Read it...do it, or I'll fight you.
GREGOR and WILLIE are hiding in a cupboard in a dimly lit room. The curtains are drawn and a clock is ticking.
WILLIE: Can we come out yet?
GREGOR: (in a low voice) Not unless you want to give away our position to the enemy.
WILLIE: Oh. Well, I’m hungry.
GREGOR: We may have a long night ahead. We might be here for days, weeks even. They’ll probably find us here with the flesh pecked from our bones, nothing but a few scraps of material covering our rib cages.
WILLIE: Oh dear. (pause) Gregor? Who are our enemy?
GREGOR: Who are our enemy?! You insult me little brother. Can’t you see them swarming all over everything out there? Can’t you see them poisoning the air with things that will seep into your skin and liquefy your insides?
WILLIE: Well. Not really. I don’t think so, no.
GREGOR: You’re lucky. You still must remember how everything was before they came here. Me, I see nothing but the destruction they have brought.
WILLIE: I can’t see anything. It’s very dark in here. Gregor? I don’t like the dark. I want to get out. (Willie begins to open to door of the cupboard)
GREGOR: Wait! You’re going to get us both killed!
(Willie steps out of the cupboard into the lounge room, looking around)
WILLIE: Gregor, there isn’t anybody out here. I told you there wasn’t anyone out here, didn’t I?
GREGOR: (peering from behind the cupboard door) They must have moved. We still have to be careful though, they could return at any moment. No place is safe.
(Gregor gets out of the cupboard, peering behind it to check the coast is clear)
They have spies everywhere.
WILLIE: Can we play a different game now?
GREGOR: You think war is just a game? I shouldn’t have trusted you. It’s sticking around people like you that can get a man killed.
WILLIE: I don’t want to get you killed. (He sobs a little, hugging Gregor around the middle) Please don’t get killed Gregor!
GREGOR: If you shut up and do as I say we might get out of this thing alive. But we have to be careful.
WILLIE: Okay, Gregor. I’ll do as you say.
GREGOR: Good. First of all, we have to get down on our stomachs, like you see in the films.
WILLIE: (crawling onto his stomach) Like this?
GREGOR: Yes, just like that (getting down onto his stomach too)
WILLIE: I don’t like this. I just accidentally ate fluff from the carpet.
GREGOR: Shh! I think I hear someone coming (he puts his ear to the floor, listening intently) False alarm.
(Gregor and Willie crawl along on their stomachs cautiously. A cat meows somewhere. Gregor signals for Willie stop)
GREGOR: Shh!
WILLIE: What?
GREGOR: Shh!
WILLIE: (whispering) O.K.
(The cat wanders into the room. It jumps onto the top of the lounge, licking its paw. Gregor and Willie stare at it)
GREGOR: (whispering) It’s a spy.
WILLIE: It’s the cat.
GREGOR: It’s a spy. They’re tricky like that.
WILLIE: Sooty is a spy?
GREGOR: That isn’t Sooty. It’s a spy they’ve made look like Sooty. I’m afraid your cat is probably dead. They probably tied him up and tortured him for hours. His guts are probably lying all over the floor somewhere.
(Willie starts to whimper)
WILLIE: (whispering) I don’t like this anymore Gregor, can’t we play something else? I want Mum.
GREGOR: Mother! (Grabbing Willie by the shoulders) Don’t you understand! She’s one of them. So is Daddy, so are all the grown-ups!
WILLIE: (starting to sob) They wouldn’t hurt Sooty!
GREGOR: They would. They most definitely would.
WILLIE: I want to go play outside. I want to look for Sooty!
GREGOR: Are you mad?! They have spies out there too. Ants, caterpillars, birds...They have snakes that could swallow you up in one mouthful.
(He pokes Willie’s stomach)
Yep, you’re definitely the type they go for. I’m too old. I’d be all stringy. They like them fat and young and juicy. They would wrap you up and squeeze you until you couldn’t breathe and they would eat you. No little brother, you’re safer in here. We outnumber them.
WILLIE: I don’t want to play anymore! I hate this game!
GREGOR: This isn’t a game! This is real life! You have to learn some day!
(Willie runs outside sobbing)
(Calling after him) You’ll never survive out there!
(Silence. Gregor hisses at the cat on the lounge. It runs away. He smiles victoriously and continues to crawl along the floor on his stomach. A girl’s voice is heard).
GIRL: You shouldn’t be down there, you know.
(Gregor looks up. There is a girl looking at him through the banisters at the top of the stairs).
GREGOR: What? Why not? How long have you been there for? Are you a spy?
GIRL: No. I’m hiding from them too.
GREGOR: You know about them?
GIRL: Of course. I’ve known about them for years. (Pause) You shouldn’t be down there, you know.
GREGOR: Oh? (Getting nervous) And why shouldn’t I be down here? They could get you up there too, you know.
GIRL: They could. But they’d have to climb up here first. That would give me a chance to escape. I have an escape plan. You’re already pretty much done for.
GREGOR: I’m not done for.
GIRL: You are too done for.
GREGOR: How am I done for?
GIRL: What do you think you’re crawling on?
(Gregor looks down at the carpet)
GREGOR: What’s wrong with carpet?
GIRL: Dust mites. Everyone knows dust mites are the sneakiest spies.
GREGOR: Dust mites aren’t spies! They’re too small! (He thinks for a moment, then quickly runs over to the bottom of the stairs)
GIRL: Stay back! (She whips out a plastic sword she has tucked into her belt) You’re crawling with them!
GREGOR: I am not! (He tries to push past her upstairs but she stops him, holding the point of her sword against his chest) Let me up!
GIRL: No! You’re done for! You’re infected! Start saying your prayers! (She pokes him hard with the sword)
GREGOR: Ouch! I’m not infected! (He grabs the tip of the sword. The girl twists it out of his grip and he falls down)
There aren’t any spies! They don’t even exist! I just made them up! (He starts to cry)
GIRL: You’ve become one of them!
GREGOR: I haven’t! (He sobs harder)
(Willie enters holding Sooty the cat, sniffing slightly and licking under his nose. Their MOTHER follows him. She looks furious).
MOTHER: What on earth have you been telling your brother Gregor? Why did you tell him that Sooty was dead?
Gregor: (Sitting on the bottom step sobbing) It was only a game.
MOTHER: I think we’ve had enough games this afternoon. (She looks at the top of the stairs where the girl is sitting) You too. I promised your mother you wouldn’t get up to any trouble.
(The GIRL smiles sweetly and flounces down the stairs)
Let’s all go in the kitchen and have some tea shall we? (The children all nod and start to follow her)
GIRL: (walking past GREGOR, whispering) I told you they’d get you.
...I can seriously only be 'creative' like, once, twice a year tops.
Thank God I'm doing a creative writing course?
WILLIE: Can we come out yet?
GREGOR: (in a low voice) Not unless you want to give away our position to the enemy.
WILLIE: Oh. Well, I’m hungry.
GREGOR: We may have a long night ahead. We might be here for days, weeks even. They’ll probably find us here with the flesh pecked from our bones, nothing but a few scraps of material covering our rib cages.
WILLIE: Oh dear. (pause) Gregor? Who are our enemy?
GREGOR: Who are our enemy?! You insult me little brother. Can’t you see them swarming all over everything out there? Can’t you see them poisoning the air with things that will seep into your skin and liquefy your insides?
WILLIE: Well. Not really. I don’t think so, no.
GREGOR: You’re lucky. You still must remember how everything was before they came here. Me, I see nothing but the destruction they have brought.
WILLIE: I can’t see anything. It’s very dark in here. Gregor? I don’t like the dark. I want to get out. (Willie begins to open to door of the cupboard)
GREGOR: Wait! You’re going to get us both killed!
(Willie steps out of the cupboard into the lounge room, looking around)
WILLIE: Gregor, there isn’t anybody out here. I told you there wasn’t anyone out here, didn’t I?
GREGOR: (peering from behind the cupboard door) They must have moved. We still have to be careful though, they could return at any moment. No place is safe.
(Gregor gets out of the cupboard, peering behind it to check the coast is clear)
They have spies everywhere.
WILLIE: Can we play a different game now?
GREGOR: You think war is just a game? I shouldn’t have trusted you. It’s sticking around people like you that can get a man killed.
WILLIE: I don’t want to get you killed. (He sobs a little, hugging Gregor around the middle) Please don’t get killed Gregor!
GREGOR: If you shut up and do as I say we might get out of this thing alive. But we have to be careful.
WILLIE: Okay, Gregor. I’ll do as you say.
GREGOR: Good. First of all, we have to get down on our stomachs, like you see in the films.
WILLIE: (crawling onto his stomach) Like this?
GREGOR: Yes, just like that (getting down onto his stomach too)
WILLIE: I don’t like this. I just accidentally ate fluff from the carpet.
GREGOR: Shh! I think I hear someone coming (he puts his ear to the floor, listening intently) False alarm.
(Gregor and Willie crawl along on their stomachs cautiously. A cat meows somewhere. Gregor signals for Willie stop)
GREGOR: Shh!
WILLIE: What?
GREGOR: Shh!
WILLIE: (whispering) O.K.
(The cat wanders into the room. It jumps onto the top of the lounge, licking its paw. Gregor and Willie stare at it)
GREGOR: (whispering) It’s a spy.
WILLIE: It’s the cat.
GREGOR: It’s a spy. They’re tricky like that.
WILLIE: Sooty is a spy?
GREGOR: That isn’t Sooty. It’s a spy they’ve made look like Sooty. I’m afraid your cat is probably dead. They probably tied him up and tortured him for hours. His guts are probably lying all over the floor somewhere.
(Willie starts to whimper)
WILLIE: (whispering) I don’t like this anymore Gregor, can’t we play something else? I want Mum.
GREGOR: Mother! (Grabbing Willie by the shoulders) Don’t you understand! She’s one of them. So is Daddy, so are all the grown-ups!
WILLIE: (starting to sob) They wouldn’t hurt Sooty!
GREGOR: They would. They most definitely would.
WILLIE: I want to go play outside. I want to look for Sooty!
GREGOR: Are you mad?! They have spies out there too. Ants, caterpillars, birds...They have snakes that could swallow you up in one mouthful.
(He pokes Willie’s stomach)
Yep, you’re definitely the type they go for. I’m too old. I’d be all stringy. They like them fat and young and juicy. They would wrap you up and squeeze you until you couldn’t breathe and they would eat you. No little brother, you’re safer in here. We outnumber them.
WILLIE: I don’t want to play anymore! I hate this game!
GREGOR: This isn’t a game! This is real life! You have to learn some day!
(Willie runs outside sobbing)
(Calling after him) You’ll never survive out there!
(Silence. Gregor hisses at the cat on the lounge. It runs away. He smiles victoriously and continues to crawl along the floor on his stomach. A girl’s voice is heard).
GIRL: You shouldn’t be down there, you know.
(Gregor looks up. There is a girl looking at him through the banisters at the top of the stairs).
GREGOR: What? Why not? How long have you been there for? Are you a spy?
GIRL: No. I’m hiding from them too.
GREGOR: You know about them?
GIRL: Of course. I’ve known about them for years. (Pause) You shouldn’t be down there, you know.
GREGOR: Oh? (Getting nervous) And why shouldn’t I be down here? They could get you up there too, you know.
GIRL: They could. But they’d have to climb up here first. That would give me a chance to escape. I have an escape plan. You’re already pretty much done for.
GREGOR: I’m not done for.
GIRL: You are too done for.
GREGOR: How am I done for?
GIRL: What do you think you’re crawling on?
(Gregor looks down at the carpet)
GREGOR: What’s wrong with carpet?
GIRL: Dust mites. Everyone knows dust mites are the sneakiest spies.
GREGOR: Dust mites aren’t spies! They’re too small! (He thinks for a moment, then quickly runs over to the bottom of the stairs)
GIRL: Stay back! (She whips out a plastic sword she has tucked into her belt) You’re crawling with them!
GREGOR: I am not! (He tries to push past her upstairs but she stops him, holding the point of her sword against his chest) Let me up!
GIRL: No! You’re done for! You’re infected! Start saying your prayers! (She pokes him hard with the sword)
GREGOR: Ouch! I’m not infected! (He grabs the tip of the sword. The girl twists it out of his grip and he falls down)
There aren’t any spies! They don’t even exist! I just made them up! (He starts to cry)
GIRL: You’ve become one of them!
GREGOR: I haven’t! (He sobs harder)
(Willie enters holding Sooty the cat, sniffing slightly and licking under his nose. Their MOTHER follows him. She looks furious).
MOTHER: What on earth have you been telling your brother Gregor? Why did you tell him that Sooty was dead?
Gregor: (Sitting on the bottom step sobbing) It was only a game.
MOTHER: I think we’ve had enough games this afternoon. (She looks at the top of the stairs where the girl is sitting) You too. I promised your mother you wouldn’t get up to any trouble.
(The GIRL smiles sweetly and flounces down the stairs)
Let’s all go in the kitchen and have some tea shall we? (The children all nod and start to follow her)
GIRL: (walking past GREGOR, whispering) I told you they’d get you.
...I can seriously only be 'creative' like, once, twice a year tops.
Thank God I'm doing a creative writing course?