What seemed like a mere moment after blacking out, Marty awoke and sat up abruptly. He made it? Did Doc find the cure and give it to him at the last second?
He looked up at his supposed savior, who suddenly looked deathly afraid of him and now was backing away.
"Doc?" He stood, not bothering to look behind him even though it seemed like Emmett was staring right through him. What was going on? Marty couldn’t put his finger on it, but something felt off. He’d seen Doc pretty spooked before, but this seemed different.
The teen took a few steps toward his friend. Jeez, he looked like he’d seen a ghost…
"Doc, what’s wrong, man?" Marty kneeled down next to him now that he was sitting on the floor. He didn’t respond. "I-I’m okay now, right…? C’mon, let’s just go—"
He went to put a hand on his shoulder, but saw that it was transparent like he was erasing from existence, making him gasp and immediately retreat. Confused and scared, he finally followed Emmett’s line of sight.
Suddenly, everything made sense, but he didn’t want to believe it.
"No… no, no, no!" Marty scrambled to be face-to-face with his friend, determined to prove his doubt. "Doc, Doc, please, tell me you can see me, tell me that’s not me…!” he yelled, feeling tears stream down his face. Were they even really tears if he was dead?
Emmett now held his head, still unresponsive to him.
"You... you can't... n-no..." He broke down into sobs, on his knees and hiding his face with his hands. "This can't be happening...!" he wailed.
It wasn't fair. Why couldn't he have had more time? Why did he have to die so young? It must be some cruel, sick twist of fate somehow. He was supposed to live to see 2015. He wanted to accomplish something to prove everyone wrong. To prove he wasn't a no-good slacker. To prove he could do more than chase his dream...
Marty stayed there, his own self pity and sorrow drowning out anything else going on around him. He was unsure of how long he sat there. Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Eventually he lifted up his head, only to see that Doc was gone... Now he really didn't have anything...