Mini ep. 10: Summer of '79

Korena opened her suitcase and rifled through the clothes inside. Nothing was really suitable for wearing next to the others. She’d look like she was going on a first class trip, while they were hiding in storage. She looked up as Georgia entered the room.

“Hey,” Georgia said. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Korena said. “I just don’t know what to wear.”
“How about that top, and these shoes,” Georgia said, pointing several clothes out.

Korena nodded and picked out the clothes and smiled at Georgia gratefully.

“And I’ve got some jeans you can borrow,” Georgia added.
“What are jeans?” Korena asked.
“Come and see,” Georgia laughed, leading her to the TARDIS wardrobe.

The Doctor and Conner looked up as the two girls entered the console room. Korena looked drastically different than she had before in her dress, which was neat even when it was ragged. Now she looked remotely normal against Georgia.

“You two looked a bit dressed up,” the Doctor said. “We’re going to the 1970s, not a casual party on Jupiter.”
“I was gonna wear a bin bag,” Conner laughed. “But I didn’t want to get cold.”
“I reckon you’d look quite good in a bin bag,” Georgia grinned.
“I’ve got the legs for it,” Conner said.

The Doctor set the TARDIS on course for 1979, and it materialised beside a wooden hut. He stepped out, and Korena followed.

“Where are we?” she asked.
“England, 1979,” the Doctor said. “Let’s explore.”

Korena nodded and followed him along a dusty path. Georgia and Conner stepped out of the TARDIS, and watched them go.

“Let’s go this way instead,” Georgia said, pointing in the opposite direction.

She headed down the path the other way, past a rusting sign that read ‘lakeside’. Conner followed as they passed a large tree. Georgia screamed and pointed at the tree, and Conner gasped when he saw someone hanging from a rope tied to it.

“Georgia leave it, he’s dead,” Conner said. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“But why is there a dead body?” Georgia cried.
“Come on, let’s go,” Conner said, pulling her away.

Georgia’ phone rang as they headed back down the path. She answered it, trying to hold back the tears of seeing the hanging man.

“Hello?”
“It’s me,” the Doctor said. “We’ve found something.”
“Is Korena okay?” Georgia asked.
“She’s fine,” the Doctor replied. “But there’s a room full of bunk beds, and in them are several skeletons.”
“Of children?” Georgia asked.
“Yeah.”
“We found a man hanging from a tree,” Georgia said. “He looked like a camp worker.”
“This isn’t like any summer camps I’ve ever been to,” the Doctor said. “But something must have happened here. Wait, Korena, don’t go near the lake! Korena, stop!”

Georgia looked surprised as the phone call ended. Conner looked far left to the other side of the lake, where Korena walked towards the water, seemingly entranced.

“What’s up with her?” he muttered.

Georgia followed Conner’s gaze, and she screamed as mud leapt at Korena, knocking her to the ground. The Doctor ran down and pulled her up the bank as the mud formed a monstrous shape. Conner began to run around the lake as the mud monster began to chase the Doctor and Korena.

“Wait for me!” Georgia cried, running after Conner.

Korena slipped and fell into the dust as the monster loomed over her. She screamed as it broke in half, as the Doctor threw a rock through it. She scrambled to her feet and ran into a tree as it reformed itself. She was trapped.

“Doctor!” she cried.

The mud monster clambered towards her as the Doctor aimed another rock at it. Korena began to climb the tree as it fired a splash of mud at her. Conner joined the Doctor and began throwing rocks at the creature too, when a second mud monster formed from the lake.

“Conner watch out!” the Doctor cried.

Conner yelped as the mud monster wrapped itself around him and lifted him high into the air. Korena, now high in the tree, reached out for Conner, trying to pull him towards her.

“I can’t reach you!” she cried.
“Leave me! Get to safety!” Conner yelled in return.

A third mud monster appeared in front of the Doctor and lifted him off of his feet too. The two monsters formed one giant monster, while the original mud creature grabbed Korena from the tree.

“Oh my God!” Georgia cried as she reached the scene. “Doctor! What do I do?”

Conner pointed behind her and she screamed as a fourth mud monster emerged from the lake. Georgia ran behind the tree as the Doctor dropped the Sonic Screwdriver at her feet. She picked it up and waved it around.

“Setting 45!” the Doctor cried.
“Isn’t that switching off radiation outlets?” Georgia asked as the mud monster advanced.
“Yeah, I’ll explain later! Do it!” the Doctor said.

The fourth mud monster grabbed Georgia and lifted her off the ground. She screamed and activated the Sonic Screwdriver. With a howl, the mud monsters exploded into nothing. Georgia, the Doctor, Korena and Conner hit the ground with a series of thuds.

“What happened?” Korena asked.
“Something happened here last year,” the Doctor said. “I thought I detected it when the TARDIS landed.”
“What was it?” Georgia asked.
“A spaceship crashed here, in the lake,” the Doctor replied. “It’s still there, now.”
“The TARDIS scanner,” Conner guessed.
“And when it crashed, it let out a burst of radiation, turning everyone in the camp into bones,” the Doctor continued.
“Except for the park worker…” Georgia realised. “He was away or something, and when he came back, he saw… And hanged himself. That’s horrible.”
“And the mud monsters?” Korena asked.
“The mud is animated from the radiation,” the Doctor said. “Which Georgia just turned off.”

He led Georgia, Conner and Korena back to the TARDIS, as the sun settled down on the summer camp. A few metres away, a small pile of mud trickled back into the lake, looking for its home.

The End.