Doctor Who and the Sapien Dilemma

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTIONS

When I first met the Doctor I was only 15. I'd taken a trip with my friend Austin and his family to the Royal Botanic Gardens- it was just an excuse to escape my family for a day, I couldn't really care less about flowers or plants.

I was bored and growing somewhat resentful of my decision to come on this trip. I loved Austin, but my god there are only so many flowers you can look at and say 'Wow! Isn't that pretty?'. I was thinking about my bed, my laptop, for Christ's sake I was even thinking about revising- that's how painful this trip was for me. 

At the start, I was with Austin as his family as we looked around- he had a little brother named Charlie who was leading the group about, hyping himself up as a trailblazer as all six year olds tend to do. He would comment on each plant and flower, trying his best to read little facts about the ones that interested him the most, but getting help from either myself or Austin when he couldn't quite make out the big words; like when we passed an area that smelled strongly of vinegar, and his face scrunched up and he covered his nose, tears nearly coming out of his eyes as he spluttered 'Wha's at?'. I walked over to the small information card that explained that for plants like cassava, rapeseed and thale cress, acetic acid can help them withstand long periods without water, and so for the bed of thale cress we'd just walked past, they spray it with acetic acid once every hour, on the hour.

'Wha's a sea side acid?' he said, still covering his nose.

'It's like vinegar.' I explained, much to his tiny disgust.

Eventually, Austin and I had separated from his family, leaving Charlie with his mum and dad, in an attempt to save this day and make any worth-while memories. We were running around the gardens with our ice creams in hand, much to the dismay of all the old people doddering about. It was here, while I was lost in thoughts of somewhere else and the taste of my vanilla ice cream that a man barged past me in a flash of brown, his large coat whipping my ankles and knocking me back, making me drop my ice cream. I recomposed myself quickly and prepared myself to shout at him, but he was already gone by the time I looked back up- and so was Austin. 

I was searching for him for at least an hour, asking about and trawling through every bush and and flower bed. As I was looking through the main greenhouse, crouching beneath ferns and low hanging branches, I spotted a curious plant that stood out, unlike anything else in the gardens- it was small and almost spherical, with a red flower protruding from the bed of leaves. It was the only flower in the entire garden that actually made me stop and appreciate its beauty. I came to my senses and moved on, heading out of the greenhouse and out the back of the gardens, to the tree-laden fields behind.

After searching around the back of the gardens for around half an hour, checking up trees and in hedges, but making sure not to stray too far from the actual gardens themselves, I resigned myself back to the main greenhouse- perhaps if I could find Austin's family, he may have already regrouped with them. But as I made my way back in, I had an odd feeling- one that I couldn't quite place- like when you're favourite meal tastes a bit different or you forget the order of verses on your favourite song, something wasn't right. And it was in the greenhouse, as I walked towards the spiral staircase and saw a leg sticking out from behind a tree, that I noticed what was wrong.

Everyone was gone.

This tourist hotspot that was bustling less than an hour ago was completely empty, it was just me- and whoever had decided to go for a nap beneath a tree. I asked myself what could have happened. They couldn't have closed already, it wasn't even dark. Maybe there was a security warning? I wasn't sure, but I sure as hell wasn't going to die there, or get the blame for whatever threat the police might've gotten. Against my better judgement, I went to go and wake up the sleeping legs- I'd feel bad for someone else possibly getting arrested just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I approached, and realised I recognised the body that was laying there- it was Austin.