The Place of the Dead

[first lines]

Chairman of the Inquiry:
[bangs gavel] Bring them in, Private.

Private:
Sir!

[soldiers enter]

Chairman of the Inquiry:
Thank you gentlemen. I think we can now begin. [Neill approaches] Pick up the Bible and read aloud the oath.

LCpl. Robert Neill:
I swear that the evidence I shall give before this court will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

LCpl. Robert Neill:
[begins as narration] On a faraway island at the top of a mountain, there once lived a mighty dragon guarding a fabulous pearl. One day as the dragon slept, a stranger crept up and stole his fire, casting it down into the gully below. When the dragon awoke, he was defenseless. Without his fire, he could do nothing to stop the stranger from taking the pearl and sailing away across the South China Sea. [switches to mission briefing scene] And ever since the pearl was stolen, a curse is said to be put on all strangers who enter the gully.

Park Ranger:
I can only go by the evidence before my eyes. Here are all the applications for permits to climb the mountain. Yours is not among them. This is a bad omen.

Maj. Ron Foster:
So, where does that leave us?

Park Ranger:
The permits are necessary because the gully is a very dangerous place. Our people do not go there. They believe the spirits will not allow them to pass through alive.

Maj. Ron Foster:
[to Neill] Superstitious nonsense.

Park Ranger:
How many days rations will you be taking with you?

LCpl. Robert Neill:
Ten.

Park Ranger:
Ten? This is perhaps not enough.

LCpl. Robert Neill:
Thank you. I know what to expect.

Park Ranger:
Have an expression in our country. Do not teach ducks to swim. I wish the British Army good luck.

Chairman of the Inquiry:
How did the Colonel seem?

LCpl. Richard Mayfield:
Didn't look well physically, sir, but he didn't seem right in his mind, either. My opinion, Colonel's judgement seemed to have been affected that day. Something seemed to happen to him the moment he stepped on the mountain.

LCpl. Richard Mayfield:
Look, I'd like to press on ahead.

LCpl. Robert Neill:
Where to?

LCpl. Richard Mayfield:
I'd like to go over the Point of No Return.

LCpl. Kevin Cheung:
Sir, we should not enter this place. We should not disturb the spirits.

LCpl. Robert Neill:
Really, Kevin, this is all so much mumbo jumbo. Once we catch up the others, we'll be fine. They're waiting for us at the bottom now.

LCpl. Kevin Cheung:
We are afraid of this place. We should not go in there.

LCpl. Robert Neill:
The purpose of this expedition, Kevin, is to confront our fears and overcome them.

Cpl. Hugh Brittan:
There's no way the food's going to last.

LCpl. Peter Shearer:
If we get in trouble we can always survive off the land down here.

Cpl. Hugh Brittan:
No, we can't.

LCpl. Peter Shearer:
Why not?

Cpl. Hugh Brittan:
You can do one thing or the other in a jungle, Pete. You can move through it, or live off it. You can't do both.

Cpl. Hugh Brittan:
[removes a leech from his foot] Give me my blood back, you little bastard. [squeezes it above his open mouth]

LCpl. Steve Page:
Looks like fish stew a la runny bottom tonight.

Sgt. Bob Mann:
We lost each other. We thought they'd gone on.

Chairman of the Inquiry:
Well, why would they do that if they had an injured man with them?

Sgt. Bob Mann:
We run out of bloody food. See, to my mind, we should have never set foot in there in the first place. The actual gully is cursed. It was trying to teach us a lesson. Right, if the local people won't go in there, there's got to be a damn good reason. We should have shown a bit more respect.

LCpl. Robert Neill:
I can only describe this place as... evil.

[last lines]

Cpl. Hugh Brittan:
Is, um, is Daisy in?

Kathryn:
No. She's at playschool. [pause] Do you want to come in and wait?

Cpl. Hugh Brittan:
Yeah, that'd be nice.