Last Day -Twelve Page Play

Last Day

(The curtain is closed over the stage. A BLACK ROBED FIGURE comes from behind the curtain on stage right carrying a red scythe, moving gracefully across the stage in front of the curtain before disappearing behind it on stage left. The curtain rises to reveal a living room. A couch and a love seat sit downstage left with a young woman in her 20’s, named SARAH, sleeping on the couch. A recliner sits mid-stage across from the two other pieces of furniture. A television sits in the backstage between all three. THE BLACK ROBED FIGURE enters from stage right and moves towards Sarah. SARAH snorts in her sleep. The BLACK ROBED FIGURE backs away a few steps, startled, then comes closer again and raises the red scythe to strike. An older woman in her 40’s, named SUSAN, enters stage right. She doesn’t see the black robed figure. SUSAN smiles and walks to Sarah. THE BLACK ROBED FIGURE backs away. SUSAN sits at the end of the couch. SARAH wakes up.)

SUSAN
Hey sleepyhead.

SARAH
Hey.

(The two women kiss passionately)

SUSAN
You told me to wake you up when it was time to pick up Jessie and Alex from their father’s. Still want to go with me?

SARAH
No you go ahead. I’ll be here when you get back.

SUSAN
Are you sure?

SARAH
Yeah. I’ll just finish my nap. I’m going to need it once the kids are home.

SUSAN
All right.

(SUSAN exits stage right. SARAH lies back down and in a few moments is asleep. THE BLACK ROBED FIGURE steps forward and raises her scythe. A SECOND BLACK ROBED FIGURE, named JULIA enters. She is not wearing a hood and is in her early thirties with long cascading black hair as is revealed when she takes off her robe. Underneath she is wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans.)

JULIA
I’ve harvested all my souls. What about you, Michelle?

(MICHELLE tiptoes over to the right side of the stage)

MICHELLE
(Dark and ominous voice, whispers)
What are you doing here Julia? Go away.

JULIA
I wanted to see how my bestest, best friend was doing on her possible last day.

(MICHELLE glares at Julia)

MICHELLE
(Dark and ominous voice, whispers)
I haven’t gotten fired yet.

JULIA
You will if you don’t kill…

MICHELLE
(Dark and ominous voice, whispers)
3821.

JULIA
…3821. And you better get a move on. The head office wanted her dead two days ago. You need to hurry up or-

MICHELLE
(Dark and ominous voice, whispers)
I’ll have to go back to deskwork.
(Sighs)
I know.

JULIA
Take off that stupid hood you sound ridiculous.

(JULIA takes off Michelle’s hood. MICHELLE is a mid-thirties blond woman.)

MICHELLE
It’s mandatory for all reapers when working, to wear their cloaks. You could be spotted otherwise. You should put yours back on.

JULIA
So why’s it taking so long to bag Ms. 3821?

MICHELLE
(Curtly)
Her name’s Sarah…
(Sighs)
...and I don’t know.

JULIA
It can’t be that hard to just-

(A sound from offstage interrupts Julia. MICHELLE looks to Julia in panic. JULIA just smiles. She walks to her fallen cloak, picks it up, puts it on, and stands in the corner.)

MICHELLE
You’re going to watch me?

JULIA
(Dark and ominous voice, distinct from Michelle’s, yells)
Yes!

(The booming voice awakens SARAH in fright. MICHELLE pulls her hood on in a panic. SUSAN enters stage right with a five year-old boy named ALEX and a ten year-old girl named JESSIE behind her. The two kids start playing tag on the right hand side of the stage. SUSAN sees SARAH shaking with panic and fear. She runs to the couch worried.)

SUSAN
Honey. What’s wrong? Are you all right?

SARAH
I guess. I don’t know. Something woke me up. Did you hear anything?

SUSAN
Can’t say I did. But I just got home.
(Smiles playfully)
Did my poor baby have a nightmare?

SARAH
Want to make it better?

(The two women kiss. ALEX and JESSIE stop playing.)

ALEX AND JESSIE
Ew. Gross.

(SUSAN and SARAH stop kissing and turn to the children smiling)

SARAH
(Playfully)
Girl cooties.

JESSIE
Girls don’t have cooties. Boys do.

ALEX
Uh-uh.

JESSIE
Yu-huh.

ALEX
Uh-uh.

JULIA
(Scares everyone, including Michelle, with dark and ominous voice)
Sarah!

(ALEX scream and runs off stage left)

SUSAN AND SARAH
(Shouts after him)
Alex!

(SUSAN, SARAH and JESSIE head towards stage right)

JESSIE
Who was that mom?

SUSAN
I don’t know Jess.

(SUSAN, SARAH and JESSIE exit stage left. MICHELLE and JULIA throw their hoods off. JULIA is smiling. MICHELLE stomps over to Julia.)

MICHELLE
Why did you do that?

JULIA
I don’t want you to get fired. I’m pushing you in the right direction.

MICHELLE
Do you even know why the head office wants her dead? Do you know what they wrote down in her file? That it’ll be from natural causes. That’s a load of crap. I shouldn’t be a Harvester. You’re the one who’s good at that. I should be a collector. I can’t even decide how to end my first assignments life. I almost took it too soon and now I can’t seem to do it at all. That’s how nervous I am.

JULIA
You’re making this too hard on yourself. Just do it quick. Like pulling off a band-aid. One quick jerk. Right off. And don’t forget we have these for a reason.
(Indicates her scythe)
Without it we’re nothing; we’re people dressing up for Halloween. Just tip the sofa over on her head, or smother her with something, or electrocute her or make a piano fall on her head. It doesn’t even have to be that fancy. Just cut her in half with it, or-

MICHELLE
(Swinging her scythe at Julia)
Like this?

JULIA
(Dodging the scythe)
Watch it. Without our cloaks on fully, we’re just as vulnerable as humans. You know that.

MICHELLE
(Playful threat)
I do know that.

(MICHELLE and JULIA stare at each other for a few moments in silence. JULIA whips her scythe in the direction of the television and it turns on.)

MICHELLE
Don’t you dare.

JULIA
Next round.

(With another flip of her wrist, JULIA uses her scythe to turn the volume up as loud as it will go. MICHELLE and JULIA throw their hoods on. SARAH runs onstage from stage left followed closely by SUSAN. They look around the room, neither one of them see Michelle and Julia. SUSAN walks over to the television and turns it off.

SARAH
I’m starting to think Alex has the right idea.

(JULIA starts walking towards stage left. MICHELLE stops her.)

SUSAN
Hiding under the bed?

SARAH
Yeah. Do you think Jessie can get him out?

JULIA
(Dark and ominous voice, whispers)
I wouldn’t bet on it.

(MICHELLE turns to see if Susan and Sarah heard Julia. JULIA passes by and off stage left at the Michelle’s distraction. MICHELLE sees her leave.)

MICHELLE
(Shouts in dark and ominous voice)
Damn it Julia!

(SUSAN and SARAH look around in shock and fright)

SUSAN
The kids.

SARAH
(Overlapping with above)
Alex. Jessie.

(SUSAN and SARAH exit stage left, running. MICHELLE puts her hand to her forehead in disgust at what she has just done. She starts moving towards stage left. A scream is heard off stage. She runs off stage left. The lights darken the stage. A large fight can be heard. The fight enters the stage. When the lights come back on JULIA and ALEX are lying on stage right, dead. JULIA is not wearing her black reaper robe. SUSAN, SARAH and JESSIE are gathered around the bodies, confused and crying. MICHELLE enters stage left still unseen by them in her reaper robe and holding Julia’s reaper robe, also crying. She walks over to get a view of Julia as she continues crying.)

JESSIE
Mommy? What happened? Why won’t Alex wake up?

(SUSAN cries even harder. SARAH hugs her.)

SARAH
We don’t know Jess.

(JESSIE bows her head. The only sounds are the sounds of SUSAN and MICHELLE crying.)

JESSIE
Who is the girl? I’ve never seen her before.

SARAH
We…don’t know that either. Susan…we need to call the police.
(SUSAN cries even harder at these words)
We can’t just sit here doing nothing. Here, let’s sit you down on the sofa. While I go make the call.

(SARAH guides SUSAN and JESSIE over to the furniture on stage left. SARAH exits stage left. SUSAN tries to collect herself. She looks at Alex’s body and starts to cry again. MICHELLE has bent down over Julia’s body and cries even harder. She lays Julia’s robe next to her body. SARAH enters stage left.)

SARAH
I couldn’t-

(The stage goes dark. There is a lot of confused shuffling and panicked noise. This turns into sounds of a fight. The stage lights come back up. JULIA’S body is gone. REAPER # 1, with his or her hood off, has drawn his or her scythe on Michelle. MICHELLE has her hood removed.)

JESSIE
What’s going on?

SUSAN
(Dangerous whisper)
That’s what I’d like to know.

REAPER # 1
By order of the head office, under Reaper decree 54, Michelle Walker, you are hereby placed under-

MICHELLE
Are you insane? You guys do know our hoods are down right. In front of mortals. That’s Reaper decree 1. And I didn’t murder Julia.

(REAPER # 1 looks at Michelle, not believing her)

MICHELLE
This is your first day on the job, isn’t it?

REAPER # 1
(Threatening)
And your last.

MICHELLE
(Shouts)
I didn’t do anything wrong.

SUSAN
What’s going-

SARAH
Don’t. If we stay out of this we may find out who killed Alex.

REAPER # 1
Where’s the body?

MICHELLE
Her name is Julia and I don’t know.

REAPER # 1
You were sent here to collect the soul of 3821.

SUSAN AND SARAH
What?

JESSIE
What going on mommy?

REAPER # 1
Instead the Reaper Emergency Cleanup intercepted a phone call-

SARAH
But I didn’t make the call. I couldn’t. The phone died on me.

JESSIE
Did someone else?

REAPER # 1
-a phone call to the mortal police. We had to step in when we realized you were doing a job here. We didn’t expect the body of 8833. He wasn’t supposed to be collected for another eighty-three years. We also didn’t expect to see the body of a fellow Reaper. What was she doing here? Where is she now?

MICHELLE
I. Don’t. Know.

REAPER # 1
You’re lying.

SARAH
(Loudly)
Excuse me.

(MICHELLE and REAPER # 1 turn their heads slowly in synchronization towards Sarah.)

MICHELLE
Yes.

SARAH
Could you please explain to us what’s going on?

SUSAN
I think I got it figured out, but this is my home and my son is dead. I want an explanation.

REAPER # 1
(Sighs)
We’re Reapers. Mortals traditionally know us best as The Grim Reaper. Michelle was sent to collect the soul of one Sarah Davidian.

SUSAN
No, I won’t let you.

JESSIE
You can’t.

REAPER # 1
I was sent here to arrest Ms. Donahue for the murder of one of our own kind, a Ms. Julia Whitley. I’m sorry your son got caught in the crossfire. All evidence suggests that-

SUSAN
(Throws herself at MICHELLE and yells)
It’s your fault Alex is dead.

(MICHELLE swings her scythe at Susan. SUSAN stops in stunned disbelief. The scythe is buried in her side. She falls to the ground dead. MICHELLE pulls the scythe out with wide eyes. JESSIE shouts in anguish and drops next to her mother, crying.)

REAPER # 1
This isn’t helping you any.

SARAH
(Overlapping with above; yells)
You bitch!

(SARAH throws herself at Michelle in anger. Instinctively MICHELLE swings her scythe again and the recliner tips over and crushed her head. She lies underneath it dead. The only sound is the sound of JESSIE crying loudly.)

JULIA
(Off Stage)
I would have used the sofa.

(JULIA enters stage right. JESSIE gets up. REAPER # 1 smiles at her)

JULIA
Thanks. I got it from here.

(REAPER # 1 exits stage right. JULIA picks her Reaper robe off the ground and puts it on, leaving the hood off. She waves her scythe around JESSIE’S head. JESSIE starts stumbling around the stage.)

MICHELLE
I can’t believe you’re alive.
(Pause)
Actually I can.
(Swings her scythe at her)
What did you do that to me for?

JULIA
Well I didn’t want you to be fired. The head office said to either find a way to force you to collect 3821 by the end of the day or to help you clean out your desk.

MICHELLE
But look at the body count. And did you really have to fake you death?

JULIA
Two of the perks.

MICHELLE
Only two? What are the others?

(JESSIE stumbles towards Julia. JULIA waves her scythe around Jessie’s head again and she stops stumbling around the stage.)

JULIA
I get to train a new Reaper of my choosing.

MICHELLE
Her?

JESSIE
Who are you guys? Where am I?

(JESSIE looks around the room and sees the dead bodies)

JULIA
Do you want to be a Reaper Jessie?

(JULIA starts guiding JESSIE towards the stage right exit)

JESSIE
Jessie? Is that my name?

(MICHELLE shakes her head and starts to follow)

JULIA
Yeah. So what to you say?

(MICHELLE, JULIA and JESSIE exit stage right)