Convergence on Lawndale - Part 4

 

Quinn arrived at the portal, where she found the Doctor waiting on the other side.

 

“So?” he asked.

 

“There is information on Lawndale.”

 

“And?”

 

“It matches what I know,” Quinn answered.

 

“It may be the same Earth, but in the future,” the Doctor groused. “There is potential for cross temporal problems here.”

 

“So, we wait for Daria?”

 

The Doctor thought for a moment. “She’s still heading back to the TARDIS. We can meet her part way, on her way back.”

 

“We’re going to leave the portal?” Quinn asked.

 

“We’ll come right back.”

 

Quinn nodded. They then left the portal.

 

 

Daria was a third of the way home, when she heard something. She hid behind a bush. Sure, Lawndale was mostly safe, but growing up in Highland had left her with a well-developed situational awareness. ‘Which is certainly true of Quinn as well,’ she thought, considering that trait would serve her well on her adventures with the Doctor. She slowly moved around the bush, uncertain as to what had caused that sound. ‘It could be anything,’ she thought. Were there other portals opening in Lawndale? She hoped not.

 

After several minutes, she warily continued on her way.

 

 

Kim, Ron and Rufus arrived at the location in the Memorial Park. “It looks like some kind of portal,” Ron guessed.

 

“A portal?” Kim asked. “Let’s have a closer look before we jump to conclusions.”

 

“Of course,” Ron said.

 

They moved closer to the phenomenon. “I think you’re right.” Kim said after looking around it. “It seems to lead to another park where it’s night time.” She brought out the Kimmunicator and took photos of the park and night sky on the other side. “We many need to go through.”

 

“Are you sure?” Ron asked.

 

“Yes. We need to have a look at the stars. The light from our side is far too bright.”

 

“I knew you would say that.”

 

“Wade, the phenomenon is a portal. We’re going to investigate so we’re going to be out of range for a short while.”

 

“Understood, Kim.”

 

“it’s night time on the other side. Could you switch the rear cameras to astrophoto mode?”

 

“Of course.”

 

 

Once on the other side, Kim put some distance between herself and the portal. Even with the moonlight she was sure she would be able to get a fix on the stars. She quickly found the North Star. ‘There’s also the light pollution, but that can’t be helped,’ she thought.

 

She took several photos. ‘That should be enough for Wade to get a fix on this location.’

 

“Kim. I think this place is in America,” Ron divulged.

 

“The plants?” she asked.

 

“Yes,” Ron answered.

 

“Given that we’re in the northern hemisphere, the signs in English, and the plants that look similar to those in Middleton. It could also be Canada or the British Isles.”

 

“Of course.”

 

Kim took more photos of the area of the sky around the Moon, including, knowing that would help in determining the time and location.

 

 

Wade looked at the astrophotos Kim had taken and fed them into his software. “The location is approximately 40 degrees north,” he said a moment later.

 

“What about the longitude?” Ron asked.

 

“That is a lot more difficult to determine,” Wade answered.

 

“So it could be anywhere along that latitude, where there’s land?” Kim considered.

 

“Somewhere in America, yes,” Wade answered.

 

“And the time?” Kim asked.

 

“That’s significantly trickier. Even with the Moon and its phase, there is the Metonic Cycle which repeats every 19 years. It wouldn’t help. You would need to find a newspaper.”

 

“Thanks, Wade. We’re on it.”

 

 

“So, we’re going to try to find a newspaper at night?” Ron asked.

 

“It may be difficult,” Kim admitted. “But maybe a gas station would still have some left over, or have early delivery.”

 

“Or wait until it’s morning?”

 

“Let’s go. Depending on how large the place is. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find a gas station.”

 

“Coming, KP.”

 

 

Twenty minutes later, Daria re-entered her backyard. Both her house and the TARDIS were sights for sore eyes. She was tired and wanted to rest. But she knew that the TARDIS would search rather quickly. She saw that the lights were still out in the kitchen and loungeroom, so her mother wasn’t up yet. She quickly went up to the TARDIS and unlocked it with the key the Doctor had given her.

 

 

The Console Room was oddly comforting, with a soothing rhythm slowly building up as Daria closed the doors and approached the Console. “OK, search for information on the internet and the internal database,” she said, hoping that would work.

 

The TARDIS gave a ding and a search window came up on one of the monitors.

 

Daria then typed in the search window.

 

Middleton, Colorado

 

Information then came up.

 

“So, it does exist here,” she said to herself and wondered if the Doctor and Quinn had indeed found information on Lawndale on the other side of the portal.

 

Where were they anyway? ‘They should be on the way here now,’ she thought. “Locate the Doctor,” she instructed the TARDIS.

 

A map of Lawndale came up with a blip a third of the way from High Hills Park.

 

“Thanks,” she said. She wrote down the information on Middleton and the location indicated on the map in a small notebook.

 

After several more minutes of rest, she then left the TARDIS.

 

 

Kim, Ron and Rufus found a gas station half an hour after leaving the park. Kim saw that there were newspapers there. She grabbed one of them. “Lawndale Sun-Herald?” she asked herself. “I suppose that’s where we are. Lawndale.”

 

“I haven’t heard of it. But Wade can help there,” Ron said.

 

“Yes, but look at this date,” Kim said. She passed Ron the newspaper.

 

“5^th May 1999!” Ron read.

 

“A little over four years ago,” Kim realised.

 

“So, it’s a time portal?” Ron asked.

 

“Yes. We need to go now,” Kim decided, “But first we need to buy this paper.”

 

“Of course,” Ron said.

 

Having bought the paper, they left the gas station and headed back towards the park containing the portal.