Hi guys! This is a Halloween themed sneak peek at a story I'm working on. Just your classic Doctor meets Whovian story. Hope you like it. Happy Halloween!
flames and kisses,
Mlle. Phoenix Fox
Mackenzie Maccolla was in the kitchen putting her oxblood colored leather jacket over a white tank top when a knock came to the door.
"I've got it Mama! That's my ride!" Mackenzie called rushing to the front door. She opened it to find the Doctor waiting for her with a grin.
"The sky is blue, the grass is green, may we have our Halloween?" He said, his brown eyes twinkling.
"Cute poem." Mackenzie said.
"It's how the Scottish say 'trick or treat'. I know because Jamie told me once." The Doctor explained.
"Or that's your David Tennant showing." Mackenzie said shutting the door behind her.
The Doctor furrowed his brow, considering it.
"Huh. That would explain why I look so good in a kilt." He said as they walked up the front walk towards the TARDIS.
Shaking that yummy mental picture from her head, Mackenzie asked,
"So why are you practicing saying 'trick or treat'?"
"Because it's Halloween! My first Halloween officially. In this universe anyway." The Doctor said.
"So?" Mackenzie told him.
"Why aren't you more excited? Halloween is a great holiday! With the costumes and the candy and the spooky atmosphere." The Doctor said letting her into the TARDIS.
"Sure it's great when you're a kid. Or a nine hundred year old alien from an alternative universe on TV who acts like a kid..." Mackenzie said.
"Oi!"
"But then you grow up and find yourself passing out the candy instead of getting it. And since I'm not into haunted houses and I get enough monsters in daily life now, I'm afraid my idea of a nice Halloween is curling up on the couch and watching Hocus Pocus and other great Halloween themed movies and specials." Mackenzie explained as the Doctor started to input the coordinates.
"Oh but that's boring!" The Doctor whined.
"I'm more into Christmas. But I am happy to carve a Jack o'lantern to greet the trick or treaters. And I know just the place to get it." Mackenzie said.
"Sleepy Hollow in the nineteenth century? Salem during the witch trails?" The Doctor asked.
"Little bit more local." Mackenzie said.
"But Mackenzie..." Moaned the Doctor disappointed.
"They have pumpkin ice cream..." Mackenzie baited him. And the Doctor was tempted.
A few minutes later, the Doctor led the way out of the TARDIS and said,
"Indiana? We're not even twenty minutes from Louisville!"
"But Huber's Orchard and Winery is the best place to spend a crisp fall day. Come on Doctor! There's a corn maze and a petting zoo with llamas and a slide..."
"And pumpkin ice cream." The Doctor added as his companion closed the door and wrapped her hands around his arm.
"And some of the best apple cider ever! Then we'll pick our own pumpkins from the patch, then use your psychic paper to get us in their super busy restaurant. It'll be fun!" Mackenzie told him as they walked towards the farmer's market, following the crowd of happy families.
"But couldn't we have least went backwards in time a few days? I mean it's the same day!" The Doctor asked.
"Sometimes you have to enjoy life in the present Doctor." Mackenzie said.
"Well in that case, allonsy Mac!" The Doctor grinned tugging on her hand and pulling her into a run.
Meanwhile, just a few hundred yards away a little girl in pigtails and glasses was being teased by her older brothers.
"Come on Brittany!"
"Yeah! Quit being such a baby!"
Brittany yelled indignantly from the top of a metal slide sitting on a huge pile of hay bales,
"I am not a baby!"
Then she gasped seeing a ball of light streak across the sky.
"Did you see that?" Brittany asked.
"I see you're a chicken!" one of her brothers taunted.
"Brawkah!" Her other brother imitated, flapping his arms.
"I am not!" Brittany cried ignoring the flash of light to steady her nerve and push herself down the slide.
"Finally! Now let's go to the corn maze!" Her oldest brother Jon told them.
"Timmy! Jon! Wait up!" Brittany protested running after them to the entrance of the maze, just a few feet away.
"Mmm! Mmm that's glorious!" The Doctor proclaimed licking his cone of pumpkin ice cream. They sat at a small table outside the ice creme shop that was in the center of the farmers market.
"Told ya." Mackenzie said between bites. The Doctor had to smile to himself. It was turning out to be a nice day. Kids were running around in costumes, the sun was shining, the leaves were perfect examples of fall foliage and there was yummy treats to be had.
"Hang on. You got a little..." Mackenzie trailed off reaching up to wipe some excess ice creme from the corner of his mouth. He smiled softly looking into her eyes. Of course the best thing was spending time with a beautiful and brilliant companion whose very proximity was causing his hearts to beat rapidly. Not that he'd ever tell her that.
"So what kind of holidays did they celebrate on Gallifrey?" Mackenzie asked returning to her cone.
"Time Lords didn't really celebrate holidays. Being time travelers it seemed sort of silly to mark the passage of time. It amazed me that humans celebrated everything. I mean you lot even have a National Hot Dog day. A day to celebrate hot dogs. And don't even get me started on Arbor Day!" The Doctor said.
"No wonder you like Christmas so much." Mackenzie said.
"And Halloween!" The Doctor pointed out.
"And Halloween." Mackenzie said with an eye roll.
"Oh come on Mackenzie Maccolla. You can't fool me. You love Halloween and you know it." The Doctor said.
"I guess with my friends moving on and getting married and having kids I didn't have anyone to celebrate it with. But now I do." Mackenzie smiled at him.
"And now you do. So! Shall we check out the farmer's market or head for the petting zoo?" The Doctor asked.
"Mmm...farmer's market. I want to put those pockets that are bigger on the inside of yours to good use." Mackenzie said finishing her cone as the Doctor finished his and threw their napkins away.
"Molte Bene!" The Doctor said as they stood and walked towards the stands holding hands.
"Jon! Timmy! Wait up!" Brittany cried running through the corn maze.
"Let's ditch her!" Jon whispered to Timmy who snickered at their great Halloween prank. They ducked into the stalks of corn, off the designated path.
"Timmy! Jon! Come on guys this isn't funny!" Brittany called out. The boys watched from the shadows of the corn stalks, waiting for the perfect opportunity to jump out and scare the pink clad girl. Suddenly they noticed a thump thump thump behind them. They looked up over their shoulders and screamed.
Brittany jumped when her brothers screamed and tore out of the corn field past her.
"Oh grow up you jerks!" Brittany said not noticing a thump, thump, thump behind her. But she did hear something breathing behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see a pair of large, furry legs. Then she looked up and up and up. Then she screamed.
Mackenzie had to laugh at the farm hands' faces when the Doctor would take their purchases and tuck them inside his camel trench coat. Even she did a little double take when he put away their bowling ball sized pumpkin.
"Now that was just showing off." Mackenzie told him as they walked around the petting zoo.
"I though you liked it when I showed off?" He asked letting a baby goat lick his fingers.
"I never said I didn't like it." Mackenzie winked making the Doctor grin. They fed corn to the goats and the deer and then the llamas. Which is when the Doctor noticed a mischievous look to his companion's eye.
"What?" He asked.
"Tag! You're it!" Mackenzie said swatting his arm and bolting off in the direction of a mini maze made of bamboo.
"Oh that's no fair!" The Doctor cried racing after her. He followed the sound of her laughter through the shadows of the bamboo. Luckily she wound up at a dead end where the Doctor grabbed her around the waist and cried,
"Gotcha!"
They giggled as the Doctor tickled her sides. Then he leaned her up against the bamboo shoots to let her catch her breath. He put a hand on either side of her head effectively trapping her.
"Now what are you going to do?" He asked looking into her blue eyes that were lit just so with a ray of golden sunshine. She bit her lip and he gulped slightly when she started to play with his tie.
"What do you want me to do?" Mackenzie asked.
He brushed a brown curl from her eyes, feeling her tremble ever so slightly. He leaned in close to her face and purred,
"Next year, you and me. We go to Sleepy Hollow and meet Washington Irving."
"My luck the Headless Horseman will turn out to be real." Mackenzie quipped with an eye roll.
"Do we have a deal?" He asked smiling.
"Only if you help me pass out candy tonight while my folks help out the trunk or treat at church. And watch Halloween movies on TV with me." Mackenzie bartered.
"Deal." He chuckled. Then his chuckle faded when he saw Mackenzie slip her index finger in her mouth slowly.
While he struggled to think, Mackenzie put the wet digit in his ear and cried,
"Wet willy!"
"Gah! Mackenzie!" The Doctor scolded rubbing his wet ear. Which allowed Mackenzie to duck under his arm and escape.
"You're still it!" She laughed over her shoulder.
"You're going to pay for that!" He threatened chasing her again. They burst forth into the sunshine and the Doctor followed Mackenzie up the ladder for the tall metal slide sitting on hay bales.
"Together?" Mackenzie asked.
"Always." The Doctor said sincerely. They sat together on the slide, her between his legs, back to front, the Doctor ever so glad his companion had chosen to wear dark wash skinny jeans to ward off the Midwest chill. He had to chuckle as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Her legs looked so short compared to his.
"Ready?" He said in her ear.
Praying that he couldn't hear her heart pounding out of her chest she nodded.
"Allonsy!" He cried pushing them down the slide.
"Aahhhhaha!" They cried as they slid. They crashed at the bottom, laughing their heads off. Having separated upon landing, the Doctor reached over to remove a piece of straw from her curls, smiling softly. Unfortunately, the tender moment was interrupted when a pair of small boys came tearing out of the corn maze, screaming.
"Ooh. Some spooky fun in the corn maze." The Doctor observed.
"But during the daytime?" Mackenzie questioned.
They got up and approached the boys who were catching their breath.
"Brittany? Man where's Brittany?!" Timmy asked.
"I thought she was behind you!" Jon cried with panic.
"Something wrong lads?" The Doctor asked.
"Our sister! Our sister is trapped in the corn maze with a monster!" Jon replied.
"I'm sure it's just a guy in a mask trying to pull a prank." Mackenzie reassured them.
"But it was seven feet tall!" Protested Timmy.
"And covered in green fur!" Jon said.
"And had fangs!" Timmy added.
"Okay so a guy pranking kids with a really good costume." Mackenzie shrugged.
"ROOAAARRRRWWWWWRRRRRR!" Went an unknown source from within the maze.
"That wasn't anything made on Earth..." The Doctor said in thought before bolting into the maze.
"Doctor!" Mackenzie cried chasing after him. The boys looked at each other before running back into the maze after the two grown ups.
"What do you mean, 'not made on Earth'?" Jon asked once the Doctor stopped to get out his sonic screwdriver.
"The tone and pitch isn't made by any vocal cords found on Earth. Pay attention!" The Doctor said holding the sonic up to his ear before scanning the area.
"Couldn't it have been made by a synthesizer?" Mackenzie asked hopefully.
"Nope too natural." The Doctor shook his head.
"I should have known." Mackenzie sighed.
"Yup! Picking up extraterrestrials particles...this way!" The Doctor exclaimed running off again.
"Who is this guy?" Jon asked as they followed him.
"Hopefully somebody who won't get us eaten on Halloween!" Mackenzie said.
Then she winced when Timmy cried,
"Is the monster going to eat our sister!?"
"Nice going on keeping them calm Mackenzie!" The Doctor hissed.
"Sorry!" Mackenzie said sheepishly.
"Listen boys. I'm not going to let anything happen to anyone. Not you. Not your sister. Not Mackenzie. You just have to trust me." The Doctor told them.
"Why?" Jon asked skeptically.
"Because I'm the Doctor!" He replied when his sonic buzzed again. He took off down the path, following the buzz of his sonic.
"Stay close." Mackenzie told them. They let the Doctor led the way to what appeared to be a dead end.
"That's odd." The Doctor said.
"What is it?" Mackenzie asked.
"This dead end. It wasn't made by a tractor. It was made by the creature traipsing about. As if it's lost." The Doctor explained.
"So what? A monster is trying to solve the corn maze?" Mackenzie asked skeptically.
"Well stranger things have happened." The Doctor said.
"Aahhh!" Came a tiny feminine scream.
"Roar!"
"Brittany!" Timmy cried.
"Come on!" The Doctor shouted breaking out into a run towards the sounds of the little girl screaming.
"Doctor be careful!" Mackenzie warned him.
He stopped them before turning a corner and told them,
"Alright. I'll give them one warning to let her go."
"And then what?" Jon asked.
"I'll think of something." The Doctor said.
Seeing the brother's skeptical look, Mackenzie told them dryly,
"This is the part where the 'trust me, I'm the Doctor', usually applies itself."
"Alright...one...two...three! Okay Furball! I'm the Doctor! The Oncoming Storm! Predator of the Daleks! And you're going to let Brittany go or else!" The Doctor shouted heroically coming around the corner, pointing his sonic like a water pistol. Only to do a double take at seeing Brittany on top of the creature's tummy, tickling its side, the monster roaring...with laughter.
"What?" The Doctor questioned.
"So much for the Oncoming Storm." Mackenzie said.
"Brittany! We thought you were dead!" Timmy said.
"I was just playing with my new friend. He scared me at first, but he's nice!" Brittany explained as the Doctor scanned the large green furry alien.
"And he's an Aolygoth. A harmless telepathic race from the planet Aolygo. But what's he doing here? He's only four years old." The Doctor said tucking away his screwdriver.
"Aww...he's a baby!" Brittany cooed.
"Wait...it's an alien? Awesome!" Jon exclaimed.
"Another refugee from the Whoniverse?" Mackenzie asked the Doctor softly.
"Maybe. Makes one wonder what is driving them here?" The Doctor said in thought.
"So if the alien is a baby, where are its parents?" Timmy asked.
"Good question. Let me ask. Groo grum fum choo?" The Doctor said crouching eye level with its head.
"Groo dumm duh fah roo." The creature replied.
"Whatever happened to the TARDIS translating alien languages so everyone speaks British?" Mackenzie asked.
"She has trouble with telepathic races. Okay. Anyway his Mum calls him Dragath, but he prefers Stevie. And apparently, he came to Earth to trick or treat. Saw a Halloween movie from Earth, thought it looked like fun." The Doctor explained.
"An alien kid came to trick or treat?" Mackenzie asked skeptically.
"Well it's the only day of the year he'd fit in. But he left Aolygo without his Mum's permission." The Doctor said fixing the young Aolygoth a stern look.
"Dude...you are so busted." Timmy told Stevie.
"So please tell me that the Aolygoths won't declare war on the Earth because a toddler ran away from home?" Mackenzie pleaded.
"Nah. Aolygoths hate violence. Heck I'd say his Mum will even let Stevie trick or treat before taking him home. Especially given the fact their planet is covered in cocoa trees." The Doctor said standing up and tucking his hands in his pockets.
"Wait. There's a chocolate planet?" Mackenzie asked.
"I'll take you there later. But for now I need to let Stevie's Mum know he's here. So I'm going to get the TARDIS." the Doctor said.
"Can Stevie come trick or treating with us in our neighborhood?" Brittany asked.
"Sounds like a plan. Mackenzie, make sure no one enters the corn maze. I'll be right back. We'll take Stevie through the vortex to meet the kids up later. And I'll call his Mum." The Doctor said exiting through the corn maze.
"Other way Doctor." Mackenzie called after him. The kids laughed as the skinny man walked back the other way.
A few minutes later, to the kids amazement, the TARDIS materialized before them. Brittany had to tell the Doctor their address since the boys were too stunned. Mackenzie and the Doctor ushered the Aolygoth into the TARDIS and shut the doors. Setting the coordinates, the Doctor took them a few hours later in the future to a small Indiana suburb full of laughing trick or treaters. Brittany and her brothers were waiting outside their house on the front step, dressed respectively as a Queen Elsa, a ninja and a mummy.
"Oh that's so awesome." Jon said.
The Doctor opened the door letting Stevie out, who was carrying a pumpkin bucket in his large paws.
"Okay Stevie. Your Mum will pick you up at nine and then you're grounded for the next few bleams. But until then, have fun." The Doctor told the Aolygoth with a wink.
"Come on Stevie!" Brittany said pulling on her new friend's paw.
"Bye Stevie!" Mackenzie laughed as the kids ran off.
"So. Back to Huber's and dinner?" The Doctor asked his companion.
"I think we deserve it." Mackenzie said turning back into the TARDIS. The Doctor looked to the kids who were at their first door. He remembered taking Susan trick or treating once when she was small. She had dressed as a hippee. In 1939 during Orson Wells famous broadcast. He sighed with happy memories then returned to the warm glow of his TARDIS.
"So what do you want to watch first? Dracula: Dead and Loving it? Or Hocus Pocus?" The Doctor asked Mackenzie back at her house later that night. He was sitting in the living room, looking at her DVD collection.
She called from the other room,
"Hocus Pocus!"
"Ask a silly question. You know it's amazing. It was probably a Halloween movie like this that drove Stevie to reach out to another planet. And now a little girl has an alien for a best friend." The Doctor mused putting the DVD in the player.
"Sound familiar?" Mackenzie asked making him grin.
"What are you doing in there?" The Doctor asked.
"Well Stevie reminded me what I love about Halloween." Mackenzie replied.
"Chocolate?" The Doctor asked.
"That. And Halloween reminds us that we can be anything. If you're a alien that just wants to be another kid or a pirate or a fairy princess or a companion that travels space and time, you can do it and nothing can stop you." Mackenzie said through the door.
"So what are you going to be this All Hallow's Eve?" The Doctor asked. The door opened and the Doctor's jaw dropped as his eyes swept up her figure. From her feet clad in TARDIS blue booties to the fishnet stockings, to the short full skirt of a low cut blue dress made to look like a certain British police public call box.
Mackenzie adjusted the headband with a lantern attached to it on her head and said in a cheeky faux British accent,
"I'm the TARDIS. But I think...you call me Sexy."
"Only in private..." The Doctor blushed.
"Maybe next year I'll really dress like the TARDIS and go as Idris." Mackenzie said fluffing up her skirts.
"Who?" The Doctor asked with a blank expression.
"Oh that's right. We haven't watched that episode yet." Mackenzie blinked.
"You look lovely." The Doctor complimented taking her hand to lead her to the couch.
"Thank you." Mackenzie said as they sat and started the movie.
"Happy Halloween Mackenzie." The Doctor said.
"Happy Halloween Doctor." Mackenzie said cuddling into his side. The Doctor smiled wrapping an arm around her shoulder. He loved Halloween.