Challenge Fic: Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Something for the SJA mini-challenge. I feel slightly guilty posting this here since Sarah’s not actually in it (though of course it’s about her).
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Author: meddow
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 999
Characters: Kelsey, the Fourth Doctor
Summary: Despite her best efforts, Kelsey encounters another alien.
Author’s Notes: Regarding Kelsey’s surname, it sounds to me that Sarah calls her ‘Kelsey Hooper’ in IotB. However, Wikipiedia lists her as ‘Kelsey Harper.’ So I just decided that it’s Harper, but certain people have a tendency of getting it wrong.
---
If Kelsey Harper had been listening a bit more closely when her teacher was telling her class the story of Odysseus, she might have compared walking down Bannerman Road to choosing between the legendary monsters of Charybdis and Scylla.
On the one side lay the home of Maria Jackson, for a very brief time a friend and now someone to be avoided at all costs. Maria was far too quick to bring up topics Kelsey wished to avoid. And what if someone from school were to overhear?
On the other lay the home of Sarah Jane Smith - the local crackpot - and her new son Luke. But it wasn’t Sarah Jane or Luke that Kelsey dreaded. No, it was number thirty’s high brick wall and hedges, or more particularly, what could be lurking behind them, silent and sheltered away from view.
Monsters. Not the kind that lived in the old tales of Odysseus, but the very real kind with tentacles, teeth and appetites. Aliens.
Of course an attack by an alien would never happen, Kelsey told herself, because there was absolutely, completely, no way such things as aliens. And that day some weeks ago when the world went a bit funny was all a product of chemicals in her brain from bloody Bubbleshock.
Still, she picked Maria every time.
Kelsey was walking home one day, passing Maria’s house and noticing to her relief that the Jackson’s car seemed to be gone, when there was a rustling and then the creaking sound of Sarah’s gate. Terrified despite what she constantly told herself about aliens, Kelsey stopped dead, staring at the gate, petrified.
“You there! excuse me,” a man called out. It appeared it was indeed a man and not an alien, one wearing a long stripped scarf that dragged along the ground and grin that contained more teeth than she thought possible. Another lunatic, Kelsey decided, and she started to move away, hoping if she pretended not to notice him then just maybe she could escape.
“You there!” he called again. There was nobody else about, Kelsey was forced to stop and turn.
“Do you live here? Would you happen to know if a Sarah Jane Smith lives in that house there? The occupier appears to be away.”
“Look, I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care. I don’t have to put up with this.” She pulled out her phone. “I’m calling the cops.”
The man seemed unfazed by her threat. “Well you could do that. But don’t you know the quickest way to be rid of a strange man asking questions is to answer them?”
“Yeah she does. Who are you?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
“I thought you didn’t care. I’m an old friend. By the way, what year is this?”
“Don’t they give you papers in the nuthouse? It’s 2008.”
He grinned even wider, a feat Kelsey wouldn’t have thought possible until he did so. “A very old friend.”
Kelsey wasn’t amused. “You’d better not be sticking around. The last thing this street needs is more loonies and weridos. It’s bad enough having those two.”
“Oh, I can’t imagine myself sticking around,” he said looking at the house. “Two, did you say?” he asked, suddenly surprised and turning back to Kelsey.
“Clearly you’re a good friend, not even knowing she’s got a son.”
“Son…” he paused. “How old is he?”
Kelsey stared at him. What a question to be asking about Luke Smith. “Teenager, my age,” she added. “But completely not like me,” she hastily added.
“Well that can only be a positive thing,” he replied. Kelsey glared at him. The smile was gone from his face.
“I take too much for granted sometimes,” he said, quietly talking to himself. “Now you lot, a species like you - born, live and die in a blink of an eye - you move on with your lives. How can I expect anything less? And I suppose I’ve been relegated to the position of an old memory.”
Species? It was worse than an alien: a man who seemed to think he was an alien. As he talked to himself sadly, Kelsey inched away, hoping to slip away. But he turned and noticed her once more.
“And what is your name?”
“Kelsey Harper. And I’m going now, you’re just too weird.”
He seemed to ignore the last part of her statement. “Tell me, Kelsey Hooper, is she happy?”
“How would I know, it’s not like I talk to her or anything.”
“Oh, try and use that mind of yours! Just this once. I’m sure you’ve got one in there somewhere,” he responded sharply.
“I don’t know! Though there’s always something odd going on around here and she always seems to be in the middle of it. And you know that’s got to be because she enjoys it.”
Always something seemed to be happening, and after a couple of turned down invitations, Maria never asked Kelsey to join in anymore. But she would still see them every now and again, the three of them with big grins on their faces. Kelsey thought it almost looked fun. But how could risking her life and the possibility every person she knew laughing her ever be fun?
The man stared out at the Sarah’s house, seeming to be just a little bit miserable. “She does,” he muttered.
He then quickly turned to Kelsey, grin now having returned. “There, thinking wasn’t so bad now, was it? Thank you, Kelsey Hooper. It has certainly been unpleasant meeting you.”
“You too,” she replied, turning and quickly escaping while she could. She had not gone far before a cold wind began to blow and an odd mechanical groaning noise came from the direction of Sarah’s house. Not daring to look back, Kelsey ran.
It seemed it didn’t matter what side of the street Kelsey walked down, the weirdness of those who lived on Bannerman Road was unavoidable. She wondered if she could convince her parents to move.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Author: meddow
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 999
Characters: Kelsey, the Fourth Doctor
Summary: Despite her best efforts, Kelsey encounters another alien.
Author’s Notes: Regarding Kelsey’s surname, it sounds to me that Sarah calls her ‘Kelsey Hooper’ in IotB. However, Wikipiedia lists her as ‘Kelsey Harper.’ So I just decided that it’s Harper, but certain people have a tendency of getting it wrong.
---
If Kelsey Harper had been listening a bit more closely when her teacher was telling her class the story of Odysseus, she might have compared walking down Bannerman Road to choosing between the legendary monsters of Charybdis and Scylla.
On the one side lay the home of Maria Jackson, for a very brief time a friend and now someone to be avoided at all costs. Maria was far too quick to bring up topics Kelsey wished to avoid. And what if someone from school were to overhear?
On the other lay the home of Sarah Jane Smith - the local crackpot - and her new son Luke. But it wasn’t Sarah Jane or Luke that Kelsey dreaded. No, it was number thirty’s high brick wall and hedges, or more particularly, what could be lurking behind them, silent and sheltered away from view.
Monsters. Not the kind that lived in the old tales of Odysseus, but the very real kind with tentacles, teeth and appetites. Aliens.
Of course an attack by an alien would never happen, Kelsey told herself, because there was absolutely, completely, no way such things as aliens. And that day some weeks ago when the world went a bit funny was all a product of chemicals in her brain from bloody Bubbleshock.
Still, she picked Maria every time.
Kelsey was walking home one day, passing Maria’s house and noticing to her relief that the Jackson’s car seemed to be gone, when there was a rustling and then the creaking sound of Sarah’s gate. Terrified despite what she constantly told herself about aliens, Kelsey stopped dead, staring at the gate, petrified.
“You there! excuse me,” a man called out. It appeared it was indeed a man and not an alien, one wearing a long stripped scarf that dragged along the ground and grin that contained more teeth than she thought possible. Another lunatic, Kelsey decided, and she started to move away, hoping if she pretended not to notice him then just maybe she could escape.
“You there!” he called again. There was nobody else about, Kelsey was forced to stop and turn.
“Do you live here? Would you happen to know if a Sarah Jane Smith lives in that house there? The occupier appears to be away.”
“Look, I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care. I don’t have to put up with this.” She pulled out her phone. “I’m calling the cops.”
The man seemed unfazed by her threat. “Well you could do that. But don’t you know the quickest way to be rid of a strange man asking questions is to answer them?”
“Yeah she does. Who are you?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
“I thought you didn’t care. I’m an old friend. By the way, what year is this?”
“Don’t they give you papers in the nuthouse? It’s 2008.”
He grinned even wider, a feat Kelsey wouldn’t have thought possible until he did so. “A very old friend.”
Kelsey wasn’t amused. “You’d better not be sticking around. The last thing this street needs is more loonies and weridos. It’s bad enough having those two.”
“Oh, I can’t imagine myself sticking around,” he said looking at the house. “Two, did you say?” he asked, suddenly surprised and turning back to Kelsey.
“Clearly you’re a good friend, not even knowing she’s got a son.”
“Son…” he paused. “How old is he?”
Kelsey stared at him. What a question to be asking about Luke Smith. “Teenager, my age,” she added. “But completely not like me,” she hastily added.
“Well that can only be a positive thing,” he replied. Kelsey glared at him. The smile was gone from his face.
“I take too much for granted sometimes,” he said, quietly talking to himself. “Now you lot, a species like you - born, live and die in a blink of an eye - you move on with your lives. How can I expect anything less? And I suppose I’ve been relegated to the position of an old memory.”
Species? It was worse than an alien: a man who seemed to think he was an alien. As he talked to himself sadly, Kelsey inched away, hoping to slip away. But he turned and noticed her once more.
“And what is your name?”
“Kelsey Harper. And I’m going now, you’re just too weird.”
He seemed to ignore the last part of her statement. “Tell me, Kelsey Hooper, is she happy?”
“How would I know, it’s not like I talk to her or anything.”
“Oh, try and use that mind of yours! Just this once. I’m sure you’ve got one in there somewhere,” he responded sharply.
“I don’t know! Though there’s always something odd going on around here and she always seems to be in the middle of it. And you know that’s got to be because she enjoys it.”
Always something seemed to be happening, and after a couple of turned down invitations, Maria never asked Kelsey to join in anymore. But she would still see them every now and again, the three of them with big grins on their faces. Kelsey thought it almost looked fun. But how could risking her life and the possibility every person she knew laughing her ever be fun?
The man stared out at the Sarah’s house, seeming to be just a little bit miserable. “She does,” he muttered.
He then quickly turned to Kelsey, grin now having returned. “There, thinking wasn’t so bad now, was it? Thank you, Kelsey Hooper. It has certainly been unpleasant meeting you.”
“You too,” she replied, turning and quickly escaping while she could. She had not gone far before a cold wind began to blow and an odd mechanical groaning noise came from the direction of Sarah’s house. Not daring to look back, Kelsey ran.
It seemed it didn’t matter what side of the street Kelsey walked down, the weirdness of those who lived on Bannerman Road was unavoidable. She wondered if she could convince her parents to move.