The Time of Change

New Places

The noise stops, and we break apart, both of us peering at the Scanner once more. "Where are we now?" I inquire, less anxious than curious.

The Doctor gives me a sideways playful smile. "I have no idea ," he quips. "Therefore, it only makes sense that we go explore."

"Your logic is flawless."

"Tends to be."

I take a deep breath and stride over to the doors. For a second I just stand staring at them as I grasp the handles. Something twinges in my stomach, not quite uncomfortably but not familiarly either. I hear the Doctor walk up behind me, and with a burst of confidence, I pull the doors open.

My eyes are met by rolling hills of green grass, interrupted occasionally by boulders or sections of pebbles. Several leafy trees clump together here and there like they're protecting each other. There's a small town directly in front of where we've landed, which is just a patch of smooth gray and black rock behind a wooden building. I breathe in the fresh scent of the flowers and the warm breeze. The sun shines brightly on my hair as I walk out of the TARDIS with tentative steps, looking around curiously. There's a graveyard close by, the headstones old and worn with the faded names of people long forgotten. It's not hot, but it certainly isn't cool either. Wherever and whenever we are, it's either late spring or early summertime.

Shedding the hoodie and tossing it on the rail inside, I gesture to the Doctor, and he follows me onto the grass. "Know where we are yet?" I ask, crossing my bare arms. The sole of my boot sinks into the ground a little; I stare down at my feet with furrowed brows, then glance sideways at him as he stares at the landscape.

"Still not a clue. And that's unusual for me," he adds. "I don't like not knowing. Ooh, feel that, though?" He starts jumping up and down on the soil. "Ground feels weird... Just me? Wait. Strange..."

Shaking my head, I start toward the nearby town, but he grabs my arm before I can get more than four strides away. "Hoooold on there." I raise my eyebrows. "Have you learned nothing? We have to be careful."

"Says the man who broadcasted a song on every radio station just to impress me."

His mouth twitches at the corners like he's fighting a smile. "Not a man."

"Is that your only argument?" I laugh.

"No!... Yes." He taps a finger to his chin pensively, then asks, "Can I borrow your phone for a minute?"

Confused, I turn my empty hands up so that they face the sky, showing him I don't have it on me. He bites his lip and takes a big step toward the TARDIS doors. He reaches inside, emerging with my discarded sweatshirt a moment later. After fishing around briefly, he pulls it out of the pouch. Once again, I watch him reveal the sonic screwdriver and scan the screen of my phone.

"What did you do now?" I inquire.

"Adapted it," he replies at once. "It used to tell the time and date of the day you left, and it's been in that time zone this whole time. Now it will accurately show the current date and time of where we might be at the moment. So..." He holds down on the power button, waits for it to turn on, then squints down at the sleek black screen for a couple of seconds. "It is apparently two fifty-two in the afternoon on June tenth, 2024. Ten years into your future."

I gaze out over the hills, hoping for a city limits sign of some sort, when a sudden scuffling draws my attention. The Doctor stares up at a tall tree in the grassy part of the ground a few feet from the TARDIS and myself. I resolve that he couldn't have made the sound, so I cast my eyes around the corners of the barnlike wooden building in search for the source.

"What the hell was that?"

My heart stops. The Doctor turns sharply with a mixture of mild surprise and intense interest etched on his face. He meets my wide eyes, willing me to face the man who spoke even though it is not even remotely possible for him to be here, and even though it makes no sense whatsoever.

Still, I look.

"Hunter," I breathe.