THE SCAVENGER HUNT

Chapter Fifteen

The Doctor slowly opened the door and stuck his head inside.

“Oh! Yes, I’m glad we found this room again,” he said.

“What? What is it?” Rose said.

He opened the door and took her hand. Rose stepped inside and was floored when she saw an enormous lake in front of her. She stared at the crystal blue water.

“Oh my God, it’s gorgeous,” she said.

“Come with me,” the Doctor said, closing the door.

He led her to a wooden dock several feet away and stepped onto it.

“Fancy a submarine ride?” he asked Rose.

She blinked.

“What? Really?”

“Of course. Watch.”

He pushed a little red button on the end of the dock and the water began to bubble in front of them. Then with a splash, a clear Plexiglas mini-sub bobbed up to the surface. The Doctor pushed a button on the top of the domed lid and it opened up.

“After you,” he said to Rose.

He helped Rose down inside the sub and once she was in, jumped down beside her. He laid the clipboard down, pushed a button on the floor and the dome lowered over them.

“Now, if you notice, the whole sub is made of clear Plexiglas, so we’ll have an unobstructed view everywhere we look. Just sit on that little bump and I’ll start the ride.

He pushed another button and the sub lowered back into the water. The Doctor sat down beside Rose and put his arm around her as the water enveloped the vehicle. Once they were completely submerged, the sub moved away from the dock and headed for deep waters. Rose looked at all the fish swimming around them.

“Are they real?” she asked the Doctor.

“Some are, some rarer species are robots. That way I can have some of the rarest specimens in the universe without removing them from their ecosystems. But, things like goldfish, clown fish, fish that are in great abundance. Those are real.”

Those butterflies I saw in the other room? Were those real too?”

“Some were, some weren’t. Same thing. Those that aren’t endangered species are real and the others are cleverly designed facsimiles.”

She gasped when a tiger shark swam overhead.

“Wow! This is amazing,” Rose said. “Um…but will anything attack the sub, I mean like the harpy attacked us?”

“No, I don’t think so. The really dangerous fish are androids and they’re programmed to just swim. We’re okay. Just relax and enjoy.”

He let go of Rose when she turned around to look at some fish. As they went along, the Doctor pointed out a few fish that he thought she would like to see, both from Earth and other planets. Rose was completely amazed by all of it.

“Can you scuba dive in here?” she asked.

The Doctor thought.

“Um, not where the sub is programmed to go, but yeah, I think in other areas of the lake you could. Why? You want to?”

“More than anything.”

He smiled.

“Well, we’ll have to come back and do that when we’re not busy hunting,” he said.

They went by a coral bed and Rose’s eyes bulged when she noticed the Doctor scuba diving near it. She looked at her Doctor who was chuckling.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, I have several androids of myself and you and Donna and Martha and Jack in the rooms.”

“Why?”

“Just for a laugh.”

“What are our androids doing in the rooms?”

“Oh…this and that. Just various things.”

He gave her a look of innocence when Rose studied his face.

“Why am I suddenly worried that you have copies of me and you running around the TARDIS rooms doing things we shouldn’t be doing?”

The Doctor shrugged and kept the innocent look on his face. The sub stopped and Rose looked around.

“What happened? Why’d we stop?” she asked.

“Watch!” the Doctor said, pointing to his android.

Rose looked at the Doctor android who was now looking at something behind the coral. Suddenly, an enormous squid swam up over it and Rose’s eyes nearly popped from their sockets when she saw herself flailing in the tentacles. She looked at her Doctor.

“Oh no, you’ve been taken by a giant squid,” he said to her. “I guess I’ll have to rescue you.”

She looked back at the androids and saw the Doctor bot take off after the squid. The sub started again and moved with them, following the action. Rose watched while the squid shot ink at the Doctor’s double and thought how surreal it was seeing him and a version of herself fighting the danger. It was almost like an out of body experience. She looked over when the squid entered an underwater cave and a stone door slid over the opening to it. They watched while the android Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and aimed it at the door. Rose noticed with growing horror that they were heading right for the blocked entrance.

“Doctor!” she said, grabbing his arm.

“Don’t worry; I’ll get the door open in time.”

Just then, the door slid back.

“See, I told you I could open it,” he said as Rose rolled her eyes.

They entered the cave and the sub was plunged into darkness. They sat there in the dark while the sub moved along.

“Are we gonna have any light on this part of the tour?” Rose finally asked.

“Wait a tic, it’s coming.”

They passed through an opening into a large cavern lit with weird glowing jewels.

“See, told ya,” the Doctor said.

They passed through another opening and the sub stopped when they saw the huge squid lying on an outcropping of rock with the Rose android struggling in his tentacles. Above them, the Doctor android was trying to fight the squid with a jagged piece of rock.

“I wonder if I’ll be able to save you in time before your air runs out?” the Doctor whispered to Rose.

She giggled.

“I don’t know. I hope you do,” she whispered back.

They watched while the android tried to avoid the free tentacle and stab the beast with the rock. Rose leaned her head against the Doctor, thankful that for once she could observe dangerous things without being a part of them. The Doctor put his arm around her and rubbed her arm while they watched the life or death struggle in front of them.

“Did you think of this?” Rose asked.

“Yup.”

“Very impressive. Disney oughta hire you for their theme parks. This makes the underwater tour even more exciting.”

“Yes, I always try to add a little spice to everything I do.”

Rose cheered when the Doctor android finally stabbed the squid on its body. Black blood poured out while the Rose android wriggled free and took his hand. Rose clapped when the two of them swam off and the creature expired.

“I’m glad you like it,” the Doctor said, when the sub moved again.

“I do, that was great and the best part was, I wasn’t involved.”

He laughed.

“Yeah, I feel the same way.”

The sub went through the cave, out the other end and circled back around for the dock. Rose leaned against the Doctor and enjoyed the view, listening while the Doctor continued his tour. After about fifteen minutes, the sub reached the dock, stopped and began to surface. Rose let out a groan.

“Ah, it’s over way too quickly, you gotta put in more stuff,” she said to the Doctor.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Just more stuff. Add more on to the squid battle. Have some alien end up controlling the squid and kidnapping us and then we have to fight him too. Just stuff like that.”

“Wow, that’s a good idea. Okay, I’ll give you the job of assistant planner and you can help me come up with ideas for different rooms and attractions.”

“Okay,” Rose said.

The sub rose up above the water and the top opened up. The Doctor helped Rose up to the dock, gave her the clipboard and pulled himself up. As soon as they were out, the door closed and the sub went back underwater.

“Well, that was relaxing even if we didn’t find anything on the list,” the Doctor said. “Shall we see what the next room holds?”

“After you.”

The Doctor took a hold of her hand and with a laugh; they ran back towards the door.

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