El Muerto

## All Season 2 Episodes

**El Muerto** is the eighth episode of the second season of *Two Sentence Horror Stories*, which aired on February 9, 2021.

## Sentences

> Alone in the morgue, I hear little footsteps.
> My daughter has finally come back to me.

## Plot

Laura is a young girl staying in a morgue with her mother Grace, the coroner, who does not wish to speak with Laura after their fight. Antonio, Grace's assistant, watches over Laura and talks with her about the fight, about how Laura wanted to see her dad. Antonio says she'll talk with her mother when the time is right, and strikes a bargain with her: stay put, and he will answer any questions she has later. Grace, meanwhile, is examining the corpse of a young boy who died of asphyxiation in an airtight delivery truck, around which time Laura begins to hear a young boy crying in the distance. Jorge, Laura's father, calls Grace with a desire to talk to her, but Grace doesn't pick up.

Walking the hallways, Laura eventually finds the boy, his face horribly deformed and pale, his eyes missing in death. Frightened, Laura runs back and hides, who Antonio eventually checks on. He reassures her, explaining the Day of the Dead and that it's important that people listen to their muertos, their dead, to help them resolve their pain. Grace calls Jorge, who tells her much the same things, but she refuses to listen and hangs up. Laura actually follows the advice and goes to talk to the dead boy, hoping to comfort him, but only ends up trapped in a corpse slab with the dead boy, who torments her until Antonio lets her out.

Laura blames Antonio, saying he doesn't help anyone. She ignores his admonition that she not see her mom and goes to visit her. Entering the room, Laura sees Grace murmurs to herself that she's angry with Laura, that none of this would have happened if she had simply listened to her. Angry, Laura protests that it isn't her fault, and that she hates Grace, before leaving. Antonio watches her as she admonishes herself to stop wasting time and to get back to work, before leaving.

Laura herself is crying, eventually ending up in a confrontation with the dead boy, who chokes her and brings to her eyes memories of a car crash. She tries to get away, but when she turns back she sees him directly in front of her. She flees, with him pursuing, until she ends up in Grace's workroom with a strange man. The man is crying, and Antonio admonishes the boy (now whole) to go to his papa. Antonio explains that the boy did not know he was dead, and thought his father left him all alone, abandoned.

Antonio explains that it is his job to help the ghosts in the morgue, and Laura surmises that he, too, is a ghost, which he confirms — as is she. He prompts her, asking why she returns every year, why she's so upset. She responds that she told her mother she hated her, that she hated her and wanted her to die, just before running away and getting hit by a car, dying, leaving those as her last words to her mother. Her mother saw her about to get hit, and screamed out to her daughter, but could do nothing as she was killed.

> I L-U-V U.— Laura
>
>

Grace knows what's happening, seeing the lights flicker in accordance with her own tapping, knows her daughter is there every year, to scare her and tell her she hates her. She blames herself, is crushed with guilt. She seems to sense Laura's presence, but berates herself for being stupid, even as her daughter is standing right beside her. The lights continue to flicker in an exact rhythm, their code for each other: "I L U V U". Realization dawns on Grace and she starts sobbing, apologizing for the things she said, and begging her daughter not to hate her. She says she loves Laura too, para siempre. Antonio then takes Laura's hand and leads her away.

## Cast

* Michelle Arvizu as Grace Munoz
* Isla Sunar as Laura Munoz
* Carlos Albornoz as Antonio Nieves

## Gallery

John Doe, 7, M, 4'3", Mexican, AsphyxiationGraceLauraLaura hidingAntonio comforts LauraCold storageDead boy grabs LauraAntonio was a ghostAntonio Nieves. We will miss you. Rest in Peace.Picture of Grace with Laura