Dawn on the Hill: English Sunset

By
Edward Sallow

Based on the ’Dawn on the Hill’ series by Josh Halliday

1 EXTERIOR, A GRAVEYARD. WILFRED ENTERS THROUGH THE GATES OF
THE GRAVEYARD AND PEERS AROUND CAUTIOUSLY, IN HIS HAND IS AN
OPENED LETTER. 1
Wilfred looks around, and down to the note, cut to a shot of
the note which reads: "If you care for dear Britannia, you
will meet me in the church graveyard. Sincerely, an old
soldier."
Wilfred again looks around.

WILFRED
"Hello?"
He stands alone in the graveyard a moment, he then turns to
leave.

ALFRED
"Leaving so soon?"
Alfred emerges from behind a tombstone. Wilfred immediately
draws his pistol with the speed of a soldier.

ALFRED
"Put that away, dear boy! If you
couldn’t spot me from behind that
tombstone, you’ll never get a round
off before I draw and get you
first."

Wilfred stares a moment, then looks over to the tombstone

where Alfred came from. Noticing that Wilfred has lost focus
on him, Alfred quickly draws his own pistol.

ALFRED
"See?"
Wilfred stares a moment, then lowers his gun.
WILFRED
"Okay, now tell me who you are
before I add another tombstone to
this here graveyard."
Alfred laughs.

ALFRED
"Dear boy! We’re English, even in
times like these we must keep our
composure. Even more so, in fact."

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.

WILFRED
"We can talk about composure when I
don’t have a gun in my face."
Alfred laughs again and lowers his gun.

ALFRED
"Quite right, I do apologise. Now
you must be wondering why I called
you here."

WILFRED
"I’m still wondering why you think
you can dictate terms to me,
Alfred."
Alfred is surprised, but smiles.

ALFRED
"So you know my na-"
Wilfred cuts him off.

WILFRED
"Alfred, founder of MI4, you’re
supposed to be a legend. I can tell
its you from the cane, that’s
custom, poison in the tip. Also
explain the quick draw."

ALFRED
"See, now that is why I called you
here."

WILFRED
"So where are we going? The cold
air is good for my complexion but
it’s not good for not getting
spotted."

ALFRED
"Steady on, dear boy, the reveal
happens to be my personal
favourite. Come, around the back of
this tombstone."

Wilfred follows, Alfred the presses something behind the

tombstone and they begin to descend behind the tombstone
(you can do this by crouching).
Alfred then enters a posh room.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.

ALFRED
"This. Is the operational
headquarters for the London branch
of MI4."

Wilfred looks around, but is obviously upset, he draws his

pistol again and points it at Alfred.
WILFRED
"My auntie Sylv is buried here you
son of a bitch, and you turned her
resting place into your
headquarters?"
ALFRED
"Put that thing away! This base of
operations has saved more lives
than this graveyard has had buried
in it, everything comes with a
cost!
WILFRED
"The cost of my family’s dignity in
death is too high a price to pay!
I’d rather see England burn then
see it run by those who don’t
respect its values!"
ALFRED
"What do you know of the Mirage?"
Wilfred pauses for a moment, then steadies his gun.
WILFRED
"They’re bullshit, German
propaganda to scare children from
joining the English armed forces."
ALFRED
"What if I told you that that is
just their cover?"
WILFRED
"I’d say you’re not as good as they
say if this is how you’re trying to
bluff me."

ALFRED
"Think about it. The best way to
hide a leaf is in a forest. The
Mirage operate in wartime, breaking
the Geneva convention and doing
despicable things, but they act
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.

ALFRED (cont’d)
like regular soldiers. They work
for Germany, but they’re off the
books. They appear like any other
soldier, but they have special
training, they’re a crack division
of Germany’s military that the
world doesn’t believe exists."

WILFRED
"So what? If the Mirage exist, what
does that have to do with me?"
ALFRED
"There’s a code book, the Mirage
use it to send orders in seemingly
innocent telegrams. Look at this."
Alfred reaches over and grabs a piece of paper on the table
and holds it in front of Wilfred, who then lowers his gun to
read it.

WILFRED
"It’s just an order for more
reinforcements near the border of
Russia, what’s the point?"

ALFRED
"We’ve managed to decode some of
it, but without the code book we
can’t know what the rest says. But
what we do know is that in here is
confirmation that they’re planning
something big. Bombs, planted all
over London, to be set of
simultaneously via a signal given
from multiple points across
Europe."

WILFRED
"But that would mean to prevent the
attack you would need to
simultaneously knock out every
point where they can send a
signal."
ALFRED
"That’s why we called you."
WILFRED
"Forget it, it’s an impossibility,
call in bomb squads, sweep London
and save as many as you can. Try
churches, museu-"

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 5.

ALFRED
"They have moles who would simply
tell their home base that now is
the time to detonate. Our only hope
is by finding where these bases
are."
WILFRED
"It’s impossible! You can’t find
out where these places are, not
with a million spies!"
ALFRED
"No, not with a million. Just one.
If they can get behind enemy lines
and meet with our Russian agent,
they’re preparing to steal a code
book from a General. With the code
book, we can decode this message
and find out where the bases are
and simultaneously take them out."

Wilfred realises that he is the one who must go behind enemy

lines.
WILFRED
"The one, that’s me, isn’t it? Why?
I’m not the best soldier, hell, I’m
the only one left in my unit. My
wife and child are dead from the
blitz."

ALFRED
"That’s precisely why I chose you.
You were top of all your classes,
but on the day you were sent out to
the trenches you froze up, lost
your unit, came home to find your
wife and child gone. You’ve got
nothing but your life to lose."
Wilfred sits down, he now has a chance to redeem himself for
his past mistakes and to join his wife in heaven. He looks
up to the ceiling.

WILFRED
"To think, above me is my Auntie
Sylv, gone but not forgotten and
above her, in that infinite sky is
my wife and child. Georgia, David,
Sylvia, I’ll be with you soon."
Alfred simply watches, knowing that this suicide mission
will be Wilfred’s last. Wilfred gets up.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 6.

WILFRED
"Well, let’s not dilly-dally.
Where’s the drop zone?"
Alfred walks over to the table that has a map on it.

ALFRED
"Right here, just at the border of
Russia and Estonia. A General is
overseeing the advance from Estonia
to Russia, he’s a Mirage and he has
the codebook. Your contact will get
the book and meet you by the
border, it’ll be guarded by Mirage
troops. It’ll be your job to escort
him with your life."

WILFRED
"Well, what are waiting for?
Everybody likes a good underdog
story!"
They then enter onto a plane, and Wilfred jumps out, as he
falls, he looks up at Alfred, who stands and salutes him.
Wilfred lands in the forest and checks his map.
WILFRED
"Damn tailwind threw me off-"

Suddenly a crunching of a branch behind him makes him aware

of people around him.
Two Mirage troops walk by, Wilfred hides in the bracken.

MIRAGE ONE
"Friend, wait for me to have a
piss!"
MIRAGE TWO
"We have strict orders to get back
to base! We must defend the
General!"
MIRAGE ONE
"Ah fuck the General, he’s a
puppet."

MIRAGE TWO
"I’ll tell him you’re securing a
supply line, but this is the last
time!"

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 7.

MIRAGE ONE
"Thanks!"

Mirage One unzips his pants, as he does, Wilfred cuts his

throat from behind. Mirage Two turns when he hears the body
hit the floor but Wilfred shoots him before he can react.
Wilfred then puts on the Mirage outfit and begins to head
towards the base.

He reaches the gate, and the Gatekeeper asks him for ID, he
hands him the ID of Mirage, the Gatekeeper looks down at the
ID:
GATEKEEPER
"Friend, I need you to take off
your mask before yo-"
Wilfred shoots him and hides behind the gate.
Other Mirage agents surround the body of the Gatekeeper.
Suddenly Wilfred shoots them through the gate and then
shoots them all individually to ensure they’re dead.
He sighs and looks around.
WILFRED
"That seems to be the last of
them."
He reaches into the pockets of a body and retrieves some
keys and uses them to start a bike on the base.

As he sets off, shouts can be heard behind him. Two Mirage

agents chase after him on bikes. He immediately breaks and
shoots one as he passes, then turns and heads off, full
speed.
WILFRED
"20 minutes till I reach the site!"
The Mirage behind him shoots, shoots his wheel and he falls
of the bike. The Mirage disembarks his bike as Wilfred
crawls away.

MIRAGE THREE
"Ahaha, you English prick! You
think you can crawl from me? Now
die, like the dog you are."
WILFRED
"You’re quite right, I can’t crawl
from you. But I can crawl from the
shrapnel of an explosion of a
bike’s fuel tank."

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 8.

He shoots his bikes fuel tank, the explosion kills the

Mirage.
He gets up, reaches into the pockets of the Mirage agent,
grabs his keys and hops on his bike. He rides it until it
runs out of fuel, then limps, looking at his watch.

WILFRED
"Made it, with five minutes to
spare."

He climbs a tree and tends to his wounds, he spots the

Mirage agents from Dawn on the Hill (the first) in a field
ahead with his binoculars. He sighs, knowing that ahead him
lies the agent who will kill him. He sits and then sees the
main character from Dawn on the Hill approaching. He looks
up to the sky.

WILFRED(WHISPERING)
"Now Wilfred, march away... And how
thou pleas’t God... Dispose the
day."