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THE DOOMSDAY SHIFT

Copy Written in 1994 by Darlene Dawson. Chapter Two

By Darlene DawsonPublished 2 years ago 16 min read
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CHAPTER TWO

Tom pulled onto the highway heading away from his wife and two sons, he was on his way into the city to get his two daughters. He started thinking how this had all started. He didn't like the idea of leaving his wife behind, but he knew that this was how it had to be.

When this first started, he thought that this was just a bunch of bullshit, but as things started happening that there was no explaining away what was going on around them, he had to start to believe in what his mind and heart were telling him. He had come to the realization that this was serious, very serious indeed.

All Tom had on his mind was to get to Newport, pick-up his daughters and head back to his wife and family. His wife, Doreen, made sure that he had enough food and thermal underclothing for the two girls and himself.

As Tom drove along the highway, the thought did cross his mind that if things went well, he might make it back in time before the shift. The trip all total would take just over four hours. If everything went according to plan, then they had a good chance of making it. That was why he had left at midnight, instead of five in the morning. He was praying that maybe this time Doreen would be wrong about him and their daughters not getting back in time. God, he really hoped so.

Tom couldn't stop thinking of his wife of thirty-four years, who was just fifteen when they married. She stood all of five feet two inches and weighed in at one hundred and ten pounds. Her hair was chestnut brown with red highlites. She was one of the few people that he had ever known that had a heart of gold. Doreen always looked for the good side of everyone she ever met. This was one of the main reasons why Tom felt that he just had to get back to his wife before the shift happened.

Tom made good time on the highways and got to his daughter Dini's place just under two hours. As he got out of his car, Angel, his youngest daughter, came rushing out to him, carrying an armful of stuff that they were bringing with them. As Tom started loading the things that Angel had handed him, he asked her where is your sister? Angel told her dad Dini was just putting her surgical outfit on and she would be right out. Angel turned to her dad and gave him a hug and kiss, telling him that they were glad that he had come for them. Both girls looked upon their dad as a hero, because if the government found out that he was here to take them away, they would lock him up in jail or even shoot him. The only person who knew that they were leaving was Dr. White. The doctor had offered to take the girls with him tomorrow morning when he was going to his cabin, but the girls told him about their father coming to take them back home. They were leaving without permission, and that wasn't allowed.

As soon as Tom and Angel got into the car, Dini came hurrying out and jumped into the drivers seat to start the two hour drive home. Dini told her dad that she was very happy to be leaving the city, she also went on and told him what the government was doing with the young girls that they had brought into the city. She told her father that the government had done tests on her and Angel. The government was telling the girls that the tests were just a precaution, to make sure that none of them had any health problems.

Angel and Dini met Dr. White and they had become friends. Dr. White told the girls what the government was up to. He told them he couldn't stand by and watch the government do what they were doing anymore. The top brass of the military and of the government were running tests on all the women, to make sure that none of them were infected with the germs from the war or the fallout from the bomb. Once the tests came back negative, then the military or government would invite the women to a house party, where one of the top brass would pick out a woman of his choice, until all the top brass had their women, then if any were left over , the rest of the men would get to pick. If the tests came back positive, showing some problems, then she would be sent to one of the communities where they kept the mutants.

Angel piped up at that moment and told her father that Dr. Ron was going to help them escape from the city in the morning, but they told him that their dad was coming for them that night. As Tom sat there listening to his daughters relate their tale of horror of what they had been going through, he asked them why didn't they tell their mother or him about this before now? Dini went on to explain to her father, if they would have told anyone, they would have been sent to one of the communities where the mutants were kept. Tom realized that the girls were afraid to tell him until now for fear of his safety, because they knew their father well enough to know if he had an inkling of what the government and military were up to he would have come and taken his daughters long before now. He told his daughters it will be over his dead body before any of those bastards get near them.

They were on the road for twenty minutes when their car was hit broadside. The only thing that went through Tom's mind before he lost consciousness was that he would not be seeing his wife in a couple of hours also that Leonard was right on all counts.

Tom opened his eyes and slowly looked around, wondering where in the hell he was and how he got to this strange place. All Tom could see was a long hallway that was dimly lit with doors on each side. As he tried to sit up, he heard a groan and realized that it had come from him. He heard some rustling and looked in the direction that the sound had come from. At that moment everything came rushing back to him. A nurse was approaching him from the far end of the hallway. As the nurse got near to Tom, he asked her "where are my daughters?"

The nurse who's name plate read, Ann Johnson, told him that his daughters were fine, and that he had nothing to worry about. All he had to do was rest and if he had a problem going back to sleep the doctor had left instructions with her to give him a sedative if he needed one. Tom told the nurse that if she didn't get the doctor here within ten minutes he was going to go find his daughters himself. The nurse went to the nurses station and paged the doctor. She returned to him and told him that the doctor would be here shortly.

Within ten minutes , Tom was looking into the eyes of a kindly face, which belonged to the doctor. As he was explaining to Tom his injuries, Tom noticed the doctors name plate which was Dr. Ron White. He was wondering if this was the same doctor that his daughters had been telling him about. Dr. White went over to the nurses station and talked with the nurse for a couple of minutes. He came back over to Tom and asked him if he would like to see his daughters now? Tom told him that he would. The nurse brought a wheelchair over to the side of the stretcher and asked him if he needed any help in getting off the stretcher and sitting in the wheelchair, when he said that he was fine and could do it himself, the nurse left them to continue her duties. Once Tom was seated in the wheelchair, the doctor started to push him towards one of the doors that was off the hallway.

The first thing that he noticed as the doctor wheeled him into the room was Dini sitting beside a bed at the far side of the room. There were eight beds in the room, four on each side. As Dini saw her father, she jumped up from the chair and ran into his outstretched arms, with tears in her eyes she asked her father if he was alright. Tom told his daughter, not to worry because he was here now. He asked Dini how her sister was doing? As Dini dried her eyes she told her father that Angel was just starting to come around.

Dini told her father that , Dr. White was the doctor friend that she had been telling him about. Tom Shook the doctors hand and thanked him for trying to help his daughters out. He asked the doctor what the time was, the doctor looked at his watch and said it was 6:50 a.m.

Angel sat up on the bed and Dini and Tom hurried over to her, asking her how she was feeling? Angel told them that she was a little shaky but she would live. As the three of them were getting ready to leave the hospital a police officer came over to Tom and asked him if he was the owner of the car that was in the accident? As he was giving the police the information that they needed, Dini started to call around for a rental car. She over heard the police telling her father that the car was too damaged for them to drive. The police gave Tom the name of the car pound where his car was towed to.

It was 8:00 a.m. when the cab picked them up from the hospital. The only place that had a car for rent was at the airport and they were about forty minutes away. Tom told the cabby that if he could get them to the airport in less then thirty-five minutes then he would give him a twenty dollar tip. The cabby got them there in thirty-two minutes. It took them another fifteen minutes to fill out the rental forms and then they were on the road again.

At 9:18 a.m. they were on their way up north. Tom and the girls knew they wouldn't be able to reach the farm before the shift started. so he decided to head for Collinswood. He knew that there was a mountain up there and in the summer it was opened to the public because it had scenic caves. Tom figured that if he pushed it hard and didn't get pulled over for speeding they would be able to reach Collinswood with time to spare.

Tom took over the driving because he knew the short cuts and it would be easier to drive then to give Dini directions, this would also help him in keeping bis mind off of other things.

They reached Collinswood at 10:12 a.m. and within five minutes they were at the mountain. With their arms full of the things they would need, they hurried inro the cave. Dini looked ar her watch and said they had five minutes before the shift started.

They were only thirty feet inside the cave when Tom found the perfect spot. To him this spot seemed to be the safest. There was a large crevice which all three could fit into for protection, in case some of the ice formations happened to fall from the ceiling of the cave. Tom settled his two daughters in the crevice, then he got in beside them. Then he went on to pack the things they brought with them , all around them. Once he finished with this he hugged each daughter and told them that everything would be alright. All three started to pray together.

The shift started with a lot of shaking and rumbling, all three felt and heard the ice cracking and falling throughout the cave. The wind started rushing into the cave, the noise that the wind made was like a thousand demon's being unleashed right from hell. The roar from the wind and the crashing of the ice was deafening. This lasted for an hour or more and it took them another ten minutes to realize the ground beneath them had stopped and the roaring of the wind had died.

Tom raised his head and looked at his daughters to make sure they were alright. He gave them a slight grin to reassure them that everything was fine. He also told the girls to leave their surgical outfits on for a little while longer, just to be on the safe side. He wasn't sure if the shift was over or if it was just the beginning.

Tom got slowly to his feet and brushed off the slivers of ice that had showered them during the shift. He told his daughters that he was going to take a look outside to see how things had withstood the shift.

The first thing that Tom noticed when he got outside was that the sky had patches of blue, the blue that it used to be before the bomb exploded. The clouds were starting to take on the color of what they used to be as well. After the bomb exploded, the clouds had turned blood red and they seemed to be in a fast forward setting on a V.C.R. There was thunder and lightening constantly in the clouds. You could never look up into the sky without seeing the lightening being there. The blue of the sky turned into the color of a sickly green.

Once Tom left his daughters, Angel asked Dini if they would be able to find their way back to the farm. she told Angel that if she would have been listening to mom when she was telling everyone, then she would know that they would find their way back to mom and the farm.

After a while, when Tom did not return, Dini and Angel decided to go and find their father. As they headed towards the mouth of the cave they could see the fallen ice had made small hills. They knew that they were very lucky indeed that they were still alive. As they walked outside they spotted their father standing very still and looking up to the sky. That's when they first noticed the clouds were changing color. The blood red color had turned to a pink, and as they stood there gazing up to the sky the clouds had changed again to a paler pink, shortly after that the clouds had gone back to the fluffy white that they used to be before the war. Tom shook himself out of the trance he was in and noticed the enraptured faces of his daughters.

Dini stood there gazing up in the sky and started thinking about the day before the bomb exploded, when the sky looked just like it looked right now. She woke up to a beautiful morning, it was warm with a slight breeze. The sky was a soft blue with patches of white fluffy clouds. Dini was standing at her parents living room window thinking of the day ahead of her. There was going to be a family reunion, this had been the family ritual for as far back as Dini could remember. Every summer during July or August a family member would host the reunion, and this year was her parents turn. Everyone at the farm was excited about the reunion because the family was scattered about and it was a year since they had seen anyone and there was a lot of catching up to do. That day went on to be a great success. The reunion would be for the entire weekend and that was a God send because the next day the bomb exploded. Mom and dad had the bomb shelter built a few years ago, as we were all able to get to safety. It was at this point that Dini realized her father had come over to where Angel and she were standing, and that he was saying something to them. Tom was telling the girls that they would be staying in the cave for another day or two,. He wanted to make sure that the shift was finished before setting off to the farm and the rest of the family.

All three noticed at the same time that the bay was gone. They decided to take a walk down the mountain to see how much damage was done. As they rounded a curve on the mountain roadside they found out where the water from the bay had gone. About fifty yards ahead of them, where they had left the rented car was the water, it had covered the entire town of Collinswood and the surrounding countryside. As far as the eye could see, there was water. All three stood there trying to see if there were any survivors in the water. As far as they could see there were none .As they headed back towards the cave they noticed it was getting quite warm. In thirty minutes that they were outside the temperature must have gone up at least twenty degrees.

They went back inside the cave and gathered their belonging up and went back to the mouth of the cave. Tom decided that it would be best for them to stay inside the cave at night for protection, but he didn't want to be too far inside in case of any problems that might arise.

They had removed their surgical outfits and they sat down outside to have their lunch, when they noticed that the sky was darkening. Angel looked at her dad and said that it seemed to be evening, and that she could even see some stars twinkling. Dini looked at her watch and told her father and sister that it was only early afternoon. Shortly after they ate their lunch, the sky had gone completely dark. When they checked their watches the time was 1:15 p.m. Tom explained that they must have slipped into another time zone. The three of them sat outside for a little while longer just gazing up at the stars and enjoying the evening air, something they couldn't do for such a long time, just enjoying the evening.

Not knowing if any wild animals were around, Tom decided that they should all go into the cave. They realized that they were tired from their ordeal and all turned in for a good sleep. From the accident up until now they were on the go and they found it very draining. All three went into a deep slumber and they all dreamed of getting back to their family.

Just before they woke up to the nightmare that would change their lives forever, a band of ape-like men circled around them and they were all wearing an evil sneer.

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Darlene Dawson

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