DISCLAIMER: The characters of Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster are the property of Spelling Productions and were created by Constance M. Burge. The characters of Randolph Carter and all Cthulhu Mythos characters are the property of the estate of H.P. Lovecraft.
THE PLACE: ARKHAM, MASSACHUSETTS
THE TIME: NOVEMBER 13th, 2018
Nothing like a cup of coffee after a long day, Hannah Webster thought to herself. She had just gotten home from her journalism classes at Miskatonic University, and just wanted to relax for a while. She was about to head upstairs to her home office, when the doorbell rang. Who on Earth could that be? Hannah wondered as she went and answered the door. Standing there was a young man, in a business suit, and carrying a briefcase. "Can I help you?" Hannah asked the young man.
"You can if you're Hannah Webster," the man replied.
"I am."
"Good. My name is James Wilson," the man said. "I represent the firm of Malone, Boyd, and Howe, out of Boston. We're handling the estate of Carol Jean Ward."
"Who's that?" Hannah asked.
"What? You don't know?"
"If I knew, I would have asked who she was," Hannah said with slight irritation. What the heck was going on here?
"Well, this is odd," Wilson said as he opened the briefcase and pulled out a package. "You see, this has been in the possession of our firm for the last ninety-three years. It was given to us with the explicit instructions to deliver it to a Hannah Webster at this date and location. Truth be told, we had a betting pool at the firm as to whether this "Hannah Webster" would actually be here. Looks like I lost. You sure you don't know anything about this?"
"Believe me, Mr. Wilson, I'm as baffled as you are," Hannah said as she took the package and examined it. Sure enough, her name and address were on it. "Still, I'll take it. Perhaps I can figure out what this is all about."
OOOOOOOO
Soon after, Hannah was up in her home office, booting up her computer. Very quickly, she Googled the name Carol Jean Ward and soon read the information that appeared on the screen. Carol Jean Ward: 1899-1986. A journalist, Hannah thought. And I'm studying to be one. Surely this is not a coincidence. Hannah read all the information that she could find. Apparently, Carol Jean Ward used the initials of her first and middle names, C. J., when writing, due to the fact that she was a woman. Common for the early 20th Century, Hannah thought. Apparently, Carol Jean Ward had done quite well in her career, even ending up in London, where she had covered the Blitz. Still, nothing Hannah found indicated how C. J. Ward could have known about Hannah's existence. After all, Rex and I were still slaves to the Source in the 1920's, Hannah thought. C. J. Ward would have been outside our scope of operations. And yet, somehow, she knew who I was. Having no other information to go on, Hannah decided to open the package. She ended up pulling out what seemed to be a typed manuscript with the word "Unnameable" on the title page. This brought Hannah up short. Her research into Arkham's past had uncovered a reference to something called the "Unnameable". Could this be connected? Hannah then saw that a written note had also been enclosed in the package. She quickly read it.
Hannah:
By now you're probably wondering what this is all about. How I could have possibly known about you. Well, just read the manuscript, it will tell you all you need to know.
Carol Jean Ward,
May 8th, 1925
Having nothing else to do, Hannah did read the manuscript. And, indeed, it did tell her all she needed to know.
OOOOOOOO
Several hours later, Rex Buckland and Randolph Carter were talking in Rex's study. "Well, it's been cleared," Randolph said. "We can go see Matthew Tate today." It had only been a few week since Randolph had discovered that the Warlock, Matthew Tate was now locked up in an asylum in the town of Sefton.
"Excellent," Rex said. "Perhaps it's time we all went and paid Matthew a visit. Perhaps we can get some information out of him."
"Well, you'll have to go without me," Hannah said as she entered the study. "I have a mission of my own to go on. For that, I need the Time Key."
"The Time Key?" Rex asked. "Why?"
"I need to travel back to 1923," Hannah replied. "That's all I can say."
"Well, if we must go..." Rex began.
"No, Rex, you don't understand," Hannah replied, shaking her head. "Only Staci and I can go. No one else."
"You and Staci?" Randolph asked.
"Yes," Hannah said. "And I can't say anything more, not now. You're both just going to have to trust me."
"Is it a historical issue?" Rex asked.
"Yes, it is," Hannah said. "Which is why I can't say anything more at this point."
"Well, then we better get you started then," Rex said as he got up from his desk and went over to the cabinet where he kept all the magic weapons that he and Hannah had collected over the years.
"I promise that I'll tell you everything once we return," Hannah promised.
"I'm sure you will," Rex said as he handed Hannah the Time Key. "Good luck to you both on your mission."
"Thanks, Rex," Hannah replied.
OOOOOOOO
"Hannah, what is this all about?" Staci asked as the two of them arrived at their destination in Hannah's car.
"Tell you in a few moments," Hannah said as the two of them got out of the car.
"Why are we here?" Staci asked as she gestured to the old cemetery in which they stood. "This place hasn't been used in over a hundred years."
"Because of the old house that once stood over there," Hannah said as she gestured to the other side of the cemetery. "In 1923, a man named Joel Manton entered that house, and saw something there that drove him mad. He called it "Unnameable", whatever that meant. He spent the rest of his life in an insane asylum."
"I remember reading about that in your Arkham Oddities article that appeared in the Arkham Gazette," Staci said. "You also said that house burned down not long after."
"Yeah, I did," Hannah said as she went over and opened her trunk. "And that's why we're here."
"What?" Staci said as she walked over and looked into Hannah's trunk. Inside the trunk were old lanterns and such, plus two boxes of clothes. "What's with the clothes?" Staci asked.
"It's 1920's period clothing," Hannah replied. "We'll need it in 1923."
"We'll what?" Staci said. "You mean travelling in time?"
"Yes, Rex and I have done it quite a few times."
"And now I'm going to?" Staci said.
"Yeah, you are. I know this is coming at you very fast, Staci," Hannah said. "But, you see, I only found out about this mission today."
"Mission?"
"I'll explain as we get changed," Hannah said. As the two women changed into the 1920's clothes, Hannah filled Staci in about the mysterious manuscript.
"Wow," Staci said, once Hannah had finished. "Are you sure this is what the manuscript indicated what needed to be done?"
"As sure as I'll ever be," Hannah said. And that is all I can tell you for now. By now, the two woman had changed into the 1920's clothes. Hannah then pulled out the Time Key and activated it. A vortex soon appeared in front of the two women.
"And we go through that?" Staci asked.
"Yes, I mentally set the coordinates of our destination," Hannah replied as she unloaded the lanterns and equipment from her car and handed some of them to Staci. "Are you ready to go, Staci?"
"Whenever you are," Staci said. The two woman then stepped into the vortex, and into the past.
OOOOOOOO
At that same time, Rex and Randolph were on the road to Sefton. "Penny for your thoughts," Randolph said, although he already knew the answer.
"Oh, I was just wondering about Hannah," Rex replied. "This mysterious mission she's on. And why she could take only Staci along with her."
"Yeah, I'm curious too," Randolph replied.
"However, if it concerns history itself, then I could see why she couldn't tell us," Rex said, nodding his head.
"You told me that you and Hannah have travelled to the past before."
"Yes, we have," Rex said. "And every time, we had to be careful on what we could and couldn't change."
"Makes sense," Randolph said. "When you're messing around with the past, you have to be careful."
"Well, we didn't actually "mess" with the past," Rex said. "Rather, we usually stopped others from doing so."
"And you think that's the big secret? That Hannah and Staci had to go back to prevent someone from messing with the past?"
"I wish I knew, Mr. Carter," Rex replied with a sigh. "I wish I knew."
OOOOOOOO
ARKHAM
AUGUST 10th, 1923
At first, Staci didn't notice the difference, once she and Hannah emerged from the vortex. However, it didn't take long for her to notice that Hannah's car was nowhere to be seen, the road beside the cemetery was not paved, and, most of all, there was an old house at the back of the cemetery, which hadn't been there before. And one thing more. "Sure is hotter here, Hannah."
"That's not surprising, considering it was November in 2018," Hannah replied. "It's August here in 1923." She indicated the old house. "We're only a few weeks after Joel Manton entered that house and went mad." She began walking towards the house.
"Hannah..." Staci said as she began to follow Hannah.
"Yes?"
"Well, I'm thinking of the bad stuff to come. The Great Depression, World War II, the Kennedy assassination, the Challenger explosion, 9/11. We could..."
"No, Staci, we can't," Hannah said. "All those are fixed events, and you can't change those, no matter how much you may want to. Believe me, I know." Hannah went on to tell Staci about her misadventure on the Titanic.
"So you could save those children," Staci said, once Hannah had finished. "But you couldn't prevent the ship itself from sinking?"
"Yes, because the sinking of the Titanic was a fixed event. However, what happened to those children wasn't. That is why I could save them."
"And what we're doing here. Is that a fixed event?" Staci asked.
"Truth be told, Staci, I don't know yet," Hannah said as she fell silent. I wonder if should tell her about the time the Blessed Ones had to go back in time to save Kennedy from that Demon assassin, so Oswald could get him in Dallas. She recalled what Pip Muniz-Halliwell had told her about that particular adventure.
"Hannah?" Staci asked.
"It's nothing," Hannah replied as the two of them reached the front door. Hannah tried to open it, but it was locked.
"Looks like the place is locked up tight," Staci said. "They probably did it after that Manton guy went nuts after breaking in."
"Which is odd, considering that this house has been empty for over two hundred years." Hannah said.
"Who last lived here?" Staci asked.
"A man named Joshua Winthrop and his family," Hannah replied. "Or at least that is what the accounts of the time say. He died under mysterious circumstances in 1721."
"What happened to his family?" Staci asked.
"The accounts don't say. They just vanish from history. As for the house, it was sealed up when no living relatives of Winthrop could be found." Hannah said as she pulled a pin from her pocket and began to work on the lock.
"Why did they seal it up? Why not just sell it to someone else?"
"Because it seemed that no one wanted to buy it," Hannah replied grimly. "It became a shunned house."
"Well, that doesn't sound good," Staci said.
"Don't forget, Staci, that the records from that time leave much to be desired. No doubt they don't tell the whole story," Hannah replied as she continued to jiggle at the lock. "One has to... Ah!" Hannah stepped back as the door swung open.
Why do I not want to go into that house? Staci thought as she and Hannah picked up the lanterns they had brought along and lit them. Just a feeling I have.
Here we go, Hannah thought as the two women readied to enter the house.
OOOOOOOO
SEFTON, MASSACHUSETTS: 2018
"Here we are," Rex said as they pulled up to the asylum. He and Randolph got out of the car and entered the building. They were soon met by one of the staff doctors.
"I'm Dr. Kent," the doctor said. "Are you the two men who inquired about the John Doe who was admitted here in the summer of 2017?"
"We are," Rex replied. "We've been searching for him for quite some time now. Our sources told us he was here."
"Are you family?" Dr. Kent asked. "We've been trying to track down any family our John Doe may have, but we've come up empty so far.
Yes, I'm sure you would. Any close family Matthew had would be long dead by now, Rex thought. "No, not family. However, we're colleagues of his, in a manner of speaking."
"There won't be any trouble, I hope," Randolph said. "It's vitally important that we see the John Doe."
"Oh, no problem. Come with me, gentleman." Kent led Rex and Randolph down the corridor, to a corner room, to which the three men entered.
Oh my God! Matthew! Rex thought as he took in the sight of Matthew Tate. With his snow white hair and vacant expression, Matthew Tate looked like he'd aged a century in the year since Rex and Hannah had last seen him.
"Yeah, he looks like he's seen Hell itself," Kent said.
He saw a lot worse than that, Rex thought grimly.
OOOOOOOO
ARKHAM: 1923
Dust and cobwebs greeted Hannah and Staci when they entered the house. Good thing we brought lanterns, Staci thought. The windows are so dirty, no sunlight can get through. She looked at Hannah. "So what exactly are we looking for here?"
"Truth be told, I'm not quite sure," Hannah replied. "Let's just have a look around, but be careful, Staci, this floor is two centuries old. It could be weak in spots."
"I will be," Staci replied.
The two women slowly explored the ground floor, finally ending up in what looked like a study of some kind. Eventually, Staci made a discovery. "Hannah! Over here!"
"What is it?" Hannah asked as she came over to the old desk that Staci was standing at.
"I found these scrolls," Staci said as she held one up. "However, I don't understand the writing on it."
"Let me see," Hannah said as she took the scroll from Staci, Sure enough, these was writing of some kind on it. "This looks like some of the writing on the scrolls Rex has at our house. However, I can't make heads nor tails of it."
"You mean this Winthrop guy was into the same kind of stuff that Rex is?" Staci asked.
"It could be," Hannah said as she began to look through the desk. Soon she came upon what seemed to be a journal of some kind. "This looks interesting." Hannah then opened the journal and began to read the final entry.
June 10th, 1721:
I realize now that I should have destroyed her when she was born, however my wife, Abigail, and I wanted a child so badly. After being unable to bear a child, Abigail grew sad and withdrawn. That was when I turned away from God and invoked dark forces to bring a child into the world. And we paid a terribly price for it.
When our daughter, Alyda, was born in 1703, she was more animal than human. Still, Abigail and I loved her as best we could. However, in the end, it was not enough.
Yesterday, I saw that Alyda had broken out of her room and killed her mother. Now my monster daughter is hunting me. Soon it will be over.
In the end, I ask God, please forgive me, Joshua Winthrop, for transgressing the laws of nature and Man.
"Well, that was grim," Staci said. "Do you think that those dark forces he mentioned have something to do with these scrolls?"
"It's likely, yes," Hannah replied. "Stuff like this can be dangerous in the wrong hands. It seems that Joshua Winthrop wanted a child so badly that he decided it was worth the risk.
"But it clearly wasn't," Staci said.
It was at that point that Hannah and Staci heard the front door open and someone enter the house. Very quietly, the two women returned to the living room and found themselves facing a young woman with dark hair, who appeared to in her early twenties. "Who are you?" the woman asked.
"I might ask you the same thing," Hannah replied, although she already knew the answer.
"I'm Carol Jean Ward," the woman replied. " I'm a journalist."
Right on schedule, Hannah thought and then indicated to herself and Staci. "My name is Lois Lane, and this is Lana Lang." Hannah knew that both those names would have no meaning to Carol, as the first Superman comic would not be published for another fifteen years. "We're journalists too."
"I see," Carol said. "I guess you're here for the same story I am. Some guy broke into this house a few weeks ago and went nuts. There's a story here, and I'm going to find it."
"Yes, that is the reason that Ha... That Lois and I are here," Staci said.
"Perhaps we could work together on this," Hannah suggested.
"Okay, but only to a certain point," Carol said. "It's hard enough being a woman in this field as it is."
"I'm guessing that's why you use the name 'C. J.', when writing?" Hannah said.
"Yeah, because my editors are worried that no one would accept stories if they knew they were written someone named Carol. How about you, Lois? Do you have that issue while writing at your paper?"
"Actually, I don't," Hannah said. "My editor is a little more open minded."
"Lucky you," Carol said.
"Pardon me, Carol," Staci said. "But you look rather young to be an experienced journalist, if you don't mind me saying."
"That's because I started when I was sixteen," Carol replied. "When all the men went off to fight in the Great War..."
That's World War I to Hannah any myself, Staci thought.
"... my local newspaper found themselves short handed," Carol continued. "So I decided to try my hand. I was always good at writing and I had a knack in hunting up a good story. Apparently, they liked it so much that, even when the war ended and the men returned, they kept me on."
"And your instinct told you there was a story here," Staci said.
"Yeah, just like you two," Carol said. "So, what's our next move?"
"We found some interesting documents, just before you arrived here," Hannah said. "Perhaps you should have a look at them."
OOOOOOOO
SEFTON: 2018
"Matthew? Can you hear me?" Rex asked as he waved his hand in front of Matthew's face. Getting no reaction, Rex clapped his hands right next to Matthew's ear. Again, Matthew gave no reaction. Rex was still taken aback at the sight of Matthew Tate, once a powerful Warlock, reduced to this shell of a man. And the Old Ones can do that to the entire Earth, unless we stop them.
"You're wasting your time," an orderly said. He had some into the room to change the IV drip on Matthew. "No one has been able to get anything out of him since they brought him in here. If you ask me, he's permanently out to lunch."
"Well, no one is asking you," Randolph said.
"Hey, it ain't no skin off my nose," the orderly said as he finished changing the IV drips. "The shrinks have been trying to get something out of this guy for more than a year. However, they may as well call it a day. This guy's a turnip." With that, the orderly turned and left the room without a backward glance.
"Nice guy," Randolph said.
"Yes, but I'm afraid..." Rex began, but stopped when Matthew abruptly grabbed his arm. Hello? What's this? Rex thought.
"Beware," Matthew said. He had turned his head and was looking right into Rex's eyes. "They hate you, Rex. You and your wife. They want to destroy you."
I've heard of this, Randolph thought. Sometimes those that have been touched by one of the Old Ones can tune into their thoughts. Never thought I'd see it though.
"Who hates us, Matthew?" Rex asked.
"The Old Ones, and those that serve them. Something is going to happen. You must stop it before it does."
"What is it, Matthew?" Rex asked. "What's going to happen?"
Instead of answering, Matthew began spouting out a series of numbers.
"Randolph, write this down! It might be important," Rex said.
"On it," Randolph said as he pulled out his iPhone and began taking down the numbers.
After a few moments, Matthew lapsed back into silence.
Looks like the info dump is over, Rex thought.
"Rex, these numbers look like coordinates," Randolph said. He worked his iPhone and soon a map came up. "They point to a small island in the South Pacific, in the region of Samoa."
"I'm guessing that whatever Matthew was talking about is going to happen there," Rex said. "Come, Mr. Carter, we've learned what we need to learn." Rex then turned back to Matthew and said. "I don't know if you can hear me, Matthew, but I promise you that, when all this is over, we'll be back for you. We'll find a way to help you. You have my word on that." And although Rex couldn't be sure, he thought he saw a tear of joy in Matthew's eye.
OOOOOOOO
ARKHAM: 1923
As Hannah and Staci watched, Carol slowly went though the scrolls that they had found earlier. "Whoa, this looks like occult stuff," Carol said.
"It is," Hannah replied. "Lana and I have had experience with stuff like that. Have you, by any chance?"
"No, I haven't," Carol said. "However, I've always kept an open mind about it. I'm willing to accept that there are things out there beyond what we know."
You don't know the half of it, Staci thought. You're currently talking to two woman from nearly a century in your future.
"So this Joshua Winthrop guy wanted a child so badly that he was willing to use occult means to make it happen," Carol said.
"That's the theory we're working on," Hannah said. "However, neither Lana nor I can read the scrolls. We do know someone who can, but he's not here."
"From what we have learned, though, this Alyda was some kind of monster child," Staci added. "She eventually killed both her parents."
"Yeah, but all that happened two hundred years ago," Carol said. "So what drove that Manton guy mad, a few weeks ago?"
"That's why we're here," Hannah said. "Perhaps we should take a look around."
OOOOOOOO
After searching the first floor, and coming up with nothing, the three women ascended the stairs to the second floor. "Why do I feel like I'm in an old Scooby Doo cartoon?" Staci asked.
"Scooby what?" the baffled Carol asked.
"Nothing," Staci said.
Soon they were searching the second floor, and came to an empty room. Once they had entered the room, the found a small door in the side of the wall. A door with a broken lock on it. "That must be where they kept Alyda locked up," Hannah said slowly.
"Until she broke out," Staci said.
"Wait! What was that?" Carol said as she whirled around and scanned the shadows with her eyes.
"What is it, Carol?" Staci asked.
"I thought I saw something," Carol said. "Must have been my imagination."
"Let's not get jumpy now," Hannah said.
"Yeah, I think..." Staci began, but was interrupted by an inhuman howl, that seemed to come from all around them.
At that point, one of the shadows seemed to come alive, and struck Hannah, who was hurled back into the wall. Her lantern went flying out of her hand and smashed against the wall, which burst into flames.
"Hannah? Are you okay?" Staci asked.
Hannah? Carol thought. I thought her name was Lois.
"I'm fine. However, there is clearly, something here." Hannah said.
"I know..." Staci began, but was interrupted when something knocked her own lantern out of her hand. Like Hannah's lantern before it, Staci's smashed into a wall and started a fire. Very quickly, the fire began to spread.
"The house is burning!" Carol said.
Just like history records, Hannah thought. The house burned down, but it was not known how. Well, it seems we now know what caused that fire. It was us.
"We better get out of here before we burn too," Staci said. "This place is going up like it's soaked with gasoline." Indeed, the fire was rapidly spreading throughout the room, and into the hall beyond.
It's like something is helping it along, Hannah thought. "Right, ladies, I think we've overstayed our welcome here. I suggest we vacant the premises at all speed." The three women turned and ran out of the room and into the hall. Barely keeping ahead of the flames, they ran down the stairs onto the main floor. They were just about to head for the front door, when part of the ceiling, also in flames, collapsed in front of them.
"We're trapped!" Carol said. "Is there another way out of here?"
"Yes, there is," Hannah said as she pulled out the Time Key and activated it. The vortex opened up in front of them.
"What the hell if that!?" Carol asked.
"No time to explain," Hannah said. "We have to go through that portal and we have to do it right now!"
"You expect me to go into that?"
"Would you rather stay here?" Staci asked.
"You got a point there," Carol said, and, without another word, she jumped into the vortex, with Hannah and Staci only a step behind. Once the three women had gone into it, the vortex closed. Seconds later, another section of flaming ceiling collapsed as the whole living room was engulfed by fire.
OOOOOOOO
ARKHAM: 2018
The vortex opened and deposited the three women in the old cemetery. "Where are we?" Carol asked as she looked around.
"Right where we were," Hannah replied. "However, this is the year 2018."
"2018?" Carol said, and then her eyes fell on Hannah's car. "I believe you."
"I guess there is no reason to conceal our identities from you any longer, Carol," Hannah said. "My real name is Hannah Webster."
"And I'm Staci Clarke," Staci added.
"And I suppose you're not really a journalist, Hannah," Carol said.
"Well, I'm studying to be one. And I have written some articles for the local newspaper. So, in a way, I am," Hannah said.
"Never mind that," Staci said. "What happened back there?"
"Well, this is only conjecture, but I think that part of Alyda Winthrop was trapped in the house," Hannah said. "Her spirit, or essence, something."
"And that is what drove Manton mad," Staci said. "He must have seen something, part of her, and he couldn't take it. It was... Unnameable."
"And the only way for Alyda to free herself was to destroy the house. Which she did with our lanterns." Hannah replied. "If that is the case, then she is at peace now."
"And what about me?" Carol asked. "Are you going to send me back to my own time?"
"I am, but not yet," Hannah said. "I have something to show you first."
OOOOOOOO
A while later, the three women were at Rex and Hannah's house, in Hannah's home office. As Hannah and Staci watched, Carol read the manuscript that had started all this. "So, I wrote this?" Carol asked, once she had finished.
"Yes, or rather you will write it," Hannah said. "After which you'll give it to the law firm of Malone, Boyd, and Howe, in Boston, and ask them to hold onto it until today."
"So, you getting this manuscript started this, made you go back to meet me," Carol said. "We had that adventure, and I will write about it. But..."
"You want my advice, Carol, don't think too much about it," Hannah said. "You'll get less headaches that way."
"Just take comfort that things happened the way they were supposed to happen," Staci said, smiling.
"Yeah, I guess I will," Carol said. "This was surely an adventure for the ages."
OOOOOOOO
Ten minutes later, the three women were standing at the side of the road, about a mile outside of Arkham. Hannah activated the Time Key and one again a vortex opened. "That will take you back to your own time, Carol." Hannah said.
"Thank you, Hannah, and Staci. Thanks for giving me this look ahead." With that, Carol turned and stepped into the vortex, which closed behind her.
She's home again, Hannah thought.
"Well, that was fun," Staci said. "Next time you want to travel in time, Hannah.."
"Yes?"
"Include me in!" Staci said. The two women then shared a good laugh.
OOOOOOOO
A few hours later, Rex and Hannah were in Rex's study as Hannah filled Rex in on her and Staci's adventure. "You see, Rex, that is why you couldn't come with us," she held up the manuscript. "Because Carol's manuscript only noted Staci and myself there, no one else. I had to keep history on track."
"And it looks like you did," Rex replied as his eyes fell on the manuscript. "What are you going to do with that now?"
"I was thinking that perhaps I might publish it someday," Hannah said. "Of course, I would have to change all the names and such. However, for now, it goes into my personal files."
"Well, Hannah, Mr. Carter and I found out some information of our own." Rex went on to tell Hannah about what Matthew had said.
"He spoke? He actually spoke?"
"Yes, Hannah, he did. And I get the feeling that something big is going to go down on that island at the coordinates he indicated."
"And I get the feeling we're going to that island," Hannah said.
"We are," Rex replied. "And the sooner, the better."
"Well, I'll get Staci lined up," Hannah said.
"And Mr. Carter is already on board," Rex said.
"What do you think we'll find there?" Hannah asked.
"I honestly don't know, Hannah," Rex said grimly. "However, I get the feeling that we not going to like it."
OOOOOOOO
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
MAY 8th, 1925
Holding the package in her hands, Carol Jean Ward walked into the firm of Malone, Boyd, and Howe. In the package was the manuscript she had spent nearly two years writing, plus her hand written note to Hannah. Now to make sure that Hannah gets this, ninety-three years from now, Carol thought. In no time, she was talking to one of the lawyers. "Are you sure about what I'm asking?"
"Yes, we're to hold this until the date of November 13th, 2018, after which it will be delivered to a Hannah Webster at the address you gave us," the lawyer said. "I must say, this is rather strange. How could you possibly know..."
"If I told you the whole story, you wouldn't believe it," Carol said. "I've paid you well, just do as I ask."
"Oh we will, Miss Ward, you can count on that," the lawyer said. He took the package and handed it to an intern. "He will take it to our vault, where it will be kept until the date of delivery to this Hannah Webster."
With business done, Carol headed out of the firm. The circle closes, she thought as she turned and walked towards her car.
REX, HANNAH, RANDOLPH, AND STACI WILL RETURN!