Asher couldn't believe that he agreed to go with the Doctor. He glanced over at his backpack that he rushed to pack before he left to travel with the Doctor. Since the tardis was supposedly a time machine, Asher could go right back to before he left, and his parents wouldn't have to worry at all. That was the only reason that Asher wouldn't have come. After all, what reason did he have to stay in his dull little town, with no friends, no one to talk to?
The Doctor bounced over to him. "So, where do you want to go? Anywhere in the entire universe."
The question filled Asher's mind and he found himself to stupeified to answer. Eventually he murmured, "You choose. I have no idea where to even start."
"Well, alright then," The Doctor raced over to the controls of the tardis, and began to yank levers and press buttons. "How does ancient Pompeii sound? Excitment, adventure, history!"
Asher nodded, his blue eyes sparking with anticipation. "Alrighty, then! To Pompeii we go! Hold on tight, Asher! Geronimo!"
The tardis began to shake and rumble, and that same grating sound echoed through the walls. Asher gripped a a metal railing with unsteady hands and held on tight. The Doctor hunched low to the ground, holding onto the center console, and grinning like a madman. Asher couldn't help but smile as they began to venture through the galaxies.
The grating sound slowly dissapeared, and the shaking and rumbling tardis grew still. There was an almost uncomfortable silence now, until the Doctor snatched Asher's arm and dragged him toward the door. "To Pompeii!" He shouted as he smashed the doors open.
There was a vast, green field of farmland stretched out in front of them. Asher spotted the silohouette of a city in the distance. "Is that it?" He questioned the Doctor, pointing at the skyline in the distance.
"It sure is. And just the day before Mount Vesuvius erupts," The Doctor seemed extremely proud of his tardis,amd stood leaning against it. "What do you say we go check it out?"
"Alright," Asher began to talk and they wandered toward the huge city. "If you can travel in time, you can save anyone."
"Correct."
"So, why don't you save everyone? Let's save Pompeii."
"I would love to, Asher, I really would. But if we did, it would cause a paradox in time." The Doctor stopped walking and looked at Asher, his face missing that goofy grin. "All of those people would survive, and there would be many, many more descendants. So many new lives being inserted into the time line of Earth would change people's lives, and deaths, and futures. That would cause a paradox, and then time itself would have to fix it. And that is not pretty."
They stood in silence for a brief moment, before Asher finally spoke. "How can you see so many people who need saving and not save them?"
"Well, I can save some people. A lot of people actually. But some events need to happen, because they affect everything in the future. Like the Titanic. Or Pompeii."
They kept walking as Asher tried to wrap his mind around all the new information he just received. The wind rustled the leaves in trees and a river splashed its way through the forest. He listened to birds chirp and and steadied his breath. It wasn't so bad, knowing what would happen. He was in Pompeii, he should be happy. And as they neared the wide open city gates, he began to feel relaxed.
As soon as they stepped into the bustling streets of Pompeii, people looked at them with befuddled expressions. Asher couldn't imagine how people already knew he was different, and then he suddenly remembered he was wearing jeans and a blue sweatshirt. Ovbiously modern clothes. The Doctor was still wearing the button down shirt, suspenders and bow tie, and now he had on a fez as well. He looked like a circus monkey.
"It's quite alright, people can look if they want. And they will. They can't get mad at us for dressing strangely," and Doctor patted Asher on the shoulder as he reassured him.
It was hard to ignore the increasingly concerned faces as they meandered down the street. As he examined the city, he managed to spot a man muttering something to a soldier, not so far from them. "Doctor," Asher began to nudge the Doctor's shoulder, but he was fixated on an eerie statue resting in someone's garden. "Doctor, we're going to get in serious trouble if you don't look."
He finally looked and his face dropped. Wrapping his arm around my shoulder and shoving Asher away, he yelled, "Run!", and they took off down the street.
They scampered in between people, panting out "excuse me"s and "sorry"s. When Asher glanced back, the soldier was behind them, gaining ground with surprsing ferocity. He would catch up with us soon. Asher grabbed the Doctor in a blind panic and smashed through a nearby door, into a citizen's home. A young girl shrieked, piercing their ears like daggers, as they bolted through the kitchen and out the back door. Asher heard more smashes and shouts as the soldier pursued them.
"Back to the tardis?" Asher puffed as he raced alongside the Doctor.
"No... much too far away... find a crowd," He responded in between gasps for air.
Bursting onto the main road again, they ran until their legs were absolutely numb and their lungs strained for air. The Doctor pointed just ahead to a huge group of people talking and trading goods. Looking back, they could still see the soldier, who was only twenty or so feet behind them. They pushed into the crowd and jumped into a conversation with a few residents.
"Hello," the Doctor stammered as he pressed his palms to his knees, catching his breath. "I'm the Doctor, and this is..." He waved his hand at Asher.
"My name is Asher," he panted, and kept talking. "Sorry to interupt, but we need some people to talk to. So, um, how do you like it here, in Pompeii? We're new."
"Well, I can tell. You two came barging in here, causing a ruckus. What were you running from?" A woman with dark brown hair spoke, glaring at us with accusing eyes.
"Uh, that soldier right over there. We aren't sure why, but he started chasing us."
"Maybe because you are wearing strange clothes and are acting ridiculous. It looked like you were running from the wealthy part of the city. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the prestigious government workers reported you because he didn't want any abnormal people around his home."
"Good point." Asher stayed hunched over, hiding his face from the soldier, while the Doctor looked at the ground, tapping his feet. The woman puckered her lips and glared at us. An uneasy feeling crept into Asher's stomach. Out of nowhere, the woman shouted with incredible force, "Guard! Over here!"
The Doctor grabbed Asher and ran without any hesitation, leaving Asher dumbfounded that she gave them away. The soldier charged through clumps of people, and was right behind them as they sprinted. He jumped forward and grabbed Asher's arm, tripping both him and the Doctor. He hunched over and snatched Asher's and the Doctor's arms, yanking them up.
"You're under arrest for causing a public disruption and running from the law," the soldier growled just below a shout.
