Edited to moar Beatles. Please review, thank you!
Act 1, Scene 6
Exterior-Campsite-Early Morning/Night
(It's early in the morning, about one or two o' clock. It's all dark, except for the pale, beautiful light coming from the full moon overhead. The light shines on the bark of the trees, the individual leaves on the ground, and dapples the earth through the leaves of the trees overhead.)
(Upham and Wade are both leaning against the same thick oak tree. The small medic is asleep, and his body, more fragile than it ever has been, occasionally convulses with spasms of pain in his sleep. Upham is awake because he hasn't been able to sleep. He's been silently watching over his friend, a pillar of what comfort he can offer.)
(Wade is crying and moaning in his sleep, and twitches and stirs frequently. Watching this clearly pains Upham, who gently sets a hand on the side of his arm to quiet him. He is mewling like a frightened newborn separated from its mother; Wade moves towards the hand and momentarily his wails quiet. He can restrain himself at all times except for in his sleep---and thus, his suffering is known.)
Reiben has been pacing back and forth for hours, unable to sleep—he's tense and hostile. He and Upham haven't spoken at all, even though they're both awake. With a groan Wade opens his eyes and sniffles, looking over at Upham.)
Wade: Thank you for…staying up for me…I know I must be keeping you awake. (He sighs, closing his eyes for a long moment and slumping against the tree again.)
Upham: (Picking his words carefully.) It's alright. I….wouldn't have been able to go to sleep, anyways…
(Wade nods, looking up at the sky. He sighs, gingerly running a hand through his ash blonde hair. A small smile twitches on his effeminate lips.)
Wade: It's beautiful...even in a time of war like this, it's still beautiful.
Upham: Excuse me?
Wade: Look up at the sky...you can see the entire Milky Way out there.
(Upham looks up, smiling faintly as he looks at the indigo stretch above them. There's a halo of light surrounding the moon, appearing as a pale ring. The milky way spans infinitely in either direction and the stars twinkle, seeming to be their brightest.)
Upham: (Breathtaken. He's never seen something this beautiful in his life.) You're right. Look at that...
Wade: (Still looking up at the sky. His voice is soft, serene. A hand rests on his flank, gently pressing over his wound to quiet the pain.) There's a halo around the moon...I haven't seen one in years...
Upham: (Softly, and with obvious retrospect.) Wade...?
Wade: (Without looking over at him.) Hm?
Upham: Do you think that...somewhere...the Germans are looking at this too?
Wade: Probably. (He smiles faintly.) They're people, in the end...just people that we don't agree with, people that do bad things...I think that most of them would still enjoy seeing something like this...
(They're both quiet, just watching the sky. Eventually, both fall asleep, and, about thirty feet away, Reiben leans against a tree and falls asleep standing up. An hour later, Reiben is awake and approaches them.)
Reiben: We have to keep going—get up. (Upham turns and looks at him with the look of a man who has stood too close to the firing line and lost his hearing. There is hardly enough energy in all of them combined, but nobody complains. Wade silently gets up, and Upham follows. In the darkness, the three begin to walk along a ridge.)
Upham: (Yawning. He tilts his head slightly towards Richard. The hurt of his words hasn't healed, but Upham attempts to hold things together in an attempt at recreating the former relationship.) You didn't sleep much last night. Were you okay?
Reiben: (Completely ignoring the second part of what Upham says.) No shit, Upchuck. From the looks of it, neither did you.
Upham: I was worried. (Reiben—disliking emotional situations—falls silent momentarily. He raises his head, smelling the air. At this time it is dawn. Enough time has passed and now a dim light fills the land. It isn't humid yet, but it will be soon.)
Reiben: I smell smoke.
Upham: Huh?
(Upham smells the air to see for himself, but Wade is slumped against a tree nearby, and doesn't take much notice. He's taking the pause as a chance to rest. His eyes are closed tightly and both hands are stiffly clenched. His teeth are showing and his jaw is locked. He is lightly huffing, panting.)
Upham: (Looking first at Wade, and then speaking to Reiben, hopefully.) Do you think that it's—
Reiben: Don't get your hopes up, Upchuck. Y'know what, I'll tell you right now, it's not.
Upham: It could mean...people...though…
(Upham looks over at Wade's weak, curled form as he rests. He's obviously thinking of getting help for Wade—does he even care if they find the enemy? The enemy would have medicine, and somehow, Upham feels that they would be able to appeal to whatever mercy they have, to get help....)
(They get closer, coming towards a crest at the top of the hill that they are walking up. They don't know what they'll see below them when they reach it---that's where the smoke's coming from. But now, the smoke is thick and black, obscuring their vision. It doesn't smell like a campfire at all. The smell of burning fabric is carried on the wind.)
(Reiben, whom has been leading the entire time, comes to a stop at the crest, looking down.)
Richard: Oh shit.
(Upham rushes up to him, and Wade limps towards them, flagging. Upham watches the scene below him with wide eyes and a horrified expression. The fire before them is huge, illuminating the entire town. All of the houses are on fire.)
Wade: Do you think that there were any people there? There could be casualties.
(They see a figure emerging from the building, covered from head to toe in soot. He bends over, hands on his knees, coughing and catching his breath before he notices Reiben, and then the others, who stand father away. He aims a gun at the former, his voice rising in a hoarse yowl due to inhaling smoke.)
Mellish: Step back and put your hands up—I'll shoot.
(They all recognize the voice at the same time but still put their hands up. A thrilled look dances across Upham's face and Reiben smiles. Wade gives a faint look of contentment.)
Upham: Mellish! You're alright!
(Mellish lowers the gun and puts it back, watching in shock. A smile slowly twitches on the Jew's lips and his mustache curves with it.)
Mellish: Upchuck? Reiben, Wade! (He moves forward with a casual smile, similar to a dog after a hard run with his master. He brushes pitch black soot off of his arm as if it will make any difference in his overall filthy state.) And I should say that I am barely alright---I go to sleep in an abandoned house and the next thing that I know, I've been rudely awaken and it's up in flames. Some way to begin a fella's day, ah?
(Upham darts down the hill, seeming overjoyed at being reunited. Of the three, he's the one that shows his emotions the most evidently. He briefly embraces Mellish, who smirks in bemusement and shakes his head back and forth. Wade doesn't go down the hill, hesitant. He knows that it will harm him to go down such a steep incline, so he restrains himself. Reiben marches straight up to Mellish and jerks his necklace from his neck, holding it out and drawing it tight)
Richard: Mellish, what the fuck? I don't think you understand the fucking situation in places like Auschwitz, the god-damn Holocaust—do those words mean nothing to you? You fucking idiot! And here I was thinking that you would have a grain of sense and take that god-damn thing off! Mellish, do you know what would have happened if they caught you? Do you have any idea whatsoever?
(Mellish watches him with indignation and anger for a moment before he regains his composure, unaffected by the outburst.)
Mellish: Reiben, can it. (He jerks back his necklace.) There's a thing called pride—and I'd rather die with that left than die in hiding. (Mellish starts up the hill, leaving Richard standing there. It is his worry that has prompted the sentiments—worry, become aggression simply by habit, by the fact that, once childhood is ended, such things are difficult or impossible to change.)
(Eventually he, too, follows, and they return to the campsite. It's afternoon, and Mellish sits down across from Upham and Wade, the fire between them. Reiben watches from a few feet away, and Mellish turns to him.)
Mellish: (Sighing.) …Sit down, Reiben. (Reiben settled next to him, keeping a good foot away from him. Is he ashamed, embarrassed? It's impossible to tell. Mellish turns to Wade.) You doing alright there, Wade?
Wade: I'm---coping. (His eyes are closed and Upham's settled next to him with a reassuring hand on his arm. Wade's teeth are gritted and he's clearly trying not to cry out. He is obviously anything from alright.)
Mellish: You hang in there, Wade. Just hang in there for a few more days. In a few more days, you'll be in a hospital and you'll be in good hands.
End Scene 6, fade to black.