RIAAN OPPELT

A Play in One Act

Characters

Sikelelwa, 40
Ibrahim, 45-50
Kaylen, 27
Marko, 36

Scene. About eight p.m. on a Monday night in April 2021.

Ultra Lockdown Theme

A disused factory workshop space, arguably ready for demolition. A sparse stage, with only a pile of wood underneath a blanket at the L wall, two huge barrel drums stacked atop one another at the R wall and, in the back wall, R, is the door leading out. At the back wall are piled drums, smaller than the two large ones at the R wall. The stacked drums allow characters to reach the windows in the back wall, although the windows are covered in paint, with some clearances scratched out. Two concrete blocks, stage center, allow characters to sit down at various points in the play.

It is night time and we hear the sound of thunder, followed by the sound of rain. There is movement outside the door and we see the handle moving a few times, being tried from the outside, before the door is forced open. Two people enter. One moves forward to stage center while the other moves more slowly, and feels in the back wall beside the door for a light switch. The lights come on and we see SIKELELWA at stage center and IBRAHIM at the door.

Sikelelwa is 40, short and friendly-faced, although we can tell she’s been running. She wears a wet rain-jacket and has two large bags in either hand. She puts the bags down and takes off her jacket, revealing a sling bag hanging across her chest. She assumes a defensive stance when turning to look back at Ibrahim at the door.

Ibrahim is tall, strong and quiet. He could be in his mid-40s but his length gives him a youthful appearance. He is traditionally attired in a boubou, which consists of trousers and a tunic. He wears glasses and brown leather sandals on his feet. In his hand is a dogon jacket and a long shawl. He carries nothing else with him. He, too, has been running, and his boubou is slightly wet.

SIKELELWA

I’m glad the light works.

(Still looking at him, and still in her defensive stance. Ibrahim does not move from the door.)

It’s okay, you can come in. (Pause) Thank you for asking, and for maintaining your distance all the way here.

IBRAHIM (takes a moment, then fully enters)

Are you certain, my sister? (He still hesitates somewhat)

SIKELELWA

About as certain as I could be. You can come in.

IBRAHIM (bows his head)

Thank you.

SIKELELWA

You told me your name outside, but I’m afraid I couldn’t hear so well with the thunder.

IBRAHIM

I am Ibrahim. And you are Sikilelwa.

SIKELELWA

You have good ears.  I prefer Siki. I’m not supposed to prefer that. But I don’t care.

IBRAHIM

Shall I close the door? (Pause) If so, I shall remain standing here, I promise.

SIKELELWA (takes a moment, still in her stance)

I believe you. Close the door.

(Ibrahim struggles with the door, inspecting it and seeing where its faults are.)

IBRAHIM

I want to be sure that once it closes, it can open again.

SIKELELWA (looks at the door, then around the room)

From the look of it, nobody has been in here a while. The door probably swelled.

IBRAHIM

It is not the elements, my sister, not with the gauge of this specific steel. There is a mistake in the structure of this arm (points to the security rod that locks the door from the inside), but I can fix it.

SIKELELWA

Are you used to such things?

(She checks her phone. Her face tells us there is no signal.)

IBRAHIM

(Working on the door, testing its mechanisms.)

I used to be a construction engineer.

SIKELELWA

Where?

IBRAHIM

In my country. Mali.

SIKELELWA

Have you been in South Africa a long time?

IBRAHIM

I think, long enough, my sister.

SIKELELWA

You found no work here?

IBRAHIM

No, I did not. I worked in some gardens. But that was also now a long time ago.

SIKELELWA

I understand. You look remarkably well.

IBRAHIM

Nobody would hire a man otherwise. Nobody would ask the questions of why he looks bad, they will simply avoid him.

SIKELELWA

Were you highly skilled?

IBRAHIM

I was the head of the factory my family owned since independence. We gave work to many people. (Stops working on the door) I think it is fixed now. (Steps away from the door and creeps along the back wall) I will ask you to test it and see for yourself. So that you may know how it works if you want to get out.

SIKELELWA (relaxing her stance for the first time)

You are considerate. I won’t worry about that door now. I would have to clean my hands before and after. It shouldn’t be necessary just yet.

IBRAHIM

You are a brave woman. I say this with respect. Perhaps you have seen many things.

SIKELELWA

There are bigger things than my safety I am worried about. (Pause) If we did have to fight, you wouldn’t know what my weapons are.

IBRAHIM

What I do not know gives me more respect for you.

SIKELELWA

You’re okay, Ibrahim. And if not, then we will see what happens later. (Looks around the room again) Why is this place located at the top of a hill outside a municipal area? (Looks at Ibrahim) Unusual for a factory to be here.

IBRAHIM

I think it used to be many factories before this.

SIKELELWA

Maybe it was to help create jobs. (Stops, listens) The rain stopped. What did they make here?

IBRAHIM (inspecting)

This is an isolated workroom for those at the nearby asphalt plant. It is for the illusion of grading levels of asphalt. Not much work could have been done here.

SIKELELWA

So, a waste of space for the bosses to sit and drink in. I suppose the place could also be useful for meetings, or a shelter. That’s us right now.

IBRAHIM

But it could also be others later. After the weather.

SIKELELWA

You didn’t spot anyone lower down the hill following us here?

IBRAHIM

From the point where I saw you running ahead of me, I saw nobody else.

SIKELELWA

You make big strides. You deliberately slowed down, so I could feel safe.

IBRAHIM

Both of us could only have found our way here.

SIKELELWA

That’s right, there was nowhere else. The road to the town next door is sealed off. After all that shooting.

IBRAHIM

I did not expect that violence I witnessed.

SIKELELWA (sighs)

Ultra-lockdown… As if the first year of lockdowns wasn’t enough. They go and put townships under stricter lockdown conditions. They create concentration camps.

IBRAHIM

I looked at Ekelani this afternoon. The people in there are imprisoned. Around the area itself, there was a fence.

SIKELELWA

They’ve restricted the entire district here, like elsewhere. I struggled to get the permits to move in and out of here.

IBRAHIM

Do you live there?

SIKELELWA

No, I bring in food supplies and sanitary products for the young girls in there.

IBRAHIM

That is what you were doing there today? (He points to the bags)

SIKELELWA

I was going to deliver these when the shooting started. When the police shot at the protestors, and then at the people trying to help them.

IBRAHIM

That is what I saw, too.

SIKELELWA

What were you doing there? Wearing your boubou.

IBRAHIM

A man said he had work for me near there.

SIKELELWA

That would be impossible unless he’s working illegally, or working on construction.

IBRAHIM

It is road work.

SIKELELWA

Civil, okay. That makes sense. They’re trying to finish the second road that leads into the town. They’re allowed to do that because the rich people need it. (Pause) The site bosses are hiring foreign men illegally.

IBRAHIM

I am aware of this.

SIKELELWA (begins to move about the room)

It was the shooting I was getting away from. (She takes the bags and puts them at the back wall; Ibrahim moves away from her.) When I ran, through the industrial zone, I saw a security guard lying dead outside a factory, a policeman standing over him. I didn’t even stop then.

IBRAHIM

You are describing a godless state, where the police shoot at unarmed people.

SIKELELWA

If that’s what the gangs were preparing for then they certainly did not come out to help their people being shot today. (Pause) But the protestors were the catalyst. The trouble started with them.

Ibrahim’s Theme

(There is frantic knocking at the door, and a woman’s voice calling from outside.)

WOMAN’s VOICE

Let me in, please let me in! Please, please!

(Sikelelwa goes to the door immediately and opens it. KAYLEN bursts in, rushed, panicked and disheveled. She is in her mid-to-late twenties, lengthy and vibrant but, now, is in a bad state, with her trousers torn, her hair wild and dirt on her face. She paces about the space. Sikelelwa and Ibrahim give her the time and room to settle.)

KAYLEN

Jesus, Jesus! I wish I still smoked. No, man, just, no! That was a fucking nightmare!

SIKELELWA (to Ibrahim)

I’m going to give her another moment. Obviously touching her is going to be tricky.

KAYLEN

Fuck! Those murderers, those pigs! That was the first time I heard and saw bullets, you know? So fucking loud, it’s like lightning just moering across right in front of your nose. (She now begins to circle) What the fuck?! (She stops and looks at Siki and Ibrahim) I mean what the actual fuck! Huh? What was that? Huh-uh, no man! (Starts pacing again) I mean, we didn’t make a move. Not one move. They came there to hurt us, and to hurt the people.

SIKELELWA

My name is Sikelelwa. And this is Ibrahim.

KAYLEN

Just started shooting, just like that. What about our papers, huh? Our amnesty forms? The fact that we were protesting within set rules and rights. The fact that we had independent media with us, and they had permits! They just threw Joan and Monde into the van like animals. I’m a vegan, by the way.

SIKELELWA

What’s your name?

KAYLEN

And you know, the way they smiled. When they were doing it. The way they smiled, looking at us, looking at me while lifting their guns, enjoying it, enjoying themselves, spraying it all around. Pigs, man, pigs! Murderers!

SIKELELWA

You may need something to help steady you. Can I get you something?

KAYLEN (very fast)

So I ran, when I saw that they were getting so lekke, shooting at anything that moved. I saw some of them were leaving their posts at the outer perimeter, just to join the shooting, so I ran that way and got out. I’ve been running ever since. It gave me time to think, to put it all together, you see—

SIKELELWA

I have something that could help.

KAYLEN (relentless)

Just ran and ran, didn’t even feel that it was an uphill, and I thought that, of course, they were doing it for show, because they were protecting the gangsters, and the gangsters are overseeing the manufacture on the inside, and the cops and the crooks both want to make a show for him, because he’s real, because he exists—

SIKELELWA

I’m going to get it for you, okay? And then I’m going to put on gloves and ask your permission if I can take you by the arm and lead you to into a sitting down position.

KAYLEN

So you see, it’s all been one moerse setup, it had to be because why else—

IBRAHIM

                                             (Suddenly, in a loud, booming voice.)

Sister! (His voice reverberates around the room. Kaylen stops dead in her tracks, frozen. Siki is stunned to standstill as well.) Thank you. Please, stop talking and listen to sister Sikilelwa.

SIKELELWA (quietly, to Kaylen)

You’ll be okay. Just stand still a moment. (Pause) It’s okay, you can talk. (Glances at Ibrahim, smiles) I didn’t know he had that voice on him, either. (Long pause, Kaylen’s pause. The room is now surreally quiet.)

KAYLEN (softly, almost a whimper)

Okay.

SIKELELWA

You heard the things I said?

KAYLEN

Yes. (Pause. Looks at Siki, nods) Yes.

SIKELELWA

You know my name?

KAYLEN

Yes. You’re Siki. And he’s Ibrahim.

SIKELELWA

What else?

KAYLEN

I’m Kaylen.

SIKELELWA

And? Focus for me, girl.

KAYLEN

And, yes, you can get me something, please. Just not animal products because—

SIKELELWA (gently)

Yes, I heard. I’m going to get something from my sling bag. It’s not a sedative, just a mild relaxant. You won’t lose any control, I promise. You will be safe.

KAYLEN (still motionless)

And… yes…. You can put on gloves, and touch me by the arm, and take me to sit down. Please.

IBRAHIM (to Siki)

How did you know that she heard you?

SIKELELWA

She’s in the only protest group active in the country. I read about them. (To Kaylen) They teach you listening exercises with memory conditioning, don’t they? That, and sensory isolation tanks. To center you if there’s been an ordeal but also to prepare you for one.

KAYLEN

Yes. This was my first time.

(The sound of thunder, followed momentarily by rain)

SIKELELWA

You did well.

(Sikelelwa goes to her sling bag on the floor. She cleans her hands again with the spray bottle before getting a tube from the bag. She opens the tube and takes out a foil wrapper. She goes to Kaylen, who extends her arm and opens her hand.)

SIKELELWA

I washed my hands, and the pill is in the wrapper. Take it.

(Kaylen unwraps the pill and dutifully takes it. Sikelelwa goes back to her bag, cleans her hands again and then puts on gloves. She goes back to Kaylen, takes her by the arm and leads her to sit down on the pile of wood under the blanket at the L wall.)

SIKELELWA

You’ll feel your heartbeat drop a little but that will be all. Don’t worry.

KAYLEN

I trust you. (Pause. Looks at Ibrahim) I don’t trust you yet, I’m sorry about that. It’s not personal. But I also want to thank you for bringing me down.

IBRAHIM

I am glad you are slow with yourself now, my sister.

SIKELELWA

You’ll notice he always keeps a distance, and always makes sure there’s enough room and time for us to get to the door if we don’t feel good about him.

KAYLEN

Yes, I noticed. It’s something.

SIKELELWA

He also doesn’t talk much.

KAYLEN

So, you’re strangers too?

SIKELELWA

We got here just after the storm broke the first time. (Looking up, listening to the rain) And you got here just before this.

KAYLEN

I lost my phone. Do you have one?

SIKELELWA

Yes, but there’s no signal here.

KAYLEN

Were you there at Ekelani this afternoon? I dunno, I thought I saw you, carrying bags.

SIKELELWA (points to the bags at the back wall)

That was me, looking like a person doing grocery shopping during a shooting.

KAYLEN

What’s in them?

SIKELELWA

Some food packs and sanitation for the girls in there.

KAYLEN

Thank God, I was worried sick about the girls. This fucking lockdown. It must end.

SIKELELWA

That’s why you were protesting, weren’t you?

KAYLEN

No other reason. To fight this destruction of human rights. (Begins blinking) Wow, this stuff is really good.

SIKELELWA

You were overextended, so now you’re feeling the opposite. You may fall asleep, but that’s less the pill and more your own body. Don’t be afraid.

KAYLEN

I’m not, I trust you. Are you emergency medical? That would make you essential, and able to deliver supplies during ultra-lockdown.

SIKELELWA

No, I’m not emergency medical. I have just about the right amount of paperwork to get the sanitary products through. Nobody really wants to touch that.

KAYLEN

Typical.

SIKELELWA

The food is also harder to bring in.

KAYLEN (slurring)

Is it those lucky packages? The ones with all the compressed stuff that can—feasibly sustain a few people?

SIKELELWA

They’re not all good but they’re what’s available.

KAYLEN (her speech slowing)

It was you I saw this afternoon, getting out of there.

SIKELELWA

The shooting might have gone on for a while, I don’t know. How long did it take you to get here?

KAYLEN (beginning to feel drowsy)

I was running blind. I didn’t know where I was. I hid behind a demolished house for a few minutes. I was scared of the gangsters. The police allow them to move around the perimeter, and then some of them slip out.

SIKELELWA

Yes, the gangsters have become braver. (Pause) All that adrenaline is going to bite back a little at you.

KAYLEN (keeling)

I think I’m going to be sick.

Kaylen’s Theme

(Siki stands over her and supports her shoulders, averting her face.)

SIKELELWA (to Ibrahim)

She needs something in her stomach, quickly. To bolster her electrolytes and steady her nervous system.

IBRAHIM

Are you suggesting—?

SIKELELWA (looks at the bags)

There’s no other choice.

(Sikelelwa goes to the bags, takes out a small package from one of them and brings it over to Kaylen. She administers a drink to Kaylen’s lips, with a straw. Kaylen weakly sucks at it. Sikelelwa then opens up an energy bar and feeds it to Kaylen. She looks at Ibrahim and speaks to him.)

SIKELELWA

There’s the equivalent of a meal in this bar. They are hidden and rationed inside Ekelani, needing to be shared between families.

IBRAHIM

You are doing the right thing.

(Steadily, Kaylen sits up. Siki drops the half-finished bar into the package beside Kaylen and helps her stretch out on the woodpile, now acting as a makeshift bed.)

SIKELELWA

(Trying to cheer herself up, looks at the food package.)

I doubt they’re vegan. But then I doubt she is.

(The attempt at humor doesn’t last and Siki stomps away as Kaylen begins to drift into sleep.)

IBRAHIM

I saw you struggle with this. You made the right decision.

SIKELELWA know. But even she would agree that it was the wrong time for it. Now we are a pack down. (Pause) We had better not tell her. She will be angry.

IBRAHIM

I do not see how you could have done otherwise.

SIKELELWA

That could have been a family’s meal.

IBRAHIM

And still that family would have shared, my sister. It is how we are.

(Sikelelwa leaves the open package beside Kaylen and tenderly puts the half-eaten energy bar within reach. She gets up and goes to repack the bags, speaking over her shoulder to Ibrahim.)

SIKELELWA

Ekelani’s location is making it a convergence of many activities, suddenly. The river nearby is how some food supplies are sent in, if the authorities don’t intercept them. The road to the town is kept open to serve the businesses there, so they made sure to seal Ekelani off and trap people inside. People both good and bad. Last year the army came and there was shooting. Now there’s no shooting and less movement.

IBRAHIM

Then you are describing a hard balance.

SIKELELWA

They say that the virus can be contained under ultra-lockdown, and that protects the town and its industry. They say that serves the country right now. They say it with each location they put under ultra-lockdown, a location always right next to some important town that might not even be under regular lockdown. They say, they say, they say…

IBRAHIM

And you think that the police are protecting the ones in the town and punishing the ones in places like Ekelani. And you are doing all that is possible for you to do.

SIKELELWA

If only I could have gotten more of the food and sanitary supplies in before the ultra-lockdown, things could have been better for my friends inside.

IBRAHIM

What do your friends do inside?

SIKELELWA

They help others. (Cautiously) They make the most of what I can bring.

IBRAHIM

Food for the weak and elderly, and products for the young women.

SIKELELWA

For the young women, it’s crucial. For their own health, and because they are being trained to care for the sick.

IBRAHIM

There are medical people inside, training others?

SIKELELWA (carefully)

Just some people who know some things, from demonstrations that I gave in there before ultra- lockdown.

IBRAHIM

So when you are bringing food and products, are you also bringing medicine?

SIKELELWA (quickly)

I bring what I can. Whatever might not be confiscated by the guards.

IBRAHIM

But sometimes you do not always go through the guards?

(Sikelelwa does not reply. Kaylen stirs and moans in her sleep.)

SIKELELWA (looking at her)

And her and her friends… I can appreciate what they are doing. But they make it difficult on those inside.

IBRAHIM

If she is bringing light to this location, perhaps it will inspire those in power to behave different.

SIKELELWA

No, they’re agitated and that makes them enforce the rules more harshly. It will mean that I cannot bring supplies and without the supplies, it gets worse. Morale lowers.

IBRAHIM

Are you a doctor?

SIKELELWA (takes a moment)

I worked for Doctors without Borders when I was young. I was studying to become a biochemist. Before the virus came, before the first lockdown. My studies had to be suspended because the university closed. I was on a scholarship.

IBRAHIM

You have been separated from your calling for over a year?

SIKELELWA

Yes, but I asked for special permission to source sanitary products from donors and bring them here.

IBRAHIM

You bring medicine, don’t you?

SIKELELWA

Yes… It’s not always legal. One of my mentors has access to a private laboratory. Samples, proven and tested but not always approved yet. It makes basic immune reinforcement possible, with no side effects. (Pause) When nobody looks, he lets me in to get surplus content. Raw materials but still effective.

IBRAHIM

And the food? Where does that come from?

SIKELELWA

I saved up for that. I supported myself working at Woolworths. When the virus came and the first lockdowns with it, I was an essential worker. I still am.

IBRAHIM

You knew even then that you may be acting as you are now?

SIKELELWA

It helped that I was registered with a hospital. I could get the medical essentials mobility permits as the lockdowns became heavier.

IBRAHIM

You have been fighting a war for a long time, my sister.

SIKELELWA

Which war, though. I don’t know anymore. (Pause) A year ago, during the first lockdown, I was walking from Woolworths. It was in the city center, 8pm, clock-out time. Down the street, people were applauding. Some of my friends needed that and they enjoyed it, and I was happy for them. I seldom took notice. I had mixed feelings. This night, my friend and I were walking down the street that lead from the Woolworths to the taxis and buses. She played up to the applause. She made me laugh, made me forget how tired I was. Most people were going back into their flats as we walked on but some still stayed on their balconies singing the national anthem for us. There were always people appearing on the street then, asking if we had any food for them and I brought some extra cans and bread rolls if I could spare them. The boys who usually waited for us and sometimes escorted us weren’t there that night. Two older men were standing outside the gate of one building, calling for anyone to help them with food. That’s what I thought. One man was directly at the gate pleading while the other stood further away, in shadows. They were homeless white men. I had never seen them before but they looked bad. Nobody would come out to them. I started getting out one of the cans and the breads. But as we came closer, one of the men started walking away quickly, the one who was standing in the shadows. The man at the gate… He slumped down and collapsed. A pool of blood formed around him. He had been stabbed. I saw it immediately. I found my gloves and tried to help him, and instructed my friend to call up for help. She didn’t want to. She wanted us to get home. She was frightened. But I had to try and help the man. Even though I didn’t think he could be saved. My friend called up, and I called up. We called out and said what had happened, and asked for the police and an ambulance to be called. There were so many people out just moments before, singing the national anthem. Nobody came. No ambulance was called. We had to do that ourselves. My friend called on her phone. And then she went on down the street, which was almost completely dark by then. Load shedding. I stayed with him, but he was dead. I watched my friend until I couldn’t see her anymore, swallowed by the darkness. It took an hour for the police to come, and another hour after that before an ambulance came and said they couldn’t take the body yet, because forensics needed to arrive. The ambulance left and forensics took another two hours. Nobody in the buildings came out. Two policemen guarded the scene. I was told to stay. Four hours, and not a single person came out. The next night they sang the anthem again.

(Sikelelwa sits in silence)

IBRAHIM

(Respectfully giving her the moment.)

My sister, in this moment, you have done everything you could have, and it is not for the world to respond to this. We can never wait that long. Only you can respond to yourself, and you will sin if you do not acknowledge yourself. (Pause) I know why you are here.

SIKELELWA (slowly, looking up)

Why am I here?

IBRAHIM

You will return to Ekelani no matter what tonight. Those bags are too full for your liking.

SIKELELWA (smiles slightly)

Yes, they are.

IBRAHIM (points to Kaylen)

And if what this sister said is true, then others may come here when it stops raining. I will now go outside and tell you what I see.

SIKELELWA

You can’t go out in that, it’s bad outside.

IBRAHIM

For the three of us, I have to see if there are others who will be foolish enough to challenge nature. (He goes to the door.) I will ask you to secure this behind me. I will let you know when I return.

(Kaylen begins to come to, turning and then sitting up slightly. She looks around the space, and then sees the pack next to her. She takes the half-eaten energy bar and chews on it.)

KAYLEN

Jesus, I’m sorry I was out like that!

(The others notice her and turn their attention back to her, although Ibrahim stays on a second to ensure the door cannot be breached. He nods to Sikelelwa and goes out. She secures the door behind him before wiping her hands.)

SIKELELWA

Feeling better?

KAYLEN (chewing merrily)

Yes, thanks, and I dunno what you gave me but it’s gonna make me chatty, just warning you.

SIKELELWA

That’s good, you can talk some of the craziness out of your system.

KAYLEN

Yoh, it was crazy. I’ve never been through anything like it!

SIKELELWA

It sounded to us like you saw perhaps even more than we did.

KAYLEN

I won’t forget it soon! I know I sound amped about it but that’s just coz whatever this is has given me a boost. (Takes a moment) What happened this afternoon…? Just. No.

SIKELELWA

I’m ready when you are. As you can hear outside, we can’t go anywhere yet.

KAYLEN

We were a group of 12. Most of us arrived separately. Two of us, a couple, are known independent journalists. We gave notice that we would picket outside Ekelani, and we had the permit as well as the mobility passes.

SIKELELWA

How were you able to get any of that in ultra-lockdown?

KAYLEN

Connections. We had the amnesty document for independent and fair media coverage; the couple had that. That was the main thing, provided we practiced social distancing when we picketed.

SIKELELWA

Incredible, you had so much leverage. I wish emergency health was given that.

KAYLEN

That was part of our campaign, to open up the international amnesty for fair health and food supply distribution. It starts with one thing to get the other things. Under international law, the government can’t put their hands on us.

SIKELELWA

But that’s what happened.

KAYLEN

We were there for about half an hour, and had already started our coverage—well, Joan and Monde did. The rest of us were picketing.

SIKELELWA

I saw you then. Some people from the inside were joining your chant.

KAYLEN (happily)

Yes, that was great! It was just how we hoped it would be, a peaceful protest like the others we had.

SIKELELWA

What were you there for? Just so that I’m sure.

KAYLEN

To get government to lift ultra-lockdown restrictions on Ekelani. The double gating, confining the area around Ekelani as well as locking people into Ekelani itself. That’s inhumane and horrifying. The town right next door is not under ultra-lockdown and there’s no reason for it.

SIKELELWA

But you knew that picketing at an ultra-lockdown site would bring the police, more so than at other locations, irrespective of international amnesty.

KAYLEN

Ja, sure, we knew the police could come but as long as we weren’t contravening the act they couldn’t interfere with us.

SIKELELWA

What happened? How did it start?

KAYLEN

They came up to us, barely five minutes after arriving and surrounding us, like what happened at Marikana. They reinforced the outer perimeter, which we were in, so we knew they were up to no good. We thought it was intimidation.

SIKELELWA

It doesn’t make sense to me that they would come out in such great numbers for a group of 12 protestors.

KAYLEN

I’ll tell you just now why it makes sense. They started pushing Joan and Monde around, knowing they were the journalists. We came up to them and confronted them without getting close to them. You could hear the people on the inside cheering.

SIKELELWA

I remember that too. But it’s from there where things started getting out of control and I couldn’t see much more.

KAYLEN          

One of the cops hit Monde hard and he went straight down. Joan didn’t react but I was going crazy, yelling at them. The guards knew what was going to happen because they already had teargas masks on. The one vark fired his canister at the small crowd, who were distanced. Immediately two others started firing rubber bullets into Ekelani. (Pause) They were there to cause chaos.

SIKELELWA

It was when I heard the shots that I began to run. I turned back and saw the police shooting, and then some inside started throwing bricks. They had broken down their own generator wall to get the bricks. That’s how vulnerable they felt.

KAYLEN

Some people got over the gate to help, because the cops were starting to grab us. They got Joan and Monde and threw them in a van. That was when it got really violent. If you didn’t see it, you heard it.

SIKELELWA

How did you get out?

KAYLEN

Because more of them got into the shooting, they left the outer perimeter open. I ran through and jumped over the fence. How did you get out?

SIKELELWA

There’s a breach. Only the people inside know exactly where it is. One of them signaled to me where it was.

KAYLEN

Oh, where was it?

SIKELELWA

I can’t tell you.

KAYLEN

Oh ja, of course.      

SIKELELWA

I still don’t understand why there was a premeditated action against you like that.

KAYLEN

Two reasons. I’ll say it over and over again. Marikana. It’s like the playbook.

SIKELELWA

You do say that a lot. What’s the other reason?

KAYLEN

That they wanted to get us out of the way because we had eyes.

SIKELELWA

You had eyes?

KAYLEN

Cameras, social media and international awareness. It’s unfavorable for the world to see this—concentration camp. It would expose the government.

SIKELELWA

Yes, but sooner or later that was going to happen, so why would they protect it so violently today?

KAYLEN

I say again, we had eyes to see things that they don’t want to have seen. By taking us out of the way so spectacularly, they sent a message out.

SIKELELWA

A message to other potential protestors? You were the only ones in the entire country.

KAYLEN

A warning message to anyone thinking of protesting, sure. (Pause) But also… A signal to those on the inside that the coast was definitely clear.

SIKELELWA

Clear for what? You’re making me ask many questions.

KAYLEN

On the way in, one of my friends said that something was going to happen in Ekelani. Some or other big deal. Drugs. Because there was something valuable inside Ekelani, and ultra-lockdown contained it, kept it from spreading.

SIKELELWA

The only thing to be contained from spreading is the virus, which I don’t think anyone inside Ekelani has. They are sick in all the other ways, and need assistance, but they’re trapped, imprisoned.   

KAYLEN

I know. But my friend said this was nothing about that. There is something valuable inside Ekelani and valuable things have buyers. A big buyer is supposedly coming in.

SIKELELWA

Look, Kaylen, for someone intent on spreading truth, you sound like you’re susceptible to conspiracy theories.          

KAYLEN

You can think so… But the gangs. You know they are the law inside Ekelani, and they ensure that cheap drugs are manufactured. But outside, they need to shift what they have.

SIKELELWA

So you’re saying the police shift it for them? That’s not news.

KAYLEN

The police can’t afford a series of secret operations, not when the task teams watch over them. They need to facilitate one big deal. It’s high risk, so they need a big diversion. And they need a big buyer who can do one big deal. I think that deal was today, and we were the diversion. It was all in my head running here. I needed to focus on something to keep it together. That made sense to me.

SIKELELWA

It sounds like a movie, Kaylen, and I don’t think informed people like you should be peddling conspiracy theories.

KAYLEN

We didn’t peddle it; we kept it to ourselves. My friend had been thinking about it, worried that something felt wrong about today. (Pause) You said earlier that gangsters were becoming more brazen?

SIKELELWA

Yes, there were more of them out in the open. That was new. (Begins to look anxiously at the door) If I accept what you say, then I can understand they would be brave if they felt they had police protection.

KAYLEN

Yes, but they’re also performing, trying to catch attention.

SIKELELWA

Catch the attention of this big buyer?

KAYLEN

Exactly. Think about it. Someone coming in able to buy an entire supply in one go has a wide network, must have. Probably stretching into Serbia, Brazil—everywhere.

SIKELELWA (looking at the door again)

It’s a myth meant to distract us, a conspiracy theory.

KAYLEN

Maybe, maybe…. But, you know, Siki, conspiracies and plots mean things to people. It gives them something to focus on, especially in difficult times.

SIKELELWA (a little harshly)

For bored people lying on their phones all day, sure, it could be a comfort. What does a myth mean for gangsters in a locked down township?

KAYLEN

Gangsters are dreamers. A big drug lord swooping in like a mythical creature is as much a motivation as anything else to show yourself, to audition.

SIKELELWA (sighs)

I suppose like all urban myths and legends, this almighty presence has a name, something ready-made to stick in our heads?

KAYLEN (smiles)

Yes, they call him the Shambi.

SIKELELWA (indifferent)

So much for me hoping it might be a woman.

KAYLEN (slowing down)

Look, Siki, I know I must be incorrigible to you. I get it. However, I do believe it. (Pause) Everything that’s happening right now. There’s your movie. Two years ago, none of this seemed possible. Now, here we are.

SIKELELWA

All that I can tell you is that there are mounting medical emergencies inside Ekelani, and conspiracy theories don’t help those without assistance.

KAYLEN

That’s part of it, don’t you see?

(A knock at the door)

IBRAHIM’s VOICE (off)

It is me, Ibrahim. I am alone.

(Siki gets up and goes to the door. She looks back at Kaylen.)

KAYLEN (nodding)

Yes. Let him in.

(Sikelelwa opens the door and Ibrahim enters, drenched. Sikelelwa secures the door behind him, then again goes to wipe her hands. As ever, he carefully maintains his distance from Sikelelwa.)

KAYLEN

Jesus, Ibrahim, you’re soaked through!

IBRAHIM (calmly)

It is not terrible, my sister.

KAYLEN

Not terrible? I can almost see right through you!

(Kaylen gets up and is about to grab the blanket she had been laying on but Ibrahim stops her.)

IBRAHIM

No, please. (He goes to where he had left his dogon jacket and shawl, and picks them up.) There is this.

(Ibrahim goes into the corner near the door, finding enough space behind the two drums stacked atop one another. He changes his clothes.)

SIKELELWA

Kaylen was telling me about a mythical monster coming here to buy drugs and rescue the poor gangsters of Ekelani. (Kaylen shoots her a look, but then laughs a little.) Did you see anything out there?

IBRAHIM

Nothing, my sister. I ran far but saw only darkness and the look of the rain. At the bottom of the hill, I am not sure, a car’s lights flashing. It was too far away to see clearly.

SIKELELWA

A car? Its hazards were probably on. Somebody got stuck maybe. They’d be long gone now.

KAYLEN

I hope something worse didn’t happen. Jesus.

(Sensing her impending anxiety, Siki decides to keep Kaylen talking.)

SIKELELWA

You were saying?

KAYLEN

Huh, what?

(Ibrahim hangs his wet clothes over the drums)

SIKELELWA

You said the medical emergencies inside Ekelani somehow feed your big theory about this—whathisname—Shambi?

KAYLEN (takes a moment)

Yes, yes of course.

SIKELELWA

And how do you explain it?

KAYLEN

There are obviously trained medics inside Ekelani. Even I know that, they snuck in just before ultra-lockdown.

SIKELELWA

That’s hardly the worst thing, having the foresight to sneak in and do what you can to keep others alive.

KAYLEN

No, they’re fucking heroes. But if the gangsters find out who they are, they’re either dead or working with guns to their head.

(Ibrahim emerges, dressed now in his trousers, jacket and shawl.)

SIKELELWA (apprehensive)

Now, I really don’t follow you.

KAYLEN

Think, Siki. Trained medics, chemists and doctors in there would be used to help the manufacture of drugs if they are caught. It will boost production.

SIKELELWA

Jesus.

KAYLEN

That’s a worst-case scenario. With the coming of the big lord (grins, more nervously), production has been ramped up, probably. Which might mean some of themare already caught.

SIKELELWA (affected)

They are just there to help.

KAYLEN

There would be one more person unaccounted for, maybe just as much part of the blame.

IBRAHIM (surprisingly joining in)

Who would this person be?

KAYLEN (taken aback slightly)

Whoever is smuggling in medical supplies to the doctors inside. It could only be one person, on the regular. They’re the unwitting supplier.

(Sikelelwa winces at this, although hiding it from Kaylen. Ibrahim notices.)

SIKELELWA

There’s a wild ending to your grand conspiracy theory.

KAYLEN

Wild, all right. Someone coming in with supplies intending to help has probably doomed the doctors inside. (Pause) Siki, imagine if the food and sanitary products you brought to Ekelani could somehow be used to hurt people instead of help them. (Sikelelwa is winded by this, and now noticeably reacts. Kaylen is struck by it but misinterprets, and looks down at the pack she’d been eating from.) Siki, what’s this I’ve been eating? (Sikelelwa looks at her, forlorn, and does not reply) Siki? This package? Is it from the girls’ supplies?

IBRAHIM

They were from the bags that Sikilelwa carries, my sister.

KAYLEN (shocked)

You mean…? And the drink you gave me earlier?

IBRAHIM

That was from the same package.

KAYLEN

Oh, Siki how could you! You gave me of the girls’ supplies. No, man! Jesus, how could I have been so stupid? No, man, Siki!

IBRAHIM (firmly, catching her off guard)

That will be enough, please. You were in need.

KAYLEN (after a moment)

I’m sorry. Siki, I’m sorry. (Pause) I wish I could hug you.

IBRAHIM

Also, I do not know what you have been discussing that is having this impact.

KAYLEN

Ghost stories, maybe. I don’t know, Ibrahim. I think the world is a very evil place. (Siki remains recoiled, now off to the side. Her face is anguished.) What’s wrong?

SIKELELWA

If I believe what you say… Then nothing does any good. What does it matter if the devil is named Shambi, or is each one of us? I try to use science to fight my way through the depression, and what I’ve endured. I fight with science. Now you tell me science gets taken into a shack laboratory and used to spread the rot of ourselves even further. (Pause, softly) I want to give up. (She crouches down in a heap.) I want to give up.

KAYLEN (rises, wants to go to Siki)

Siki, Siki, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking.

(Ibrahim gently holds up his hand, cautioning her to stay away from Siki. There is another knock at the door. Because of the storm, the knock needs to be loud to be heard. It is a controlled knocking, meant to draw attention and not to frighten. Siki looks at the covered windows and points at them.)

SIKELELWA

There are some clear spots you can look through. (Kaylen and Ibrahim each go to a window and look out.) What do you see? Are there many?

IBRAHIM (after a few seconds)

It is one man, dressed as security.

SIKELELWA

Kaylen?

KAYLEN

I don’t see anyone else, unless they’re doing a good job of hiding.

IBRAHIM

Yes, it is one man only.

SIKELELWA

And you say he’s dressed as security?

KAYLEN

They’re hardly friends of ours.

SIKELELWA

Ibrahim, would you speak to him from the door? Ask him who he is. (She takes his place at the window.)

IBRAHIM (goes to the door)

Who is it?

Marko’s Theme

VOICE (loud, clear, calm)

My name is Marko. I work for Trident Security. (Pause) Name Marko Willemse. You can check that on the Trident site.

SIKELELWA

He doesn’t know there’s not any signal here.

KAYLEN

We can’t see his face anyway.

SIKELELWA

Ibrahim, ask him what he is doing here?

IBRAHIM

What do you want here, please?

MARKO’s VOICE

I was attacked by unidentified assailants, at the bottom of the hill. Before that, I was at the Gulvest Factory, where my colleague was brought down.

SIKELELWA

The dead man I saw outside the factory, with the policeman standing over him. That could have been his colleague.

IBRAHIM

How did you know to come here?

MARKO’s VOICE

I chased my friend’s attackers and I was ambushed at the bottom of the hill. I know the area and knew about this building.

IBRAHIM

We need to be sure you are alone. Do you understand this?

MARKO’s VOICE

Yes, I do.  I checked the area and then approached. I heard your voices.

IBRAHIM

Do you have a gun?

MARKO’s VOICE

Yes, I do. I am licensed to carry a firearm. I have fired a number of rounds and am down to my last two. If it helps that you know that.

KAYLEN

No, it doesn’t help at all to know that! He’s a stranger, he has a gun and he could be lying about his ammunition!

SIKELELWA

Probably, but if gangs are coming our way before we can get out then we may need him.

KAYLEN

I don’t want to let him in. I don’t trust private security.

SIKELELWA

If what he says is true, his friend was killed and he was attacked. Then he’s been through more than us.

KAYLEN

That’s his job, and like the police, they abuse their roles. All through the lockdown, private security has been helping the police. They’re just like the Marikana murderers.

SIKELELWA

This isn’t the time but I wish you would stop saying that; it doesn’t help. I think we should let him in.

IBRAHIM

I agree.

MARKO’s VOICE

I’m hoping you will let me in. It’s getting worse out here.

KAYLEN (to Sikelelwa)

Okay. But two things. I didn’t want him in here. And. If he is dangerous… If he—gets the better of Ibrahimand it’s just us…

SIKELELWA

Yes. We will do what it takes. (Pause. To Ibrahim) Okay, open the door.

(Ibrahim goes to open the door. Marko enters. He is in his mid-30s, not very tall and quite broad, although the  very thick, baggy jacket he wears may be bulking his appearance. The jacket is distracting. Marko is calm but there is a tenseness about him. In his hand is a radio. Kaylen appears to be in discomfort and tries to hide it; she has trouble standing. Ibrahim watches Marko carefully and Sikelelwa positions herself close to the bags.)

MARKO (to Ibrahim)

Thanks.

IBRAHIM

You are welcome, my brother. (He motions to Siki and Kaylen.) We all had a say in that decision.

MARKO

Ja.

(Marko moves slowly about the space, looking around. Kaylen immediately takes a dislike to him but her discomfort is weighing more on her.)

IBRAHIM

My name is Ibrahim.

SIKELELWA

I am Siki, an essential. (Kaylen doesn’t partake.) And she won’t tell you her name.

MARKO

Ja, well, you already know my name.

SIKELELWA (looking him up and down)

Your trousers are badly ripped.

MARKO

Ja, it was bad there, hey.

KAYLEN

Bad where? (She begins to hobble to the L wall)

MARKO

There by Ekelani.

KAYLEN

You had to guard something there? I thought you were at that factory.

MARKO

It’s close by to Ekelani, just off the road connecting to town.

SIKELELWA

I always thought that was an odd place for any factory.

MARKO

You go in that area often? You don’t look like from here. (Looks around the space.) None of you do.

SIKELELWA

You were at the factory when the fighting broke out at Ekelani?

MARKO

Yes, you could hear it a mile away. The factory is always hit.

KAYLEN

A packaging container factory? Do people come in and steal containers?

MARKO

People will steal anything. They need containers.

SIKELELWA

They’d be a bit clumsy to steal.

MARKO

You’ll be surprised.

KAYLEN (can’t hide her enmity)

I don’t think anyone came from Ekelani to the factory today. How were you caught up, and why?

MARKO (takes a moment to suss her out)

You were one of the protestors, weren’t you? I saw you. Funny, you asking me how I got caught up for a thing you started.

KAYLEN (harshly)

Fuck off! If you were there, you’d have seen the police starting it.

MARKO

You started it just by being there. Don’t you know how this works?

KAYLEN

The police came there for trouble, to hurt us and to hurt the people of Ekelani.

MARKO (with a sneer)

“The people”.

KAYLEN

A perfect system. The government makes a lockdown that is impossible to abide and punish people for trying to live. Because they want to punish, they thrive on it.

MARKO

Listen, Ekelani is a dangerous place if not locked down. It’s right on the way to town, so you looking at a lot of stuff going bad if people aren’t contained.

KAYLEN

By on the way to town you mean it’s on a road that the capitalists need for coming in and out. The rich people who don’t need to be put under lockdown.

MARKO

If it breaks loose from Ekelani, then you have major trouble on your hands.

KAYLEN

Nobody there was moving anywhere near the limits of the outer zones they’d already been fenced in by. They were that good about it. So why the ultra-lockdown measures on them?

MARKO

You never know, better safe than sorry.

KAYLEN

Better the devil you know, right? And that devil is apartheid. Helped and supported by traitors like you.

MARKO (agitated but under control)

You talk a lot, ek sê.

KAYLEN

Typical coloured male in uniform. Can’t listen, thinks he’s in control. Racist.

MARKO (bristles, smiles)

Jarre, taking chances. I wonder what are you?

KAYLEN

I’m just one person making a stand against yet another system of oppression.

MARKO

Really? When you’re also coloured, middle class, from Cape Town, a long way from home and, as far as I can see, barely able to stand.

(Sikelelwa looks down at Kaylen’s legs and goes over to her.)

KAYLEN

Is that all you have? Looks like I’m standing up to you just fine and you don’t like it.

(Sikelelwa leads Kaylen off, as if trying to disengage her from the fight; she flashes a look at Ibrahim, asking him to occupy Marko. The two different conversations happen simultaneously.)

MARKO (to Ibrahim)

You don’t have to keep me company while the wives talk, it’s all right.

SIKELELWA (in a whisper)

Your leg is bleeding.

IBRAHIM

I do not think there is need for any of these. We are all just getting to know one another.

KAYLEN

It’s nothing, I scratched it while jumping over the fence. I don’t want them to see.

MARKO

So everyone here is a stranger? Had me fooled.

SIKELELWA

You’re looking bad, and why pick a fight a stranger.

IBRAHIM

The storm naturally brought us all here.

KAYLEN

I didn’t want him to come in here.

MARKO

A force of nature. But on a day when all hell broke loose, you three end up here.

SIKELELWA

If he is trouble and we have to run for it, you don’t look like you could right now. So don’t make trouble with him. I’ll see what he’s about.

(Sikelelwa leads Kaylen to the spot against the wall, on the pile of wood, where she lay earlier.)

SIKELELWA

Get under the blanket, not on it.

(Kaylen looks at Sikelelwa for a doubtful moment and then complies.)

IBRAHIM

We four, my brother.

KAYLEN

He’s snooping, I don’t know why.

MARKO

So, let me see how this worked. Who got here, first?

SIKELELWA (gets up and goes to Marko)

I got here first. Ibrahim was a few seconds behind me. After a little bit, (points to Kaylen), she came here.

MARKO

Don’t worry, her name doesn’t matter to me. She’s the protesting pussycat. (A gleam) I know her type.

SIKELELWA (pointing to his clothes)

How did you get caught up, again?

MARKO

Oh, my turn? Okay. (Pause) Some people came over to the factory.

KAYLEN

Bullshit! That factory is a front!

MARKO (to Sikelelwa)

You gonna let me talk, or is it all about the sideshow over there?

SIKELELWA (to Kaylen)

Please, don’t. Let him speak. Remember, we’re strangers to him, too.

MARKO

I heard the shooting. I saw the protestors earlier, on their way to Ekelani. I knew that would happen. (Glances at Kaylen)

SIKELELWA

So people came to the factory.

MARKO

Yes, to loot. Or whatever. There wasn’t shelter there. Whatever it was, they killed my buddy.

SIKELELWA

I’m sorry. What happened?

MARKO

He came to join me at the factory. When I heard the shooting, I drove to Ekelani. When I got there, it was people running everywhere, bricks being thrown at the police, rubber bullets flying past my head. A bullet hit my radio and broke it. I asked one of the sergeants if I could help but he said I should watch out. He saw a group of locals running in the direction of the factory. I got in my bakkie again and drove back there and saw Wayne lying face down on the ground, his head smashed in. You could see it had just happened. They took his radio and his firearm. Jarre.

SIKELELWA

I think I saw him, when I was running away. I saw a policeman standing over him.

MARKO

I didn’t want him lying there like that but I also knew that those who did it had to be close by coz the factory wasn’t breached, and they were on foot. So I chased, looking for them. When I got to the bottom of the hill leading up here, I drove into stones that they packed in the road, it fucked up the suspension and the bakkie went off the road. I couldn’t get it back up. But I was still gonna catch them that killed Wayne. I knew about this place, so I came here, I ran. The rain caught me. I heard your voices before I knocked.

SIKELELWA

I sensed there was someone outside, even though it was noisy. (Looks at his radio) Does that work?

MARKO

No. (Holds it up, points to where it is damaged) See, there’s where the bullet went through. But I wanted to check if I could fix it. I can hear some transmissions coming through but I can’t send a call out. But they can trace the radio, like they can trace Wayne’s radio. It shouldn’t be long.

SIKELELWA

You have a phone?

MARKO

There’s no signal here. (Kaylen briefly glares at him)

SIKELELWA

I am sorry for your friend, again. I am sorry he lost his life looking after that factory.

MARKO

That’s our job. (Pause) I believe those that went there wanted to hurt somebody. You see a lot of things in this business. You see how people really are. I don’t believe they went there to run away, or look for shelter or ask for Wayne’s help. This (points to the space) would have been for shelter. Maybe they needed supplies, but what would containers help them? (Pause) Unless.

KAYLEN

Unless what.

MARKO

Maybe just talk.

KAYLEN

What is just talk?

MARKO

Spoek stories. (Looks at Ibrahim) Ghost stories.

KAYLEN (impatiently)

Scare us.

MARKO

A person hears things. Sometimes I listen in on the police frequencies; sometimes you can do that. Sometimes you hear people talk.

SIKELELWA

And sometimes you get things on whatsapp groups.

MARKO (smiles)

Yes. But still.

KAYLEN (tensely)

But still, what?

MARKO

I hear there’s operations happening there inside Ekelani. That’s why the police need to go in. Maybe that’s why the people there need containers.

IBRAHIM

What kind of operations, my brother?

MARKO

A little slow, nuh? Can see you not from here. Drugs, homeboy. Cheap drugs. Containers come in handy.

IBRAHIM (slowly)

That would seem very unnecessary at this point. It would take so much time from people who are trying to survive.

MARKO

There’s nothing but time in there. (Pause) Time to steal medical supplies coming into Ekelani and use them for production.

SIKELELWA (shaken)

That… sounds a little crazy to do right now. At another time, yes, but not now.

MARKO

The police stopped the medical supplies because this was happening. But obviously someone is still delivering. Maybe the gangsters know when the supplies come, and know when to intercept it.

SIKELELWA (struggling)

It’s still too far-fetched. Drugs would need to be exported. There would need to be buyers.

MARKO

Not buyers. One buyer. Apparently, some big lord no-one knows who. But you hear the name Shambi a lot. (Kaylen sits up at this)

SIKELELWA (losing herself for a second)

Oh, not that again!

MARKO

Oh, so you heard about him? I wonder from where.

SIKELELWA

What difference would someone known as Shambi make? There are drug shifters everywhere. They look like anybody else.

MARKO

Look around you. Who even has any kind of capital to shift anything right now, even the cheapest shit? If someone is buying, then they must have serious connections. Probably international.

SIKI

It would be desperate to force people who are locked in to be producers of drugs.

MARKO

Yes, desperate and easier: it’s like getting inmates in a prison as your free labor.

SIKELELWA

And supposedly the produce comes from the supplies that had been sent to alleviate the suffering of the sick in Ekelani?

MARKO

Those medical supplies have all the raw ingredients.

 KAYLEN

He knows a lot for a private security guard working at a container factory! I heard that factory is a drugs den protected by the cops for income.

SIKELELWA (sigh)

No. All these conspiracy theories, at this time… No. It’s like the blame game all over again, when one country accused another of creating the virus.

MARKO

Think what you want. But sooner or later, people will come here. We’ll see which people come first. You’ll be happier if it was my people.

(Markogoes over to the door. Ibrahim moves closer but Marko holds up a hand, warding him away. While Marko checks on the door, Kaylen takes Sikelelwa aside.)

KAYLEN

I don’t trust that guy. Something is off about him.

SIKELELWA

We’ll have to keep watching him.

KAYLEN

Ibrahim I also don’t know about. It’s just— men. But at least Ibrahim acts like he’s gentle. This guy, Marko, I don’t know. He has a gun.

(The radio comes to life, and Marko checks it as he finishes with the door. The voice over the radio is in Afrikaans.)

VOICE OVER THE RADIO

Ons hoor… wat JP gesê het van die God’s Children en die Shields… Ja, hulle is in die omtes, het rondgeloop voor die storm gebreek het… Ja, die God’s Children en die Shields het saam geloop… Ja, dit wil sê dat hulle nie meer teen mekaar is nie… Jy kan mos dink hoekom… Die groot baas is naby…

(After a few transmissions fail to air, the radio returns to static, and Marko puts it aside.)

IBRAHIM

Could you translate that please, my brother?

Ekelani

MARKO

They said that the two big gangs from Ekelani, The God’s Children and the Shields, were seen walking around the areas outside the township before the storm hit. They were walking together, although they are supposed to be enemies. So they think it is because the gangs know that the Shambi is nearby.

SIKELELWA

If they were walking around together before the storm, it could mean they

were going to a meeting place. (Pause) This place could be it. And there is a direct path here.

KAYLEN

Which means as soon as the storm passes they could be coming.

IBRAHIM

Maybe we should fix the radio and let the police know.

KAYLEN

No! (Her outcry creates a short pause.)

SIKELELWA (calmly)

No. Not the police.

MARKO (unconvincingly)

Look, I don’t feel comfortable with them either but—

KAYLEN

They’re crooked, and they won’t stop the gangs.

MARKO

I saw guys belonging to both The God’s Children and The Shields grab one or two of the protestors. Maybe they are being held. If that is the case then the police have to do something.

KAYLEN

That’s bullshit! None of us was taken.

MARKO

How do you know? You were running away, weren’t you?

KAYLEN

I know my friends.

MARKO

Maybe your friends don’t know the area so well. Some of them were running in the wrong direction. I saw that.

KAYLEN

You’re lying! I don’t know why, but you’re lying.

SIKELELWA

Take it easy, Kaylen.

MARKO

I don’t understand you. First you come this afternoon and start all the troubles. You agitate the police. You run away, some of your friends get taken. Maybe they’re hostages now. Being raped. And you want to sit here and do nothing but badmouth the police. Only the police can handle this.

KAYLEN

That’s not true, you can’t pretend that we’re irresponsible; we had all the papers for a peaceful protest and we’ve never been part of violence before. But the Marikana murderers didn’t care.

MARKO

That’s because you don’t know violence.

KAYLEN

The police came there with intent. We were there to stand for fairness to Ekelani.

MARKO

Ekelani’s people took your friends. Maybe the gangs will bring the hostages here too, and then you’d need the police to get your friends out.

KAYLEN

And what if the police set that up? What if they’re working with the gangs to get my friends—if any of my friends are caught, which is what you say.

MARKO

The police would get your friends out.

KAYLEN

And that’s what the crooked media will report—the police saved the lives of the people they set up. You can see your crooked president’s method in this.

SIKELELWA

Kaylen, enough! Now you’re antagonizing him.

MARKO

You know nothing of combat and strategy but you want to talk like this. Typical!

KAYLEN

And you? What war did you fight in, Mr Private Security?

IBRAHIM

My sister, my brother. Please. Now is not the time for this. If what we fear is the truth, then it is possible that others are coming this way.

KAYLEN

Cops or crooks. Take your pick. Or both.

IBRAHIM

The weather is bad outside. All of us cannot go under that rain. I can go again and see if there is a safe way that is off the path.

SIKELELWA

No, don’t!

(Marko and Kaylen look at her.)

IBRAHIM

If I go now and see if a way is clear, we can move as soon as the storm passes.

SIKELELWA

There is only the one road here. Others will be nearby.

IBRAHIM

But the path turns away from Ekelani, and into the nearby town.

SIKELELWA

Then maybe you all should go. But there could be others waiting on the way into the town as well.

KAYLEN

Fuck, Siki, it’s as if you want to stay here.

MARKO (suspiciously)

Or as if you want to stay close to Ekelani. (Brief silence, then he turns to Ibrahim) But she’s right. Nobody should go anywhere. I can’t allow you to leave.

KAYLEN (stunned)

What? Who are you to give orders?

MARKO

Look at you, you can barely move, except for that big mouth.

KAYLEN

At least it’s mine. Yours is part of the state apparatus. You’re no different to the cops. There’s no reason we should stay here.

MARKO

We’re all witnesses. I would have to report that I saw all of you, anyway, and there’ll be a follow-up.

KAYLEN

So what? The priority should be to get out of here first.

MARKO

You just never want to understand—

KAYLEN

Oh, look at you, Mr Man, trying to pretend you’re the brains around here!

MARKO (emotional)

Shut up! I’ve had enough of you. You fucking people come and cause kak and then want to shout at us— and the police… The president is trying to take care of us and then you naaiers come and shout Marikana, Marikana in a time like this! Come from your nice suburbs and protest to feel good about yourselves. You know fokol! (He begins to break down) You don’t know how dangerous it is out there. The toll it takes on a man, the kak you see. God, my wife doesn’t even recognize me anymore. I come home and then she’s whatsapping with some other naai and pretend that it’s her sister. God, I have to survive people trying to stiek me with broken bottel koppe. My own fucking superior is out to get me. I know it. I know one day on a call he will come with me and shoot me through the head from behind and say it was gangsters. You fucking can’t trust anybody. For all I know he’s the guy that’s naaiing my wife. (His voice becomes shakier and he almost howls.) Jarre the kak I have to do just to get by. I sit in front of the mirror and burn my arms with matches just so I can take the pain and be ready for it.  Other day I was in Du Noon and I saw this naai shoot his own dog and say on a phone video it was us who shot the dog (quickly)—and the police. He come say here on a video that every piece of shit then spreads around on whatsapp. Jarre, fuck you people, come make our lives even more in danger with your kak. I can’t take it! (He crouches down, his head in his hands. Slowly, Siki approaches him.)

SIKELELWA

Marko, I’m sorry. (Pause) I’m sorry for the things you have seen, and gone through… Your friend I saw, laying on his back this afternoon, with the policeman standing over him… I’m sorry.

MARKO (uncertain, as if his mind is wandering)

It could just so easily have been the other way around. It could have been me.

SIKELELWA (confused)

It’s okay, now… (She looks around the space at the others before looking back down to Marko.) It’s okay to trust people.

(Marko begins to gather himself. While Kaylen has remained respectfully quiet through Marko’s breakdown, she still looks untrusting and ill at ease with him, as well as with their situation.)

MARKO (getting up)

Well, we must keep focused.

(Ibrahim helps him up but Marko only hesitantly allows this.)

IBRAHIM

I am sorry for what you have endured, my brother.

MARKO (attempting to shrug it off)

Ja, nuh, it’s tough everywhere.

IBRAHIM

When it is tough like this, it is acceptable to not appear tough under any circumstances.

MARKO

I don’t know what you mean.

IBRAHIM

My English is not good enough to pass to you the message of the original saying.

MARKO (quickly)

A saying from back home, nuh?

IBRAHIM

Yes.

(While Marko interrogates Ibrahim, Sikelelwa goes over to Kaylen, who is clearly struggling; the women speak in whispers. The conversations occur simultaneously.)

MARKO

So, where did you say you were from, again?

SIKELELWA

Okay, tell me what’s wrong.

IBRAHIM

My brother, I did not tell you that.

KAYLEN

Are you sure they can’t hear?

MARKO

Okay, but tell me now.

SIKELELWA

I don’t know what’s up with them and it doesn’t matter right now. Looking at you, I can guess, though.

IBRAHIM

I am from Mali.

KAYLEN

I was worried you, or them, would see it, or smell it.

MARKO

I was just wondering why you so a long way from home.

SIKELELWA

I knew when you tried to hide it, not from anything else.

IBRAHIM

There is no need to wonder about that.

KAYLEN

My period isn’t usually this bad but my levels have been low, and the bleeding is very heavy. (Pause) And my stuff was in my bag that got ripped from me when I ran. I was so stupid.

MARKO

Seems like you trying to hide something. I’m used to Somalis and Nigerians around here. But we watch them. Nobody from Mali.

SIKELELWA

Yes, you’re stupid for not telling me so that I could get you something for it. Your face tells me you’re losing too much blood, and I think you may be starting to get some paralysis, especially in your legs.

IBRAHIM

It is strange to me why you are asking such questions.

KAYLEN

Yes, but please, please don’t take of the supplies, I beg you. Those girls need it.

MARKO

You’re the stranger here.

(Marko’s radio comes to life, with a voice loudly announcing a transmission code. Everyone is startled but Siki then turns back to Kaylen. Ibrahim stares hard at Marko, who now has the look of someone exposed, caught out.)

SIKELELWA

You need it more right now.

(She gets up, although Kaylen tries to pull her back, saying “No, no!”, but Sikelelwa gets up and goes to where the bags are. Marko turns his attention to Sikelelwa.)

MARKO

Going for a weapon, Siki?

(Marko moves in menacingly on Sikelelwa to stop her from going to the bags. Siki recoils and Marko is about to manhandle her when Ibrahim intervenes, pulling Marko away. As Marko fends him off, Ibrahim holds on to his jacket and, stumbling backward, rips off part of the jacket, exposing a blue uniformed shirt underneath.)

SIKELELWA

Shit!

KAYLEN (in a shocked panic)

Oh fuck, oh fuck, I knew it, he’s a cop! He’s a cop!

(Kaylem tries to move but gasps in pain. Marko pulls his gun on them.)

SIKELELWA

Kaylen, be still.

MARKO (controlled but aggressive)

That’s right. Kaylen, you just stay where you are. Siki, move away from the bags and stand about a door’s length away from the wall. (Siki slowly complies, her hands in the air.) That’s good. Ibrahim, you can stay where you, just move further back, just so three steps. (Ibrahim slowly complies, his hands also in the air.) That’s a good boy.

KAYLEN

What’s he doing?

IBRAHIM

He’s controlling a shooting radius. Depending on how good a shot he is.

MARKO

You clever, hey? Now I wonder about your background. Don’t worry, I’m a very good shot. I don’t waste bullets. And I have more than two. If it helps you to know that.

SIKELELWA

That was you? Standing over the security guard? I mean, you killed him and took his uniform.

MARKO

Yes, I took his uniform and put my jacket on him. But I didn’t kill him. The people did.

KAYLEN

That’s bullshit! You’re a murderer!

MARKO

Stop being dom, you bitch. (Savagely) And don’t interrupt me again! (Short Pause) Nogal interesting, finding a protestor, a foreigner and an essential worker all in one place. Makes a person wonder if there’s a plan or something here.

SIKELELWA (calmly)

Marko, it’s all true. We came here separate from one another.

MARKO

See, that’s the part that doesn’t make sense. What was each of you doing there at Ekelani before ultra-lockdown? You had no business being there and were already breaking the law.

IBRAHIM

The law is confusing at the moment. The law cannot be clearly seen. The law is shouted in different words every day by angry-looking brothers like you.

SIKELELWA

Marko, you being here is also a strange thing. If you’re the police, you did not need shelter unless you got isolated from your team, and your vehicle.

MARKO

I ask the questions, Siki. (Pause) First question. What is an essential worker doing snooping around the township when she doesn’t live there? You got a boyfriend or a stukkie in there?

SIKELELWA

I just wanted to see if I could help. I had some food to spare and sanitary products to deliver. I had a permit.

MARKO

Ja, that’s what you say is in those bags. How do I know there isn’t weapons and phones in there?

SIKELELWA

What good would those be for people who are fenced in on all sides?

MARKO

And what if the trick is to stay in, and manufacture things—like drugs? The market is even wider for cheap drugs now. People need relief.

SIKELELWA

And how would such manufacture be distributed? Only through the gangs, who are working for the police.

MARKO

Don’t talk shit! We’re here to stop things like that from happening!

KAYLEN (angrily)

Oh, for fuck’s sake! What, are you the one good cop? Are you enforcing brutality completely oblivious to what all of your buddies are doing? Are you that blind?

MARKO (impatiently)

Shut up! People need relief so there’s a demand for drugs.

SIKELELWA

And what is it they need relief from? The conditions of ultra-lockdown imposed by you?

MARKO (indignant)

Ultra-lockdown is for their own good! Take away alcohol, and cigarettes, and maximize the confinement. How can we be responsible for peoples’ weaknesses?

KAYLEN

You fucking idiot! It’s been obvious from the start, from the earliest days of the first lockdown. The cops were shifting confiscated cigarettes and alcohol. Of course they would move on to drugs. The cops are the weakness and they’re stinking corrupt. You stupid poes!

(Marko is furious and fires a shot that whizzes past Kaylen’s head. She screams; Sikelelwa crouches down and Ibrahim stands firm. Firing the gun has allowed Marko to let off steam. In the aftermath, he is more collected again, but still seething. Kaylen begins to cry.)

MARKO

That was just a warning, you tief! Don’t dare disrespect me again. (Pause) We are here to stop the virus from spreading.  I don’t know what you people are talking about.

SIKELELWA

Isn’t it funny that until you said that, it feels like years since we’ve spoken about the virus? We were fighting about drugs and corruption. Isn’t that sad,  and inevitable?

MARKO

You better stop as well. I liked you. But not anymore.

SIKELELWA

I don’t mean to disrespect you. Maybe you are doing your job. (Pause) But you yourself said earlier there are those you work with that you cannot trust. (Pause) Maybe they just use you as a battering ram.

MARKO

It’s a lie. The president will never allow that. He is a wartime president. You can’t keep talking about Marikana. You weren’t even there. He is a wartime president.

SIKELELWA

Maybe he is and maybe he isn’t. I can’t say. Maybe he doesn’t know that the police are regressing. Maybe he can’t control it. But. People are people, everywhere. Good and bad. Even in this moment.

MARKO (after a moment)

You speak so well. For an essential worker. But you still can’t tell me what you were doing outside the township when you don’t live there. Don’t tell me you have family there. Or a husband. (Sneeringly) Or a wife.

KAYLEN

Leave her alone.

MARKO

Shut up, I said! Don’t come looking for attention here, you’re not a mystery to me. You were there to call me a pig. To call us pigs when we risk our lives. Go fuck yourself, bitch!

SIKELELWA

From your point of view, I know I shouldn’t have been there. I was far away from my designated zones.

MARKO

You’re also trying to make me forget about the bags and what’s in them. We’ll get to that. (Turns to Ibrahim and points the gun at him) But him next. (Brief silence) I haven’t forgotten about you. You had the least reason to be there.

IBRAHIM

You still speak in riddles, my brother. I was there, like all of us were there.

MARKO

You’re a foreigner. The people there will kill you. I want to know what you were doing in this area. But I know already.

IBRAHIM

 Then you must share with us, my brother.

MARKO

I’m not your fuckin’ brother. And nobody here will see you as a brother. You’re a foreigner, makwerekwere. You haven’t been here long, that’s also easy to see. And the borders are all closed, everywhere, even the provinces and the towns. So, how did you get in and why are you here? 

(Brief silence, which is then interrupted by Marko’s radio. Still expertly keeping his gun trained on Ibrahim but also watching Sikelelewa Marko manages his radio with his free hand. Marko speaks into the radio, communicating in Afrikaaps.)

MARKO

Ja, dis ekke … Ek gee binnekort vir jou my posisie … Ja, dis daai … Heel moontlik, ja … So julle het ‘n beskrywing … L’at ‘n man hoor … Man is presies ses voet, gewig so 85kg, dra brille, vaal hemp, donker broek, bruin sandals …

(Kaylen sits up slowly, her facial expression changing as she looks from Marko to Ibrahim)

MARKO

Oraait, ek sal julle laat weet …. Ek dink amper ek het daai man gesien … Ek volg nou op … Sal weer kontak maak ….

(Marko signs off the radio and glares at Ibrahim, who remains still.)

SIKELELWA

Why did you say that?

KAYLEN

Want hy dink hy’t die groot koning gevang op sy eie.  

MARKO (still glaring at Ibrahim)

There’s shootings and a thunderstorm. And you, my brother, stiek uit in sandals and fancy dress. Almost like a signal for you to be recognized. (Pause) But also a signal that you’re a dik ding. That you are the dik ding.             

SIKELELWA

So you followed Ibrahim here?

IBRAHIM

Yes, he has followed me here, my sister. This much I can now understand. I do not understand why he is looking at me like that.

SIKELELWA

He thinks you’re the… the Shambi. The drugs trader.

MARKO (smiles madly)

The man himself. I knew it was you.

SIKELELWA

Are you? Ibrahim.

IBRAHIM (slowly, as quietly as ever)

No, my sister. I am not that man.

MARKO

Siki, you said he came in here together with you? (Pause) Siki!

SIKELELWA

Yes, as the light was fading, I saw him come up behind me in the storm.

MARKO

So he played it well, he quickly figured you out, made you feel safe. And you, Siki, have been determined to stay here no matter what.

KAYLEN

So what? It’s still storming outside. Nobody can go anywhere. We have to wait it out. We can’t go home yet.

MARKO

Typical idiot again. Siki is not waiting out the storm in order to go home. She wants to get to the township.

KAYLEN

I don’t understand.

MARKO

Of course you don’t. But Ibrahim does. He knew who Siki was.

KAYLEN

First, you’re saying Ibrahim is the drug lord you invented in a fairytale, now you’re saying Siki is a—a what?

SIKELELWA

That I’m the medical supplier for Ekelani.

MARKO (with slight glee)

There’s my girl.

KAYLEN (after a moment)

That’s bullshit. You were bringing food and sanitation to the girls there. You were helping.

SIKELELWA

There’s more than that in the bags. There are other things, to help with the suffering. They’re hidden in the tampons, and the food. It’s stolen content. I make the deliveries. Up to now, they never checked properly, the guards. But the police…

MARKO

And Ibrahim knew it was you. He left wherever he was waiting to follow you after the shooting broke out and you dispersed.

SIKELELWA

So now the gangs are waiting on the person they have been working for. And the police are waiting on the person they’ve been working for.

MARKO

And the person the gangs are working for is right here, and the gangs will think to look here when the storm stops.

SIKELELWA

With the police. (Pause) And there could be a shootout here if…

MARKO

If I radio in and confirm that I have the suspect. The media listens in on these channels. We know that.

SIKELELWA

If the gangs come here, the police follow them and shoot them. With us in the crossfire. Because now the world is watching. Now.

MARKO

It could be worse than that. Someone, anyone, could make sure the defense forces know.

SIKELELWA

That brings the army here. Ekelani will get panicked, seeing them again.

MARKO

And one nervous moment, and everything happens again, just like what happened at Ekelani during the first lockdown.

SIKELELWA

Jesus. There’ll be a slaughter. You will kill innocent people.

MARKO

You and her (motions to Kaylen) really don’t learn. Nobody is innocent. What happened last time started with Ekelani throwing the stones and the petrol bombs.

SIKELELWA

They were defending themselves!

MARKO

We hadn’t fired a shot. The army hadn’t fired a shot.

SIKELELWA

You were there! You were surrounding the area. They knew what happened at other places. They were frightened.

MARKO

We were speaking on the loudspeakers when they started throwing. A brick smashed my captain’s face in two. In two! He had a family, three laaities!

SIKELELWA

So does everyone in there! So does everyone everywhere! Nothing you have ever done has helped anyone!

MARKO

And you? Have you helped anyone by sneaking stolen supplies in? Look at what you started!

SIKELELWA

Because of your conditions, because of your ultra-lockdown forcing the sickness of everyone and forcing the law breaking! (Breaks off) Jesus, we are so far from fighting the virus now.

(Quick pause, tension. Kaylen yells loudly.)

KAYLEN

What the fuck! What the fuck is going on? Are you both completely insane now? Siki, you’re a criminal smuggling stolen medical supplies into Ekelani, Marko is the one good cop suddenly and Ibrahim is the big foreign drug lord? What the fuck! Next thing you’ll say one of you assassinated Trump last year and one of you owns a 5G tower.

IBRAHIM

My sister, now is not the time for disbelief. Stranger things have happened for a long time.

MARKO

Good, good, you can say that, Shambi walking in here like it’s normal. (Slightly uncontrolled) Now, get on your knees.

SIKELELWA

Marko!

IBRAHIM

I will not.

KAYLEN

Siki, were you really running supplies?

SIKELELWA

Yes, I didn’t want you to know that. It puts you in danger too.

KAYLEN

I don’t care. I just wish you didn’t lie.

SIKELELWA

What choice does anyone have?

KAYLEN

Not about what you have to do. Just. Lying to me. I feel like a fool.

SIKELELWA (after a moment)

I’m sorry. (To Marko) I need to get something for Kaylen in the bags there. You know what I am now. There’s no weapon in there.

MARKO

You not going anywhere near those bags.

SIKELELWA

She’s not well and is doing badly.

MARKO

There’s not much time until everyone gets here. The storm stopped.

(This sinks in with Sikelelwa and Kaylen)

SIKELELWA

If we need to run, Kaylen wouldn’t be able to in her state. Not unless I get her something from the bags. Marko, do you understand this?

MARKO

Maybe, but who says I’ll let you run?

SIKELELWA (agitated, begin moving to bags)

Oh, fuck off!

(Marko fires a shot at her feet and she stops instantly.)

MARKO

I told you!

IBRAHIM

If others are close by, they would have heard that.

KAYLEN

Fucking idiot! Big man with a gun. (She begins to settle into a rhythm of taunting Marko) And then you wonder why you have problems?

MARKO

You again with your big mouth? Seems to me you want me to close it for you.

KAYLEN (losing it or being strategic?)

You want to try? You wanna moer me, hold your gun to my face or stiek your dick in my mouth? That fat gut of yours, that useless gun, that useless dick!

SIKELELWA

Kaylen, no!

(Marko looks at her; Kaylen looks at Ibrahim.)

MARKO

Yay, bitch! (He looks back at Kaylen.)

KAYLEN

That’s mos your trouble, isn’t it? You scared of women so you take it out on anything when you have your gun.

(Ibrahim looks at Sikelelwa, then quietly goes to the door, beginning to open it as unobtrusively as he can.)

MARKO

Now you asking for it! I’m gonna hurt you, bitch.

KAYLEN

And you wonder why your wife is fucking your boss? Coz all she has left to look at is you, some wasted poes, getting fat at braais with other wife beaters, suiping you fucked up and coming home with limp dicks.

(Through this, Sikelelwa, seeing the fury in Marko’s eyes, cannot leave this situation alone. She looks at Ibrahim as if to tell him to get away. Equally inconspicuously, she goes to the bags and gets something from them.)

MARKO (advances to Kaylen)

You know fokol, pampered tief, coming here to real people and talking shit.

(Ibrahim gets the door open; Sikelelwa has put something together in her hands from the bag and begins creeping up on Marko. Ibrahim should be slipping out but stays on a second.)

KAYLEN

Ooh, big man with gun. My girlfriend has a bigger dick than you! Come, let’s see what you made of.

(Marko closes in but either a look in Kaylen’s eye snaps him out of it, or he’s a better combatant than we think. He spins around. Sikelelwa jabs him in the neck with a needle but he manages to raise the gun and fire at Ibrahim. We cannot tell if Ibrahim is struck or not but he slips out. Kaylen leaps up to grab the gun from Marko’s hand while he wrestles with Sikelelwa. The women subdue him as his body goes limp and he has trouble moving. Kaylen begins to look dazed as the realization of what just occurred hits her. She slumps off Marko, the gun still in her hand. She rests her back against the pile of wood and exhales, controlling her breathing. Siki, also exhausted, rests back on her hands.)

SIKELELWA

More supplies gone.

KAYLEN

What was that?

SIKELELWA

Propofol, big dose. Raw material. For women giving birth and struggling.

KAYLEN

What will it do to him?

SIKELELWA

He’ll be that way for about fifteen minutes. Maybe shorter if he fights it.

KAYLEN

Was Ibrahim hit?

SIKELELWA

Didn’t see. (Pause) You’re handling this well… You did great.

KAYLEN (now remarkably composed)

We didn’t kill a cop. We subdued a rapist.

SIKELELWA

We should check on Ibrahim. (She sounds fatigued. Kaylen notices.)

KAYLEN (gets up)

I’ll check. (Winces in pain) Ahh, shit! All this took my mind off—you know

(Her one trouser leg is completely covered dark red. Seeing this jolts Siki and she springs up.)

SIKELELWA (going to the bags)

Don’t say no. (Shoots her a look, with a smile, to keep their minds from the urgency.) Don’t protest. (She digs into the bags once more.)

KAYLEN (smiles)

Okay. But I want to move my legs before I stop feeling them. (She hobbles to the door, inspects it.) There’s blood.

SIKELELWA

Can you call to him?

KAYLEN (stepping out, her voice off)

Ibrahim? Ibrahim! (Sikelelwa carefully puts together a bundle and gets up, going to the door. Kaylen comes back in.) No sign of him. The rain’s not so heavy anymore.

SIKELELWA (handing her the bundle)

Take this, and the bag; it’s biodegradable. You can go behind the drums there. (Kaylen takes the bundle and goes to behind the drums, where Ibrahim’s clothes are hanging. She puts the gun on the top drum, looks at Marko, and smiles quickly.) Why did you want Ibrahim to get out?

KAYLEN (not visible to us)

Marko would have expected him to make a move and would have shot him. He was expecting it less from us.

SIKELELWA

How did you know we’d do it?

KAYLEN

I trusted you. I knew you’d think of something.

SIKELELWA (looks at Marko, who tries to stir)

I’m not sure what to do next.

KAYLEN

Sikelelwa, I don’t have anything to wear. Do you think I can put on Ibrahim’s clothes?

SIKELELWA (takes a moment)

Yes. I don’t think he’s coming back.

KAYLEN

He could be out there. Hurt. Maybe he collapsed.

SIKELELWA

Maybe. But he has a strong body, he wouldn’t have fallen easily… He knows I have medical content here. He ought not to have gone far if he knew that.

KAYLEN

We should go look for him. (Pause) Do you think there are others outside? Did they get him?

SIKELELWA

I don’t know. (Kaylen re-emerges, wearing Ibrahim’s boubou. It is noticeably too big for her but her length helps, and somehow she is quite striking this way. She holds the bag in one hand. Sikelelwa is impressed.) Wow.

KAYLEN

I’ll hold on to the bag until we get to a ladies room.

SIKELELWA

That looks good on you.

KAYLEN

It doesn’t feel right to wear his clothes.

SIKELELWA

What could we do?

KAYLEN

Siki, do you think—Ibrahim is the Shambi?

SIKELELWA (takes a moment)

I don’t know. If he is or isn’t, he has no reason to come back here, if he didn’t come back already. 

KAYLEN

Did we do the wrong thing?              

SIKELELWA

I need to get back to Ekelani. You need to get to your friends. (Looks at Marko) You’d need to get to your friends with legal connections as soon as you can, and tell them everything.

KAYLEN

And we have to hope we don’t bump into company on the way.

(Marko’s radio comes to life. A woman’s voice is transmitted, speaking English.)    

VOICE

Sergeant Willemse has been missing from his post outside Ekelani since late afternoon… This is not the first time he has absconded… We know that he was breaking radio silence with one of his colleagues, who did not report it to us… The situation is troubling… The defense force vans have been delayed and obstructed… Our own barricades have been taken and re-erected outside the town, on the highway in from the city… It will take time for them to come in the other way, and the helicopters are almost fully deployed elsewhere…There is shortage…. We suspect that the barricades are the doing of civilians…  Friends of the arrested journalists distributed the footage at Ekelani… Our forces have pulled back… From inside Ekelani, residents have jumped over the fence and breached the outer perimeter… We repeat: our forces have pulled back… (The radio dies out.)

SIKELELWA

Your friends have done well.         

KAYLEN

The town people re-erected the barricades to keep out the army?

SIKELELWA

If they did then… it’s a revolution, now.

Post-Truth (Sikelelwa’s Theme)

KAYLEN

Ekelani…?

SIKELELWA

Just freed itself, for now. But my team is waiting on me, they’ll still be there. I’m going down now.

KAYLEN

And this place?

SIKELELWA

I don’t know who is coming, but we can’t stay. (Looks at Marko) We’ll let him find out. He’ll be okay when he gets up. But that’s all I know.

KAYLEN (looks up at the drum)

We won’t have to worry about him hurting himself.

SIKELELWA

Honestly… I don’t know what happens if Ekelani’s residents will come here. I’ll have faith in them.

(Sikelelwa picks up her sling bag, drapes it over her, and puts on her rain jacket. She cleans her hands, and sprays Kaylen’s hands too.)

KAYLEN

(Rubbing her hands, as Siki gets the bags)
You always do. (Pause) I don’t know about Ibrahim.

SIKELELWA (sadly)

I don’t either.

(She hands one bag to Kaylen, who acknowledges the gesture with a slight smile. There is a clap of distant thunder.)

KAYLEN

It’s gonna bucket again soon.

SIKELELWA

Let’s go now.

(They exit. Marko’s radio splutters in and out of life. He begins to stir, groaning, but still cannot fully move. He groans again, as another clap of thunder sounds, this time louder.)

END OF PLAY

Cape Town Nourish

All music composed by Riaan Oppelt