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.
SOMEWHERE...
Rex Buckland opened his eyes and sat up. He saw that he was on a deserted beach, under a dark and cloudy sky. Waves crashed onto the beach, but aside from that, there wasn't another sound to be heard. Looking around, Rex saw his wife, Hannah Webster, lying next to him. Very gently, he began to shake her. "Hannah, wake up."
"Uhhhh, Rex, five more minutes, please," the sleepy Hannah replied.
"Sorry, Hannah, but I have to insist. We're not where we should be."
With a moan, Hannah open her eyes. She quickly sat up when she realized just where the two of them seemed to be. "What...the...hell?" Hannah stuttered as she took in the deserted beach around them. "Rex, what happened? How did we get here, wherever here is?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, Hannah," Rex said. "What do you remember last, before waking up here?"
"You coming into my home office and saying that you've received a call from Randolph," Hannah replied, thinking of Randolph Carter, the leader of the Inner Circle, the mysterious group to which she and Rex now belonged to. "He said that he wanted us to meet him at Miskatonic University as soon as possible. We drove there... That's all I remember."
"I have the same memories, Hannah." Rex said. "Randolph calling me and asking us to come to Miskatonic, me informing you of that message and the two of us arriving at the university. My memories stop there. Whatever happened to us, must have happened right after that. I notice we're both still wearing the same clothes we were when we arrived at Miskatonic. "
"So how the hell did we get here?" Hannah asked as she took another look at the desolate landscape around them. "Were we drugged somehow and then brought here?"
"It's possible, Hannah. However, then we come to two important questions. One, who did this to us, and two, why was it done."
"Could this be some kind of prank?" Hannah suggested. "Some Miskatonic students having a little joke with the new professor?"
"And they drugged us with medications nicked from the medical school," Rex said as he followed Hannah's suggestion. "I suppose it's possible." He looked around the beach, scanning for any signs of life. Could there be some students, who had pulled this hypothetical prank, be hiding nearby and having a good laugh.
"With our luck, they'll be taking pictures with their cell phones," Hannah grumbled. "Next thing you know, a video called 'Dazed And Confused Buckland's' ends up on YouTube or Dailymotion."
"Well, we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it, Hannah," Rex said. However, deep inside, Rex knew that this was no mere student prank. This was something else, something he clearly didn't like.
"Well we're not going to find any answers just sitting here," Hannah said as she got to her feet.
"Right, we better be off then," Rex said as he too got to his feet. "Let's hope we can clear this up before long." Rex then spotted what appeared to be a forest, that bordered the beach, and pointed to it. "Let's try that way and see where it takes us."
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The forest was as quiet as the beach was, as the two former Warlocks made their way through it. "Rex, have to noticed the trees? They're all dead," Hannah said.
"Yes, Hannah, I did notice," Rex replied as he walked up to the nearest tree. The tree was brown and brittle to the touch. "It's like something has sucked all the life right out of them. I don't like this, Hannah, not one bit. This is clearly no student prank."
"And where are all the forest animals?" Hannah asked as she looked around. "I haven't seen anything, not even a chipmunk."
"The flora is all dead and the fauna has disappeared," Rex said. "The mystery deepens." The two of them pressed on. Soon, they emerged from the forest and saw that they were standing on a road, a road that looked like it hadn't been used in years, perhaps decades.
"Rex, I recognize this road. We're only a few miles from Arkham."
"You're right, Hannah," Rex said. "Well, then, perhaps we'll get our answers soon enough. Let's go." They began to walk down the road.
"Rex, I guess I don't have to tell you that this road looks totally disused, and that we haven't seen a single car," Hannah said.
"No, Hannah, you don't. Another mystery to add to the growing list."
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Forty minutes later, Rex and Hannah arrived at the outskirts of Arkham and took in the sight of the destroyed town in front of them. Not a single building was still intact, the streets were full of rubble and debris. The whole scene reminded Rex and Hannah of Berlin and other German cities at the end of World War II. What was even more alarming that there wasn't a single living human being to be seen.
"My God..." Hannah stuttered as the two of them made their way through the leveled town. "What happened, Rex? Was it... Was it a nuclear war? That could explain the dead trees and the lack of animals. There was a nuclear war and everyone died. Everyone except us." The weight of this idea chilled Hannah to the bones and she began to tremble with fear.
"Hannah," Rex said as he gently took his wife in his arms. "I know you're afraid. I'm afraid too. However, if we are going to find out what happened here, we must keep our wits about us. Panic is not allowed."
"I know, and I'm sorry," Hannah said, Rex's soothing voice having calmed her nerves. "You know I'm interested in journalism. I've been following the news, people think that what if ISIS, or whatever they call themselves, got hold of some nuclear weapons and decided to use them..."
"Yeah, I've heard those experts too, Hannah," Rex said. "Still, if it was a nuclear war, then why are the two of us still alive. Wouldn't we have died too?"
"Yeah, I guess we would have. Despite our powers, we are only human, after all," Hannah said. "So if is wasn't a war, then what was it?"
"I don't know, yet," Rex said. "And I've just noticed something else, Hannah. Does this devastation look like it's just happened?"
"No," Hannah said as she shook her head. "It looks like that, whatever happened, it happened a long time ago."
"I concur," Rex said. "Looks like we're in the future, somehow."
"Rex, I don't understand. Kalu never mentioned anything about this," Hannah said, referring to Jenkalu Hannah Buckland, their 34th Century descendant.
"No, Hannah, she didn't. Because I don't think she knew about it."
"So that means time has been changed somehow?" Hannah asked. "Who did it? And why?" Hannah knew that she was asking questions that Rex currently could not answer, but it still felt good to ask them. It kept her from thinking about the situation too much.
Rex didn't answer. He had stopped in front of the ruins of a building they both recognized, the Burger Bar. Slowly, the two former Warlocks stepped inside what was left of the popular Arkham restaurant where they had frequently dined. They walked over to the booth in which they had always sat. They thought about Staci Clarke, the server whom they had become good friends with.
Was Staci here when it happened? Hannah thought. Was it quick for her, and all the others?
"Hello, what's this?" Rex said as he bent over and picked up what appeared to be an old newspaper. Slowly, a look of horror came onto his face as he read it.
"Rex, what is it? What's wrong?" Hannah asked.
"You were wrong, Hannah, it wasn't a nuclear war. It was something much worse." He handed the newspaper to Hannah.
"What could be..." Hannah began as she scanned the newspaper. She saw that the main headline screamed INVASION! Hannah then saw blurred pictures of vast, huge shapes, too strange and unearthly to be captured by mere human photography. "Rex, are those..."
"The Old Ones, Hannah," Rex replied slowly. "It's the Old Ones. Somehow, they escaped from their empty dimension and did this." He looked at her grimly. "They destroyed the world."
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It was getting dark when Rex and Hannah reached the ruins of what had been their house, a few miles outside of Arkham. Upon arrival, they looked slowly around. "I guess it was too much to hope that the house would still be standing," Hannah said grimly.
"Destroyed, like everything else," Rex replied. He began gathering up wood to build a fire, as it was getting dark. Soon a fire was burning bright, chasing away the shadows. Rex and Hannah then dug into the supplies of bottled water and canned food, that they had scavenged from the ruins of an Arkham supermarket on their way out of town. Soon the two of them were sharing a bottle of water and eating canned corn. Not the best of meals, but at least we won't starve, not for a while at least. Rex thought.
"Rex, is it possible that we're the only two humans left on Earth?" Hannah asked. "Out of billions, we're all that's left?"
"I don't know, Hannah," Rex said. "It's possible that there might be other survivors, but there's really no way to tell. However, given how much the Old Ones hated humanity, I don't think they would have left anyone alive."
"What about other magical beings, witches, Warlocks, and such?"
"I doubt the Old Ones would have spared any of them either," Rex replied grimly.
"What about the White Lighter Elders?" Hannah asked and then looked skyward. "Hello! Anyone there?" The only reply was more silence. So the Elders are apparently gone too, Hannah thought. Never thought the day would come when I'd miss those douche bags, but here that day is.
"I guess you have your answer, Hannah," Rex said. "Anyway, we better try and get some sleep. Tomorrow..."
"Tomorrow what?" Hannah asked.
"Tomorrow we'll pay a visit to the Underworld and scout out the situation there. However, I don't think we're going to like what we'll find."
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THE UNDERWORLD
Ruins and desolation could be seen in all directions, once Rex and Hannah arrived. "Looks like they fought one hell of a battle," Hannah said.
"Yes, and it's clear that they lost," Rex replied. "Come on, Hannah, let's reconnoiter." The two former Warlocks began to search the Underworld, looking for any sign of life, hoping against hope that they would find someone. However, only silence greeted them. It was clear that no denizen of the Underworld had been spared from the onslaught of the Old Ones.
"I guess it makes sense, in a way," Hannah said. "Five thousand years ago, the combined forces of Good and Evil defeated the Old Ones. Seems clear that they would not want to have that happen again."
"They must have hit the Underworld and the Elders at the same time," Rex said, seeing where Hannah was going with this. "The attack must have been fast and efficient. Once the Underworld and Elders were gone, the Old Ones could then turn their attention to the Earth."
"Yes, and..." Hannah suddenly broke off, and cocked her head. "Rex, I hear something."
"Me too. Perhaps there is someone alive here," Rex said. The two of them made their way towards where the sounds were coming from. However, what they found was not what they were expecting.
"Mi-go!" Hannah said, spotting the sinister figures in the distance. "I guess they moved in once the Demons were all wiped out."
"Plundering the spoils of war no doubt," Rex replied as the two former Warlocks darted around a corner, before the Mi-go had a chance to spot them. "I think an exit from the scene is now called for. There is nothing for us here, Hannah."
"Where should we go next?" Hannah asked.
"I have a place in mind," Rex replied as he translocated the two of them out.
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SAN FRANCISCO
Like everywhere else they had seen, San Francisco was in ruins. The Golden Gate Bridge was shattered, and no building was left intact. Without saying a word, Rex and Hannah headed for Prescott Street and were soon standing in front of the rubble and debris that had once been Halliwell Manor. "We owe it to them, Hannah, to see this. To see what is left."
"Then let's go, Rex," Hannah replied.
The two former Warlocks entered the wrecked Manor and stood there, slowly looking around. They saw the destroyed furniture, the shattered grandfather clock, and the bones, lots of bones. Lying among the bones was the tattered remains of the Book Of Shadows. "This was where they made their final stand," Rex said slowly. "In the place their family called home for more than a century."
"Like the Texans at the Alamo," Hannah replied. "And it ended just the same in both cases." Tears filled her eyes as she mourned the witches who had started off as her enemies, but had become her fast friends. Piper, Phoebe, Paige, their husbands, their children, gone. And it's most likely that Cole and Kira are gone too. Gone, all gone.
So what's left now? Rex thought as he too was overcome by the finality of the situation. Everyone we knew and cared about are gone. What future do Hannah and I have in a dead world? What do we do now? The Old Ones have left us with nothing.
"So what do we do now, Rex?" Hannah asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Truth be told, Hannah, I have no idea," Rex replied. "I suppose we make the best of it as we can."
"Yeah, but how?" Hannah asked.
Before Rex could reply, the two of them heard a noise from outside, coming from the direction of San Francisco Bay. Quickly, the two former Warlocks headed outside and we greeted by the sight of something vast and incomprehensible rising from the Bay. Something all green, with huge wings and tentacles. Something that, if one looked at it too long, could drive one mad.
"Rex, is that what I think it is?" Hannah asked slowly.
"Yes, Hannah, it is. It's Cthulhu himself," Rex replied. "The most powerful of the Old Ones. Cthulhu himself has come to finish the job."
"By killing us, the last humans," Hannah said. "And there's nothing we can do about it. Nothing."
"No, Hannah, that's not quite true," Rex said as he turned to his wife and took her hands in his. "We can stand together and face him. We can show him that we're not afraid of him. No matter how big he is, no matter how powerful he is, he will never break us."
"Yes, Rex, that's true," Hannah replied, as the sound of Cthulhu's footsteps could be heard as the Old One stepped out of the Bay and onto dry land. She turned to the approaching behemoth. "Screw you, Cthulhu! Screw you and all your Old Ones! You can kill us, but you will never break us!" She turned back to Rex. "I love you, Rex."
"I love you too, Hannah," Rex replied.
As Cthulhu bore down on them, Rex and Hannah embraced and soon were engaged in their last kiss...
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THE PLACE: ARKHAM, MASSACHUSETTS
THE TIME: MARCH 6th, 2016
Randolph Carter stood in the underground chamber and studied the prone forms of Rex and Hannah, who were lying on two identical slabs. Floating in the air above them was a glowing red crystal. "Okay, that's enough of that," Randolph said and uttered an ancient Sumerian incantation. The crystal then stopped glowing and floated down into Randolph's hands. At that point, both Rex and Hannah's eyes snapped open and they quickly sat up.
"What? Where?" Hannah said as she quickly looked around. "We were in San Francisco. Cthulhu was..."
"What the hell if going on here?" Rex demanded as his eyes fell on Randolph. "Explanation, please, Mr. Carter!"
"Okay, okay, calm down you two," Randolph said. "What you just experienced wasn't real, it was a dream simulation, thanks to the Hobus Crystal." Randolph held up the crystal in question.
"The what crystal?" Hannah asked.
"The Hobus Crystal," Randolph said. "It was named for the professor who found it in 1873. He was on an expedition to the Middle East, on behalf of Miskatonic University, when he discovered it. Apparently, the crystal was made by a Sumerian wizard for reasons we've never been able to discover."
"And that crystal can create dreams, or nightmares?" Rex asked.
"Well, not exactly. What the crystal does is project possible time lines, and then can project those time lines into the sleeping minds of people."
"So you did this?" Rex asked. "You called us and asked us to meet you here. This was the reason."
"Yes, I did," Randolph replied. "When you two arrived here, I used a spell to put you both to sleep, the crystal did the rest."
"Would you mind telling us why you did that?" Hannah asked.
"I wanted to be sure that both of you really knew the stakes involved in stopping the Old Ones," Randolph said. "The best way to do that was to put you two into the worst case scenario. reality in which the Old Ones had destroyed the Earth."
"Huh? I don't understand." Hannah said.
"That goes for me too," Rex added. "How did showing us that nightmare prove anything?"
"As I said, the Hobus Crystal can project possible time lines," Randolph replied. "I had it project a time line in which you and Hannah never existed."
"Where we never existed?" Hannah said. "That means.."
"Yes, Hannah, it seems clear now," Rex said as Randolph's revelation hit home. "You and I are destined to play a major role in stopping the Old Ones. The time line we just experienced, one where you and I never existed, showed that without the two of us, the Old Ones will one day destroy the Earth."
"And not all the forces of magic will be able to stop them," Randolph said. "This means that the Old Ones need to be stopped before they can escape their empty dimension prison. An event that the two of you are destined to play a role in."
"I don't suppose that crystal of yours can tell us just when all this is supposed to happen," Hannah said.
"I'm afraid not, Hannah," Randolph said. "The Hobus Crystal can only show what could be, not what will be."
Of course it wouldn't be that easy, Hannah thought.
"Well, Mr. Carter, you sure do know how to prove a point," Rex said as he looked around the underground chamber. "What is this place?"
"This is the main gathering place for the Inner Circle," Randolph said. "It hidden beneath Miskatonic University. Originally, it was built to hide Patriots during the Revolution. Later, it became part of the Underground Railroad for escaping slaves. The Circle started using it in the years after the Civil War."
"I guess now Hannah and I will be attending meetings here too," Rex said.
"Yes, you will," Randolph said. "I'm just sorry it took so long to finally show you two this place."
"Don't worry about it, Mr. Carter," Rex said. "While I can't fully approve of your actions in this matter, I can understand why you did what you did. The Old Ones cannot be allowed to escape their prison." At that point, it seemed that there was nothing more to be said.
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A short while later, Rex and Hannah entered the Burger Bar and sat at their usual booth. "Hi, Rex, hi Hannah," Staci Clarke said as she walked up to them. "Your usual?"
"Yes, Staci, thank you," Rex said.
"Okay," Staci said and headed off to place the orders.
"Well, Hannah, I don't think I need to say that a huge responsibility had been placed on both our shoulders."
"You're not kidding," Hannah replied. "It's not everyday that you're told that the whole future of the human race depends on your very existence. So, what is it we're supposed to do, Rex. How are we supposed to stop the Old Ones from getting out of their prison?"
"I don't know, Hannah," Rex replied as he took his wife's hands in his own. "All we can do is let time show us that." Both fell silent as they contemplated the future that they had just been entrusted to save.
REX AND HANNAH WILL RETURN!