Looking Into the Past

Chapter 2: New and Old Faces! What Am I?

New and Old Faces! What Am I?

In which Neff develops new relationships and discovers something strange.

~x~

"You are Neff's parents, I presume? Welcome. I wanted to talk to you about something serious."

"What is it, V3ll? What's the matter with her?" the father's voice echoed.

"It seems she has a condition. Not many people have it. But it's dangerous. Very, very dangerous."

"What do you mean by that?" The mother this time, had a worried expression on her face. Her husband had a stern look. He was always one to get upset right away if something was wrong. No doubt he was worried, but his first intent was to seek out the best solution instead of crying and hoping for a miracle to happen.

"This condition isn't like any other. Often times the people who have it are hunted down by curious, and psychotic people. There are many police cases on file if you wish to see what happened to them. But I've also brought you here to discuss a solution," the doctor explained. He folded his hands on the wooden desk. "I'm suggesting keeping her here in the facilities to have research done on her, and to keep her safe until she is 18 and ready to make her own choices. She will be provided with all necessities: food, water, schooling, exercise, everything. I think it might be the best solution until we can get rid of it and have her be safe again."

"Fuck. No." The father stood up.

"Honey, listen to what he has to say at least!" the mother protested.

"No, why would I ever let our daughter be tied down like that? She needs to live a normal life. How do I even know any of what you're saying is true?!"

"It's called Farrel-Butzen's disease, first discovered in the 1920s when a mau5 believed he knew the suspects of approximately thirty crimes. He was right, and research was done on him. Eventually we found out that more and more people had the condition. It's an extremely rare genetic condition that can be removed. But there's only a 50% chance of living, if it is."

The doctor's words were backed up. The father knew if he went home and looked it up on the Internet, it would be there. He felt extremely stupid. Why would a licensed doctor lie to him about the health of their daughter? And when the father had such a good reputation in town? It would be foolish, considering he has people in high places that would make him lose his license within minutes if he was lying.

However, he still wanted Neff to have a normal life.

"I can see that there can't be a decision made right this minute. Give it some time. Talk it out, and see me in a week," the doctor said, typing on his computer. The mother stood up next to her husband.

"Yeah, that'll be fine. What time?" she said.

"Oh, how about 2 PM sharp?"

"Wonderful. We'll see you then."

"Before you go," the doctor said as they began walking out, "you should know exactly what types of people are out there searching for people with this condition." He got up and handed them a small packet.

"What is this...?" the father asked, taking it and looking at it like it was written in a foreign language.

"An information packet that contains everything known about this condition. Summarized, of course."