In the wake of a mysterious disaster, a zealous warden and her laconic prisoner encounter a badly wounded stranger.

1. The Other
By
Isaac Hart, Ryan Case & Tim Wickens
University of Chichester 2015 ihart1@stu.chi.ac.uk
twicken1@stu.chi.ac.uk

2. 1. EXT. FOREST CLEARING - DAY
A hazy shot of the tops of the trees focuses in on a violent
struggle beneath. It’s soundless and slow, dreamlike. We see
a bloodied rock raised.
As the rock strikes downwards, cut to-
2. INT. CELL - MORNING
NANCY, age 19, fairly feminine looking woman with long dark
hair tied up in an efficient ponytail. She’s dressed in a
worn-down jumpsuit. She opens her eyes, revealing them to be
a cold, probing blue. Morning light streams across her face.
She seems undisturbed by the dream. She looks around, her
eyes settling on the source of the light.
The image of GELSON is framed in the halo of light. A woman
in her mid 30s, short blonde hair, dressed in the same make
of jumpsuit, but perhaps slightly more well kept than
Nancy’s. She has a hardened stare, unsympathetic.
GELSON
Foxes have got at the graves again.
Get up.
3. EXT. BORSTAL COURTYARD - DAY
The borstal is a rundown building, 1930s style. The
courtyard is a mess of debris and litter. Pitiful wooden
sticks protrude from the ground. We pan across these to see
Nancy filling in the final grave, chained to Gelson. The two
do not look each other in the eye.
NANCY
(Digging, out of breath,
sarcastically)
You know, you really would have
made a name for yourself at
Butlins.
GELSON
You’ve never been to Butlins.
NANCY
You don’t exactly have to go
somewhere to know what it’s like.
GELSON
It’s crazy how the same principles
work for people to, don’t you
think?
(CONTINUED)

3. CONTINUED: 2.
Nancy doesn’t respond. Gelson is irritated, and tugs on her
chain.
GELSON
Don’t you think? Are you even
listening to-
NANCY
(Looking into the woods)
Shut up.
Gelson is about to retort, but sees what Nancy has seen. A
MAN is standing at the edge of the tree line. He’s
horrendously disfigured, covered in burn marks and oozing
sores. He’s dressed in little more than a bundle of rags. He
lumbers forward, slow, melted hands outstretched.
Nancy begins to move toward the strange figure.
GELSON
(Tugging her back)
What are you, mad!? We don’t know
what that... thing is! It... could
be a zombie.
NANCY
Zombies aren’t real.
Nancy and the Man have met halfway in the courtyard. The man
staggers and collapses into her arms. He whispers something
into her ear, but Gelson cannot hear.
NANCY
(Looks slightly concerned)
We should bring him inside.
GELSON
We’re not bringing that inside.
Nancy ignores her. She hoists the man under her arm and
drags him toward the borstal threshold.
GELSON
I said no! Stop! Listen to me!
Nancy’s already inside, pulling the still shackled Gelson in
with her. Gelson looks in shock due to being ignored by
Nancy.

4. 3.
4. INT. COMMUNAL AREA - DAY
Nancy pulls up a chair and props the man into it. The man
can only incoherently croak and whimper. Nancy grabs a
nearby bottle of water, and attempts to make the man drink
it. He instantly spits it out, his throat is too dry. The
Man is hunched over, terrified.
NANCY
(Calm, measured)
It’s okay.
Nancy puts her hand on his shoulder.
NANCY (CONT’D)
You’re safe now.
Gelson yanks Nancy out into the hallway, pining her against
the wall. Nancy doesn’t struggle and doesn’t seem to make
any serious attempts at resistance.
5. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
GELSON
What are you playing at? I know
what you are, and your lot never do
anything without a reason. So what
is it, tell me!
Nancy looks irritated more than anything else.
NANCY
(Mockingly)
Would you believe me if I said I
was struck by a sudden pang of
humanity?
GELSON
(Crushing her harder)
Two months. Two months I’ve kept
you here and you haven’t so much as
stepped out of line! The other
girls spat, kicked and punched, but
you just sat there and took it.
Now, something comes out of the
forest and suddenly you’re Florence
Nightingale?
NANCY
I am capable of compassion from
time to time.
(CONTINUED)

5. CONTINUED: 4.
GELSON
(Breathtakingly, savoring this
moment)
Didn’t show them any compassion,
did you?
Nancy looks up, not quite meeting her eyes. It’s not regret,
more embarrassment.
GELSON
Still won’t look at me?
They stare at each other for an uncomfortably long time.
NANCY
You do what you thinks best.
Nancy removes Gelson’s arm from her chest, and retreats back
to her cell.
6. INT. CELL - DAY
Gelson ties the chain to one of the bars as she shuts the
door.
GELSON
You’re here for a reason, remember
that.
Nancy is lying on her bed again, staring at the ceiling.
Gelson snorts in frustration, marching back toward the
communal area.
7. INT. COMMUNAL AREA - DAY
Gelson re-enters the communal area to find the man curled up
in a fetal position on the floor. Bottle of water knocked
over, covering the floor. Gelson looks at the man like a
squirrel that’s just been hit by a car. She sets about
picking up the bottle, seeing how much she can salvage from
it. She stops suddenly, and looks at the man.
GELSON
I had two kids. Always complaining
I was gone too long. I was
convinced that work was important.
I always wanted to help people,
make them better. But then you
actually meet them. The thugs! And
then there’s the drug pushers and
the crazies, and before you know it
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)

6. CONTINUED: 5.
GELSON (cont’d)
you’re shouting just to make
yourself heard!
The man doesn’t seem to be listening. Gelson carries on,
sinking into the chair.
GELSON
It’s hard. And that’s what you
become, hard. But you know that at
the end of the day you can always
come back home, back to a normal
life.
She looks at the man with hatred, not hatred of the man
himself, but of what he seems to portend.
GELSON
(Desperation)
But I have to keep hoping. That
it’s all still waiting for me, that
when this is over I can go back.
Gelson pauses, unsure whether to push on.
GELSON (CONT’D)
Do you know what she did? Of course
you don’t. Wasn’t as if it was in
the news. Court had to ’protect her
right to privacy’ after what she
did.
8. EXT. FOREST CLEARING - DAY
We see the back of a young Nancy in the clearing, looking up
at the sky. Gelson narrates over.
GELSON (V.O)
Nancy was 12 years old. Problems at
home, problems in her head. No one
saw it coming.
Nancy turns her head to the sound of twig snapping.
9. INT. COMMUNAL AREA - DAY
GELSON
Kid’s can be cruel. Kid’s can be
idiots! But... they didn’t deserve
what happened to them.

7. 6.
10. EXT. FOREST CLEARING - DAY
Reprise of start, but more complete. Nancy raises the rock
again and again, striking down repeatedly, blood and flecks
of matter showering over her. Eyes wild, fierce. She stops,
and observes what she’s done.
GELSON (V.O)
She said ’the first one was
self-defence.’ But I bet the second
one was entertainment.
Nancy exits the edge of the forest, hands bloodied still
gripping the rock.
11. INT. COMMUNAL AREA - DAY
The man is still on the floor, no longer squirming. Gelson
continues.
GELSON
Killer at twelve. Committed at
thirteen. Locked up for seven
years. Never said she was sorry.
Gelson looks at the man.
GELSON (CONT’D)
That’s why I know. She just doesn’t
have any compassion.
12. EXT. BORSTAL - NIGHT
The man’s been screaming in pain all night, his cries
echoing across the courtyard.
12A. INT. CORRIDOR - NIGHT
Man’s screams echo though the corridor.
12B. INT. COMMUNAL AREA OUTSIDE DOOR - NIGHT
The man’s screams emanate behind the door.

8. 7.
13. INT. CELL - MORNING
Gelson paces back and forth, her hair frazzled. She’s
nearing the end of her rope. She looks over to see Nancy
leaning nonchalantly against the bars of her cell. Gelson
hesitates, before moving toward the cell. She unlocks the
door, removing her shackles.
GELSON
Look, I don’t trust you, and you
don’t trust me. But he cannot stay
here. All he’s going to do is take
up resources, pine away, and die.
NANCY
I take back what I said. You would
have been awful at Butlins.
Gelson pulls out a shiv, placing it into Nancy’s hands.
Nancy looks at the shiv hesitantly, after a brief pause she
embraces it with her fingers, looking at Gelson. Nancy tilts
it in her general direction. There is a pause as they look
at each other.
NANCY (CONT’D)
(gesturing with the shiv)
If I do this, I just want you to
know that I didn’t do it for you. I
never did any of this for you. I’m
doing it for him.
She glides past Gelson, entering the communal area, shutting
the door behind her.
14. INT. COMMUNAL AREA - DAY
The man is taking slow, ragged breaths. Nancy looks at him,
shiv in hand. She considers for a moment before settling
down next to him, looking thoughtful.
NANCY
It’s strange, the way our regrets
define us. The cells we build for
ourselves. We’re probably never
going to know what happened to the
world. Doesn’t matter I suppose.
Everything that came before- cars,
concrete and taxes, all burnt up
and blown away. The ground we
walked on, and the air we breathed.
The world we knew is gone, and we
don’t know what’s out there. I’ve
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)

9. CONTINUED: 8.
NANCY (cont’d)
been surviving for a long time,
always finding something to push
against. I think we’re on our own
now. So, what do you want to do?
The man reaches down, and embraces Nancy’s hand holding the
shiv.
15. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
Gelson stares at the door. She begins to become irritated
it’s taking so long. She gets up to hammer on the door, but
it opens up, revealing Nancy, hands bloodied, still
clutching the shiv. She looks Gelson in the eyes for the
first time, her blue eyes penetrating into her.
GELSON
So, you did it-
NANCY
We’re leaving. Now.
Gelson looks confused.
GELSON
You don’t get to make that call.
NANCY
I’m not staying here any longer.
Gelson raises her baton in an authoritative manner.
GELSON
No. You’re going back to your cell.
You’re serving out your sentence.
You can leave when I say!
Nancy defiantly turns, and heads toward the door.
16. EXT. BORSTAL COURTYARD - DAY
Nancy marches out into the field, Gelson pursues her to the
edge of the door, teetering on the threshold.
GELSON
(Shouting)
You’re a killer! A murderer! You
don’t belong out there, among
normal people. They’ll hunt you
down, they’ll-
(CONTINUED)

10. CONTINUED: 9.
NANCY
Yes.
Gelson stands there, confused.
GELSON
What?
NANCY
Yes. I know what I am. I’m not
good. I’m not normal. To be honest,
I’m the last person I expected to
make it. There’s probably a million
other people who deserved to
survive more than me.
Gelson looks at Nancy? Is this remorse? A confession?
NANCY (CONT’D)
The man whispered to me when I
caught him. There is no normal
anymore. Out there is nothing but
ash and rubble. We can’t stay here
anymore Gelson, it’s insane!
GELSON
You dare use my name... you don’t
get to use my name!
NANCY
We shouldn’t be fighting each
other, we can’t just sit here and
wait to die.
Nancy cautiously comes back toward Gelson, trying to reason
with her.
NANCY
(Emphatically)
We don’t need to do this anymore.
It’s over.
The two stare at each other. Gelson finally snaps, lunging
at Nancy in a panic, baton raised. She lands on the shiv,
which Nancy still holds in her hand. The two women sink to
the ground Gelson gasping in shock. Nancy deliberately
extradites herself from the dying Gelson’s grip, before
standing upright, framed by the setting sun.
NANCY
We are who we choose to be.
(CONTINUED)

11. CONTINUED: 10.
Hands bloodied, Nancy helps Gelson back onto her feet,
getting only as far as the graves, where Gelson collapses.
Gelson flips onto her back, she stares into the sky, Nancy
looks down at Gelson until she draws her last breath. Nancy
looks at her for a moment before walking out of the Borstal
courtyard. At the forest’s edge she glances back then
continues off into the dense wilderness.
THE END