Where the Skin Lies Page #3

---

- [MIKE] Nice.

We're calling them

points now, are we?

Hang on a minute. You don't have

a tattoo. Why don't you go?

Because you've all got

six chances

and I might not have any.

I don't see you

f***ing volunteering.

Do you wanna carry me down

the stairs and wheel me out?

Yes, I'll happily

carry you down the stairs.

And you can bring all the stuff

in on your f***ing lap.

Joey would do it.

- Fine, I'll go.

- No, I'll go.

No, no, it can wait.

First let's figure out

what's causing these countdowns.

I'll be quick.

Does anyone need anything

that's important from the car?

Medication?

- OK.

- Beth...

Oh, f***.

[FLIES BUZZ]

- You don't...

- [JAAN] Yes, she does.

- We've been through this.

- [RAY] Jaan, I'm sick...

It's OK. He's right.

Go on, then.

Go!

Are you OK?

[RAY] It's five. I'm sorry.

[BETH] It's not your fault.

And we knew that would happen.

[GASPS]

You're not gonna try

and stab me again, are you?

Alright. I'll leave you be.

[BETH] There was a guy who...

who came to hospital,

I think a few months ago,

claiming he was pregnant.

He was referred to us

by the psychiatric department.

Did he have a belly?

A pregnant belly?

He did have a belly.

Was he alright?

Um, yeah, he was fine.

It was just a cyst.

- Is Elsie gonna be alright?

- You're worried about Elsie?

You're not?

I think she's gonna be fine.

The group just needs

to stay focused, stay together.

Do you think Joey

is getting back at us?

Joey is dead, sweetheart.

You have to get your head

around that.

- You sound like Edward.

- [CHUCKLES]

[BETH] I'm sorry.

I think we are going to get to

the bottom of whatever this is.

- If we don't?

- We will.

Beth?

Beth?

What if we're not?

There you go. Good as new.

[WHIRRING]

Oh, come on!

It's a closed system.

- You what?

- Nothing.

Don't suppose there's any beer

in there, is there?

Apparently not.

What's a closed system?

Nothing. I'm just being silly.

- Sorry.

- It's alright.

It's not like

I can feel anything.

Any beer?

- Apparently not.

- Really?

We should probably

ration the food.

We don't know how long

this situation is gonna last.

There's only so much

to go around.

[MIKE] Yeah.

Are you OK? Because you look

like you've seen a ghost.

Of course not.

No such thing as ghosts.

Eddy was onto you.

Champagne it is, then.

F*** it.

It's a poor excuse for a bottle

of beer anyway, innit, mate?

- Hey.

- Hey.

Um, what do you say we...

we get everyone together

and think this through?

Yeah, OK. How's Ray?

Oh, she'll be fine.

She'll be fine.

She'll be down in a minute.

She's gotta get

her head together,

around all this, like we all do.

OK. Alright,

I'll be down in a second.

OK, I'll get Elsie and Jaan.

- Beth?

- Yeah?

[SIGHS]

- Are you alright?

- Yeah.

Yeah?

What if the, uh...

What if the tattoos go up

when you hurt someone?

What do you mean?

Come here.

We're not a good match, Mike.

Isn't that the beauty of it,

though?

The doctor-patient thing.

Alright.

Hang on. I wasn't the patient.

Mmm.

- Well, group therapy, then.

- Right.

It's not always about you, Mike.

That's better than therapy,

innit?

True.

Better than therapy.

[PILLS RATTLE]

Hey, you wanna join us?

Yes, please.

I'm sorry... about Ray.

I... I don't know what...

Listen, it happened.

You lost control, huh?

Well, us girls

need to stick together, right?

I'll see you in there.

Come on, you know I was right.

Don't act like

I pissed on your chips.

I'm not. I'm thinking.

I'm just trying

to get a grip on this.

We're gonna calmly discuss this

and work it out step by step.

I'm here. Just two seconds.

- Is something wrong, Elsie?

- Yes. No.

Can we get on with this, please?

We're waiting for Ray.

She'll be down in a minute.

She had to get something.

I totally didn't think of this.

I carry this thing

everywhere with me.

- And?

- I'll connect to the internet.

- No!

- [RAY YELLS]

- What?

- No.

I felt it. The number went down.

[JAAN] F***. You knew

that was gonna happen.

- You've figured this out.

- No, I haven't.

[JAAN] Did you see

the way she reacted?

You're acting

like you know something.

Are you kidding?

- It was a feeling.

- [JAAN] Feeling?

Well, every time we reach

for help, we get... punished.

Yeah, but it wasn't us that got

punished, was it? It was Ray.

Because you didn't share your

feelings with the rest of us.

She's on two f***ing points.

You're gonna get us all killed.

Or is that what you want?

Yes, Jaan,

that's exactly what I want.

- Relax.

- Relax? F*** off!

- Don't tell me what to do.

- [RAY] Stop it, Jaan, please.

We just need to work this out

together, before... before I...

before something...

Well, I don't know anything,

but it seems as though

there are rules to this.

Well, enlighten us.

One.

Leaving the house

or attempting to contact

the outside world in any way

gets penalized.

Yeah, seems about right.

OK, well, that's one.

- What's next?

- OK. Two.

And this is highly conjectural.

It seems as though,

for lack of a better word,

the tattoo points form

some sort of limited resource

that we may be able

to redistribute.

Now, the keyword here

is "limited."

[RAY] What?

We can't afford to lose

any more from the pool.

Wait. Turn back.

Redistribute? How?

OK, this is just guesswork.

But when Elsie hurt your arm,

it looks like the point you lost

wasn't actually lost

but transferred over to her.

So you're saying it's possible

to get Ray's points

back up, then?

- Yes, but...

- At the cost of someone else.

It's the tragedy of the commons.

[MIKE] OK.

So how do we proceed

from here, then?

[RAY] I think we need a leader.

If you're right

about these rules,

then we need someone

in control of the points.

[JAAN] Why?

Maybe if we'd had someone

in charge before,

I would have asked

about the tablet

and I wouldn't be

in this position.

OK. So let's... let's vote.

[RAY] No.

It should be you.

It has to be Beth.

You're smart and you know

how to deal with stress.

Her? She's been

keeping things from us.

Jaan! I don't want to die.

You're not gonna die.

We do need a leader.

I accept Beth.

I'll follow your lead.

Have you all lost your minds?

Shh!

Please. For me.

Fine.

- [MIKE] What?

- What do you mean, what?

Are you on board or aren't you?

No.

Like I said before,

I'm too old for games

and that includes

Follow the Leader.

I think we should

approach this as adults

capable of making decisions

for ourselves.

But whatever works for you lot.

Were you born

a complete f***ing prick?

[BETH] Stop it!

Enough of this bickering.

I'm done with it.

We're all done with it.

Now, are you putting me

in charge or not?

Yes. Yes, we are.

- Yes.

- Of course.

OK. Alright.

Then I take the lead.

It's back to six.

Guys.

Ray, she's...

[BETH] Ray?

It's back to one now, isn't it?

Show us.

You b*tch!

She's trying to kill Ray.

- [BETH] That's not true.

- [JAAN] She's lying.

She's manipulating all of us.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes