• Guilt Beside the River of Bull Run
    By Dope Toy

    Time: June 16, 1864
    Location: Virginia

    (Brais and Rufino are drunk in a bar)
    (Every time the Narrator speaks, Brais and Rufino freeze)


    NARRATOR: Rufino and Brais fought in the First Battle of Bull Run for the Union, they’re innocent on the surface but they hold a dark secret that they have held in their hearts ever since.
    BRAIS: What do you want Rufino?
    RUFINO: I came to tell you that they know.
    BRAIS: They have no evidence, no proof. We are innocent in the eyes of the court.
    RUFINO: Who knew the First Battle of Bull would turn Captains into killers?
    BRAIS: And killers into runners… and then… runners into drinkers?
    (Both hold up their bottles)
    RUFINO: (laughs) Brais, that General was a bad man, a vicious one at that but…
    BRAIS: Oh yes, I remember it like it was only a few days ago, but in reality it’s been years.
    NARRATOR: The battle of Bull Run, also known as first Manassas begun on January 16, 1861, exactly 3 years to this very day.

    (Flashback)

    GENERAL: It’s been a hard battle, too expensive to fight any longer. We must retreat, and do so now.
    RUFINO: No, that idea is absurd. There’s too much riding on this battle, it is the first major battle of the civil war. We have to continue fighting, if the confederates win this battle everyone will lose hope and the South will be separated from the Union forever.
    (General slaps Rufino)
    GENERAL: You’re not in charge, I am, and you will listen to what I say and do what I want. I am General Irvin McDowell and you are only a Captain. (Over confidently) If you want to be as successful as I am, you need to follow orders and never question them.

    RUFINO: (sighs) Yes sir.

    (Present)

    BRAIS: So how do we hide it?
    RUFINO: (slamming the bottle against the counter) Enough with trying to hide it. Let’s go to the police and get it over with, the guilt is eating me alive.
    BRAIS: But we’ll be executed, hung, do you really want to die that way?
    RUFINO: It’s better than knowing we committed a sin and weren’t punished for it. God will come after us!
    BRAIS: Your god will call you a bloody fool. Take the fall but don’t grab me on the way down.
    NARRATOR: When the ground crumbles no one will make it out alive, grab for the other but he’ll already be gone.

    (Flashback)

    RUFINO: Virginia is quite lovely in the summer. Is it not Captain?
    NARATOR: Who would know that they would actually be immersed in normal conversation?
    BRAIS: Yes, Fairfax County is beautiful, although it’s a bit breezy. Anyways, I saw what happened between you and General McDowell.
    RUFINO: I figured you had, I wish he weren’t so caught up in himself and his own ideas. Retreating is really the most preposterous idea I’ve ever heard. Especially since President Lincoln has invested so much money in this war.
    BRAIS: Certainly. Nearly 60,000 soldiers are fighting in the war; it would be a shame to quit now. My general is General Burnside, but he treats me with little respect also. Well, I’m curious would you like to be General?
    RUFINO: I would love to; I’ve worked my whole life just imagining what it would be like to be a general. But there’s no point in dreaming, McDowell and Burnside aren’t going anywhere.
    BRAIS: (maliciously) Or are they?
    RUFINO: Do you know something I don’t?
    NARATOR: The foreboding feeling is filling the air. The tension could be cut with a sword.
    BRAIS: It’s called (whispers) murder. (louder) You in?
    NARATOR: Yes or no? It’s just one word, but a lifetime of guilt or happiness is determined by that one answer.

    (Present)

    RUFINO: (with sorrow) If only I said no. It’s my own fault, there’s no reason to blame you.
    BRAIS: Let us not be mourning the past but dreading the future, it’s a better use of our time. Would they know where to find the bodies? They’re most likely eroded to bone by now…

    (Flashback)

    (Rufino and Brais walk on with two dead bodies)

    RUFINO: Your plan was genius, perfectly executed but original.
    BRAIS: Why thank you. It was classic. We just had to wait for the 2 generals to walk down a dark pathway together and then pounce on them, daggers in hand.
    RUFINO: Then we stabbed them to our heart’s content. Finally, we are generals at last.
    BRAIS: And our first order as generals is to continue the war and to not retreat.
    RUFINO: Yes, but first we must dispatch these bodies first. (spotting the river) Let’s hurl the bodies into the Bull Run River. The evidence will be gone, and without either of the bodies, no one will be able to pin us to the murder.

    (Rufino and Brais throw both of the bodies into the river)
    (After the bodies are thrown in the river they come out and surround the ankles of Rufino and Brais)
    (The bodies moan throughout the rest of the flashback)

    BRAIS: We did it. But why do my feet feel heavier, and my heart pound more?
    (Rufino and Brais walk to the exit)
    RUFINO: (panting/quaking) It’s a sign that all is well. Our hearts cannot keep up with our ambitions and the responsibility weighs down are feet.

    (Present)

    BRAIS: It’s unfortunate that even though we became the general, we still didn’t end up winning the battle.
    RUFINO: It’s god I tell you, god! He derived a lifetime of treacherous deeds for us to endure.
    BRAIS: No, no. It isn’t so, nor will it ever be. We’re the deciders of our fate; it’s not the other way around.

    (Flashback)

    RUFINO: (to Captain) As your new general let my voice be heard. We are to do a surprise left flank attack on the confederate forces. Now go, there is no time to waste.
    NARATOR: I see that he is a better leader but at what cost?
    (Captain leaves)
    (Brais enters)
    RUFINO: Well, what do you think of the plan?
    BRAIS: I know that it is perfect, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t win this battle.
    RUFINO: I’m glad you like the plan, now let’s both go and see to it that the soldiers are in the right place in the right time.
    NARATOR: Being a good general doesn’t take a day, it takes years of experience and training.
    (Rufino and Brais exit then enter again)
    BRAIS: I hate to be the one to say this but we must retreat from the battle. The confederates were unfazed by the plank.
    RUFINO: I trust your opinion but after all we’ve done, we must win the battle. It’s the only way I can convince myself that I did what I did for the good of the union.
    BRAIS: I’m sorry Rufino but we have no choice.

    (Present)

    (pointing guns at Rufino and Brais)
    OFFICER #1: You are under arrest for the murder of Amrose Burnside and Irvin McDowell.
    OFFICER #2: Put your hands up!
    (Rufino and Brais drop their bottles on the floor, the bottles crash)
    NARATOR: A friend is someone you can always trust but they can also be the poison in you life. Brais and Rufino are a part of a nightmare that no one wishes to live but isn’t it odd how their murderous deeds drew them closer together? Now, even though they are dead they’ll be holding hands and never think back to their time on Earth and the sadness that they caused.