Owen Sheers - The Two Worlds of Charlie F

PsychologistAnd what about relations with the locals? Did you have much interaction?

CharlieWell, yeah, sure, hearts and minds and all that. But that was the biggest change of all, Doc. I mean, knowing who the enemy were. On the early tours you could bet anyone still in the smashed-up village you were occupying was up to no good. But then later? On Herrick 12, 13, 14? It was a whole different ball game. Farmers, bazaars, kids, families. So the war card changed, didn’t it? You had to PID someone before you fired.

PsychologistPID?

CharliePostively identify. Which I completely understand, but it was like we were stuck between these two fucking TLAs — PID and IED with old ‘Tommy Atkins’ getting fucked over in the middle.

Beat.

The only way I can explain it is that you’re not living with ‘if’ any more, but ‘when’. A company loses a man and things change. The young ones want revenge. It gets personal. You’re out there for each other. That’s it. You’re fighting for the man next to you. Fuck anything else. But at the same time you’re waking up every day expecting something to happen. It’s like there’s five of you in a car, going on a road trip, but you know at the end of that trip two of you will have lost your legs, one of you will be dead and another one will be wounded. You just don’t know who, or when.

PsychologistDo you want to talk about your ‘when’, Charlie?

Beat.

CharlieSure. I was taking part in an op …

Simi enters. She begins singing her gospel song to the tune of ‘His Eyes on the Sparrow’.

DanielI was commanding a company …

RichardI was on top cover …

FrankI was against a wall …

RogerI was in a Snatch …

Young SimiI was in the comms room …

MarcI was on patrol …

AllWhen / When / When / When …

A sudden simultaneous moment of contact. The sound of explosions and gunfire. In slow motion Frank is hit by an RPG. Richard is blown from his vehicle. Roger’s Snatch turns over. Chris, Daniel, Charlie and Leroy are hit by IEDs. Simi, still singing, has joined Young Simi in the centre of the stage.

Young SimiThere were two mortars, back to back. The first one killed my best friend. I was trying to get to him when the second one brought the wall down on me.

She kneels in front of Simi.

I was trapped. They were trying to dig me out. But all I could hear was Mummy, singing the song we always sang.

As Young Simi also starts singing ‘His Eyes on the Sparrow’, Simi combs her hair, as in the earlier scene. All around them the moments of wounding continue.

The non-wounded Soldiers form medic teams around those who are down. Shouts of ‘Man Down!’, ‘Morphine!’, T1 casualty reports.

John is crouched over Chris. Angus over Frank. Darren over Daniel. Marc over Roger. Dave over Richard.

As the medics work the wounded Soldiers sit up to speak.

DanielI was blown twenty metres …

FrankI heard the rocket coming in …

RichardI was blown sixty feet …

ChrisI caught the backlash …

RogerThe Snatch went over and I hit the roof …

DanielThe shrapnel went through the back of my brain …

FrankIt shattered my cheek bone, pierced my eye …

RichardMy mates thought I’d bought it, that I was pink mist …

ChrisI felt the sand hitting my face …

RogerI could hear the others screaming, as it filled with water …

Simi and Young Simi’s singing fades to silence.

RichardAnd then there was silence …

FrankJust this ringing in my ears, nothing else …

ChrisJust a blue sky above me …

DanielAnd nothing else …

All lie down to be treated again. Leroy sits up on the other side of the stage.

LeroyMy mate had been shot. So I was like, fuck this! Osprey off, helmet off, dropped my GPMG. Got him over my shoulder and ran for it. Then, everything went dark. No boom, no hitting the ground, no pain. I was just lying on the floor.

He lies back down as John and Angus run over to him.

JohnFuck! You all right, mate?

LeroyYeah, yeah, I’m good.

AngusYeah, you fucking look it, mate.

LeroyWhat’s that supposed to mean?

Angus and John start treating him.

JohnYou’re going to be OK, mate, you’re going to be OK.

Leroy looks up and sees his legs have gone.

LeroyFuck! Oh fuck!

AngusYou’ve been hit by an IED, mate. But you’re going to be fine, you’re going to be fine.

John checks his balls.

You’ve still got your balls, mate.

LeroyFuck, I’m going to die! I’m going to die! Give me a cigarette! Give me a cigarette!

AngusYou’re not going to die.

JohnWe can’t give you a fag, we can’t, mate.

LeroyI’m going to fucking die, give me what I want!

John hands him a fag, and lights it. John, Angus and Leroy all inhale deeply.

I swear, that fag went down in one drag. My right leg was still hanging by a thread but as they carried me away it fell off and rolled into a ditch. I was like, ‘Get my leg, get my fucking leg.’ They couldn’t reach it, so the lads gave me a stick, said ‘Here’s your fucking leg,’ and at the time I could have sworn it was. The last thing I remember is passing out in the chopper, thinking, ‘Fuck me, I didn’t even have any last words.’ Apparently I came round again in Bastion. I was crying, screaming for my mum. But I don’t remember any of that.

As Angus and John exit carrying Leroy.

Sarah and Lauren enter to stand in front of two screened hospital beds.

SarahFor three weeks we experienced two different kinds of hell. He was suffering hallucinations in his coma, while I was out here, not knowing if he was going to live or die. It was strange, because he looked perfect. He was dirty, but he was tanned too, and really lean and fit. And his skin … they all come back with such good skin. Sand-blasted, smooth. But he wasn’t perfect. Far from it. Three times I took the kids in to see him because the doctors thought he wouldn’t last the night. We assumed he didn’t know we were there. But in a way he did. He told me afterwards that each time we’d gone in he’d had the same hallucination. He was coming to meet us at the funfair. But every time, just before he reached us, he’d have to say goodbye. To me. To the kids. That was him fighting for us I suppose. Saying goodbye at the fun fair.

Beat.

On the first night, just after he was brought in, I went to have a cup of tea in the waiting room. There were two other women in there, on their knees, on the floor, praying. They were wearing burkas. I know I shouldn’t have, but I felt so angry at them. I mean, Daniel was fighting for his life next door. But then I heard them say his name. Major Daniel Thomas. And I realised they were praying for him. They were praying for all the patients on the ward.

Lauren paces up and down.

LaurenPlease save him. Please, oh please. I promise if you do I’ll come to church every week. I will. I’ll go and see Mum more often. I’ll cut back on the drink. I will. I’ll … I’ll give more money to charity. I’ll do a night every week in the soup kitchen. I’ll stop smoking. Really. I will. Just let him live. Please let him live.