Chapter 5

8:10 PM

Oct 28 1895

Rocky Flat California

"But you said it was bedtime, Dad. So are we going to sleep, or aren't we?" Verne questioned in a tired, whiney voice.

"Not in your own beds. You can sleep on the way."

"But Dad, the trip is instantaneous. So there is no way available on which we are able to sleep," objected Jules.

"Ah, but we have to fly back to Hill Valley. Even if we did not, you would still need to sleep in the train. Now, move," Emmett commanded firmly.

Both boys reluctantly put on warm coats and gloves, Jules quietly squabbling over the logic of what was happening. Verne was not particularly interested, and was getting grumpier by the minute.

"Does everyone really need to come?" Clara asked softly?"

Emmett nodded with a frantic look in his eyes as he gathered some essentials. "I couldn't risk leaving anyone here. It appears that we have somehow disrupted the time line in a way which is threatening our existence, starting with that of Marty and myself at the festival of a decade ago. It follows that if we were not at the festival, there is little chance of us existing here now, as some of our other photographs are beginning to show. The act of leaving anyone behind, stranded as it were, would be of no help. In fact, we should take as much with us as possible, particularly those things which do not belong in this time."

"Don't spend too long, dear. We need to be fixing this problem, not packing. Just take the most obvious things, and hope we can return before... something bad happens, whatever that may be."

"I don't want to find out. Here is a basket for Jules to carry, and I will take this one. Thankfully, most of our futuristic items are still stored in the train."

"What do you want me to carry?"

"Verne. He is much too tired to walk down to the shed. Now let's get out of here."

Clara took the basket from her husband and called for Jules to take it. Emmett snatched up the folder of family photographs, some of which were in the first stages of erasure. Clara picked up the overtired Verne, and the family left the house... and prepared to leave the century.

"If only I had some newspapers or photographs from the future which could show us what the problem is," Emmett muttered as they reached the shed he had stored the train in. "It would have helped greatly in this situation." He unlocked the door and opened the train.

"Don't worry, Emmett," Clara soothed as she set Verne down. "There's no point in worrying about that now. We can still finish what we need to know. You will have all the time you need to think later."

"I certainly hope so." Emmett waited for Einstein to bound in and closed the door. He ran a quick check of the systems, and activated the hover systems. The train slid out of the shed like a flying train normally would. He set the time circuits, made sure they were turned off, and headed for the sky.

After a full hour of top speed flight, the train was exactly in the middle of nowhere. Emmet slowed down for safety (he had calculated that temporal transition at speeds much over 88 miles per hour could have dangerous results), and switched the time circuits on. He warned Clara, and accelerated.

The train quickly hit 88 and vanished in a flash of blue light into twin tracks of fire. Emmett had no idea what he would find on the other side.

9:00 PM

Nov 8 1985

Hill Valley California

Initially, Emmett had seen nothing worth seeing. But after an hour of flight, the lights of Hill Valley became visible on the horizon.

The two boys were still fast asleep, and had been since leaving Rocky Flat. To them, it would have been 10:30, which was what Emmett's watches showed. He noticed this, and set one to 'local' time so he could see the time both in the current time and the one he had left.

Emmett steered toward the part of town where his house was located. He landed the train in a clearing in the woods, which stood just behind John F. Kennedy Drive. "I'm going out for a quick look around," he told his wife. "I'll be back in approximately 30 minutes. Use this radio if you absolutely must contact me, and vice versa."

Clara gave him a quick kiss goodbye, took the radio he handed her, and reluctantly let him go. He exited the train and headed toward his house.

He was relieved to see his garage standing beside the Burger King, which was still doing some late night business. He walked toward the garage, intending to look inside, when he was shocked to hear a voice.

"Einie! Put down than spanner!" Emmett demanded from inside the garage." There was a loud THUNK, followed by a curse over bruised fingers.

Outside the garage, Emmett uttered the words, "Great Scott!" and crumpled softly onto the ground.

A few minutes later, he sat up and waited for his head to clear. Obviously, the disruption to the timeline, whatever it was, had caused him to enter into a alternate dimension, like the one in which he had been committed, and Biff had made a complete mess of Hill Valley, and a good portion of history.

For a fleeting moment, he considered asking his other self for help, but he quickly decided against it. If the unexpected sound of his other self's voice had sent him to the ground, what would the shock of his turning up at the door do to his other self? He didn't really want to find out, but he guessed that his counterpart would be useless for a number of hours. A much better course of action was to call Marty, an action he had originally expected to attempt.

A few minutes later, the dimensionally deposed scientist had located a payphone. He inserted some change, which he had placed in his pocket in preparation, and dialed.

Ten rings later, the other end was picked up. "Yo."

"Marty, is that you?"

"Hey, hey, Doc, something up?"

"Yes, actually. Is there a place where we can meet privately in the very near future?"

"What about your house?"

"If we could meet there, would I be asking?"

"Oh, of course not. You can come over to my place. All my family are out, and I've been playing a bit of guitar."

"That would explain why you took a long time to answer."

"I did? Sorry about that, Doc, but if you had rung in the middle of the song, you would have had to wait longer."

"I will arrive shortly."

"See ya then, Doc."

Emmett replaced the receiver and returned to the train so he could talk to Clara privately.

"You're back so soon?" she asked when he entered the train.

"I am glad to see you too."

"Sorry. What did you find out?"

"I am still living in my garage and have Einie; Marty is still my friend, plays guitar and has the same phone number."

Clara thought about the inferences of that statement. "Are you saying there is another... you here?"

"Yes, and another Einstein," he added, looking at the faithful dog who had been silently accompanying the Brown family in the train. "I have arranged to meet with Marty at his house. Hopefully I will be able to determine the cause of this temporal error without startling him significantly."

"From what you've told me and the boys, Marty has experienced some rather... unusual circumstances already."

"The Marty I know has, but I cannot be certain about this one. I can deduce that he never went to 1885, but I know nothing of his other experiences. Now I had better be going."

Clara kissed him goodbye again, and he set out toward Lyon Estate. After a brisk walk, he was greeted by a letterbox reading "McFly", a good sign that Marty still had the same address and family name.

He could also hear the sound of a loud guitar and some sort of electronic piano competing for volume. After giving several unanswered raps on the door, Emmett decided he should let himself in. He followed the sounds to their source, and knocked loudly on Marty's bedroom door.