Dark Matter

by
Rachit Agarwal

Based on a Story by
Harshvardhan

Draft #1 by
Harshvardhan
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

It’s one of those bachelor pad bedrooms. Messy,

unordered, with just the master of the house knowing
where things are.

The walls are all adorned with POSTERS. Classic movies.

Rock bands. And the largest, J.M. Flagg’s celebrated
UNCLE SAM POSTER. It’s hanging right next to the only
WINDOW in the room, which opens onto the busy street
outside. Right now, gentle streetlight is pouring in
through it.

In the middle of the room, against the wall perpendicular

to the window, is a DOUBLE BED. Why double bed for a
bachelor? Well...for moments like these.

What moments? Ah...on the bed are two forms. We can

vaguely make out that it’s a man and a woman. Both naked,
of course, save for the BED SHEETS shielding their
modesty. Must be around 20 years, but age can be
deceptive these days, you know?

The man, RYDER BLACK is his name, is riding the woman, or

PENNY McARTHUR, with amazing familiarity. And, Penny
seems to be enjoying it, as evidenced by the way she
moans and lovingly calls out his name time and again,
egging him to go on.

You might think of me as a pervert, but there’s something

rather pleasant and soothing watching a young couple go
at it like this. The grace with which these young lovers
are, well, making love, makes one wonder why a filthy
term like “man’s carnal pleasure” has been used to
describe sex.

And then, PENNY lets out one joyous shriek and you know
they’re about done.

RYDER leans down a bit and lightly pecks PENNY on her

forehead. And then, as an afterthought, goes for her
lips. Only, PENNY, being the tease she is, will have
nothing of it.

Oh well, no tease goes on forever, and PENNY finally

relents. It’s while working her lips that RYDER initiates
the conversation which will inadvertently change both
their lives.

RYDER
Was I good, Penny?

PENNY clutches at his HAIR, pulls him towards her and

tongues him voraciously.

(CONTINUED)
 2.
CONTINUED:

PENNY
(playfully)
Does that answer you, Tiger?

Ryder, proving yet again that if a man didn't have a

cock, he wouldn't have much else, climbs onto her again,
cowboy style. Pinning her hands in L-shapes by her head,
he gives a somewhat eerie grin.

RYDER
It might. Got a real answer,
though?

PENNY
(mock sternness)
Is this a ploy to get laid again,
Master Black?

Ryder doesn’t answer.

PENNY (CONT’D)
(slutty)
...‘coz I would gladly oblige
anyway, as you so deliciously
know...

Ryder leans down and licks her entire face, crazily. And
between licks-

RYDER
Answer me, Penny...was I...good?

Out on the street, a siren can just about be heard. At

this hour? Must be the police or the ambulance. Something
unpleasant afoot maybe. But our lovers don’t seem to
notice.

PENNY
(joking, for all the
world to see)
David was rougher, of course.

And she smiles rather innocently, almost from a need to

add to Ryder’s jealousy. Women do play men like a harp
from hell.

Ryder sits up, perpendicular to Penny. A hellish fury

appears on his face. And the cop car passes the window at
this moment, bathing the room in RED for a fraction of a
second.

Ryder gets up, turning his back to Penny, taking a moment

to contemplate. Then he storms into the KITCHEN, a rabid
urgency in his step.
(CONTINUED)
 3.
CONTINUED: (2)

Penny, alarmed at this rather “shocking” turn of events

also sits up, covering herself with the bed sheets as she
does so.

PENNY (CONT’D)
(calling out after
Ryder)
Come on mister, I’m just kidding!
Now you coming back, or do I have
to wiggle my tits again?

They say “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”. I

guess they forget to account for a man’s ego.

Maybe, it was his ego which was now doing the bidding, or
maybe it was his need to satisfy the woman. Few things
change a man like a woman does, you know.

Ryder enters the bedroom, the same determined man,

holding a piece of ROPE in his hand.

He leaps onto Penny rather brusquely, covering her mouth

with one hand and pushing her down with the other. She
wanted rough, didn’t she?

In one swift motion, he ties her hands to the BEDPOST

very tightly. A red tinge comes onto her wrists. Ryder
rips one of the sheets and gags her. Rough? Ha. A
passerby would have been forgiven if he’d mistaken this
for rape.

Oddly enough, Penny seems to be enjoying this. In pain,

yes, but there’s a rather masochistic pleasure she’s
deriving from this.

And then, without regard for “poor” Penny, he goes at

her. Pounds her. Penny enjoys it. And then, Penny
struggles a bit. David was rough, but never this rough.
And David didn’t weigh this much.

Penny starts struggling more violently now. Ryder’s

almost blinded by his jealousy. Blinded to that fact that
he’s crushing her under him. He too starts deriving an
almost perverse pleasure out of Penny’s struggle. It eggs
him to go harder at her.

And then Penny starts gasping for air. But to Ryder, it

sounds almost like an orgasm. And he goes harder. She’s
obviously enjoying it, isn’t she?

There’s a little writhing, and-

All is calm.

(CONTINUED)
 4.
CONTINUED: (3)

Ryder still thrusts. But-

All is calm.

With all his might now. But-

All is calm.

Oh wait, Penny isn’t stirring. Got to try harder. So

harder, it is. But-

All is calm.

And he stops. A little worried.

He slaps her on the face. But-

All is calm.

RYDER
(concern)
Penny?

No answer.

He sees the red wrists. He sees the dilated pupils. He

slaps her more violently now.

RYDER (CONT’D)
(frantic)
PENNY?

No answer.

Ryder stumbles back in shock. His hands are shaking. He

gets off the bed, almost buckling under his guilt. A
solitary tear drops down. All the while, muttering-

RYDER (CONT’D)
Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!

He leaps onto her again. Presses his lips against her,

trying to resuscitate her.

Presses down on her chest, then blows into her mouth,

then chest, then mouth. Just like he’d been taught in
first aid class all those years ago.

The desperation can clearly be seen in his eyes. The

shock, in his hands.

Presses again. Blows again. And-

(CONTINUED)
 5.
CONTINUED: (4)

She coughs a little. Gulps a lot of air. And sits up,

pale, and shocked herself at what’s happened.

SMASH CUT:

INT. LIVING ROOM - SAME NIGHT

The EYE. More specifically, Ryder’s eye. Red. Fearful.

Currently taking in the architecture of his living room.

In front of him, a LEATHER COUCH facing a TELEVISION

placed against the wall on his right. A SIDE TABLE with a
LAMP and a TELEPHONE placed next to the couch. He seems
to be leaning against his BAR CABINET. Beyond the cabinet
is a small WOOD PARTITION separating his living and bed
rooms. The MAIN DOOR is to his right.

Ryder gets up a little and peeks over his bar and into
his bedroom. Yep, still there. The bitch is still there.
The bitch is still dead.

He crumbles back into a heap. Maybe, he’s also dead.

He gets up a little and peeks over his bar and into his
bedroom. Uncle Sam. “I want you!”

They know. They all know.

He crumbles back into the shadows. Crying wouldn’t really

help, would it?

A tear forms and starts to drop down and-

MATCH CUT TO:

INT. LIVING ROOM - SAME NIGHT

He’s still there, in the shadow. Asleep. Fresh drool from

his mouth drops down into the puddle of tears and drool
already formed around him.

Out in the street, a siren is heard approaching. And it

passes the house, again bathing it in red for a fraction
of a second.

Ryder jerks open his eyes. Red. Fearful.

The police. Of course. They’ll know what to do.

His eyes search for the telephone. Oh. That’s right, it’s
next to the couch.

(CONTINUED)
 6.
CONTINUED:

He drags himself to the couch. The puddle of drool and

tears, quite obviously, mixes with the dust on his body,
making dirty marks on the WHITE MARBLE FLOOR.

He props himself onto the COUCH, picks up the RECEIVER,

and dials the number.

Ring. Once. Twice. Thrice. A clock somewhere chimes

twelve times. The person on the other end picks up the
phone and-

Ryder feels a hand on his shoulder.

He turns around, dropping the phone.

POLICEMAN (O.S.)
(grumpy)
Who the fuck is that?

There’s a MAN, similary built as RYDER standing in the

shadows in front of the BAR. From where Ryder is
standing, the person looks to be made entirely of
shadows.

There’s a ROCKS GLASS full to the brim with WHISKEY and

ICE in his left hand. An unopened bottle of JACK DANIELS
and an ICE BUCKET lie on the BAR COUNTER behind the man.

POLICEMAN (O.S.) (CONT’D)

(more forcefully)
WHO the FUCK is that?!

RYDER walks over to the man, almost in a trance.

The POLICEMAN bangs the phone down.

RYDER takes the GLASS in his hand, noticing that the

MAN’s hand is nothing but darkness.

RYDER gulps the drink down, and continues gulping for

quite some time. And still, the level of the drink in the
glass remains unchanged.

RYDER bangs the still full glass down on the BAR COUNTER.
He notices that the bottle of JACK DANIELS is now half.
He feels an uneasiness in his stomach, and he collapses
onto the COUCH.

FADE TO BLACK.
 7.

INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT, FEW DAYS LATER

RYDER is still lying on the couch in a FOETAL POSITION,

still butt naked. There’s a hint of a STUBBLE on his
face.

The light on the ANSWERING MACHINE is blinking. TEN NEW

MESSAGES.

Quite obviously, some days have passed.

RYDER opens an eye. Then the other. There’s an aggressive

grunting coming from the bedroom. He sits up a bit.

And then he hears swearing. It’s his voice.

RYDER (O.C.)
(from the bedroom)
Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!

And then he sees a clean shaven version of himself

crawling into the LIVING ROOM, as though running away
from the devil in the bedroom, sobbing uncontrollably.

He sees himself retreat into the shadows between the BAR

and the MAIN ENTRANCE.

He sees himself fall asleep for a fraction of a second,

and then jerk his eyes open.

He sees himself get up a little and peek over the BAR,

into the BEDROOM.

He strains a little and sees beyond the WOOD PARTITION.

If he was surprised to see a clean shaven version of
himself in the BEDROOM, trying to resuscitate PENNY, and
then disappearing into the shadows, he didn’t show it.

He lay back, curled up again into the foetal position,

closed his eyes.

He jerks them open again. He sits up a bit. He sees a

MAN, similarly built as him, standing in front of the
BAR, a ROCKS GLASS filled to the brim with JACK DANIELS
and ICE in his left hand.

He gets up slowly, as though in a trance, takes the glass

from the man, noticing again that his hand is made
entirely of darkness.

(CONTINUED)
 8.
CONTINUED:

He gulps. He continues gulping till he falls down on the

floor in front of the BAR. The GLASS, just half drained,
falls and breaks by his side.

FADE TO BLACK.

INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT, FEW DAYS LATER

Ryder is lying on the floor in a FOETAL POSITION, in a

pool of his own rotting puke. There are various DEEP CUTS
on his hands, and his stubble is now closer to a BEARD.

Ryder sits up a bit, and sees UNREAD MAIL littered under

the door. He turns hi gaze to his left, towards the
TELEVISION.

Midway, he stops, scared. He would have let out a yelp

had he not been so scared.

Right there, midway between the MAIN DOOR and the

TELEVISION is the UNCLE SAM poster, pointing its finger
at Ryder, fully aware of what has happened in the past
few days. There are BLOOD STAINS on its edges.

Ryder crawls backwards, scared, into the BEDROOM.

The walls have been ripped of all the POSTERS he notices.

He retreats behind the WOOD PARTITION, face towards the

bed.

And he gazes at her lithe form again.

He opens his mouth to call out to her, but he’s falling

again. He collapses in a pool of darkness.

FADE TO BLACK.

INT. BEDROOM - SAME NIGHT, CLOSER TO DAY THAN EVER BEFORE

He jerks open one eye, then the other.

He spies a FLY on his stomach.

He can feel its eyes boring into his skull. He can feel
it accusing him of the horrors committed a few weeks ago
in that very room.

A FLY.

He jerks his head towards where PENNY lies. Sure enough,

he sees flies all over her. FLIES!
(CONTINUED)
 9.
CONTINUED:

He snaps into an alert position, grabs a LAMP from the

BEDSIDE TABLE, and charges towards the FLIES, a
determined man.

Flies!

He attacks them with an animalistic anger. Almost like

the chimp attacking the skeleton from 2001: A Space
Odyssey.

The flies start scattering away.

Ryder drops the LAMP in anger.

He gazes down at PENNY, the first time he’s done so in

many, many days. Her LIPS, her HAIR. Her innocent FACE,
beautiful even though it’s slowly rotting away. Her
dilated PUPILS.

And suddenly, he knows what to do.

He charges into the LOO.

CUT TO:

INT. BEDROOM - DAWN

Ryder is slowly and meticulously cleaning PENNY with a

SPONGE and WATER. There’s something loving about each
action of his. Almost as though PENNY weren’t dead,
merely bedridden and he were caring for her.

He takes some DEOS and PERFUMES and sprays them around

the room. It would have been comical had PENNY not been
rotting there.

He takes her PERFUME and lightly sprays it on her neck.

Applies a little MASCARA to her EYES.

A little ROUGE on her CHEEKS to hide the rotting flesh.

He BRUSHES her HAIR back, neatly, so that it isn’t matted

on her forehead anymore.

He takes a GLASS of WATER, and forces a little down.

He stands back and gazes at her. His Penny. In life, more

so in death.

And then, just as the first light of day starts streaming

in through the window, he climbs into bed with her. On
top of her.
(CONTINUED)
 10.
CONTINUED:

He kisses her lightly on the forehead.

And then, as an afterthought, pecks her once lightly on

the LIPS.

Then again. This time, more passionately.

He could have sworn Penny kissed him back.

FADE TO BLACK.

TITLES.

END.