It was dusk, as Marty waited in the hope that Doc would reappear – or at least the Doctor. At least he would be able to help bring him back.
Half an hour later: still nothing.
Marty sighed and turned to walk in the direction of his home. However just as he began to walk away, he felt a hand gently touch his shoulder. Marty turned round.
A man roughly in his thirties stood, carrying a dirty brown sack as he eyed Marty curiously.
"You wouldn't happen to be a mister Marty McFly, would you?"
This seemed familiar.
"Er, yeah…" He said awkwardly.
The man passed him a letter.
"He said you'd be here. Strange fellow. Had that crazy Einstein hair,"
That's when all the memories began to flash before Marty's eyes.
Memories of a past time.
Memories of an alternate timeline to the one he was currently in.
Memories that he had lived.
These weren't glimpses anymore. These were a reminder that this twenty fifteen was a lie. And he had been warned about it before...
Marty awoke under a clinical white duvet; he tried to take in his surroundings. Next to him was a man whose leg was in a cast. To his right a woman attached to a life support machine; Marty was no expert but he was sure the infrequent beeping noises weren't a good sign for the poor girl...
A nurse was staring over him, as though waiting for Marty to respond.
"Wh-what happened?" Marty stammered.
"Relax. You had a slight heart attack, that's all," She spoke sweetly. "We've run all necessary tests and you appear to be in good health. You're free to go,"
Marty was about to leave the comfort of his bedspread, when suddenly he remembered –
"Hey, where's my letter?"
"The letter you were found with?" The nurse enquired.
Marty nodded.
"Oh, I'm sorry. It was delivered to the wrong person," She told him as she began to stroke his face. "He came to pick it up today,"
Before he realised what he was doing, Marty grabbed the nurse by her white uniform and pulled her threateningly towards him.
"What was his name?"
The nurse looked rather taken aback.
"H-he called himself John Darren. Weirdly dressed. Smart suit and tie, all black. I thought he was from the FBI,"
"He must be behind Doc's disappearance," He muttered to himself. "Thanks for your help!"
Marty dashed out of the door, as a bewildered look spread across the nurse's face.
Doc awoke floating in a strange dimensional void; he appeared to be in a state of half-existence, where everything was nothing and nothing was everything. The walls were white but then there were no walls, a white sky but no white sky, white ground but no white ground…
There was life in Doc but at the same time there was none. None of this existed but at the same time it had to exist in order for it to happen. Doc had often wondered what it would feel like to be written out of existence. He didn't think it would be as lonely as this.
"Hello? Is there anyone there?" He called.
"Marty?"
Nothing.
Then a voice spoke.
"Hello. My name is John Darren. I wish to recruit you,"
It wasn't long before Marty spotted a figure similar to who the nurse had described; he was causing a stir outside the court house, as spectators watched a number of figures give chase. The Simpsons, a spikey-haired man in a brown coat and his ginger-haired companion…and was that…?
"DOC!" Marty screamed from the top of his lungs.
The figure that looked like Doc turned and waved in Marty's direction. Marty ran over and squashed him in a long, bear-like hug.
"Man, I thought it was over that time!"
Doc gave a slight smile.
"It's never over, Marty. It can never be over. Our history has been engraved along time and will outlive us all in the end,"
He offered a hand to Marty as they continued their chase of John Darren. Marty took it and they ran together.
"Marty, there's something I have to tell you…"
Marty turned to face Doc.
"You can tell me anything, Doc,"
Doc shuffled nervously.
"You might not like this. I'm not sure if I like it myself. You see, when I disappeared I ended up in an endless void. The man we're chasing...John Darren...his voice appeared. He asked for my assistance; his plan could destroy the space-time continuum as we know it…"
It wasn't clear what Marty should be thinking. He was sure that Doc wouldn't agree to something with such a catastrophic impact but something about the way he was acting told him otherwise…
"You did say no, right Doc?"
He didn't respond, just stared into the distance as if contemplating something…but what?
TO BE CONTINUED IN THOSE WHO LIVE AGAIN.
