What Lies Beyond

Chapter 1 - How it began

This story is mainly told through a third-person POV.
If a paragraph is written in italics, it's expressing a characters thoughts, aka first-person.

After all this time I never expected to end up with a fate like this, day after day I feel myself drawn further and further away from reality, feeling as if I'm losing all I have left. If I didn't have my suspicions at first then I do now, I feel my body trembling, my insides twisting, for a place that loves god and all things holy so much, why are you so against your morals, why are you ignoring the obvious warnings? I can only mourn for all people lost here, so please, if you find this, save their souls.

7:24AM
It was a bitter morning, the freezing cold air stinging her throat, the journey up was draining and all Aviva wanted to do was to curl up in her own misery and sleep it away, only to awaken in the hell she was trapped in once again. She wasn't the only one however, people around her were on their knees, some were completely unaffected too. The surrounding area made her uneasy, everything was too calm, too perfect, and She figured it was too good to be true, tree leaves not moving a single inch, freshly grown pears dipping off branches that appeared to have no imperfections, not even birds chirping in the sky? What kind of place is this? Do they want us to feel this clueless? She eventually shook the thoughts off and tried to give "De pride isle sanatorium" the benefit of the doubt.

So fortunately after some unanticipated waiting, they finally made themselves present, the extremely oversized double doors making a loud bang, followed by an echo that everyone within a 3 mile radius could hear, even with earplugs in. The place was massive, expensive statues that looked as if they were made of gold, two elegant staircases that lead to various locations within the building, a very high ceiling in which the sunlight peering through was almost blinding, classical music blaring from the just as elegantly decorated speakers, and a reception desk, located right in front of the children. A woman was sitting there, a really tall, plastic, fake looking one at that.. She waved them over, and Aviva gulped with anticipation.

"Hello there Newcomers! I welcome you to our lovely sanatorium!" Her stomach twisted like it had never before, the woman's smile looked forced, teeth unnaturally white to the point where they almost shined, and she could tell from the expressions around her that she surely wasn't the only one feeling this.

The woman tilted her head "Please make sure to wear your uniform, or else you may be refused food!" They could tell from her eyes that she wasn't okay, however, they couldn't put their finger on it at the time, it looked like an indirect call for help though, SOS...

The "Newcomers" complied without hesitation, Aviva trailed behind everyone else, and the woman stared at her, eyes bold and gleaming, She swore she would've thrown up then and there if she didn't have a good stomach, those eyes would haunt her for the upcoming days.
An hour had passed, they had just eaten breakfast, if you could even call it that.. and this was Aviva's first time having a good look at the other patients, and god she wished she didn't, the first thing she noticed, well, the first thing everyone notices is their arms, they were.. twitching, twitching uncontrollably yet they seemed unaffected, in fact, almost everyone in the building had twitchy arms and even heads, with an uncanny valley appearance, as sad as it may seem, this may be the fate everyone here faces, no discrimination, no nothing, it hit them all eventually.

The newcomers made their way up the staircase, Aviva focused her vision on the ground below her, slowing her movement while everyone moves on without her. 
How did I get myself into this? My memory from the previous night was almost non-existent, all I can recall was being on that boat, the one that lead to where I'm standing now, some cold air slipped in through a crack on the wall and sent shivers down my spine, my parents? Where did they go? Did they send me here? Who are my parents? Why am I here? Dozens of thoughts raced through my head, the voices screaming at me to explain myself, but I couldn't.. I gripped my hair in a state of panic, my vision fading in and out, blurring and darkening as I struggled to stay on foot, my knees trembling, I tried calling out for help but to no avail, I use all of my remaining energy to reach out my arm, hoping someone would catch it.

But no one did.
Thud.
I fade out of consciousness, and everything went dark. Am I dead? Surely not, I couldn't be, I'm too young for that after all.

4:12PM
Aviva's eyes slowly slid open, She hissed in pain as the sunlight stung her eyes, snapping them shut again. "What the hell..." She sheepishly flipped over to her side, half opening her eyes again. "A bedroom?" She pulled herself up and analysed the room she was situated in, one, two, three.. four beds, "I must be in a dorm." She took her arms and stretched, yawning to the point of fully awakening herself. "At least they care about their patients to some extent..." She rubbed her eyes "Why and how could I have possibly a blackout this early in.." She slid her legs out from beneath the bed covering, and placed them on the stone cold ground "Cold.."

"Who are you talking to?" A female voice called from behind the door, She jumped in shock "GAH-" A chuckle arose from the voice, Aviva heard footsteps, watching the dorm door slowly creep open, a relatively short girl stepped bare foot into the room, she struck Aviva as cute, slightly pushing back against the wall in surprise. Shoulder length brownish-blonde hair, with a freckly face, and pale skin. She had heterochromia, with one deep blue eye, and one yellowish-green eye. That's what struck Aviva the most. The girl leaned in closer "I saw you out-cold and got worried, I always hate seeing newcomers this scared." She could hear the worry in her voice. "I uh-" Aviva cleared her throat and looked off to the side "W-Who said I was scared?" The girl blinked in disbelief "Don't try to deny it silly!" She giggled "Okay let me explain what that was, I'm pretty sure you had a blur." Aviva had confusion written all over her face "W-What's a blur?" The girl took a step back.

"What you just had." Aviva began to process what had just been said to her, remembering her vision fading in and out, everything becoming unclear and fuzzy, the world falling apart. "That? Was a blur?" Her worried eyes staring intensely at the smaller girl. "Yeah, and from what I've heard that's the first stage of the viru-" "THERE'S A VIRUS?" Aviva's knees gave way and she fell to the ground. "Is that why so many people have twitching arms?" The girl nodded silently. Aviva could feel blood draining from her face by the seconds, the fear of what will happen taking over her logical mind. Thought after thought her mind got worse, she was about to fade out of consciousness again when she felt a firm hand on her shoulder, she looked the girl in her eyes, "Look we may not be able to stop it completely, but trust me we'll find a way out. You might've not had anyone to call close to you before, but, I'm your friend now!"

"Friend? What's your name?.."

The girl closed her eyes and smiled. "My name.."
"My name is..."

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And I'm cutting it off there, apologies, mainly because I can't find a good name for the girl yet ahem-
Anyway, thanks for reading my shitty first chapter of this shitty story, it's appreciated.

1365 words, oh god.

Anyway cya.