Back To The Future

Part IV

Prologue

Saturday, October 25th, 1985

11:30 am

The morning was just about over in Hill Valley, California as the afternoon sky crept in. A traffic intersection was peaceful and quiet. Most people probably had other places they wanted to be on a Saturday anyway. The scene was near Eastwood Ravine, a deep valley named for a man who supposedly fell into it in a fiery train wreck in the late 1800's. But the ravine was not important; what was important were the train tracks that spread out over the ravine's expansive space and into the suburbs of Hill Valley's residential area.

It was at that time that two figures made their way onto the gravel that bordered that steel tracks. Among the rails lay the remains of what once was a Delorean. The locomotive it had encountered had not played fair with the unfortunate automobile.

The first of the two figures was a tall teenage girl named Jennifer. She had bright blue eyes and long, reddish-blonde hair. She turned to the young man who had accompanied her to the site of the accident.

"You're right," Jennifer said, surveying the wreckage, "There isn't much left." The young man, Marty, simply nodded as he also scanned the wreckage. He bent down to collect an old black-and-white photo that had caught his eye. The photograph contained an old man with wild white hair standing proudly next to a large clock. The man was Marty's scientist friend, "Doc" Emmett L. Brown.

"I can't believe he's gone." Marty said, recalling his memories of time traveling about Hill Valley with the Doc in the time machine that now lay in a heap of mangled wreckage before him.

But at that moment, Marty's thoughts were interrupted by the ringing sound of the railroad crossing gates. The red lights flashed on and off as the red and white gates lowered to prevent any cars from wandering too close to the tracks. Both Marty and Jennifer looked both ways as they backed away from the rails. But no train approached from either direction.

"What the heck?" Marty said out loud.

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! Three loud cracks sounded throughout the intersection. In a flash of light, both Marty and Jennifer were knocked flat on their feet as an old steam engine materialized in front of them.

Although the train was obviously from a different century, it bore many embellishments from all over the history books. It was long and black with the initials ELB emblazoned on the sides of the conductor's cabin. Various other components hissed, turned and sparked as the train settled down.

Marty and Jennifer were aghast as they got back to their feet. Then a door in the train's cabin folded downwards to form a set of stairs. From within the cabin appeared a wild eyed man with white hair grinning from ear to ear.

"Doc?" Marty asked over the roar of the steam engine.

"That's right, Marty!" Doc said, "Isn't it great?" he said, motioning at his train. "It runs on steam!"

"What are you doing here?" Marty asked.

"You have to meet the family!" Doc said as a pretty lady in an antique dress came forward. "I believe you already know Clara."

Clara waved to them, "Hello, Marty."

Marty nodded in respect, "Ma'am."

"These are our boys," Doc said, ushering to young boys to the front, "Jules and Verne." The boys waved to Marty and Jennifer.

"I thought you were stuck there!" Marty asked, curious about the new time machine.

"You can't keep a good scientist down!" Doc grinned, "I had to come back for Einstein and, well, I never got to say goodbye." As he spoke, Clara handed her husband a parcel wrapped in brown paper. Doc handed the package to Marty. "Here's a little souvenir."

Marty accepted the gift and tore into the brown paper. Underneath was a black-and-white photograph of himself and the Doc standing next to the Hill Valley clock in 1885. The words in the frame read "To Marty from your friend in time, Doc."

"Thanks, Doc," Marty said, shaking the scientist's hand, "It's perfect!" Jennifer eyes brightened as she dug into her pocket and removed a sheet of printer paper.

"Doctor Brown?" she asked curiously as she handed the paper to him, "I got this note from the future and, well, now it's erased. What does that mean?" The scientist knelt down and looked both Marty and Jennifer in the face.

"It means," Doc said, "That your futures haven't been written yet; no one's has. Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one. Both of you."

Marty glanced at Jennifer and said, "We will, Doc." Just then the stairs folded back up into the cabin. Doc cracked open a window and leaned out.

"Where are going now?" Marty said, "The future?"

"Been there!" the Doc said as the train lifted off the rails. The large steel wheels folded up under the boiler as large wings fanned out on either side. Then the black steam engine banked up into the afternoon sky. With the same three loud bangs that had announced its arrival, the train disappeared, leaving a trail of fire in the sky.

Marty and Jennifer watched the train leave, knowing the Doc would probably find some other adventure in the past that he loved so much. Marty hoped that wherever Doc went, he would be safe with his new family.

Marty and Jennifer turned to leave in Marty's truck. Just as they reached the vehicle, a black sedan pulled up in front of them. The car looked ominous. The black door solely opened and a tall man in a trench cost stepped out. His hair was grey and his expression was grim.

"Are you Martin McFly?" his gruff voice said.

"Uh, yeah." Marty said. This was a little too familiar. Actually way too familiar.

"I have something for you." The man said, removing a manila envelope from his coat. He handed the package to Marty. "We've had this in our department for the last fifty years and it is addressed to a young man answering to the name of Marty at this exact time and this exact place." The man turned to leave.

"Wait!" Marty said. The man stopped. "Who sent this? Are you guy's Western Union?"

"Nope, Government. It's a confidential message. Apparently you are to be the only reader of this letter." The man turned again and the black car drove off down the street. Marty opened the letter and read with wide eyes.

"Marty? What is it?" Jennifer asked, concerned by the look on Marty's face.

"Great Scott!" Marty exclaimed as he fainted to the ground.