Touching The Ton

[toddyboy]

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">“Nazi’s” I blurted out. The confused look on my face prompted Dobbs to explain further.

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">“Unfortunately, the Americans plan backfired on them somewhat. The Nazi scientists, doctors and biologists that were secretly filtered back to the USA under the guise of project paperclip weren’t just clever, they were also still extremely idealistic. The Yanks were so enamoured with the technical skills and knowledge of their guests that they forgot just how insane the Nazi doctrine was and how difficult it is to eradicate an idea that’s been indoctrinated into someone. It’s been almost a decade since then and they’ve become entrenched in American society, all the way up to some of the highest levels of their political hierarchy. Now we believe that they’re back at their old game again - world domination. The fourth Reich, old chap. Bloody ridiculous!”<span> </span>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">“How is that possible?” I asked

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">Dobbs was a matter of fact character and appeared to be a very positive type of man but I could see in his eyes that the situation he was referring to was fast getting out of control. “We are obliged to accommodate the Americans I’m afraid. Since the war ended several US military bases have been established here in the United Kingdom. They have their own secret spy department which used to be called the OSS, now it’s known as the CIA. Unfortunately, it’s littered with Nazi’s. They operate on their own agenda and obviously were trying to capture you. Thankfully, they didn’t and you were instrumental in sending a few of them over that bridge. A couple less to have to keep tabs on I’m happy to say.”<span> </span>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">I just shook my head in disbelief. Just about everything that had occurred to me in the past day or so was unbelievable and now this was the icing on the cake. What a story this would make, I thought. But it was a story I could never tell. <span>   </span>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">“So what now?” I asked.

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">“We send you back,” Dobbs replied. And with that he motivated the other men in the room into action. There was a flurry of activity as the machine began to make a strange noise, a kind of whirring, humming sound.

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">Dobbs escorted me back outside where two technicians in overalls were waiting there with the TDM. My men tell me your machine is like nothing they’ve ever seen. Japanese apparently?”

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">“Yes, it’s even a bit unique in my time,” I replied.

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">“It’s a strange world we live in, and will live in by the looks of it,” Dobbs ruminated. “The Japs were bludgeoned into submission by the atomic bomb yet they bounce back to produce exotic machinery like this, while the Nazi’s play hide and seek with us on our own turf and after we apparently eradicated them from the face of the earth. Still, it appears that England is still a free country in 2020 so they didn’t succeed with their comeback plan, <i>yet</i>. Let’s hope that continues.”

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">Then he explained what was going to happen next.

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">“We’re going to duplicate the exact same frequency that transported you here, only in reverse. With any luck you’ll return to the exact time and place from you came.”<span> </span>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">“And if I’m <i>not</i> lucky?” I questioned with a slight lump in my throat.

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">Dobbs paused for a moment. Then he looked me dead in the eye and said “Let’s just be lucky, eh, old boy!”<span> </span>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">I was then briefed on the procedure. I had to duplicate the exact moments prior to the point where I thought I’d been hit by lightning. That meant riding along the same stretch of road at approximately the same speed at a specific time. I chuckled to myself nervously. (I’d watched Back To The Future) I could do this.

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">I fired up the TDM and shook Dobb’s hand. Then I followed one of the Land Rovers out through the gates. ‘Ground Zero’ was only a mile or so away. We reached the Elstree roundabout and the two military men in the Land Rover blocked the road to stop any potential traffic. There wasn’t actually any, it was just a precaution.<span> </span>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">I knew what I had to do but I was pretty bloody nervous all the same. The two soldiers in the Land Rover nodded, signifying I could go. I nodded, took a deep breath and started off down the A41 gradually increasing speed as I went. As the speedo needle arched to the right and hit 60mph I knew I was coming up to the place where I’d suddenly disappeared in 2020 and then reappeared here in 1954.<span> </span>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">I steeled myself for what was coming. Then there was a bright flash ……….<span> </span>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">Everything went into slow motion. I couldn’t see anything. There was a lull then a hard jolt and suddenly there was the Beemer dead ahead of me. Storm clouds filled the skies. It was raining. There were dozens of vehicles on either side of the road. I’d done it!

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">I felt heavier, older and slower but I was as happy as a spring rabbit. It took me another ten minutes to get home by which time it was really starting to rain. I discarded my wet jacket, kissed my wife and sat down to a steaming hot plate of Cottage pie and a cup of tea.<span> </span>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">“Well, I’m back!” I announced.

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">My wife looked at me a bit funny and reminded me to put my plate and cutlery in the dishwasher when I was done.

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">It didn’t take long for my life to get back to normal. There were no physical side effects from the time travel experience thank god. It was almost as if nothing had happened. I’d returned to exactly the same time as I’d gone. No one was any the wiser, except me of course. Major Hobbs would be long gone by now most likely though I didn’t doubt for a moment that I was being monitored some way or another. I’d been visited by two Government types the day after my return and had to sign the official secrets act. They’d waited till my wife had gone out before they knocked on the door so they had obviously been keeping close tabs on me. Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary occurred.<span> </span>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">It didn’t take me long though to start wondering whatever happened to Tina. A quick peruse of Mr Google soon filled me in on the details. Apparently, she still lived at the same address in Hunton Bridge where I’d slept on the sofa back in the day. More importantly she was still alive, albeit she was now 84 years old. I pondered over it for several days. Should I, or shouldn’t I? Then I figured, what the hell! <span> </span>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">Parking the TDM up on the road outside I walked up the front pathway. I was sure I’d been followed by a nondescript black car but I couldn’t see anything now. The house didn’t look much different to be honest. The windows were now modern double glazed and the front door was a different colour but other than that it looked pretty much as I remembered it. I paused for a moment before ringing the bell. What would I say to her? What would she look like now? I realised my hand was trembling a bit as I pushed on the doorbell.

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">An old lady answered the door. She had white hair and wrinkled skin but those dark green eyes were unmistakable. She looked at me puzzled, her eyebrows creased, then suddenly she put her hand to her mouth and let out a muted yelp. “Tod, is that you?” she squeaked.

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">“Sure is Teens,” I replied. “Any chance of a cuppa?”

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">We sat and talked for what seemed an age. She couldn’t quite understand how I looked so young. She was 84. I should, by rights, be a little older but she said I didn’t look much over 50. How come? She had a point. I just fobbed it off saying I’d had a good life and married a good woman who fed me well. It wasn’t the whole truth, but it wasn’t a lie either.

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">Apparently, her and her boyfriend Jed had broken up not long after I “went back home,” and she eventually married another chap who worked at the Vincent Motorbike factory in Stevenage. They’d met at the Busy bee Cafe. They had only one son who tragically was killed while serving in the Gulf War and her husband had died only a couple of years ago, leaving her a widow. She was on her own now with only memories to keep her company.

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">She told me to wait while she went upstairs to get something and returned with a small jewellery box. Inside was the Yamaha key fob I’d given her. She’d kept it all this time!<span> </span>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">I then took her outside and showed her the TDM. She just looked at it bemused. How could I possibly still have it? I told her I’d looked after it and that I’d never sell it. She just shook her head and said “You always were a funny one, Tod.”<span> </span>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">I stayed in touch with Tina and visited her often. Unfortunately, she passed away a few months later. In her will she left a few things - for me! One of them was the key fob I’d given to her all that time ago, and the other - was a 1955 Vincent Black Shadow! It had been owned from new by her husband. Her solicitor took me to see it. It was bog standard and in as good condition as when it left the factory some 65 years ago with only four and a half thousand miles showing on the odometer. He also handed me the documents along with an unopened letter addressed to me. Inside was a note in Tina’s handwriting.

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"><i>‘I know you haven’t told me the whole truth about yourself, Tod. I suppose we all have our secrets and some things are probably best left unsaid but I thought you might like this. It was lovely knowing you. Ride safe. Love, Teens.’</i>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);">I nearly cried.<span> </span>

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="text-align:justify;font-size:11px;font-family:'Trebuchet MS';color:rgb(0,0,0);"><span>THE END</span>

This post was last modified: 12-03-2020, 05:46 PM by toddyboy.