SCENE FIFTEEN
In STELLA’s apartment. They stand opposite each other. STELLA is holding a drink. ROLAND is holding his case.
STELLA
And now we’re here.
ROLAND
You look angry.
STELLA
I’m sleepy.
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You…
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Don’t stare at me.
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You wanted to see me.
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WHAT DO YOU WANT?
ROLAND
I wanted to see you.
You look… well.
STELLA
Stop staring.
Stop it.
I swear, Roland, if you wanted to meet me for nothing, if this is just some sort of sick game, I swear-
ROLAND
Tell me a story.
STELLA
What?
ROLAND
Like we used to. Late at night. Curled up next to each other. The stories, the realities. Make them happen.
STELLA
You want a story? Here’s a true story. Mazine came over last night to get me out of the house, to get me to a bar, to get me to join society again. I played along, put on my make up, heavy, too heavy, the way you like it. I dressed in my dyed black and torn prom dress, your favorite. I left my boots half undone so my white legs masked in black fishnet would peek out, where you would bite. I thought about wearing your jacket, but I went with the trench coat instead. You would have hated that.
Mazine and I went out to this club. It's new, you wouldn't know about it. The walls were black, the clothes were black, the drinks were black and potent. There were people tied to black X's on a stage being whipped. And wouldn't you know it, some nice men came up to talk to us. They were rivetheads, bald, sunglasses at night, you know the type. They bought us drinks, it was delightful. They were not only hot but smart too. We had conversations, real conversations, deep conversations over Grey Tulips and Black Death Cigarettes. I had one drink too many, you know how I can loose track. I kissed Claude, I think that was his name, kissed him, slow and deep. He had a slick, smoky tongue. Mazine got together with the other guy. I guess we all hit it off, didn't we? He had strong arms. I took him around back, I was out of control. He loved it, he was so hard I could feel him on my hip. He was packing heat. I slammed him against the wall, we could still feel the beat. I took off his pants, slid my hands down, down, down, and then squeezed, slicing into him with my sharp, sharp nails. He liked it for a moment, before pieces started coming off in my hands. He tried to run but all he could do was vomit. I licked his blood off my hands. It wasn't as sweet as yours.
But that’s a story. None of this happened. It couldn’t have. Mazine is dead, isn't she. Buried in the backyard I think. But with that many dead and so many dumping spots, how can I be sure?
ROLAND
Henry Lee Lucas claimed to have killed five hundred people. He was convicted for ten. Is he any less a murderer?
STELLA
I never killed anyone!
ROLAND
And now she lies.
STELLA
Mazine never existed. None of those people ever existed.
ROLAND
They did. I remember it. You and me, alternating as bait, trapping them, tying them down, cutting them, the blood, oh, the blood, and the cutting, the dumping, and then the sex, fueled by the echoes of screams, an All American honeymoon on the flag. We’d fuck to exhaustion. It happened.
STELLA
It didn’t!
ROLAND
Then why do I remember it?
STELLA
Because you’re crazy! You believed it? We were TALKING! FANTASIZING! God, I don’t know, what is the matter with you? Is that what this is about? You wanted to find me so you could know it was real? Is that why you tracked me down?
ROLAND
It’s the only other thing that makes me feel normal. You and me, taking apart the helpless, the hopeless. It’s all I have left.
STELLA
I’m… sorry.
ROLAND
None of it was real?
STELLA
Only the sex.
ROLAND
There was one time… I remember…
STELLA
It was never real.
ROLAND
You reacted so strangely that time. We killed him in the parking garage, didn’t take him home. It was quick, unlike any of the other times. Messy too. You didn’t stab him like I told you. Hit the liver and didn’t twist up.
STELLA
That never happened!
ROLAND
He broke away from you, started to run. I tacked him and finished the job. I looked back at you and you were about to scream, I had to stop you, you bit my hand… right here… I still have the marks…
STELLA
No, no, that didn’t…
ROLAND
And that night, we went home, and you didn’t come out of the shower, you didn’t come and fuck me, and then…
STELLA
Ahk… I made you go to the clinic.
ROLAND
Yeah.
Everything’s fuzzy after that.
STELLA
I didn’t… I couldn’t…
ROLAND
I’m your dream man.
STELLA
I didn’t want it… not really… not really…
ROLAND
I had a dream once. I’d meet someone, and she’d understand me, and she’d take my hand, and she’d wade with me into a sea of bodies.
STELLA
STOP IT!
ROLAND
You love me!
STELLA
No, I don’t! You’ve betrayed me, you turned me into a killer, you destroyed me, I’ll never be who I need to be, I dance now because it’s the only thing that makes me feel human, I forget you I forget the mistakes I forget all of it… then the music stops and the first thing I see is you and the second is that man and the third is my face in the mirror.
ROLAND
You love me.
STELLA
I hate you.
ROLAND
You love me.
STELLA
You know I do, you fucker.
ROLAND
You won’t take me back.
STELLA
No.
ROLAND
This can only end one way.
STELLA
I know.
ROLAND
This is how I love.
ROLAND stabs STELLA. She dies. Roland screams. His hand is covered with a black liquid. He stumbles to center stage, away from the body. He crumples to his knees and tries to speak.
S-st-st-step Fourteen - R-Re-Remove th-th-the b-backb-bone just in front of the hind legs. Separate the t-t-two hind legs by sawing through the middle of the backbone. Remove cut-cut-cuttting off the u-upper end of the leg through the bu-bu-bu-ball and s-s-sssocket joint.
Step Fifteen - The sirloin t-t-ttip is the football-shaped mmmuscle at the front of the hind leg. Remove it next. Separate the large muscle of the round (upper part) of the leg. Cut them into roasts or steaks.
STELLA beings to move, unnaturally. She is pulled up like a marionette. She crosses behind ROLAND.
Step Sixteen - The shank of the hind leg contains considerable connective tissue and is best for ground or stew meat. Only the bones should remain. The bones can be cut into sections and used in making soup. Bones also may be used as dog food.
This is how you butcher a carcass.
Hello, Stella.
STELLA
And the sea rose, and the animals ran to the high ground. Some people learned to sleep underwater, and they dreamt there, never waking. Bubbles would rise to the surface, from their noses and mouths, and their dreams would live in the bubbles. The survivors on the surface lived on islands of mountains and tall buildings. They would scour the seas for these dream bubbles. They would collect them in leftover grocery bags, then bring them back to their islands. People would barter for them. They could put the bubbles in their ears before they went to sleep and they would dream someone else’s dreams. Different colored bubbles would be different dreams. Grey was a dream of a normal day. White was a dream of purity, child dreams, colors and swirls and puppies. Purple bubbles were the odd ones, the dreams that didn’t make sense but when you woke up you felt like you were just on the verge of a great discovery. Red bubbles were the short, violent ones where you woke up just before you hit the ground. People liked those for short naps. But the rarest and most coveted were the black bubbles, the nightmares. They got to experience someone else’s nightmares. To the survivors, there was nothing more intoxicating.
LIGHTS OUT
FIN
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