Chapter Text
“So, where are we now Doc?” Graham tried to peek out the window, but as always the opaque glass betrayed no secrets.
“Dunno,” the Doctor said. “I put her on the random setting. Just for a lark.”
“Oh great,” Graham replied. “So outside these doors could be a 40° desert filled with poisonous scorpions and snakes?”
“Could be,” the Doctor said in a chipper tone.
“That was real specific Granddad.”
“I wouldn't mind a bit of heat,” Yaz said. “Not 40° mind you, but a nice beach maybe?”
“Well, let's see what we got!” The Doctor wore her mad grin as she yanked the doors open with a flourish. She stepped outside and frowned in disappointment. “Oh, London.”
Graham followed the Doctor, expecting to see tall buildings and busses. Instead he found himself inside a huge theme park. They were surrounded by neon roller coasters, quaint concession stands and games of chance masquerading as games of skill. “Doc, this isn't London. Unless London in the future is converted into a tacky amusement park.”
“This isn't the future. We're in the present day,” the Doctor said as Ryan and Yaz followed them out. Yaz made sure to shut the door behind her. “London, Earth, 2019.”
“This can't be London,” Yaz said.
“Well when I say London I mean just outside of London,” the Doctor said. “I recognize the taste of the air. I've been to London a lot.”
“And the city just let them build a gigantic theme park here,” Ryan asked.
“Guess so,” the Doctor said.
“That doesn't seem right,” Graham said. “Doc are you sure you're… tasting the air right?”
“I'm positive. But if you're in doubt we can ask somebody. Excuse me!” The Doctor waved her arms in a frantic manner at a woman passing by in a cheery cherry uniform.
“Yes ma'am,” the cheery worker asked.
“Are we in London, technically speaking?”
“Yes ma'am.” Her eyes darted to each of them in turn. “Where are your children?”
“Oh, um…” The Doctor thought fast. She put an arm around Ryan. “Right here. This is my son Ryan,” the Doctor grinned as though what she had said was normal and plausible.
The employee frowned. “I’m afraid if you don't have any children with you you'll have to leave the premises,” she said.
“My daughter is joking,” Graham said, thinking on his feet. He tried to form a reasonable story in his head. “My wife took the kids for snacks. She'll be back in a mo.”
“I'm sorry sir, but for the safety of our guests we have a strict policy here at Children's Fantastic Fantasy Funland of no more than one adult per child. So, how many children are in your party if I may ask?”
Graham had the impression that ‘you may not ask’ wouldn't work as a response. “Five?” He tallied the members of their party and added one for the imaginary Grace at the pretzel stand with the fake children. “Yeah, five.”
“Five,” she asked.
“Yep,” the Doctor said. “We're a big family.”
The employee looked unsure. “Right, well I suppose you wouldn't have been let in without the proper number of children.”
“Exactly,” the Doctor said. “And we did come in through the front like everybody else.”
Yaz elbowed her. The employee gave them a last appraisal before leaving. “We should get going then,” Graham said. “Try for Yaz's beach. Or maybe head back to those crystal gardens we just left, that was something.”
“Go,” the Doctor asked. “We just got here.”
“But Doctor,” Yaz said. “This place is only for children. We shouldn't be here.” Graham followed Yaz's gaze to the rides, all of which had seats too small for anyone larger than a petite teenager. The counters at the food stalls were thigh high. Most disconcerting of all, there were no other adults in view except for the cheery cherry employees. Kids ran around shouting and laughing, but none seemed to have any parents with them.
“I'm young at heart,” the Doctor said. “In a very literal sense my heart is quite young.”
“Yeah well, mileage on your organs aside Doc,” Graham began. “If we keep hanging around here we're like to get mistaken for pedophiles. Now I don't fancy that prospect, so I vote we hightail it back to the whispering forests or those floating islands,” he said.
“The floating islands were grand,” Ryan said.
Graham turned around, assuming they would be leaving. To his surprise a young girl was standing right in front of the TARDIS, staring at its doors with a kind of wonder. She looked to be about eight. Her hair was twisted into a dozen braids ending in pink and purple plastic beads that clacked together as she tilted her head from side to side, examining the blue box. “Excuse me luv,” Graham said.
The little girl turned around. “Hi,” she said.
“You might want to keep away from there. I think that's where they store the cleaning supplies, lots of dangerous chemicals.”
The little girl pointed at the sign. “It says police,” she said. “Not cleaning supplies.”
“Aye, but that's just for decoration.”
The girl looked Graham up and down. “Are you the police,” she demanded.
“No, just a bloke.”
She looked over his shoulder at Ryan, Yaz and the Doctor. “Are they the police?”
“I am,” Yaz said. “Do you need a police officer? Are you lost or hurt?”
“No,” the girl said. “Did you come here in that police box?” She pointed at the TARDIS.
Graham was stunned. He worried that the little girl might have seen them materialize and then exit the TARDIS. Of course he then realized that a little girl, having no idea what a police box was, might just assume that it was a box police officers were stored in. Kids thought funny things, and that was nothing to be concerned about. Graham laughed.
“Why are you laughing?” The little girl looked put out. “That isn't funny. Don't laugh.”
Graham sobered. “Sorry kiddo. No, we didn't come in the police box,” he told her.
She stood on her tiptoes to try and look through the window, but she wasn't tall enough and the glass was still opaque. “Do you think there's anybody in there?”
“No,” Yaz said. “Like Graham was saying it's probably just used for storage. Are you sure you aren't lost? Where's your family?”
“Not all who wander are lost,” the girl said.
“Tolkien,” the Doctor said. “I liked Tolkien, he was a fun guy. We went joyriding on a city bus together once, that was a day.”
“Doctor,” Yaz said in the tone of voice she reserved for when the Doctor said something strange or suspicious. “Let's not joke around.”
“Right, right, I've never been an accomplice to automotive theft, of course.”
“Or met Tolkien,” Yaz said.
“Yeah, never done that. Never even read the books. I don't even know who he is really.”
Graham leaned towards her. “Overcorrecting a bit,” he whispered.
“Do you need help finding your family,” Yaz asked. “Don't worry. You won't get in trouble for losing them. It happens to everybody.”
“Especially here,” the girl said. “You don't need an adult in this park, and there's not even any allowed if you're in the special kids only area. But I snuck away from there.”
Graham and Ryan exchanged a look. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Yaz and the Doctor doing the same thing. “Why did you sneak away,” Yaz asked. “Did you feel like you were unsafe? Did someone hurt you?”
The little girl took a chain out of her pocket with an oval locket attached to it. “No one can hurt me,” she said. She put on the necklace.
Graham blinked. He didn't see a little girl. He turned around in a circle. “Where'd she go?”
They all turned to the Doctor in hopes of a sensible explanation. No such was forthcoming. The Doctor did however give them a wide grin. “Guess we're staying.”
“You don't have to be so pleased,” Graham reprimanded her. “Kids could be in danger.”
“You heard her. She said no one could hurt her,” the Doctor said.
“Putting aside the fact that there are probably hundreds, maybe thousands, of kids in this park, just because she said that doesn't make it so. Little kids say things that aren't true all the time. They don't know any better.”
“Kids know more than you think,” the Doctor said. “You just don't remember all the stuff you knew as a kid because you grew up.”
“I don't think that's how it works Doc.”
“Because you forgot,” the Doctor said as though Graham's disagreement had proved her point for her. “Now I'd like to see what's happening in that kids only area.”
“Why would parents let their kids wander around a park unsupervised,” Yaz asked.
“My Nan would never let me run off like that when I was in grade school,” Ryan said.
“Yeah, I remember her telling me a story once about your dad and how when he was a bit he ran off into a copse of trees by the playground and she grounded him for an entire month. She said she almost lost her mind when she turned about and he wasn't there anymore,” Graham said.
“She'd get used to it,” Ryan mumbled.
Graham was surprised by Ryan's response and his bitter tone. Graham had been under the impression that Ryan and Aaron had been working on their relationship since New Year's Day. Aaron had even been over for dinner a few times and Graham had been able to have a few pleasant conversations with him. “Well,” he said, trying to recover from his momentary confusion. “There's a strong chance that something happening here shouldn't be. I'm not going to assume it's aliens, but that does often tend to be the case, so I won't be shocked when it's aliens.”
“Right,” the Doctor said. “Ryan, you and I are going to try to find out what's happening in that children's area. Yaz, you and Graham see if you can find any parents to talk to.”
“Talk about what,” Graham asked.
“The park,” the Doctor said over her shoulder since she already had ahold of Ryan's arm and was leading him forward.
“Right, okay. Because that's not vague at all and won't make us look a bit suspicious.”
Yaz patted Graham's back. “Maybe we'll get lucky and they've all already been eaten by the aliens,” she joked. “Then we won't have to talk to anybody. Come on then.”
Graham sighed, but he followed Yaz through the park. The longer they stayed the stranger and more out of place Graham felt. There were kids everywhere, and the occasional red adorned employee could be seen from time to time. However there wasn't a single parent in view. A feeling of deep unease settled over Graham. “Yaz, this isn't right.”
“I know,” she said. “It's eerie.”
“Maybe we should go find the Doc and-”
“Look!” Yaz pointed ahead. Graham let go of a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding when he saw a large building labeled as the 'Parents Cafe’ and a huge crowd of adults inside. His relief grew when they drew closer and saw that the people inside were wearing normal clothes and seemed under no particular duress. Yaz smiled at him.
He returned her grin. “I don't see any children inside, so we won't stick out too bad.”
“We should split up,” she suggested. “Work our way through the cafe. I'll go left and you go right. Why do I sound like I'm preparing a battle strategy?” She chuckled at herself.
“I'd follow you into battle,” Graham said.
Yaz shook her head. “Once more into the breach soldier,” she said. “See you on the other side.” She walked into the cafe.
Graham waited a few minutes so it wouldn't look like they came in together. Just as he was about to go inside he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned around. “Hello?” The only people nearby were running children. Graham decided it must have been one of them he saw, so he went inside without a worry.