Chapter 5
Saturday, December 14th
8: 37 P. M.
There was a sudden knock at the door. "Doc? Are you awake?" called George.
Doc quickly put Marty down. "Yes, I'm awake. How are you, George?"
George entered the room, looking nervous. "Not so good. I have to tell you something. You don't have a home."
"What?? I willed my estate to Marty! My house should still be available to me."
"Yeah, I know, but some gift shop wants the land. They're claiming Marty can't be the executor of your estate since he's a minor. They're threatening to go to court on the issue."
"But Doc's alive. Shouldn't he just get his house back?" Jennifer asked.
"It's not that easy. So far, we're the only ones who know he's alive. And the gift shop doesn't seem willing to back down. I don't know how long it'll take to get your house back, Doc. But we decided that, in the meantime, you could live with us. Is that okay?"
"That's fine, George," Doc smiled. "I'll be quite happy to live with all of you."
"Great! Tomorrow we'll move you into Dave's old room."
Doc glanced at Mysteria. "I'm afraid I'll have to do my share of the moving tonight, George," he said, thinking fast. "My circadian rhythms appear to be reversed for the time being."
George looked a bit lost. "Circadian rhythms? You mean when you get up and go to sleep, right?"
"Precisely. I suspect I might be sleeping in the day and active at night. So whatever I need to do will have to be done at night."
"Okay with me as long as you don't keep Marty up all night as well. I'll send Lorraine over to your house to get some clothes and stuff for you. Anything else you want?"
"My saxophone, if you don't mind."
"Not at all." George started for the door when Doc's sheepdog bounded into the room. Einstein immediately launched himself at Doc, barking joyfully.
"Einstein!" Doc knelt down and ruffled his dog's fur. "Good to see you, boy. I hope Marty has been taking good care of you."
"Been doing just what you said-walk him twice a day and only canned dog food," Marty said proudly. Einstein barked again and licked Doc's face.
"It's been interesting having a dog around the house," George said, petting Einstein. "Oh, by the way, do you want those taped-up boxes too?"
Doc went on the alert. "Yes, definitely. Did you open them?"
"No, why?"
Doc sighed in relief. "They're your Christmas presents. I wouldn't want you to know what I'd gotten you beforehand."
"Doc," Marty assured him, "you're the only Christmas present we need."
Sunday, December 15th, 1985
Hill Valley, California
8: 01 P. M.
Doc blinked open his eyes. For a moment, he didn't know where he was. Then he recalled last night and knew that he was in Dave's room. He yawned, stretched, and patted his sleeping dog.
Last night had been a fairly busy one for Doc. Lorraine had gotten him to eat some meatloaf and drink some root beer. Sadly, all it did for him was prove Mysteria's statement about normal food being a poison. After vomiting it all up, he'd caught up on the past 3 days with the rest of the family. Once they'd all gone to bed, he had spent the rest of the night playing with Einstein.
Marty poked his head into the doorway. "Hey, Doc. How are you?"
"Fine. You?" Doc yawned again, his fangs extending involuntarily.
"Okay. I'm still getting used to the fact you're a vampire and my neighbor, room-wise." He rubbed the spot where Doc had bitten him before. "If you're hungry again, I'll-"
Doc cut him off. "No, I'm not hungry tonight. And what happened last night was an isolated incident, Marty. From now on, I drink animal blood. Mysteria told me she would give a supply tonight."
Right on cue, there was a knock at the window. Doc and Marty looked to see Mysteria standing in the yard, holding a bag. Doc opened the window for her, asking, "Why didn't you use the door?"
"I really didn't want to explain what was in the bottles," Mysteria said, taking out one. It was a small, plastic, 2-pint soda bottle with no label. "It's beef and pork's blood, from a local butcher. Each bottle contains 2 pints, and I brought over 20 bottles, so the supply should hold you over for about 3 months. Here's the name and address of the place when you need to buy more." She handed Doc a slip of paper, which he stuck in his pocket. "Marty, do you think you could convince your family this stuff is veggie juice?"
"Don't need to, Mystie. We brought over Doc's mini-fridge today." Marty pointed out the box, which resembled what you'd find in a cheap motel. "Mom and Dad thought it 'might be nice to provide him with a few comforts of home.'"
"I usually use it to store potions I'm mixing in the lab," Doc added. "Seems like fate that they decided to bring it for me, huh?"
"I thought you didn't believe in fate," Mysteria commented as she filled the mini-fridge with the bottles.
"At times even I am forced to admit its possible existence." Doc kissed her very tenderly. "Mysteria, do you have any idea how I became a vampire?"
Mysteria just shrugged. "None. All I can say is that the blood exchange must have happened at the correct moment."
"Blood exchange? You mean some vampire made Doc drink his blood? Gross." Marty made a face.
"Actually, no, that's not what I meant. Sharing blood in that manner doesn't make a vampire. For some reason, vampire blood must be put directly into the veins of a normal human. And that is not easily done. Our cuts, and most other injuries, heal within seconds."
"That can't be right," Doc argued. "I drank from a cut on your neck yesterday morning."
"Your saliva kept it open," Mysteria explained. "Emmett, I do have a suspicion that your becoming a vampire is linked to that trip to Biff's home you took. What do you remember about that night?"
Doc thought hard. "Nothing," he said finally. "It's a total blank. My subconscious must be protecting me from something."
"Probably a vampire attack," Mysteria nodded. "Well, since things have calmed down a bit from last night, I thought I'd stick around and tell you about some of the things vampires can do. I've been around for 331 years, so I know a thing or two."
"I'm very willing to learn."
"Me too," said Marty. Both vampires looked at him, surprised. "Hey, I'm in on the whole thing. Might as well know something about it. I just hope you speak English."
"Oh, be quiet. The only reason I talk to you like that is because I feel you're my equal."
"It's a good idea, Marty. Emmett is going to need a test subject for the first two," Mysteria said. "I hope none of your family surprises us, though. Where are they?"
"Everybody's out. Mom and Dad are at the tennis courts for a late game, and Dave and Linda are on dates. I'd be out too, if Jenny weren't visiting her grandmother."
"I was wondering why it was so quiet. Your father's snores probably reach a decibel level of 180."
"Tell me about it."
"Fate once more," Mysteria said, trying to keep the boys from any side conversations. "We'll start with the most apparent one-you can read minds, Emmett."
The old Doc would have laughed at the mention of mechanically unassisted telepathy. But the new Doc was much more open to the paranormal. "I know. I think I heard Einstein's thoughts while we were playing last night."
"What does a dog think about?" Marty asked, curious.
"Mostly about how happy he was to see me. It must have something to do with brain waves, but I can't figure out how it could work."
"Knowing you, you'll find out," Mysteria teased. "Why don't you try reading my mind? Or Marty's?"
"I'll try it with Marty. He's used to me trying to read his thoughts." Doc smiled at his best friend, recalling their meeting in 1955. "Hopefully, I'll have more luck this time than the last." He closed his eyes and began to concentrate on receiving Marty's thoughts. Marty tried to think of something Doc would notice.
He succeeded a little too well. Doc's eyes snapped open. "Marty!"
"Excuse me for being a normal teenager," Marty snapped, blushing.
"Even still.... Do you know what he was thinking about, Mystie? He was thinking-"
"I don't want to know," Mysteria said, giggling. "Apparently you've mastered the art of telepathy."
"Yes, but there are some thoughts people should keep to themselves," Doc mumbled, still stunned at what he'd heard from Marty's mind.
"Don't tell me you've never thought stuff like that about Mysteria," Marty said. "I know you're a little eccentric, but nobody's that weird."
"Touche," Doc admitted with a sheepish grin.
"If we could return to the subject of vampirism," Mysteria spoke up, not eager to learn about Doc's fantasies about her. The boys apologized and gave her their attention again. "Since you seem to be so good at reading others minds, Emmett, hypnotizing them should be a cinch."
"What would be the purpose of hypnotizing others? I refuse to hunt humans."
"Yeah, but sometimes the humans hunt us. We don't want the masses to know about our existence, so we hypnotize them to make them forget if they've seen any vampire activity."
"Or time-travel activity," Doc nodded thoughtfully, seeing the merit in her statements.
"Now you're getting it. Try it on Marty. Just have him look into your eyes and give him a few suggestions to relax. Oh, Marty, if you hear a thumping, ignore it. It's your heartbeat. My first attempt to hypnotize Emmett failed because his heartbeat distracted him."
"Gotcha. Whenever you're ready, Doc." He smiled at him, eyes filled with expectation and trust.
Doc looked back, letting Marty stare into his eyes. Marty's heartbeat seemed to grow louder as he stared. Doc swallowed, then began talking to him in the most soothing voice he could muster. "Relax, Marty. Let yourself go. Let your shoulders slump.... Your breathing slow.... Just relax. Look into my eyes and relax."
As he spoke, a change came over the teen. The expectation in his face was smoothed over with a dull blankness. All the muscles of his face went slack. His blue eyes took on a vacant stare, making him look like an idiot. His breathing slowed to about half its normal rate as his shoulders slumped. Within a few minutes, he was completely in Doc's control.
Doc paused as he noticed Marty's complete lack of expression. "Mystie, is this a normal side effect of entrancement, or should I be worried?"
"Side effect. He went under fairly quickly. He'll do whatever you command him to now. Go ahead, tell him to do something."
Doc looked back at Marty's vacant expression. It gave him the chills, frankly. He stood up and walked over to the opposite side of the room. He schooled his nerves and said, "Marty, stand up and face me."
Marty immediately obeyed, his face remaining blank. Doc couldn't repress a slight shudder. "Now walk towards me."
Marty obeyed again, walking a bit like a sleepwalker. He probably would have walked straight into Doc had he not commanded, "Stop!" The second he said that, Marty froze. He seemed to have no will of his own. Doc probed his mind and discovered that Marty wasn't thinking at all.
Doc panicked. "Marty! Marty, wake up!" he shouted, snapping his fingers a few times in front of Marty's face.
Marty blinked, expression returning to his face. He looked around, confused. "What happened? Why did I get up?"
Doc gave him a big hug. "You scared me. No mental activity at all. Just blind obedience. It gave me the chills."
"That's what happens," Mysteria shrugged.
"Then I won't be using that talent much. You can't even call it 'hypnotism'. Hypnotized subjects think."
Marty was still confused. "What's this about not thinking? How can I do something and not think while I'm doing it?"
"I don't know how, but you did." Doc shuddered again. "You would have been creeped out, had you seen your face. A complete lack of expression. I don't understand how you can just shrug that sight off, Mysteria."
"I'm used to it. I will concede its a little spine-chilling at first." She smiled. "How about you test out your new wings to get your mind off it?"
"Yet another medical mystery. Let me take off my shirt, I don't want to ruin it." He slipped off the 'trains' shirt and put on a very worn out 'cactus' shirt. He spread the pair of huge black bat wings, tearing his shirt to shreds in the back. "This is what I was looking forward to the most last night," he grinned. "I've always wanted to fly under my own power."
"You look like a reverse angel," Marty quipped.
"Bat wings are more appropriate from an evolutionary standpoint. Bats are flying mammals. Plus, the bones in a bat's wing and in a human hand are very similar."
"Why can't you just turn into a bat like Dracula?"
"Don't be silly, Marty. The ability to instantly change one's physical composition is in direct violation of the laws of physics."
"Isn't the time machine?"
"Isn't the time machine what?"
"Isn't the time machine in violation of the laws of physics?"
Doc opened his mouth to answer. He shut it after he realized he didn't have one. Marty looked at him with smug expectation, daring him to say it. "Okay, you stumped me."
"Yes!" Marty pumped his arms. Doc sighed and rolled his eyes. Mysteria just shook her head.
"Come on, Emmett. It's magical, flying." She climbed back out the window into the backyard. Doc followed, saying a brief goodbye to Marty. "All you need is a running start. I'll race you to the clock tower!" She took off across the yard, her own wings unfolding and pumping hard. When she reached the fence on the opposite side, she was airborne.
Doc watched her fly up in amazement. Then he took a deep breath and started running himself. He picked up speed very quickly, his chest and back muscles straining to get him aloft.
And just when he was sure he was going to crash into the fence, Doc's feet left the ground.