(text in bold was written by Callthecops, much thanks to him)

The country tumbled along outside the windows in the back of the limo. They couldn't see out of the front because of the tinted windows, but they hardly needed to. Concrete turned to green as they traveled, and green rolled over green rolled over green as they passed into the countryside. For most of that time, Rikki kept her eyes to the floor; looking people in the eye for any long length of time was a challenge for her. To anyone else, it looked like she was making a close examination of everyone's shoes.

To tell the truth, none of them had been particularly chatty once everyone had gotten into the oversized car. Some of them had drinks, or just said one thing before falling silent. Rikki wasn't too good at social graces, so she couldn't tell if everyone was tired or if this was ice waiting to be broken. 

Rikki's eyes darted around the floor as she challenged herself to a little game; identifying everyone she had met so far by only looking at their shoes. The leather ones belonged to the English guy Benji, if she remembered his name right. He had fallen asleep pretty quickly, and Rikki had a feeling that the minibar coupled with the soft undulations of the limo's travels had something to with it. A smile crossed her lips, briefly. She never could fall asleep in front of people, and was slightly jealous of the ability.

Next was miss stiletto heels. Well okay, they were boots, not stilettos, but there were definitely heels on them. The girl with the glasses and the skinny jeans was the first to make it to the limo. She was younger than the rest of them, with an accent that Rikki couldn't quite place. There was definitely some English in there, though. Rikki had a fondness for that island across the pond, for their television and actors in particular. 

Now the fancy shoes. Well, everyone's were fancier than hers at the moment, but she remembered the style of this guy. Rikki didn't know his name yet, so she had taken to calling him 'Mr. Bond' in her own head. It was a bit of a stereotype, she admitted. He hit all the right notes though; the confidence, the awesome suit, the charm, and the accent. The only thing was wrong was the age, but he'd get there eventually. That, and some gadgets. At the sight of his shoes, Rikki remembered that she hadn't changed into her new clothes yet. She probably looked stupid to them, in her crappy shirt and hoodie. For a moment she thought that she was the only Yankee here, before her eyes traveled to the left and saw...

Ah, yes. The wingtips. The other black sheep. Doctor Henry Halibern. Rikki didn't want to be unfair to him, after all she knew quite a bit about being ostracized, but she had to admit to herself that the entrance and title of this man had set her completely on edge. It wasn't his age that did it, though he was indeed probably twice her age. It was that title. Doctor. Rikki suppressed a wrinkle of distaste at the word. Then again, not all doctors were bad. She just had to find out what kind he was. 

Rikki finally raised her gaze from his shoes now and looked at the man himself. He was tall, and wearing a vest. Point for him, for now; she liked vests. Rikki spoke quietly, trying not to wake anyone. “So, Dr. Halibern, what kind of doctoring do you do, exactly?”

The man smiled enthusiastically, as if he thoroughly enjoyed answering questions like this. He said, [b]“Oh, only the most dangerous and high-risk kind of doctoring there is... See, I doctor the minds of young men and women, much like yourself. They come to me asleep, feeling lost in a sea of meaningless dreams... And it is my job to wake them up." [/b]

[i]Oh god this couldn't get any worse please tell me my room isn't anywhere near his[/i]

Every muscle in Rikki's body stiffened, partially out of fear. One phrase stood out from the others, 'I doctor the minds of young men and women, much like yourself'. How much did he see?

Rikki continued, not wanting to leave the conversation hanging in the air for too long. “You...'wake them up'? That sounds kinda experimental, like in a 'get needles poked into your brain wake up in a motel room not remembering who you are and also suddenly having psychic powers' kind of way." 

He smiled a bit at her little joke, but to Rikki it wasn't all that funny.[b] "You're very right about that one, dear. You see, because every case is different in my line of work, intuition and understanding of an individual's needs are very important. Likewise there is much brain probing, and many would even argue that increased spiritual understanding is certainly a form of psychic power... But I am no Neurosurgeon, my scalpel is Occam's Razor, my forceps are the Buddhist No-Self Doctrine, and the only thing I've ever officially prescribed was a daily dose of meditation. The only medicine I know was taught to me by Kichuan shamans and Tibetan monks, powerful spiritual rituals for healing the tired mind... I am a doctor of both Philosophy and Anthropology, and I study the essence of the human soul." [/b]

During this explanation, Rikki's jaw dropped. Okay so, not so bad after all. A spacehead. Still, she hoped that she wouldn't be rooming with him anytime soon. She gathered herself and said, "I see. Or, no, I really don't see at all. But Philosophy and Anthropology, that I totally get. Sort of. Do you mind if I call you Cooper? I have my reasons, don't ask me why." 

Before he could answer her, the limo came to a slow halt. Forgetting herself, Rikki leapt towards the nearest window and gazed up at Woll Manor, the building now stopped being a legend and became a fact in front of them. 

The old monolith's peaks stabbed into the sky, probing the air with its stone points. It sat, unyielding to the years, amidst a clearing of trees. Snow dusted the grounds around it. It seemed shielded from the world, guarding its innards. The sight of it was exciting and intimidating all at the same time. The sound of the door opening jarred her out of her reverie. Everybody climbed out of the car, except for Rikki, who waited for a moment. She always left last, just in case she accidentally sat in something and gotten something stuck to her butt. You never knew. Plus her sister's cat shed a lot, so she had to make sure she wasn't covered in the stuff. 

After making sure that it was all clear, Rikki decided to steal one more glance at the manor through the window of the limo. That's when it happened. 

The window...flickered. 

That was the only way to describe it. For a fleeting moment, Rikki saw static instead of the outside view. It just as quickly returned back to normal. Rikki's heart shot to her throat, beating thickly as a bolt of panic gripped her. 

[i]Impossible impossible impossible impossible[/i] her brain shouted.

[i]Correct[/i], the voice of her own mind her paraphrased. [i]Impossible as you have seen it, so you must in some respect have seen it wrong.[/i]

A thought floated across her mind and fell like a lead balloon to form a lump in her throat.[i] Schizophrenia[/i]. It was followed by others. [i]Psychosis. Schizotypal. Paranoia. Manic episode.[/i] Rikki placed a hand on her own face and tried to push these thoughts down. Cooper must be getting to her. This was nothing. A trick of the light. An uncooked bit of beef. She giggled, though a bit madly. Humor always helped. 

"Welcome, misters and misses, to the Woll Manor," a voice said in the distance.

[i]Snap out of it, snap out of it, this is stupid, think about it later, they're waiting on you.[/i]

The last thought was the one that got her moving, Rikki never wanted people to have to wait on her. No need to be a burden, even if she felt like she was going completely insane. She climbed out of the limo, shaken, looking as if the breeze could knock her over. The cold air did nothing to clear her head, but it reminded her of home. The others stood around the man from before.

"If you would all follow me, please. Your carry-ons will be taken to your rooms after you." 

He led them towards the maw of the manor. Rikki's legs forced her to follow, but her mind was a long ways away.