West Pentire Hospital

1: Maxwell

In downtown England, near the cliffs and beaches of West Pentire, there's a hospital. It functions as a normal private hospital, albeit small. It is divided into two parts - one new and modern where all patients are treated, and people come and go every day. It has a brand-new canteen and wonderful modern equipment, as well as good doctors and nurses. However, they know nothing of the other part. There's a different entrance to it, somewhere around the back towards the forest, and only one way to get in inside the hospital. Nurses and doctors joke around when they talk about it, suggesting it's a secret alien facility. To get in from within the hospital, you need to work at the "alien facility". The door is located on the second floor, right next to the blood test labs and changes password every two hours. The people who work at the alien facility frequently use it and get priority when testing blood. Whose blood it is, no one knows. The normal employees only know that they are not supposed to interact with the nurses and doctors from the other facility, and they can never question what they're doing.

When the alien facility nurses and doctors open the door, it only leads into a tiny room with another door that looks the same. Normal nurses have tried getting a glimpse of what's on the other side, but the alien facility nurses and doctors never ever open the second door until the first one is closed and locked.

Even though the alien facility part is right next to the normal hospital, you can't hear anything from it. Nurses and doctors often lay their ears close to the walls, but the only thing they hear is their own blood pumping through their body.

With a secret facility like that, rumors are bound to be spread. But that's all they are - rumors. No one will ever know what goes on in there, and we have one man to thank for that. Doctor August Widmore is the owner of the hospital and is a kind and lovely man who cares deeply for it. He visits often, but if someone asks about the second facility, he turns cold. He owns that part too, and no matter how close you are to him, he will not tell you anything. He doesn't visit that part so often, but every now and then he does, and then he doesn't leave for weeks. Is it a living facility too?

It doesn't matter what anyone thinks - West Pentire Hospital is a highly successful facility and the plan is to keep it that way. The surrounding area is gorgeous, filled with slim trees and fields of marigold and poppies. During the spring there's plenty of birdlife, and butterflies flutter all around the hospital. This, combined with the nice, innocent staff really does make West Pentire Hospital quite perfect, even though it's so secluded.

***

"Maxwell! You pathetic child!"

A loud noise echoed down the hall, the sound slithering across the dark walls and all the way downstairs, where a small dog barked in response. Maxwell held a shivering hand up to his cheek, which was stinging greatly. He did his best to keep the tears back, swallowing over and over again in an attempt to get rid of that God forsaken lump in his throat.

"Sorry." He whimpered, looking down at his bare feet, then his free hand, which was still holding the chocolate bar he had just stolen from the kitchen cabinet downstairs. His eyes travelled from his hand and over to his father's outstretched and crooked hand, and gently handed the chocolate bar to him. "Won't happen again," Maxwell continued, "I'm sorry."

He scooted past his father without looking at him, and jogged into his room, where he closed the door shut. He leant against it for a solid minute or two, just in case his father would follow. He didn't. Carefully, Maxwell crept into his bed and fell to sleep. That night he dreamt about eating chocolate, and then getting chased into a well by a big dog.

The next morning, he woke up to the sound of his father yelling from the bottom of the stairs:

"Wake up, Maxwell! Your appointment is today! Get up immediately!"