#2: Keep In Your Hands and Feet
"You can't seriously be afraid of heights, Clara."
"Shut up."
"You're strapped into a harness, safe as can be. Tell you what, I'll let you hold my hand if you like." Those bushy eyebrows wiggled in sarcastic delight.
Clara simply glared at him, "Safe as can be, besides the possibility of agonizing death."
"Only a few people die on it every year," the Doctor stuck his hands into his pockets.
"A few...?" Clara prompted.
"Alright, a few dozen," he admitted with a sneer.
Clara nodded with chagrin, "And you want me to just pop right in and say tally ho! I'm on a ride of death!"
The Doctor snorted, "You do remember that you were the one who suggested a theme park."
"Yes, but I forgot I was asking Mr. Extreme-Danger-For-Fun," she pointed at him.
"It's only dangerous if you're an idiot. People try to stick out their arm to touch something or stand up or unhook their harness. Nothing to worry about if you've got a good head on your shoulders," he smirked.
Clara sighed and looked up. The roller-coaster looked more like an enormous skyscraper castle of metal, twisting and turning around trees, giant shrubs, and fountains that sprayed up onto the riders. Several of the highest loops were hidden behind smoky clouds. The screams of a few dozen riders could be heard in the distance.
"There are ten year old children riding this thing, Clara! Hold on, you are tall enough to ride it, aren't you?"
"Alright fine!" she snapped. A couple of park guests quickly skipped past them with worried glances. The Doctor's smug grin was almost unbearable for her to stand. Clara took in a deep breath. Calm down, it's only a bit of fun, she told herself with wavering confidence. It's just like Disneyland. Only a couple hundred stories taller.
They started to move toward the short line that was forming ahead of them for the ride.
The Doctor stopped suddenly. "You sure?" he asked, feigning concern.
Clara growled at him, "Piss off."
She walked quickly away from him to sneak into a different spot in the line. A theme park worker called her over to a seat in the middle of the second carriage and strapped her in. She hoped, not so secretly, that the Doctor would be seated far away from her. Clara gulped and began to await her possible doom.
"This is the fastest and most complicatedly designed roller-coaster this side of the Universe, you know. I wouldn't blame you, but if you could avoid being sick on me, it would be much appreciated," the Doctor's gravelly voice muttered right behind her.
Clara groaned, "Please don't tell me I now have to listen to you narrate the entire ride how it was built and all of the back story of the railings, cushions, and deaths."
"Oh no, you won't be able to hear anything over the roar of the engine on this beauty."
"Brilliant."
"But I could tell you a little before we take off about what would happen if the engine were to shut off unexpectedly-"
"Shut up right now, Doctor."
"It's just a ride, Clara!" she heard him chuckle right before the bell rang and the coaster took off at lightening speed.
Clara screamed. After the Doctor had admitted that so many people had died on the coaster, it didn't look so appealing after all. She was deeply regretting asking him to bring her here. Up and around a bend, the coaster picked up serious speed. They whirled around a few turns, went up a ladder of railings and then rocketed back down toward the ground again.
She was sure they would crash right into the ground, but the coaster followed the metal railings and sailed upwards just at the last second.
The Doctor was right, the engine was extraordinarily loud, but all Clara could hear was the wind whipping around her. They were splashed by a water fountain and tossed back and forth in their harnesses by the brutal force of the ride.
All Clara really wanted was to be able to prove to him she could handle it, and then shove her index and middle fingers in that leering alien face of his.
Just when Clara was beginning to think that it maybe wasn't that bad of a ride, an ominous dark shadow covered the sun above them. Clara dared to glance up.
She saw what appeared to be a giant dragon flying overhead.
"Bloody hell!?" Clara shrieked to the wind.
The beast had red scales, golden eyes peering down at them, enormous purple wings that spanned across the sky, and a frighteningly large set of sharp teeth in its Cheshire-like grin.
Hologram, a voice that sounded similar to the Doctor's said in her mind. Must be a hologram as part of the thrill of the ride.
The dragon roared and reared back it's head to take a breath deep. It then released a torrent of fire across the front bow of the coaster, instantly frying the first few people in the carriage ahead of her.
Clara's eyes widened. Okay, maybe not a hologram.
The wind whirled around them and the coaster began to slow down just as it started a climb of an upside down loop that reached up into the clouds. They were nearing the highest peak of the ride.
A few moments later, the coaster came to a complete stop with a whine of metal, and Clara found herself looking upside down through the mist at the ground far below them, her necklace in her face and hair hanging straight down.
Everything was eerily quiet besides a few people who could be heard crying. Clara's ears were struggling to adjust to the change in pressure. She blinked rapidly to stop the water forming in her eyes from falling.
The dragon was flying around below them, sniffing at the air as if trying to figure out where they were.
She was going to murder the strangely quiet Doctor in his sleep for this.
"I'm getting out of here!" a man with pink skin and spiky red hair sitting in front of her yelled.
Clara gasped, "No! We'll figure something out, don't-"
She was too late, he had managed to reach the release button of his harness and he fell down through the misty clouds.
Clara struggled to keep calm. She watched as the dragon looked up in their direction, its sharp smile widening. She wondered if the Doctor's sonic screwdriver could do dragon.
Suddenly a large team of aircraft appeared and began shooting darts at the flying creature. It roared and began to slowly circle down to rest on the ground of the theme park, subdued.
A few people began to applaud. A voice sounded over an intercom system that apologized for the inconvenience and announced that the ride would start back up in a few minutes.
Clara's blood rushing to her head, it took all of her power not to just faint in relief.
The Doctor's breath on the back of her neck brought her back to reality. "Spraloktors. . . a native giant reptile of this planet. Apparently they've been having issues with a little infestation of them around the city."
"A little. ." Clara managed to growl, feeling her face turning red.
Without looking at him, she knew the Doctor was shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "It was always a possibility, I just never bother to check the weather report, if you will. It's like a drizzle of rain on this planet, happens every so often. They usually do a good job of keeping them out of the park though."
"You knew that, and still suggested the cloud high roller-coaster."
He was grimacing, "When you put it that way..."
"And that's why people jump out of the ride sometimes."
"It's so unlikely that they would get all the way up here, it's a once in a blue moon thing, Clara! No need to be over dramatic."
"Doctor."
His movements stilled at her tone and he sat quietly like a man about to meet his fate.
"What do you say?" she asked him.
He sighed, "Sorry."
