Far from Home (short story)

Far from Home was the second short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: Past Tense. It was written by Alison Lawson. It featured the Eighth Doctor.

Summary
In Crickhowell, Wales, in 1928, a gang of children are on their way to school when they suddenly encounter a strange man being chased by the local miller. After the man manages to evade his pursuer, two of the children, Tommy and his cousin Ralph, decide to follow him; the stranger introduces himself as the Doctor, and, to the boys amazement, confides in them that he is tracking a distress call sent by aliens.

Tracing the signal to a bog, the Doctor finds an escape pod containing an injured Velderon, a small, blue creature with acidic skin. Noting that there was a second, vacant, seat in the pod, the Doctor becomes concerned that another creature is at large, and that the imminent rainfall will harm it; he entrusts the injured alien to Ralph, instructing him to head for the mill, where his own ship is located.

The Doctor and Timmy set off to search for the missing Velderon, but when they finally find the frightened creature, its terror at seeing them causes it to fall into a well, where the combination of the water and the creature’s body chemistry results in a huge explosion. Saddened at the death of the creature, the Doctor and Timmy rejoin Ralph at the mill; the two boys distract the miller, enabling the Doctor to leave in the TARDIS, taking the injured alien back to its people.

Characters

 * Eighth Doctor
 * Ralph Baker
 * Tommy Morgan
 * Mr Wesley
 * George Evans-the-Cwm
 * Clara Morgan
 * Mary Morgan

Continuity
to be added