Chapter 15

Monday, September 14th, 1885

Hill Valley

1: 27 A. M.

Josie awoke from fitful dreams. Ugh. Why can't I get those thoughts about Clara out of my mind? Emmett loves me, not her. I just wish I could convince myself of that. She squirmed a little in the bed. Great. I have to use the can.

She eased herself out of the tangle of bodies on the bed. Doc, who had been snuggled up to her, frowned in his sleep and began to stir. Not wanting to wake him, she gave him a pillow to hold until her return. Marty and Jennifer slept on, both twisted in strange positions. Josephine couldn't help but smile. It was all so close, so peaceful. She felt a slight pang of guilt at leaving it.

She listened for intruders and detected a semi-familiar heartbeat -- Clara's. She sighed, feeling her stomach twist again. Ever since first seeing her with Doc 2, Josephine had felt uneasy around the woman. Emmett keeps telling me he loves me and me alone. Why can't I believe him? Why do I keep thinking that maybe he'd want to be with Clara more? I don't even know the woman, yet I want to tell her to leave Emmett alone. What if she's angry at me for falling in love with her man? Worse yet, what if she tries to steal my Emmett away from me? Maybe I should talk to her -- get these feelings out? But will they make things worse or better?

She headed into the living room engrossed in these worried thoughts. Clara was sitting on the couch, looking into the fire she had just relit. "Oh, hello, Miss Grey," she said politely, noticing the vampire. "What are you doing up?"

"I had to go to the bathroom. Where's the toilet, please?"

"Outside," Clara said, puzzled.

"Right, outhouses. I'm used to indoor plumbing." Even since my earliest days.

"Emmett -- my Emmett -- told me about that," Clara nodded. "Must be much more convenient."

"Far more sanitary too. Thank you." Josie darted out of the house.

When she returned, having washed her hands with the outside pump, Clara was still sitting in the living room. Josie couldn't help but notice her face looked pensive. "If you don't mind my asking, why are you up?"

Clara looked up, startled. "I couldn't sleep. This has been a rather large shock for me, you know." This is all so confusing. First Emmett tells me he's a time traveler. Now another one of him shows up at our door. With his own girlfriend. What if my Emmett has a girlfriend at home, back in his own time? Will he abandon me in 1985 for her? Or what if he falls for this new woman, Josephine? I don't want her to take my true love away. What if she wants revenge for my being with Emmett?

Josie's eyes widened in astonishment. Clara felt the exact same way that she did! She suddenly got the urge to get to know Clara better. "Do you want to talk?"

Clara looked a little surprised, but nodded. Josie sat down beside her, wondering where to begin. "So. . . . Are you from Hill Valley?"

Clara shook her head. "New Jersey. My mother and father weren't too keen on me moving so far out here. They expected me to marry a high society man and settle down nearby. They didn't even approve of me having a job." She sighed, bitterly. "When I left home, they told me not to come back without a husband. I suppose now that I'm going to marry Emmett, I could return, but I doubt they'd accept him."

"Is that why you're so willing to give up your life here?"

The teacher nodded. "I'm in love with Emmett. With him by my side, I know I can adapt to anything, even a new time in the future." She looked curiously at Josie. "Is that how you feel when you're with your Emmett?"

Josephine nodded, smiling. "He helped to make my life more bearable. I feel in love with him at first sight. I could sense a -- a spark in him." She grew dreamy. "He's so loving and giving. I'm so glad I met him."

"So am I," said Clara, loosening up. "Where are you from, Miss Grey?"

"You can call me Josephine," Josie said. "I'm from Italy, originally, but my family emigrated to America while I was very young." That was true -- in vampire terms at least. "I spent most of my young life moving around the country. I only ended up in Hill Valley because my sister succeeded in getting me committed, and I was transferred to their sanitarium."

Clara put a hand over her mouth. "Well. That sounds like an awful life."

"Not really. That's how I met my Emmett. And it's not too different from you moving across the country." She regarded Clara. "What do you and your Emmett have in common? Why did you fall in love?"

Clara grew indignant. "We both love Jules Verne and astronomy," she snapped. "I have as much right to him as you do."

"I didn't mean that the way it sounded," Josie apologized. "I know that -- You like Jules Verne?"

"He's one of my favorite authors," Clara said with a smile. "Especially From the Earth to the Moon."

"I loved From the Earth to the Moon!" Josie exclaimed. "I adore Jules Verne. My favorite has to be Around the World in 80 Days. After I read that, I wanted to recreate his journey. I actually drew up all the plans."

Both women laughed, the ice broken. "Did you succeed?" Clara wanted to know.

"No, unfortunately. My sister got in the way again."

Clara sighed. "I'd love to visit the moon someday. Do you think Jules Verne was right?"

"The first moon landing was in 1969," Josie grinned. "Jules Verne was a darn good predictor of the future, actually."

The teacher recalled one of her first dates with her Doc. "So he wasn't quoting Jules Verne after all," she whispered. "He was telling me what really happened."

Josie leaned against the back of the couch. "Hey, both my Emmett and me are interested in history, so I can tell you about some of the big events. The whole reason we were in 1955 was because my Emmett refused to keep living in 1986. Anything you'd like to know in particular?"

"Oh, my Emmett's told me plenty already. We're going to have a Great Depression, two World Wars, the Roaring Twenties, the Korean War--"

"Korean War?" Josie repeated, confused. "I don't think we've ever been at war with Korea, either North or South. Vietnam, however -- that's a war. Nixon was still trying to end it when we left."

Now it was Clara's turn to look confused. "But Emmett told me that there was a Korean War, and that the president in 1985 is someone named Ronald Reagan. He hasn't told me about this 'Vietnam War' yet."

Josie frowned -- then snapped her fingers. "Oh, that's right! Clara, did you understand what your Emmett told you? That we're from an alternate time-line?"

"Enough to get the idea."

"Well, from 1955 on, I bet we have different histories." Her face grew dark. "Biff Tannen did a pretty good job of wrecking the world, it seems."

"I'm still trying to come to grips with the fact Buford Tannen is going to have grandchildren."

Josie sniggered. "Yes, he and his wife must make a lovely pair." She cocked her head. "You know, I like you Miss Clayton -- Clara. You seem very nice."

"So do you. I suppose we must have things in common. After all, we're both in love with the same man," Clara smiled.

"Well, almost the same," Josie shrugged. "You know, I'd like to see what the differences are between them. We'll have to ask them later." She stuck out her hand. "Friends, Clara?"

Clara shook it. "Friends, Josephine."

Monday, September 14th

6: 02 A. M.

The two sets of time travelers gathered around the breakfast table. "We slept later than I thought," Doc 2 commented, looking at his watches.

"That won't be a problem, will it?" asked Doc, wondering how they were going to fake breakfast. "With your blacksmith shop?"

"No, of course not. Even in this temporal period, people know me as eccentric. They won't think anything of it."

"May I help you, Clara?" Josie asked as Clara prepared pancakes and bacon. "I was very good at preparing bacon."

"No, that's all right. You're the guest," Clara refused gently.

"You two seem to be getting along better at least," Doc noted cheerfully.

"We had a talk last night," Josephine said. "Turns out we're not so different from each other. Which reminds me; we got to wondering last night how different you two are. Obviously the fact my Emmett was committed is the biggie, but what about the other details?"

"Hmm. That's an interesting thought." Doc 2 regarded Doc with interest. "What was your life like before you were committed?"

"I imagine much of our early history is the same," Doc shrugged. "Were you born on October 22nd, 1921, to parents Elias and Sarah Von Braun?" Doc 2 nodded. "You had an older sister named Emily Carmichael?" Another nod. "Graduated college at 18 with a Ph. D. in quantum physics?"

Doc 2 nodded once more. "No wonder I never understand you," Marty 2 grinned.

Doc 2 briefly gave him a look, then smiled. "Maybe your double can act as a translator," he joked along.

"Glad to help," Marty said, going along. "It's not that hard if you've lived with him for a while."

"I guess not, 'cause I am starting to understand a little of what he says. What about you, Jennifer?"

"Most of it goes right over my head," Jennifer confessed. "What about the me that's your girlfriend?"

"Same as me."

"Speaking of girlfriends," Doc 2 said, steering the conversation back on topic, "did you have any girlfriends? Before Josephine, I mean."

"He told me he had two," Josie said, concealing her discomfort at the question.

"If their names were Lucy Childs and Jane Doxton, that's the same too," Clara added, serving the pancakes. She, too, looked rather uncomfortable.

"I also told you what they did to me, right?" both Docs said in unison to their respective girlfriends. They looked at each other a moment, then sighed. "Lucy dumped you when you were disowned, and Jane ran away with your biggest rival," Doc nodded to Doc 2. He didn't need to put it into a question.

Clara gave Doc 2 a gentle kiss. "Forget about Lucy and Jane," she advised. "We're happy together now."

"Clara's right. Forget about them." Josie nibbled Doc's neck, causing a noticeable reaction.

"Well, that's one difference between our tastes in girlfriends," Doc 2 noted. "Josephine seems a little -- wilder. No offense."

"Oh, none taken. I just don't have the same morals as everyone else." She kept nibbling.

"Could you save that for after breakfast, please?" Clara requested gently, although she was smiling every so slightly.

"Like I said, not the same morals. Especially not for a Victorian-era girl." She gave Doc a quick neck lick before pulling back.

"It's going to be an adjustment, true," Clara said. "But I think I'll get used to it. I'm sure you and Dr. Brown haven't -- I'm sure you know what I'm saying."

Both Doc and Josie blushed. Clara's eyes went wide. "Things certainly do change in the future!"

"What about after 1955?" Doc 2 quickly said, seeing the situation getting out of track. "That's when things would change more drastically if you think about it logically."

"I burnt down my house in 1962," Doc said, noticing with a start Josephine calmly eating her pancakes. Josie? How on earth are you managing that?

It's an ability I cultivated throughout the years. I'll have to vomit it up later though.

"August 2nd, 1962? I burnt my mansion down as well. What else?"

"I received early retirement in 1964, for my 'radical' ideas. And before and after then I had been the recipient of quite a few suspicious police visits."

"Huh. I wasn't handed early retirement until 1966. And the police usually didn't bother me unless I was making too much noise."

"They certainly bothered me. Biff was behind it all, I know it. When I accused him of unethical business practices in 1966, he had his hired goons pay me a visit."

"Did you know my Dad?" Marty 2 asked. "The other George McFly?"

"Indeed I did. I was part of his protest group against Biff. We were all arrested multiple times, but we kept on." He smiled. "George even won an award for his efforts." Then he became very sober. "That's when he got killed."

"We know. I broke into the library during our brief stay in your world and found all the appropriate newspapers. Speaking of which, did you ever find out about the almanac before meeting us?"

Doc knew what he meant. "Yes, I saw it in his pocket while examining newspapers. The instant George died, I knew something was wrong. I received a visit from Marty in the past, the same as you." In a quieter voice, he added, "Biff killed him, didn't he?"

Marty 2 nodded. "He told me. He planned to kill me 'cause I knew too much about the almanac. I had to ask him, otherwise Doc and I might not have been able to stop it."

"Well, technically, we stopped it," Josie smiled.

"Hey, where you guys in our house when you found out all the stuff about our world?" Marty asked. "Because we found some really weird junk that definitely didn't belong there."

Doc 2 looked surprised. "I tried to insure we left little to no trace of our visit."

"You succeeded, don't worry. It wasn't much, just the receipt for the almanac and the top of Biff's cane. If that belongs to the same Biff Tannen."

"It does. But we're wasting valuable time sitting here and talking. We should continue this discussion on the way to the Delgado Mine. Come along, Marty, let's hitch up the carriage. And we'll most likely have to rent some horses from Joe Statler as well."

"We have our own modes of transportation, don't worry about that," Doc assured his double.

"That's not quite what I meant. Riding over that rocky ground could have caused serious damage to your car. That's how I ripped the fuel line on mine. If it doesn't run on it's own, we'll need more horses to tow it."

"Our car is perfectly fine."

"That's what I thought too when we first came here. Better safe than sorry, right?"

"Trust us, we didn't do anything to the car," Josie said. "We would have been able to tell right away."

"I still think we should rent the horses. As a safety measure."

"Oh, all right, if you insist," Doc conceded. "Would you like me and Marty-tin to help you with the carriage?"

"I'm sure we can handle it, but you're welcome to join us." The Docs and Marty 2 left, Marty opting to stay behind to help with the dishes. Ever since he had heard his other self was Jennifer 2's boyfriend, he wanted to stay close to her. Not that he though Marty 2 would try to take advantage of her -- he just thought he was feeling the same things. This has been one weird trip.

Doc returned shortly, carrying some clothes. "Catch!" He tossed some trousers and a serape to Marty and dresses to the girls. "My double brought up a very good point. As long as we're going to be living in the past, we'll have to dress for the part. Especially in mine and Marty's case."

Josie looked at hers with some distaste. "Doesn't look too comfortable."

"You'll get used to it," Clara shrugged. "Do you need some help getting it on?"

"I just might."

Monday, September 14th

10: 17A. M.

Doc 2, Marty 2, and Clara were spellbound the entire way to the Delgado Mine. The vampires described in detail the hell of their lives back in the Biffhorrific 1985/86. Marty 2 shivered as they wound up. "I can't believe those jerks in the hotel. They really let Biff's goons do that to you?"

"I've got the scars to prove it," Marty 2 said quietly. "Nobody gave a shit. Most of them were drug addicts and drunks, so they only gave a shit about themselves. It was like I didn't exist."

"How dreadful," Clara whispered, very pale. "I hope your 1985 isn't like that, Emmett."

"It certainly makes living in this era seem like a walk in the park," Doc 2 said, holding the reins of the horses. "We only saw a small cross-section of the horrors of Hell Valley, judging from that story. I'm impressed you all survived to band together."

"It makes me want to slap Biff Tannen very hard when I meet him," was Clara's opinion.

"I'll help," Jennifer said, getting more comfortable. "Your 1985 sounds like heaven. I wish we could go home with you three."

"You may be able to," Doc 2 told her. "If Dr. Brown's -- that feels so odd -- theory holds up, and it wasn't your vehicle that precipitated your dimensional jump, it's quite possible you could return home with us."

"That would be heaven," Doc said. "Speaking of the DeLorean, we've reached the mine."

"Ah! It didn't take us too long to arrive here, either. Only -- four hours?! Great Scott, it felt like much less. No matter." He pulled gently back on the reins. "Whoa Tom, whoa Edison."

"Just like Dr. Brown's dog," Marty nodded. I hate having to call him "Dr. Brown." "Thomas Edison."

"Actually, Marty named Tom, Martin," Doc 2 corrected. "We didn't realize the coincidence until the horses were used to the names."

"Tom Petty," Marty 2 nodded sheepishly. "I'm a fan of the Heartbreakers."

They got out of the carriage, Doc 2 tethering Tom and Edison to a nearby tree. "Where did you hide the DeLorean?"

"In one of the side tunnels. I'll show you there. But someone's going to have to stay outside to watch the horses."

Doc 2 nodded once. "And for any interlopers. Marty, Martin, would you mind staying out here?"

"Nah," they both said, sounding like an echo. They looked at each other, then shrugged. "I want to talk to him some more."

"No doubt. Lead on, Dr. Brown." Doc 2 blinked and shook his head. "Very odd." Doc simply smiled at him and lead everyone else into the cave.

Marty looked at Marty 2, who was patting Tom's head. "What's it like?"

"Huh?"

"Having George for a father," Marty clarified. "What's it like? I don't remember much."

"Better than having Biff for a dad. The thing is, I lived with two different Georges."

Now it was Marty's turn to say "Huh?" Two different Georges? What the heck does he mean by that?

"Did you see him in 1955 before he hit Biff?"

"Yeah. He was acting like a nerd."

"The version I lived with the first time around was an older version of that. Afraid to say no to anybody, bullied by Biff, never paying attention to us. . . ." Marty 2 gave a snort. "Good thing I went back and changed all that."

"Yeah. What's Cool George like?"

"Confident and a well-known author -- he'd just published his first book when I came back. Kinda the opposite of everything Nerd George was. Really busy, though." Marty 2 looked a little sad. "That's something that didn't change. I always felt like the odd one out."

"At least you weren't abused. One time Biff beat me so bad I had to go to the hospital. I don't know why he paid the bill. Would have been easier to abandon me there -- or let me die." Marty blinked back tears. "You may have met that Biff, but trust me, you didn't see my life."

Marty 2 grimaced. "That guy's the biggest bastard on the planet. I guess I might have made things worse asking about the almanac."

"It's okay. The way Biff and Lorraine treated me convinced me to run away. I might have never met my Doc if it wasn't for you guys."

"What's living with Dr. Brown like?" Marty 2 asked, his grimace turning into a look of curiosity. "I mean, ever since we got here, I've been living with Doc, but I know they're really different."

"Overprotective might be the best word," Marty laughed. "He's always terrified that something's going to happen to me. I was scared of him when I first met him, but he won me over. Treating me like an actual person helped a lot." He heard a noise in the distance and looked around carefully. "When Josephine came along, I was really jealous at first. I thought she was gonna take Doc away from me."

"That's how I felt about Clara too," Marty 2 admitted, shame-faced and blushing. "When Doc met her, he started talking about just sending me back to the future. I got pissed and told him that either we both went or neither of us went. We got into this huge fight about it and didn't talk to each other for a week. Then Clara came over to visit Doc, and just to be a jerk, I spilled the beans. Doc yelled at me, but ended up saying that I was telling the truth. She took it pretty well." Marty 2 grinned a little, making Marty wonder about the meaning of the word "well." "When it was all said and done with, she asked, 'Why can't I come too?' Doc had to make a discussion out of it, but in the end--" He shrugged. "Well, you know that bit."

Marty nodded absently. His keen ears had detected horses coming their way. He wasn't going to say anything until Marty 2 heard it, but he was monitoring it. "What about that Buford Tannen guy you mentioned in your letter?"

"Him?" Marty 2 snorted. "He's the reason all Tannens are @$$holes. I bet that's where your Biff got his mean streak. We did a shoeing job for him once. He later came back all pissed off, telling us his horse had thrown a shoe and made him break some bottle of whiskey. Of course he blamed us, and I lost my temper and we got into a fight. Things just escalated during the week, and finally we set up this big showdown in front of the saloon." His blush of shame came back again. "I nearly got myself and Doc killed all because I was afraid of being called yellow."

"What happened?"

"Doc and Clara were trying to convince me not to do it, but it was Seamus that helped hit the nail home."

"Seamus? Like in Martin Seamus McFly?"

Marty 2 nodded. "Great-great grandfather. He helped me and Doc out when we first got to Hill Valley. He showed up in the saloon, saying that he felt like what was going to happen had something to do with his future. Well, that gets me to thinking -- he had a brother called Martin too, and the guy ended up dead because he didn't like being called a coward. I really don't want to end up dead in the local cemetery, especially not shot. So I tell everybody he's an @$$hole, we sneak out -- and Buford manages to get his hands on Doc."

Marty felt his fists automatically clench. Despite the fact he had called his "father" overprotective, he acted the same way about Doc sometimes. He forced himself to loosen up, shaking out his hands. "So then what?"

"I ended up using a trick I saw in a Clint Eastwood movie. I hid an oven door under my shirt as a bullet-proof vest." Marty 2 snickered. "I punched Buford's lights out, and he fell right into a wagon of manure!"

Marty laughed hard. "That must have been great! Boy, I wish Biff could end up in manure!"

"He does," Marty 2 said with a proud smiled. "My first time in 1955, I made him and his goons crash into a manure truck." Marty laughed until he was hoarse.

Once he had calmed down, he decided that the horses were close enough to deserve mention. He wiped the tears from his eyes. "Hey, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That noise. I think they're hoofbeats."

Marty 2 listened hard. "Those are horses. Think we should tell the Docs?"

"You tell the Docs; I'll stay out here to see what they want. They'll be in the second side tunnel to the right, that's where we stashed the car."

"Okay, thanks." Marty 2 turned to go inside, but paused briefly. "Oh, yeah -- if whoever it is calls you 'Clint Eastwood,' that's me. It was the first name that popped into my head when we got here."

"Gotcha." Marty 2 vanished into the mine entrance. Marty found a fairly large rock nearby to hide behind and observed the scene. Four men rode up, all of them dirty and extremely smelly. Marty recognized the horses they rode as the four he and his "family" had fed from before. Hmm, I don't like the looks of these guys. . . .

One of the smelliest ones, with two missing teeth in the front, noticed the carriage set-up near the entrance. "Hey, look, Buford! That's the blacksmith's carriage.

The one called Buford turned to look. Marty's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. Christ, it's Buford Tannen! He looks almost exactly like Biff with a beard and mustache! Jesus, I've got the chills.

Buford smiled, showing rotten teeth matching a rotten disposition. "Then that damn yellow-belly Eastwood will be here too." He pulled free his pistol. "And when he comes out. . . ."

Marty realized instantly that Buford meant to murder his "twin". He wasn't about to let that happen. Knowing he was taking a huge risk, he stepped out from behind the rock. "Hey Tannen!"

Buford Tannen turned to face him. "Well, if it ain't Eastwood himself." His grin changed to a glare. "We've still got a fight goin', runt."

"I don't doubt it. Smells like you haven't gotten the manure out of your clothes."

Tannen's face darkened, although it was hard to tell through all the grime. "I broke out of jail to get you, Eastwood," he growled. "You ain't escaping this time." He fired a pair of shots, which Marty easily dodged. "Stand still, runt! I'm not askin' you to dance!"

"Is that your cover for a bad shot?" Marty taunted. He had no idea if he sounded anything like "Eastwood," and frankly, he didn't care! This was fun, being able to get back at a Tannen. He let Buford waste another bullet trying to hit him.

One of Buford's gang chewed on a wad of tobacco nervously. "Buford, maybe we should go. This doesn't seem natural."

"What's the matter, scared?" Marty teased, getting cocky.

This really got Buford's goat. He jumped off his horse and started toward Marty. The teen vampire took a leap at him. His face was filled with confidence that he could get the drop on this guy.

That look soon changed to shock and pain as he felt something stab him deep in his stomach. He'd been so focused on the gun, he hadn't occurred to him Buford might have a back-up. Like a knife.

Buford grinned evilly, now resembling Biff Tannen even more. "No one makes a fool out of me, Eastwood," he snarled, placing the barrel of his gun right above where his knife was sticking into the teen. "Last man I killed, it took him three days to die. You want to be that lucky?" Without another word, he fired.

In the mine, Doc was helping Doc 2 examine the DeLorean when there was an explosion of pain in his stomach. He gasped and fell to his knees, clutching his abdomen. It felt like he had been first stabbed and then shot!

"Emmett!" Josie was at Doc's side in an instant, eyes wide with worry. "Emmett, are you all right?!"

Doc didn't answer her. "Marty," he whispered cryptically, his breathing ragged. Then he jumped to his feet and dashed out of the tunnel. To the human members of the group, it was more like he had teleported. "Great Scott! I don't think I'm capable of running that fast!" Doc 2 exclaimed, completely stunned. They all followed him as quickly as possible, Josie exchanging a worried glance with Jennifer.

Marty lay on the ground, holding his upper stomach, face screwed up in pain. Doc knelt by his side in a panic. He was almost hallucinating that he was back in Hell Valley, Marty lying on the pavement, still mortal and vulnerable to death. . . . He shoved the image away and concentrated on helping his friend in the here and now. "Marty, what happened?"

Marty sat up a little, tears forming in his eyes. "Shit. . . . The wounds heal fast, so why does the pain stay?" He looked up at Doc, really noticing him for the first time. "Buford Tannen showed up outside. You wouldn't believe how much he looks like an on-the-skids Biff. He wanted to kill "Eastwood" -- that's the name my other self's going under. So I stepped out and started acting all cocky. I guess that's what did me in, 'cause Buford managed to stab me in the gut with a Bowie knife. Then he shot me."

Doc looked at Marty's shirt. The red-pink of recently healed wounds showed through the holes, which were slightly bloody. As he watched, the redness faded to nothing. "I have no idea how we're going to explain this, but at least you're safe." He pulled him into a tight hug, then scolded, "And next time, remember that you're not invincible!"

The rest of the group came outside, the humans panting slightly. "How the hell did you do that?!" Marty 2 demanded of Doc. "I swear I felt a breeze when you flew by me! And you're not even sweating or anything!"

"I'm completely incapable of running that fast," Doc 2 added, amazed. "And I've been living in a time conducive to physical exercise for a month!"

"The horses turned out to be Buford Tannen and company. He said he was going to kill 'Eastwood.' So I distracted him so he wouldn't get to -- Marty."

"Distracted?! To Buford, 'distract' means kill the son of a b*tch who's annoying him!"

Clara and Josephine both approached Marty and Doc at the same time. "It's all right, Clara. Dr. Brown and I can handle this."

"If Buford Tannen hurt him, he's going to need all the help he can get. We're going to have to take him to a doctor."

"No, really, I'm fine," Marty said quickly. "He's gone, right? My plan worked."

"You're delirious," Marty 2 told him.

"He might well be. I know 1885 medicine isn't the best, but it's all we have right now. If we're going to have any chance of saving his life, we need to get him back into town right away."

Clara nodded her agreement -- but then frowned. She had just realized that Doc's hand, which he had quickly positioned over where Marty had gotten hurt, was awfully clean. Even though she had never seen a stomach wound, she felt sure it would bleed profusely. She glanced at Doc suspiciously, getting the feeling something was up.

Doc gave her a slightly-embarrassed smile. "What is it, Miss Clayton?"

Now she knew something was up. She had told Doc to call her Clara that morning, and he had agreed. There was no reason to change now. "Where's the blood?"

"What blood?" Marty tried to give her a hypnotic nudge. "I told you, I'm fine."

The hypnotic nudge didn't work. "I know Buford. He would have never left if he wasn't certain he'd killed you. Let me see those wounds."

"There's nothing to see," Marty said, trying again.

"You'd best show her," Doc 2 said, completely confused by Marty's reluctance to accept help. "She can be very stubborn when she wants to be."

"Besides, do you want to bled to death?" Marty 2 asked, similarly puzzled.

Doc and Marty exchanged a glance, then sighed together. Very slowly, Doc took his hand away and let Clara inspect Marty's stomach. The look on her face when she discovered Marty had no wounds was priceless. She poked her fingers through the holes in his shirt, then confirmed that there were matching holes in the back. Going very pale, she stumbled back quickly, as if afraid their mere presence would harm her. "What are you? You're definitely not human!"

"We used to be, if that's any comfort," Doc said weakly. "We didn't want to tell you because we weren't sure of how well you'd take the news."

By now, both Doc 2 and Marty 2 had also seen that Marty was, indeed, fine. "Holy shit," Marty 2 mouthed, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. Doc 2 wasn't faring much better, making random babbling noises. Finally, he managed to form a coherent question. "What in the name of Sir Issac H. Newton are you three?"

In response, Doc, Marty, Jennifer, and Josephine all flashed their fangs.