The player takes on the role of Aya Brea, an NYPD rookie,[19] attending an opera at Carnegie Hall with a blind date in New York City on Christmas Eve 1997. During the opera, everyone in the building spontaneously combusts, except for Aya, her date, and an actress on stage named Melissa Pearce. Aya confronts Melissa onstage, and Melissa says that Aya's mitochondria need more time to develop. She flees backstage, with Aya giving chase. Backstage, Melissa then mutates into a beast and flees