The Asylum (Editing in Progress)

IXX

I looked out the window as we passed through the twisting backroads of the area. David finally spoke up.
"Oliver, now that you are no longer a patient of mine, I am not required to uphold secrecy."
I started at his words. "Secrecy?"
He nodded. "Shadow Ridge is not an insane asylum. It's a correctional facility for the damned who don't deserve to be deemed so." He paused as if to let the information sink in.
"Damned? Like damned to-" He cut me off.
"Hell. Yes, you were damned to perdition and you were to eternally burn for your sins, but the guys upstairs decided you were not to blame."
I was stunned into silence. When I regained my composure, I spoke up, flabbergasted. "Why would I be damned to Hell? What could I have done? You guys never even told me what the hell I was in there for. I spent six years of my life in that place and for what?" I shouted at him from the backseat, then realizing my increase in volume, I quieted down a bit. David, as well as the driver, didn't flinch.
"We had to tell you what we told you-" I cut him off in rage.
"YOU TOLD A TWELVE YEAR OLD HE WAS BEING INCARCERATED FOR MURDEROUS INTENT!!!"
"MAY I CONTINUE?" David shouted when I took a breath. I had never seen him get angry before, let alone raise his voice. This shocked me into silence yet again.
"Thank you. Well, what we told you was, in fact true. When you were twelve years old, you snapped, due to your mental impairment. It was enough to be hospitilized if you were given any kind of attention. Anyways, you snapped and killed your father after he hit your little sister. He was an abusive drunk, so your actions are partially understandable. You're mother got in the way and in your fit of rage, you killed her too."
I looked at him in utter horror and disbelief. I had no recollection of a family, even more so, no recollection of killing one. I never really thought about life before Shadow Ridge. Once I was admitted, nothing else entered my mind. It was as if the very walls to the asylum were blocading the outside world from my brain.
"You then, realizing your actions, committed suicide. Murder and suicide are both immoral sins. Hellworthy. But you were not meant to suffer eternally. You were to be reabilitated and put to work with your sister."
"Woah, woah, woah... what?" Hold on. So I'm dead?"
"Yep."
"Because I committed suicide?"
"After murdering your parents."
"So does that mean... everyone else..." I turn around as if I could see Shadow Ridge from this distance. "Everyone back there... they're dead too?"
David gave a sympathetic nod. "Yeah, buddy. They just don't know it yet. They'll get the same car ride as you. The same talk. As long as they endure the rehabiliation."
I thought for a moment. "So what about Esther?" She didn't make it through your program. What will happen to her?" My eyes widened in horror. "Wait, she's not going to Hell, is she?!?"
David shook his head and smiled. "She is strong. She will go through another program in hopes to be trained for her upcoming opportunity, just like you. The only difference is, she won't remember Shadow Ridge. She'll only have a faint recollection of the life she led before she was admitted to our program. She's fine."
I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that she was not going to burn eternally. "So... this program... I'll be doing what you did? Rehabilitating people so they can rehabilitate people? Is it just a vicious cycle?"
David answers calmingly. "No. Many of our 'patients,' once rehabilitated, go to Heaven. Charlie, for example. Once she has completed the program, she will ascend into divine eternity. John became one of us, and soon, Esther will too."
"Okay, so where do I start?" I ask, leaning forward in anticipation.
"It's an institution called Becknell. Once you're settled in, you'll receive your first patient. The whole institution is devoted to our cause, so the staff will assist you in your work until you get used to things. Your sister will be there too. There is one rule you must abide by in order to keep you in the program."
"I'm listening." I urge.
"You may not, under any circumstances, tell the patients what we are doing. Not until they get the magical car ride or until they go topside. Got it?" He looked at me with imperitive seriousness. I nodded and he turned back around, facing the road ahead.
"You've got this, kid."