Mystery Donor

Prologue: The Dead Can't Donate

It all started late one evening at a hospital in upstate Vermont, as a mother and her twelve-year-old daughter sat on a bench outside of a hospital room. Both of their hair was brown, but they weren't brunettes; instead their hair was in a light caramel-color. Aside from the age difference, the only visual distinction between the two were their eyes; the mother's were bluish gray, while the daughter's were greenish-gray and framed with scarlet glasses.

The two seemed to share a saddened mood as they sat there, not saying a word to each other. Though it seemed as though the daughter was much more likely to start crying than her mother was. But before anything like that could happen, the door to the nearest room opened up and out stepped a green-clad doctor.

"Mrs. Lloyd? I uh... I don't know how else to say this, but-" he said, lowering his face mask.

"Give it to me straight, doc. You couldn't save him?" the mother asked worriedly.

"Indeed. You two might wanna come on in if you want some time to say your goodbyes," the doctor continued as he escorted the two females into the room. "Oh, but please don't touch anything."

Without further ado, the trio stepped into the dark hospital room, where a heavily battered and bloody man lay immobilized on the lone bed. His short but messy hair was a gravy brown, but he had greenish-gray eyes and freckles across his face, both of which his daughter presumably got from him.

"Dad, no!" the girl whined in protest. "Please! Don't die!"

"Max, I... I-I can't believe this is happening right now!" the mother moaned.

"I'm... s-sorry, you two..." the man weakly groans, barely able to speak in his current condition. "This wasn't supposed to happen... the car crash. I... I love you both more than you could ever know. Mary... p-please... take care of Monica for me... a-and Monica?"

"Yes, Daddy?" Monica asked in response.

"Be a strong... g-girl for me... understood?" the father asked.

"Uh-huh," Monica nodded her head.

Before long, the machine next to the life support bed started beeping as Max finally succumbed to his wounds and went under for good. The doctor took the opportunity to step back as Mary and Monica pulled each other into a hug and cried together, utterly anguished over the sudden passing of the family patriarch and completely unsure of where they should go from that point onward.

"Why do I get the feeling this will bite us in the ass later?" Mary asked through her tears.