Episode 1

I know you think it's ridiculous, but I saw it, Neil. -NEIL: Look, just wait for me. -They're coming, I've seen it. Where? Hinkley Way Shopping Centre. Meet me there. (GLASS BOTTLE TINKLES) Hello? Sarah? Sarah? Sarah, what's happening? Neil, hang on. (GROANING) You okay? (GROANING) Are you hurt? Can you... (GROWLING) Come on! (DISTANT SHOUTING) This is a bad idea. Correction. This is a good idea with bad possibilities. -What does that even... -Neo. Sooner or later you'll realise that there's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path. (CLANKING) We're in. You see? What's not to like? Remind me what we're looking for again. Used junkie needles. I want to suck the dirty *** out. We're looking for film props, okay? For my horror. Shapes, strange things, cybernetic organisms, titanium rechargers, ectoplasmic residue, anything that can be... You found a dead thing! Well done! It must have got trapped in here. If I cook it, will you eat it? Don't poke it too hard! It could still be alive! If you pick it up, I'll let you throw it at me. No dibs, nothing, total freebie, but you've got to pick it up. Definitely too old for that. Okay, if I pick it up, can I throw it at you? *** off. (MIMICS PIGEON) *** off! (SNIGGERS) Seriously, *** off! Oh, ***! I'm going to wipe this all over your hair, you know that? You're in trouble now, boy! No, no, no, no, no. ***! -(TYRES SCREECH) -Oh! (SCREAMS) (GRUNTS) (PANTING) NEIL: Friend? Are you a friend? What? Where's Sarah? I'm looking for Sarah. Who? -I will shoot! -Why? -(GUNSHOTS) -Jesus! (STUTTERS) I'm not even supposed to be here! It was my friend's idea of a fun night out! Who are you? (CLATTERING) Oh, ***. -Run. (BREATHING HEAVILY) -What? Run! -(GROANS) -Sarah. (NEIL GRUNTS) (GASPS) (PANTING) -(SNARLING) -(GRUNTS) (GRUNTS LOUDLY) (SCREAMS) (ROARS) Paul? Paul! Paul! Paul, where you been? I called and I called and I heard gunshots, so I called a little quieter, then I realised I heard gunshots so I called a little louder again. (WHISPERS) Has someone been executed? Triads, right? No. Yakuza? No. The League of Shadows? No. The Watchmen? Are they still here? Are we about to get assassinated? Because I'm not ready to die. I haven't decided what my last words will be yet. Wasn't really gunshots, was it? It was a tyre blowout or a... I don't know. It wasn't really gunshots. We're in England. Do you want to go home now? Those were actual gunshots? Actual, actual gunshots? Where's your bike? Paul! Oh, be careful! This is new. -What's your name again? -(SIGHS) Mark. And do you do this a lot, Mark? What? Pick up random strangers and take them home with you? Um, yeah, quite a lot. -Where's the bedroom? -Just up on the left. Oh, *** it. No, no, no, no! Not that one! Matadors, ready? -I told you, not this one. -Jesus! Easy, tiger! -*** hell. It's just... -What's the matter? What? (SIGHS) This is my wife's room. -Right. -I say "wife", I mean only in the most technical sense. We're separated. But you live together. (SIGHS) Again, only technically. The mortgage repayments are too much for only one of us to handle alone. It's just it can get tricky. I mean, (SIGHS) I knew she'd be out and Sarah's... She's fine with me having sex. (CLEARS THROAT) We're only technically... Technically. I just didn't want you in here. This her? Yeah. She's pretty. Yeah. And... I'm going to go now. Yeah. Just a few too many technicalities for a quick *** on a night out, you know? Yeah. I know. (PANTING) We're here. Careful. (GASPS) There's ash. There's ash everywhere. -VOICEMAIL: Hello, it's Helen... -And bodies all around. Helen, why aren't you answering? Answer the phone! Sarah's hurt. They've hurt her, Helen. And I'm alone. (GASPS) I feel... I feel... -Shh. -Don't you see? This proves it. My visions, they were right. -Neil. -Yeah? Neil, do you hear me? The future. It's ash. Everybody dies, everybody's dead. You're in so much danger. I can't find a vein. I can't find a vein. What did he do to you? We all are. Oh. All right. He's changing, Neil. He's evolving. He's getting stronger. He'll lead others through. The Fades are coming. The Fades are coming. It's inevitable. I see it now. I see it. (WHISPERS) Our world is dying. All that mattered was Mark, and I wish I'd known that before. I don't want to... Sarah. Sarah? -(ROARING) -(GASPS) (PANTING) Morning, love! Oh. I've got it, Mum, okay? -No, you don't. -Mum. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Yeah, it is. No, it isn't. Well, do you remember what the dream was about? -Who said it was a dream? -Well, Dr Tremlett. Mum! I'm not your little kid any more, okay? I'm not your boy. I'm trying to be a man. (CHUCKLES) -Thanks, Mum. -No, no. Just the way you said it, it was funny. -Of course you're a man. -Yeah. Fine. Sure. Paul. Paul! I just did these, ***! Paul! -Just leave him be. -(DOOR CLOSES) Well, he just smudged my nails. Just... (SIGHS) I don't know what's going on with him. It's called being a teenage boy. He should be wanking, not ***. You're gonna have to write me a note. Well, I'm not gonna make my first class now, am I? I need to do these again! (SIGHS) MARK: Sarah. HELEN: Jesus. (SIGHS) You surprised me. Helen. Hi, Mark. Hi. What... What are you doing here? I'm stealing things. What are you doing here? Um, it's my house? Half of it. Sarah gave me her key yesterday, asked me to pick something up. And before you ask, no, I don't know where she is. But I'm pretty sure she wouldn't like you in her room. Last night was a bit, um... I got a bit... That would explain those. It was less fun than you think. I'm not taking sides, Mark. I think it's a sorry mess, but I'm not taking sides. No, I know. Do you, um, fancy a bit of breakfast? I thought you'd never ask. This is a bullet. No. Mac, will you put it away? ***! ***! I've just been shot! Like anyone pays the slightest attention to what we do. We're the unwashed, we're the unwanted, we're the invisible in this school. And this is a bullet. A slightly odd one, I think, which makes it even more exciting. It's not exciting! Hi, Jay. -What? -*** off, Paul. How we came out the same egg is a mystery to me. PAUL: Womb. We came out the same womb. Egg and we'd be identical twins. And there are certain differences between us -if you hadn't noticed. -Uh, yeah. You're retarded. -ANNA: Such a ***. -A bullet. A strange bullet casing which my best friend claims was fired at him, which makes my best friend Indiana Jones, which is good because I've always wanted to be Short Round from Temple Of Doom. Or Marion Ravenwood from Raiders when feeling particularly confused. That was smooth, by the way. Ooh! -(EXHALES) -What did you do that for? Was it the Marion Ravenwood quip? I'm not coming out to you, I'm probably the most heterosexual person you know. Mac, I'm scared. Minus the sex, of course. I'm a hetero-ual. You do know this is the girls' toilets, right? You're not taking this very seriously. (DOOR CREAKS) (URINATING) -Shh. -(GRUNTS) (FARTING) Oh! I ain't got any toilet paper, have you got some? (FLUSHING) (DOOR CLOSES) Well, there's the female mystique ***, then. Sadly, that genuinely might have been the most *** experience of my entire life. (SNORTS) I'm taking this very seriously. You got shot at. It's just... (SIGHS) I talk when I'm nervous. I once told my mum the entire plot of the Bible, Old and New Testament, when we were watching Jaws. She was enthralled, actually. These dreams I've been having. (WHISPERS) Mate, those are natural things. Beautiful things. Shut up. Yeah. You need to clean yourself up in the morning. Of that gunk you got in your hand. Your junk. That's the miracle of life right there, baby, right there. Mac, don't you understand? The dreams. My dreams are coming true. Your dreams are coming true? When that guy shot at me, I followed him. He fought. He fought with this... Creature. I can't describe him. He wasn't human. The gun and the bullet, they prove it, don't they? That the dreams are sort of... real, which means I'm... Which means I'm what? Heather Langenkamp from Nightmare On Elm Street. That is such a compliment! Heather Langenkamp's an utter legend! Okay, I will be Heather. You be Kim Myers from Nightmare on Elm Street 2. But honestly, mate, the film's not as good. I just wanted someone who believed me. MAC: Of course I believe you. PAUL: Do you think I'm mad? Well, if you're mad, we'll find a way to cope with it, but it's equally possible that what you're seeing is what other people can't. That you're, you know, special. Special? Special. I'm scared, Mac. You're scared? My only friend is either a lunatic or Heather Langenkamp. I'm petrified. Okay, you crazy kids, get ready, 'cause it is time for his story. His story? History! -That's the one. -(ALL GROANING) Wow, tough crowd. Okay, Steve, if you wouldn't mind? Thank you. Right, who is ready for the Holocaust? I was hoping it was you. (PANTING) You know, I love the way you feel free to just let yourself into people's places whenever you feel like it. This isn't a place. It's a hole. Where were you last night? What happened to your eye? I kept ringing you. Where were you? I had things to clean up. We need to bury her immediately. Neil, we're still a team. No, we're your team. Oh, that's the thing, is it? You want a go at playing the man? I got her gun. I collected it, this morning, from her place. Good. I lost mine, my gun. I shot it and then he attacked me and I lost it. I got... I was scared. Okay? I was scared. This is Sarah. Your eye looks painful, Neil. Her body can keep. Let me look at you first. I'm thinking Pratchett. If I could get anyone to write my life story. Pratchett. Hey, you're walking very quickly. No, okay. Um, a mix. Pratchett's wit, definitely. Alan Moore's soul, and, um, Susan Cooper's plotting. Yeah. -Clive Lewis' heroism. -Hmm. And Tolkien's slightly twisted sexuality. Tolkien had a twisted sexuality? The Eye of Mordor. The man was clearly petrified of vaginas. What? What? Can you... Seriously, is this another of your jokes? Because you're not good at jokes and I've explained before, when you tell a joke, you've got to wink. That way I'll laugh and we'll both feel better. You can't see her? You're not joking. Yeah, I'm joking. Winked. (WHISPERS) Joking. That's not a wink. She said that the attack proved her vision right. The future was ash. It was death. Didn't sound great. I don't understand why the attack proves that the Fades... It proves it because it's never happened before! The Fades are not supposed to be able to touch us. I only just managed to fight him off because he's weak, but he'll get stronger. He's breaking through, Helen. He's becoming flesh. It's a big assumption. If he becomes flesh, others will follow. So, as death becomes life, so life becomes death, and so everything ends. That's what the vision meant. Let's not get too dramatic, shall we? I'm not sure if this is a cheese-and-onion Wednesday sort of day or a salt-and-vinegar Friday. It is actually Friday. Sometimes you're disappointingly literal. Oh, my God! I didn't even consider -smoky-bacon Monday. -(DOOR OPENS) -Get down. -What? Oh. And 10 Marlboro Lights. Okay, love. -Thanks. -(COINS CLINK) Hi, Paul. -Yeah. -Found it. -See you, Paul. -Yeah. Hi. I mean, yeah. I mean... -(DOOR CLOSES) -Bye. Yeah, good, good. Good, that went well. Not an entirely romantic instrument, but... Welcome to the world of beefy Tuesdays. Tuesday! Of course! And 10 Marlboro Lights. You got any ID, kid? I'm 18! I've just got a young face. You could touch his stubble, if you want. If you're working for the thought police, I'll have your ***. All right, son? Thanks. I mean, I'm not. I mean, I'm grateful. £4.10. Um, have you got any cash? (WHISPERS) Does the Pope *** in woods? Can I owe you £2? -(HELEN STRETCHING TAPE) -NEIL: I can move in here, for a start. HELEN: I'll do as I do. We can be safe here. It's non-negotiable. We are not here to predict the future, Neil. Sarah was a seer. Her inevitability isn't ours. -We take every challenge... -As it comes, I know that. (METAL CLANKING) What if the challenge is too great? What if the Fades do break through? Then you're right, we'll be ***. Does that make you feel better? I don't like it when you swear. (SIGHS) She loves you. Mac. She loves you not. Mac! Really? She loves you. Mac, you need to stop! She loves you not. I will use physical violence on you! This is science. You need science. And you need love, Moby ***. She loves you. That's just childish. This is going to hurt. I need to scrape out the poison. (GRUNTS) (MUFFLED SCREAM) (RATTLING) (PANTING) (CHOKES) I couldn't save it. (SIGHS) The eye's dead. He infected the cornea. You won't see out of that again. I couldn't have saved her, you know. Sarah. Any more than you could. Her injuries were too severe. I know. -I'll move in here. -(PANTING) Just until we understand what's happening. Good. The truth is, it's simple. Either the world ends or we stop him or something stronger comes along that can. You're back on this creature who's going to save us all. Why not? He's out there, Neil. I know it. He could be a woman. I hear some of them do okay. Careful, or I'll have the other eye. ANNA: What is your problem? MEG: Because I've asked you repeatedly to do it! ANNA: And I've told you repeatedly, I won't! MEG: You look cheap, Anna! ANNA: So I should take style advice from you, should I? I may look cheap, but you look dead. MEG: Oh, if you dress like a ***, people will treat you like a ***. ANNA: Oh, my mum actually thinks I dress like a ***! There's an ambition achieved! (SHUSHING) I used to hide mine in a sock at the back of my drawer. You? Yep, it's me. What are you...doing here? I'm looking for you. The boy who saw things he shouldn't be able to. (FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING) ANNA: Well, maybe if you had dressed like a ***, he wouldn't have left! Ever considered that? (DOOR SLAMS) You've got two choices. You can scream and you'll get the whole house in here or you can realise I've probably got some information you need to hear. NEIL: Okay, close your eyes. You just concentrate on my voice. Empty your head of everything other than my voice. And now open your eyes. (RUMBLING) NEIL: They like height. When organic matter passes through them, they burn, so we see them on rooftops in bus shelters, walking down the middle of the road. Cars are fine. They get winged by a car. That doesn't hurt, so... What are they? They're the dead. The dead? And they're trapped here. PAUL: They're dead? NEIL: Look, when people die, they go up or they stay here. Some go up, some stay here. These are those that stay here. We call them the Fades. They're just trapped here? If they don't ascend, yeah. PAUL: So these are bad people? NEIL: Good, bad. Why people believe death is somehow fair. Death is random, same as life is. Life has famine, illness, shittiness. Death is similarly crap. That's why the problem exists. The problem? You imagine being trapped in a world that you can't touch, you can't taste. Hate grows. Those that get left behind, they get ***. It's... (STUTTERS) That thing that I saw attacking you, that was a *** ghost? Well, he was something new. And you? What are you? Are you...some sort of...ghostbuster? Yeah, that's right, kid, I'm a ghostbuster. PAUL: And none of this... (PAUL EXHALES) None of this stuff's in my head? Ghostbuster's honour. (THUNDER CLAPPING) (GASPS) (PANTING) You seem different today. Different how? Has something happened since our last session? I donated blood. Right. Maybe that's it. No. I didn't donate blood. That was a joke. You didn't laugh. I want to talk about your dad again. (SIGHS) Okay. It's probably a bit pointless. What do you want to say? Well, you see, I think it's important that the dreams, the bed-wetting, didn't start until after the divorce. So he's the reason I'm mad. It's my dad's fault. I wish you'd stop using that word. I see things, I... I look out the window and I see things and I hate it and I want it to stop. (WHISPERS) I just want it to stop. What do you see? Just give me pills. Give me a lobotomy, just... Make it stop, because I hate this. I'm not going to prescribe you anything, Paul. (SIGHS) Then why am I here? You know, you remind me a lot of me when I was your age. (SCOFFS) Is that supposed to be a compliment? There's a couple of things you should know, Paul. One, you're never as odd as you think you are. And two, the things that scare us are the things that keep us human. Never be afraid of being scared. Just don't allow being scared to dictate the choices you make. (GASPS) -(COUGHS) -I didn't know you smoked. -Yeah? -Yeah. I'm just learning. I tried writing "L" on the cigarette in my sister's lipstick, but... Well, you're bum-sucking the *** out of that! The filter must be soaking! See? Have you heard about the thing at the old shopping centre? -No. -Police all around it. Everyone's talking about it in school. Current theory is someone got ***. Yeah? Yeah, and Alicia's been off school. Yeah? Alicia? Are you okay? You seem weirder than ever. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. No, I'm just... ...trying to decide if I'm mental, or not. What are your odds? My sister would kill you if she even sees you talking to me. She'd probably kill you, too. She doesn't believe in the intermingling of the species, even if it is just talking. Guess you're all off out tonight? We're all off out every night, up the woods. Just be careful of the, you know, ***. (MOUTHS) You're not mental, you're just... ...different. That's what my mum used to say. Your mum's wicked. She cleaned me up from whoever bullied me. "Oh, Paul, someone's squirted tomato ketchup all over you. "They're just scared of difference. "Oh, Paul, someone's emptied a bin on your head. -"They're just scared." -I always wanted to be different. I was a bit of a hairbrush princess, you know? Think I'm a pop star. I don't know. My dad thinks I'm better than everyone, so... Well, I never wanted to be different. Maybe I don't mean you're different, maybe I mean special. You're the second one who's said something like that. I've got the taste of your spit in my mouth now. Yeah? You've got nice eyes in this light. Yeah? I'd better go. All right. See you! -You've got nice eyes, too! -I know. Mr Etches, isn't it? You, uh, taught me GCSE history, Mr Etches. Oh, right, yes, yes. Do you know what this is about? -Only, I just... -The DCI will tell you. Phillip Firth. I am. DC Firth. Right, yes, I remember now, Phillip. Yeah, how did you do in the end in your exams? I got a D. Never was much shake at schoolwork. I... That's great. The DCI is just through here. -(DOOR OPENS) -DC FIRTH: DCI Armstrong entering the room. Uh, the time is 5:27 p.m. So, what's this about? When was the last time you saw your wife? Sarah? Uh, she's not my wife. Well, barely. Okay, when was the last time you saw Sarah? Um, the day before yesterday? Some...time. What's this about? We had Sarah's DNA in our file. Why? I can't, for operational reasons, divulge that at this point. Well, is she okay? You're beginning to scare me now. This morning a weapon was found. An adapted gun in the Hinkley Way Shopping Centre. The derelict place? Patrol dogs found it. Nearby, we found some clothing with Sarah's blood on it. Her blood? This doesn't mean... It shouldn't mean that... When do we start looking for her? We're sending out a search team. What we need from you are a list of all her friends. Mark? Mark! You're gonna be vital to this investigation. DC FIRTH: You can trust him, Mr Etches. He's a good guy. -How was the session? -Fine. You're gonna talk to me properly. Uh, Mac's waiting, Mum. Let him. He said that Dad was the reason I was screwed up, basically. And then he said I reminded him of him, and that was sort of the end of the session. He said your dad was the reason? Oh, Dad or the divorce, I don't know. I didn't... Can we talk about it another time? We're always talking about it another time, you and me, aren't we? Yeah, well, that's because another time always is the best time. I am allowed to be worried about you. I know you are, Mum. Paul, you haven't even eaten. Good for me, bad for me. Bye! (MOBILE CHIMES) Hi, Mum. Meg. Sorry. I know. I'll make sure he gets his protein! I'm a big fan of protein. Yeah, you too. Bye. -Parental quicksand? -Something like that. You know, the easiest way to escape quicksand is by raising your legs slowly so you lie on your back, your actual back, then you just float. Takes balls, but it's possible. You okay? Yeah. I mean, uh, Heather Langenkamp stuff. -I knew what you meant. -'Cause I've had a thought. What thought? Sixth Sense. Would you say everything you've ever learnt about was from films, Mac? No. Television's been doing some important work for me recently. Then there's the complicated, nay, thorny issue of Internet ***. (THUDDING) PAUL: Yeah. (INDISTINCT CONVERSATION) Admittedly, for the isolated incidents they show in the film, maybe Bruce Willis could have been a ghost for those. That bit with his wife and the wedding ring. I like that bit. MAC: What about the rest of his life? The bits the film doesn't show. I mean, what if he feels like a coffee? He walks into his standard American brand coffee place and goes, (MIMICS AMERICAN ACCENT) "Hi. I'd like a coffee, please." No answer. "Excuse me, but, uh, I'd like a cup of coffee." No answer. They can't see him. He's a ghost. I mean, eventually he's gonna get pretty, you know, annoyed. Yeah, okay. It's a fatal flaw. "Hello? Hello, where's my coffee?" I mean, like, he hasn't guessed he's a ghost. Bruce Willis looks like a man who likes a coffee. You okay, Paul? Who's here? What is it? Where is it? Paul? Wait up, I haven't finished my theory! Paul! Paul! (GRUNTS) And who the *** are you? It's gonna happen a lot, isn't it? Good point, well made. (GRUNTS) (DOOR OPENS) (THUDS) (ROARING) So, you made your decision, then? Oh. (EXHALES) You again. Yep, me again. Who is she? Sarah. Her name's Sarah. She's a friend? Yep. (WHISPERS) They can talk? She can right now. She's looking for a place to pass. This wood's one of the few places in the country not *** with enough to still have passing places. What? There are holes in the world. Ascension points. Used to be loads of them. Then man invented concrete. Look. There's another. What are those, the lights in their chest? They're beacons. When the dead near ascension, their souls shine. Those that pass, that light, that'll take over their whole body with a ***. Those that don't, that light turns off. That's when they know they're trapped here forever. So, this is ascension? This is about heaven? Heaven is a big word. This is about death, kid. Only death. Come on. *** birds! Collateral damage. Will any of this ever make sense? Probably not. Do you know how much danger you're... We're in? Probably a lot. (WIND WHOOSHING) (RATTLING) (WHOOSHING) (CLICKS) (SNARLS) (GASPING) Oh, ***. SARAH: Neil? -Neil? -NEIL: She's not going. She's not passing. What? I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm so sorry. Oh, I feel... I saw... Paul? Paul! Paul? (ROARS) (THUDDING) (GROANS) (GROANS) (PANTING) What did you see? Look at me, Paul! Look at me, Paul! What did you see? What are you? Your best friend. (ROARING) # Young Paul decides Upon the future # And he asks From her a favour # He wants to know If she will tell him #