Popstars of the Apocalypse! Latest! Act 4 Scene 5

Act 4 scene 5

Cecilia looks around in the earie unlit room she finds herself in. She seems to be herself but is very shaken by the terrible dream.

Cecilia: What was all that about? Kora…. I don’t remember anything, just a name. What does it mean? This is getting seriously creepy and more than a little bit dangerous.

Cecilia looks around in the darkness trying to detect any sounds in the house. She can hear nothing.

Cecilia: I wonder what time it is?

She sees that her bag and is on the table beside the bed and she takes her phone.

Cecilia: No signal? But we’re just outside London, how can there be no signal?

Cecilia moves over to the window and sees in the faded light of the late midsummer dusk a stone church atop a hill, with a high tower and a strange ornament of a golden ball

As Cecilia looks out curiously in the deepening darkness a she feels suddenly something touching her neck. Without a sound she spins round, only to see nothing. Searching through the darkness of the room for any clues she moves around the room wondering if perhaps a large moth or Daddy long legs is pointlessly fluttering about. She finds nothing except the door to the room which she tries to open but which is locked.

In the silence she hears a voice which initially seems to be nothing but the sound of leaves shaken by a summer breeze outside, but Cecilia listens hard until she can hear clear words distinct from the surrounding darkness.

Voice: indistinct Miss. Miss.

Cecilia looking around.

Cecilia: Am I still dreaming? Nervously What’s with this house of ghostly  goofs?

Voice: still more indistinct Miss, Miss.

Cecilia: Just the wind I guess. Quoting Midas has asses’ ears.

Voice: clearly Help me Miss.

Cecilia stares into the darkness searching the darkness with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

Voice: Don’t be afraid miss. 

Cecilia: uncertainly Who’s there?

Voice: It’s little Suzy Miss. Don’t be afraid. I used to be afraid miss and they got me. Done me in proper they did. They found my poor body in the Thames at Maidenhead, it went all the way from here after they sent it down the Styx. I wont a Maiden no more though Miss, not after these hooded men got a hold of me. That was a long time ago though Miss, I’ve been trapped here a long time now. There are so many strange things I don’t recognize out there, nothing much has changed here though, this horrible old house, the caves and the men in them at midnight with their children. Everything is just the same here, maybe it’s always been here like this, doing strange horrible things in the night with strange masks and robes.

Cecilia: uncertainly Little Suzy?

Little Suzy: Aye Miss. That’s me, except I haven’t got a body anymore Miss. I’m dead now.

Cecilia: Adapting quickly to the situation: I’m sorry to hear that. When did you die Suzy?

Little Suzy: Under the reign of the third King George Miss. It was the time they rediscovered the old caves under the hill, they found a lot of skeletons from the Roman times and people said it was a Roman plague pit and it should be left alone, but Lord Runford did some more digging and made it into something, something horrible, it’s a pit alright Miss, a pit to hell.

Cecilia: uncertainly: I must say I do feel a bit odd here talking to a ghost.

Little Suzy: Don’t feel odd Miss. It’s perfectly normal, at least it is for me Miss. It’s just one of those things.

Cecilia: Why are you trapped here Suzy?

Little Suzy: The hooded men did something to me under the hill, horrible things, and then they killed me but they did it in a special way so that my spirit can’t escape.

Cecilia: Do they know you’re here?

Little Suzy: They used to, then they forgot all about me.

Cecilia: Can’t they see you?

Little Suzy: I’m good at hiding Miss.

Cecilia: Can you recommend a good hiding place for me Suzy?

Little Suzy: Well it’s harder for you Miss because they haven’t forgotten about you so they’ll look everywhere for you until they find you. There’s nowhere for you to hide, and you can’t walk through walls like I can which makes hiding a lot easier.

Cecilia: What do they want me for?

Little Suzy: I don’t want to scare you Miss but they usually do very bad things under the hill, if they want to take you under the hill you can be sure they will do bad things to you. That’s where they took me.

Suddenly there is a tiny ghostly scream:

Little Suzy: They’re coming she vanishes

There is the sudden sound of the lock of the door opening. There is no further sound. Slowly she stands up and soundlessly takes her phone.

Cecilia: Still no signal? She looks out from the window at the hill about 500 metres from here window. Maybe it’s that hill blocking the signal or something. She looks up at the church on top of the hill. I bet you get a good signal up there.

Little Suzy: reappearing You don’t want to go over there Miss, not if you can help it.

Cecilia: I’ve got to, it’s the only place I’ll be able to make a phone-call.

Little Suzy: Oh Miss, you have one of those talking boxes. So you have to be facing in the right direction with the talk-box before you can hear the voices?

Cecilia: Something like that…I think. Why have they opened the door?

Little Suzy: I expect they want to play some game with you Miss. They’re a rum bunch for gaming people and confusing them and make them so befuddled that they no longer know up from down and will do anything they are told to.

Cecilia: They won’t get me confused so easily.

Little Suzy: Begging your pardon Miss but it looks to me that they’ve already got you this far.

Cecilia: sardonically Oh thanks for the encouragement I must say. So I’m doomed and done for, gonna end up stuck with you walking through walls and hiding for the rest of my, er, life.

Little Suzy: Oh I do so hope so Miss, then we can play together.

Cecilia: humorlessly Well it wasn’t quite the life I planned for myself but then again I guess it pays to be flexible in this day and age. Well since they’ve had the kindness to open my little door  I might as well get some night air. Are you coming Suzy?

Little Suzy: No Miss, I’m hiding if you remember Miss.

Cecilia: Oh, so you are. Don’t you want to come play with me?

Little Suzy: Begging your pardon Miss but I don’t think you’re going to have very much fun.

Cecilia: Maybe you’re right. But I’ve got to make a phone-call and I reckon on top of that hill would be a good spot.

Cecilia cautiously and slowly opens the door, which opens into a lit hallway and a descending staircase which leads down to an open front door. Cecilia leaves the mansion and checks her phone which still has no signal. She makes her way out of the house and up to the top of the hill. She arrives after half an hour at a church on the top of the hill with the curious golden globe on top of the tower she saw from her room.

She takes out her phone and is surprised to notice that there is still no signal.

Cecilia: What the? No signal, that’s impossible, I must be 200 feet  in the air.

She looks up at the church tower before her and the golden globe on top and the wind vane crackling and swaying in a light summer’s night breeze. The door to the church is open and she cautiously makes her way over to It and enters the church. She looks up at the church tower towards the golden globe and notices a long metal structure apart from the dome.

Cecilia: Looks like a transmitter. Funny I can’t a signal with that there.

Cecilia face suddenly changes                              

Cecilia: Unless, it’s interfering with my phone signal. I wonder if I can turn it off.

She goes into the church, it church is lit by two large candles at the altar, which Cecilia instinctively makes her way towards. She sees a door up into the tower which Cecilia takes. She finds herself on the roof looking at the antenna. She finds a cable running from the metal antenna to the a small metal box on the roof which she opens and sees a pull lever with two lights, a red and a green one. The green button is presently lit.

Cecilia: So I guess if I pull this the transmitter will be disabled. She pulls it.

Suddenly there is an explosion, a dozen explosions in the sky and coloured fire raining down.  Cecilia suddenly feels completely exposed as there appear to be no hiding places on the roof, except the golden globe, which has a door in its side.

Cecilia: Cecilia is dumbfounded.  Fireworks! She tries her phone now hoping for a signal. A signal sign with 5 bars suddenly appears, as it does her phone suddenly rings with a ‘caller ID withheld’ number.

Unknown caller: Where are you going to go now Cecilia?

Cecilia is too shocked to respond or even switch off the call, after a moment she finds some new resolve: Well I’m  not so bad at hiding myself, if that’s what it takes. She shins quickly up the antenna and opens the door of the golden globe.

She goes inside and is greeted by Mr Hands who was himself also hiding in the Golden Ball.

Mr Hands: Well done Cecilia. We knew you’d figure it out.

Cecilia: sardonically I play a lot of Half-Life. So I guess you're the best at hiding eh? Figures.

Mr Hands: proudly Well yes I am good at hiding and you're good at Half-Life, well Half-Life is quite appropriate in the circumstances.

Cecilia frowns.

Mr Hand:  You are a bright spark though, and a fearless feisty one too. We knew you’d want to talk to one of your face-friends, or say something silly to someone about your holiday here.

Cecilia: Holiday? What are you talking about, I thought I was going to meet PLAttitude. I want to go home NOW Mr Hands.

Mr Hands: Ok, let’s go.

Mr Hands releases a hand crank and the golden sphere suddenly seems to be moving down. The panel in the roof moves underneath the golden  ball as it descends the interior of the tower on a chain down a hidden chute. The globe continues its descent through an opening in the stone floor of the tower and continues its way underground below the church along a deep tiles passage. The walls of the passage are lit by small discrete electric lights.

Mr Hands: Look through the hole Kora.

Kora: suddenly upon hearing the name ‘Kora’ Cecilia immediately loses her personality and becomes the mind controlled slave Kora.

Kora looks through the hole

Mr Hands: Lovely tile-work Kora, always makes me think of being on the Central line, except on a train going down.

Kora: laughing Yes it does rather.

Mr Hands: I always do so enjoy coming here and playing little games with the girls before we sacrifice them.

Kora: completely unperturbed I’m glad you enjoy it. That’s what we’re all here for after all.

Mr Hands: How right you are Kora. It’s so agreeable that you can finally see things from my perspective.

Kora: My pleasure sir.

Mr Hands: ‘Sir’ as well, my you have improved your character! The wonders of hypnosis. Our mutual friend Johnny St.Vile is the master of course, he taught the Tailors, or rather helped them to remember what they used to know. The art of hypnosis. It’s not just a form of entertainment for the herd of chuckling tipsy Friday night baboons. It’s a weapon, our weapon, and no one ever sees it coming. Laughs indulgently to himself. Tale Vile tells is that found out about it after the war. Started talking to this sleeping girl for a laugh, pretending to be her mum, then her boyfriend. Asked her what she was doing in bed with her clothes on. Suddenly the sleeping girl stood up and started taking her clothes off. You can imagine the fun Johnny had with that. That was him made on that day. From then on he was the king of the world. He could have anything he wanted. A bit like Crowley I suppose, master of the will, hypnotizing people to do their bidding. That’s the name of the game Kora, and you my dear are the living proof.

The Golden ball comes to the end of its journey; they are now 300 feet below the church on the hill. The golden door opens into a darkness punctuated only by the light from a dozen  candles.