Parallels

Chapter One

The Doctor poked his head out of the TARDIS and sniffed.
"Well, this is new!" he said as he stepped out, a childish grin starting to tug at the corners of his eyes.

"What? Where are we?" Clara swiftly followed, her eyes darting left and right as she took in her surroundings. Everywhere she looked, there were trees. And not anything like you found in London. These trees were different, she couldn't explain how, they just were...

"Australia! 2015, January 12th! Well, out of all time and space, we've never visited good old Australia! Well, actually, I have, once. Nasty business with shadows. Best not talk about it.

"But that was in Sydney. Now we're in..." The Doctor paused for a moment to sonic the area. "The Blue Mountains! Springwood! Lovely little town, heard they made delicious pie."

Clara took her chance to but in.

"But, Doctor, how can we be in a town if there's only trees?"

"Oh, c'mon, have you never heard of bushwalking? If we just walk a couple hundred meters down this path, we're sure to get to civilisation. Now," he rubbed his hands together; the grin had completely engulfed his face now. "Let's find out why we're here."
........

As they trudged along the path, Clara began talking.

"So, Australia, huh? Always thought about visiting. But it always seemed a bit too rough for me."

"Rough?"

"Yeah, you know, with all the blokes and the heat and the... kangaroos."

"What are you talking about? Australia's a beautiful place. Magnificent beaches, beautiful views, big bridges..."

She shot him a sly look. "How can you know so much by only visiting once?"

The Doctor smirked. "And how can you know so much from never visiting at all?"

Clara rolled her eyes and walked a little faster.