Fourteen was the worst age. Annemarie Wilson had decided that long ago. Pimples, mean girls, the boys at school had the intelligence of a rapid raccoon. Age fourteen was no place Annemarie fit in, no place she wanted to be. Everyone else seemed to be starting to go to parties or going on dates. Annemarie was spending her fourteen-year-old days the same way she spent her thirteen-and-twelve-year-old days: reading, drinking coffee, and watching Doctor Who. Also, she inevitably spent weekends unbathed, in pyjamas, and on Tumblr. Perhaps a friend would join her if she was lucky. But these friends she ate lunch with and discussed boys with never felt close to her. They had a mutual need to survive in school without getting eaten by the wolves, i.e. the pretty blonde girls who read fashion magazines religiously and despised those who didn't, the obese teachers to whom students seemed to represent everything they despised, and the cute, yet wholeheartedly cruel boys who thought flicking cheese at girls during lunch was good fun.
Age fourteen also was proving to be an age where Annemarie and her mother did not see eye-to-eye. Lynda couldn't understand what on earth her daughter could be doing in her room for hours on end, and why were there pictures of something called a TARDEES on her wall? She thought bow ties were cool, for crying out loud! Why wasn't her pretty daughter going out with her friends or meeting boys? She'd started to do those things at her age. She could see Clarke now...her first boyfriend, lovely boy, big blue eyes. But, every time Lynda encouraged her daughter to do something ("Anything, just leave your room!), it seemed to turn into a blazing row after which doors would be slammed and laptops would be confiscated.
"Annie, why don't you just listen?!" was a common question.
"My name is Annemarie, not Annie. That makes me sound like a baby!" was a common reply.
So, on the night when she met the Doctor, it was her mother who had dragged her out of the house for some Italian food, the kind of restaurant that warranted Annemarie's plaid skirt with Mary Jane's and a black turtleneck. Her mother and little sister were wearing dresses, and her father was wearing a gray woolen suit with a tie. Annemarie's short, dark hair was slicked back with a headband her mother had picked out. In short, she felt that she looked awful. She'd been feeling like that a lot lately.
They sat at the restaurant, and immediately the arguments started. Annemarie's elbow was on the table, she needed to put her napkin on her lap, don't slouch, don't slurp, try to look happy.
"Why the hell do you make me go to these things if you're going to nag me constantly!?" she exploded, making the nearby tables flinch and look up. Her cheeks flamed, but not so much as those of her mother. Her eyes darkened and she spoke in a harsh whisper.
"When you get home, young lady, you head straight to your room and give me your laptop and your telly. None of that Doctor Who nonsense for two months!"
"Mum! That's not fair!"
"It's not fair for you to speak to me in such a tone, and to swear. End of discussion"
At that, Annemarie shocked everyone at the table by standing up and storming out of the restaurant. She heard her parents behind her. "Lynda, let me get her." "Robbie, no. Just let her cool off. She'll be back in two seconds."
How dare they! Her parents didn't even care about her! Why she could be...kidnapped or ...mugged! True, she didn't have any money, but still! She was never going back! Not ever! She broke into a run in the street and looked for a good place to cry. She stumbled upon a red telephone booth and yanked the door open, running inside.
Immediately her tears were silenced. This was no ordinary telephone booth.
It was...bigger on the inside! The entire inside had an eerie greenish light, and all of the walls seemed to be covered by thousands of buttons with infinite uses. In the middle was a wooden table on a raised platform with some more buttons. A solid steel door peeked out in the beehive of buttons. It was warm, but it didn't feel like a heater. To Annemarie, it felt like putting your hands by the fireplace.
This was like her TARDIS! Incredible! But...this wasn't a police box! It was a telephone booth, same as all the others. Ordinarily she'd have walked right past it. But...now that she thought of it, she'd never seen a telephone on this street.
If this was some kind of TARDIS, where was the Doctor?
"Hello?" she called out tentatively, then louder. "Is anybody here? Hello?" Annemarie began to walk around, looking at all the buttons curiously, not daring to touch any of them. None were labeled. She hopped up onto the platform in the center of the room and saw a labeled one on the table.
DOCTOR.
Would this call him over here? It seemed like it would. But wasn't the Doctor always saying not to touch anything on T.V.? Then again, nobody ever seemed to listen to that little tidbit. She took a deep breath and pressed the button.
She counted on her fingers. Sixty...fifty-nine...fifty-eight... Matt Smith didn't appear at the entrance she was watching so intently. Twenty-seven...twenty-six... neither did David Tennant. Three...two...one...
The door burst open.
"Aah!"
"Aah!"
A man stood at the door, looking confused and no older than thirty. He had bright ginger hair and freckles, and bright green eyes that reminded Annemarie of the parsley that had been on her spaghetti. He was tall and skinny, the kind of skinny that you could tell wouldn't change no matter how many late-night trips to McDonald's one made.
"How did you get in here? I locked the door! And you...you shouldn't even be able to see this!" he said, looking a bit nervously at the girl as if she could hurt him, which she clearly couldn't. She was about 120 pounds and nearly a foot shorter than him.
"You didn't. And clearly, I can." she said, eying him suspiciously. "Are you the Doctor or something?"
The man rolled his eyes in a great dramatic effort. "Great. Just lovely. Another obsessed fan. I take Sydney on a couple of trips, tell him a couple of stories, and suddenly he's a big-shot television man!" he said, shaking his head. He still hadn't moved away from the door.
"Sydney? Sydney Newman? He got the ideas from you?!" Annemarie cried, smiling hugely. This was incredible! She was meeting the real Doctor! "I thought that that button might bring you over here, so I pressed it. And it did."
At this the Doctor moved away from the door and to the table that Annemarie stood at, his long legs simply having to step up a bit and shoved her gently to the side. "Did you touch anything else?" she shook her head and he fiddled with some of the controls, then sighed. "That button is for my friends to call for me in emergencies. You are not my friend and this is clearly not an emergency." he looked at her and all the time reminded her of her mother when she was scolding her. Annemarie didn't like it one bit.
"I could..." she trailed off. She could be his companion. It was her dream! Her most dear wish. To travel back in time with the Doctor, to go to different planets! To see the future! And yet now she couldn't say it, and the Doctor didn't notice.
"You...you need to leave.." he said. "Wait...I can't have you selling this story to the media. Do you understand?"
"I won't...really."
The Doctor looked at her and pulled out a drawer that Annemarie hadn't previously noticed was under the table. He pulled out a purple vial with a suspicious clear liquid bubbling inside. "I need you to drink this."
"What's it for?" she asked, not taking the bottle from his outstretched hand.
"Sometimes humans feel a bit disoriented after they leave the TARDIS. Perfectly normal. This should help steady your head, that's all." Annemarie nodded, finally taking the vial from him. That made sense. In fact... she did feel a bit dizzy. She uncorked it and smelled it. It didn't smell like anything.
Wait...why was she smelling it? She couldn't remember. And when had she taken this from his hand? She'd forgotten...wait a second. She'd forgotten...and it had only happened a moment ago!
"This is supposed to make me forget you, isn't it? That is such complete and total bullshit!" She threw the glass at the strange steel door, where it didn't break but clattered to the ground, spilling the contents on the floor, where they seemed to disappear immediately. If the Doctor was surprised that she'd figured it out, he didn't show it.
"You seem a bit young to be using that type of language." he muttered, still playing with the buttons. Annemarie was infuriated. He'd tried to drug her! "I can't take your word for it that you won't go around telling everyone. This is too... big for a human like you to keep secret."
"A human like me?" she practically screeched "What the bloody hell does that mean?!"
He finally looked back up at her. "Don't yell in my ear like that! Humans, especially prepubescent females, have a natural inclination to gossip."
"I am not prepubescent."
He rolled his eyes again. "Fine, then. What's your name, girl?"
"Annemarie Wilson. And don't call me 'girl'."
"Well, Annemarie, either you need to drink some of that drink or we're going to have a problem."
"I guess we'll be having a problem, then."
Whatever response the Doctor had to that statement, it was lost as the TARDIS began to violently shake. "Is it moving? Are we going to a different planet?" Annemarie called to him over the noise. "No! I think something is shaking it from outside!" he yelled back "Something very strong!"
The shaking wen't one for a minute more, before the TARDIS started gently swaying, as if somebody was setting it down, then everything was still.
"I'm going to go check it out." Annemarie announced, jumping down from the platform and starting for the door. A hand grabbed her wrist and turned her around.
"I need you to listen to me. It takes a great deal of strength to move this ship. Whatever is out there is probably incredibly dangerous. It might hurt you." he said, pulling her close to him in an effort to keep her away from the door.
She pulled away. "It might not."
And with that the stupidity of a teenage girl showed as she raced out of the TARDIS, almost as if she wanted to possibly murdered by some sort of alien creature. The Doctor groaned and followed her out. Why did nobody ever just DO AS HE SAID?! There was probably something terrible out there waiting for them. He'd been called here on his psychic paper.
They're coming for her. Please help.
But the street was empty, almost desolate. And very dark.
"There's something wrong. The streetlights are all out. And...where's Moretti's? My parents are in there! And my little sister! I can't see a bloody thing!" Annemarie screamed. The Doctor took her hand protectively.
"I really need you to be quiet right now." he said
We want the girl.
A voice boomed from somewhere above...or maybe it was below? No..it was from the left. Or the right.
It was everywhere.
Give us the girl.
"Why?" the Doctor called. Annemarie's grip on his hand tightened. "What could this girl have done to you?"
Our planet is dead.
"But what has she got to do with it?" he said, feeling her hand begin to shake violently.
"I haven't d-done anything! I didn't kill a planet! I d-didn't k-kill anybody!" she said, stammering and sputtering.
We want the girl.
"Well, you're not getting her. Cheers, have a nice day." he said, trying to lead Annemarie back into the TARDIS. But he could feel the young girl's hand slip out of his. He spun around, and could just make out Annemarie in the dark, appearing to be floating in the air but struggling. As if some sort of great invisible hand was holding her there.
"Doctor!" she yelled, kicking at her invisible captor. "Can't you sonic him or something?!"
"Can you see him?" he asked steadily, his hand going in his jacket pocket.
"Of course I can bloody see him!" she said, staring at the Doctor incredulously. "Can you not see him?"
"What does he look like?" he yelled. He was sorting through all sorts of creatures in his head, trying to figure out which alien was here tonight.
"He looks sort of like...oh god...a huge cockroach. I hate those things!" she said in between breaths, feeling herself being squeezed tighter and tighter. " I'm all wrapped up in an antenna. And it smells...oh god it smells like blood! Can't you smell that? It makes me feel ill! It's making a noise...sort of like a pen clicking over and over again. It's driving me mad!"
The Doctor's face drained of all colour. Because he knew what was holding Annemarie.
"Annemarie...do cockroaches scare you? Does the smell of blood make you want to throw up? Is the pen click-clicking your least favourite sound?" he called to her.
"Yes, I suppose! But can we not talk about personal preferences right now?! I'm being held captive by a giant cockroach and you're standing there like you're waiting for a cab! Do something, you idiot!" she kicked some more, but to no avail.
He knew what was going on. The Osors were here. They lived on a planet fifty light-years away, a planet that had mysteriously blown up in the Earth year 2020. Approximately seven years from now. The Osors were gas creatures, floating around, preying on peoples fears, dislikes, annoyances. The floated into your mind and used your imagination to create a physical form that only existed in their target's imagination. But while they had a target, they could create terror, being able to move without detection. Even the sonic screwdriver couldn't detect them unless the Doctor knew what he was looking for. The Osors hadn't lost a battle in thousands of years.
"Annemarie, I need you to focus. This creature holding you does not exist. It is just in your mind. I promise you, it is not there." he said, pulling out his sonic screwdriver, an occurrence that might've exited Annemarie at another time. "Annemarie, what is your favorite animal?"
"I don't know! A penguin, I guess."
"And what's your favorite smell?"
"My grandma's cake!" she said, slowly realizing what the Doctor was getting at.
"And your favorite sound?" he questioned.
"I like it when I hear horses run! How their hooves sound!" she practically screeched.
"Okay, Annemarie Wilson, I need you to forget that cockroach that smells like blood and makes sounds like a pen clicking. Right now you need to believe that you are being cuddled by a giant penguin that smells like your grandma's cake and makes noises like a horse's hooves. Do you understand?"
"I ca-"
"Don't you dare say you can't! I hate when people say that! You are a clever girl, and you can get out of this situation. Once you cut off the Osor's power to frighten you, it disappears into gas and it can not hurt you anymore!" At least for a little while.
And Annemarie believed the Doctor. Because she'd always believed in him. And she saw that penguin in her mind, and she smelled and heard and when she looked down it was still the roach.
"It's not working, Doctor!" she yelled in a panic. She could hardly breathe.
"Keep trying! Close your eyes!"
And Annemarie did as she was told. She closed her eyes. When had she last seen a penguin? It had been at the London Zoo last year. She'd been wearing a red coat. And it had been cold. And the penguins swam really fast. She'd smelled her grandmother's cake eight months ago, a couple of hours before her grandma had died in a car accident. She'd heard the horses just the other day, on a television special about horseback riding. She felt the grip loosen, and then she fell. She felt strong arms catch her and set her down. Annemarie opened her eyes and there was the Doctor, scanning the air with his sonic screwdriver.
"He went back. You're safe." he said once he'd finished and turned to look at her. "And, Annemarie, for a twelve-year-old you were pretty fantastic."
"I'm fourteen!"
He smiled and nodded. He pointed his screwdriver to the left and to the right, and the streetlights came back on. He put it back in his pocket. Annemarie could see the restaurant where a lecture was inevitably waiting for her.
"Well, I guess I can let you keep your memories. Just...please don't tell anyone." He began to walk back to the little telephone booth, but Annemarie caught up with him and tugged on the edge of his sleeve.
"Forgive me, but this is usually the part where you invite me to go with with you." she said, looking down at her shoes and smiling.
"You're too young." he said, a little regretfully. Truthfully, he thought she might be a good friend to have.
"I'm not, really! I'm super mature and responsible! I stay home alone and everything!" she pleaded, her smile leaving her face and tears rimming her eyes. She couldn't let him get away. But he just shook his head. "Wait...doesn't the TARDIS travel through time?"
"Well...yes. But, no! I know what you're thinking and the answer is one big, fat, no!"
"Come on, just pop in and go forward like five years, then I'll be ready!"
"Ten."
"Seven."
"Deal." he said, shaking her hand and going towards the TARDIS.
"See you in seven years!" she called to him, a tear falling down her cheek.
He nodded, feeling a bit bad. She'd have to wait seven years, but he was going to see her in five minutes.