Disclaimer: No, I do not own BTTF in any way, shape or form, and this story is only written for my fellow BTTF fans to see and read. So there! ;)

Thursday, September 26, 1986, 04:25 p.m.

Marlene McFly and Allen Thomas raced desperately toward the River Run Tunnel. They were out of options. The only way to end their tiresome journey of time-travel was to take Marlene's father's truck back from Douglas J. Needles, Marty's friend who was beginning to seem more and more like a malicious enemy.

"Marlene…" Allen groaned, sitting up in the passenger's seat of the DeLorean.

"What?"

"Why did Needles choose to lead us here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean—what is the significance of this place? Does Needles want us to follow him here for a reason, or is it just…random?"

"I don't know."

"Well, surely, it must mean something."

"Look, I just know that if we don't get that truck back, my future is going to suck."

"This is true." Allen peeked out the window. He could see a small black streak moving about a hundred feet ahead of them. He could now just barely see the tunnel—but there was something at the end of the long crevasse. "Marlene—I think he's going to crash the truck—there's construction work going on down there—look!"

"Oh my God! If he crashes into that barricade--"

"He could not only destroy the truck, but kill himself!! This is suicide! Why is he doing this??"

"I don't know. But someone has to stop him. Allen, I am going to speed up the DeLorean a bit. Hand me the ski mask on the dash and your hoverboard. I have an idea."

"What?"

"I intercept the truck, pretend to steal it, and Dad gets it back."

"WHAT?!" Allen cried. "And just how are you going to do that?! He's going too fast, and you'll get run over anyway."

"Didn't you put some Pit Bull style mods on it anyway? Griff was harassing you in the hallway about it last week at school. He wants a Pit Bull hoverboard—I thought he already had one? Anyway, I think I can go fast enough if the DeLorean gives me a boost." She pulled Marty's bat from the back. "I brought this just in case."

"Marlene…you know what happens if you fail, right…?" Allen trailed off. "You could die, get run over, crash into the barricade yourself."

"Yes…" Marlene said, slipping on the ski mask and a pair of leather gloves. "But if Needles crashes that truck, something worse will happen to him."

They were running out of time. Marlene steadily opened the gull-wing door and slipped out onto the pavement. "Allen!" she whispered, the WHOOSH of the hoverboard startling her. "How do you work the boosters??"

"Oh no, I almost forgot!" Allen quickly reached into the back and produced a dome-shaped metallic helmet. "The controls are synaptic."

Marlene fastened the helmet's harness. "Okay, this is it, try to keep up!" she said, giving him the thumbs-up sign and closing the door. The DeLorean sped up as she hung on to it by the door's handle. The truck was getting closer. She let go. The hoverboard was now going very, very fast, at least as fast as a car. Marlene wondered if she would have to use the boosters at all.

Needles saw something very odd in McFly's—no, his—rearview mirror. A person in a ski mask—on a flying skateboard? With a baseball bat?? There was a muffled explosion. The skater was moving faster. Needles could now see the person was wearing a ski mask. Before he knew it, the skater was at his side smashing into the window with the bat.

"PULL OVER!" the mysterious figure yelled.

CRASH!

"I SAID, PULL OVER!"

Needles hit the brakes in a panic. The truck stopped, sending the bat-wielding maniac flying into the pavement. The skateboard broke into two pieces as she—Needles could see the skater had the build of a woman—slammed onto the ground with a resounding THUD. She didn't seem to be breathing.

"Well, well…" Needles said, stepping out the car. "You thought you could take me, huh?" He pulled off the mask. "Well, she has a face—and a pretty one, at that. I almost don't want to waste it," he said, picking up the bat. "But then again…" He dropped it and hopped back into the car. "Maybe I can make this look like an accident." He put the Toyota in reverse.

NEXT: LAST RESORT!!