Barbara shivered in the cool breeze. "Isn't exactly the Bahamas here, is it Doctor?"
The alien traveler known as the Doctor walked out of the blue box known as the TARDIS. "Barbara, this looks nothing like the Bahamas on your planet. May I remind you, it's the Planet Kald-doden. Unique in all your galaxy for having a 3 day winter. And winter's just a few hours away."
"It was sarcasm, Doctor," she said, though by now she was used to the Doctor's oddities. She was even beginning to like them.
"I wonder if they build snow-men here!" exclaimed the unmistakable voice of Susan Foreman. "Me and my grandfather didn't make any snow-men till we came to Earth. And there wasn't much stuff like that at home. Right, grandfather?"
"'Grandfather and I', Susan.," said Ian, the other teacher besides Barbara in this traveling group—and also the other human.
"Stop haranguing my granddaughter, Ian," said the Doctor absentmindedly. He was looking at a statue in front of them that had a display saying "20 minutes." The statue was of a impossibly green colored young girl, with a circular face that looked almost child-like. Her bright blue eyes, however, looked far older.
Susan came to his side. "Looks so life-like..." And then she yelped, as the statue started to move.
However, the Doctor wasn't afraid at all, and was in fact smiling. "Hold steady, child. Simply advanced animatronics, using a slight perception filter. Rather advanced, actually."
"So, how long are we staying?" said Barbara.
The Doctor's smile fell. "Well...I don't know."
"What do you mean, you don't know?" said Ian.
"I didn't just stop here for a vacation. The TARDIS needs some repairs—escaping aliens that literally eat time put a bit of wear on my ship. And I can see you about to say something, Ian—don't start complaining. Had you simply left the negotiations to me, we wouldn't have gotten into that horrible bit of mess. But since you had to get involved, we are just going to have to sit here for a small while." Without even waiting for a rebuttal, the Doctor went off to the ship, "Enjoy the planet. It's a very rare event, this winter. In a 100 years, people will pay 1000s for the winter you're getting for free."
"When I'm freezing, I'll remember it's a 1000 dollar freeze. That will definitely cheer me up," Ian muttered. "Well, he's made up his mind. Let's go explore this town."
"Ghost town is more like it," thought Barbara. There were small houses lining the red brick roads. Some were short, and some were long, but you could tell innovation was not on the house designers' minds. An early frost, covering all the rooftops, heralded the winter soon coming. The spookiest thing that Barbara noted was that there was no one on the roads. The trio—two Earthlings, with an increasingly nervous Gallifreyan behind them—walked and walked, but saw no one.
"The Doctor sure picked a great spot for a vacation," said Ian.
Suddenly, the statue looked at them.
"Hello?" Barbara felt silly talking to a statue, but she had no better idea.
"Feast in 10 minutes," sang the statue.
"Maybe this trip will be worth having after all! I wonder what they're gonna serve us" said Ian.
"Quiet," said Barbara. "It's still talking."
The statue seemed to smile at that, as if grateful to not be interrupted. "Rule 1: Do Not Take A Hunter's Weapon. Rule 2: Do Not Disturb the Announcer In Any Way." She then pointed toward herself, indicating she was the announcer. When it appeared the trio understood, she continued, "Rule 3: Do Not Enter The Hunters' Lair. If you break, or help someone else break, any of these rules, you will be punished. The Feast last for the Winter of Three Days. Good luck. Feast is now in 7 minutes." And with that, the Announcer closed her eyes, and folded her hands in front of her chest.
"So as long as we don't mess with these rules, we won't be kicked out the feast? Seems pretty easy," said Ian.
Barbara looked at the statue. Something seemed off. "Ian, maybe we should go find the Doctor."
"Hey, I see somebody!" said Susan.
Indeed, a man was going into his house. He opened his door, and before Barbara could even say hello, he ran inside. All she saw was the flash of his red sweater, and the one-eyed raven insignia on its back.
"Dammit!" Ian said.
Barbara sighed. "Keep on the lookout, Susan. Something's going—Susan?"
Susan was pressing her hands to her head in pain. "I feel...woozy," she said.
"Do you need aspirin or something?" said Barbara.
"Never...give..maa...aspirin," Susan slurred, clearly getting worse by the second. "Grannfaather...say..poisonous...need to get to TARDIII...now."
In the midst of this odd scene, the Announcer cried: "Feast: 1 minute 30 secs."
"We should try to see if this man can help us," said Ian. "I'll-. Huh. That's odd."
"What's odd? Speak quick!" said Barbara.
"He didn't even lock the door. I'll just open it and-." Ian was suddenly grabbed by the man inside the house and dragged inside. Then the door was locked.
"Feast: 1 min."
"That announcer's starting to annoy me," said Barbara. (She could have sworn the statue blushed at that, but Barbara had other things on her mind.) "Let us in, dammit!" Barbara knocked on the door furiously. No response.
"Feast: 30 secs."
Barbara ,feeling desperate, checked on Susan. Susan was muttering something under her breath. "What are you saying?"
"The Hunt Has Started. The Feast is in Place. The Sacrifice Is Ready. All hail the Feast."
Having had enough of this, Barbara did the only thing she could think of, and slapped Susan. "Snap out of it!"
Susan blinked in shock. "Ow! Why did you do that?"
Barbara said angrily, "Because you were talking nonsense! Now we find the Doc-!"
"THE FEAST IS NOW!"
Then Barbara heard a wolf howl. But it was unlike any wolf howl she had ever heard before. This howl seemed to come from below the very ground; Barbara could feel it vibrating it beneath her feet. The she heard another. And another. Barbara began to hold Susan tight.
And the Hunters began to search for the first two pieces of the Feast, who were holding each other tight.