Chapter 13

Saturday, November 12th

9: 35 P. M.

The vampires could do no more than stare for a moment, the impossibility of the situation numbing their brains. Then they came to their senses and started looking for a place to hide. Unfortunately the roof was very flat, with few projections. In desperation, the vampires started lowering themselves down the side of the building. Holy shit, a flying DeLorean! Marty thought to Doc as it lowered itself. Just like Biff told us he saw!

I know! Now I regret not examining his memories further. But we have no time for idle speculation. Come on, before he sees us. Doc disappeared over the edge of the gym. Marty was about to follow when --

"Marty! I thought I told you to buy some inconspicuous clothes!"

Marty spun to see Doc 2 looking at him with a disapproving expression. "What happened to all that 50s money I gave you? If you didn't know the meaning of the word, you should have asked me."

Marty's mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to think of something to say to this other Doc. Doc 2 sighed. "I suppose it's not important, as long as no one recognized you. Do you have the book?"

"Uh -- I--"

Doc 2 looked frantic. "Marty, you didn't lose it, did you? The entire space-time continuum depends on getting that almanac away from Biff!" He took Marty by the shoulders firmly -- then frowned at Marty's shell-shocked expression. "Marty? Are you all right? I know you've had a very rough day -- days, to be accurate -- and I'm sorry for pushing you so hard, but this is the most important thing you will ever do. Now, where's the almanac?"

Marty was saved from answering by the appearance of Marty 2, climbing up the ladder to the roof. He stumbled on, holding his stomach in pain. "Doc! Biff nailed me, and -- the hell?"

Doc 2's head swivelled between Marty and Marty 2 so fast Marty half expected it to fall off. "Great Scott!"

Marty looked at his other self. By some strange coincidence, they were dressed quite similarly, with blue jeans and red t-shirts. This Marty, however, also wore Nike sneakers and a leather jacket. Just out of curiosity, Marty looked at his twin's face.

That proved to be a very big mistake. His mind locked up the minute he looked into his other self's eyes. He just couldn't comprehend seeing himself and knowing he wasn't looking into a mirror. After a few moments of stunned amazement, the world began to grow hazy and dark.

"Marty! Marty, don't faint on me now!"

Doc 2's voice managed to snap him back to life. He saw Doc 2 holding a dizzy-looking Marty 2 by the shoulders, giving him a few shakes. "You have to stay awake! The entire space-time continuum depends on it!"

Marty 2 looked over at Marty, who was staring stupidly. "Where -- where did -- me -- come from?"

Doc 2 looked at Marty 2 as well. "How did you get here? I somehow doubt you're from the future. Otherwise you would have realized the importance of this date and left it alone."

Marty shrugged. "Doc, this is going to sound completely unbelievable, but I'm not from your future or past. Me and my family--"

"Family?! George, Lorraine, and your siblings?!"

"No," a voice suddenly said behind them. "He means me."

Marty turned to see Doc standing behind him, a serious yet amazed expression on his face. "Hello."

Doc 2 gasped, turning the color of perfectly cooked cod. "Great Scott," he mumbled, shaking his head. "This is incredible! What are you doing here? This is a very dangerous date to come to, you should know that! You're me!"

"I never would have come had Marty not insisted," Doc admitted. "But I have no memory of you handing our younger self the correct wrench. Where are you from? And how does your DeLorean fly?"

"What do you mean, where are we from? Hill Valley," Marty 2 said, getting over his shock. "Christ, this is weird. I mean, before, when I saw me in the car, that was heavy enough, but now--"

"Quiet for a moment, Marty. I want to talk to my other self." Doc 2 walked forward, his eyes traveling slowly up and down Doc's body. "How old are you?"

"64. You?"

"The same." He cautiously touched Doc's chest. "Where did you come from? Someplace other than Hill Valley?"

"No, we're from the hell that has become Hill Valley. That's the whole reason we're here. We had to escape."

"Hill Valley a hell?" Marty 2 said in surprise. "Hill Valley's a nice place to live, when Biff's not -- Holy SHIT, you're from that world??"

"You've been there?" Marty said.

"They must have, that's the flying DeLorean Biff saw," Doc pointed out gently, pointing to the car. "You come from a world where Biff doesn't run everything?"

"That's the whole reason we're back here -- to stop that place from ever coming into existence." Doc 2's eyes went wide. "The almanac! Marty, did you retrieve it?" he asked, shifting the subject so fast both Marty's had to blink.

"Doc, that's what I meant to tell you! I got nailed by my younger self, Biff grabbed the almanac and kicked me a few times, then took off in his car."

"Damn! And we've lost precious minutes in tracking him! Which way did he go?!"

"East, towards the River Road Tunnel," Marty 2 reported, pointing.

"We've got to catch up to him! Hell, we might have to time travel to make up the time we lost!" He looked back at Doc and Marty. "I'm sorry, but we have a mission to complete. Much as I would love to stay and discuss your situation, we have go. Marty, get in the car."

"Wait a minute!" Marty protested, suddenly frightened. "If you get the almanac, we're gonna be erased from existence! I'm rather fond of being around!"

Doc 2 paused as he got into his DeLorean. "I'm not sure what to say to you," he admitted sadly. "I'm afraid I would like my existence to continue as well. And the only way I can accomplish that goal is retrieving the almanac."

"Wait a moment," Doc said firmly, grabbing his counterpart's shirt. "I hate that place as much as you do, but I don't want to be wiped out. There has to be an acceptable compromise."

"We're wasting time! Every minute you delay us is a minute more that Biff has that almanac! We can't run the risk of him using it, even once!" Sarcastically, he added, "Unless that's your idea of a compromise."

"No! In fact, I wanted to take that almanac away from Biff too, until I realized the damage it would do to the time-line. Our version of it, anyway," he frowned.

"Please, I have a universe to save," Doc 2 insisted, pulling his shirt free. "Your time-line would cause a life-ending paradox."

"Don't you think I know that? I want to prevent Biff from creating that horrific world, but not at the cost of our lives!"

Marty 2 looked at them. "Doc, I know what it's like to be erased from existence. Can't we do anything for them?" he asked.

"Marty, what would it look like if another set of us showed up in our 1985?"

"We'll move!" Marty yelled, desperate. "I'll do anything just to stay alive! I've done it before!"

Doc 2 frowned. "We did get you into this mess," he admitted quietly. "But I can't let Biff have the almanac." He thought hard. "Tell you what. Let Marty and myself retrieve the almanac from Biff, then we'll meet you -- behind the Lyons Estates billboard. Then we'll try to come to a mutually acceptable compromise."

"Sounds all right to me," Doc said, although he remained a little suspicious. "But you had better be there. I suspect I have a worse temper than you do."

"No doubt. Don't worry, I never go back on my word. Besides, why would I wish erasure from existence on myself? I just hope we can work everything out."

"Myself as well, there's four lives at stake in this."

"Four?? No, never mind, tell me later. Marty, set the time circuits for today at 9: 30 P. M. We'll leave before we arrive."

Marty 2 frowned at the display. "Hey, Doc, it's acting up again."

"Hmm? Oh, damn!" Doc 2 hit the circuits a few times with his hand. "I thought I had that fixed!" He hit it one last time, then seemed satisfied. "Try it now."

Marty 2 typed in the information and smiled. "A-ok, Doc."

"Right. We'll see you in the future!"

"Or maybe in the past," Marty wisecracked. Doc 2 smiled and nodded as he shut his door and made the car fly again. The vampires watched as the DeLorean zoomed off, then disappeared. "Well, that was really weird," Marty mumbled, still a little stunned from encountering his other self.

"I know. I never thought we'd get to interact with our counterparts from the good reality. I only hope that my other self makes good on his promise to compromise with us."

"He seems to be as worried about the space-time continuum as you are," Josie said, returning to the roof. "I suppose that's a good thing, but still--"

"I wonder what was up with his time machine," Jennifer asked, wiping off her hands.

"I looked in while he was hitting it. Looked like some sort of error, as the destination time was January 1st, 1885."

"That's one heckva error." Marty looked nervous. "You think he'll listen to us?"

"You forget we can make him listen," Doc grinned wickedly. "But I think he'll listen to me at least. We are intellectual equals. And I suspect that your counterpart is sympathetic towards us, which is good." He checked his watch. "Great Scott, we're going to be late for the lightning! Post-haste to the Town Square!"

They reached the clock tower at the same time as Marty'55. The vampires quickly found a shop with an easily-picked lock and ducked inside to watch the show. "You're late! Do you have no concept of time!" Doc'55 yelled at Marty'55 as they uncovered the DeLorean.

"Hey, I had to change! Do you think I'm going back in that -- that zoot suit!?" Marty'55 protested as they finished up. "My old man really came through; it worked! He laid out Biff with one punch!" Marty'55 handed his picture to Doc'55, very pleased. "I never knew he had it in him; he's never stood up to Biff in his life!"

Doc'55 stared at the picture as Marty'55 said those last words. "Never?" he repeated, sounding vaguely uneasy.

"What's he mean?" Jennifer whispered.

"Marty'55 told me that once that his father was a complete wimp in the 80s, and the rest of his family wasn't much better. When he told that to me, I immediately realized he had changed the future. It was too late to do anything, though, and it turned out he had changed it for the better. Up to a point," he amended.

Doc'55 waved off Marty'55's question of "No, why, what's the matter?" and set about explaining the set-up. "Let's set your destination time!" He climbed into the front seat of the car. "This is the exact time you left! Let's send you back at exactly the same time!" Doc'55 typed a date and time into the keypad and entered it into the time circuits. "It'll be like you never left!" He jumped out of the car and ran a little distance away. "Now, I've painted a white line waaay over there--" he waved down the street "--that's where you start from! I've calculated the precise distance, taking into account the acceleration speed and wind resistance retroactive from the moment the lightning strikes -- which will be in exactly--" he checked his watch and set a clock he held. "Seven minutes and 22 seconds! When this alarm goes off, you hit the gas!"

"Right! I got it!" Marty'55 nodded. Doc'55 wound the alarm and set it on the dashboard.

"Well," he said, emerging from the car, "I guess that's everything."

Marty'55 looked very pensive. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"Thank you!" Doc'55 responded enthusiastically.

Suddenly, Marty'55 pulled Doc'55 into a hug. Doc'55 froze for a moment, then slowly put his own arms around Marty'55. "In about 30 years?" he asked.

"I hope so!" If you're even alive, Doc. Shit, this could be the last time I see my best friend. . . . Keep it cool, McFly.

Doc'55 misconstrued his tone as nervousness over time traveling. He pulled back from Marty'55 with a reassuring expression. "Don't worry!" He went over and indicated the set-up. "As long as you hit the wire with the connecting hook at precisely 88 miles per hour, the instant the lightning strikes the tower--" He paused, trying to come up with the appropriate ending. "Everything will be fine," he finally shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Right," Marty'55 said, hopping into the DeLorean.

Doc'55, however, had a puzzled expression on his face. He pulled his hand from his pocket, revealing a letter. Marty'55 sighed and shook his head. Jesus, why did he have to find it now? He's gonna flip.

Doc'55 read the envelope, then stuck it in Marty's face. "What's the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"You'll find out in 30 years!" Marty'55 yelled back.

"Is that the letter?" Marty asked Doc as Doc'55 went ballistic. "The one you keep in the glove compartment to keep it safe."

"Yes, it's that letter." He winced as he watched himself rip it up, yelling, "I refuse to accept the responsibility!"

Marty'55 spun him around, looking upset. "In that case, I'll tell ya straight out!" he insisted. Doc'55 covered his ears.

A moment later, covering his ears was no longer necessary. Both were distracted by a tree branch breaking off and falling onto the all-important wire, pulling the plug dangling from the top of the clock tower free. "Great Scott!" Doc'55 yelled, horrified. He stuck the pieces of the letter in his pocket and ran forward to survey the damage. Seeing it was only the plug, he dashed back to his car and retrieved a coil of rope. "You get the cable, I'll throw the rope down to you!" he told Marty'55.

"Right! I got it!" Marty'55 yelled back, running after Doc'55. The scientist disappeared into the Courthouse while Marty'55 grabbed the fallen wire. Jennifer squealed as she hear Doc'55 running up the steps inside. "This is so exciting!"

"Like the climax of a block-busting movie," Josie agreed, eyes fixed on the scene.

"You wouldn't think so if you'd been involved," Doc said, remembering how exhausted he'd been after sending Marty back.

Doc'55 reappeared at the top of the tower, obviously shaky. He was briefly frightened by the visage of one of the gargoyles guarding the clock, but quickly came to his senses. "Doc!" Marty'55 yelled up to him, and was answered by the rope dropping to the steps. Marty'55 grabbed it and started tying.

"Come on, come on!" Doc'55 yelled impatiently, already towing in the rope.

Marty'55 finished his tying job. "All right! Take it up!" he yelled up. "Go," he added in a softer voice as Doc'55 reeled the cable in.

Doc'55 had the end of the cable in his hands in a matter of seconds. Marty'55 looked up at him with a terrified expression. "Doc!" he screamed, hands around his mouth to amplify the sound.

Doc'55 paused and squinted down at him. "Huh?"

"I have to tell you about the future!"

"What?"

"I HAVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE FUTURE!" Doc'55 made a little noise of protest, but strangely leaned down to listen. "On the night I got back in time, you get--"

The word "shot" was completely drowned out by the clock's bell going off. Doc'55 nearly fell off the ledge from the noise, but was thankfully able to pull himself back up thanks to the gargoyle. The vampires all winced and held their ears. "Damn enhanced hearing," Marty growled.

Doc'55 looked in at the bell, then waved Marty'55 off while holding his ear with the other hand. "Go!"

"No Doc!" Marty'55 yelled. I don't want to go back if you won't be there for me!

"Look at the time!" Doc'55 yelled, pointing to the clock and completely oblivious to Marty's inner struggles. "You've got less than four minutes! Please, Marty!"

Marty'55 hesitated an instant longer. Then he ran to the car, slid across the hood, and got in. He drove down the street, then turned around and headed for the starting line. Marty laughed as he watched Doc'55. "Did you just blow me a kiss?"

"I suppose I did," Doc said, still amazed at what he had heard in Marty'55's mind. "I don't believe it. He didn't want to go back."

"He didn't want to go back to paradise?" Jennifer asked incredulously.

"No. Because I wouldn't be there. He still believes I'm going to die at the hands of Libyan nationalists. I knew he probably thought of me as a father figure, but refusing to return to your own time?"

"Maybe, if your 'parallel dimensions' theory is true, you two are always close. Like a constant in all worlds."

"I highly doubt that. I suspect that if there are parallel dimensions, there's at least one where Marty and I are bitter enemies."

"Glad we're not in that one," Marty said, leaning against Doc.

Doc'55 slowly inched along the ledge, holding the cable tightly. His eyes remained glued to the steps roughly 50 feet below, where the rope and a small piece of the ledge he had chipped off lay. Doc shivered as he watched his younger self, remembering how scared he had been. Climbing all over clock towers wasn't a good thing to do at any age.

His younger self finally reached the clock itself. He stood up slowly and cautiously, eyes still staring at the steps. He forced himself to look up at the socket cable, dangling just out of reach on the other side. Doc'55 positioned himself in front of the clock, stretching himself out. Concentrating fiercely, he made a grab for the cable -- and missed.

Then the ledge under his feet gave way.

Marty, Jennifer, and Josie all shrieked as Doc'55 fell. Only his quick thinking saved him as he grabbed hold of the clock's minute hand. The plug cable caught onto his pants leg by some lucky accident. "Holy shit," Marty whispered, squeezing Doc's hand very tightly.

Doc nodded, squeezing back. "That had to be the scariest moment of my life. My entire life flashed before my eyes in the instant before I grabbed hold of the clock. Even what I imagined my future life to be. I was certain I was going to die and destroy the universe."

"Talk about a load to bear," Jennifer said.

"Indeed. All I had learned about the future and time travel actually started to drive me insane after all this was over. I eventually had to take a vacation to clear my head."

On the clock tower, Doc'55 paused for a moment as the clock clicked to 10: 02. Had he just heard someone shriek as he fell? I must be imagining things, he thought and dismissed it. He focused his mind on getting that socket cable and getting back up onto the ledge. He made a grab for it, but only succeeded in knocking it away. A second attempt yielded a similar result. He waited a moment and carefully gauged the length of the swing. The third time it came close to him, he reached out and snatched it, transferring his weight from the clock to the cord. Third time's the charm.

Now he needed to retrieve the plug cable from his pants leg. Hanging on tight with one hand, he reached down with the other. Only to hear cloth rip. He gasped as he saw the plug literally hanging by a thread. If he didn't grab hold of it soon, all would be lost. He held his breath and brought the leg closer to his outstretched hand. The plug ripped off more.

He managed to snatch it. With a groan of relief, he pressed it to his chest, his rapidly-beating heart slowing down a fraction. The vampires also breathed a sigh of relief, totally caught up in the drama. "Emmett, you're truly a hero," Josie whispered.

"I wouldn't go that far," Doc blushed.

"Why not. You're risking life and limb for your best friend. I'd call that heroic."

"Yeah, Doc, you're definitely a hero," Jennifer agreed, Marty nodding along. Doc just blushed harder.

Doc'55 pulled himself back up onto the ledge and stood his spreadeagled before the clock face. Breathing a sigh of relief, he pulled the two cables together.

Or he tried to. For some reason, the plug cable was too short to reach the socket cable. Eyes wide, the scientist looked down to see that the plug cable was caught in the tree branch. Frustrated, he tried to make the cables meet anyway.

After a minute of this, he started yanking. Then, at the end of his rope, he gave the plug cable the hardest pull he could. The cable went slack -- but only because the other end had become unplugged. Thinking that it had come free just a little too easy, Doc'55 looked down and saw what had happened. He yelled in desperation. How could things get any worse?!

Marty looked to Doc. "My other self did get back to his own time, right?"

"Be patient."

The headlights of the DeLorean appeared at the end of the street. Doc'55 looked up at the lightning flashing overhead, then at the headlights, which were getting closer. A determined look replaced his despaired one, and he connected the cables. As the DeLorean got closer and closer, starting to throw sparks from its tires, he looped the cables over the hands of the clock. Then he took a breath and slid down the cable to the ground. He landed with a thump on his back, but quickly recovered and wrested the caught cable from the tree branch.

Marty'55 could see what was happening too by this point. "Doc," he said, knowing there was only seconds left until the lightning hit.

Doc'55 towed the cable over to the lamp post. Marty'55 shut his eyes and hoped for the best. The vampires waited with bated breath.

The clock clicked to 10: 04 P. M. The most spectacular bolt of lightning any of them had ever seen struck the tower, sending sparks flying! Electricity zipped through the cables, reaching the lamp post just as Doc'55 connected the wires, jolting the scientist off his feet. The DeLorean hit the wire at precisely the right second and vanished in a flash of brilliant light. Doc'55 sat up and watched as fire trails appeared, heading straight for the theater. For a moment, there was an ethereal crashing noise. Then the electricity cracked through the cables a final time, and all was still.

Doc'55 stumbled to his feet, staring at the scene. The cables and lamp posts were now aflame, and small firey bits occasionally fell to the ground. He glanced up at the now still clock face, then stumbled down the street, following the fire trails. He gawked for a moment, stunned. Then -- "YAAAA-HAAA!" he yelled joyously, doing a little dance. Doc blushed as his three companions snickered at Doc'55's joy. "It felt like the thing to do at the time," he offered lamely.

Doc'55, with a huge smile, cast one last look at the clock, then headed to his car. He pulled out his ladder and a fire extinguisher and set to work taking the set-up down. "Well, that's that," Doc said. He smiled at his friends. "Impressed?"

"Very. That was incredible," Josie said.

"Way cool, Doc," Marty grinned.

"Too bad we couldn't hitch a ride," Jennifer cracked.

"Well, maybe we can hitch a ride on the next one. Come on." They snuck out of the back of the store and took to the sky.

"Do you really think they'll show up?" Marty wondered.

"I don't know. If they don't, our only chance is to track them down. And since they have their own time machine, that would be a tricky process. I certainly hope my other self is true to his word."

"I don't think he'll dump us," Josie said, frowning as they flew right into the rainstorm. "After all, he is you."

They landed behind the billboard, soaking wet from their flight. So far, there was no sign of the flying DeLorean. They huddled together and spread their wings to try and form an umbrella. "They'd better show up soon," Jennifer grumbled, shivering.

They waited for five minutes as patiently as they could. Then for another five minutes. Doc frowned, feeling his temper rise. "Two more minutes, then we start looking."

"Emmett, maybe they're having trouble getting the Almanac," Josie said, although her tone said her patience was wearing thin.

"That's no reason we should have to wait in the -- what's that noise?"

The others listened carefully. "Doc, it sounds like a car!" Marty said.

"Finally!" Doc stepped out to greet it. "I've been waiting out here in the rain for--"

He stopped as he got a better look at the car. Instead of the DeLorean he had been expecting, it was a dark 50's sedan, with a menacing air. A suspicious-looking man in a hat and trench coat emerged from it, with a severe frown. "Dr. Brown?"

"Yes?" Doc asked cautiously.

Trench Coat opened his umbrella and started walking forward. "I've got something for you," he growled, reaching under his coat.. Doc prepared for defensive measures. Trench Coat stopped by the fender and pulled out --

An envelope. "A letter."

Doc was thrown completely off balance by this sudden turn of events. "A letter? Intended to convey greetings and all that?" Trench Coat nodded. "Then who are you?"

"Western Union," Trench Coat explained, coming closer. Now that Doc's first impression had been dispelled, he didn't look too menacing. Rather ordinary, really. "We're a little puzzled by all this ourselves, Dr. Brown. Think you could shed some light on the situation?"

"I -- no, this makes as little sense to me as it does to you. I certainly wasn't expecting a letter."

"Well, you see the envelope was first given to us 70 years ago, with specific instructions to deliver it to you at this exact location, on this exact date, and at this exact minute." Trench Coat produced a clipboard and pen. "Sign on Line Six, please."

Doc did so and accepted the yellowed envelope. "70 years," he repeated incredulously. "That would mean this letter was received by your company in 1885."

"Yup -- September 1885 I believe." Trench Coat smiled. "You know, the boys down at the officer had a bet going on whether you'd show up today or not. Looks like I lost."

Doc broke the seal and pulled out the letter itself, ducking under Trench Coat's umbrella to read them. To his shock, he recognized his own handwriting! He flipped to the third page and confirmed that it was, indeed, his other self who had written the letter. What the heck is he doing in the Old West? He went back to the first page and skimmed its contents.

A moment later, he gasped. "Great Scott!"

"What is it?" Trench Coat asked, nosily.

"A matter of the utmost importance. It deals with an ancestor on my mother's side, very eccentric. Thank you for bringing it to my attention." He absently patted the man on the shoulder and moved away.

Trench Coat nodded, looking a little disappointed. "Just doing my job, Dr. Brown." He headed back to his sedan as Doc darted back behind the billboard.

"Was that a bunch of hooey about the relative?" Jennifer asked, confused.

"Of course! My other self wrote this letter from -- September 12th, 1885."

"What the hell are they doing in 1885?" Marty demanded.

"They're stuck, actually. Here, let me read the letter to you." He began:

Dear Dr. Brown, Marty, and their company,

With any luck, the post office will be reliable for once and you will receive this letter and be prepared. First of all, let me assure you I did not intend for this to happen. The circumstances were against us. Just as we were preparing to time travel, the time circuits began malfunctioning again. A frustrated Marty decided to try and kick them to get them working again. I truly believe this approach may have yielded positive results if he had been allowed to get more than one kick in. As it was, he was only able to scramble the month before we traveled through time. Shortly thereafter, we arrived on August 1st, 1885.

Before you ask, we are alive and well, but our DeLorean is not. I made the mistake of landing it before I found a suitable hiding place. The rough terrain ripped the fuel line, leaving us with a non-operable time machine. Later, when we came to collect the car, we found a bear had partially mauled it. Using it as a horse-driven carriage didn't help matters.

With Marty's help and a little ingenuity, I managed to repair the time circuits -- enough to take us home, where I can do proper repairs. However, we have no way to get up to the necessary 88 miles per hour. I managed to patch the fuel line, but by then we had already lost our gasoline. We tried a few different avenues of transportation, but all our efforts brought about was the fuel injection manifold being disconnected from the car. So, for all intents and purposes, we are stranded.

On a more positive note, I have met a lovely woman named Clara Clayton. Marty and myself inadvertently rescued her from falling into the ravine which was supposed to bear her name. We fell in love at first sight (Marty gets enjoyment teasing me about it). I don't know if any of your company was female, but I would certainly like to compare our tastes in girlfriends.

Marty's telling me I'm starting to ramble along in this letter, so I'll get to the point. Now that you know our situation, I have to ask you for two favors:

1. GET THE ALMANAC. This is vitally important. The longer Biff has it, the worst life gets for all of us. You already know this, I'm sure. You must take it from him before he uses it. Do whatever is necessary to retrieve it.

2. Please come to September 13th, 1885, in your time vehicle. Marty is anxious to go home to his family and girlfriend. I feel regretful for taking him on this trip now, as he is now missing a month from his life. I too wish to return to 1985, as it is my home time. I enjoy living out here in the open air with Clara, but I can't help but miss the modern amenities my time offers. Clara too is interested in them, as she will be accompanying us to the future. I feel that bringing her to the present is a less dangerous course of action than leaving her in a past in which she no longer belongs. We'll discuss your unique position before we leave, I promise.

So, I bid you good luck and godspeed. Take care of yourselves. We await your arrival.

Sincerely,

Dr. Emmett Lathrop Brown -- ELB

P. S. Just like Doc to forget to tell you where we're living. I had a nasty fight with Biff's ancestor Buford Tannen, so we had to move out of the Town Square -- it's a long story -- so we're currently crowded into Clara's cabin. She's the local schoolteacher until we go home. It's about seven miles from the Town Square, near Clay Shonash Ravine.

Marty McFly the First

Doc carefully folded up the letter. "So, it's up to us to finish what they started."

"You mean--?" Marty said.

Doc nodded solemnly. "You three got your wish. We must retrieve the almanac."