A Short Trip to the Future

Marty makes a short trip to the future. WARNING: Trip is not short at all.

Chapter 1 — Taking the Time Machine

The plan was to get in, check his future mail, get out, return the DeLorean to Doc's house, and run like mad—skateboard, actually, because his car made odd, clunking sounds once in a while that could wake up potential witnesses—back home before anybody found out. Simple and direct as his plan was, Marty felt a little nervous. Hadn't Doc warned him about the consequences of messing with time? However, those consequences only popped up when a time traveler was careless. Not that Marty was careless…he simply wasn't a planner. And besides, whatever things he messed up in the future could be dealt with later. Literally.

Marty McFly slowly steered the DeLorean time machine away from Doc's new home in the outskirts of Hill Valley. Since the scientist was a family man now, he no longer lived in a messy old garage. Doc sold the garage and bought the new house on Elderwood Drive, which was an improvement, size-wise…but it was a pain for Marty to get there half the time. On skateboard, it took him half and hour. On truck, it took him twenty minutes. Also, during his visits at the Browns, Marty suddenly found himself attached to a certain Verne Brown, who worshipped him. Marty could never figure out why…was it because he could play the guitar, or was it because he could ride a skateboard? In any case, it was a bit embarrassing to have to walk around the house with a little kid wrapped around his leg. On the other hand…it was a little flattering, too. To have someone look up to him was a new experience for Marty, being the youngest in his family.

Thinking of Verne made Marty feel guilty for taking the time machine in the first place. It was like he was setting a bad example or something. It wasn't Marty's DeLorean or time machine. Doc had built another DeLorean time machine simply because it was easier to use than the train. Not that he used it that much, anyway. In fact, Marty couldn't think of one time that Doc had used the new DeLorean for time travel…but perhaps it was because he hadn't seen him a lot as of late. Marty shrugged. Well…now that he was here…he gripped the steering wheel. If he was quick and if he didn't erase anybody from existence, he'd be fine. Get in, check his future mail, yadda yadda yadda…nothing could go wrong, right?

He quickly punched in the destination time: 3:00 PM, May 24 1986. He figured that his college letters should have been in by then. He drove farther away from the Brown residence and he pressed his foot harder into the gas pedal. As the number on the speedometer climbed to 85 miles an hour, Marty shut his eyes and braced himself to deal with temporal displacement.

Three sonic booms sounded.

Marty wanted to open his eyes again, but found that he couldn't. It was broad daylight outside! Rather than risk blindness, Marty shifted his foot from the gas to the brake pedal in the dark. He knew that there weren't any trees he had to worry about around the Brown house. He eased his eyes open a crack, but had to shut them again. The car eventually slowed to a stop, and Marty breathed deeply to calm his nerves and waited to regain his eyesight.

His eyes finally opened.

So far, so good. There were no other cars on the road, and he was also far enough away from the Brown's house to have entered this time unnoticed. Now it was time to hide the DeLorean.

According to his calendar, the Marty McFly of May 24 1986 was on a weekend trip with his family to the mountains. The Marty of January 11 1986, who had just arrived via time machine, parked the DeLorean in Doc's old garage. Though the garage now belonged to the state, Marty still had the keys. Nobody really wanted that old place, anyway.

Marty took out his skateboard and rode to Lyon Estates.

Afraid that one of his neighbors might spot him, Marty hid from place to place, sneaking up on his own house. He crept up on the house's back window and checked to see if anybody was inside. There wasn't. Marty circled the house and entered through the front door. He had to turn off the alarm, which was a good sign. There was definitely nobody home.

Shutting the door behind him, Marty made a beeline to the pile of letters on the coffee table. His hands found the 'Marty pile' and started shifting through the envelopes.

After a couple of minutes of searching, Marty frowned. No letters from the colleges yet? It was May, for Christ's sake! Maybe he took the letters into his room. That must have been it. In fact, he knew just the place where he future self would have hidden something has private as those college letters. He started down the hall, feeling a bit apprehensive. One, he didn't want to spend too much time here in the future, although he knew that he was totally safe. Two, he was about to find out which colleges had accepted/rejected him! It was nerve-wracking.

It was a good thing had had access to a time machine. Now, he didn't have to wait.

Marty examined the bookcase. Which book was it, again? He plucked The Neverending Story off the shelf and popped it open. Inside was his letters from the colleges. Smiling nervously, Marty flopped on his bed and spread out the envelopes all around him. It was judgement time. Marty hummed a random tune to calm his nerves and to fill the quiet, empty space that surrounded him.