Any Doctor Who fans out there?

Chapter one: Shooting Star

Laura

"Finn!" I called.

The black dog's head perked up, tongue lolling to the side, and he bounded happily toward me, barking excitedly. He crouched before me, tail wagging furiously.

"What?" I say, looking down. He picked up a stick - far too big for his size - and rammed into my knee, begging to play. I laughed and grabbed one end. He growled, snapping his head back and forth.

"Do you want me to throw it or not?" I teased, tugging it out of his mouth. He bowed playfully, then sat down, tongue rolling out again, ears perked and eyes steady on the prize.

I pulled the arm holding the stick back before throwing it as hard as I could. It went sailing in an arc through the air, silhouetted against the darkening evening sky, before falling to the ground about 20 feet away.

Still, he bounded after the stick, tripped over it, doubled back, and picked it up. He trotted in a big loopy figure eight around me several times before his name was called again.

" Finn!" Jule's voice yelled from behind me. She panted as she came to a stop, holding out a cup marked with the distinctive Starbucks logo. I accepted gratefully, giving into my caffeine addiction and taking a large gulp of some sugary liquid.

"Thanks," I managed to get out between sips.

"No problem," she said around a straw, sipping her own saccharine concoction.

We sat there for awhile, watching her dog chew a stick with remarkable enthusiasm (wasn't he getting splinters in his mouth?), and drinking our drinks.

I stared up at the stars, searching for any I recognized. Of course, I could hardly see anything. The light pollution was something wicked. However, I could still trace the Big Dipper with my finger, imagining the missing pieces.

I return my hand to my side and look at Julie, who was drawing her hoodie tighter, frowning. "Hate this time of year. Gets dark too early." She complained. I nodded my agreement.

My eye was drawn upwards as a light slashed the night sky. Even though the darkest it gets around here is a sort of smudged charcoal color (because of the pollution), the stripe of light stood out brilliantly against the dim background.

I nodded towards it. "Look at that. A shooting star!"

"Here?" Julie said in disbelief.

"Make a wish." I said half-jokingly. The other, less reasonable part of me led me to look hopefully towards the star. We all need a wish every once in awhile.

Julie snorted. "Yeah, maybe," she mumbled.

I waved my hand encouragingly. "I'll go first." I said, raising my hand to my chin in thought. After all, I'm not sure how many wishes this star will take. I want my wish fulfilled (then again, doesn't everyone?). "I wish...I could fly!" I grinned. It was a ludicrous request, but ever since kindergarten I had always dreamt of flying. Julie laughed too.

"Okay! My turn...I wish...hmm" she paused, carefully considering. "I wish I could...wait...um" again she paused, "I wish I could see the world from the eyes of a dog" she said, affirmingly, glancing at Finn.

"Yeah, I wish I could see the world from a dog's perspective," she said louder, in case whoever granted shooting star wishes couldn't hear her.

There was a low growl from Finn. Ears perked, he drew closer to his Julie. She absentmindedly stroked her pets fur, murmuring in concern.

I watched the shooting star, feeling unease growing in my chest.

"Hey, is it just me…." I said slowly. "Or is it...getting bigger?"

"No way. That's...that's...impossible," Julie said, setting down her drink. I glanced around. A stone dropped into my throat, sinking down to settle in my stomach. We were alone. Not a single car, much less a person. It was just two girls, a dog, and the street lamps.

"Unless…" I paused. "Unless it's not getting bigger." My eyes grew wider in realization. "It's getting closer!"

The streak, originally a straight line, had begun to curve towards us. I could see something at its tip, a small point of light that was growing by the second. A high pitched ringing sound suddenly shrieked into my ears, starting in my left ear and moving toward the right. Julie crouched down clasping her hands over her ears. I followed suit. Finn whimpered, pawing at his face. The street lights flickered. The light blinked steadily at first, but as the streak grew nearer, it became more violent and more out of rhythm. Finn gave a howl of fright as the thing approached.

I realized suddenly that it wasn't shrinking, wasn't stopping, wasn't burning up….it was going to crash straight into us!

"Get down!" I shrieked. As soon as I said that, the object dove, whistling as it fell. There was a sound like thunder that shook the earth beneath me, followed by three more claps, each softer, as if it was skipping to a halt. My heart skipped a beat as the 'shooting star' plummeted to the ground on the far edge of the field, throwing up dust and smoke. With a burst of light and a final clap of thunder, the ringing and flickering ceased. The night fell into an eerie silence.

I lay on the ground for a few minutes, struggling to breathe , eyes wide and trembling with shock. Finn whimpered and I flinched at the sudden sound, turning to Julie. Her wide eyes met my own, reflecting my panic and curiosity. We struggled to our feet, Finn nuzzling our hands and offering reassuring licks.

"What- what is that?" She asked, voice hoarse and shaking. I shrugged and stared in awe at the spectacle before us.

The star turned out to be no star at all. Instead, a metal...ship... lay before us, egg-shaped and rounded but for the end that curved forward like the tail of a scorpion. It looked so foreign. So sci-fi and 'doctor who'. Something right out of a horror movie or book.

So…

"Alien?" I gasped. I turned to Julie, a look of sudden excitement in my eyes. "Alien!"

"Oh my God…" She whispered. "...a flipping...ALIEN?" She threw her head back in a fit of maniacal laughter, panic forgotten. Throwing her hands out, she yelled "There's an ALIEN!"

I laughed with her. "I can't believe it!" I whooped. We lapsed into silence.

"...we are way too happy about this," I realized. "What if it's…dangerous?"

Julie's face turned pale. She's swallowed hard. "D-daleks?"

I opened my mouth to dismiss it, scoff that Daleks were fictional, before snapping my mouth shut. We had just watched an alien ship crash into a baseball field. Anything was possible.

"I...don't know anymore. It could be. But...we need to get a better look o-okay? Lets...let's call someone." I said shakily.

She nodded. She gathered her hair and tossed it behind her, one of her nervous habits. Her hands were shaking as she took out her phone. She unlocked it, fingers hovering over the number pad. "Police?"

I barked a laugh. "As if they'd believe us. Teenagers calling about aliens? Just call our friends, we'll figure it out from there." I thought for a second. "Besides, they'll kill us if we we go on an adventure with the Doctor and don't include them."

Julie nodded and swallowed hard, then straightened her back, turning her chin up. "Ready to...ah, possibly save the world?" She asked, eyes glancing towards the ship then back to me.

"You bet," I replied eagerly.

Oh, if only we knew.