Chapter One

He wasn't much more than a kid. He wasn't even in his thirties. But he had been through so much stuff in his life and didn't think he could take much more. And his fiancée had reportedly disappeared with another man. But he really didn't think that was the case. She wasn't perfect, sure, but was he himself really that bad? He had woken from his sleep and wasn't in the mood for much. He was still going to be getting married later that day, and wanted to be ready for it. But first, he needed to relax properly.

He quickly pulled some clothes on and swiped his keys from the dresser, marching outside to his car. He started the car and began to drive away from his home, and out towards the ocean, taking him about two hours to get there.

He loved Brighton Beach for some reason, but didn't understand why. It wasn't particularly attractive; it was barely even a beach to his mind. He had always thought that for it to be a beach it was meant to have proper sand, not those pebbles the size of apples. He looked up in to the sky and wondered where on Earth she could have got herself to. And then he wondered at how much fog there was, clouding his view of the stars. He could hear thunder in the distance, and saw a flash of lightning far out to sea, causing him to jump. Squinting through the darkness, he could make out a shape, a large box, which appeared to be made from glass or plastic, something transparent. He had half a mind to investigate, but with the knowledge of his wedding happening later that day, he knew that he shouldn't. He turned his back to sea and walked back to his car, feeling as though his mind was properly cleared, and he was ready to face the day that he had ahead of him. Unfortunately, fate had different plans for him.

Another flash of lightning lit the sky, and this time he could feel the heat of it close by. A strike hit is car, sending shards of metal flying everywhere.

"God damn it!" He swore out loud, running over to investigate what had happened. However, he was stopped in his tracks, as a man rose from the ashes of his car.

"Excuse me, I think you owe me a new car!" He said angrily at this man, as he stepped out from the wreckage of the car.

"Sorry about that. My name's Mickey. Mickey Smith."

"I'm Rory Williams. But what about my car?"

"Don't worry about that. I'll sort that out later. But for now, you're coming with me."

Mickey Smith grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the wreckage and towards the coastline.

"Did you see anything plastic fall from the sky? I need to know." Mickey demanded, which Rory felt was unnecessary. A few manners could get a person very far.

"Yes, yes I did. It's far out to sea, though."

"No matter."

Rory was struck by how professional this Mickey was, and was curious as to where he came from, but was unsure as to how to ask him.

"Sorry to barge in on you like this, but the Trans-dimensional Vortex Inducer can be unstable, and the landing is always the hardest part of travelling across dimensions. And probably have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" Mickey said, sending a quick grin in Rory's direction. Rory shook his head as an answer, and proceeded to look at Mickey curiously.

"What is it," Mickey asked, "Have I got something on my face?"

Rory laughed and shook his head, but continued to stare at Mickey. "It's just that you look familiar. Have you been on TV or something?"

"A couple of years ago," Mickey said seriously, then cracking a grin at Rory again. "It was the news. When the Daleks attacked London."

Rory looked at him as though he was crazy. "What? Daleks?" he asked incredulously. "What the hell are they?"

"Gold killing machines, you know. With plungers and lasers?"

"Plungers?"

"Yeah."

The two men looked at each other. They were pretty much the same size, Rory noted, but Mickey was just slightly taller, and less lanky that himself.

"Come on, I need you to help me." Mickey said, pulling himself together, still grinning to himself.

"How can I help you? I don't even know what we're doing," asked Rory.

"That glass thing you saw, we need to go there. I need to take it back." Mickey said. Rory wasn't going to argue with that. But there was one thing.

"Then, how are we getting there?"

Mickey shot him a quick look, grinned, and Rory felt a sinking feeling inside. Oh, God no.