For Throwback Thursday this month I have decided to publish one of my very first short stories from a few years ago - a Doctor Who fan fiction which turned out surprisingly emotional and won the competition it was entered in. The Doctor's Vase:
Juliet -
I hummed to myself as I threw a new lump of clay onto the wheel. This would be my third attempt of the day. I knew how to make the vase, just not to decorate it with. I had tried leaves, horses and stars, but nothing fit. As the vase blossomed into shape before me, a strange kind of humming filled the air. Stopping the wheel, I stared in amazement as a blue police box materialised before me.
It pulsed, becoming more solid by the second. At last it stopped, and the door opened. A man looked out. The strangest man. He was dressed in an old fashioned suit, braces, and a bow tie. He smiled when he saw me.
"Hello!" He greeted me. "Sorry, but would you mind telling me where and when I am?" He frowned when I told him. "That's not good, not good. I shouldn't be here, something brought me here..." He started when I spoke to him.
"Would you mind telling me how you and your box got into my house?" I exclaimed.
"Sorry! How very rude of me. I'm the Doctor, this is the TARDIS and you're in terrible danger." He ran into the shed where I kept my pottery. I was shocked at this outburst, scared by the last part and angry at how he had wormed his way out of my question.
"What danger? There's nothing in there, only pots." He was examining each pot with an oddment; I suppose it was a screwdriver, which was making a high-pitched whirring noise and flashing green.
"If you only make pots, then what is that box doing there?" He pointed to a newer addition, a clay box with the inscription of a dragon on the lid.
"I didn't make that, I found it." I answered, going to pick it up.
"Don't!" He flung his arm out, forcing me to stop. "Don't touch it, don't even look at it for too long, because you didn't find it; it found you." I stared.
"But it's a box." I couldn't comprehend what he meant. The Doctor pulled me back a step.
"Maybe, but have you looked inside it?" His knowing eyes probed me.
"No I...I couldn't open it." I said.
"What's your name?" He asked.
"Juliet. Juliet Murphy" I answered.
"Juliet, lovely name. Well you may want to step back a bit Juliet, because whatever is inside that box is going to kill you, and for that reason it has to die." I retreated to the door and folded my trembling arms.
"Fine, but it better not mess up my potting shed" I threatened. His eyes crinkled in amusement as he opened the window and threw the box.
It shattered on the hard-baked earth, and a black substance poured out. Like a living shadow it rose to head height and became rounded. A freezing Arctic wind blasted from its core. I shivered, not only from the sudden cold, but from the realisation that I had been sleeping with that thing just a few inches from my face in the next room. I suddenly noticed that the Doctor had drawn a small, glowing sphere from his pocket. At the sight of it, the shadow reared back, but that wasn't enough for the Doctor. He threw it, and with remarkable accuracy it hit the shadow, exploding it in a shower of sparks and dust. He smiled at me, obviously pleased with himself. I was too shaken to smile back, and just stared at the space in the air where the monster had been.
"T-that thing...has, has it gone forever now?"
"Yes." His face was serious now. "And it won't come back, I promise." With that he turned to go.
"Hey, wait! You can't just go running off!" I ran after him. He left the door to his blue box, the TARDIS, open. I followed him inside. And stared.
The TARDIS was bigger on the inside. And I mean bigger. At the centre of the circular room was a giant, pulsing pillar. Around it was numerous lit up buttons and dials. I ran straight back out again and circled the box, just to make sure. Then I went back inside, lost for words. The Doctor looked up from the console.
"Oh, sorry I forgot, it's bigger on the inside."
"I'll say. What is this machine, what does it do?"
"It's a time machine. It takes you to any time, anywhere."
"Any time...anywhere?"
"Yes. You know, I could use some company on my travels, maybe you could come with me?" He asked, his face hopeful.
"Travel in time? With you?"
He nodded. "Come with me, Juliet Murphy. Come with me and see all of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will, every planet and every person that that ever made history or future." I could only nod. The Doctor grinned. "Great! I'll give you a few minutes to pack, and then I'll be back." With that I left the TARDIS, and it disappeared in the same strange way it had arrived. Excitement overtook me, and I bolted for my bedroom. Throwing some clothes and shoes into my battered old suitcase, I went back to the wheel room, sat upon it and waited.
***
The Doctor -
I was happy as I set the dials on the TARDIS for five minutes later than the time I had left. I hated travelling alone, although it was best that way, so I was pleased to have a companion. As soon as the TARDIS landed I opened the door, expecting to see Juliet waiting for me. Instead I was greeted by a pile of rubble, where her house should have been. Oh no. Not again. I had made this mistake before; I should never have left her. With a sick feeling in my stomach I confronted an old man shuffling past.
"Hey!" He started, looking at me warily. "What happened to the house that was here?"
He looked at me like I was mad.
"The house that was here was empty for ages. Then it was hit by a bomb in the War." A cold hand crept its way round my hearts. The old man continued, oblivious. "The only thing they found was an old vase. It's in the museum down the road." Before he had finished speaking I was off, sprinting towards the TARDIS, desperate to find out what had happened to her.
I reached the museum and ran inside without paying, heading for the pottery section. When I got there, I headed for the largest vase in the largest cabinet where I knew, somehow, it would be. The intricate design brought a lump to my throat. The label read:
The vase above was found in an empty house near this museum. The unusual design is one of the finest works of English pottery to date. It is named "The Doctor and his TARDIS." It's maker is unknown.
