Day 5 - Rope Burns

A/N: Cheating with this one slightly and changing it to duct tape burns/markings. Marty is the unfortunate target of a practical joke. Set prior to Part I.

Although he'd been working for Doc for a few months by now, Marty was still bearing the constant brunt of jokes and teasing about it. While the accusations and conspiracy theories had gotten to him on a few occasions, he'd gradually grown accustomed to hearing them almost every day from various classmates. Some told him he was just as insane as Doc, others flat out insulted him for being 'nerdy enough' to work for a scientist.

His favourite story was from a ninth grader who ranted about how Doc was really a cannibal who enjoyed consuming young boys, and was going to eat his flesh as part of an experiment. While Doc hadn't found the story as funny he did - if anything, Doc was visibly disturbed by it - they had grown close enough to simply joke about how immature and ignorant the townsfolk were before carrying on with whatever invention Doc was tinkering with.

Eventually, it occurred to Marty on the final day of the semester that he'd gone an entire week without hearing anyone else talking about Doc. Although he felt secretly relieved that it had stopped, he found himself gazing at his classmates with suspicion as they departed his final class. What's their deal? Could they be planning anything? Am I being paranoid?

He tried to push those thoughts to the side as he finishing packing up the books he needed over the break. Popping in a Huey Lewis cassette in his walkman, he allowed the music to fill his mind as he pushed off on his board, ignoring the stares that a handful of people were giving. Bunch of dorks…

"Hey Doc!" Marty locked the door behind him, placing his skateboard on top of the shoe rack. "You still want me today?"

"Yes, please! Come in! I've got a few things I need your help with," Doc came rushing towards the front door, wiping grease from his hands on a dirty rag. "Your school break starts today, doesn't it?"

"Technically yes," Marty removed his headphones and unplugged them from the walkman. "Not sure this break will be any different this time, though,"

Doc raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, at home I'm always putting up with a drunk-ass mom who loves to hurl abuse at me," Marty ranted, "and Dave and Linda are no help 'cause they're always at work, and at school the kids won't shut up and keep their damn thoughts to themselves-"

"They're still teasing you? My God! I can't believe the persistence of teenagers these days!" Doc shoved the oily rag into his pocket. "It's been, what, seven or eight months and they're still going on about it?"

"That's the weird thing, Doc. No one's done it this week," Marty's voice was quiet. He suddenly felt small, admitting his fears in front of Doc, but there was no one else who would care. "…I-I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous. I don't trust any of them."

Although he'd only known the young man less than a year, Doc had quickly become fiercely protective of him. The constant rants and anecdotes he shared about his family and school life quickly made him concerned, but despite his prompting and subtle edging, Marty had refused to admit outright that anything bothered him. Today was definitely a sign of progress.

"I know it's difficult, Marty," Doc chose his words carefully, "but do your best to keep it all out of your mind, and I mean all of it. At least for the spring break, yes?"

Marty nodded slowly, suddenly realising how much better he felt. "Thanks, Doc."

Neither the scientist nor assistant realised how many hours had flown by until they heard the collective growl of their stomachs while fiddling with a new gadget Doc wanted to attach to his truck. It hadn't taken long for them to decide on their usual meals from the Burger King behind Doc's house, which is how Marty found himself shivering into his puffer jacket as he made the trek over. Although the Burger King was technically only a five minute walk from Doc's garage, Marty had quickly learnt it could take up to ten minutes to fight his way through the bushes and trees that separated the two properties.

Doc had lectured him when he first discovered Marty's shortcut. "You should be taking the pathway around the block! God knows what's in those bushes, because I certainly don't know."

Marty had laughed him off. "The monsters and goblins in there'll never catch me, Doc."

He felt the first few drops of rain fall into his hair as a loud clap of thunder rattled the air, and sighed heavily as water ran down his forehead. Dammit. Now I'm gonna get completely soaked!

He went to wipe his forehead when he felt his arms being twisted painfully behind his back. Marty swore loudly at the sharp pain in his wrists, twisting desperately to free himself. "What the hell!?"

Through the semi-darkness and increasingly heavy rain, Marty was able to get a glimpse of a group of black-clad figures. His heart sank as he realised they were all hiding their faces with balaclavas. Now I'm gonna have nothing to give the police-

He felt a cold sweat break out at the sound of something loud ripping, which he quickly worked out to be tape as it was tightly wound around his wrists. Shit shit shit! Are they gonna murder me?! "Let me go! HELP!"

"You should've listened to us, McFly!" One of the figures spoke, revealing it to be a young man.

Marty found his head being pulled back as a thick piece of tape was pulled around his mouth. He frantically tried to wrestle out of his captors' suffocating grip, only to have one man aggressively grab his chin. A second set of eyes blinked at him through the balaclava; Marty would've sworn it looked like the man was enjoying himself.

"Maybe that kook'll use your dead body in his experiments, dickhead!"

Marty's eyes widened in horror. Needles! Son of a bitch!

Needles's face quickly flew away from him as he found himself being pushed back into the bushes. His feet flew over his head as he somersaulted into an awkward position. Oh shit, that's gonna make a bruise.

Groaning from the impact, he tried to roll onto his side to avoid accidentally inhaling some dirt. Leaves and twigs were poking into him at every angle, and the ground beneath him was quickly becoming a muddy puddle.

"Nice knowin' ya, McFly!" One of the men taunted. "Come on, let's get outta here before it starts pissing!"

Marty watched as his attackers took off into a sprint, leaving him alone in a soaking wet bush. A lightning bolt briefly illuminated the foliage around him, and he shook his head to dislodge the excess water settling in his hair. Great. Now I'm completely screwed.

He began wriggling around to test the strength of his bonds, only for any hope of potential escape to disappear as he realised his wrists and ankles were firmly glued together.

The temperature seemed to have taken a sharp drop since he was abandoned. He could feel the beginnings of goosebumps creeping across his skin.

Are they just gonna leave me here?!

Claps of thunder roared in his ears.

A shiver sharply wracked his body. Wonder if I'll die of hypothermia first.

He fought the urge to cry.

Dammit Doc, where the hell are you?!

Time seemed to stand still, even though he knew it was passing. The ferocious winds seemed to be setting his ear canals on fire.

Why'd they do this to me?! I don't make any trouble for them!

He scrunched his eyes shut as his chest heaved with a sob. He'd never been this uncomfortable in his whole life, but he was also surprised at the amount of rage that was bubbling inside. Why couldn't these assholes just leave me ALONE!

I'm just as bad as my dad-

"Marty?"

The voice was faint amongst the chorus of thunder and howling wind, but he still heard it. "Hmm!" Doc! About time! Marty turned over as best as he could within the confines of the bush. He could barely open his eyes through the torrent of wind and rain, but managed to make out the silhouette of a familiar scientist. Does he actually

"Marty! What the HELL happened?!" Doc's voice carried a hint of fury as he bent over the young man, his eyes scanning the teenager for injuries.

Marty couldn't help but feel that Doc's anger was intentionally directed at him, even if it wasn't. All he could do in the moment was squirm uncomfortably in the tape and try

"It's too dangerous to fully untie you out here! I can barely see you through this rain!" Doc shouted through the wind. "I'll do your feet first!"

Marty could only groan in frustration. Dammit Doc, why didn't you bring an umbrella?!

He felt a pair of hands slide under his armpits as he was raised from his uncomfortable prison. The world instantly began spinning, and he found himself completely upright. Doc's fingers were fiddling with the tape around his ankles. and it took an agonising few seconds before he was able to get a grip and start pulling the restraints away. "Hang on, Marty!"

As soon as his feet were freed, Marty found himself being pulled through the darkness, relying on Doc's grip to keep him orientated. The forest around him was briefly illuminated by another flash of lightning, though it did nothing to assist with restoring his vision.

Being pulled through the doorway to the warmth of Doc's lab provided instant relief. He found himself blinking furiously as his eyes readjusted to the welcome return of light. A quick glance down at his clothes allowed him to fully appreciate the disgusting state of his clothing. How the hell am I gonna wash all this shit out?

Doc took a second to wipe the rain from his forehead, panting as he gave his young friend a concerned look. "Are you alright?"
Marty nodded, thrusting his head back to dispel some loose water drops. He quickly turned around to present his wrists to Doc, and was grateful that the hint was understood. It took slightly longer to cut the tape around his wrists - he heard Doc make a quiet comment about how tightly they'd restrained him - but it wasn't long before he was freed and could stretch his shoulders in relief.

Marty automatically went to ripe the tape off of his mouth when Doc's hand stopped him. "Let me do it, Marty. We need to do it carefully so we don't damage anything."

The young man sighed before nodding. Can we hurry it up, though?!

He'd never expected removing duct tape from skin to be so painful. Although Doc was pulling the adhesive away as gently as possible, he couldn't help but groan as the stinging grew more and more intense.

Doc cringed as he finally removed the last section of tape, ignoring the loud swearing that followed as soon as the teenager's lips were freed. "My God, that's left a mark-"

"What?! What has?" Marty raised his hand to touch his face, only to see the ugly red lines around his wrists from where the duct tape had sat. "Oh my God! My face-"

Without waiting for a reply from Doc, Marty ran to the closest bathroom, thrusting the door open as he got a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His clothes were completely saturated with water and a thin layer of mud, allowing him to see his skin through the dripping fabric. Strands of his hair dripped onto the bathroom floor, with some drops running down the enormous red stain that now decorated the lower half of his face. "How the hell did that happen?!"

"Duct tape isn't designed to be used on human skin, Marty," Doc said grimly. "I did the best I could, but removing it has probably taken a couple of layers of your skin off, and I suspect the chemicals in the adhesive aren't helping with that redness."

"It's not permanent, is it?!"

"No no no. It will fade," Doc answered, "but I think you might want to stay over tonight."

Marty raised an eyebrow. "I'm fine, Doc, really! They didn't beat me up or anything-"

"I'm assuming, though, you don't want to have to explain that to your parents?" Doc pointed to Marty's mouth.

The teenager thought for a moment before nodding hurriedly. He couldn't - or wouldn't - look at Doc directly, and the older man chose his words carefully to avoid upsetting Marty any further. "I know you couldn't answer me before when I asked, so I'll ask again. What happened?"

Marty's eyes started darting around the room nervously. He couldn't understand why he was such a whirlwind of emotions in that moment; he was relieved to have been saved from his predicament, but also ashamed that he had to be rescued in the first place. The anger at Needles and his gang tormenting on him yet again suddenly resurfaced, and he looked up at Doc as he let out a sob. "I'm…I'm so sorry, Doc, I tried, a-and I know I shouldn't have g-gone, but I couldn't…t-they wouldn't…why can't they just leave me alone?!"

The scientist's heart panged as he cautiously extended an arm out to Marty, to which the teenager took him by surprise as he wrapped himself around Doc's torso. A small whine escaped his lips as he began to shake uncontrollably.

Doc was stunned for a few seconds before he returned the gesture, doing his best to provide comfort to the young man - no, the boy - sobbing and shivering in his arms. "It's alright, Marty. It's alright."

But neither was sure if it would be.