Well, here I am again with the next chapter of the story. I have no idea how long this story will be – I'm guessing about 20 chapters. But be warned, some other things may suddenly pop up…; )
Disclaimer: ditto as before : P.
Chapter 14
August 6th 1989
11:41 a.m.
Local Wal-Mart
Jules had somewhat become withdrawn within himself, even from his own brother who he normally confided in. Verne was active, as usual, although a little disappointed that Doc had relaxed his time fixing the time machine. After all, the primary reason why he was in such a hurry to repair it was now alive and well, and residing with him for the time being.
Doc wanted to make sure Marty was going to be fine, and so insisted that he stay with him for a short while. Being a man of science, Doc could understand that some symptoms took a while to show up. Patience, in this case, was especially considered a must. But in truth, other things were plaguing Doc's mind. Just how exactly could you explain to someone you had supposedly been dead for three years? Doc was not so sure it was a good idea for Marty to be reunited with his family. Old wounds were sure to be slashed painfully open if it were to happen.
Clara had decided to remain at home whilst Doc went out shopping for the few necessities they required from the superstore, along with several vital components for the train. Jules had wandered off to a friend's, while Verne found his homemade laboratory in his room more interesting than shopping. Marty didn't feel secure in himself yet, and so had decided not to join Doc for the morning. He still had a few questions he wanted answering himself.
Before setting out Doc had discussed their plans for the next few days to come with Marty. Doc knew it wasn't going to be easy explaining to Marty the consequences of his sudden reappearance, and how he possibly may never see his family again. For the time being though, that issue wasn't going to be covered.
Doc had soon completed the shopping, and was at the checkout ready to pay for his purchases. Doc was especially eager to leave the store as soon as he could to return home to sort the complicated situation out. The whole of time was possibly at stake – a very large issue to be concerned about.
Doc stood close to the counter, his mind wandering as he studied a packet of mints on a sweet shelf nearby. His attention was caught by a giggling sound from a nearby checkout, forcing his curiosity to look over. A young woman with coiled blond hair smiled as her boyfriend held her close. They swayed from side to side as he placed his cheek against hers. They seemed madly in love with each other as they stared into their partner's eyes…
He studied them for a moment, especially the woman. Neither turned towards where he stood, but he caught a clear glimpse of her features as she turned to face him.
It was Jennifer.
By all accounts she had moved on, as Doc certainly knew. He was only too relieved to be the only one witnessing this situation.
Doc caught himself in mid-thought as Jennifer looked up to catch him looking. She smiled at the instant recognition, unwrapping herself from the grasp of the young man who held her so close. She waved to be sure he was looking in her direction, before calling "Hey Doc!"
Doc quickly smiled and gestured his reply, before beginning to pack his small bag of groceries. He looked over once again as Jennifer stepped away from the till, bags in hand ready to be transported home. As her boyfriend took the bags from her, she motioned towards the exit of the store, followed by a swift motion over towards Doc's position. He nodded in reply, carefully kissing her cheek before moving out towards the doors.
She took only a matter of seconds to reach Doc's side. A smile embellished her features, with a glint of true happiness shining from her eyes. "Hi Doctor Brown!"
"Jennifer! Hello! How are you?"
"Very well, thanks. How was your birthday?"
"Um…enjoyable," he simply replied, overdressing the truth. "Thank you very much for the gift, it was very thoughtful of you."
"No problem, glad you liked it. I didn't really know what to get you, so I asked Clara for some advice."
Doc simply nodded politely, finding the conversation somewhat uncomfortable for an unknown reason. The past few hours he'd experienced no doubt contributing.
Hoping to change the subject Doc inquired, "So how are things with you and…Mark?" He stuttered a little over the name as it eventually came to him.
"Fine, never better. He's starting a new job in a couple of weeks, over at the high school. We're…hoping to find a place of our own soon. You know, move into a flat or something – away from here if possible."
Catching the last part of the sentence, Doc gave a quick frown. "Leaving Hill Valley? Whatever for?"
"Well, I'm a little old to be living with my parents now, don't you think?" she responded, thinking that Doc would simply agree with her.
"Twenty years old? No, I don't think it is."
"Twenty-one, almost." she shrugged, as though she thought it to be a lame excuse after all. "But it's not just that. I want to try and restart my life. Get out and about, have some fun. Mark is a wonderful person to be with – I don't wanna keep him cooped up here just for my sake. He lives over in Grass Valley, so we might move to there."
The news was unexpected to Doc, but not unreasonable. He supposed it would happen sooner or later – but deep inside he was glad she would have less chance of running into his new houseguest, however long he would be staying for.
"Well, whatever you choose to do – as long as you're happy that's all that counts." Doc smiled, patting her arm gently to reassure her. He turned to leave past her, almost releasing the tensed breath he had been holding ever since she had approached to speak to him. He almost lost that breath in an instant when she called over to him.
"I see him," she spoke evenly and clearly – almost as though she was making it clear to the both of them. Doc mentally froze in his thoughts, turning slowly towards her.
"See…who?"
"Marty…in my dreams – quite often actually." Doc relaxed again, but not obvious to her. "After all this time…everywhere I go, I still see him – waiting outside my house; driving his truck…I feel like I'm going mad sometimes. Seeing things that aren't there. It's depressing, I know…"
"No it isn't! You cannot just forget an intimate relationship in the space of a heartbeat. You're not talking to someone of your own age when you say that, you know. You're not trying to impress me – I can understand what you mean."
She smiled faintly. "I know. I just feel…maybe it's time I learned to let go. Give him – and myself – peace."
Doc simply smiled, half wishing to himself that Marty could be here to witness this to reassure him he was worrying about nothing. Jennifer hadn't forgotten – just simply moved on with her life.
"See you soon, Doc." The young woman turned and left, not wishing to add any more to the dead conversation she had begun. Doc watched as she left, gathering some of his own thoughts before heading back home to where his problems still lay in sorting out the mess that had decided to arise.
Allowing Jennifer a few minutes leeway, the scientist headed toward the same exit Jennifer had left by. Feeling somewhat empty after his encounter, he remained silent for the rest of the journey home, lost in his thoughts. Doc felt the anguish for his friend, wishing there was something better he could do to help him. The time machine was to be the cure in this case – only time could heal these wounds.
As the van pulled away a solitary figure stepped from the shadows by the automatic doors of the store. He smirked as he remembered Doc's face vividly from their previous meeting. With cool serenity he lifted a cigarette to his lips, searching his pocket with his other hand for the lighter. The touch of the cold metal felt good. It felt almost as good as it had done three years previous, when he had had his first encounter with Doc. The flame danced menacingly before the stranger's eyes as, maliciously, he softly spoke:
"Doctor Brown – how good to see you again …"
August 6th 1989
11:50 a.m.
Brown family home, Hill Valley
Clara could never understand just how Jules and Verne went through so much clothing in one week. Verne always liked to please his mother by placing his dirty laundry in the wash basket – a habit his brother loved to poke fun at him for. Jules preferred the disorderly approach – most of his clothes were usually to be found under the bed or left lying on top of his desk. Clara kept warning him that one day they would have to send out a search party for him in order to find him underneath the piles of clothing and junk.
Opening the door to Jules' room was no big surprise then. He had inherited his father's reluctance to keep his belongings put away and his room tidy. It's a wonder he can find anything in here! Clara thought to herself as she began the tedious task of searching for the clothes that needed a long soak to remove the dried-on stains.
One thing she did notice about the bedroom was the unmistakeable presence of an aroma that always seemed to hang on in the room, no matter how often the room was cleaned. The scent would change often – sometimes it would be a cinnamon scent, whilst sometimes pine would be present. Whatever it was, Clara couldn't think as to just what Jules got up to in there. She simply assumed it was to do with an experiment he was working on.
CDs and clothing were scattered all about the room, making it even harder to find anything – a typical teenager's trait. Searching hard through the piles of books, Clara stumbled into something hard on the floor by Jules' desk. The item lay hidden beneath one of Jules' many black t-shirts. Carefully lifting back the t-shirt, Clara could see the item in question was a heavy black book. Curiously, Clara placed the pile of clothes she had gathered to one side to kneel closer to her new discovery. The shadows camouflaged any further clues, so Clara carefully picked the leather-bound book and placed it onto Jules' bed. The unexpectedness of the weight of the book was a shock as Clara almost dropped it. The bed itself gave way slightly from the impact.
The front cover, absent of any writing, offered no clues as to the book's content, and so Clara lifted the book open to read the inscription inside. The verse made no sense to Clara; it's words masked by the language in which it was transcribed. Moving further into the book's pages Clara became more disturbed by the black and white images accompanying the words. Some were very graphic in detail, in reference to the meaning of the verses beside them, Clara could only believe. There were pictures of men and women holding out their hands, allowing what looked like blood to trickle through their fingers to the ground in ritual. One even showed a young girl cutting open her hand with a curly-shaped dagger – a snake wrapped around her arm watching as she did so. Why on earth would her eldest son have such an explicit book in his bedroom?
Tracing her fingers along the edge of the page, Clara continued to turn further into the contents of the book; it's old, musty smell drifting in the air with each turn. Her eye eventually caught a glimpse of something white hidden between two of the pages near to the back of the book, acting as a marker. Clara carefully placed her finger between the pages, opening the book to reveal where the piece of paper lay. The image she was confronted by didn't make her any less comforted.
Again the writing was not in English. The picture opposite could only tell her so much. It was of a young woman, reaching out to what appeared to be a spirit floating beside her, as though she wanted to touch it. The spirit was of a man dressed in rags. He was pulling away from her, as though he was forbidden to go near her, but at the same time was forcing himself to go to her against the force holding him back. He looked in pain, but was also angry.
What does it mean? Clara could only guess. The spirit appeared to be of someone who was wishing to be reunited with his lover, but what could that mean? Studying the picture more carefully, Clara could make out a small, sharp object by the woman's side. Almost like a dagger. And beside that stood two containers, each highly decorated with elaborate patterns and symbols.
The woman herself was knelt by a mound of earth, stretching far beyond the woman's reach. It looked almost like a grave, only there was no…
A grave. That was it. A vague story of some description began to form in Clara's mind at long last. The woman was knelt by the grave of her lover, trying to reach out to his spirit as though to bring it back. As though she wanted him to be alive again…
Clara shook her head in disbelief. She didn't want to believe the thoughts that were running through her mind.
Throwing the book shut, Clara plucked it from the bed where it rested and headed for the open doorway. She felt very disturbed by the mere thought of what her own flesh and blood was involved in. She never imagined her son would become so engrossed in such practises, or would even imagine keeping such items in his possession as the book she carried now.
Emmett would be back soon, she knew. She needed to talk to him, to try and settle her uneasy mind. Then they could both confront Jules about the whole situation, and why he had suddenly withdrawn himself from his parents and brother.
She only hoped to God Jules wasn't involved with Marty's sudden return…