Curse Of Kalana

The TARDIS whirred as the Doctor ran around the console, flipping levers and switches, pushing buttons, and trying not to trip over his own feet. Jaiden watched from the side, trying not to laugh.

     “Where are you taking me this time, Doctor?” she asked, sounding amused despite her best efforts.

    He looked up, a grin on his face. “Kalana, paradise planet.  Beautiful blue skies, lavender grass, cerulean trees... the whole shebang! You’ll love it.” He pointed to a button just out of his reach. “Mind pushing that for me?”

     Jaiden laughed, stepping forward to push it. “Sounds lovely, Doctor." She smirked and leaned against the console. “If you can land us there.” She laughed again, remembering all the other paradises he’d promised and failed to deliver on due to his horrible navigating skills.

     He pointed at her. ‘Oi! Shut up, you!” he said, pretending to glare, but he laughed. “Hold on tight!” he cried, and pulled a lever, sending the ship hurtling through time and space.

Jaiden stood as the TARDIS landed, having been knocked to the floor during the flight. She looked to the Doctor, who, against all odds, had managed to stay standing, a fact that caused him to look rather smug. She shook her head at him in amusement. She hauled herself up, red hair falling in her face.

     He laughed and walked to the door, waiting for her to come beside him before grinning, adjusting his bowtie, and throwing the door open, revealing Kalana. Jaiden smirked and cocked an eyebrow at the sight. Paradise? She didn’t think so.

     Instead of blue skies, they were a dark gray, covered in heavy clouds that looked ready to rain. The grass wasn’t lavender, but it might once have been; to Jaiden’s eyes, it was wilted and brown. The trees were no better, the bark peeling and the leaves dead and scattered at the roots.

     The Doctor’s face fell. “What...” Without another word he turned and ran back to the console. Jaiden watched, leaning against the TARDIS’s door frame.

     His brow scrunched as he looked at the screen. He shook his head, turning to look at Jaiden. “It’s Kalana, all right,” he said, walking back to the door. “But something’s wrong.”

     Jaiden snorted. “You think?”

     The Doctor looked at her, face grim. “Come on,” he said, grabbing her hand and leading her out of the TARDIS. “Something’s seriously wrong here, Jai.”

     They had parked at the edge of a forest, the ground littered with dead leaves. To the right was a small town; it should have been bustling with people, but the streets were empty, a wind blowing through and stirring up dust. Jaiden shivered; whether it was from the breeze or not, she wasn’t sure.

    The Doctor looked worried, stepping forward towards the town, hand still grasping Jaiden’s. They stepped slowly over the cobbles, both of them feeling sobered. Nothing moved, everything quiet; the only sound was the occasional creak of a door moving in the wind. All the houses were empty, all abandoned.

     Jaiden gripped the Doctor’s hand tighter, a chill going down her spine as they reached the town square. The fountain in the center, an intricate work of art with spirals running up and down it, was falling apart. The edges were dull, the flowered design eroded and almost gone. The stone, which seemed to be marble, had crumbled in places, leaving large chunks missing.

     But worse than the fountain itself was what lay inside. Where there should have been clear, good water, sparkling in the sunlight - something the place also lacked - there was a gooey, thick, disgusting grey substance.