2005
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
CHAPTER TWO– Easing a Difficult Time–
"Our mission is to offer the pinnacle of perfection in services and facilities, without losing our compassion and the understanding needed by the families we serve."
Zelgadiss rolled his bike up the curb with minutes to spare. "No time to find a bike rack. Hell, it'll be safe here. Who steals bikes at funeral homes?" he reasoned aloud and left his bike leaning against the side of the building.
Once inside the colonial-style building, he was led by a pretty receptionist to the director's office.
"I see you'll be starting college in the fall. Chemistry?" Mr. Vurumagen asked in a monotone. He had scanned the resume and then settled his eyes to rest on Zelgadiss' face.
"Yes, I'm interested in forensic science, hence, this job," Zel lied coolly. He was a shoo-in for something here, he knew.
"Indeed. Well, the first-level technician positions require a high school degree and experience. You might qualify as an assistant...but...I'll have to check our current openings."
Zel's hopeful attitude plummeted.
"Hoooowever," Mr. Vurumagen drawled out as he flipped over a page in a notebook of listings, "Ah, yes, here's something. You would be available at night?"
"Night? Yes, that's fine. Perfect, in fact!"
"Well, then," Mr. Vurumagen removed a paper from the folder, presented it to Zelgadiss, and then folded his hands on the table, his expression neutral. "There is an entry level position available on the night shift. More of a custodial job really. Here is the job description, wages, and hours for you to look over."
Zelgadiss took up the offered paper and read what it said.
MORGUE TECHNICIAN Salary Range: 1411-2610
Exam: Application documents rating (training and experience). No written test.
3 Occ
Type of Work: Employee assists medical examiner with post-mortem examinations.
Training: Graduation from a standard high school or equivalent.
Experience: One year of full-time or equivalent part-time paid medical or other technically related experience, such as physical care and support to patients, basic laboratory work, work in a veterinary office or work in a clinical setting.
Available currently: entry level position to assist technician, base pay, GY shift 9PM - 5:00AM.
The work was shitty, the hours were deadly, and the pay was minimum wage. It was, however, not working for his grandfather. Now that he was a high school graduate, he would 'have to start earning his keep' to continue living with his grandfather and go to college. It would mean that he could remain in Seyruun. Three years ago, his parents had decided to move to a resort in a tropical climate. Lovely place, but only for the occasional vacation, Zel had told them at the time. He thought that they could at least wait until he was out of the house first. He had his friends and culture in high school and didn't want to move away. Rezo offered to take in his grandson so that he could finish high school in his home town, but after that, 'the boy will have to start earning his keep.'
"I accept," Zel said.
"Very good. You can begin tomorrow night."
Vurumagen stood up so Zel thought he should too. "Follow me. I'll show you where you'll be working, where you'll change, the entry door and procedures. This way-"
Zelgadiss learned that he would be using a secret back entrance with a coded lock. He would change into beige coveralls, gloves, and, on occasion, a mask. He would meet the technicians that night and follow their instructions.
"Cool," Zelgadiss thought to himself. There was just enough mystery about the job to intrigue him.
After that, he returned with Mr. Vurumagen to his office where he filled out forms for another twenty minutes.
"Welcome to the family. Heh, heh... Well, we think of ourselves as all family here at the Rubyeye Funeral Home and Morgue. Even those of us who are family. Like us, I married into the family and my wife's brother is, I believe, married to Mr. Gaav's wife's sister– making us related."
Zelgadiss handed the man his completed forms and blinked. "Ah, yes. Well, thank you, Sir."
He was relieved to not have to continue that conversation and traverse his family tree. Working in a house of death was one thing, but being related to the owner and its inmates was macabre. He shook the wilted hand of his employer and hastily found his way to the exit. He couldn't wait to ride home and...
"Damn it all!" Zel cursed. "My bike!"
Someone had stolen the seemingly neglected bicycle. There was nothing to do but walk home. It was a very long walk in the warming sun. By the time he rounded the corner to the block he lived on, Zelgadiss was sporting a sunburned face.
"Hey, Zelly!"
Zelgadiss froze in his spot and turned his head. Filia's car just pulled up, causing him to smile in spite of his misery. He thought she was strikingly beautiful and sexy, and although she was a year older than him, she didn't treat him differently than the guys in her class. He had skipped a grade in his primary days, and from then on he was relegated to being the smallest boy in his classes, until recently. His latest growth spurt during his senior year of high school put him solidly in the 'average' category. He was aware of his own good looks and that Filia was one of several girls who finally noticed him, now that school was over. Actually, he hoped she liked him. So, he trotted over to her car door and greeted her with a friendly, "Hey..."
"I just dropped Lina off at her place. It's hot out. You shouldn't be out without sun block."
"I know, Filia. I ought to be riding my bike, but it was stolen." That was belittling to admit and his self-confidence was suffering. Then he remembered and added, "I was at a job interview. I got the job."
"Really! Wow! That's great, Zelly. Ooooh, but that's going to mess with good times."
"Not much, I hope. I work late nights." He suddenly thought she was going to ask him the dangerous 'where and what' kind of questions, and so changed the subject. "I don't have to work tonight, want to go get something to eat...catch a movie?" He hadn't tagged the deadly-sensitive 'with just me' phrase on, hoping she might want it that way and say so.
"Yeah, okay. Let me call around and see who else wants to... I just recharged my cell phone so it should be okay."
Oh well, at least she wanted to be with him even though he'd have to share her with others.
"Lina and Gourry are a go!" Filia shouted out the window.
Zel smiled, "Of course." He thought that two couples would be an acceptable alternative.
"Sylphiel, too!" she added. "...and Amelia."
Oh, his enthusiasm plunged, Amelia. Now, he liked her fine. In fact, Zel considered her to be quite 'cute', but she just plagued him, hovering around like an adoring puppy. Amelia was the youngest of the group of friends, just a year younger than him, and the only one to return to high school next year. However, she had a huge crush on him, and she let everyone know about it. When Amelia first decided to 'make Zelly hers,' he had been enamored of another girl in his class, Lina. But when his best friend Gourry confided to him that he was 'in love, kinda' with Lina, then Zelgadiss backed off. His best friend's happiness came first, Zel decided. Besides, Lina seemed to like Gourry, too, so it was all for the best that he hadn't made any kind of move. That was how their last year of high school had ended.
Now he appeared to be available, and suddenly Filia was talking and being nice to him, which he thought had to be a good sign; he was ready to audition Filia for the staring role in his day dreams. An older woman. Things were coming together for them. It was not the time to share this 'date' with everyone, Amelia in particular. With Amelia present, he'd feel torn between being nice to her and attempting to make some progress with his Filia romance. Maybe he could talk Sylphiel into keeping Amelia busy...
"Zelly! I said: will 6:00 be okay with you? Good. Do you need a ride?"
"Yes," he muttered, feeling like a fool. What guy invited a girl out without a way to get her places?
"Okay, I'll get you. The others are arranging there own rides." Filia was stuffing her phone back into her bag, when Zel had an idea.
"That's only an hour away; would you like to come in? We can do something before we have to go," he asked.
She thought about it for a few seconds. "Sure. I'll call mom and let her know, and then I have to tell you about what happened this afternoon. We were selling cookies..."
She could have been giving him the weather report for all he cared. Zel was walking on air all the way to his front door, Filia at his side. A beautiful potential-girlfriend and a job– life was looking up for Zelgadiss.
When Lina got home there was a message waiting on her home phone. It was from Xelloss. "Hi, Xel here. I thought about the, ah...difficulties this afternoon. And so we don't have a reprise tomorrow, I'm leaving my private cell phone number. That way you can call ahead and wake me before coming." There was a pause and then in a lowered voice he signed off, "I...promise to be dressed."
"Just what I need, another guy calling me all the time." Lina didn't bother deleting the message and hurried off to her room to change clothes.
Gourry called her cell phone after Filia's invitation to join her and Zelgadiss. Gourry told her that he would be by to drive her to the restaurant in an hour or so. She smiled when she thought of Gourry. He had graduated from high school in the class ahead of hers. He was a kind person with a hunky build perfect for his job at the athletic club. Too bad it wasn't much of a career; his less-than-princely wages put him in the 'out' pile for the longest time, but now it was summer and he'd be good for a summer romance before college.
"Maybe longer than that. Too soon to tell," she thought to herself as she climbed into the shower to battle the hot day.
Thankfully, his grandfather wasn't at home. Zelgadiss hated having to introduce his friends, and especially a girl, to the man who'd ask questions and converse with intelligence and poise so that he would outshine his anxious and less talented grandson. Zel was confident, just not skillful at entertaining girls alone yet.
"Want some...thing?" Zel asked Filia as he examined the refrigerator's contents.
"Ice water. I'll get the ice," she said in her take-charge manner.
She took a short self-guided tour, stopping at his room, "I just love books. You like to read."
Zel sighed and allowed himself to smile slightly, "Score! Something in common."
They discussed and compared favorites, which was fun, and then she asked to check her e-mail. At that point, he lost her to his closest competition for which he had no answer, the internet, for the rest of the hour.
Amelia met Sylphiel at her door. Following her to her car and chattering all the way, Amelia managed to catch her friends' big news. "Someone died at the athletic club? How awful!"
"Not just someone, Mr. Tadaaki! His name means 'faithful and bright' in Japanese," she added in a dreamy voice. "He was my favorite client. I registered him that first day and wrote up his conditioning plan. Gourry handled his weight training. He was so...handsome."
Amelia watched her with growing alarm. "You weren't, that is, that wasn't the man you were telling me about, was it? You were dating him? The dead man?"
Sylphiel pulled her hair back into a pony tail and started the car, "Well, he was very much alive when we took me out to dinner. Very nice...and alive."
"So, what happened? Were you with him when it...happened?"
"No, but Gourry was. I let him tell you all about it at dinner tonight. Where are we going again?"
Amelia gave her friend the directions and watched for traffic on the way.
Everyone showed up at the pizza place on time. After placing the same orders that they had for the past couple of years, they settled into parallel conversations covering two subjects: the cookie sale and the dead man.
They all agreed selling all the cookies in the one stop was fortunate, despite the buyers, and that they'd all show up to the anime club meetings over the summer.
Gourry had a few things to add to what Sylphiel knew about the death at the athletic club. "The paramedics thought he died of a heart attack, and took him to the hospital. From there, the guy goes to Rubyeye Mortuary, so there'll be a funeral on the weekend, if you wanna go to it, Sylphiel."
Zel looked up at that, but ennui set in and he sighed to himself, "This is boring. So am I. Dull, dull, dull."
The food arrived, giving reason for a lengthy lull in the conversation.
School gossip, club, more gossip, favorite music, blah, blah, blah... No good movies, out of money, nothing to do... just go home...
As the group broke up, Gourry pulled Lina to the side and asked her out the next day, "I'll call when I know if I can leave work early. Then we can go miniature golfing, okay?"
"And dinner," Lina insisted.
"Yeah, you bet!" he smiled and held open the door for her.
Zelgadiss overheard Filia telling Amelia that she was busy the next day, so he bottled up his courage to ask her out another time. "Filia-"
"Oh, Sylph, can you drop off Zel for me? I need to pickup some groceries on the way home for mom. Bye, Zel."
This was his chance to set up something, so he did his best at sounding casual, "Ahhh, just a second, Filia. Um, do you think we can get together this weekend?"
"This weekend? Oh, sure. Give me a call. Bye!"
"Okay, bye," he smiled and waved a tiny bit, and then in his head, celebrated a moment, "I did it! I asked Filia out (kinda)!"
He turned to see Amelia and Sylphiel watching him. "What?"
Sylphiel shook her head at him, "If you're going to invite her to join the bowling team, you should at least ask us first!"
Bowling team? Oh yeah... He had forgotten their tentative plans to continue their Sunday afternoon tournaments into the summer. He made a mental note of that, and then said, "She could balance out the teams then. Lina said Martina and Zangalus were signing up. It would make it four on each team. But, I hadn't actually mentioned that to her yet."
"I knew you wouldn't be so thoughtless as to leave us out of the planning!" Amelia beamed. "I think your idea is wonderful. Miss Filia is as least as good as Martina."
Zelgadiss was forgiven and with that, was dropped off at his house on good terms with his friends. He also had a good excuse to call Filia, now. He could invite her to join his bowling team. However, that wasn't all he would want to call her about.
– The next day–
"Lina? Yeah, Gourry. I got Zangalus to cover for me here, so I can be by your place in about 30 minutes. That okay?"
"Golfing? Sure. I'm ready," she hung up, and then remembered. "Shit, I gotta get that money over to that Xelloss guy. No time now. He's probably asleep anyway. I'll just give him a call and tell him I can't make it."
She replayed his earlier message, made a note of the phone number, and then dialed. She got this message: "Hello, and thank you for calling the Rubyeye Mental Health Institute," a voice which could have been Xelloss' intoned.
"Yeah, well, if you're there, Xelloss, this is Lina and I can't make it over..."
"If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly. If you have multiple personalities, press 2, 3 and 4. If you are dyslexic, press 6. Now press 9. Now press 6. Now press 9. Now press 6. If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be transferred to the mothership. If you have short term memory loss, press 8. If you have short term memory loss, press 8. If you have short term memory loss, press 8..."
"Oh gods, do I have to listen to the entire spiel?" Lina moaned into the mouthpiece.
"...If you have schizophrenia, listen very carefully and a small voice will tell you which number to press. If you are co-dependent, ask someone to press a number for you. If you are depressed, don't bother to press any numbers. No one will be able to help you anyway. If you are paranoid, you don't need to press anything. We know who you are, we know what you want, and we know how to reach you. If you suffer from low self-esteem, please hang up because all our operators are too busy to talk to you. Otherwise, leave a message because the doctor is not...at...home!"
BEEP!
"This is the last time I'm calling you until you get this stupidly annoying message changed. Okay, so this is Lina and I can't make it over today. Ah...something came up. I'll drop the money off later. Bye."
"Nooooo...Don't hang uuuuuuup!" Xelloss woke out of his slumber nearly in time to pickup Lina's call. Nearly. He checked the clock and decided that if he hurried, he might catch her at her home before she left, or whatever. He'd risk it, anyway. A return call to her home might have been advised, but then she'd just tell him not to bother, so he didn't call. And if he hurried, Valgaav wouldn't find out that she'd blown him off and he wouldn't lose his bet.
Lina opened the door after the second ring, "You're early, ya know. I'm not quite... Eh?"
"Hello, Lina," Xelloss smiled at her obvious astonishment.
"You! What are you doing here?"
He heard a car pull up and the driver get out and stride to the door. "Well, there is the matter of ten dollars, but more importantly-"
He turned to see who Lina had been expecting. A man his stature might be intimidated by Gourry, but Xelloss had nothing if not oodles of self confidence. He went on, "Valgaav and I were thinking of having a party this weekend, Saturday." He looked Gourry in the eye. "You're welcome to bring along the other girls and anyone else. It's our first."
"First?" Lina asked.
"Since we moved from Atlas City. I'm relatively new in town and it's been a long time since he lived here."
Xelloss was watchful of the taller man, who was giving off all the warning signals: 'this girl is mine.'
"She's got plans," Gourry said in a controlled manner.
"Not on Saturday! Sounds great! I know lots of people; you care how many I invite?" Lina grinned. She loved parties but never had the money to throw the kind she liked.
Xelloss' attention was concentrated on Lina now. "Ten, twenty?"
"All right! Say twenty. You think you can handle that many?" she asked.
"Meaning: can we feed that many?" Xelloss laughed. "No problem. I'll take care of the ordering before work. Anything you suggest?"
Lina rattled off her 'dream party' selections of snacks and drinks, "And plenty of them!"
Gourry nodded his concordance, adding a few additions as she went along, "Pretzels, the straight kind, and mustard!"
Xelloss was stunned by the sheer volume of foodstuffs the pair were listing off the tops of their heads. "Where will I store it all? What will I serve it in?" he wondered, then decided to call a party supply store, at which point he heard the other man talking conversationally to Lina.
"We oughta go now, Lina, to have time to eat some first," Gourry reminded her.
"Oh, right. Well, later, Xelloss!" she said merrily as she slammed the door and waltzed past him.
He was about to mention his 'ten dollars', but decided that it would make him sound too petty. He'd have an opportunity to remind her at another time, and then in an act of generosity he would forgive the debt. He had seen his competition, and was concerned; Gourry was a kind and caring man.
Even though he knew what he wore didn't matter, that he would change into coveralls immediately once he got to work, Zelgadiss thought long and hard about his clothing before making his final selection from his wardrobe. It was his first night at his first real job, so he wanted to make a good impression.
He admired his reflection in the full-length mirror attached to the back of his bedroom door. Slim and wiry. He had been a varsity track star at high school and would be one at the university when he started in fall, he knew it. His long, dark hair was fashionably mussy, as were his expensive clothes, but it was his eyes that set him apart; large, brilliant blue-green. He pushed his chin-length bangs behind his ears for the forth time in as many seconds.
"Maybe I'll cut it short," he mused. "Maybe not. Gourry said that only the gay guys were keeping their hair trim and neat these days. Besides, hadn't Filia said how much she liked long hair on men? Or was that Amelia?"
He jumped at the sound of pounding on his door.
"If you want that ride, I'm going now."
"Okay, grandfather!"
"Find your own way home," his grandfather ordered him when he left him off at the funeral home.
"Thanks," Zel muttered with as much sincerity as he thought the situation warranted.
He scampered around to the employee's entrance, typed in the pass-code, and stepped into:
The Cadaver Keep
announced the hand painted sign which greeted him.
"Funny," he thought to himself. The ghoulish drips hanging from the lettering clued him in that the sign was intended to be an attempt at humor.
"He's here already."
"Cool, a real go-getter."
"Well, it is his first night," said the first male voice.
Zelgadiss folded his arms over his chest and waited to the side the moment he heard voices. Two men were entering the building from the same door he had used.
"Hello! You're on time so you must be the new guy."
Zel nodded. The man who entered first was about his height and weight with hair nearly the same, but with the bangs cut straight across at the eyebrows and the overall length shorter. His smile was nice and eyes nearly closed. His age was indeterminable, but most likely older, Zel determined. "Yeah, I'm Zel."
Valgaav followed him in. He looked from the Zel to Xel, "No fing way! I thought yer name was one-of-a-kind." He smiled at Xel, and then extended a hand to Zel, "Valgaav."
"Zelgadiss," Zel corrected. He found Valgaav to be a lot more intimidating. He was nearly a foot taller and heavier with a narrow-eyed dangerous look.
"Whew!" Xelloss exclaimed dramatically. "I'm Xelloss, but I'm called Xel, thus the problem. Zelgadiss, huh? Maybe we should stick to full names for now."
Valgaav led the way to the changing room, where they all slipped into coveralls, grabbed masks and gloves. "Let's check the incoming list. We may not have work tonight."
"That doesn't happen very often, but we always hope," Xelloss said. "Oh, here's a pen for taking notes, but be careful not to put it in your mouth."
Zelgadiss took the offered pen and notepad, "I wouldn't do that."
"You'd be surprised how many people must. About 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens each year," Xelloss remarked with a smile.
Zelgadiss winced, thinking, "So Valgaav is the straight man and Xel is the comedian. Where do I fit in?"
His ponderings were cut short when he got a good look of the main embalming and autopsy 'suite'- dry and well lit! Autopsy tables, some with built-in plumbing: irrigation hoses, suction tubes and drains lined up in the center of the room. They were overhung by lights just like those used in operating rooms to help see into dark body cavities. Also in the room was a lightbox for viewing X-rays, a scale for weighing organs, and a camera stand so interesting findings could be photographed.
Xelloss and Valgaav were flipping through a clipboard of papers, looking for their evening's schedule and instructions left over from the day crew. While they were so occupied, Zelgadiss examined the autopsy tables. They were waist-high aluminum fixtures- basically a slanted tray (for drainage) with raised edges to keep blood and fluids from flowing onto the floor- plumbed for running water and had several faucets and spigots to facilitate washing away all the blood released during the procedure. Like some older facility out of a horror movie, the room still had two marble tables for the drier embalming steps.
"We are in luck!" Xelloss cried out.
"No work?" Zelgadiss asked.
"No autopsies. Mostly, those are done during the day by a medical student from the university, but when things get busy, we get the overflow."
"Does that happen often?" Zel asked hoping it didn't.
"Most times," Valgaav answered. "Tonight we do embalming on a body delivered by the hospital. Says here the autopsy was already done."
"The hospital does them too?"
"Rarely. We're here on the edge of town and mostly it's done here. Special cases involving the police end up there. Light night, then." Valgaav left Xelloss to put away the work orders. "Bodies for post mortem examination or embalming are kept in the refrigerated storage room, the 'cadaver keep'. This way."
Zelgadiss shuddered and steeled himself for the job, whatever it might entail. He followed the other two workers to the 'cadaver keep' and peeked in as Valgaav opened the sealed door. He could feel a rush of frigid air and noticed a couple gurneys, one holding a sheet-covered body, and a wall of locked steel-plated doors.
"Those are for provisional cases. You know, suspected murders with possible evidence or contagious diseases," Valgaav told him, "We call it 'purgatory,'" meaning the steel lockers.
Valgaav entered the cold-storage room, and then returned wheeling out the shrouded body on the gurney. "Bathroom's over there," he indicated to Zel with a tilt of his head.
"I don't need..." Zel began, but then Valgaav pulled off the sheet and revealed the autopsied body underneath. "Shit..." he muttered. He flew to the bathroom to lose his dinner.
After all the post mortem procedures had been performed, the body had been left an empty shell, with no larynx, chest organs, abdominal organs, pelvic organs, or brain. The front of the rib cage was missing. The scalp was pulled down over the face, and the whole top of the head was gone. The organs had been disposed of at the hospital. Obviously, not optimal for lying in state in public view, or for Zelgadiss' unprepared brain.
"Odd, usually men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed. It's the women who somehow deteriorate during the night," Xelloss quipped as he looked at the body. "Time to put on the gloves (typically two pairs) and masks."
End Graveyard Shift, CHAPTER TWO