Since I was a little girl, I've had an overactive imagination. That's what my parents said, anyway. It was kind of like code to tell me I'm pretty much crazy, which is why I didn't tell them where I'm going and why. It would only add fuel to the fire, and my parents have plenty of fire without my help.
I was riding the county bus home from work, gazing out the window, when I heard a noise like I had never heard before. It was almost like a buzzing but not quite, and then out of nowhere this small blue box appeared and a man stepped out. A box appeared and a man stepped out. 'Maybe I am crazy,' I thought. No one else seemed to notice. But no, I knew what I saw, and I yelled for the bus driver to stop. By now we were a block away and I knew I'd have to run if I were to catch up on him. He stepped out of his mysterious blue box with an aura of determination.
As I turned the corner, I saw him: spiky brown hair, and a wild look in his deep brown eyes. He was wearing a long coat and a suit with… sneakers. He was wearing a suit with sneakers. I could see he was about to turn and run off, so I called out,
"Hey, wait!"
He spun around and eyed me, as if trying to recognize me. When he saw that he didn't, he was courteous enough to wait anyway.
"I… I saw you come out of that blue box in the alley. What was that all about?" I asked regaining my breath.
"You saw that?" He raised an eyebrow.
I nodded, and he responded in like manner.
"You haven't seen a metal thing roaming the streets have you?" He asked.
"A… thing?" I said more confused than ever.
"Yes, a thing," he responded as if it were obvious, "A metal thing. Comes about to your shoulder. Looks like a salt shaker. Eyestalk. A thing."
"Um… no." By now I realized that maybe he was crazy and I should leave, but I couldn't bring myself to do it after being thought of as crazy all my life. And I might as well admit it; there might've been something handsome in those wild eyes that held me in my spot.
"Too bad." Was all he said, and turned to walk away.
"Wait!" I called.
"No time to wait. Gotta find some things." He said without turning around.
So I ran and caught up. "Can I at least have your name?"
He stopped short and spun around. "I'm the Doctor." He said and thrust his hand out.
As I shook his hand I asked, "Doctor Who?"
"Just the Doctor," he replied, "And you are?"
"I'm Jael."
This time I followed him without invitation when he turned to walk away.
"So tell me more about these things." I said, "I might be able to help."
He eyed me doubtfully, but said, "They're called Daleks, and they're very dangerous. In fact, if we find one, stay back."
"Well, how come you can go up to them, but I can't"
"I have… tools." He chose his words carefully.
"What kind of tools?"
"A screwdriver."
"You're going to singlehandedly take on these things—"
"Daleks," he interrupted.
"—Daleks, that I can't even go up to… with a screwdriver?"
"It's a very special screwdriver, just stay back."
I stopped and crossed my arms over my chest. Graciously, he stopped and said, "Are you coming?"
"I'd like to," I replied honestly, "But I can't very well run off with a man who won't even tell me his real name to find Daleks that I've never even heard of and can't approach, and leave this strange man to defend himself with only a screwdriver." Then I mumbled, "My parents already think I'm crazy."
The wild look in his eye turned sympathetic, and he motioned toward a bench on the sidewalk. We sat down and for a while we just stared at each other in silence. His eyes seemed to tell me everything and nothing. Finally he spoke. His voice was softer and less urgent.
"You're not going to believe anything I tell you, but you wanted to know." He stopped, and I nodded my consent.
"My name is the Doctor. The blue box you seen me walk out of is my TARDIS. That stands for Time and Relative Dimension In Space. I'm from the planet Gallifrey, which makes me a Time Lord. The TARDIS is a space ship/time machine. The Daleks are from a different planet and we do not like each other at all. They are pure evil, and I am the only one they're scared of. They're programmed not to have emotions. All they know is killing anything and anyone who's not like them. That's why you have to stay back. My screwdriver is a sonic screwdriver which is hard to explain. You'll have to see it in action."
Most people wouldn't have believed him. But I had to. It all came back to his eyes. What was it with me and those eyes? He was avoiding my gaze and trying to figure out if I was going to respond or call a psych ward. I stood up.
"Are we gonna go find some Daleks, or what?"
He flashed a big smile, and stood with me, "Right then! Keep an eye out for Daleks and tell me if you see one. Just stay back."
At that moment I heard the word that proved all the Doctor had told me. A robotic voice came from across the street, "Exterminate."
I looked up in time to see a bystander being vaporized by what was undoubtedly a Dalek.
