It was Sunday evening when the two walked out of the mysterious blue box. Fireflies danced lazily under the trees, and distant music could be heard from beyond the tree line. A group of teenage friends walked down the street, laughing at some joke.
Then, the box moved.
"Hey, guys, did you see that?" said the tallest one, a boy with black-rimmed glasses and messy brown hair.
"What are you talking about, Dave?" said the long-haired blonde girl. She was shorter with spunky neon clothing and a permanent smirk.
"I thought I saw the box move, Courtney. Ya know, THE box. Greg?"
"Hmm?" the youngest one was lost in thought, and hardly listening to the strange conversation of his friends. His shoulder-length black hair covered his face as he looked down at the rock that he was kicking.
"Ugh.. Nevermind." Dave sighed, walking a bit faster as they passed the blue police box.
"Hey, wait up, Dave," Courtney and Greg said at the same time. She glared at him for a second while he ran to Dave.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something that she couldn't believe.
"Oh my god," she breathed, and screamed, and her hearing dimmed.
The last thing that Courtney Rabel ever saw was a pulsing blue circle, and then… she was gone.
When they turned to look at what she had screamed at. Dave gasped, and the two friends ran over to where she had stood only a few seconds ago. All that was left were her black converse shoes and scuffle marks and a dreadful smell of something burning.
The Doctor burst open the doors of the TARDIS, holding Clara close to him. He stopped, frowned, and ran around the already-fixed box, before using his sonic to survey the area.
He licked his finger, held it up to the air, and licked it again.
While Clara made a face at that, he muttered, "Montana. A small town, not much of anything. The year… 1996? Why this year? Why now?" The Doctor ran around, looking at the few shops that were near him.
Clara watched him with a bemused half-smile on her face. Although her heart was still beating a mile a minute, she had calmed down enough from the suspense of opening the doors to be able to watch the Doctor race around the area. He was just too adorable, she thought. Her chin-boy.
The Doctor turned around, powerwalking back to Clara, and said, "We need to investigate. The time here is all messed up. When the TARDIS was forced to land her, it created a tiny rip in time in this very spot," he said, jumping up and down to emphasize. "There are very few things that could turn the TARDIS around from her course. Very few, very dangerous creatures. We have to-"
"We have to eat, Doctor. I'm half starved. You promised me dinner, remember," Clara said, putting her hand on the Doctor's.
"Well, yes, of course. We should probably ask someone in there if there's been any suspicious… Wait a minute," the Doctor said, fixing his eyes on the shadows. He could just faintly hear a couple of people crying. He took Clara by her arm, running to the noise, before he saw the two.
Greg was sitting, rocking back and forth while crying into his arms. Dave was sitting too, but was just staring ahead, murmuring her name over and over again. "Courtney, Courtney…"
The Doctor ran up to them, asking, "What happened here? Come on, what happened…" He trailed off when he saw the converse shoes and the scuffle marks. Taking out his sonic, he frowned, moving his jaw back and forth.
"No.. No, no, no. It can't be. I should have gotten rid of them when I had my chance," he growled under his breath. Clara was sitting next to Greg, attempting to ask him what had happened.
"Clara… Clara, we need to get out of here. Just for a moment. I need to see something."
"We can't leave now! We have to find someone to help these two. We have to…"
"Clara. The thing that killed their friend," the Doctor said, sympathetically looking at the two boys, "can be the most dangerous creature in the universe. They love hate. They think that hate is the definition of beauty.
"Clara, we are facing a Dalek. And we need to go to the TARDIS. Now."