Up, Up, and Away

Chapter 2

Rainbow striped scarf around my neck, I led the way out of the TARDIS. I pulled on the red fingerless woven gloves I'd acquired during the last regeneration, although I'm not entirely sure how. I think I picked them up in Dublin, Ireland in the 1980's.

"Welcome to the Roarin' Twenties." I announced, sinking my boot into a thick pile of snow on the street. The TARDIS landed herself in an alleyway, away from prying eyes.

Yaz, Ryan and Graham followed me out of the box in a line, each with a look of amazement on their faces. That was my favorite part; how they never got used to it. How excited they were every time they stepped foot into a different time.

"Is this New York?" Asked Ryan. I nodded.

"Yep. New York, the Big Apple, NYC, whatever you want to call it. Height of the 1920's-" I paused to lick my pinky finger and stick it in the air to test, "December of 1927 if I were to say exactly."

"Well isn't this just the bees knees!" Graham piped, over the sound of the city. Yaz and Ryan both rolled their eyes at him in exasperation. Even I knew he wasn't hip.

"You're not hip, Graham," I teased, receiving a second set of eye rolls from the youngest two of the group.

"You think you're any cooler than Graham?" Ryan asked. I scoffed and motioned to my TARDIS.

"Hello? Time traveling police box? I just took you to 1927!" I argued.

"Yeah I guess you're a bit cooler," Yaz said, giving me a side smile and making her way out to the sidewalk. I grinned, smug, as I followed her. Graham and Ryan were close behind.

The city was growing, and skyscrapers were being built all around us. I could see the men walking on the scaffolding, without harnesses of course, and my hearts ached to go up there and secure them before they fell. Of course, that would require me to introduce safety rigging at least a few decades too early. And I couldn't risk it.

As we walked, I noticed how the noise would rise and fall. And there was something missing from the clatter of tools and humming of factories. What was it? There was a distant siren, the occasional crunch of snow, and the beat of music, but something was off.

"So Doc, what are we here for? Finally a vacation? A break from savin' the universe?" Graham asked from behind me, hands in the pockets of his zipped leather jacket.

I shrugged.

"The TARDIS takes us where we need to go. I'm not sure why we're here yet," I responded. The stench of something rotten kept slapping me in the face, and every once and a while, I noticed Yaz gag.

Another wave of sulfur hit us and I saw her gag so hard her tongue stuck out. It made me giggle. I'd never done that as a man. Well- only a few times.

"Oh, shut up! Don't you smell it? It's awful, like- like rotten eggs." Yaz exclaimed. I nodded, taking a deep breath in and shuddering. It definitely wasn't rotting eggs, but it something had certainly gone sour.

Graham nodded. "It's like when I forget my egg salad sandwich in the fridge at home, when I'm on my way to work. Grace usually brings it to me, but one time we both forgot about it, and the smell-"

"Doctor?" Yaz interrupted. She grabbed my sleeve and I stopped to face her.

"I was almost done with my story, I swear, I know I can drone on-" Graham began. This time it was me who interrupted him.

"What's wrong?" I asked Yaz. I could tell she noticed something because of the concerned look on her face. Her chest was rising and falling quicker than usual, and her grip tightened on my sleeve.

"Where are all the people?" she asked. I froze, and a smile began to spread across my face.

"Oh this one is going to be fun."