BACK TO THE PAST
Chapter Seventeen
"What did you people do?" Christine
barged into the garage. At first she went unheard. Doc and Jack were too
relieved and tired. Gary and Rose were still trying to process everything they
had just been told. "Hey, people!"
Gary blinked a few times, then looked at his
sister. "What?"
"Flying cars in the middle of town ring
a bell? The police will be here any minute! What are we supposed to tell them?
Who knows what they'll do?" She waved her arms.
"Great Scott!" Doc scrambled out
the door. "We need to get you two home!" He looked at Rose and Jack.
"You know, we keep hearing that every
day, but I'm beginning to wonder..." said Jack.
"Do you have all your things?" Doc
asked urgently, glancing out the window for police cars. Gary stood up and
exchanged looks with Christine. It was too sudden and too soon. They didn't
want them to go.
"What--yes," Rose answered,
flustered. "Now?"
"We've got to get you out of here!"
He grabbed her by the shoulders. "We've got to destroy any evidence of the
time machine and get you two as far away as possible--and 1912 is pretty damn
far."
Jack looked back at his grandchildren. This
was good-bye for a very long time.
"Aw, crap." Christine looked out
the window. Police.
"Aw, crap is right." Her brother
came to her side. "I guess this isn't the day for savored farewells."
He sighed.
"No, this is the day for lightening fast
escapes." Jack put his hand on his shoulder. "You done good, both of
you." Jack smiled at him, proud. A few days ago Gary had been shy around
girls and bullies alike. Christine had been obnoxious and uncaring--but only on
the outside. With each other and their young grandparents they busted through
their own insecurities. Somehow their opposite personalities had found a little
bit of middle ground.
"See you around, guys." Christine
hugged Rose. She slipped something into her pocket, but Rose didn't notice.
"Another fifty-six years?" Rose
pulled away.
"Actually, you two are supposed to be
home in a few days." Gary nodded, remembering his grandparents were on
vacation.
Jack grinned. "Yeah, but we'll have to
wait a little longer."
"Don't worry," said Chris.
"We'll be here."
Doc came in and placed his hands on the
shoulders of the young Dawsons. "Ready?"
"As close as I'll ever be." Rose
let out a short breath. "Jack?" She turned to him.
He mustered up a little strength. "Let's
go."
"You know what to do." Doc looked
at the older Dawsons.
"That we do." said Jack, looking at
the DeLorean. He took Chris and Gary and hugged them both. Doc and Rose joined
in for a final group hug.
"Tell Fabrizio--" Jack began,
remembering his aged best friend. He had seen little of him or Helga in the
last few days in 1968.
"I know." Doc nodded.
*****
Doc cut across the yard as Jack and Rose
backed out of the garage in darkness. Gary and Christine kept watch. Rose was
driving this time. After the fiasco with Mrs. McFly, Jack wouldn't get behind
the wheel of a car--with Rose's consent--until 1915.
Slowly, without lights, Rose drove through
the grass, taking the long way toward the road. The twins watched on,
nervously. The plan had to go right this time. As much as they liked
having them, they liked existing, too.
The DeLorean pulled onto the road. It was
four AM. The sun would be up in just a few short hours. In just a few short
minutes, Jack and Rose would leave the 60's behind for more than five decades.
"I think we can turn the lights on,
don't you?" Jack suggested.
Rose sighed. She looked around to see if the
coast was clear. It was. "Okay," she agreed.
She flicked the headlights on, illuminating
the dark road ahead. Everything seemed so peaceful now, so quiet and tranquil.
It was hard to believe how much that would change in a moment.
"Time to fly?" Jack prepped her.
Just then, alien lights appeared ahead. It
was another car. Rose said nothing, merely raised an eyebrow. Rose had on her
determined face. That's how Jack knew they were going to make it home this
time.
It was Biff's car. In it were Biff, Butch,
and Biff's goons, including that Cal look-alike.
"Time to take out the trash!" she
said through her teeth. Jack recalled the other day overhearing Doc and Gary.
Doc warned of the explosive effects of taking two non-conservative people from
a very conservative world and throwing them into a very non-conservative
world." Jack knew from the hover-board incident how it had played out on
him. Now he was about to see how it played out on Rose. Hey, Doc was lucky they
weren't running through the streets naked, carrying out pagan rituals.
"Hold onto that cute little butt of
yours," Rose warned. "It's going to be a fast ride."
Okay, Jack was definitely seeing the effects
of the 60's on the his first class, post-Victorian Rose now. Although he had to
admit he found it pretty sexy, now it was pretty frightening.
She switched gears and slammed on the gas.
Jack grabbed the dashboard. He reminded himself he'd seen worse before.
The car screeched and Jack could feel his
body being pulled back as they surged forward, closer and closer to Biff's car.
She was charging directly at them.
"Rose, what are you doing?" Jack
yelled. It was first time he had yelled at her like that. She didn't react. She
was staring right ahead.
"Oh, my God!" shouted Butch.
"Biff, we got to move!" Match
called in a panic as they began spilling out of the car and scattering. The
headlights of the DeLorean were shining on them. There was nowhere to hide.
"Come on.
Seventy-nine...eighty-two...eighty-five..." she mumbled, biting the corner
of her lip. She was looking at the speedometer. "Take a deep breath,
Jack!" she shouted, this time showing some emotion, anticipation, and
wide-eyed fear.
Biff, Butch, and company screamed as the car
zoomed straight toward them. Lightning flashed all around the car, and in a
flash...it was gone.
The men kept screaming in terror for nearly a
minute until they realized that they were alive...and that the car
had...disappeared? They stared in awe, looking ahead and at each other in
disbelief, except for Biff, of course. He grumbled and kicked the side of his
car. This was nothing new to him.
*****
Marty and Jennifer McFly stood out on deck,
staring into the moonless night. They had watch history happen, but they didn't
feel enlightened, just worried. It had been about fifteen minutes since Jack
and Rose disappeared. But they had to be okay. After all, Jennifer was still
here.
"Marty, look." She pointed in the
distance. There was a light. It looked like a commercial jet back home in good
old 1996, but they knew it could only be one thing. "They must have missed
their mark." She laughed with relief.
Marty smiled big with his mouth open. They
were back. And he could go home. "Hey, guys!" he called. "Guess
who decided to drop by!"
Doc, Clara, Jules, and Verne stumbled out
with Helga and Fabrizio in tow.
"Dude," Verne said to a very
bewildered Fabri, "those are your friends." He pointed.