Roadside Assistance                      by: Destiny

 

Max Sheldon's was not enjoying his current business trip, he swore again under his breath as he took another sharp turn at much more than a safe speed, he would not have felt any better if he knew how interesting it was about to become. At 21 he was the youngest of his company's salesmen and was therefore given the worst jobs, sometimes he wished that he was one of the female sellers just so he wouldn't get sent out to the remote locations. The next three events were about to drastically change his life;

1 A deer bolted across the road.

2 The sharp turn became an uncontrolled skid.

3 The tree.

A few minutes later a strange wheezing, groaning noise echoed through the forest, accompanied by a flashing blue light.

As Max came to he felt an odd sensation throughout his entire body, and wondered how he managed to avoid the tree. Slowly he assimilated his surroundings, unfamiliar bed, strange beeping machines and a strong smell of disinfectant; a hospital. "Damn guess I didn't miss that tree after all" his voice sounded oddly high pitched. As soon as he spoke memories started to seep back, just fragments, but memories nonetheless. The tree, that odd rhythmic noise, darkness, a brightly-lit white room with circles on the walls, a mans voice with an odd Scottish (?) accent "Oh dear physical damage from the crash. Why can't the world do without me just once? Genetic damage from pollution, well redo from square one." The sudden feeling of tightness in his chest and emptiness in his groin, then the mans voice "Don't worry I'll take care of everything."

Max shot upright, his chest bounced and long blond hair flopped over his eyes, he stared in shock at the sight of the hair blocking his view and grabbed it with his slim graceful hands. Now he started to panic Max knew his hands could never be thought of as slim, they were like shovels and he had short black hair. "What the hell is going on here" he shrieked, again his voice was high pitched. He looked down at his chest in mounting panic, only too see two perfectly formed female breasts. His hands darted to his groin and felt a vagina. Max swept away the equipment by his bed and stared at the reflection in the metal tray, an attractive woman's face stared back at him "Are you all right?" A nurse entered the room "You shouldn't be out of bed with that concussion you know" "Just tell me what's going on" Max pleaded "what's happening." "You were in a car wreck. A short man brought you in, said he was a Doctor. He said not to worry about your memory, that he would sort it out." The nurse looked at him "do you have any amnesia?" she asked. "Anyway" she continued "he muttered something about the timelines that I didn't catch and left."

Max stared at her, then started to speak, when a wave of dizziness came over him.

Maxine straightened up, the nurse was bending anxiously over her. Damn company she thought, she should never have been sent out into the sticks alone. What if a rapist had found her and not a Doctor they should have sent a man not the new girl.

In a brightly lit white room, with circles on its walls, a short man wearing a battered panama hat and a white suit jacket over a sweater covered in question marks, looked at the monitor on the hexagonal console. He smiled as he watched the last vestiges of Max Sheldons life disappear, and a new timeline, containing Maxine's form, he smiled, as a Doctor it was his job to make things better.

 

© 2000
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