"Okay Fam!" The Doctor announced as she walked out of the TARDIS in a gleeful fashion, her coat whipping in the small graceful breeze. The sun shone down upon them all, with the sky a brilliant blue and what appeared to be a town bristling with life. The rest of the team appeared disgruntled and Graham was looking a little worse for wear, whilst Ryan and Yaz were left rubbing the backs of their neck's. The Doctor on the other hand appeared non the wiser, being chirpy in all her glory.
"Are you all okay?" The Doctor asked with a frown. She then walked back over to them and scanned them one by one with the sonic, starting with Ryan, then Yaz and finally Graham. The Doctor then pulled her wrist back and looked down at the device in her hand. Her upper lip curled whilst the rest of her face struggled to form a look of confusion. That was another side effect of not being used to a new body-scronching. That is what her face was doing, "You're all fine. A little winded, and by the way, that I am very sorry for." She said pointedly, "The TARDIS, she's in a bit of a huff and we are also out of fuel which probably explains why we are here. The TARDIS has landed on one of few rifts in space and time which fuel the TARDIS with both artron energy and rift energy."
Yasmin was the first to stop the Doctor in her tirade, "The TARDIS ran out of fuel? But, you said before, back when we met Rosa Parks that the TARDIS solely ran on artron energy."
The Doctor shrugged, "Well, I sort of lied. You see, the rift energy just sort of gives the TARDIS a boost...Like a jump start on a car engine."
Graham was the second to speak up, merely rubbing his neck, "So, Doc, how long are we stuck here for until the TARDIS is full of juice? Not that I'm eager to leave." He quickly added, "I need to get my bearings first." There was a pause as Graham straightened his back, "Does the TARDIS not tell you when she is low on fuel?"
"She was granddad." Ryan said, with his hands in his pockets. He had his back up against the doors of the TARDIS, "That's why we were flung around, right Doctor?" He then looked to the Doctor, who was busy surveying where they were. She spun on her heel, "Uh, yeah. Ten points to Ryan Sinclair. The TARDIS was throwing us around because we had a disagreement which wasn't entirely my fault and as a way of getting back at me, the fuel tank mysteriously cracked. I thought I had fixed it."
"So how long are we stuck here Doctor?" Yasmin asked, walking over to the Doctor's side. She looked up at the buildings around them and noticed they looked fairly new and old at the same time, "Where are we?" She asked curiously, adding to her previous question.
"I don't know. At a guess, I would say the seventies...Not England." The Doctor shrugged, ignoring the first question.
Graham then walked in front of them, looking around himself, "Wait a second, I know this place."
Three pairs of eyes settled on Graham in that moment. All of them curious.
"I have been here before." Graham added as he walked around, "Ya' know, excursions and stuff...But at that point it was a tourist attraction and no one lived here."
"You mean, like it was abandoned?" Ryan asked, "Wait, you've been here before?"
"Doc." Graham said, hesitantly, "None of us should be here, not if it is the year and day I think it is." He then looked at the Doctor. There was a look in his eyes that shook the Doctor to the core, one of dread and horror.
"No." The Doctor said, with a shaky breath, "No, we can't be." She then walked over to a woman sitting on a bench, "Sorry, we are tourists...And last night, we got a little drunk last night and we forgot the day...and date...can you help us please?"
The woman stared at her, "British?" The accent clear to the Doctor, confirming one of her suspicions.
The Doctor nodded slowly, "Yeah..." She then quickly mustered courage in her voice, "Sorry...You are?"
The woman on the bench only frowned further at the Doctor. She quipped a small smile, taking a liking to the Doctor's quirkiness. Slowly, she leaned forward and held out a hand, "Lyudmilla, Lyudmilla Ignatenko."
The Doctor's smile faltered as she now shook the woman's hand slowly. She couldn't help but swallow all the fear and dread she was now holding in, "Lyudmilla Ignatenko..." she said slowly, "And, sorry." She laughed nervously, "What was the date...and the..the year?"
The woman laughed, "You are quite something..." She then glanced at the rest of the team, "And you are all peculiar. Never mind that, the date is April. April 25th, 1986"
That made the Doctor's smile fade completely, "April...25th?" She repeated, uncertainty creeping into her voice. She then looked around them at the buildings. The buildings that housed many families whose lives were yet to be changed forever. A horrible twisting feeling began in the Doctor's gut, "Tell me, Lyudmilla...because again, alcohol." she laughed nervously, "Where are we?"
The Doctor knew the answer and so did Graham, the confirmation would be the most souring of all.
The woman's accent filled the Doctor's ears and only that echoes once she got the answer she wasn't hoping for.
"You are in Pripyat, and the power plant is a few miles down the road." Lyudmilla replied, pointing vaguely in the direction on the power plant.
Yaz had a sinking feeling in her gut suddenly. It showed on her face and even Graham could see it.
"And this...is Chernobyl, well, the plant is...But this town exists because of that power plant. Pripyat and Chernobyl." Lyudmilla shrugged, "May as well be all one."
The Doctor took a nervous step back, "Thank you Lyudmilla for that. Have a wonderful day."
"You too, ma'am." Lyudmilla replied, frowning as the Doctor returned to her friends behind her.
Yaz could tell by the look on the Doctor's face this was not good news. She had only ever seen that face twice before. It was one of devastation and realisation. Before Yaz could say what they were all thinking, the Doctor got there first, "We shouldn't be here." The Doctor said sternly.
Ryan then shrugged, "But why did the TARDIS bring us here if we aren't meant to be? You say to fuel up, but...This is dangerous Doctor."
"Unless the TARDIS..." Yaz spoke quieter, "Can somehow harness the radiation and use it for fuel."
Graham then interrupted, "It hasn't even happened yet and I don't want to be when it does. The TARDIS can protect us though Doc, right?"
The Doctor looked between the three of them, "Pripyat has a rift, a rift which can fuel the TARDIS." The Doctor then looked on in confusion, "but she could have landed at any point in time, so why now? I get that this is a critical moment in history...But planting us here?" The Doctor chewed her lip, "What happens here is a fixed point in time, it cannot be changed in any way."
"Like Rosa and Prem?" Yaz asked curiously.
"Yes, exactly like them." The Doctor confirmed.
"Unless there is something more sinister going on, eh Doc? Because that is how it works right? We wouldn't be here for no reason." Graham replied.
"True, but she does have days off." The Doctor sighed.
"And you think that this is one of them?" Ryan asked her.
"Unless something or someone is going to make the last reactor blow up, potentially wiping out more life than it originally did." Yaz replied, looking between her friends.
"Or it could be something or someone that tries to stop it from happening." The Doctor added, "I don't know, but you lot can't stay with me, it's too dangerous, or it will be." She sighed, "This one, I can handle on my own."
Graham shrugged, "Kids, for once, she is right on this one. We all can't be anywhere near when that thing goes up. Let's just go back to the TARDIS and wait for the Doc to figure it out."
Yaz, of course, was the first to protest, "What? No! Like I said, we do everything together."
The Doctor took a fierce step forward. Anger on her face like Yaz has never seen before, "Take one hard look at me and tell me that you want to kill yourself within the next twenty four hours. That is what will happen. This isn't something you can just walk away from. If you know history, you know how many people will die here. I am sorry, but Graham is right. You should all go to the TARDIS and stay there until I get back."
Yaz felt taken aback, "And what about you?" She then crossed her arms, "Miss high and mighty. You are not indestructible."
"No, but I can absorb and survive that kind of radiation. Now, go back to the TARDIS. That is an order."
Yasmin took instant offence, "Doctor, you are not my superior-"
"No, I am not. But I have a duty of care and protection to all of you." The Doctor hissed, "Now do as I say Yasmin, please."
There was a moment of silence between them, before Yasmin backed off slightly, "How about we stay with you until about an hour before it happens? That way, we all get back to the TARDIS safe, and can leave once the TARDIS is fueled up?"
The Doctor looked between the three of them, before giving in, "Fine, but we have to be really delicate and I mean it. This is another tipping point in history and nothing can get in the way of it."
AN: Thank you all for reading! I taker inspiration from the HBO mini series, Chernobyl and a few months prior to that being released I was intrigued by what happened in Pripyat and Chernobyl itself. It was a huge tragedy that should never have happened, but its history and what happened that day is so fascinating to me and I hope it will be to everyone reading.
thank you once again