Work Text:
Twelve-year-old Hannah wandered through the sanitarium's halls in search for doctor Volmer. She uttered a content sigh upon hearing Heinrich's voice. But the distress in his voice displeased her severely.
Doctor Volmer's office was open for one reason or another, and through the dooropening, she saw Heinrich sitting behind his desk. Behind him stood a large, dark-haired man, anger evident on his face.
'I could -' Heinrich tried, gazing straight forward with a worried look on his face.
'Shut up!' the other man roared, cuffing Heinrich against the side of his head. 'You are going to let me out of here!'
'I have told you many times before, Mr. Martin: I can't let you go. You are not well yet.' He raised a hand to touch the side of his head, and for a moment, Hannah could swear that a part of Heinrich's face had started to peel off.
'Out of the two of us, you are not well. I don't know why, but you are so afraid of people leaving. What is here to hide, doctor Volmer?' The man - Mr. Martin - nervously combed through his hair with his fingers, seemingly awware there was someone watching.
Hannah remained where she was, frozen in place. She was too afraid to enter the office and too enthralled to walk away.
'There is nothing to fear, for there is nothing to hide.' Heinrich rose to face the other man. 'Let's not... overreact.'
'Being honest is not that hard, you know?' Mr. Martin replied angrily, grabbing Volmer by his coat and flinging him effortlessly against a nearby wall.
Hannah didn't stay to see how it ended for she heard the rhythmic clicking of heels getting closer. She quickly got away from the office and around a corner where she waited, worry rising within her.
Tears of fear sprang to her eyes when she heard some more noise and an agressive shout. Then she heard a thud of another body hitting a wall. Then came the sound of a man choking.
'Heinrich!' the young girl called, running back to doctor Volmer's office. There she found Heinrich on his back. On top of him sat Mr. Martin, with his hands on Heinrich's throat. The second she got to the office, both Heinrich and Mr. Martin looked at her.
'Ah, you've got a daughter', Mr. Martin said, smirking up at Hannah.
Heinrich didn't need to speak to get his message across, but for once, Hannah ignored him. She didn't go away: on the contrary: she got closer. In blind panic she started to tug at Mr. Martin's arm in an attempt to get him away from Heinrich, but he pushed her away just as easily.
She didn't dare to get up and frustrate the man further. She feared that Mr. Martin would take his anger out on Heinrich.
With tears in her eyes she sat up against the wall and pulled her legs up to her chest. She then screwed her eyes shut and covered her ears. Her heart pounded in her ears as she rocked back and forth.
This is just a nightmare, she told herself. I'm going to wake up in a bit, and then all of this is goig to be over. There is no angry Mr. Martin, and director Volmer is alright.
But she didn't wake up. Some nurses crowded around Heinrich and his attacker, pulling the latter away.
'Hannah...!' director Volmer coughed, crawling to her. With a huge coughing fit, he put himself down beside Hannah. Despite the attack he just suffered, he only had eye for her, embracing her tightly. He kissed her hair and face, whispered comforting words and caressed her lovingly.
'Are you alright, director Volmer?' a young, blonde nurse asked after several minutes, reaching out to help him get up.
'Yes, my love', he replied quite calmly, tracing the marks on his throat. 'I just need to comfort Hannah. It was a shock to her as well.' With that, he picked Hannah up. He carried her out of the room, away from a shouting Mr. Martin.
She actually wanted to speak, to comfort Heinrich - as she thought she ought to - but she couldn't bring herself to. What was she supposed to say anyway?
'What is going to happen to him?' she asked when they were out of earshot.
'He is going to be... terminated. Nobody ever leaves.' He tried to smile lovingly at her, but his anger couldn't be pushed away.
'What is that?' She looked up to Heinrich with pure innocence in her eyes. And for a moment, Heinrich hesitated to tell her. But he did. She needed to know someday.
'They are going to put him down', he said.