F> Alex, you got a second?
P> Sure.
F> Tomorrow we're dining with the family. You've already met most of them but it is possible aunt Sophia will be there...
P> Guess I'll meet aunt Sophia then...
F> She also has a daughter.
P> Your cousin?
F> Yeah.
P> So what? Not sure where you're going...
F> There's just something you need to know, before you meet them.
P> Come on, what's so special about that side of the family?
F> They have a rare genetic condition which forces them to keep their faces covered.
P> Uh... ok.
P> Is it UV sensitivity or something?
F> Not really... It's just something they have to do.
F> I'm telling you beforehand so you're not surprised.
F> People in the family are used to it but you're not.
P> Fair, don't worry, I won't make it awkward.
F> Thank you.
F> You'll see, they're really nice otherwise.
D> ...what you don't see is that efficient industry needs vertical integration. It's a whole culture, suppliers, engineers and factories in the same place. That's not something that can be rebuilt overnight...
R> You talk like western countries should give up and just bow down to China, that kind of thinking won't lead us anywhere. Beside, we still have state of the art knowledge and production, at my job...
C> Come on guys, no fighting. China this, China that. You're worse than the news.
X> I see we have a new guest.
F> Yes, this is Alex, a childhood friend.
P> Nice to meet you.
X> A pleasure. I am Sophia, this is my daughter Alia. I wish we could meet face to face but that would not be safe.
P> Oh, it is totally fine. Wouldn't want to cause you any inconvenience.
X> Likewise.
C> How is work going Alex? Still teaching?
P> It's not like I've got much choice, they won't let me retire at twenty-seven.
R> Ah, good one!
D> If the kids are too annoying you should consider private schools, they're always struggling to find teachers even when the conditions are much better.
X> A teacher, how sweet. Young kids?
P> Hell no!
P> I would never have the patience, highschool level. More interesting too.
X> Makes sense, you seem like the curious type.
P> Can't deny it.
X> You've been glancing at us, do you wonder why we hide our faces? It is true this veil is not the most practical to eat with.
C> Please Sophia. This is not the time nor the place.
X> What's wrong Catherine? Everyone around this table knows the truth. It is unfair to invite guests only to keep them in the dark.
P> It is fine, I don't want to pry, but I am indeed curious.
X> How considerate.
X> See, I was born with a very peculiar face. Most people can only bear looking at it for a few seconds before feeling unwell, a glance is often enough for them to faint. It is a regrettable trait I have passed down to my daughter.
X> Story has it that when my father first saw me as a baby, he collapsed and died on the spot.
P> That's quite the unsettling story. I'm not sure I can believe it. How does one even raise such a child?
X> You are sharp.
X> The nurses wrapped my face in bandages, claiming I had a fragile skin and needed to be kept in a dark room. The extended family was told I was stillborn. Those who knew advised my mother to get rid of me.
X> I am sure she would have caved eventually were it not for a close friend of hers. It is he who managed to find a blind woman who would accept to raise me as her own. Layers of lies were built around me. Adults claimed I could not be exposed to sunlight, that I was an orphan.
X> I grew up in the constant fear of being seen, yet I grew nonetheless.
P> I am sorry if this sounds like an inelegant question, but can you look at yourself in a mirror?
X> Yes, I can.
X> Maybe I am used to it, or maybe it is part of the condition. I look at my daughter, and to me, she is beautiful.
X> I know what you are thinking. Surely there can be no such face, one so hideous that it can kill whoever stares at it.
C> Sophia that's enough, stop it!
X> Calm down Catherine, I won't hurt him. You have my word.
P> You are right. I can't bring myself to believe it. People can drop dead for a variety of reasons.
X> Sound reasoning.
X> My father was not in the best health, he was a notable alcoholic. This did not stop the family from blaming me for his death.
X> Marie, you are shaking, are you feeling unwell? You should go outside, get some fresh air.
C> Sophia stop it!
X> You too should leave. It won't take long and the main dish isn't yet serves, go back to the kitchen.
X> I assume you lot don't want to face me, so leave at once.
C> You will regret it.
P> That's one way to empty a room. Seems like they believe the story...
X> As a kid I thought other people's gaze would hurt me. I was horribly afraid of being seen, only much later did I understand the truth.
X> When you have nothing and you are nobody, you learn to leverage anything for a semblance of power.
X> See how they obey. We will never earn their affection yet I can bend them to my will.
X> My daughter will sate that curiosity of yours. Come on Alia, don't be shy, lift your veil.
A> Mom, is it... ?
X> It is safe as long as you do it slowly.
P> Maybe it's true, what they say about curiosity killing the cat...
X> Silly, I gave my word. You are young, there's so much you can still do.
X> If it becomes too much you can simply look away.
X> Come on Alia.
X> As you can see, the jaw is abnormally broad.
X> We are born without lips, leaving the gums exposed.
X> The teeth are jagged and uneven, sixty-two of them.
X> No nose to speak of, two broad slits for nostrils.
X> Looking pale, you should hold onto something.
X> There is nothing more to see.
X> We don't have eyes.
C> I'm so sorry Alex. If I had known I would never have invited her.
C> It's horrible, I'm so sorry.
P> It's ok. I'm fine now.
C> Are you sure? Do you want me to drive you home?
P> Thank you. I'm fine.
P> Just need to rest a bit longer and I'll be good to walk.
C> Call me if you need anything, ok?
F> You good bud?
P> Shit man. Should have warned me better...
F> Is it as bad as they say?
P> What do you mean?
F> You know what I mean.
P> You've never seen either of them?
F> Of course not!
F> Been told never to look for my whole life.
F> That was the rule at family meetings growing up...
P> Damn good rule.
F> How are they?
P> I'd rather not remember.
F> Sorry. Let's talk about something else...
X> See, a perfectly healthy body, a fine girl even. Only the face is affected. Doesn't she look appetizing?
X> You can have her.
X> Be as rough as you want, we are tough and heal quickly.
P> And you think the child will be like you two?
X> Yes.
P> How can you be so sure? Even if the gene is dominant there is no guarantee it will be chosen over mine during fertilization.
X> You don't see far enough.
P> You'll kill the baby if it doesn't fit your twisted expectations? Or maybe seeing you will do it.
X> That's needlessly glib, no. We simply can't bear normal children.
X> It is something I have experienced when trying to get Alia.
X> Pregnancy would proceed as expected for the first three months, but after that it would recede and the baby would disappear.
P> Disappear, what a nice way to put it.
X> Can you blame us for the way our bodies work?
P> Why would you want to spread such a condition anyway?
X> ...
P> You ask me to get your daughter pregnant and you don't even have a reason for it?
X> For my whole life I was told I should never have been born, that it would have been better for my mother to bash my monstrous face with a brick...
X> My very existence was hidden, I was blamed for taking my father's life. All of it filled me with a resolve not to die, not to go extinct.
X> Like weeds in a garden. Anything you do to get rid of them only pushes them to adapt further, become stronger, more resistant.
P> So that's the grand design? Spreading that gene of yours as a revenge?
X> That's quite an uncharitable way to look at it.
X> What you call revenge I call the right to live and reproduce. The same one granted to any living creature.
X> I love my daughter, I will love my grandchildren, whether they are from you or not.
A> Thank you Alex.
P> No need for that.
P> Are you as excited as your mother to perpetuate the line?
A> No, it is not that.
A> I am just happy to be doing this with someone I know, and not with some stranger my mother would have found God knows where...
P> So much for loving her daughter...
A> She does, she has always been good to me. She simply has higher goals.
A> She would sacrifice anything, she has done so in the past and expects the same from me.
A> I am happy things turned out the way they have, and not with me chained in the basement...
P> It's ok, don't think about it.
A> I know I will always be a monster to you...
P> That's not true.
A> You can't even look at me.
A> It is fine.
A> I am so very happy.
P> What do you think of her plans?
A> I don't know. It is a urge I feel deep within, to bear children, to raise them.
A> Maybe it is the way she taught me, maybe all women feel like that, maybe it comes from our condition...
P> Just how different are you from us?
A> Mom told you we heal faster, it was not a lie to entice you, we really do. Even deep cuts only take a few days to disappear.
A> I have never been sick, neither has my mother.
P> You should try teaching a full class during flu season.
A> She told me we could eat almost anything, she did when she was younger...
A> We see well in the dark.
A> Our teeth grow back.
P> Nevermind, forget I asked...
A> I'm sorry.
P> It's my fault, don't know what I expected.
P> Do you ever resent her for making you that way?
A> I did when I was younger. It felt unfair that I should be denied everything because of the condition.
A> I never went to school, never had friends. Her genes are a curse, she knows it.
P> Yet you want children of your own.
A> Yes. The more I thought about it, the more I realized there was no alternative. It was that or not being born at all. Not existing.
A> Never I have wished I were not born, not for single second. I love being alive.
A> Maybe it is another aspect in which we differ, that burning desire to live, not matter how miserably...
A> I can't blame mom because I know she is driven by the same urge I feel within myself.
X> Alex, do you have twins in your family?
P> Not that I know of, no.
X> You do now.
P> I see...
X> There are born, a girl and a boy.
P> It hasn't been nine months, seven at most.
X> I had Alia in six. It seems the gestation period is quicker for us.
P> So they have the gene, right?
X> Yes, they are like us. I assume you don't want to see them.
P> It's not like I can. I don't intend to imitate your late father.
X> Don't start drinking then.
P> Do they have names?
X> Yes. Mona and Paul.
P> Short in letters.
X> They take from their father.
P> Fair.
P> These are good names.
X> The house is too small to raise children, especially two of them. We will move out very soon.
P> Where?
X> To the countryside, they will have space to play around, far from prying eyes.
P> I guess that's the best you can do to keep everyone safe.
P> That means I won't see them...
X> I did not think you'd get attached so quickly.
P> They are still mine, no matter what they look like.
X> Maybe your paths will cross again one day, who knows.
X> Thank you for what you've done for us.
X> Living with our condition requires skill and intelligence, the kids needed a good father.
P> I'm just genes to you am I not? Just a way to enhance your kind.
X> You should see it as an endorsement.
P> What do you plan to do with the kids? Same as with Alia?
P> Use them to further spread your line, whether they want it or not?
X> There's no need to force anything, nature does an admirable job.
P> I see.
C> I knew it.
C> I always knew she was a monster.
D> We can't jump to conclusions, maybe she didn't know, they might have been there earlier.
C> She fled! She disappeared!
C> Of course she knew about the corpses.
C> She killed these people.
D> That's on the police to figure out. You can't accuse your sister like that...
C> Don't say that!
C> She's not my sister!
C> She's not like us!
C> She is cursed!
C> She killed father!
D> Calm down Catherine.
F> What do you think Alex?
P> How would I know...
F> Yeah, me neither.
F> Felt like you two had some kind of... connection.
P> No, not really.
F> To think we used to invite her. She was always nice and polite, the girl too, but they were strangers.
P> She wasn't raised with her siblings.
F> That's what she said last time right? Makes sense.
F> How little we know about the people in our own families...
P> Your mother's got the gist of it I guess. She is cursed.
S> Alex, it's been a while, didn't think I'd see you again after the old man died. You're good?
P> Can I come in?
S> Of course.
S> Want coffee?
S> You look stressed. Want a beer?
P> Remember when your father died, I helped you sort through his stuff.
S> Yes, what a chore, he kept everything, the attic was filled to the ceiling...
P> Remember the revolver we found?
S> Yeah.
P> Do you still have it?
S> Yes, I kept it, you never know.
S> What's with you suddenly coming over to talk about dad's gun?
P> I want to buy it.
S> I... why?
P> That's twelve hundred, you can count them.
S> You've got issues? That's gonna get you in trouble...
P> The gun is not registered, you've seen how the serial number is ground off.
P> It can't be tracked back to you or the old man, no one but us knows about it.
S> What's going on? You can tell me.
P> I need to protect myself.
P> You're selling it or not?
P> I can double the price.
S> Fine, just don't do anything stupid.
P> Thank you.
S> Don't mention it, I owed you one anyway.
P> Hey. How would you shoot someone you can't look at?
S> What kind of fucking question is that?
S> Someone you can't look at? What does that even mean?
P> Nevermind, don't worry about it.
S> Wear a welding helmet or something?
X> Here he comes, the hero.
X> Stained with the blood of his own children.
P> Shut the fuck up.
X> How the roles have changed. You're the one hiding your face, not so proud now.
P> I see well enough to shoot if you move. Where's Alia?
X> So you came to rescue that useless wench? Or maybe to finish the job.
P> We'll see just how well you heal if you don't tell me.
X> Fine, you can have the dumb cow. She's in the basement.
P> How many children are there?
X> Five.
X> Two of yours. Three from... other sources.
P> Piece of shit.
X> You can dispose of them, they were merely an experiment. A failed one at that.
P> The fuck does that mean?
X> Men are clueless. You managed to track us down yet it never crossed your mind that I had the last thirty years to spread my genes.
X> You're not the only ones who can donate your seed, if anything, oocytes are much more valuable.
P> Fucking monster.
X> The operation is painful but I went through with it, many times.
P> When doctors find the baby to be abnormal they will let the mother abort.
X> Do you think women who struggle to conceive would allow that?
X> It is true that few make it to term, but some are being born. They are shunned, hidden, despised, eventually they develop the same will to survive.
X> Alia was a failure because I raised her, she lacked the determination. Weeds are meant to grow in the wild, they become soft and fragile if you pamper them.
P> How can you be so sure they survived?
X> Our senses are unlike yours. We see without eyes. More importantly, we can feel each others. That is how I know my species is spreading, slowly but surely.
X> Go ahead, kill me, one day they will come for you.
A> In the end, you and mom are the same...
P> Don't say that.
A> ...you did what you thought was right to protect your kind. You killed...
P> Please.
A> I'm sorry. I don't hate you.
A> I knew and said nothing by fear of driving you away.
A> I was selfish.
P> Alia, how many are they out there?
A> It's hard to say exactly. Feels like fifty or sixty.
P> Any of them could do the same as Sophia, or worse.
A> They tend to come together in small groups, like families, they are most active at night.
P> Do they know they are siblings?
A> I think so. Some of them must know about their mother's infertility, they would have connected the dots.
A> Sometime they move around, maybe they are looking for answers.
P> One day they will trace their origin back to her, it's only a matter of time. Donor records are not available to the public but they do exist.
A> They too can feel me. Will you protect me when they come?
P> Are you afraid of them?
A> I am.
A> I know they are exactly like her.
A> They have the same drive, the same lack of compassion.
A> Anything life didn't give them they learned to take by force.
A> Will you protect me?
P> Of course I will.
A> I feel their warmth, minuscule clusters in the darkness.
A> They live at the fringes, their number grows.
A> When a new one is born, I hear its first scream in my dreams.
A> Thirst, hunger, desire.
A> The joy of being alive.
F> A story by Maliface.
P> Based on a dream.
X> Thank you for reading.