to sleep?
LUTHER
Look son. I’m not your guardian.
Sleep anywhere there’s a space.
ALFRED
There’s an open bunk above you.
I’ll sleep there.
He climbs to the second bunk, sticks his head over the side.
ALFRED
I’ve looked everywhere for my
mother and brothers. I’m worried
about them – especially Joseph.
He’s my youngest brother. He’ll
be frightened by all of this, I’m
sure of it.
LUTHER
The women stay in another area of
the camp. You won’t see her. As
for your brothers, they could be
anywhere. This is a big place with
many buildings.
Alfred sees Luther’s forearm. There is no tattoo. He looks at his own.
ALFRED
You don’t have a tattoo. Neither
do I. Why did some men get one and
others not?
LUTHER
The Germans only give a permanent
number to the ones they know they
want to keep. The rest of us are
expendable. I’m getting old, you’re
too young. That’s why it’s even
more important that you and I work
hard. If we don’t, we will end up
in the showers.
ALFRED
What do you mean?
LUTHER
That’s where they send the people to
be killed. They tell them they are
going to the showers, but they really
gas them.
ALFRED
They took my mother and my brothers
somewhere. Were they sent to the
showers?
Luther stops, realizes the fate of Alfred’s family. He gets up and walks to the window near their bunks. The smokestacks billow smoke skyward.
LUTHER
That is where your mother is now,
son.
Alfred stares out the window at the rising smoke as he realizes his mother and brothers are dead.
EXT. A LARGE TRENCH - DAY
Two dozen inmates dig. Dirt is thrown onto piles around the hole. Guards walk along the top, keep an eye on the work below. Alfred digs. Rodin comes up behind him and whispers.
RODIN
Alfred!
Alfred looks over his shoulder and sees Rodin. A smile spreads across his face.
ALFRED
(quietly)
Rodin! I thought you were dead!
RODIN
I heard the man tell your mother to
say you were sixteen. I did the
same thing and they sent me to work.
(beat)
My mother is dead.
ALFRED
I know. Mine, too. And my
brothers.
They continue to work as they talk.
RODIN
What barracks are you in?
ALFRED
314.
RODIN
I am too!
ALFRED
I looked for my brothers, but I
didn’t see you when I came in
last night.
RODIN
I was so tired I went right to
sleep. They only gave us weak soup
and bread. I’m so very hungry.
ALFRED
I ate what they gave me in less than
a minute and I was still hungry.
I’m starving now.
RODIN
You’re lucky you got to eat
everything they gave you. I set my
bread down for a moment while I ate
my soup and someone took it. I
feel like I’ll starve to death.
We’re already this hungry and it’s
only been two days. I don’t know
if I can take this.
ALFRED
You can! Don’t let them defeat you.
Nothing would make them happier than
to know they’ve found a way to
defeat us. I refuse to give them
that satisfaction.
A cart full of ashes arrives. A Capo orders them out of the hole. The inmates climb out and stand back. They watch as the cart dumps mounds of ashes into the hole. A second cart follows, then a third, a fourth, fifth. Rodin and Alfred look at each other knowingly. An inmate shovels the last of the ash from the last cart into the hole. The Capo motions for the inmates to get back to work. They climb into the hole, knee deep in the ashes, and distribute the ash evenly along the bottom of the hole.
INT. BARRACKS 314 - NIGHT
It is dark and Alfred is in bed. He hears whimpering, gets up to find the source. Rodin is on a bottom bunk holding a worn blanket over his mouth. Alfred sits on the edge of his bunk.
ALFRED
What is it, Rodin? Is it your
mother?
RODIN
No. It’s not that. It’s as if I’ve
run out of tears for her. I’m more
upset that I can’t cry for her than
I am that she’s dead. We stood in
ashes of people all day today. My
mother could have been among them,
but for some reason I can’t cry for
her.
(beat)
I’m so ashamed, but I almost was
glad each time the ashes came. It
was lighter than the mud so the work
was easier. It was almost as if my
mother was helping me.
ALFRED
You too? I thought the same thing,
but I was ashamed to tell anyone.
RODIN
I miss her, but I try not to think of
her. It isn’t hard sometimes. I’m
so hungry, all I can think about is
finding something to eat. I can’t
take this.
ALFRED
Yes you can, Rodin. Make yourself
think of something else.
RODIN
I try to think of something else,
but I always come back to food. If
I try to sleep, I dream about food.
ALFRED
(sighing)
Me too.
(beat)
What kind of food do you dream
about?
Rodin smiles, his tone changes.
RODIN
I dream about rich cream on bread
and yams from our garden.
ALFRED
Do you know what I dreamed about
last night? I dreamed about a huge
table and everyone was there. My
father, mother, brothers, aunts and
uncles were all around mounds of
food. The table was full of soup
and meat and vegetables. There was
plenty for everyone.
RODIN
That sounds better than my dreams.
Next time invite me into your
dream.
Both boys giggle. Alfred reaches into his pocket.
ALFRED
Here. I was saving this for later.
You can have it.
He hands Rodin a small piece of bread. Rodin doesn’t take it.
RODIN
But you’re hungry too.
ALFRED
I know, but you eat it. I’ll be
alright. Like my mother always said,
God will provide for us. I guess
this time Alfred will provide.
Alfred smiles. Rodin hesitates, then takes the bread and devours it.
ALFRED
Mother always told us to trust God,
/>
but that’s getting difficult to do
that.
(beat)
Can I tell you a secret?
RODIN
(nodding)
Sure. What?
ALFRED
I don’t know if I can still
believe in Him, Rodin. I want to,
but look around us. I think right
now I want to believe for my mother,
but not for me.
RODIN
I want to believe too, but I’m
afraid God will punish me if I
stop believing.
Alfred chuckles.
ALFRED
What else can he do to us?
RODIN
Even if God isn’t with us, we will
stay together, won’t we Alfred?
You and me?
Alfred takes a deep breath.
ALFRED
Right. You and me, Rodin.
EXT. A LARGE TRENCH – DAY
INSERT TITLE: ELEVEN MONTHS LATER
Inmates dig another huge hole. Piles of dirt surround the hole. Guards walk along the top. Alfred pauses. He’s very worn, thin, and looks defeated. He looks at his hands, scraps of cloth are wrapped around them. He unwraps the dirty cloth to reveal chapped and bleeding hands. Luther is behind him, calls to Alfred to warn him that Frankl, now a Capo, is coming.
LUTHER
Alfred.
Alfred looks up, but it is too late. Frankl has seen him.
FRANKL
You! Get up here at once!
Alfred humbly and quickly climbs out of the hole and stands before Frankl.
FRANKL
What do you think you are doing?
Did we call for you to stop
working?
ALFRED
I’m sorry, sir, but my hands.
I was…
FRANKL
(interrupting)
I don’t give a damn about your hands.
I care about the work you are
supposed to finish. If you think
your hands hurt, wait and see what
this baton will do to your back.
This trench must be completed within
The hour.
He slams his baton onto Alfred’s back hard. Alfred winces.
ALFRED
Yes sir.
Alfred looks at Frankl closely.
ALFRED
I know you. You are from Bilke.
INT. BOXCAR – DAY – (Flashback)
Alfred is a foot away from Frankl in the crowded car.
FRANKL
You’ve shit on my shoes, you
bastard. There’s scarcely any air
and this car smells like a
shithouse already. Don’t add to
it.
EXT. LARGE TRENCH – AFTERNOON (PRESENT)
Frankl is embarrassed.
FRANKL
Where I’m from is none of your
concern.
ALFRED
Yes, I know you. You were in the
car with us when we were brought
here. Why do you do this to your
own people?
Frankl looks furtively around, then quietly speaks.
FRANKL
Look, you little turd. Even if I
am from Bilke, as least I’m not
starving and working my ass off in
a wet and freezing hole. I sleep
in a warm bed and eat three times
each day. In six months you’ll be
dead, but I’m determined to go
home when all this is over. Now,
get back to work, all of you!
ALFRED
I’m going to go home, too.
Alfred returns to his work as MAJOR VOGEL rides up on horseback.
FRANKL
That is a beautiful animal, Major.
Major Vogel dismounts, holds the horse’s head close to him, pets its jaw.
MAJOR VOGEL
Do you know what kind of horse this
is? It’s a Nooitgedachter. There’s
no other horse in the world like
this one. This is a very rare horse.
Not only that, but he is strong,
courageous, loyal and affectionate.
I love this horse.
He takes an apple from his pocket, feeds it to the horse. The inmates watch with envy as the horse consumes it.
MAJOR VOGEL
I have apples shipped in for him.
To tell you the truth, I’d rather
eat them myself, but he loves them.
He pats the horse lovingly.
MAJOR VOGEL
This animal is perfect! Do you
know, there are no imperfections
with this breed. They originally
come from a very cold,
mountainous region of Africa where
the environment is so harsh that
only the strongest survived to
breed.
The officer mounts the horse, looks, sneers at the men in the trench.
MAJOR VOGEL
We could take a lesson from this
horse, no? No mutants, no sick or
weak. Only the strongest and the
best. Only a dream, perhaps.
Major Vogel rides away.
INT. BARRACKS 314 – EARLY MORNING
Alfred is in bed as inmates rise for the day. A man in the bunk next to Alfred has died. One by one, they take items of clothing from him. One man takes his coat, another his worn gloves. Alfred hesitates for a moment, looks at the man’s shoes, then his own. The man’s shoes look better than his. Alfred joins the scavenging, removing the man’s shoes. He puts them on his own feet. When the man is left wearing nothing but his striped uniform, everyone walks away.
EXT. OFFICERS’ MESS – LATER
Alfred and Luther carry boxes. Several German officers, including Major Vogel, leave the building, talking to each other. As they near Alfred, he drops his boxes in the mud. Mud splashes on one of the officer’s polished boots.
ALFRED
I’m so sorry, sir.
He picks up the boxes. Luther remains still.
GERMAN OFFICER
You idiot! Look at what you’ve
done to my boots.
ALFRED
Can I please clean them for you, sir?
He kneels at the officer’s feet and tries to wipe the officer’s boots with the hem of his shirt.
GERMAN OFFICER
Get the hell away from me!
He spits in Alfred’s face. The officers laugh and walk on. Luther sets down his boxes and kneels beside Alfred and puts his hand on Alfred’s shoulder. Alfred wipes his face with his muddy shirt. Tears stream down his face.
LUTHER
I’m sorry, Alfred.
Alfred looks off into space.
ALFRED
I was near the fence the other day
and I saw a deer just beyond – mere
meters away. He looked at me and
it seemed like hours that we just
stared at each other. It was as if
he knew I was no threat to him. It
almost made me laugh that freedom
was only an arm’s length away and I
could see it, but I knew it was far
beyond my reach. It might as well
have been on the other side of the
world.
LUTHER
There’s much irony in this place,
Alfred. We are inside the fence and
we may die here. But those Germans
with the hate in their hearts are
bound in a prison far more secure
than this one. Their hate will keep
them prisoner, even when they walk
&nb
sp; beyond the barbed wire. A fire much
hotter than the ovens of this place
awaits them.
They continue walking.
ALFRED
How can you believe in a God that
would allow this to happen?
LUTHER
That is one of life’s oldest
questions, Alfred. No one likes it
when bad things happen.
ALFRED
Nevertheless, how can this be? We
are the “chosen people.” I
sometimes think God chooses to
torment us. I cannot believe in Him
anymore.
LUTHER
You want everything to be easy? That
is the way a child thinks, not an
adult.
ALFRED
It isn’t just that. Since the day
they took my father, it’s become
more clear to me that the world is
evil. There can be no more evil
than we have seen in this place.
LUTHER
Do you hear yourself? You find it
easy to believe in evil – a force
you cannot see. Yet you refuse to
believe in the God of good.
(beat)
You see the evil that men do and
believe an evil force drives them.
Isn’t it possible that the good men
do is driven by a force that’s
good? You only see evil because
that’s what’s most obvious to you,
but the existence of both good and
evil is equally obvious or equally
cloaked. You can use your own
argument to prove or deny either
of them.
ALFRED
I suppose the real issue is that my
hurt is too deep to believe in good.
Luther stops and looks at Alfred.
LUTHER
Don’t give up so easily, Alfred.
Alfred smiles a weak, teary smile.
ALFRED
I’m glad you’re here with me,
Luther. Thank you.