'The Lost' by Patrick Ness

Six days later: a heavily-pregnant Miss Quill sleeps in her bed… April performs at a club, singing her latest song, ‘The Lost’… Ram practises football with his dad – only to watch in horror as the man is slaughtered by the Shadow King. Miss Quill wakes and is surprised to learn her condition; she demands her gun from Charlie, intending to force him to use the Cabinet of Souls to kill the Shadow Kin; she will then end the Rhodian-Quill war by turning her weapon on Charlie. Tanya’s mother brings her daughter’s meal to her room, but then becomes Corakinus’ second victim… Ram finds April and tells her of his father’s death; he wants to use Charlie’s Cabinet to kill the Shadow King, but April is against it. Then Corakinus suddenly appears: holding a knife to the throat of April’s mother, Jackie, the creature demands his heart back, by having April return to the Underneath with him... Shaken from her mother’s death, Tanya turns to Miss Quill for help in using the Cabinet in revenge; Miss Quill agrees, if Tanya in turn helps her… Charlie and Matteusz arrive at April’s house, where the prince holds the king at gunpoint; but Corakinus puts a shadow on Charlie’s heart too, ensuring that his death will also mean the death of April and Charlie. After threatening to kill more of the students’ loved ones, the King declares Matteusz to be the fifth to die, and then disappears. Knowing that they must sacrifice each other or sacrifice their families, Ram storms out. Charlie and Matteusz head for Coal Hill Academy, where the prince forces Miss Ames at gunpoint into helping them; the headmistress takes them to a staff room labelled ‘Ever Upward Reach’, so she can meet with the Governors… Miss Quill and Tanya arrive at the school, bringing the Cabinet of Souls in a trolley; behind them, a small rift opens in the air… Tanya finds her two brothers in the library, just as before they are attacked by the Shadow King; luckily Miss Quill intervenes, gleefully fighting the monster to allow the two boys to escape. When Corakinus vanishes again, Tanya realises she must face the enemy; after taking the Cabinet to the hall, she takes fighting lessons from Miss Quill…Miss Ames emerges from the staff room to re-join Charlie and Matteusz; she explains that the Shadow Kin are using tears to pass through to Earth – unless they take April, they will destroy the planet. Arriving at Coal Hill, April leaves a message on Ram’s phone, finally telling him how she feels... Charlie and Matteusz reach the hall, where they see the Cabinet of Souls on the stage; Tanja implores the prince to use the weapon to kill the Shadow King, wanting to save her brothers even if it means April’s death. Corakinus reappears and holds his sword to Matteusz’s throat; Charlie turns his gun on the king and a standoff ensues, just as April arrives on the scene. Outside, Ram receives April’s voicemail; all around him he sees shadows moving independently of the people nearby... To prevent anyone else from dying, April agrees to go with the Shadow King; but as the king releases Matteusz and grabs April, the room fills with Shadow Kin. Elsewhere, more of the creatures appear in the school, the streets, parks and homes, and move in to attack innocent bystanders… Knowing that the Shadow King is lying, and that he and his kin will kill everyone on Earth anyway, April tells Charlie how the creatures obey their king’s command; understanding her message, Charlie shoots April. Ram arrives in the hall just in time to see April collapse, as does the Shadow King, his heart dying too. As Charlie becomes the new king, the Shadow Kin stand down, now under his command. With no other choice left, the prince opens the Cabinet of Souls; after saying goodbye to Matteusz, he hands the gun to Miss Quill , knowing that the Shadow Kin will still try and stop him from committing genocide. Miss Quill and Tanya battle the oncoming shadow creatures, allowing Charlie time to activate the cabinet – energy beams radiate out from the box, blasting through the school, the streets and across the globe, destroying all Shadow Kin in their path. At April’s house, Jackie feels the power in her legs go, and knows that her daughter is dead… The Cabinet of Souls’ power extends to the Underneath, where it destroys the Shadow Kin’s world. An explosion rocks the school hall, knocking everyone to the floor. The last Rhodian soul leaves the Cabinet and heads for Charlie, but Miss Quill pushes him out of the way, and instead the light goes towards where Ram cradles April’s lifeless body… Inside the staff room, in a high, circular chamber, Miss Ames faces the disappointment of the Governors; they turn their backs on her – and a Weeping Angel appears and kills the headmistress. The chairman of the governors addresses the creature, promising to help the arrival of its kind… Back in the hall, the students and Miss Quill come to their senses, and Charlie explains how he must live with the sacrifice of his race. To their dismay the Shadow King sits up – but now speaks with April’s voice…


Katherine Kelly (Miss Quill), Greg Austin (Charlie Smith), Fady Elsayed (Ram Singh), Sophie Hopkins (April MacClean), Vivian Oparah (Tanya Adeola), Jordan Renzo (Matteusz), Pooky Quesnel (Dorothea Ames), Aaron Neil (Varun Singh), Natasha Gordon (Vivian Adeola), Shannon Murray (Jackie MacClean), Paul Marc Davis (Corakinus), Cyril Nri (Chair), Ellie James (Female Student), Sam Sweeney (Sam), Jim Moray (Jazz Musician)

Directed by Julian Holmes
Produced by Derek Ritchie
Executive Producers Brian Minchin, Steven Moffat and Patrick Ness
A BBC Wales production

TX (BBC Three):
3rd December 2016 @ 10.00

Notes:
*Featuring Miss Quill, Charlie, April, Ram, Tanya and Matteusz

*This episode was later shown on BBC 1 on 27th February 2017 @ 10.45 pm