YOU HAVE

Martin threatens her with his forefinger.

martin

Now let me work!

Martin continues to write.

ellen

            (hollers)

To hell with your damned work!

In a rash action, she suddenly pushes his computer monitor off of the desk.

Martin jumps up from his chair.  He grabs Ellen by the throat and pushes her against the wall.  Throbbing veins on his forehead.

martin

Don’t you dare...

Ellen can hardly breathe.  She is about to choke.  Just in time, Martin lets go.

Ellen slides to the floor and gasps for air.

Martin doesn’t seem to care.  He sets the monitor back onto the table and gets back to work.

Ellen is deeply shocked.  She drags herself out of the room.

Martin doesn’t even deign to look up at her again.

70.       hallway – int. / night

The door to the study falls shut behind Ellen.

Slowly, she sinks to her knees and starts to cry.  Hopelessness and despair.

ellen

            (sobbing)

Martin... oh my God... what’s happening to us...

The house is dead-silent.  Only the sound of Martin typing on his computer keyboard in his study.

Suddenly, Ellen hears a noise – very quiet.  It is the RINGING of a bell.

Ellen looks up.

There it is again, very clearly:  It’s the bell on the collar of the dead dog.

ellen

            (quietly, to herself)

Clara...?

She stands up and heads for the staircase.  Cautiously.

A shadow rushes through the entrance hall – the shadow of a dog.

Ellen sneaks down the steps.  Her eyes scan the darkness.

71.       entrance area – int. / night

Again, the BELL RINGING.  The shadow.  The animal seems to have run into the cellar.

Now, Ellen notices that the door Martin had locked so carefully earlier, is open.

A dirty-yellow gleam shines into the hallway from below.

Ellen looks up - Martin seems to be working:  His steady typing resounds throughout the house.

It takes Ellen all the courage she has, but finally she makes herself go into the cellar...

72.       study – int. / night

Martin stops typing in mid-sentence.  He looks up.  There is a threatening gleam in his eyes...

73.       cellar – int. / night

Ellen carefully walks down the stairs to the cellar.  It’s cold.  The single light bulb at the ceiling hardly sheds any light.  An eerie and unsettling atmosphere.

No sign of the dog.

Ellen finds the fuse box.  No difference – the wires are still hanging out of the wall, tangled up and rotten.

All of a sudden, there is a voice coming from behind Ellen.

thomas (o.s.)

Mommy...

Ellen spins around.

There’s something in the darkness – a figure:  Tommi!

Ellen freezes.  Her eyes are glued to the little boy, whose figure melts together with the shadows.  Like a tape recording, he repeats:

thomas

Mommy...

Ellen fights up against the image as if she knew that it is only a lie.

ellen

No...

The boy steps out of the shadow.

thomas

Mommy...

Ellen backs off.

ellen

My son is dead...

The little boy comes closer.  Now, he is standing right in front of Ellen.  He raises his hands as if he wanted to be hugged.  Again, his sad voice repeats:

thomas

Mommy!

Finally, Ellen’s heart wins over reason.  She falls to her knees and takes the boy into her arms.

ellen

My God, Tommi.

Tears run down her cheeks.  She holds the child close.  But what she doesn’t see: The boy’s mean smile behind her back.

Suddenly, there is a strange transformation:  Running through Ellen’s fingers – little at first, but then more and more:  mud!

Thomas’ body has turned into liquid in her arms.  Ellen is devastated.

Right before her eyes, the child dissolves into swamp mud.  It drains away and disappears in the floor.

Time seems to stand still.

Suddenly, Ellen is grabbed by the hair and torn around.

It’s Martin!  He stares at her resentfully.

martin

Didn’t I tell you not to go in the cellar?!

Ellen does not understand what’s happening.

ellen

Martin, what-

martin

It’s simply too dangerous here!  But no, you always have to have it your way.

She tries to squirm out of his grip - but it’s no use.

Martin drags her up the stairs.

martin

You know what I have to do now,  and believe me:  I don’t enjoy doing this.

ellen

Martin, damnit, what are you up to?  Let go of me!

74.       entrance area – int. / night

Martin mercilessly drags Ellen along behind him.

martin

Of course you’ll give me the blame again.  Like back then.  Just a tiny cut and he could still be alive today – isn’t that right, Ellen?

ellen

What are you talking about-

Ellen tries to find a way to free herself.  But she hardly stands a chance against Martin’s strength.

martin

Enough of that!  I know what I have to do now.

Sliding by, Ellen bumps into a tool box.  She gets hold of a screwdriver.

Panic-stricken, she thrusts it in Martin’s direction.

A scream of pain.  He collapses.  Bleeds.

Ellen tears herself loose and runs out of the house.

75.       in front of the house / car – ext. / night

Ellen races to the car and jumps in behind the steering wheel.

Martin staggers out in pursuit of her.  He is holding his stomach.

Inside the car:

Ellen hastily crams out the car key.  It slips out of her hand.

Martin is coming closer.

Inside the car:

Ellen gropes around in the darkness, trying to find the key.

Martin has almost reached the car.

Inside the car:

At last, Ellen has the key.  She pushes it into the ignition, turns it around.  The engine roars up.

Ellen careens off in the car.  She brushes Martin.  He spins away with a loud thud.

The car speeds off.

CUT TO:

76.       consulting room of prof. roth – int. / dawn

Prof. Roth is in the middle of a conference with two INTERNS.

The door flies open.  Ellen storms into the room with tears in her eyes; she is totally frantic.

Her appearance surprises him.

prof. roth

Mrs. Straub!

ellen

I’ve killed my husband!

prof. roth

What?

ellen

I think I’ve killed him.  Martin, my husband, I’ve killed him!  That is, I’m not sure, but...

Prof. Roth immediately takes her arm and leads her to a sofa.

prof. roth

Mrs. Straub!  Now calm down first.

Ellen is totally distraught.

ellen

            (hectic, loud)

It all went so fast.  He was out of his mind and then all of sudden there was this screwdriver.  I only wanted to defend myself.  You have to call the police...

prof. roth

We can do all of that later, but first you need to calm down.

He stands up, fetches a glass of water and takes a tablet out of a package.

prof. roth

Here, take this.

Ellen takes the pill without a moment’s hesitation and swallows it with a drink of water.

ellen

I... I don’t know which part of it all really happened... It’s all one big nightmare...

Prof. Roth sees that she is not able to think clearly at the moment.

prof. roth

You are going to sleep for a little while, now.  And then, we’ll talk about it more calmly and sift through all of this.

The tablet quickly begins to show an effect.  In Ellen’s eyes, Prof. Roth’s face gets blurry.

One of the interns speaks up.

intern

Should we inform the authorities?

Prof. Roth waves it off.

prof. roth

Before everyone gets all nervous, why don’t you call her house.  Maybe that will clear things up.

Ellen only vaguely catches the last spoken sentences through a curtain of haze.  Then, she loses conscience.

FADE TO: