Doctor Who: The American Adventures by Justin Richards

Author:Justin Richards [Richards, Justin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781405930673
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Penguin UK
Published: 2016-10-05T23:00:00+00:00

Taking the Plunge

The Doctor quite liked theme parks. He wasn’t all that sold on the various rides, but it pleased him to see people enjoying themselves.

It was hot and humid under the Florida sun, and the Doctor was starting to feel the effects. He found himself a bench in the shade, and settled in to watch the tourists at Adventure World milling excitedly around.

Though it soon became obvious that not everyone was enjoying themselves. The Doctor looked on with amusement as a teenager whined to her parents about how boring it was here, while her younger sister, who was occasionally letting out high-pitched squeaks behind her, seemed barely able to contain her excitement.

Well, the Doctor thought, there’s always someone who doesn’t want to have a good time.

At the opposite extreme, a young boy of about ten, whom the Doctor had just spotted, was so thrilled to be there that he kept bouncing up and down, then running off to look at different things. His parents, trailing after him, were noticeably frustrated. The Doctor watched as the three of them made their way round the area where he was sitting, then disappeared in the direction of another ride.

After a while, the Doctor got up from his shady seat and set off on a stroll through the park. He paused to look in a gift shop, and stopped to get himself an ice cream.

The Doctor loitered to watch the various rides – the ones he could see, that is. Some were indoors, so the only way to experience them was to actually go on them. ‘I’m at least five centuries too old for that,’ the Doctor muttered to himself. Besides, he knew a ride in the TARDIS was far more exciting – and unpredictable – than any of the rides on offer here.

Though he probably wouldn’t have admitted it, the Doctor was having a pleasant day. It was good to have a bit of a break. Here in this world of rides and gift shops and ice creams everyone – even the Doctor – was far away from the cares and woes of everyday life.

Just then, the Doctor spied something that made him wonder if everything was quite as perfect as it seemed. Among the hordes of theme-park goers, he spotted the family with the hyperactive ten-year-old boy again. They were walking back through the park, towards the Doctor – only dramatically changed from when he had last seen them.

The boy’s mother and father looked completely worn out. As they shuffled past the Doctor, he noticed dark shadows beneath their eyes, which were glazed over with tiredness. Possibly to be expected, given how the boy had been rushing about earlier, the Doctor supposed.

But then the boy too seemed quiet and lethargic. He wasn’t bouncing around or rushing off any more. Instead, he was ambling silently and slowly along beside his parents, a similarly glassy look in his eyes.

Such a pronounced change in such a short space of time is distinctly odd, the Doctor thought.

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