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Young Writers Society



Every Christmas - Chapter 3

by ThePhoenix


Every Christmas

Chapter Three

The Doctor was rummaging through a pile of books, looking for something. But he wasn’t sure what.

“It’s round. It’s dangerous.” The Doctor snapped his fingers, trying to figure out what he was searching for, but he couldn't think straight. He stood up, his head dizzy.

"Stupid post regeneration..." Something in the Doctor's brain clicked. Like a piece of a puzzle just got in place. "Timelord..."

He didn't have time to finish his thought as Clara burst into the room shouting. "What happened?"

She looked at the mess of books on the floor before asking the Doctor. “What are you doing?”

“I was looking for something.” He decided that the pile of books was not hiding what he was looking for and moved on to a desk; opening all the drawers underneath it.

“Yes, I can see that.” Clara stated. “But what are you looking for? And didn’t you run off to look at your new face?”

The Doctor turned around. “How far away was the Weeping Angel?”

Clara stammered. “Uh. What?’

The Doctor grabbed a pillow from the nearby bed and started swinging it around whilst bouncing on the bed. “I like this pillow, I think I’ll keep it.” He jumped off and ran out the door.

****

Emily stood there. Staring at the angel. Something about it reminded her of her childhood. But the memory was too fuzzy, it almost felt like a dream. But she knew it wasn’t. She knew it was real. And the teenager in her house had something to do with it.

She couldn’t remember much. All she could recall was her as a child, being confronted by a blue police box. And an angel that was following her.

Suddenly, a voice from behind broke her train of thought. “Looks interesting, doesn’t it?”

She turned around to face the Doctor. He was around the same height, despite looking a couple years younger than her. Although, she was never considered “tall”.

His eyes averted her gaze to stare at the angel. He then walked over to the mirror and knocked it over using the pillow.

“Wait, isn’t it going to kill us?” Emily asked.

“Let’s hope not.” The Doctor replied. “Now, if you could turn around so I could test something.”

Emily wasn’t about to risk her life just because some teenager told her to.

“Quick question, can you see the angel?”

Emily realised that her focus had been on the Doctor the entire time, not the angel. She covered her mouth. “Oh my god. Are you going to die?”

The Doctor smiled. “Guess not.” He placed the mirror upright, facing the Weeping Angel. “So, good news is that this thing,” He crossed his arms and leaned against the angel. “Is completely harmless. Mostly.”

Emily breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards the kitchen, which was conveniently placed right next to the living room. “Ok, what’s the bad news?”

“If this mirror is ever removed, it’s going to follow you. And that’s really creepy."

“Oh, well that’s not so bad.”

The Doctor laid down on the couch, facing the ceiling. “Yeah just make sure you don’t have anyone over.” He looked around the room. “Say, where’s your brother Sam?”

Emily looked at the Doctor then asked. “How do you know his name?”

“I was flipping through your journal.” The Doctor stated matter of factly.

“YOU WHAT?” She shouted.

“Shush.” The Doctor just laid there, thinking.

There’s only one reason anyone would have to make a fake Weeping Angel, and that’s to create a diversion, he thought. 

He suddenly spoke. “Have you found any items of interest lately?”

“Uh, no.” Emily replied.

“What about Sam?”

Emily shrugged. “Dunno.”

“SAM!” The Doctor’s voice echoed throughout the house. But no one replied. He stood up and shouted again, this time for Clara. “Clara!”

No reply.

“Ok, that’s creepy.” Emily stated.

The Doctor started walking to the bedroom where he left Clara. Emily was trembling in fear, but curious so she trailed behind.

“Clara?” The Doctor called again. Still no reply. He entered the room to see Clara standing there. Perfectly still.

“Why is she just standing there?” Emily whispered. “It’s creepy.”

The Doctor walked over to Clara and put his hand on her shoulder. Immediately, she spun around, looking at the Doctor as his eyes filled with horror. He heard Emily’s gasp, his two hearts pounded fiercely.

In front of him, was Clara Oswald, the impossible girl. And sticking out of her forehead was... a Dalek eyestalk.

He couldn’t bear to look. His eyes followed her arms down and gazed upon the object she was holding. In her hand, was a golden fob watch.


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Wed Dec 30, 2015 6:34 pm
Songmorning wrote a review...



I think, for those of us who don't know who Clara is and thus place this story within the Doctor Who timeline, you should clarify which Doctor this is. I'm still imagining David Tennant, but I have no way to be sure at this point. In fact, now that I think of it, there's been an almost complete absence of physical description of the characters. What do Emily and Sam look like? What about Clara? I think you could go back and add in some descriptions of your characters.

Something in the Doctor's brain clicked. Like a piece of a puzzle just got in place.

The second sentence is a fragment. Although I do approve of the strategic usage of fragments in a story, I don't really like the way this one sounds. It's a bit too abrupt, I suppose. I'd suggest rewriting this: "Something in the Doctor's brain clicked, as if a piece of a puzzle had just fallen into place." (or, "...like a piece of a puzzle just falling into place.")

Emily stood there. Staring at the angel.

This usage of a fragment also feels a bit off. I think it would flow more smoothly as: "Emily just stood there, staring at the angel." I think you were trying to give it a more dramatic feel by breaking up the sentence, but when I read it, it felt more like an awkward stumble.

But the memory was too fuzzy, it almost felt like a dream.

It should be a semicolon here rather than a comma. I'll refer you to this article/comic on semicolons: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon

Oh, so it's a fake Weeping Angel? That's really interesting...Now I'm quite curious.

Whaaaat? Is Clara turning into a Dalek or what? What's going on? I must read more!

I'm still confused about why the Doctor is a teenager. I thought this chapter would shed some light on that, but it hardly seemed to be brought up again. Is there something from the show that I'm missing?




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Wed Sep 23, 2015 1:17 am
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Mea wrote a review...



Hey there! I'm here to review for you again. Thanks for tagging me!

Plot
So far, you seem to pretty much be throwing everything in here. So far, we've got Weeping Angels, Daleks, a fob watch, and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. Which is great and all - throwing stuff together can make for really awesome stories, but I'd like to start getting a sense of the main plot soon.

Logistical Things
1. Why would the Doctor not know what he was searching for? Regeneration trauma? If so, you may want to have him mention that.

2. I'm confused about the Weeping Angel. Was it real or not? And if it isn't real, why would they bother sticking a mirror in front of it? Plus, anything that takes the form of a Weeping Angel becomes a Weeping Angel, so wouldn't it become a Weeping Angel anyway? (Sorry if that doesn't make any sense.)

“If this mirror is ever removed, it’s going to follow you. And that’s really creepy."

See, this just doesn't make sense, because now the Doctor's treating it as if it were real again. And his choice words seems a bit odd - it's not just creepy if an Angel follows you, it's downright dangerous. They could zap you back in time. It seems odd to me that he doesn't consider this.

There’s only one reason anyone would have to make a fake Weeping Angel, and that’s to create a diversion, he thought. And that’s to create a diversion.

I think I know what you're going for here with the repetition, but it just reads oddly to me. Maybe don't repeat it word-for-word.

he could feel his two hearts pounding harder than they ever had before.

This is such a little thing, but I thought I'd mention it. The Doctor is at least a couple thousand years old, and he's been in plenty of situations more dangerous than this. To say that his hearts were pounding "harder than they ever had before" is unlikely at best. These little sorts of slip-ups can ruin the mood of the story if you're not careful, so you might want to watch out for them.


And that's all I've got for you! I enjoyed this - I like how I'm starting to get a sense of the teenage Doctor, and I wish you luck with working out the timeline problems you mentioned earlier.




ThePhoenix says...


:D
Don't worry, the plot is all worked out.
Kinda.
Ok not really.
IT'S A LOT HARDER THAN IT LOOKS OK?



ThePhoenix says...


And uh, the Weeping Angel is fake. The whole "whatever takes the image of a Weeping Angel becomes one" doesn't apply to fake ones (because... reasons that I'm too lazy to explain).
:D



Mea says...


Because presumably whoever went to all the trouble of making a fake angel took that into account. XD



ThePhoenix says...


Well they weren't actually intent on killing them...
Like I said, it was just meant to distract them for a while.
:D



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Wed Sep 23, 2015 12:58 am
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O_O. I may not know that much about Doctor Who, but I'm verrrrrrrry sure that a Dalek eyestalk growing out of Clara's head is /not/ good.

...yeah, this story is awesome. I won't deny it. XD

Nicely done, ThePhoenix! I definitely found this to be an amusing, and exceptional, chapter. The Doctor makes me crack up, to be honest; he always seems to add a unique, and sometimes spontaneous and sudden, element to every conversation. In particular, I like it when he took the pillow and jumped on the bed, and when he talked about the Weeping Angel being, mostly, harmless, but it will still follow Emily and just act plain creepy, and when Emily found that he was reading through her journals. That last part made me laugh. XD In all, he's an energetic, and definitely likable, character, and I love how well you conveyed and developed his personality in the course of the chapter. Furthermore, the same goes for your other characters. In conclusion, your character development is absolutely wonderful, and I got to learn about each of the characters through your vivid descriptions of them, their actions, and they way that they converse with each other. Emily is decent, The Doctor is funny, Clara's plain mysterious, and Sam's a nice comic relief. Therefore, I must commend you for your character development!

Furthermore, I enjoy the sense of mystery that you develop in this chapter. From the start, you direct the reader into this wonderful story with a sense of suspense and curiosity. The Doctor is looking for something, something that he can't, in particular, identify, as hard as he might try. A short distance away, Emily recognizes, to an extent, the Weeping Angel in front of her. She remembers the TARDIS as well as the angel, which leaves me curious as to what kinds of experiences she had had in the past with the Doctor, and made me interested in reading more and learning a little bit more about the backstory (and that's always a good thing to instill upon your reader in a chapter, so I praise you for that too). When Clara and Sam vanish near the end of the story, I was disturbed. Sam's not the kind of person that I would imagine to shut up, if I would put it so bluntly, that easily, and I can't imagine that Clara would either. As such, their silence was a nice element of suspense that you incorporated into the story, so, once more, good job. Finally, when the Doctor and Emily finds Clara standing alone in the room, I knew that something had to be wrong. My suspense and intrigue increased, as well as my preparations for the shock that I knew was about to come. The story began with a sense of mystery, and it ended with a bang, which I enjoyed immensely. Therefore, I can truly say that, when it comes to the plot of this chapter, I'm impressed. I love the sense of mystery you developed, the flow of your plot, and the way that this story is written so skillfully and thoughtfully.

In conclusion, this was an exceptional chapter. I enjoyed reading it from start to finish, and I thought it was a lot of fun. Your characters are wonderfully developed and conveyed, as is the plotline of the story and the setting. This story has an air of mystery that captivates and intrigues me, and leaves me eager to learn more. It is vivid, it is bright, and I found practically no errors in spelling/grammar throughout this story. Thanks for this wonderful chapter, ThePhoenix, and I'd love to be tagged the next time you post a chapter, okay? Thanks, and well done! :D




ThePhoenix says...


:D
I will most certainly tag you next time!
If I don't forget.
And Chapter Two might come out really soon since it's the holidays and I have nothing to do...



TheSilverFox says...


Thanks! :D

And I look forward to this next chapter. But you mean Chapter 4, right?



ThePhoenix says...


Yeah.



ThePhoenix says...


Oh... just realised my mistake.
Whoops.




Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the wise? I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life... He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying. The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. He became so powerful... the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. It's ironic he could save others from death, but not himself.
— RazorSharpPencil