Eleven years later, Somewhere in the mountains of Germany
Aya sat in a grassy field, enjoying a picnic with her mother, when she heard the blood curdling cries for help. She ran towards the source, as always. Why did she always follow? Why couldn't she remember what happens next? Eventually she came to a hole in the ground, with stone stairs leading down into a dark corridor, the desperate pleas for help reverberating throughout. She walked down that familiar pathway, down to her father's lab, the one place in her home where she ever felt unsafe. It stretched ever onward, unnaturally so, as though space was distorting and elongating the hallway, stretching it as though it were taffy.
After what felt like an eternity, Aya finally reached the end of the hallway, and the familiar wooden door of the lab. She slowly, carefully placed her hand on the knob and turned it. The door opened with a loud creak. Before her was darkness. A pitch-black void where the operating room should be. She slowly stepped inside. As soon as she passed the threshold, a figure cloaked in shadow rushed her, wielding a massive chainsaw covered in blood and viscera. The last thing she heard was a mad laugh, and the saw revving up once more as it was brought down upon her head.
Aya awoke in a cold sweat, her breath was heavy and rapid. She had been having another one of her nightmares. She had been having them since she was little. No dream was exactly the same, but they all had common elements she could remember vividly. There would be screaming, crying, and begging for help, followed by laughter, and the sound of a chainsaw revving. She would follow the screams, desperately looking for the source. She knew someone was in danger. Aya had always been brave like that. Brave, compassionate, and perhaps a bit reckless. Her father had always scolded her for that. No matter where she was in the dream, be it in town, at home, or even in a faraway land she was entirely unfamiliar with, the screams would inevitably lead her down the hallway to her father's lab. It didn't matter what path she followed, which doors she went through, all lead to that hallway. Something about that place filled her with a great sense of unease.
Aya got out of bead, the adrenalin rush now making sleep impossible for the time being. She opened the door to her bedroom and slowly made her way through the dark corridors of the mansion, in an effort to find her father. That was one disadvantage to living in a large house, having to navigate it at night. Aya hated having to walk around at night. She always got that sinking feeling that someone, or something, was watching her. Her heart sank even further when her father wasn't in his room. The last thing she wanted to do was search the house this late at night. Especially since there was only one place he'd be at this time of night.
Aya walked hurriedly down the dark, damp corridor to the operating room, not wishing to linger longer than needed. Once she finally made it to the end of the hallway, she knocked rapidly on the door to the lab. "Father…" she spoke nervously, glancing back into the dark abyss from whence she came to make sure, once again, that she was alone. She knocked again. "Father, are you there?" She knew her father didn't like to be disturbed during his work. He'd always told her how important it was, and how even the slightest distraction could mean life or death for the patient. But the practice was closed at this time of night, and Aya couldn't imagine he would be performing a surgery on such little sleep.
She'd always wondered what he did in there at night, but whenever she would ask, he would brush it off. He'd always said that his work was very complicated, and that she'd understand it when she was older, and had spent more time in school. That made sense, even most of her teachers didn't seem to understand her father's work. Still, she couldn't imagine what he would need to do in that room specifically. He couldn't be making medicines since he did that in an entirely different part of the house. A botanical lab, as he'd call it, with all sorts of bizarre plants with different medicinal properties. All that was in the operating room were operating tables and surgical equipment. And if he were doing maintenance on those, why wouldn't he just tell her that?
Suddenly, the door creaked open. "Father!" Aya exclaimed as a man in a white lab coat with round spectacles entered the hallway.
"Aya! How many times have I told you not to come down here?" He sounded more concerned than angry.
"Sorry father… but…um… I'm too scared to sleep alone." Aya's voice was timid and quiet.
"Aya" the Doctor knelt down and cupped his daughter's hand. "Don't worry, you're never alone. Your late mother is always there at your side…" a twinge of sadness crept into his voice. "Okay? Now please get to bed."
Aya turned her gaze to the floor "Yes, father."
"Good girl." the Doctor let ought a tired sigh of relief.
Aya turned back towards the hallway, calmed by her father's words, but then suddenly remembered something. "Father, tomorrow's…"
"Yes, the anniversary of her death… We'll visit her grave together." It had been three years since Aya's mother, Monika died of tuberculosis. Every year, they would visit her grave, and reminisce about their time with her.
"Okay…" Aya said softly.
"Now back to bed please. I'll be resting too shortly." If there was any evidence of the Doctor's over eagerness to send her on her way, Aya didn't seem to notice. The Doctor felt for his daughter, but there was little time to comfort her, and the longer she stayed, the longer his work had to be put on hold, and the greater the risk of her seeing something she shouldn't.
"Okay…" Aya said reluctantly. She turned and started back down the corridor. She turned back for a second, getting the feeling something was wrong, but she quickly dismissed it. Her mind must've been playing tricks on her again. Yes, that was it, it had to be. What other explanation could there be for the strange, muffled sounds coming from the lab, that sounded terrifyingly familiar to her.
In truth, Aya had always suspected her father was up to something in that lab of his. Ever since she was little, she would occasionally hear the screams of people and animals alike emanating from the basement. At first, she thought nothing of it. She knew that surgery could be painful, given what it entailed. She figured that the patients were in pain from their treatment, like she always was when he'd give her a shot. But weren't the patients asleep for surgery? That's what she'd learned in school anyway. Then again, she supposed she'd wake up too if she were being cut open, and maybe the anesthesia wasn't as foolproof as she'd thought. She never heard it during the day though, only at night, when she was supposed to be asleep.
Her mother had always told her not to tell anyone about what she heard. People may think that her father was doing something bad down there, and he could get in trouble. Aya didn't want that, so she never said anything. After all, her father wasn't a bad person, he was a doctor; doctors heal people. Best not to make things harder for him. If he went to jail, who would take care of all his patients, or do his research? Aya had always wanted to be a doctor like her father, she wanted to heal people, to help them like he did. Her mother always seemed happy to hear that. Strangely, she wasn't as happy when Aya had said she wanted to invent a better anesthetic, so people wouldn't need to feel pain during surgeries.
There was another issue Aya knew about. One she couldn't make excuses for. Father had a partner named Maria. She was a patient of his years ago, who had decided to become a nurse and work for him. Aya hated Maria. She knew she and father were dating in secret. They tried to wait until Aya, and her mother weren't around, but Aya had seen them a few times. She hated Maria for taking him away from her mother, for splitting her family apart. She was afraid to tell her mother, afraid of what she'd do when she found out.
Three years ago
Maria and the Doctor had just finished an "operation" if you could call it that. Maria was used to this kind of thing by now. It wasn't what she expected from her work as a nurse, but she trusted the Doctor, and she knew that his work was important. She knew the Doctor was a good man, even if his way of helping people was unorthodox to say the least. Both his methods and the sciences he practiced in secret were frowned upon by the medical community, but they definitely showed promising results, and that's ultimately what mattered most.
"A fine sample…" the Doctor said, satisfied with the results of his latest procedure.
"I shall dispose of the remaining materials myself." Disposal of excess materials was one of Maria's specialties. The Doctor had trained her well in that regard. They had to be disposed of thoroughly and discreetly, lest other samples be contaminated, or worse, the authorities discover them and undo all of their progress.
"That can wait. Come, Maria." The Doctor beckoned her over, and drew her into his embrace.
"Doctor..." Maria said, blushing. The two stood still momentarily, simply enjoying each other's comfort. It was a welcome reprieve after hours of hard labor in the lab. "Doctor… the mistress is aware of our… relationship." Maria finally broke the silence.
"Hm? What does it matter?" The Doctor sounded less concerned than she'd expected.
"I don't believe she's fond of me. That is the problem." Maria was all too aware of Aya's disdain towards her. They had always gotten along before, but ever since she found out, she'd wanted nothing to do with her. This was exactly why she didn't want her to find out. That and the risk she'd tell Monika.
The Doctor dismissed her concerns. "The girl will be eleven soon. It's a troublesome age to be sure… Be kind to her please. Ensure she never comes to harm. She shall always be my most precious…"