CHARLOTTE, ASH and EMMA have 2 TICKETS to the RESETTLEMENT ZONE, and no other ideas for how to ensure Emma’s safety. They’re stuck in their HOUSE, and their PICK UP TIME is getting closer and closer. It’s looking more and more like they’ll have to decide who goes with Emma to the Zone, and who stays behind at the house.

 

Charlotte wants some End Of The World Sex - partly because she thinks it’ll be the last time she sleeps with Ash. She believes that Ash needs to finally face a number of realities - about their relationship, about himself, about the crisis - and she hopes that if he does that, he’ll realise she’s in the right, he’ll stop fighting her and he’ll let her take Emma to the Zone. Ultimately, she doesn’t believe Ash is strong enough to protect Emma in this nightmarish new world. However, she’s realising that she still loves Ash - especially as a father to Emma.

 

Ash wants to carry out some grand romantic gesture - partly because he believes that if Charlie remembers why they’re a great couple, and she loves him, he’ll win her round to his cause: figuring out a way to avoid one of them being left behind at the house. He sees that Charlie is probably the best person to go with Emma, but he’s also growing increasingly scared of the prospect of being alone in this nightmarish new world, and he’s disturbed by some of the decisions and comments Charlie has been making that evening.

 

Ash and Charlie have flipped over whether Ash carries out a grand romantic gesture, or whether they have sex.

 

THE COIN is TAILS. ASH WINS. Ash is going to break out a huge romantic gesture, designed to bring Charlie back onside.

 

Charlie’s annoyed. Ash insists that she’s going to love what’s coming, and they’re going to have a very nice time. (He clearly has no idea what he’s going to do.)

 

He goes upstairs, to their bedroom, and flaps around. What can he do? He sees their WEDDING PHOTO. He has an idea. He goes onto his LAPTOP. He finds his DIARIES from when he first met Charlie, along with photos and VIDEOS from their wedding. He heads up into the LOFT, a torch in his mouth, searching for something.

 

Their PROBLEM in this chapter: there are too many games in the way of what they need to do (have The Confrontation).

 

Ash comes back downstairs and reveals his gesture: they’re going to remember their relationship. Firstly, they’re going to recreate their first kiss. He wrote what it was like in his diary.

 

He positions Charlie and himself, narrating how he remembers it happening. We see BRIEF FLASHES of the kiss - the night they met, in London, after the coin flip for the bill. He tells her to think back, and then he kisses her. We FLICKER BETWEEN their first kiss and what is possibly their last.

 

Charlie sinks into the moment, and it turns into a full-on end-of-a-Rom-Com kiss. (the camera spinning, the soundtrack swelling …)

 

Ash pulls away and grins. Charlie still has her eyes closed. He’s sure his plan is working!

 

He darts out into the hallway, and returns with his laptop, a box, and some clothes bags. Charlie is genuinely intrigued. Ash opens the clothes bags first: it’s his WEDDING TUX and her WEDDING DRESS. He wants them to wear them. She pauses him - let’s make this interesting. We CUT TO:

 

Charlie wearing the tux and Ash wearing the wedding dress. They look at photos of the wedding. They watch videos from the day. We see BRIEF FLASHES of the day.

 

Ash then pulls from the box … their LAST SLICE OF WEDDING CAKE! Charlie’s amazed. They feed each other bites, and it’s absolutely disgusting - which they find hilarious.

 

Ash rushes and grabs the DATE NIGHT PROSECCO, and they use it to wash the cake down.

 

Ash asks the TV for his ‘wedding playlist’. Otis Redding’s ‘My Lover’s Prayer’ begins to play. Charlie meets Ash in the middle of the lounge, and they dance. We FLICKER BETWEEN their ‘first dance’ and what is probably their last.

 

Emma enters the lounge, sleepy - the music has woken her up. Ash brings her to the sofa and they show her photos and videos from her birth (which we see BRIEF FLASHES of).

 

Emma points out that mummy had different hair then. Charlie scuttles off to the KITCHEN, and returns with scissors. She lets Emma cut her hair (terribly).

 

Then Charlie asks Ash to shave her head - it’s something she’s always wanted to do. He really doesn’t want to, but he does want to keep the fun going, so we CUT TO:

 

Ash shaving Charlotte’s head, mock-screaming in horror, while Emma giggles and Charlotte cheers. We CUT TO:

 

Emma tuckered out, on the sofa. They stroke her head, watching a video of them all happy when Emma was younger. Ash whispers to Charlie: Emma’s amazing. And we’re amazing for having made her. So he knows that they’re going to figure this situation out. They’ve overcome so much! They’re going to come up with a solution to this problem, and they’re going to be - pointing to the video - that family again. Ash knows that they can do it! He believes in them! They’re going to save the day, together!

 

Charlie keeps watching the video. Then she scoops Emma up, and carries her back to bed. When Charlie re-enters the lounge, Ash pulls her into another dance - to Bobby Womack’s ‘Baby! You Oughta Think It Over’. (A little on the nose, dude.)

 

Dancing, Ash really thinks he’s pulled it off. Dancing, Charlie can’t stop thinking about what she’s about to do. Tears race down her cheeks.

 

Ash pauses. He’s heard something. He stops the music. There’s a strange wailing next door, in THE SMITHS’ HOUSE.

 

Unfortunately, whilst Ash and Charlie are being cute, they’re also being evasive, and aren’t communicating properly. So the Two Roads universe is going to punish them. This is the moment it all starts to really go wrong.

 

Ash looks to Charlie - and sees that she’s crying. But this isn’t the moment, so he lets it go and tells her that he’s going to take a look. Charlie agrees.

 

They sneak out of the CONSERVATORY, into their GARDEN, and peek into the Smiths’. It’s dark in there, but they can see SOMEONE thrashing about.

 

Ash looks to Charlie. She nods. He climbs over the fence, then she does. They slip into the Smiths’ house, and pace slowly into the lounge.

 

THE SMITHS (70s) are in there. They’re in armchairs in front of mementoes and photos from their life. MRS SMITH is already dead. MR SMITH is writhing and wailing from the bleach he’s just drunk.

 

Ash and Charlie are horrified. Charlie pulls Ash aside - she thinks that they should put Mr Smith out of his misery. This really upsets Ash -

 

FLASHBACK: The Smiths bring the Dhumals a fruit cake, welcoming them to the street. Charlie claims she has something to do and rushes out, but Ash welcomes them in for tea.

 

Charlie sees Ash frozen - it’ll have to be her, then. She picks up a pillow and suffocates Mr Smith to death.

 

Charlie pulls Ash away, and guides him home. In the lounge, she tries to comfort him, but he wants space. He goes to the kitchen and pours himself a WHISKEY. Then another.

 

He’s traumatised. He’s becoming more hardened, more rueful (and drunk). Fuck all of this.

 

Aware of the time, Charlie comes to Ash: she’s sorry, but they have to discuss going to the Zone. It’s their last option, they have to meet THE PICK UP, and Emma has to go. One of them has to go with Emma, and they should chat about that. They should figure that out.

 

Ash watches Charlie carefully.

 

Charlie claims she wants to be fair about it. She has a way. She has an ‘EXERCISE’ for how to decide.

 

Our heroes started out a loving family planning how to beat the apocalypse, but they’ve ended up in the midst of a vicious and dangerous divorce. Unfortunately for Emma, her parents have been unable to communicate, understand each other’s position, or make decisions without the coin. This road is a tragedy.

 

In this ‘exercise’, they imagine possible futures. Based on what they know about the crisis, about this country, about themselves. And they consider who would be best, in each. Perhaps assign points - a point each time someone is best in that future scenario.

 

Ash doesn’t like the sound of this. Charlotte notes that there’s one more thing: they pitch each other. They argue for why the other person is best in each scenario. Ash still isn’t pumped about it, but he agrees. He’d sort of like to see where it’s going …

 

This next sequence is The Confrontation.

 

Charlotte makes them tea, and they begin. She lets Ash imagine the first future. It’s pretty much like the world was before the emergency, but this society in miniature. They each compliment the other’s conduct in this old world. Charlotte’s account of Ash’s ‘WORK’ (and thus his ability to earn MONEY) is slightly strained, but she doesn’t push it. They politely call it a draw. 1-1.

 

Charlotte imagines a harsher future. One where more of these crises happen, but broadly the government deals with them well. Ash flags up places where Charlie’s been brilliant that night. Charlie lavishes attention on Ash’s ‘political thinking’, and his ‘sense that something like this emergency would happen’, and insists that he take this point. He takes the lead.

 

Ash imagines a world where - going by the casualty predictions, and spreading the crisis out globally - most of the world’s population dies. They struggle to make a case for why either would be better - neither of them are going to be integral to rebuilding society, exactly. Charlotte heavily implies that writers won’t be needed; Ash thinks there won’t be a financial industry to recruit for. They get onto transferable skills; Charlie has a lot, and Ash far fewer. Ash points out that they’d need teachers (meaning himself). Charlie points out that anyone can be a teacher. Ash floats the idea that maybe this society, with more access to resources, might have a different value system - one that places more emphasis on art, for instance. Charlie thinks that more people would have to be manual workers. After a silence, Ash concedes that Charlie would probably be better at that. She takes the point.

 

Charlie imagines the Resettlement Zone falling, and the Dhumals stuck in the wilderness. Ash can’t help but bring up her PREPPER TENDENCIES, her OUTDOOR SKILLS, her FIGHTING ABILITIES, and her FITNESS. Charlie points out that Ash is in better shape than he was 6 months ago (he’s PUT ON WEIGHT this last year). Still, Charlie takes the point.

 

Ash pitches a Handmaid’s Tale-style world. Charlie recalls the male rulers in that book as white nationalists. Ash can’t exactly remember if that’s true or not. They call it a draw.

 

Charlie imagines the Resettlement Zone as a horrible place. How far they might have to go. Ash quibbles Charlie’s vision, but Charlie keeps going: what if there’s not enough food, and they need to get some off a guard – what would Ash do? Would he sleep with a guard? Ash stops this – that’s not really the game Charlotte pitched. Charlotte pushes him – who wins that one? Ash admits that she does. He’s not happy.

 

Ash pitches a world without COINS. Charlie doesn’t really know what to do with this. Ash properly breaks the rules of the exercise - he points out that she needs the coin. Charlie denies this, and blames Ash for the coin situation. Ash is furious - it’s her that’s been keeping it going all these years! And he can see from this ‘game’ she’s playing - with their lives - that it’s really warped her sense of responsibility.

 

Charlie doesn’t want to talk about this. She’s anxious about how little time they have left. She asks that he please finish the exercise with her. He needs to trust her. This is for the best.

 

But she decides to put the nail in Ash’s coffin. She posits that medical supplies will be scarce for the immediate future. In that case, who’s better? Ash points out that Charlotte is wonderfully healthy – perfect, really. Charlotte pitches Ash: he’s well at the moment. His depression is a notable absence. Charlotte tapers off, waiting for Ash to bring it up. He doesn’t. So, even though she feels like it will hollow her out inside, she does: what happens if he can’t get his prescription?

 

Ash is devastated … how could she bring that up? He swallows this, and admits that he could have another downturn. So he guesses Charlotte wins that one too.

 

Charlotte waits for Ash to concede defeat. He does not.

 

The horror of what they (feel like) they’re having to do is getting to them. They’re lashing out. They’re directing their feelings about the situation at each other.

 

Ash snaps – this is bullshit. They don’t know what the future is. And, in fact, Charlotte’s called it wrong loads of times tonight. She wanted to talk to PRIVATE BLAKE – a maniac they watched massacre their NEIGHBOURS. Charlotte points out that those soldiers’ actions point towards the kind of futures she’s imagining.

 

But Ash isn’t having it. This is rigged. They have to decide some other way. Charlotte is trying to bottle her fury – how? It’s too late for anything else!

 

She claims that Ash knows what needs to happen now. It’s horrible, but it’s the best thing for Emma.

 

It’s at that moment that Ash decides to hit the (emotional) nuclear button. He suggests that Emma should choose who goes. They should wake Emma up and ask who she wants to go with her.

 

Charlotte is horrified. Surely he wouldn’t do that.

 

Ash claims he knows why she doesn’t want that. He suggests that Charlie knows who Emma loves more.

 

ACT FIVE.

It’s at that moment when Charlie realises she’s failed. She isn’t going to convince Ash that she and Emma should go. He’s not going to give in that easily. And because Charlie doesn’t like half-measures, because she leaps to the Worst Case Scenario, she begins to think about grabbing Emma and fleeing.

 

She does, however, have one last card to play. She tells Ash that she’d rather have the coin decide. She’d rather flip for who goes.

 

But the thing is, Ash doesn’t really believe that. He knows that when Charlie is set on a course, she’s set on a course. And, besides, he doesn’t really trust her anymore. This night was one big campaign to dupe him. She was always planning to take Emma to the Zone herself - and he’d bet that that’s meant she’s not even tried to get another ticket. She’s happy to leave him to die! No - more - through her inaction, she’s possibly gotten him killed!

 

So he realises that - if he’s going to go, which he thinks he probably should - he’s probably going to have to grab Emma and flee.

 

But he tells Charlie that he’s happy to do the flip.

 

So while both, in their heads, plan to grab Emma and flee to the Zone with her, Charlie takes out her COIN. Ash calls ‘Tails’. And Charlie flips. As the coin rises, the Decision Point appears onscreen:

 

Who will you choose?