CHARLOTTE, ASH and EMMA have 1 ticket to the Resettlement Zone. 

 

Charlotte managed to get her colleague DARREN to buy her a ticket, but not before Ash had sold the two tickets they already had in an act of misguided heroism.

 

In an attempt to hide his mistake, and in his determination to prove himself capable of looking after his family, Ash has manipulated Charlie into going to CORNWALL with him, instead of the Resettlement Zone.

 

Charlie, though significantly weakened by his attacks, has now realised Ash has lied to her. 

 

She has flipped over whether to fight against this new, monstrous Ash, or go along with his plan. 

 

Heads. Charlie musters up all the strength she can and tells Ash she knows he’s lied to her. Demands to know how deep the lies go. 

 

Ash tries to hold up the facade but Charlie presents CURTIS’s message to him. She sees the time on his phone’s display. Only 3am. What the fuck is going on?! She turns on the radio and has the time confirmed.

 

Ash crumbles under the weight of all he’s done. He’s a self-pitying mess. But he still insists that going to Cornwall is best, and doesn’t tell her about selling the tickets.

 

Charlie insists that he stops the car. This isn’t safe. But he speeds up. 

 

Charlie tries to take control of the car as it careers along the road. Eventually, it spins out and stops. Charlie fights to get Ash out of the car, locks the doors, and drives off with Emma. 

 

She frantically punches in directions to the PICK UP POINT on Ash’s phone, and speeds up. As they near their destination, the car runs out of battery - they didn’t charge it earlier!

 

Charlie gets out and carries Emma towards the Pick Up Point, only to find it in a state of complete disarray. Once sturdy fences lie on the ground, burnt out buses sit on the tarmac. Charlie is ready to give up but then she remembers - it’s not yet 5am!

 

She has to get them back to THEIR HOUSE. 

 

3:30am A huge explosion nearby. Charlie shelters Emma behind a wall as the bomb blast rushes through the air. Her strength grows with a renewed desire to get her daughter to safety.

 

They are about ten miles from home - so after avoiding the PROTESTORS surrounding the Pick Up Point, Charlie leads Emma to the nearest housing estate and they steal a car. 

 

Charlie and Emma pull up to their house with minutes to spare. Charlie gathers whatever possessions she can from what is left in the house and they wait. There’s a knock at the door.

 

PRIVATES BARRETT and BRIDLE are there. They scan Charlie’s bracelet. All is well. But then they scan Emma’s. She doesn’t have a ticket.

 

Charlie’s flabbergasted - there must be a mistake. She goes on Ash’s phone and checks Ash’s account. She sees that he transferred the tickets hours ago.

 

The soldiers tell Charlie that only one of them can go. She begs the soldiers - they have to take them both. But the soldiers insist that there’s nothing they can do.

 

A Decision Point briefly appears: ‘Send Emma to the Zone alone or Try to find another way’.

But we flash to Curtis’s text message. The LEAK she then googled. The bomb blast. Her daughter isn’t safe here. And what other way is there? 

 

She knows what she must do. She transfers the ticket to Emma, and gives Emma to the soldiers.

 

Charlie watches as the jeep carrying Emma disappears out of the cul-de-sac. 

 

Just as Ash rounds the corner. 

 

She stares ahead as he sits on the curb beside her. A long silence as neither of them has the words to address what has happened to them tonight. 

 

The two are now completely beyond communicating. The most broken version of their relationship.

 

Charlie gets up. Walks over to Penny’s house. Throws a brick through the front door. 

 

She turns to Ash - are you coming?

 

Ash enters the enormous, very expensive kitchen and Charlie hands him one of two bottles of expensive champagne and walks out to the pool. 

 

First things first. She can’t forgive him for tonight. But what’s the point in dragging it out further. If they’re ever going to see Emma again, two heads are better than one. 

 

Meanwhile, Emma is led through the SWANSEA RESETTLEMENT ZONE by a SOLDIER. She passes DARREN, who doesn’t recognise Emma. Darren is waiting in a queue for porridge. A WOMAN behind him tells him: the government knows what’s causing the crisis, they’re going to announce it soon. They’re going to survive this!

    

Emma also passes PENNY, who’s arguing with an OFFICIAL about issues with her accommodation. Penny doesn’t recognise Emma either.

 

Charlie finishes her bottle of champagne as Ash pours them each a glass of water. 

 

Charlie drinks hers then smashes the glass on the floor. She smashes the bottle too and jumps into the pool. Ash downs his pint of water, sweeps the books off Penny’s fancy bookshelf, chucks them in the pool with Charlie and jumps in. They laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. 

 

7am  Ash and Charlie lie on inflatables in the pool, a chaos of Penny’s possessions around them. Sunglasses on. Beside them, a plate of brunch food bobbles on a float.

 

Ash’s nose begins to bleed. Charlotte notices - and Ash points out that hers is too.

 

They lie back in the pool, and Charlie takes Ash’s hand.