"Come on, Sally, it was just past these trees, I know it!" John said, tugging his sister through the forest.
"Are you sure it was this way, John?" Sally asked, looking up at her big brother with wide eyes. "We've been walking for ages."
"Yes, I'm sure. Look, you can see the sunlight coming in from the clearing, right past those trees." He pointed to the area ahead of them, and broke into a run, dragging Sally along with him. "It's the most interesting rock I've ever seen; it has to be a meteor or something."
They passed through the edge of the tree line, and the ten year old smiled as his sister stared open mouthed at the sight in front of them. The rock was huge, nearly twice as tall as John and just as wide. It was a deep obsidian color, though it seemed to have a blue shine to it in the early morning sun. "See? I told you." John said smugly.
Sally walked up to the rock, and he followed her as she circled around it. "Where do you think it came from? Mars, maybe?"
"No, it can't be. Mars is too red. It might've come from the asteroid belt, though," John replied.
"This is so neat! Just wait 'til I tell Mary Elisabeth from down the road about it, she'll-" Sally cut off, mid sentence, when she heard a strange metallic whirring sound come from the forest beyond them. "John, what was that?"
They heard it again, closer this time, and John pulled Sally to hide behind the rock. The whirring became louder, and John just barely poked his head around the side. There was a crashing of underbrush, and a metal creature broke through the trees.
John froze. The creature looked almost like a spider, with eight metallic legs that held up an oblong body with a red strip of light at the top that seemed to act as eyes. It had two short arms, one with a claw like appendage, another with a gun, and it seemed to be scanning for something.
"John, what-" John gripped her arm tightly, cutting her off. He didn't dare to breathe, watching the creature intently to see if it had heard them, but the thing didn't pause in what he was doing. After a bird called loudly from one of the nearby trees and the thing still didn't pause, John sighed in relief. Maybe it can't hear?
Suddenly, a rabbit jumped out from a bush near the creature, running out towards the middle of the clearing. The creature followed it with its red eyes and a hum filled the air, and before the rabbit could get even halfway across, it was shot dead with a laser blast. But it can definitely see, John amended.
The creature, now facing them, seemed to take interest in the rock they were hiding behind, and slowly made its way closer. John, panicking, whirled around to face his sister. "There's a metal thing with a gun coming this way. It can see, but it can't hear, so when I say run, you run until you reach the house. Okay?"
"But John, you-"
"No arguing!" The whirring was getting louder. "Just do as I say, alright? Don't worry, I'll be fine. I promise."
Sally gave him a worried nod.
John readied himself to run. "Remember, on my signal." He watched as the creature moved closer, and once it was nearly upon them, he sprinted out from behind the rock. The creature turned to face him, and he dodged as the first laser blast came his way. "Run!" He shouted once he was sure he had drawn the creature's attention away from the rock.
He barely managed to see Sally disappear back into the trees as he ducked and dodged the laser fire that the creature sent his way. As his sister's footsteps faded away, he thought about his next problem: how he would get away. While the creature needed a couple seconds to recharge after each shot, it could move scarily fast when it had a target, and the last thing John wanted to do was lead it back to his house.
John was tiring quickly. He could feel himself slowing down, and watched as the creature's aim became better and better. Finally, the thing managed to graze his arm, and John crashed to the ground with a cry, gripping it in pain. He stared through watery eyes as the creature stopped above him. John shut his eyes as he heard the hum of the gun's charge.
"There it is! Now, Susan!"
John's eyes flew open just in time to see a teenage girl run out from the trees. The creature, momentarily distracted, turned to face her, aiming its gun, but it was too late. The girl twisted around it and hit its neck joint with a thick tree branch, making its head go flying. Its body crumpled to the ground, powerless.
An old man appeared from behind the trees, rushing over to where John and the girl were. "Good work, Susan," he said, giving the girl a brief smile before becoming stern as he looked down at John. "And just what do you think you were doing young man, hmm? We arrive here to see you facing a Revlox droid alone- you could have been killed!"
"I-I..." John stuttered out.
"Oh stop it, grandfather, can't you see he's injured?" said the girl- Susan, the old man had called her.
The old man stopped mid-rant, peering intently at John. "So he is. Come here, child." At John's wary glance, the old man's expression softened a bit. "I only want to patch you up. Now come on, sit over here," he said, gesturing to a nearby fallen tree.
John struggled to his feet, holding his arm close to his chest as he did as the old man directed. "That's it," the old man encouraged. He rummaged through his pockets for a bit before pulling out a strange looking med kit. He then pulled John's arm away from his chest with a gentle grasp, turning it carefully as he studied the wound. "Hmm..." he said. "Not too bad, as far as laser burns go. I believe I have just the thing for it." He pulled out some antiseptic wipes from his kit first. "This will sting a bit, I'm afraid," he continued, and John hissed through his teeth as the man started to carefully wipe the dirt and debris from his arm.
Susan came up beside him, and in an effort to distract him said, "I don't believe we've introduced ourselves. My name is Susan, and this is my grandfather the Doctor. What's your name?"
"John."
"And what were you doing, thinking you could take on an armed Revlox droid singlehandedly, hmm?" asked the Doctor, throwing the wipe aside and pulling out a wand-like device. He switched it on, and the thing started to hum and emit a blue light. The Doctor began to slowly wave it back and forth over John's burn, and he tried not to fidget at the tingling sensation that accompanied it.
"I didn't plan to. See, I brought my sister, Sally, out here to show her that really cool rock over there," he said, gesturing with his head in its direction, "and all of a sudden, that thing came from out of nowhere. I saw it shoot a rabbit, and I knew my sister wouldn't be able to outrun it. But I thought that maybe I could. So I distracted it while she ran back to the house, but after that I couldn't come up with a way to get away myself, and eventually it shot me. I thought i was dead for sure until you came."
The Doctor nodded as John ended his tale, then stayed silent for a moment while he concentrated on waving the wand over John's arm. John watched, fascinated, as the device slowly closed his wound. Once he was finished, the Doctor shut the thing off, and after stowing it away he turned back to face John with a strange look in his eye.
"Now young man," the Doctor said. "You've heard of the term 'fight or flight,' correct?" John nodded. "You humans think it to be the two basic instincts that one chooses from when faced with danger. I find the idea to be ridiculous.
"You see, much more goes into the decision than just that. While it's true that fighting and fleeing are two very common reactions, there are others. You were an example of that today. When faced with a serious threat, your first instinct was not to fight or to fly, but to protect. That's a very commendable trait, one that's not seen nearly often enough. You should be proud of it."
John looked down at his shoes in embarrassment. A clattering noise brought his attention back to the Doctor a moment later, and he saw the old man pull out something that looked like a metal syringe, but without the needle.
"Now, laser blasts from Revlox droids tend to infect their targets with a bit of radiation. While it's usually relatively harmless, I'd like to be on the safe side and give you this just in case."
John held out his arm, and felt a pinch as the Doctor administered the drug. "That should do it," he said, packing up the rest of his things and sticking it back in his pocket and standing up.
"Come on, John, we'll escort you home," Susan said, smiling at him. "Which way do you live?"
"About twenty minutes that way," John replied, pointing.
As they walked through the forest, John suddenly felt exhausted by the day's events. He found himself lagging behind a bit at times, and wished they could just stop for a moment and rest, but he was too nervous to say anything aloud. It was a silent relief when about ten minutes in they ran into a man the Doctor and Susan seemed to know.
"Mr. Chesterton!" Susan exclaimed when she saw the man. "I thought you and Miss Wright were looking for the Revlox ship?"
"We found it," Mr. Chesterton replied. "Big enough for only one droid and empty, just like you thought, Doctor. We were on our way to find you when we ran into a hysterical little girl. Barbara should have gotten her home safe by now."
John sagged in relief, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Sally's okay then?" he asked the man.
"Oh yes, she's perfectly fine, just a bit shaken up. I don't believe we've met, have we? My name is Ian Chesterton."
"This is John," Susan said. "He helped distract the Revlox droid so that I could disable it."
"Well, isn't that impressive?" Mr. Chesterton said, and John blushed. Suddenly, he felt himself sway as another wave of exhaustion swept over him, and would have toppled to the ground if a pair of strong arms hadn't caught him. "Hey! Are you alright?" Mr. Chesterton asked.
"Yes, sorry... I just feel a bit tired," John said, an involuntary yawn escaping as if to emphasize the point.
The Doctor cleared his throat. "I imagine that's due to the medicine I gave you. It's not an uncommon side effect. Chesterson," he said, directing his attention the young man, "can you carry the boy the rest of the way? I'm afraid he'll be falling asleep any minute now."
John tried to protest, but had since fallen into a slumped position on the forest floor, struggling to keep his eyes open. He felt himself being lifted up, and the last thing he saw was the white of the Doctor's hair before he drifted into unconsciousness.
"John? John, get up! You've been sleeping for quite long enough now!"
John blearily blinked his eyes open, squinting at his sister in confusion. "Sally?" he asked. "What happened?"
"You stayed up too late reading your comics again, didn't you?" Sally accused. "Don't try to deny it; I saw the light coming from your room when I woke up late last night to get a glass of water."
"But what about the forest? And the robot?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. You must have had one crazy dream," Sally replied. "Anyways, Mum and Dad will be home from visiting Aunt Catherine soon, so you better get dressed." With that, she left the room, softly shutting the door behind her.
John looked down at his unblemished arm. Had it been a dream? It had all felt so real... But no, Sally would have remembered it if it was real. Right? Somewhat confused, John Benton pulled back his covers and went to get ready.
"Doctor, was it really necessary to make the girl forget what happened?"
"There was no need for her to have a traumatic memory such as that so early in her life. No, it was for the best, my dear."
"Then what about the boy- John, was it?"
"The medicine I gave him will have the added affect of muddling his memories of the event. When he wakes up, he'll write it all off as a strange dream."
"Do you think they'll be alright, grandfather?"
"The fact that the mineral rock that the Revlox droid was following fell to earth was a complete coincidence, and there's no fear of it happening again." The Doctor paused. "As for the boy, well, I think he'll be just fine. He'll do great things someday. Yes, I'm quite certain of it."