The Nevermore

CHAPTER 2

Chapter 2

In the dimly lit study of his Baltimore home, Edgar Allan Poe sat alone, lost in thought, when an eerie, swirling mist materialized before him. Out of the mist stepped a figure dressed in 19th-century attire, with a gaunt face and piercing eyes. It was none other than Edgar Allan Poe himself, but from a different time.

Confusion gripped Poe as he gazed upon his doppelgänger. "Who are you?" he stammered.

"I am you, but from the future," replied the time-traveling Poe. "I have a grave message, Edgar. A letter has arrived that could change the course of history."

With a sense of foreboding, Poe accepted the mysterious letter, sealed with an ancient wax seal. As he broke it open, he discovered a message written in an elegant, flowing script:

"To Edgar Allan Poe, the master of macabre tales,

In the year 2008, a dark shadow looms over the United States. A catastrophic event threatens to alter the future, plunging it into darkness. You, and only you, have the power to prevent this impending doom.

You must journey back to the year 1865 and convince Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, to help save the future. He must not meet the same tragic end at Ford's Theatre. The fate of our world rests upon your shoulders.

Trust in your ability to craft words that bewitch the minds of men. Use your literary prowess to persuade Lincoln to take action. Time is of the essence.

Yours in desperation,

    “ Elias a.k.a. Guardian of Time"

Once upon a chilling night in 1865, Edgar Allan Poe found himself in the heart of Washington D.C., a city fraught with tension as the Civil War neared its end. Poe, known for his dark tales and enigmatic persona, had been drawn to the capital by a mysterious force he couldn't resist.On that fateful evening in April, Poe wandered the shadowy streets, his mind heavy with thoughts of death and the unknown. As he approached Ford's Theatre, a sudden, ominous feeling overcame him. He was no stranger to the supernatural, and he sensed something terrible was about to unfold.As Poe drew closer to the theater, he heard the muffled voices of the audience inside, and a sense of impending doom washed over him. Without hesitation, he entered the theater, his piercing eyes scanning the room. His gaze fell upon a shadowy figure lurking in the corner, a man with a sinister intent.It was John Wilkes Booth, the notorious assassin, creeping toward President Abraham Lincoln's private box. Poe knew he had to act swiftly. In a swift and haunting whisper, he recited an incantation he had learned from his macabre studies, calling upon the spirits to protect the president.Suddenly, the theater seemed to come alive with spectral apparitions. Ghostly figures materialized, forming a barrier around Lincoln's box. Booth froze, terror in his eyes as he watched the supernatural spectacle unfold before him. He couldn't breach the otherworldly defense that Poe had summoned. Lincoln, feeling an otherworldly presence, turned to see Poe standing nearby. With an eerie calmness, Poe beckoned him to leave the box. The president, sensing the gravity of the situation, followed Poe's lead, stepping away from danger. Booth, realizing his sinister plan had been thwarted by forces beyond his comprehension, made a desperate escape, disappearing into the night. Abraham Lincoln survived that harrowing night, thanks to the eerie intervention of Edgar Allan Poe and the spirits he had summoned.  Edgar Allan Poe, forever a figure of the mysterious and the macabre, faded back into the shadows,  his actions that night known only to a select few. The tale of how he saved Lincoln remained a secret, hidden within the annals of history, where fact and legend often blur into one. And Lincoln traveled into the future with Poe to try and save the world, no,   the whole multiverse.