30: Faithless Ones

by Joseph Frost

a play written for The 31 Plays in 31 Days Project

Draft August 31, 2013

Attic Scripts, 2013 4550 Normandy Dr Jackson, MS 39206 atticscripts@gmail.com

VOICE It was the faithless ones... the faithless ones who suffered in the absence. Lights up. It is a stony field. TERRIN, a young boy, stands one of the larger stones. He wears worn clothing and a bright red scarf. NAILL, mid twenties, sits on the ground, almost hidden amongst the stones. TERRIN If I could see anyone, Id see them by now. NAILL Are you certain? TERRIN I am. Nothing far as the eye can see. Terrin jumps down near Naill. NAILL I saw it with my own eyes. It was horrible. TERRIN Was there blood? NAILL Was there blood. Of course there was blood. Was everywhere. Almost nothing but. TERRIN Theirs or ours. NAILL Wasnt none of yours. TERRIN Im on your side. NAILL No youre not. Youre not. Say youre not.

2. TERRIN I am. Naill grabs him. NAILL Tell me now, or Ill not say another word about it. TERRIN Im not. NAILL Ill not have you on any side in this. Its done, and thats that. Last thing you need to be doing is signing up for a lost cause. TERRIN But were right, arent we? NAILL Terrin, by this time, theres no one right any more. TERRIN Dont you believe in what they died for today? NAILL What did they die for today? TERRIN Principle. NAILL Principle means very little in the streets with your guts on the outside. Bleeding from 3 wounds at once. TERRIN But they bled too, didnt they? NAILL Who? TERRIN They. The others.

3. NAILL Not enough. TERRIN Whats that mean, not enough? NAILL Terrin... TERRIN Whats it mean, Naill? (beat) Look at me. NAILL Dont be a man, Terrin. TERRIN One of us has got to be. NAILL You dont know what it is to be there. You dont know what it smells like when people die around you. TERRIN That blood on your hand isnt yours. NAILL It isnt. TERRIN It should be. NAILL Its easy words to say in an empty field. TERRIN Youre in the same field. NAILL You dont know how lucky you are. The only thing that I cant do anymore, is to enjoy my ignorance, the way you can. TERRIN Im not ignorant.

4. NAILL You are. And thats why I envy you. TERRIN Im going. NAILL Where? TERRIN Im going to the fight. NAILL Sit down. TERRIN You cant stop me. NAILL Sit down. TERRIN Youre a coward, Naill. I never thought Id say it. I never thought Id mean it. But if youre not going to fight, Im going to have to. NAILL I said sit. Terrin sits. NAILL (CONTD) Its simple. Weve already lost. Thats done. Whats left now is to live on. TERRIN Live on? NAILL Take those shards of life left in the wake, gather them and assemble them. They may not be what they once were, but they can be new again. TERRIN Why do that, when all that needs to be done is to take our needs to our gods. They will take our side. NAILL Thats all well and good.

5. TERRIN Its simple, I know. But it has the benefit of being the truth. Terrin rises. He begins to climb a stone. NAILL Dont go, Terrin. TERRIN When I get there, I wont say anything about what youve become. NAILL And whats that? TERRIN Weak. NAILL Bravery is easy when youve not seen. TERRIN Ill see. NAILL You will. You will. Terrin is on top of a stone. TERRIN I dont like having to tell you this. Youre a coward, Naill. I never thought Id see the day that you would value higher your neck over your brothers. Im ashamed of you. Im ashamed that I let you go fight for me, when all you did was run. The battle is what we run towards. Thats what we do. We run towards. A distant gunshot. Terrin is hit. He drops back down to the ground, directly onto Naill. NAILL Terrin! Oh god no! Terrin, speak to me. Speak. Sp-Naill begins to weep.

6. NAILL (CONTD) God no... why... why God... Naill holds Terrin and cries. Moments. Blackout. End