Fam Away From Home

Demons of Punjab

The three of them stood by the stakes, streamers draping across them. Manish hammered them further into the wet ground by the stream. He counted the knocking. "Three, two, one."

Yaz looked down at the stakes. The small river ran right through the separation, connecting whatever separated them. "These are for the celebrations?" she asked curiously. The wedding?

Manish grinned manically. "Big celebrations." He held out his arms. "Welcome to the border..."

"Manish?" came a shout from behind the trio. 

"...where India ends, and our future begins."

The group from the house raced to where they were standing. "Manish, what're you doing?"

The Doctor heaved out their names as she raced as close as she could. "Hi. Quick side bar, August 1947. Partition. The borders have just been announced." 

Astra frowned. "Partition?" she asked over her shoulder, confused.

Manish gestured to each side of his staked boundary. "India. Pakistan." 

The brunette turned to the Doctor. "They were one country once?"

The Doctor frowned. "You didn't know that?" Astra shook her head. She was pulled close to the Doctor while the blonde explained, "It's not just the land that gets divided. Rioting in the cities, tens of millions of people about to be displaced, more than a million about to die."

Brown eyes softened at the statement, alarmed by the massive count. She couldn't believe she hadn't known about any of this. 

Graham touched the blonde's shoulder. "Doc, meanwhile, her nan's about to get married, but not to her grandad." He gestured to Yaz.

Astra looked around. "Rioting, displacement, this is about to be chaos. If they're gonna make it through this, they have to make it without us." She faced the Doctor. "Unless they can't. We don't know the whole story." She placed her hands on her hips. "Time travel's confusing!" she complained. 

The Doctor looked at her sympathetically. "I know..." she mumbled, wrinkling her nose. 

Ryan tapped her shoulder next and good thing too or she'd have seen the involuntary smile her expression forced out of the witch. "I'm thinking that hour's well up now," he insisted, in full worry. 

"You can't know the borders. It's only just been announced," Umbreen argued.

Manish stood straighter. "The maps were leaked weeks ago. I got one from my sources."

Umbreen's mother suddenly snapped, "Your sources must be wrong, because you've just put my house in Pakistan."

Manish looked over at her home. "With the other Muslims." No one said anything. "But you get a fresh start." He was trying to make it seem like a good thing. But it clearly devastated the group. 

Prem stood before the two women, staring down his little brother. "Manish, you need to slow down."

Umbreen raised her head. "Pakistan is somewhere for Muslims, if they want to go." 

"I'm not saying you have to go, but Pakistan is being created for Muslims. Hindus have India. We both feel safe."

Prem stepped forward, his voice cracking. "Don't reduce it to that, brother. It's not that simple."

The boy tilted his head. "But I get you have a hard decision, if you're married." 

The Doctor suddenly looked down then at Yaz who jolted at the shock as well.

The fiancé wouldn't be swayed. "The land belongs to everyone. Has done for centuries. One day doesn't change that."

The boy shook his head. "I love you, brother," he put his hand on Prem's shoulder, "but you're wrong."