Short Story Excerpt: The Others - Scenes 16-18

Overview: https://kaylinrosealexande.wixsite.com/kaylinalexanderbooks/post/short-story-hero-s-journey-the-others-pt-1\

Previous: https://kaylinrosealexande.wixsite.com/kaylinalexanderbooks/post/short-story-excerpt-the-others-ch13-15

This is the last batch of scenes!

Content warning: mention and use of firearms, mention of off-screen torture and insane asylums, still not a great portrayal of mental illness but better than previous scenes, and a death at the result of neck-snapping

SCENE SIXTEEN

(Sadie is in front of a computer. Astrid and Aaron on watching her off to the side. Jason, Seb, and Lincoln run in.)

Jason: Sadie! What did you find!

Sadie: This. (She gestures to the computer. Jason leans in)

Jason: According to this, the Others captured people who came close to cracking their code. It has all the names here. It looks like only-- (he flinches)

Seb: What is it, Jace?

Jason: I’m sorry, it’s just that--

Sadie: This name. (points at screen) Jessica Grayson.

Lincoln: Your sister?

Jason: Yes. (pause) Sadie, click on her name. Please. (lights up on another portion of the stage where a girl--Jessie--is standing. As Jason is reading, the actions he is describing are being acted out here.) “Jessica Leanne Grayson. Date captured, the 16th of February, 2163. Age, eighteen. Miss Grayson deciphered our language, and she hacked our system. We have captured her and used her as our first test subject for our latest experiment. The purpose of this experiment is to study the differences between the human mind and ours. It is a very delicate procedure. We take one of our and one of theirs, and remove a piece of the frontal lobe from each subject. We trade the brain tissue in the subjects, and released the human subject. Our subject was our leader Starkin himself. He received the tissue of Miss Grayson, and she his. Starkin infultrated the Rebellion, which she was a part of, under the alias of--” (pause) “--of William Starling.”

Aaron: Starling was one of the Others?

Seb: So that’s why the weapon worked on him.

Lincoln: And probably how we figured out the frequency in the first place.

Jason: Calico--the Other we captured--got captured on purpose?

Astrid: Continue reading, Jason. (he doesn’t) Jason? Are you okay?

Jason: Yeah, it’s just… this is bringing up memories of her. Jessie, I mean. She wasn’t insane. She just had the brain cells of an Other in her frontal lobe.

Sadie: And me. Me and Jessie. We’re the same.

Lincoln: Aaron, is it possible to reverse the effects?

Aaron: Maybe, but only if we get the same brain cells from the Other that has hers.

Sadie: Calico.

Jason: The one we captured.

Astrid: Then that’s great news! We already have him in custody!

Jason: Except, that’s now a problem.

Aaron: What? Why?

Jason: Starling shot Calico in the head. Right where the frontal lobe is located.

Seb: So are you saying that...Sadie’s like this forever?

(Jason doesn’t answer. He just turns to Aaron)

Aaron: Unfortunately, yes.

Sadie: It’s okay.

Jason: Sadie--

Sadie: No, J-Gray. I’m happy. It’s okay.

Jason: But-- Sadie, I-- I can’t help Jessie. I need to help you.

Sadie: I’m not Jessie.

Jason: I know, but-- I just thought--

Sadie: J-Gray, you need to let go.

Jason: What? No, she may as well be dead. She’s been locked up for years. I can’t just let her go.

Seb: Guys, I hate to interrupt, but if this is true, the Others may be coming to take our brains any second, so we should figure out their weak spot.

Jason: Okay, fine. Go on, Sadie.

(Sadie clicks on a few keys. Lincoln leans over her shoulder.)

Lincoln: That’s their base.

Astrid: Sadie, do you know how we can stop the Others?

Sadie: (singing) Ring around the rosy, pocket full of posy. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.

Seb: That song still gives me the creeps.

Lincoln: Sadie, are you saying that there’s something in there that could kill all the Others? (she nods)

Aaron: But how would they all just die?

Jason: Maybe it has something to do with that frequency Astrid was talking about.

Astrid: (gasps) Oh! Maybe there’s because their vibrating at such a different frequency from this world, they have to have something at their base that would generate a tether of some sort that kept them stable. Like a plague. Like in the song.

Seb: So we have to break into the Others’ base and send out a plague through the tether that will kill them all?

Sadie: Yes.

Seb: That’s easy, then.

Lincoln: Not exactly. There’s several checkpoints from here to there.

Jason: Sadie got past them once. She can do it again. Right, Sadie?

Sadie: Yes.

Jason: Okay, then. Let’s go kill some Others.

SCENE SEVENTEEN

(The Others’ checkpoint. There are several Others surrounded what resembles a walk in metal detector. Enter Jason, Sadie, Seb, Astrid, and Lincoln. Sadie is wearing a hood that covers her face.)

Lincoln: Okay, so quick recap. Sadie disabled the sensors, so we will be able to cross through undetected. Aaron’s at the base, ready for anyone who needs medical attention. We go into the base, find whatever’s generating the Others’ stability, and shut it down.

Astrid: Seems simple enough.

Seb: Are you kidding? That’s like, the opposite of simple.

(the five of them walk toward the checkpoint. They walk through with no problem.)

Jason: That was simple.

(they are now at the base)

Lincoln: Strange being back here.

Jason: You’ve been here before?

Lincoln: Before the invasion. This building used to be Harvard University.

Sadie: This way! (she runs off)

(The rest of the team follows her until they reach a room with a glowing purple core in the center.)

Astrid: Is that it?

Seb: (pulls out a scanner that starts beeping) It has to be. This is the highest reading I’ve ever gotten.

Jason: Sadie, can you put a virus in there?

Sadie: May be long.

Jason: Take your time. (Sadie goes to work on the main computer in front of the core. Suddenly, the door bursts open, and a hooded figure enters. The Rebels draw their weapons and the figure theirs) Sadie! Keep working! (The figure removes their hood. Jason’s hand lowers.) Jessie?

Jessie: Hello, brother.

Jason: I-- wha-- How? I saw you dragged off to an asylum.

Jessie: (slowly walking toward Jason as she is speaking) Brother, you were always so oblivious. The Others broke me out. I was their first test subject, remember? A few more experiments on me, and my body fully accepted the foreign material. Now, I’m the voice of the Others.

Jason: Jess, this-- this isn’t you. You’re still in there. We can help you.

Jessie: No. This is me, Jace. There is no “other me” trapped inside this cruel container. What you see is all there is.

Jason: No.

Seb: Jace--

Jason: No, Seb! I refuse to give up on her! (to Jessie) Jess, please. You were the smartest person I ever met. You still are. You would never do this.

Jessie: I’m afraid I would. (she lifts her gun) You better move out of the way, brother. You see, I need to stop your friend from sending out the virus, and you’re in my way. So if you don’t move, I’ll shoot you, and your friend will still die. You can’t even to that trigger on me.

Seb: But I can. (he shoots at Jessie, but she doesn't move. She smiles.)

Jessie: I see you brought your weapons for the Others. They don’t work on me. I’m still human.

Jason: I love you, Jessie.

(Jason lunges himself at Jessie. She fires her weapon just as Jason crashes into her. Sadie presses a few more buttons and a purple light floods the room.)

Jessie: No!

(Jessie and Jason continue to struggle. Her gun falls out of her hands as Jason locks her in a chokehold.)

Jessie: (gagging) Jace, you wouldn’t kill your own sister, would you?

Jason: No. But you’re not my sister. (he break her neck, and Jessie slumps to the ground)

Seb: Jace! (he runs to Jason) Are you okay?

Jason: (is holding is shoulder) I-- (passes out)

(blackout)

SCENE EIGHTEEN

(Med bay. Jason is unconscious on a bed. Aaron, Seb, Lincoln, Sadie, and Astrid are standing over him. Soon, Jason groans and starts to sit up.)

Aaron: (lightly pushing Jason back down) Try to relax. You were shot in a major artery.

Jason: What happened?

Lincoln: Sadie set off the virus. As far as we know, the Others are completely gone from the planet. Without the tether keeping them stable, they couldn’t survive on our world.

Astrid: You’re okay, Jason.

Seb: Jason, you-- You killed--

Jason: No. I didn’t. She was already dead. I just disposed of the shell.

Sadie: Alone with J-Gray.

Jason: (to the rest) Can you give Sadie and I a few minutes alone?

(the rest look at each other, but soon exit)

Sadie: You save me.

Jason: Of course.

Sadie: Thank you, Jason.

Jason: There it is again. You called me Jason.

Sadie: It won’t last, J-Gray.

Jason: (laughs) No, Sadie. It’s me who needs to thank you.

Sadie: Why?

Jason: I was able to move on. I couldn’t have done that without you.

Sadie: Why did you decide to let go?

Jason: Well, I learned something about life.

Sadie: What?

Jason: It goes on.

Pretty cringe ending, but I think I had to have like a message in this assignment or something like that. I significantly prefer the next draft that I wrote my senior year, which I will begin posting tomorrow.

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