He looked up at the small house as he stood on the edge of the cobblestone street. It looked normal enough, but he mentally kicked himself again for getting himself into such a thing in the first place.
Why become part of an experiment to answer a question he already knew the answer to?
Quentin sighed, his breath forming a cloud of mist in front of his face. He rubbed his hands together for warmth. He supposed deep down he knew the answer… he was terribly bored. And for him, boredom was not a good thing… it allowed time for his mind to spiral down into depression which lead to many dark days and nights filled with nightmares and drinking. He was the type of person that always had to be doing something, which is probably why he always inevitably found himself in trouble while looking for an adventure and something to occupy his time.
He was never one to sit still for too long.
Even with his long coat the wind seemed to cut through him. "I hate England." Quentin said flatly to himself as he walked slowly to the door, giving the handle three steady knocks.
A woman answered the door, which Quentin guessed was Feld's maid.
"'Ello. May I help you Sir?" She said pleasantly.
Quentin smiled, "My name is David Towne. I'm here to see Dr. Feld." He said to the maid, using his alias.
"Yes, he's with the rest of the group downstairs Sir." She told him, and gave him the directions to find the room they were in.
"Thank you ma'am."
Quentin entered the well light room to find Dr. Feld with six others, men and women, standing and sitting around a table centered in the middle of the room.
"Mr. Towne, there you are! We've been waiting for you. For a minute you had me thinking you'd changed your mind." Dr. Feld greeted him.
"Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the world." Quentin replied, somewhat sarcastically. If Feld noticed, he let it slide.
"Well now that everyone's here let's take a seat and get started." Feld said, not wanting to waste any time.
Everyone took a seat, and Quentin paused a moment taking in the room, before he removed his coat and took the closest available seat, hanging his coat off the back.
"I'd like to start off by some introductions. We'll all be spending a lot of time together during the duration of this experiment so I think we should get to know each other a little better."
Quentin groaned inwardly as he looked at the others around the table, at least he wasn't the only idiot that got roped into this ridiculous experiment. Besides Dr. Feld and himself there were four other men and two women… one of which he took notice to immediately. She was strikingly beautiful with fiery red hair and delicate feminine features topped off with a smooth, milky complexion. She seemed to be in her mid 20s.
'Maybe this won't be so bad after all.' Quentin thought to himself, somewhat cheered up and his eyes stayed on her as Dr. Feld continued to talk.
"As you all know by now, my name is Dr. Alan Feld and I selected the seven of you to help me conduct a most important and groundbreaking experiment into the human mind and… the supernatural."
"May I ask just how you went about choosing the 6 of us out of all of England Mr. Feld?" Quentin asked with his usual instant suspicion. He was more than a little curious as to what his answer would be. The others around the table seemed eager to know the answer to that as well.
Dr. Feld looked at Quentin in an odd way, it was a look Quentin could not describe… and he didn't like it. But the look only lasted a moment, and then was replaced by a friendly smile before answering. "I was looking for a specific group of personalities, people with certain 'qualities'. All of you here today are like night and day to each other. I needed a 'sample', I suppose you could say, of people with different backgrounds, personalities and beliefs. I think I've achieved my goal."
Quentin wasn't satisfied and continued, "And how could you possibly tell our personalities and the other things you look for when you have only just met us."
Another older man spoke up, agreeing with Quentin, "Yes, do explain Dr. Feld. As I recall you and I couldn't have spoken for more than five minutes."
"Well, it's written all over all of you… who and what you are." Quentin looked up when Dr. Feld had said what you are. "For instance, the fact that you David are a very insecure and suspicious man is evident by your behavior right now. And you Thomas, that you are interested in knowing all the facts before getting into something."
Quentin shut his mouth abruptly, taken aback. He was still suspicious of the man, his answers didn't quite satisfy the questions… at least not to him. He supposed Feld was right, he had always been a suspicious man.
"So, let's get to those introductions… shall we?" Feld continued. "You Sir." He gestured to the man to his immediate right. "Why don't you start and tell us your name and a little about yourself."