THE SCAVENGER HUNT
Chapter Eight Martha turned a corner and headed into another corridor. After eating the ice cream and relaxing in the park, she felt energized and ready to find more items. She came to the first door and looked up at a large wooden sign above it. FAIRY TALE LAND. “Hmmm, wonder what this could be?” she said to herself. She opened the door and walked into a room with several more doors in it. Each door had a small sign to the left of it. She walked over to the first door on her left and read the sign. LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD. She walked to the next door and read the sign for it. GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS. She walked to the next door. CINDERELLA. Then, finally, to the last door.. RAPUNZEL Martha walked back over to the first door. She opened it and saw a red cloak and a wooden basket hanging on wooden pegs on the other side. She looked further inside the room. A forest was in front of her with a little dirt path that led from the door into the center of it. She looked at the cloak and basket for a moment and then took them off the pegs. She put the cloak on and looked inside the basket. There was nothing inside, so she put the clipboard in it and closed the top. Taking the basket, she started off down the path. She strolled along, taking in the sights and sounds of the lush forest around her. She’d been walking for about five minutes when she suddenly heard a sinister chuckle coming from behind her. Instinctually, she spun around ready to face the threat, but to her surprise, she saw a wolf leaning casually against a tree. “Hello, pretty one, what’s your name?” he said, sweetly. Martha hesitated a moment. “Um…Mar…Little Red Riding Hood,” she said, playing a hunch. The wolf smiled. “Nice to meet you, Little Red Riding Hood. Where are you headed this fine day?” Martha stared at the wolf. It looked realistic, but then again, so did the guy in the ice cream shop and the children by the lake. Guessing this was some kind of fairy tale simulation, she smiled back at him. “I’m on my way to my sick grandmother’s house with a basket of goodies,” she said, reciting what she remembered from the story. The wolf gave her a toothy grin. “Are you now? Well, that’s very kind of you, little one. I won’t keep you waiting then. Hurry along to your grandmother’s cottage.” Martha nodded. She turned, walked a few steps and then looked back. The wolf was gone. Smiling, she hurried through the woods towards the cottage. “Okay, should I go in or not?” Martha muttered as she stood outside the quaint little cottage. She knew from the story that the wolf would be inside waiting to devour her. That was why she was hesitating. She wasn’t sure if it was safe to go inside and face a hungry wolf. “Although,” she muttered to herself, “this is the TARDIS and the TARDIS wouldn’t have anything that would hurt or kill us. If the wolf is an android, it’s probably just programmed to give chase and stop after a few seconds.” With that in mind, she decided to go ahead and play along. Squaring her shoulders, she marched up to the door and knocked on it. “Who is it?” Martha giggled when she heard the wolf calling out in a falsetto voice. “Um…it’s me, grandmother. It’s Little Red Riding Hood,” she called out. “Oooooh, come in, my child. I’m so happy you’ve come.” “Here goes nothing,” Martha muttered. She opened the door and peeked inside. She bit her lip when she saw the wolf lying in the bed. It had a nightcap on its head and had the covers up to its eyeballs. She smiled thinking that the whole thing was like a storybook illustration come to life. She stepped inside and left the door open for a quick escape. “I’m so happy to see you, my child,” the wolf said in the falsetto voice. “Come closer, so I can see you better.” Martha slowly walked over to the bed. She paused and stared at the wolf who was looking at her with his big brown eyes. She hesitated a moment trying to remember the exact sequence of events since it had been years since she had read the story. She looked at his eyes. “Think eyes are first,” she muttered under her breath. In a loud voice she said… “Grandmother, what big eyes you have!” “The better to see you with, my dear,” the wolf replied sweetly. “Okay, what’s next?” she muttered. The wolf still had the covers up to his eyes, obscuring his snout. Martha waited for him to pull the covers down, but he just stared at her, waiting for her to go on. Martha looked at the hairy hands holding the edge of the covers. “Okay, did she mention the hands in the story?” she muttered to herself. “I think she did.” She cleared her throat. “Grandmother, what big hands you have!” “The better to hold you with, my dear.” Now the wolf lowered the blanket showing his huge hairy snout. Martha smiled. “Grandmother, what a big nose you have!” “The better to smell the goodies with, my dear.” Now the wolf opened his mouth. Martha gulped when she saw the sharp teeth and backed up slightly towards the door. “Grandmother,” she said, tensing her body. “What big teeth you have!” The wolf’s expression became maniacal. “THE BETTER TO EAT YOU WITH, MY DEAR!” he roared. Martha sped towards the door, but to her surprise, the wolf leapt up and lunged at the door, slamming it shut before she could get out. Martha gasped and ran over to a window with the wolf in hot pursuit. She tried to open it and cursed when it wouldn’t budge. She turned, saw the wolf advancing and prayed that the android would stop before it ate her. Suddenly, the closet door by the bed flew open and to Martha’s utter astonishment, the Doctor ran out into the room. “Not so fast, Wolfie!” he said, running towards him. The wolf roared and lunged at him, but the Doctor knocked him unconscious with an uppercut to the jaw. Then, grabbing the wolf by the shoulders, he dragged him over to the closet, dumped him inside and locked the door with the sonic screwdriver. “There we go, the thick little git is safely contained,” he said, putting the screwdriver back in his pocket. “Doctor?” The Doctor looked at Martha who was still standing by the window, completely in shock. “How did you find me?” she said, walking towards him. The Doctor smiled at her. Martha stopped and stared at him. “Doctor? Is that you?” “No…not exactly. I am Doctor Replicant number four.” “Oh, another android, then,” Martha muttered. “I was gonna say, how did you know I came in here.” She smiled at him. “Well, thanks for rescuing me from the wolf,” she said. “My pleasure, I always enjoy saving my companions from nasty flea-bitten, cross-dressing wolves. Now I suggest you run along before Wolfie breaks down the door. I’ll keep an eye on things, so you can get a head start.” Martha nodded. She picked up the basket, waved to the android and hurried back down the path to the door. Once she reached it, she put the basket and cloak back on the pegs, took the clipboard out of the basket and went back into the main room. She went to the next door, stopped and stared at it. “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” she muttered. “Hmmm, should I try this one out?” She smiled. “And if I did, would the “Doctor” come and rescue me from the bears?” After a moment’s thought, she decided it was worth the risk to see what would happen. She opened the door and saw another forest. Smiling, she walked through, closed the door behind her and followed the little path. “Hello?” Martha said as she opened the cottage door and peeked inside. “Anyone home?” She waited a moment and when no one answered, she stepped inside. “Doctor? You here?” she called out. There was still no answer, so Martha walked over to the table in the kitchen. True to form, there were three chairs of various sizes with bowls of porridge in front of them. Martha went to the biggest chair first and sat down. “This chair is too hard,” she announced. She went to the next one, which had a pink cushion on it. She sat down and gasped when she sank down almost to the ground. She quickly pushed herself up. “Too right, this one is too soft,” she said. “I about ended up on the floor.” She moved to the littlest one and gingerly sat down. “This one is just right,” she declared. She stared at the small bowl of porridge. “Sorry, I’m not about to eat a bowl of gunk for the sake of the story,” she said, standing up. “They’ll just have to assume I did.” She walked over to the stairs, prepared to go up and paused. “Wait, there’s something else she did before she went to the beds.” She thought a moment and then smiled. “Oh yeah, she goes to the chairs in the living room next.” She turned and headed into the next room. Once again, there were three chairs all in a row. Martha sat down on the largest one. “Too hard,” she said, getting up. She paused at the second chair and raised her eyebrow. “After what happened in the kitchen, I’m not about to risk sitting in this one.” She paused a moment and then put her hand on the pink cushion. “Too soft and if they don’t like the way I do it, too bad,” she said, moving on. She went to the third chair and stared at it. It was a child sized rocking chair. “Okay, if I sit in this, I will definitely break it,” she said. “Um…better not risk doing that.” She put her foot on the seat and rocked it a couple of times. “Okay, now on to the bedroom,” she said, walking out. She paused at the foot of the stairs. “I hope to God a Doctor bot is up here hiding somewhere,” she muttered. She climbed the stairs into the dimly lit musty bedroom. She wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, I think the three bears need to shower more often,” she said. She looked around. “Doctor?” She sighed when there was no answer. “I hope I’m not making a big mistake doing this. The last thing I want is to be mauled by three angry bears.” She walked over to the first bed, sat on it, declared it too hard and moved on. She laid her hand on the second bed, declared it too soft and moved on. She went to the tiny bed at the end and sat down on it. “This bed is just right. Yawn, I’m so sleepy, I think I’ll take a nap.” She looked around while she made snoring sounds. Just then, she heard the front door bang open and the deep voice of Papa Bear talking about what a lovely walk they just had and how their porridge was ready to eat. Frantically, she looked around the room for any sign of the Doctor android. “SOMEONE’S BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR!” Papa Bear roared. Martha winced. “Someone’s been sitting in my chair.” Mama bear said. “Someone’s been sitting in my chair and look, they ate all my porridge.” Martha raised her eyebrow. “Okay, I guess they’re programmed to say that whether or not you actually eat the stuff,” she muttered. She listened with growing dread as they moved into the living room and went through the same routine. Then, finally, she heard them coming upstairs. Martha tensed her muscles when she saw Papa Bear coming up the steps. She gulped when she saw how large he was and once again said a silent prayer that the Doctor android was nearby. All three bears walked into the bedroom and went over to the beds. “Someone’s been sleeping in my bed!” Papa Bear said. They moved on. “Someone’s been sleeping in my bed!” Mama Bear said. They walked over and stood at the foot of the bed staring down at her. “Someone’s been sleeping in my bed and look there she is!” Baby Bear said, pointing. “Um, hi…um….sorry, I was tired and just came in here for a nap,” Martha said, sheepishly. She gulped when the bears growled and walked towards her, clawed hands outstretched. “Look, just let me go and I’ll go back out the way I came, I promise,” Martha said. She closed her eyes when the Papa Bear reached for her neck. “YOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOO!” Martha opened her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the Doctor standing at the top of the stairs with a big clay pot in his hands. “Lookie what I got, Pooh Bear, honey!” he said, showing it to Papa Bear. “Want some nice honey to pour on your porridge?” The three bears roared and ran towards him. “No, then?” the Doctor said, innocently. He stood there smiling at them while they ran towards him. Then, at the last moment, he jumped out of the way and the three bears went tumbling down the stairs. “Ooops, sorry, I guess you weren’t expecting me to move just then,” the Doctor called down to them. “I’m rubbish when it comes to giving advanced warnings. Hope you three enjoy your nap though.” Martha put her hand over her heart, feeling it return to normal as the Doctor sat the honey pot down and walked over to her. “Thank you, Doctor, I’ve never been so happy to see you in my whole--“ “Martha Jones!” the Doctor said, sternly. Martha stared at him while he stood at the foot of the bed with his hands on his hips. “Yes?” she said. “You know better than to go into strange houses without backup. You would have been killed just now if it hadn’t been for me. For shame, Martha Jones, for shame.” Martha was stunned. All she could manage to do was mumble out an apology. The Doctor bot grinned. “Only pulling your leg, I would have done the same. But, just the same, I think you better leave before Yogi recovers from his boo boo.” Martha nodded. She stood up and gave the Doctor bot an affectionate peck on the cheek. He blushed and walked her to the stairs. “Take care now, Martha Jones.” “You too, Doctor.” She walked down the stairs, stepped around the unconscious bears and went out the door.
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