Chapter 2
Monday, April 14th, 1986
Hill Valley
11: 10 A. M.
Marty handed Doc the wrench and kept tightening screws on the new addition to the amplifier. Doc took the wrench and started tightening a nut on the electricity rerouter to keep what had happened on October 25th, 1985, from ever happening again. A moment later, he asked, "Marty, could you hand me the-"
He blinked when he realized he was holding the wrench. He looked back at Marty. "It happen again?" he said with a smile.
Marty smiled back. "Yeah, I guess it did." The 'it' was Marty or Doc's strange ability to sense what the other needed sometimes before they needed it. They just considered it part of their close relationship. They shrugged off it's latest appearance and went back to work on the electricity rerouter.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Puzzled, Doc glanced up. "Strange. I'm not expecting any visitors." He got up and headed for the door, Marty remaining with the recently repaired amp. "This had better not be another solicitor," he grumbled, opening the door.
An elderly woman stood there, her white hair neatly combed back and brown eyes twinkling. She smiled and held out her arms. "Hello, Emmett!"
"Emily!" Doc laughed, giving the woman a hug. "Well, this is a surprise! It's wonderful to see you again, sis. How are you?"
"Fine, just fine," she told him, pulling away. "Rick sends his regards. I was on a trip to visit a friend in this general area and thought I'd stop by for a couple of days."
"It's so good to see you, Emily. How is Harriet?"
"Oh, she's fine. She's got a daughter of her own now, little Jaime." She chuckled. "Judging from her latest craze, she's going to be a police officer."
Doc smiled, knowing that little Jaime Reese would become just that, as well as her best friend Lucille Foley. "Well, that's a commendable profession. Come on in, I was just working with my assistant."
"Ah, the infamous Marty McFly?" Emily grinned, coming in.
"The very same." Doc turned towards the teen, hidden by boxes. "Marty? Come here, I want you to meet someone."
Marty stood up and looked over at Doc and Emily. "Hey Doc, who's your friend?"
"This is my sister Emily, Marty," Doc said with a smile. Marty blanched briefly, but quickly recovered. "Emily, this is Marty."
"Pleasure to meet you, Marty," Emily said, approaching him and shaking hands. "Emmett's told me a lot about you." She cocked her head. "But shouldn't you be at school now?"
"It's Spring Break at the school. Doc mentions you often too," Marty smiled, winking at Doc. Just a week ago, Marty had gone back to when Doc was a teenager and become stranded when the DeLorean had malfunctioned. He had actually stayed in Doc's old house as "Michael Jackson". He had met Emily then, and was hoping she wouldn't recognize him from then. "Emmett and Emily. Why the heck did your parents name you like that?"
"Mom and Dad liked the name Emmett, but I came first," Emily explained. "I'm sure your parents had a reason for naming you Marty."
Marty nearly burst out laughing. "Yeah, I guess you're right. You wanna see what we're working on?"
"I'd love to, Marty." She walked over to the amp, her eyes lighting up. "Oh, my, Emmett! You certainly spared no expense on this!"
"It was a 15th birthday present for Marty," Doc said, sliding his arm around Marty's shoulders. "He accidentally blew it up late last year, so I'm improving it."
"Oh." She shook her head, marveling at their easy closeness. "Yes, now I remember. You wrote about it in one of your letters. How the heck did you get it to explode, Marty?"
"I tried to crank it up - way up," Marty blushed faintly. "It overloaded the machine. I took a spill into the bookcase."
"Spill?" Doc repeated, smiling. "Marty, you flew into my bookcase and knocked it over!"
"Hey, if you'd warned me about the overload earlier," Marty said, his eyes smiling. Emily rolled her eyes.
"Do you two ever fight?" she asked, still looking over the amp. "I've never met two people as close as you. Well, never two guys anyway."
"Oh, we've had a couple of fights, but nothing severe enough to break up a friendship over," Doc admitted, coming over to examine the amplifier. "We're just a pair of really close people. Nothing to get excited over."
"Well, when a person like you, after your childhood, is able to get close to a person like that. . . ."
Marty shrugged. "We just clicked, Ms. Brown. Like we were fated to be friends."
"You can call me Emily, Marty. And I can see what you mean. You two belong together." She looked between the friends a moment, then focused her attention on Doc. "Can I see some of the other inventions now too? I'm eager to see what you and Marty have been working on."
Wednesday, April 16th, 1986
Hill Valley
1: 20 P. M.
Jennifer snuggled against Marty on the porch swing they were rocking on. "Oh, Marty, I've missed doing this, just us. You're so soft. . . ."
Marty ran his fingers through her hair. "I know. With all that junk in school and Doc and me fixing the amp. . . . I love you so much, Jennifer." He leaned down and kissed her gently.
"I love you too, Marty," Jennifer whispered, listening to him breathe. "How's things?"
"Okay. Doc's sister is over for a visit."
"Really? The one you met back in the 1930s? What's she like now?"
"Hasn't changed much in the years," Marty admitted, getting more comfortable. "Still like Doc in a lot of ways. She hasn't recognized me yet, though, which is good."
"Yeah, it could cause some nasty problems if she did." They rocked for a little while more, just enjoying each other's company. Then Jennifer glanced at her watch and frowned. "Dang, Dad's gonna come home in a few to pick me up and take me to Grandma's for the night. I gotta get inside and get my suitcase."
"Okay. I'll call you tonight. 555-4823?"
"You bet. I'd better hear from you. You haven't got any excuses this time. In the most literal sense, buddy." She patted his face playfully.
Marty smiled and kissed her again. "I'll make sure I won't miss it again. See you later, Jennifer." He got up as she entered the house and started for his car.
Suddenly, what looked like Doc's van pulled up next to him on the curb. Marty blinked as the passenger's side window was rolled down, revealing a nervous-looking Doc. "Doc? Whatcha doing here?"
Doc gave him a worried glance. "Get in the car, Marty. One of my recent experiments has developed a flaw and I require your assistance."
Marty got worried too. "Is it anything major?" he asked, getting into the van. He saw Jennifer at her window and waved goodbye. She waved back as the van pulled away.
"I'm not sure. It's still in the minor stages, but it could get potentially more serious."
Marty couldn't help but think Doc's words seemed forced somehow. Like he was reciting them from a script. "Doc, you okay? You sound kinda funny."
Doc glanced at him again. "I'm just nervous, that's all kid. Hopefully you can assist me."
"Glad to do whatever I can to help out my best friend," Marty smiled. "What happen, anyway? Did something happen with the electricity rerouter?"
"Hmm? Oh, no, this is different. A new project I just started. I'll explain more when we get there."
Marty looked at Doc, confused. Doc usually told him all he needed to know before he got to the experiment, DeLorean aside. And there was still that script-like quality to his words. But Doc needed his help, and he wasn't going to let him down.
They drove out to the outskirts of Hill Valley. An old warehouse was there, one that nobody had used in a while. Marty looked at it, then at Doc. "The warehouse, Doc? What happened to the lab?"
"This was rather delicate for the lab," Doc replied, being maddeningly vague. "Get inside as quickly as you can, Marty. You'll need to see it to believe it."
Wondering what the heck was going on, Marty raced into the warehouse. Doc followed, taking out a heavy padlock and some keys. He closed the doors behind them and started locking them.
Marty looked around the place. It seemed empty, except for some weird-looking machines in the corner. He turned to face Doc's back. "Doc, what the hell is going on? I'm not doing anything else until I get some answers!"
Doc turned to face him. "Okay, I'll tell you what's happened. I need a guinea pig for my experiments."
"What experiments?!" Marty demanded. "There's nothing here! Why are you acting like this, Doc?!?"
In response, Doc simply smiled. Marty suddenly knew that the man in front of him wasn'tDoc at all. Doc didn't have a smile that made his flesh crawl. "D-Doc?" he whispered, backing away.
"Doc?" 'Doc' said, the snake smile still in place, his voice suddenly smooth and cool. He leaned down and slapped Marty's face. "You will address me as 'Dr. Brown'. I'm not 'Doc'." He said the nickname with utter disgust.
"Who are you?" Marty whispered, his face stinging from the blow. "I mean, you look just like him. . . ."
Dr. Brown frowned, his face looking like a gargoyle's. "That's the problem with being a twin. I'm his brother. Jack Merridew Brown."
"I don't believe you," Marty growled defiantly. "You may look like Doc, but there's no way you can be his brother."
Jack slapped him viciously. "Believe it, Martin. There was no other reason to pluck you off the street. You're going to be my instrument of torture for him." Smiling, he took Marty's arm and twisted it. "Say 'uncle'."
Marty bit his lip, fighting the pain. Jack twisted harder, still smiling. "If you don't say it soon, I'll break your arm."
Marty gave in. "Uncle!"
Jack let go and promptly shoved Marty to the ground. "Pathetic. You remind me of Emmett at your age."
"What the hell do you want me for?" Marty asked, rubbing his arm. "And how the hell do you look just like Doc?"
Jack yanked him roughly off the floor. "My dear Emmett has lived in peace for too long. I miss when we were boys and I could easily just hit or punch him. But I'm too clever to torture him directly. No, Martin, I'll torture you instead, use you for my personal amusement. Then, when you've outlived your usefulness, I'll dump you somewhere for him to find. I know you two are best friends. Knowing you're lost somewhere will be the best torture until you're ready to die. And the best part is-" Jack began to laugh, a spine-chilling sound. "Everyone will think he did it. Being a twin has its advantages. All I need was to hang around here for a few days, give myself a trim to copy his hairstyle and buy some of these ridiculous shirts-" he looked down at the shirt in disgust "-and get you to come to me. It was the perfect plan to get back at him." He chuckled evilly.
Marty's temper kicked in. "Go to hell, you monster!" He kicked Jack in the leg and made a break for the doors. Finding them securely locked, he searched for a window.
Only to be grabbed by a furious Jack. "Don't you dare do that again," he snarled, slamming his fist into Marty's solar plexus. The teen fell to the floor, gasping for air. Jack delivered a second kick to the stomach, making Marty curl up in pain. "It'll be the worse for you the more you fight back, you piece of shit." He dragged the helpless kid over to a set of chains he had installed into the wall. He locked Marty into them roughly. Marty weakly pulled on one and yelped. "Of course, the insides of those are burred, so I wouldn't recommend moving too often." Jack smiled at his captive. "Pathetic. You were so easy to trick. Must be a mental incompetent." He glanced at his single watch. "I've got a little work to do, then we'll get down to business." He kicked Marty one last time. "Well, enjoy yourself." He left, laughing that spine-chilling laugh. Marty struggled in his bonds for a moment, then went limp. Against his will, he began to cry.