Act one
Scene two
[Stage lights come on slowly. A
battlefield become visible in the background. Two are dragging a third soldier to a shallow ditch beneath a wall
with the sound of machine gun fire in the background]
HENRY
What
is your name private? Where do you come from?
INJURED SOLDIER
My names Horace, Doc, I come from Dayton,
Ohio. How bad did
I get it?
HENRY
I
think you’re gonna make it. Now let me tie this off.
[Henry begins to tie a
tourniquet around the soldier’s arm, when a shrill whistle and a deafening crash
throws a shower of debris and dirt onto the soldiers]
SOLDIER
Yeah, you were the lucky one. Didja' see what
happened to
your pals. Blown to bits they were.
INJURED SOLDER
God in Heaven. Take me out of this place!
[Battle scene becomes quiet.
The only sound heard is faint moaning
in the distance]
SOLDIER
Don’t think he heard you soldier. Say Henry,
we got some of
that Morphine. Lets give him some of that stuff.
Really no
use in
him bein’ in so much pain and all.
HENRY
[taking a syringe out of his bag]
Here you go Horace
INURED SOLDER
Doc
you gotta give me something. I can’t stand this pain! I
want to see Angels. Beautiful Angels!
HENRY
This is all the Morphine we’ve got. Sure hope
we don’t need
any.
SOLDIER
You know Henry, out here lying in this ditch,
I just know
if’n there is a God. I mean why would he
allow all this
to happen. I feel like prayin and then at the
same time
cursin’. I just don’t know how I got here. I
swear that
I don’t. It’s like I just got swept up in
some giant wave
that came and carried me off.
HENRY
I
guess you’re here out of duty. Just don’t think about it
and
keep your head down.
SOLDIER
Amen
to that.
HENRY
Yeah Amen to that.
SOLDIER
It all seemed like a big adventure back in
the states. All
Of us joined because they sad we were gonna
fight the Kaiser. You wanta’ know the real
reason I’m here. I
was mad at my girl for pushin’ me away, you
know Henry. I
just got so mad that went down to the
courthouse and I got
in that line and before I’d known it I was
all joined up.
And after that I went down to see her and told her what I’d
done and she said it warn’t necessary because
she’d been
thinking and she wasn’t gonna push me away no
more. But it
was
too late. I’d already joined up.
INJURED SOLDIER
Doc, give me some more of that junk. I gotta
see angels! I
gotta see Angels!
HENRY
[preparing syringe]
here you go soldier.
SOLDIER
Henry you got a girl back home.
HENRY
There’s one girl. Her name is Abigail.
Abigail Perrone. She
came down to see me off.
SOLDIER
She’s your gal Henry, right.
HENRY
When I get back to New York.
SOLDIER
She awaitin’ for you Henry. I know she is.
Ain’t nothing
anybody can do about it.
HENRY
I can’t wait to see her again. There’s a lot
of people who
won’t like it but we’re gonna get married.
[Henry peers over the wall,
the sky has gotten darker and the noise more distant. Suddenly gunfire cracks and German voices
can be heard]
HENRY
Get down. They’re on us.
[German voices get louder and
two figures are seen in profile walking slowly along the wall. Speaking loudly
they pass the American soldiers position]
INJURED SOLDIER
Oh God, the angels! They’re
beautiful!
[The German soldiers turn and fire repeatedly
into the trench. The three American soldiers fall into the trench. Without a
word, the German soldiers turn and walk away. lights dim].
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