet ungenial Summer, and incessant rain confined us for days to the house. Some volumes of ghost stories fell into our hands. "We will each write a ghost story," said Byron. There were four of us.' Well, that's wrong for a start," remarked the Doctor.

"'I busied myself to think of a story, one which would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature, to curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart.' Oh, Mary, Mary. Well, you could have told a real story." The Doctor leaned against the bookcase with a slight smile on his lips, ready to continue reading, when the TARDIS slammed on its brakes, both literally and figuratively.

"Emergency stop?!" exclaimed the Doctor, forgetting all about Mary Shelley and dashing over to the TARDIS console, where he immediately began examining the scanner and controls, "but that's not happened for centuries! Let's just see if the scanner can't shed a little light on what's going on there in the vortex." He cranked a dial and the TARDIS made a sound as if it was gasping for air.

An image appeared on the scanner. It was a spaceship, breaking apart on the Time Winds before looping back to how it was a few seconds ago and breaking apart again. "Incredible," the Doctor breathed, as if speaking any louder would cause the damage to increase ten-fold, "A time ship crashing... And again... And again! It's caught in a glitch in space time. Hiccuping through its last moments forever. What a terrible way to never die." The Doctor continued to watch, transfixed and in mourning for the souls he never knew.

Screeches came from outside the ship as small pterodactyl-esque creatures swarmed around it. The Doctor knew these to be Vortisaurs, creatures that lived in the Time Vortex, feeding on Time Energy created by the loop appearing before his eyes. "Oh no. Vortisaurs, swarming to pick over the debris," he said to himself, something he did quite frequently. "Get away from there, you vultures!" he shouted, "Leave that wreck in peace. It's no use...." He paused, as if searching for the right word, "Unless. Yes. If I can just spin the TARDIS a little closer."

He flicked a switch and the TARDIS started wheezing again as the Vortisaurs started to flee the broken time ship. "That's right, shoo, shoo!" he called out triumphantly, "Back to whatever wormhole you crawled out of... Now, let's see if I can do something very clever... If I can use the TARDIS to nudge the wreck on by a fraction of a second at the very end of the cycle it's caught in, those poor devils aboard can rest at last. Touch wood. Wait for it Doctor, wait for it..." He braced himself for the collision, "Impact now!"