5:30 AM PST
Marty McFly woke up with a jolt. 'Man, what a strange dream I just had,' he muttered. Marty then reached for his diary, and started writing in it.
'Dear Diary,' Marty wrote. 'I just woke up from having a really strange dream. I dreamed that I was Seamus' brother, Martin McFly. Yeah, it's the same Seamus that I saw when I travelled back to 1885 last year. I remember Seamus telling me about having a brother named Martin, who apparently let people goad in into talking foolish risks, sort of like I used to do - well, in this timeline, anyway.
'Anyhow, I dreamed that Bart Needles (Perhaps an ancestor of Douglas Needles?) had dared me to walk across the ridgepole of a roof. I remember feeling very scared, but because I couldn't let Bart and his think think that I'm a coward, I did it anyway. I wound up spraining my ankle, and I remember that Seamus was in tears at the site of my friend carrying me to the house. I remember Seamus and Maggie lecturing me about not taking foolish risks and valuing my life.
'I guess poor Martin didn't listen, because I remember Seamus telling me that Martin had gotten a bowie knife shoved through his belly in a saloon in Virginia City. The saddest thing is, Seamus and Maggie must have lectured him about the value of life many times - still, Martin didn't listen. Poor Seamus! Poor Maggie! Poor Martin.'
Then a salt water tear had hit the diary page. Thinking about his namesake had made Marty very sad. He laid his diary under the lamp, letting the page dry. Marty then sat down on his bed, and began to cry.
oooooooooo
Two hours later, Marty had grabbed his skateboard and car-surfed over to Doc's house. He wanted to explain to Doc about his dream, hoping that Doc could help him.. As soon as he rang the doorbell, Clara had answered it.
'Oh, hi, Clara,' Marty said. 'Is Doc there? I need to talk to him.'
'Yeah, he's in his den,' replied Clara. 'I'll tell him that you're here.'
'Thanks, Clara,' replied Marty. Then Marty sat in the livingroom, while he was waiting for Doc.
'Well, hello, Marty,' said Doc, as he entered the room. 'Clara said that you needed to talk to me.'
'Yeah, can we go somewhere private?' Marty asked.
'Sure, why don't we go into my den?' suggested Doc.
Then Marty had followed Doc into his den, and Doc had closed the door behind him.
'So what you want to talk about?' Doc asked, gently.
'Well, you see, Doc,' explained Marty, 'I had this strange dream last night, and I was hoping that you could help me.'
'Sure, of course,' replied Doc. 'What did you dream about?'
'Well, do you remember Seamus? From the Old West?' asked Marty.
'Yeah, I do,' answered Doc. 'What about him?'
'Well, I dreamed that I was his brother, Martin,' Marty explained. 'I dreamed that I was walking home from school, and Bart Needles - apparently an ancestor of Douglas Needles - had dared me to walk across the ridgepole of a roof. I felt so frightened, but decided that I had to take of Bart's dare. My friend, James, had tried to stop me, but I wouldn't listen. I did manage to take a few steps before I feel over.'
'Wow, that certainly is some dream,' Doc mused. 'So what happened next.'
'Well, James then took me home,' said Marty, 'and Seamus had greeted me at the door. He had tears in his eyes, he was so worried of me. I remember that Seamus and Maggie had lectured me about the value of life.'
'That sounds then one very vivid dream,' said Doc.
'Yeah, and the really sad thing about this is...' Then, beginning to cry, Marty continued, '... he didn't listen. I know that, sometime later, he got a, uh, bowie knife shoved through his belly in a, uh, saloon in Virginia City.'
Doc then grabbed Marty's hands, and said, 'So you're sure this dream was real.'
'Yeah, yeah, it sure seemed real,' Marty replied, crying. 'He reminds me so much of me. That might have happened to me. I feel so bad for Seamus. He obviously loved his brother a lot.'
Doc then reached out to hug Marty. Marty then buried his face into Doc's shoulder, and cried for about five minutes. Then, as Marty lifted his tear-stained face, Doc handed him a tissue.
'Thanks, Doc,' Marty sniffed, as he wiped his face and blew his nose. 'I don't know why I had that dream, but it seems so real to me. Do you think that, perhaps, Martin's spirit is speaking to me? I wonder why I had that dream, now, though. I have not letting being called 'chicken' get me in trouble, since last October.'
'That I don't really know,' Doc said, gently. 'Why don't you try writing down your dreams, and see if you have any other dreams similar to that?'
'Sure, Doc, I will,' replied Marty. 'I already wrote about my last dream in my diary.'
Doc then glanced at the clock on the wall, and asked, 'So, Marty, do you need me to drive you to school?'
'Sure, if you don't mind,' replied Marty. 'I don't want to have any more tardies, especially not after what Ms. Coleman had put me through last month.'
'Sure, that's no problem,' Doc said, gently.
Doc and Marty then hugged, then Doc drove Marty to school.
'You have a nice day, Marty,' Doc called after him.
'I sure will, Doc,' Marty replied. 'You, too.'
Then, as Marty stepped into the school, he glanced at the clock on the wall. The clock read 8:20. Perfect, Marty thought, I have ten minutes to spare.
oooooooooo
After school, Marty had gone to the public library with his girlfriend, Jennifer.
'So what are we looking for?' asked Jennifer.
'I'm trying to find the day that Seamus' brother died,' said Marty. 'I want to go back in time and prevent him from dying.'
'Are you sure that that's a good idea?' Jennifer asked. 'You know how Doc is always saying that time travel is not something to be taken lightly.'
'Right, I understand that, Jennifer' Marty said, sighing. 'It's just that I had a dream last night about how Martin fell of the ridgepole, and sprained his ankle.'
'Is that how he died?' Jennifer asked.
'No,' said Marty, shaking his head, 'He died because he got a bowie knife shoved through his belly in a saloon in Virginia City. I know, because Seamus told me about it. The only question is, when did he die?'
'Are you sure Martin's records will be found here?' Jennifer asked, gently. 'I mean, he didn't die in Hill Valley.'
'No, but Seamus moved here afterwards,' Marty said. 'There might be something here about his family.'