DISCLAIMER: The characters of Rex Buckland and Hannah Webster are the property of Spelling Productions and were created by Constance M. Burge. All Cthulhu Mythos characters are the property of the estate of H.P. Lovecraft.
THE PLACE: ARKHAM, MASSACHUSETTS
THE TIME: JANUARY 12th, 2015
Rex Buckland glanced down at his watch as he and Hannah Webster sat in the waiting area, outside the office of the Dean of Miskatonic University. "It shouldn't be long now, Hannah," Rex said.
"I know," Hannah replied. "I'm still processing how all this happened,"
"Me too," Rex said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter he had received a few days before, and read it again:
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Dear Mr. Buckland:
I had come to our attention here at Miskatonic University that you are very good at translating old and obscure languages.
Our current head of the Ancient Languages Department will be retiring at the end of the current semester. We don't think there is someone better qualified to fill the position that you.
Please arrange to meet us for an interview at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Richard U. Pickman,
Dean of Admissions,
Miskatonic University,
Arkham, Massachusetts.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Someone has been talking you up," Hannah said when she saw that Rex was reading the letter again.
"Yes, Hannah, and I can imagine just who it was,"
"Randolph Carter? I though he was still in Antarctica."
"He must have communicated from that science base of theirs. It's the only answer," Rex said. He and Hannah reflected on their trip down to Antarctica, the previous month, with Randolph Carter. While there, they had discovered a 200 year old French colony, which had been set up by a close friend of Napoleon Bonaparte himself. They had discovered that the colony had been located in the Antarctic habitat of the Mi-go, which had been deserted since said Mi-go had died off, thousands of years before. At the end of that adventure, Randolph Carter had decided to remain at the colony (along with the personal of a scientific base that Miskatonic University maintained in Antarctica, in order to prepare the French colonists for contact with the outside world), to try and find more Mi-go technology. Still, it seemed he had been able to pull a few strings, despite currently being thousand of miles away.
"Well, he was impressed with your ability to translate languages, Rex. No doubt he got in touch with the university about it."
"Yes, Hannah, but I'm amazed they acted so fast on it," Rex replied. "This is not how it's normally done."
At that point, Sonia Greene, the secretary to Dean Pickman, walked up to the two former Warlocks. "Mr. Pickman will see you now," she said.
"Thank you," Rex said as he and Hannah got up and headed into the office.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Mr, Buckland, Ms, Webster, welcome," Richard Pickman said as the pair sat down in two chairs opposite his desk. "Can I get you two anything? Coffee? Tea?"
"A coffee would be nice," Rex said.
"One for me too," Hannah added.
"Excellent," Pickman said and arranged for Sonia to bring them their coffees. Once that was done, he asked them. "So, how are both of you finding Miskatonic University?"
"Actually, we've visited here before, some years back. A fellow named William Travers was Dean then," Red replied.
"Ah, yes. He retired in '11. I took over then," Pickman said.
"Mr. Pickman, I'm going to come right to the point," Rex said. "This whole thing has taken me off guard. I had no idea you even knew I existed, let alone consider me for such a position that you're offering me."
"Let's just say you've made a fan of our own Randolph Carter, and he does have influence here. Unofficial, of course. If you can impress him, you certainly can impress the rest of us."
"I see," Rex said.
"Besides, that black stone that you found in Vermont last fall has convinced a lot of us that you're just right for the job," Pickman continued. "Then there is that colony in Antarctica that you, Ms. Webster, and Mr. Carter found. We're still blown away by that one."
"And in both cases, I translated an ancient and obscure language," Rex said, nodding his head.
"Exactly, yes," Pickman said. "We're still puzzling over the black stone. As you may know, it's not the first one that's come to our attention. Another was discovered back in the 1920's, but it vanished, along with the man that found it, before we could follow up on it."
"We know," Rex said grimly. "A race called the Mi-go were responsible."
"You sound like Mr. Carter," Pickman said, smiling. "Still, there is something to his theories that we feel should be followed up on. There have been many strange and unexplained events around these parts. That is another reason why we want you here, Mr. Buckland. You can help us a great deal in those areas. With your knowledge of old languages and such, perhaps you can unlock some of the secrets surrounding those events."
"When would I start?" Rex asked.
"The coming fall semester," Pickman replied.
"Well, that will give me time to make arrangements," Rex said. "I'll have to tender my resignation at Stanford. We'll have to hire a moving van. Then Hannah and I would have to find a place to live here in Arkham."
"Actually, we can help you with that," Pickman said as he got up from his chair.
"You can?" Hannah asked.
"Sure, come with me," Pickman said and then led Rex and Hannah out of the office.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The three of them piled into Pickman's car and he drove them a few miles outside of Arkham. Soon, the car turned off the road onto a driveway which ran half a mile, to an old, large house. "Here we are," Pickman said as he parked the car and the three of them got out and stared at the house.
"Who owns this?" Hannah asked as they walked up to the front door.
"The university does," Pickman said as he produced a set of keys and let them in the front door.
"This looks like a lovely house," Hannah said as they entered.
"Then let me show the two of you around," Pickman replied.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The house consisted of four levels altogether. There was the basement, and then their was the main floor, which consisted of the living room, dining room, a large study, a kitchen, and a bathroom. The upstairs consisted of another bathroom and four bedrooms (the Master Bedroom had its own small bathroom attached). Finally, there was the attic. "So, what do you think?" Pickman, asked, once the tour was completed.
"I must say, Mr. Pickman, I like it," Rex said. "However, what's the catch?"
"Catch? I don't follow you."
"Come on, Mr. Pickman, a house like this, and no one owns it. Their must be a good reason why."
"Okay, you got me," Pickman said. "This house once belonged to one of our less illustrious alumni, Dr. Herbert West."
"That crazy guy who became obsessed with bringing the dead back to life?" Hannah asked.
"You've heard of him?"
"Yeah, we have," Hannah said. "The man was insane."
"Anyway, you probably know that he vanished without a trace in 1921," Pickman said.
"Yes, the case was never solved," Rex replied.
"After West disappeared, no one wanted to keep this house," Pickman said. "It acquired a sinister reputation. It had many short stay owners over the following decades. It got to the point where the county was getting ready to have it torn down. However, the Historical Society got involved. They felt that a house as old as this should be preserved. The head of that society was also a prominent professor at Miskatonic University. He began to lobby the university to buy the house, which they finally agree to do in 1953. Most of the time we use it for storage and occasionally we rent it out for official functions."
"And now you're offering it to us?" Rex asked.
"Consider it part of the job enticement," Pickman said. "I'm sure our lawyers can draw up a reasonable lease. So, what do you think?"
"I think that you're looking at the new head of your Ancient Languages Department, Mr. Pickman."
"Excellent, you won't regret it, Mr. Buckland!"
I'm sure I won't, Rex thought as the two men shook hands. Because, Mr. Pickman, there is a lot more to this than you're telling us.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
ARKHAM: A FEW MONTHS LATER, MAY 20th
The past few months had whipped by in a blur, at least that is what Hannah thought. She and Rex had wrapped up their affairs in San Francisco, said good-bye to friends and colleagues, gave up their Palo Alto apartment, and packed up their belonging and moved across the county here to the house in Arkham. Before they had officially moved into the house, a renovation crew, no doubt hired by Miskatonic University, had swept through the place. Said crew had cleaned the place up, installed modern appliances, and upgraded both the electric systems and plumbing. They sure went all out for us, Hannah thought to herself as she headed up the stairs to her office. She and Rex had taken the Master Bedroom to sleep in, of course, and Hannah had taken one of the three unused bedrooms as a personal office. Here she could write checks, make phone calls, and use her computer. One thing I do like is that we have a lot of room to spread out in, Hannah thought as she sat down at her desk and turned on her computer. She was skimming through a batch of e-mails she has received over the past few days, wondering which one to reply to first, when a knock sounded on the door. She looked up and saw Rex standing there. "Hi Rex," Hannah said.
"Getting settled into your new office, I see," Rex replied.
"Yeah, I am. I never realized just how cramped that apartment was, until we spent the first few days here."
"I know. It is quite different, but we were ready for a change," Rex said. "New frontiers, and all that."
"I agree. I'll miss San Francisco, and our friends there, but, like you, I think this is a fresh start for both of us," Hannah said, smiling.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Later, Rex was sitting at the desk in his new study, looking around. His books and scrolls were all neatly arranged on the shelves. The cabinet, which held all the magical weapons he and Hannah had captured during their Insurgents days, was sitting in one corner of the room. At least I have a lot more space here for my books and scrolls, Rex thought. I was running out of room in that apartment. Hannah was right, we never realized how cramped it was there, until we came here. At that point, the phone rang and Rex picked it up. "Hello?"
"Mr. Buckland, I was just wondering how the two of you were settling in," Pickman's voice said on the other end of the phone.
"We're settling in nicely," Rex replied. "Once again, thank you for this house."
"No problem," Pickman said. "We can't wait until you start your new job with us this coming fall."
"That makes two of us, Mr. Pickman," Rex said. The two of them chatted for a few more moments, before ending the call.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
That evening, Rex and Hannah were having dinner in their dining room. "A funny thing happened to me today, Rex, when I went into town to do some shopping," Hannah said.
"What was it, Hannah?"
'When I was in the store, the cashier wondered who I was. I told her that I was new in town. She then asked me where I was living. When I mentioned this house, she looked at me liked I'd grown a third eye."
"Well, this house does have a reputation around here, Hannah. I suppose that's to be expected."
"Rex, don't you wonder about all this? Not just the nice new job, but also that they practically gave us this house?"
"Oh, there is no doubt that something is going on here, Hannah," Rex replied. "Why do you think I accepted the job in the first place."
"So you've suspected all along that there was more to this than meets the eye."
"Exactly, Hannah. I think that the only way to find out just what is really going on around here is to be on the inside, which meant taking their offer. Until they show their hand, we can only watch and wait." He took Hannah's hand in his. "I think we're going to be in for some interesting times ahead."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
EPILOGUE: AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
Richard Pickman donned his robe as he entered the sanctum. The other members of the Inner Circle were already there, waiting for him. "Well, how is it going, Brother Pickman?" one of the robed figures asked.
"As well as can be expected, Brother Howard," Pickman replied.
"Will Buckland agree to become one of us?" another of the figures asked.
"I haven't asked him yet, Brother Philip."
"Why not?" Brother Philip asked.
"Because I get the feeling he is suspicious of events already," Pickman said. "If we move too fast, we could lose him."
"That cannot happen. We need him." Brother Howard said.
"And that is why we must wait," Pickman said. "Give him time to acclimate, to settle in. Then, when the time is right, we will ask him to join the Inner Circle."
"What if he refuses?" Brother Philip asked.
"Don't worry, my Brother, when we tell him just what is at stake here, he will join us. He won't have any choice in the matter," Pickman said to the robed figures around us. "Trust me, my Brothers, Rex Buckland will be one of us soon..."