The doctor and I ran into a crowded village. I tried not to stare, but I was surrounded by a diverse group of aliens.
I was surprised because I expected all of them to look similar, but it seemed like I was looking at several different species.
The biggest group of similar aliens looked pretty much like humans, except they were completely hairless and unnaturally pale. I could see blue veins all over their bodies, and upon close observation I noticed their eyes were all weird, but light colors. They fit the description of the characters in Dusk Hunters.
Everyone else for the most part, looked completely different. I could spot a few others that looked similar to one another, but the hairless people were pretty much the only group similar to one another.
No one seemed to be staring at the doctor and I either. No one seemed to have seen the giant meteor-like thing as well. Either that, or no one cares about it.
"Excuse me," the doctor said, stopping someone. "I think I'm lost, do you know what's in that direction?"
The doctor pointed in the direction of the meteor.
"The city." A low voice answered. I looked down and actually saw what the person looked like. He was a small red guy with horns. Did the doctor just ask Satan for directions?
He caught me staring at him and looked away quickly.
""Then I'm going in the right direction!" The doctor said cheerfully. "Thank you so much."
"Mhm." The red man muttered, walking away without looking back.
I felt bad for staring.
The doctor started walking in the direction of the city and I followed.
"Everyone looks so different from each other here." I pointed out to the doctor as we walked.
"Well, that's because Mist takes in a lot of aliens from surrounding planets." The doctor answered.
"But in Dusk Hunters they only describe people that look like that." I said, discretely gesturing towards one of the pale, human-like aliens.
"Yeah, that's because that series isn't very diverse." The doctor said. "It's been criticized for that."
I thought about that for a moment. The mist natives were definitely the biggest group here, but they didn't make up most of the population.
Before I could think about it more, the doctor shouted "Over there!!" And ran off dramatically. I sighed and ran after him.
"Slow down!!" I yelled after him. It was hard to see him through all the mist and I was worried I would lose him. The further we got into the city, the more crowded it was too.
But as I frantically chased after the doctor I bumped into someone and we both fell backwards into the ground.
"I'm so sorry!!" I said quickly.
I looked up to see who I ran into. He looked mostly human as well, but the key distance was that he was green. He was built different too. A skinnier face and sharper features. I also noticed that he only had four fingers on each hand.
"It's alright." The alien assured me. "Here, let me help you up."
I was surprised he could speak English. It wasn't until later that the doctor explained to me that the TARDIS automatically translates for you. Convenient.
He stood up, then grabbed my hands to hoist me up. He had a very kind smile even though I noticed his teeth were slightly pointer than human teeth.
"Thanks. I was trying to keep up with my friend." I explained. "I don't know this...planet very well and I didn't want to get lost."
He nodded with understanding.
"I got lost all the time when I first came here." He said. "The mist is annoying at first, but after awhile you get used to it."
"Really?" I said. "I like it. The way it glistens is so pretty. Mist doesn't do that back on my planet."
"You'll get bored of it soon." The green alien insisted. "Anyway, can I try to help you find your friend?"
"Really?" I said, taken aback by his kindness. "That'd be amazing."
"Alright, lets go then." He smiled.
"Thank you so much!" I said gratefully. "What's your name by the way?"
"Samatarun," he answered.
"Can I call you Sam for short?"
"Uh, that's a strange name, but sure." Sam replied. "What's your name?"
"Emily." I responded.
"That's a strange name too, I don't know if I can remember that." Sam said.
"You can call me Em for short." I replied.
I showed Sam the direction the doctor ran off too and he guided me through the city. We talked as we made our way there. I explained what we had been running after and started to tell him about Earth. He had never heard of it of course. He was about to tell me about his planet when we caught up with the doctor.
"Oh Emily, there you are!" The doctor said. "You're slow."
I rolled my eyes.
"You ran off without me." I scolded him. "I'm gonna have to get you a leash or something."
"Oi!" The doctor exclaimed before pausing. "Who's your new friend?"
"Sama... uh Sam. It's Sam." I stumbled.
Sam didn't seem offended and just chuckled lightly.
"It's very nice to meet you." He said to the doctor.
"Nice to meet you too! I'm the doctor." The doctor replied enthusiastically. "Me and Emily are investigating a mysterious object that just plummeted down to the planet's surface, would you like to come?"
"Um, I guess I have nothing better to do." Sam replied.
"Brilliant!" The doctor said cheerfully. "Allonsy then!"
After some more quick paced walking where me and Sam could barely keep up with the doctor, we finally made it to the unknown object.
"There it is!" The doctor shouted, pointing over-dramatically once again.
I just laughed and raced him to it. Sam trailed behind us. It was silver and glistened when it caught the light. Once the doctor and I finally reached it, we kneeled down to observe it.
It was made of smooth silver metal and was shaped like a capsule. Definitely not a meteor. I ran my hand across the object and it was very cold to the touch even though it wasn't that cold outside.
"Don't touch it!" Sam-who had finally just caught up to us-said. "You don't know what that thing is."
"Eh, it's fine." The doctor shrugged.
"Do you know what it is?" I asked him.
"Not yet." The doctor replied, putting on some glasses then whipping out what he called his sonic screwdriver and scanning it.
"Hmm," the doctor sounded as he scrunched his face up in thought. Then I saw a light bulb go off in his head before he leaned down and licked the object.
"Ew, why'd you do that!!" I shouted. "And you yelled at me for touching it!!" I said turning around to face Sam.
"It's a message box!" The doctor said.
"Oh, and licking helped you figure that out?" I inquired sassily.
"They have a very distinct taste!" The doctor argued matter-of-factly.
"And you couldn't tell that by looking at it?"
"They take different shapes." The doctor explained. "Anyway, it's a box people send to deliver an important message, but it'll only open if a specific series of events take place."
"Like what?" I asked.
"Uh, like if certain tasks are completed or in more extreme causes if someone dies." The doctor answered.
"So someone could send it to someone as a message in case they die or something?" I said.
"Exactly!"
"But who is it from?" I wondered. "I don't exactly see a return address on this thing."
I tried turning it over, but it was very heavy.
"And who is it for?" Sam added.
"I dunno," the doctor responded simply.
"Well, it came from the sky so it's probably from another planet." I noted.
"I'd assume so." The doctor agreed.
"Maybe it's intended for someone in the government." Sam said.
"That's true!" I chimed in. "We should bring it to them. Can you take us?"
"Emily, you can't just ask people on a strange planet to take you to their leader." The doctor said. "If aliens came to earth and asked you to take them to your leader would you be able to just take them to your president?"
"Ew, I wouldn't want to."
"What year are you from again?" The doctor asked.
"2019."
"Oh, I'm so sorry." The doctor replied sympathetically.
"I don't have to take you to my leader." Sam said, gesturing behind him. "He's right here."
We looked up to see a tall building behind him. It didn't cover very much land, but it was very tall. Whatever it was made of was sleek and black and the building seemed to have no windows. It looked more like an office building than a residence, but I guess it was their version of the White House. The black house if you will.
Before we knew it, a bunch of people dressed in uniform ran out, probably wondering what we were doing here.
"Well, that answers that question." The doctor said.