THE MORBID SEVEN RISE AGAIN Page #3

The morgue consists of twenty compartments occupied or otherwise waiting to be. If there is a default in payment, the corpse is taken out and disposed of in a standard burial ground at the back of the house.

A book entitled, “Cryogenics - Best Moral Practices,” lay in front of him. He opens it and reads with satisfaction on his face.

ELENA:

(looks at the file)

Oh good, not such a long list. Okay, new tank is on its way. It left Düsseldorf yesterday. Fast decomposing chemicals for the graveyard should be here today. Easy.

LUTHER:

Remember, clean the mortuary cell Number 3. It’s been empty for a while. We expect another body from New York.

ELENA:

I will do that as soon as we finish.

LUTHER:

Call Nikola Petrescu’s family. They have not renewed the yearly subscription. We don’t have an advance. We need him in the graveyard not in the freezer.

ELENA:

They are poor. They paid sixty thousand dollars. Give him more time. Remember, the kind, honest, fellow-loving race that you wish to create.

LUTHER:

No more generosity. We still owe two million dollars to Deutshce Fabriken Crematorium. They want the money fast. Or shut us down. Now, why are you looking so sad today? Your after-shower problem is permanent.

ELENA:

It is not getting better.

LUTHER:

It will not. How long do you take?

ELENA:

Shower and treatment, two hours.

LUTHER:

Simona is almost there with the new treatment. Two more weeks. Then I will implement the new software immediately.

ELENA:

Meaning?

LUTHER:

You go in the cold tank and you’re out super perfect in three years. You won’t have to worry about your face ever again.

ELENA:

I don’t want to die again.

LUTHER:

Your solution?

ELENA:

I don’t have one.

LUTHER:

You can go to Germany for a quick fix, go in the tank after the next update or stay as you are. Your choice.

ELENA:

What else?

LUTHER:

Simona will go in the tank after her treatment is passed on to us. Euthanasia. You can go in the freezer at the same time. I will put you in a ‘dead state’ very peacefully. What do you say?

ELENA:

Simona will be dead. You and I will be together. We have a good time.

LUTHER:

No, no, no. I have principles. She will be coming back but you will take over when I am gone.

ELENA:

Simona will be out by then. We are getting nowhere. You don’t like me because of how my face looks after the shower.

LUTHER:

You look perfect. We will discuss another day. Call Petrescu family.

ELENA:

Is that all?

LUTHER:

That’s all. Tomorrow, I want you to give me a rejuvenation treatment, first thing in the morning. Things will become clearer to you.

Elena gets up, walks to her desk and gets on the phone.

INT. MORGUE - DAY

Elena looks at the day’s schedule. Luther strips to the waist and climbs on the morgue table, readies himself for some treatment.

LUTHER:

Hook me up as if under anaesthetic.

Three syringes on the trolley.

ELENA:

(hooking him up)

What are they for?

LUTHER:

Soon, I will be sixty-nine. I need to continue to focus, stay young-looking and not scare people away.

ELENA:

There is no problem with your looks.

LUTHER:

Thank you. I hope I haven’t mixed the chemicals too strongly.

ELENA:

That’s what happened to Simona?

LUTHER:

Yes, unfortunately. My mistake.

ELENA:

Latin huh! Renovatio Dose Mitis; Renovatio Medium; and Renovatio Gravis. In that order? How much time in between? Same spot?

LUTHER:

In that order. First two on the left, third on the right. Thirty minutes in between.

ELENA:

Tell me more.

LUTHER:

Your husband, Novak Adamescu, when is he due?

ELENA:

Another nine years, maybe five.

LUTHER:

Five is possible with Simona’s latest treatment. If I go before, you are in charge of the Laboratory.

ELENA:

And Simona, the company?

LUTHER:

Yes. After you, then Novak. Myself, I will have the same sexual prowess, so we can do something then.

ELENA:

You’re joking Luther, not even a mad woman would not wait ten years for a screw.

(hand on genitalia)

Firm. The monitors say all vital functions are okay. Tell me when to release. Do you want to postpone these injections?

LUTHER:

Please, Elena, no time for jokes.

ELENA:

Jokes huh. Okay. Here comes the first one.

(grabs him again)

I will make myself a cup of coffee and I will be back.

(laughing)

Are you sure you want me to come back?

LUTHER:

(top of his voice)

Yes!

She sits at her desk sipping the coffee and smiling. She opens the drawer and takes out a book called, ‘Necrophilia in the 19th Century.’ It is bookmarked half-way. She opens it, continues reading it with a big smile on her face.

INT. ELENA’S ROOM - NIGHT

Elena is at her desk, looking over at a plan of actions and times. Inexpensive but accurate clocks are mounted on each of the four walls. Perfectly synchronized.

The phone RINGS. It makes her jump. It is DENISA (75).

ELENA:

Hello mother, how are you?

DENISA (V.O.)

I feel okay. I haven’t heard from you. Are you well dear? What exactly are you doing. TV, cooking, writing?

ELENA:

I have four clocks. They tell the same time and the same story... Time is flying.

DENISA (V.O.)

Come to Bucharest, many handsome men.

ELENA:

Mama, I am frustrated. Fifty with a body of a forty-year-old, no man in my life, this is like a prison.

DENISA (V.O.)

Darling, I feel so sad for you. It’s your choice, surely you must love your scientific work.

ELENA:

That’s a joke. I don’t see nobody and I don’t speak to nobody. Only corpses. Clean them, embalm them and push them in the freezer. Then I check the graveyard from my window.

DENISA (V.O.)

Look, this is breaking my heart. I love you, make a plan and return.

ELENA:

Working on it, mama. Good night.

She calls Luther.

ELENA:

Luther sorry it’s late. I am sick.

LUTHER (V.O.)

Okay, take care, see when you feel better. Don’t rush.

She stares at her notes. Hard to decipher. She runs a line over some key words. Her pen moves up and down the list crossing and highlighting words.

She crosses off jealousy, puts a question mark on love, cancels wealth, she circles sex a few times. She keeps underlining the word revenge, looks at the paper and her mind wanders.

She scribbles times taken during the morning preparation.

She writes down - shower 10 minutes, treatment 90, quick reaction reverse-effect injection 10, makeup 15. Then she looks at the times again and continues to re-write and organize the lines neatly, one underneath each other.

She gets on her computer and searches for ‘praying mantis.’ She reads some details and keys in ‘black widow spider.’ A large variety is displayed. She skips details and moves on the bold headings.

She looks at the time on the wall. It’s past eleven at night. She jumps in bed. She sets the alarm for six in the morning.

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