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</div></div><br/>Starke Sanitarium loomed at the end of a a double row of tall moss-draped trees. The thick twisted trunks shadowed the long driveway in an obvious, but always disregarded, foreboding of what experiences lay beyond the austere façade of the old plantation house. The drive ended in a large cul-de-sac that one could imagine being full of horsedrawn carriages and fine ladies in hoop skirts being helped out by white-suited slaves. These days, the sanitarium was no less supported by the suffering of others as it was hundreds of years ago. The mechanisms were just different and the illusions of its respectability had been changed. The original structure suffered a fire, but it was rebuilt in the early 1920s and expanded while keeping the original foundation.<br/><br/>Behind the plantation house, Stark Sanitarium sprawled out with more modern buildings. At least modern as per the 1950's. Paved walkways connected the former house to a patient wing.<br/><br/>The farmlands of the former plantation have been allowed to be somewhat reclaimed by nature. It provided necessary privacy as well as tax breaks for being a bird sanctuary. The night casts an entirely different mood on the grounds. The moss-covered trees seem to turn into dark bodies twisted in pain, reaching up to the heavens for mercy. The growing forest is full of sounds, not all wildlife, and fog rolls in from the swamp that's slowly encroaching. No other buildings or roads can be seen through the dense foliage, and it provokes a sense of intense isolation. On some nights, it does look like there are other inhabited buildings nearby. One can sometimes see the glow from homes and fires where the slave quarters once stood. But if one were to venture out, all they'd find is darkness and a few fence posts that haven't yet fallen from weathering.<br/><br/><a class="link link--internal" href="https://bluemoonroleplaying.com/community/attachments/20369/">Luke Marshall</a>didn't appreciate any of the views on approach. He was slumped over in the back of a private town car that had picked up him at the airport. Dark aviator glasses hid from the world whether he was actually asleep or not. He'd just spent 48 hours and an ICU getting rehydrated and frequent blood tests after having his stomach pumped. Luke felt pretty miserable all over, which is why he'd agreed so easily to his family's insistence that he go to rehab. Of course, they framed it as a luxury spa style rehab, or Luke would have resisted.<br/><br/>The paperwork had been sent ahead. Everything the sanitarium would need to lock up Luke long-term and a promise of substantial endowments to come its way when Luke was declared mentally incompetent to manage his own money. On top of that, as he'd ODed at a gay club, his family wanted him subjected to conversion therapy, as to not embarrass them again in case there was ever a reason to release him. Of course, the first step towards fixing a "problem" is to admit you have the problem. Which, being straight, Luke was unlikely to ever do.<br/><br/>The car cleared the rows of trees lining the drive and circled around the large cul de sac before the former plantation house. Luke groaned and got out of the car when the driver opened the door. He stretched lazily and looked around while the driver unloaded the two suitcases he'd brought. They were just for show and to lure him into a false sense of ease. Luke pulled out his phone and posted one last time to his social media, "Going off-grid for a bit", though he fully intended to be online and talk to a select few.<br/><br/>The driver started dragging Lukes wheeled bags across the gravel to the front stairs, and Luke followed along after a deep sigh. "Let's do this, then.." he said to himself, unconvincingly. He didn't need rehab. He'd just gotten a bit too crazy at a friend's birthday club crawl. But a spa week would probably help him clear his head.<br/><br/>The receptionist looked up when the two men entered the lobby of the sanitarium. "Luke Marshall," he breathed out while still looking at his phone. He hoped this place had full suites.