Future Past
A short story by Keith Redhead

Part of the Second Doctor Fiction collection

He had been to so many strange places, but none were as strange as the future. Jamie could hardly believe his eyes, this was really Scotland in the future?

"This is Aberdeen Jamie, rather much the same I fancy as when we last visited it. A few coats of paint here and there, a shopping centre, Dalek Saucer, they got the old fountain working again."

"Doctor, there's a Dalek coming this way." Jamie pointed at it.

"Yes, yes Jamie, what did you say?"

"A Dalek over there, it's heading our way." He pointed at the Dalek again.

"Don't just stand there, run for it. Where's Victoria at now?"

"She told me not to tell you that she's visiting the public convenience." Sorry Victoria he thought, but this is important. Sometimes he thought of her as a young sister or close cousin. Someone he was supposed to protect, like Polly although she had Ben to count on as well.

"Well it's hardly convenient now is it? We have a Dalek about to kill us; and its no longer there."

"Where did it get to? Can they disappear like that?" Daleks were tricky enough when you could see them but they were like the English, not to be trusted at the best of times.

"Certainly not, I think. Anyway they have all been defeated, Skaro was ravaged in the civil war as we all witnessed."

"Aye well it was definitely a Dalek I saw, blue spots and all."

"Yes Jamie that's what worries me. Ah, here's Victoria now. Don't say a word of this to her."

"A word of what?"

"Oh well you caught us out. Jamie was just telling me where you had wandered off too. Did you like those shoes?"

"What? Oh they're really not my style." Victoria smiled sweetly at Jamie. He had protected her dignity and she was grateful. In many ways she thought of him as a big brother and the Doctor was a favourite uncle who took them off on many exciting adventures every week.

***

They continued to walk around the town for a while, stopping off every now and again to examine a statue or other decoration. The Doctor would delight his friends be explaining how he had helped the figures at a critical point in their lives.

Victoria stopped suddenly. Over there, next to that oak tree, there was Cyberman walking towards them. She gasped as it touched someone and he turned into a Cyberman. "Doctor, Cybermen!"

"Oh my, when I say run we run for it."

Jamie prepared himself for a quick burst of speed when suddenly they just disappeared. "Hey what's going on?"

"I'm not sure Jamie, maybe a quick stroll back to the ship?"

"Yes, I could do with a lie down." Victoria hurried her pace, the Cybermen scared her a great deal, but not as much as the Daleks ever could. The Daleks were the personification of evil in her mind. They had murdered her father and made her an orphan. If it wasn't for the kindness of the Doctor then she was sure she would have been sent to the asylum.

The TARDIS was blocked by a large furry creature, it roared in anger and slashed at the air with huge, powerful talons.

"A Yeti, Doctor!" Jamie tried to stand in front of the Doctor and Victoria.

"Be careful Jamie, it looks angry."

Jamie pulled out his dirk and waved it menacingly in front of the furry beastie. "Stay back, I don't want to use this but I can't let you harm my friends."

The Yeti slashed one of it's claws at Jamie and Victoria screamed; it was going to kill him.

The claw passed harmlessly through Jamie's chest. "Hey, it isn't real either Doctor." Once inside the white-walled ship Jamie felt safe but cold. He looked at the ceiling to see icicles appearing on it. The inner door opened and a huge green Ice Warrior entered the room.

"Ssstay ssstill or I will ssshoot you."

"Stay back everyone, it's armed, but it's not anything you should be worried about."

Jamie noticed the Doctors voice was different, like that Salamander's voice in fact. "Hey yer not the Doctor are yer?"

"No, I'm not. Now drop that paper knife or your little friend here will suffer."

Victoria struggled as the imitation Doctor grasped her throat. She tried to stamp on his toes with her shoes but it was no good. "Leave me alone," she whimpered.

Suddenly the fake Doctor changed into a Yeti and it roared aloud again. Jamie pulled Victoria free of it and they held each other for security as it advanced towards them menacingly.

***

"Jamie, Victoria. Time to wake up. This has gone far enough, stop the dreaming."

"I cannot, the cycle must complete itself."

Victoria opened one eye, she saw a strange man with intense eyes and a slightly greying beard. Then he turned into two men, one tall and thin and the other short and plump. There was a strange green creature surrounded by white foam and she heard a heartbeat. Then she saw herself on a beach, standing and waving. Not in greeting but in parting. Then the image blurred and changed into a sparkling rainbow of many colours and patterns. She opened her eyes again to see the Doctor standing over her.

"Ah good, you're awake at last. The next time the two of you try anything this foolish please let me know first?"

"Oach ma head is still fuzzy." Jamie tried sitting up but it was no help and he crashed back down again.

"Serves you right, meddling with things you don't understand. The knowledge of the future is not something to be taken lightly."

"Oach man it was all just a strange dream, Daleks and Cybermen and other wee nasties popping up in Aberdeen."

"Yes and then the TARDIS was invaded by Ice Warriors and you turned into that horrible Salamander and then a Yeti."

"Sounds like a recap of our recent adventures to me."

"Aye well I shut my eyes after you turned into a Yeti; well almost. I saw a strange butterfly man and a planet with no sun."

Victoria decided not to reveal what she had seen. "I just shut my eyes and didn't open them again until now." Maybe it was for the best. She didn't want to change time even though she didn't want to leave the Doctor and Jamie.

