Chapter 2

Monday, 26^th of November, 2035

Gwen

The head teacher returned from getting Mandy set up with her tests. It was still odd to think of her like that; not as my brother, Mort, but my sister, Mandy. She acted mostly the same as before, but there were differences in ways both obvious and subtle. After what had happened with our parents, I resolved to do the best I could to care for her, even if it meant giving up some of the things I wanted to do. I would see to it that Mandy had the happy loving home Mort never did.

We were still going through a period of adjustment as we both got used to our new situation, but I hoped in time things would settle down, and Mandy could put the past behind her and work out who she was now.

A good first step was getting Mandy back in school. She had missed a few months of schooling, and I didn't want this incident to hold her back. It was important she got a good education.

Mrs Thomas, the friendly yet reasonably intense head teacher, gave me a pleasant smile, and then got down to business.

"Now, Miss Wilson, at Wilynsford Secondary we like to think we can provide education to all students, but it is important we are given all the necessary information, so we can know how to correctly educate the child," she said. "Now, Mandy seems calm and collected, maybe a little shy, but I had heard stirrings about some sort of family troubles, and her running away. I just want to get the full story from you, so I don't have to rely on rumours and obscure notes in files."

"Well, Mrs Thomas, Mandy has had a, how shall I put it, turbulent few months. Perhaps it is better that I tell you the full story, rather than you hearing an exaggerated version later. I would ask that you treat this in confidence, but not because the story is secret. If anything I wish it were more public, to serve as a warning, and to shame those responsible, but Mandy has been through a lot, and I don't want it dredged up again," I said.

"Rest assured that I shall not pass this information on to anyone else, without first seeking your permission. Please continue," Mrs Thomas responded.

I paused, gathering my thoughts to work out how to phrase this, "Coming up on two months ago, my sister underwent MORFS, and became the girl she is today. Now our family is very anti-MORFS, and we lived in Little Greenvale, a community that is pretty much founded on hatred of MORFS survivors. So it was obvious things were going to be tough for her, especially since she was so clearly altered into a hybrid. However, our parents took things worse than I suspected. You may have noticed that Mandy doesn't use her left hand much, generally keeping it in a pocket or otherwise out of sight. This is because our father, after finding out she had changed, tried to kill her with a shotgun. He failed to kill her, but managed to shoot off most of her hand."

Her eyes went wide at that and she tried to say something. I pressed on, wanting to get the whole story out in one go.

"I was able to knock our father down before he could take a second shot, and Mandy ran for her life. Since most of the town was owned by those who would happily see her strung up, she understandably just continued running, ending up on the streets. She hasn't told me the full story of what happened after that, but I don't think it was pleasant. The few events she did recount were the stuff of nightmares. She made her way here to Wilynsford, was eventually rescued by her friend Dorothy, and then taken in by Dorothy's mother Joyce. They gave her a safe place to stay."

"Thank goodness she managed to find someone to help her and keep her safe."

"Well, unfortunately, that wasn't the end of things. I eventually made contact with Mandy again. I was relieved beyond words that she was safe. We decided to meet, but our family used this to find her. Both Mandy and I were abducted, and they tried to burn her at the stake."

"My word! Thank goodness they were stopped, I can't imagine it that poor girl burnt alive."

"Well they did try, but Mandy is a fire elemental so luckily she doesn't burn."

"That's quite a tale. I can understand now some of what you and Mandy have been through. It also explains a lot of Mandy's obvious discomfort around other people."

"She was quite shy before, and this has only made that worse."

"One thing occurs to me, will she need special care for her missing hand?"

"Well as it happens by a lucky turn of fate, MORFS gave Mandy the ability to regenerate her hand, and it is almost fully healed now. She still has some difficulty gripping things with it, but in time she should regain full dexterity."

"That is good news. Well, happily, it would appear the runaway stories I had been told are wildly inaccurate. I will be honest with you; despite my best efforts, there are still elements at this school that bully those who have been changed by MORFS. Mandy's obvious differences will make her a target. I'm sure her friend Dorothy will try to protect her for the most part, but she won't be there all the time."