The Earth Dies Screaming

Turn it off!

Who are you?

- Put that away. I'm not the enemy. - I don't know who the enemy is.

- What's your name? - Jeff Nolan.

Watch your hands!

Get his wallet, Peggy.

- Sorry. - That's all right.

- Hmm. You're an American? - That's right.

- I'm Quinn Taggart. This is my wife, Peggy. - Hello.

- Hello. - I have to be careful with her along.

A farmer fired at us with a shotgun.

None of us know who our friends are.

- You seen anyone else? - No one.

- Where did you come from? - The south. It's the same all over.

- Do you know what's happened? - No, I don't.

I took a plane up this morning for a shakedown flight...

and when I went up everything was normal.

When I came down, everyone was dead.

I drove all day. You're the first folks I've seen alive.

What's an American doing testing planes here?

It's sort of a joint project - Britain, Canada and us.

A vertical-rising jet. I sit in for our team.

Where were you folks when everything stopped?

I was in a hospital...

in an oxygen tent.

- What was the matter? - I'm all right now.

But when nobody came, I got up by myself...

and everyone was dead.

I think I'll just have a look round the back here.

Could I have a drink, please?

Hmm? Oh, sure.

What'll you have?

Oh, whiskey will be fine.

That's fine. Thank you.

Here's to you, Mrs. Taggart.

I'm not Mrs. Taggart.

He said it would be safer if we told people that.

- You're not married? - Mm-mmm.

I - I was married. My husband died last year. My name's Peggy Haddon.

- You never met Taggart before then. - No.

Yes, I could do with a drink. What's north of here?

Same as south-nothing.

- What are your plans? - Well, there must be some people left-

accidents like ourselves - and they'll head for the nearest town.

I thought I might hang around for a day or so and see if anyone showed up.

- Why? - If we intend to survive, we'll need all the help we can get.

You're kidding yourself, Nolan. What happened earlier this morning, that was no accident.

Whoever did it has won the war.

All they've got to do is to move in and take over.

And then it's every man for himself.

Cheers.

Small world, my friend.

I thought you were dead!

Maybe - Maybe we all are.

Vi!

Vi, we've got company.

- I'm Ed-I'm Ed Otis. - Jeff Nolan.

This is Vi-Violet Courtland.

Oh, I am pleased to see you.

Eddie and I didn't know what to do.

We were scared to death. That's why we hid in the grocer's.

I said, "At least we'd be able to eat."

- Let's get to the hotel. There's some others there too. - Then it is just a local thing.

- I knew I was right. - We'd better go. Come along.

- Here we are. - Thank you. You're a dear.

- Now then. Now Otis is buying. What is your pleasure? Vi? - No more, Eddie love.

Oh, can't I sweeten your tea for you, love?

- Oh, it's not like you to turn down a drink. Oh, well.

Cheers.

You know, I haven't a thing to wear.

I hope things don't go back to normal until I can get a proper wardrobe.

I don't think things will be normal for quite a while.

Then you do know something about it. I thought you did.

Let me ask you a question. Where were you when all this happened?

A t our company party - 25th anniversary of Chempex Limited.

Oh, and nothing happened to anyone else at the party?

Well, you see, Vi and I, we kind of sneaked away. She was feeling a bit under the weather.

So we went into one of the labs where they have a sofa there...

in case any of the staff want to stay overnight.

- He didn't ask for your life history, love. - In the morning they were gone.

- What kind of a lab? - Oh, just a lab-cultures.

Well, then the air is treated to prevent contamination.

Well, I don't see what business this is of yours.

Just this: You and Otis were in a lab with treated ventilation.

Peggy was in a hospital under an oxygen tent.

I was in a plane on an altitude test. That-

- Where were you, Taggart? - What you're trying to say is it was a gas attack, right?

- That's right, a gas attack. - Then why weren't we all killed when we came out into the air?

Well, it rainedyesterday quite heavily.

If the gas was soluble in water then that could've saved us.

Oh, there was a funny smell - mushrooms.

- Can't get anything else on this whole damn dial!

Otis, you're familiar with this area. Didyou ever hear that sound?

- No. - It seems to be in all the bands at that frequency...

even the television.

But who spread the gas? Surely you could get them on that.

You're welcome to try, my dear lady. I can't get any other country.

Not even a ship. Nothing.

- What's the matter? - That's a lie! The ships are all right!

Now- Now don't-don't worry, Vi. Don't worry.

- He's all right. - Take your hands off me.

- Her son's at sea. - Take your hands off me, Eddie!

What's the use of an army or an air force?

I haven't seen a plane since - since it happened.

Oh, they've come!

Oh, thank God! I'll go and tell them we're here. It's the air force.

Vi! Vi, come back here! Vi!

Stop!

Stop!

Please don't go away!

There's more of us over at the hotel.

Oh, please, don't go away.

Stop.

They're space suits.

I don't recognize 'em.

Stop!Stop!

We're over here. I'll show you.

You better stay here. Come on, Taggart.

She's dead.

- She's dead. - I'll help you. Better get her inside.

You and I made a bargain. Staying in a crowd's no good.

The sooner we get out of here the better.

I'm not going with you.

- You better park this. - Is that an order, sir?

Over by the sports car.

- I'm Jeff Nolan. - I'm Lorna Brainard, and this is my husband, Mel.

We better get to the hotel. It's warmer inside.

- Nice car you're driving. - Yeah. Found it.

Come on in by the fire.

Now look. We've got to get cracking. I'm taking her to her mother's.

- Where's that? - Liverpool.

- Where'd you come from yesterday? - London.

I don't think you'll find it any different.

You think there's something out there?

We know there's something out there.

That's all we need - a cheeky kid and a pregnant girl.

They're probably the most important people on earth right now.

Where were you yesterday when it hit?

We don't even know what it was. I just don't understand it.

- Look, what difference does it make? - Well, I don't mind telling you.

- Lorna! - Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of.

A year ago, Mel and I ran up to London. We got married.

We weren't doing very well. My mother wrote and told us we could go and stay with her-

at least till the baby was born.

All right, if you want everyone to know our business.

We started north without any money.

The first night we, uh, broke into this air-raid shelter and slept there.

When we came out the next day, everyone was dead.

We think it was a gas attack.

This air-raid shelter was probably equipped to prevent air contamination...

- from fallout and radiation. - I wouldn't know.

If it was a gas attack, who did it?

- How about that, Professor? - We don't know.

We can't raise anybody or anything on the shortwave...

and as far as we're concerned, it's no country on earth.

Oh, maybe those little men from Mars are back again.

They're real enough and big enough! They killed Vi!

Look-You mean you've actually seen these things?

- Two men in space suits. - Yeah, but at least they're men.

I emptied this in one of them, and he walked away.

Have you got men like that where you come from?

Well, why are we all standing here talking?

Vi's dead upstairs, and those things are still outside.

- We're gonna get out of here. - You'd be better off if we stick together.

Otis, you know this area pretty well. Where can we find some weapons to defend ourselves?

Well, there's a drill hall east of the village. I don't know what you'll find there.

They use it mainly for meetings and civil defense and so on.

Let's go see what they have. We'll go in my car.

- Now mind how you go, Lorna. - Oh, dear.

That's it. Out you come.

Ooh.

- Well, maybe you could break the lock. - No, we may need it.

- There must be another way in. - Now let me try it.

Here.

That does it.

- Be my guest. It's worth a chance. - Let's have a look around.

- Just a few cots. - They're only drill rifles. No firing pins.

Mel, toss me a rifle.

You find any rifles?

No rifles, but they've got some workable automatics here.

- Here's some ammo. - One, two, three, four. Testing.

- One, two, three, four. Testing. - Mel. Mel.

- Otis. Otis, come on. - I don't even know how to use these things.

- Just put the bullets in here like that. - Hmm?

Close the breech.

Safety catch. Now you know.

Maybe you were right, Mel. Perhaps we should try and get back to Liverpool.

We can't walk out on them now, can we?

- Let's get back to the hotel. - But, Mel, we-

- Hmm. - Thank you.

And if you had gone back to the States, what would you have done?

Oh, I had a lot of problems that I thought were pretty important then.

I passed the age for flying, and the company wanted to give me a desk job-test planning.

- You didn't want a desk job? - Mm-mmm. No, it wasn't that.

I just reached one of those turning points...

where I thought I might take some inventory of myself.

- Those problems were solved the hard way. - Hmm!

Ooh, time for the changing of the guard.

- I better get Otis. - Oh, yep.

See you both later.