Platoon
Chris, coming up, sees their heads dipping up and down on the other side of the anthill, knows what they’re doing. He makes a conscious decision to do something. He runs over.
CHRIS LET HER GO! YOU HEAR ME! YOU ASSHOLE! LET HER GO!
He strides right into them, shoves them off hard. The girl is in tears.
TONY What the fuck you want – she’s a dink.
CHRIS NO – YOU STUPID FUCK … DON’T … DON’T … YOU TOO BUNNY. MOREHOUSE. OFF! NO! DON’T … DON’T!
He seems disconnected, dazed by the sun, like he’s talking to dogs – loud, repetitive words coming out of an anger he can barely control, trying to restore some sanity to a world gone totally nuts today. Don’t they understand? Don’tthey have any sense of a mind? Any kind of decency?
The Men looking at him as if he’s the one who’s gone nuts, not them. Bunny looking at Morehouse looking at Tony looking at Junior. The irony is lost on them, as Chris pushes through to help the poor girl put her scanty clothes back on.
CHRIS (CONT’D) (to the girl) It’s okay … it’s okay …
Elias appears behind Bunny and the others, sees what’s happened. He signals them to move out.
ELIAS Get outta here.
The men grumble and slink off quietly. Elias watching as…
Chris helps her to her feet, wounded in the intestines, she can barely stand, blood saoking in her nether regions. Chris slings her up as gently as he can and carries her.
CHRIS (as if to himself) It’s okay, it’s okay …
EXT. VILLAGE – PIG PEN – DAY
Near the pig pen, a DOZEN SUSPECTS are being led away on ropes by Tubbs, Warren, Rodriguez. The others left behind look back at their village in ruins, homes burning, livestock dead or scattered, belongings thrown and broken in the dirt. BABIES wail, the adults squat there on their heels watching with absolutely no trace of outward emotion.
Past this Bosch-like canvas, Chris – carrying the girl – walks dazed by the horrors of this long afternoon.
EXT. VILLAGE TRAIL – DAY
The soldiers depart the village. A huge EXPLOSION now rocks the earth and sends a spray of smoke into the blue sky as the weapons cache explodes in stages that sound like the end of the world.
EXT. PERIMETER #2 – JUNGLE – LATE AFTERNOON DUSK
The Company is digging into another overnight perimeter on a ridge with a view of the Valley where the Village was. C-Ration fires all around the perimeter.
EXT. COMPANY CP – DUSK — MORNING
At the Company,l Elias, Captain Harris, Barnes, Lt.Wolfe are huddled. Close on Harris, looking from face to face, assuming a judicial attitude.
CAPTAIN HARRIS … and you Lieutenant?
LIEUTENANT WOLFE I didn’t see anything sir.
ELIAS I did.
LIEUTENANT WOLFE That dink was reported to me as NVA sir by Sergeant Barnes. Sergeant Barnes.
Squirreling out of any responsibility.
ELIAS My report sir, will include Lt.Wolfe as being witness to the shooting …
CAPTAIN HARRIS All right, Elias. Sergeant Barnes, I want a report from you …
BARNES You got it sir – and I can throw in plenty of eye- witnesses if you want sir …
HARRIS Not now. We’ll get into this when we get back to base camp. Right now I need every man in the field, I want your guys to stick together … Elias? Barnes? … You hear me? This is no time for fighting with each other. (pause, they nod) Tomorrow we’re going back into that bunker complex – from the East. (continuing) First Platoon will lead … Brigade thinks they might be back there tomorrow. That’s all … Get some rest. (turns away)
Barnes, Elias eye each other and move off.
EXT. PERIMETER #2 – DUSK
Wolfe walks alongside Barnes.
WOLFE Don’t worry about it Sergeant, he won’t be able to prove a thing, he’s a troublemaker but …
Barnes is obviously worried, although he doesn’t let on.
BARNES Elias’ a waterwalker … like them politicians in Washington. Want to fight their war with one hand tied round their balls. Ain’t no time or need for a courtroom out here …
Wolfe leaves him as Barnes turns into his foxhole where Bunny and O’Neill await him anxiously.
O’NEILL How’d it go.
Banres shrugs.
BUNNY Thataway Sarge, fuckin’ Elias man, fuckin’ squeal that’s what he is, gonna get everybody in the platoon in shit. Somebody oughta fix his ass …
Barnes fixing his coffee.
O’NEILL (worried) Gonna be an investigation or something Bob?
Barnes says nothing, a cryptic look.
O’Neill worried, Bunny, taking his cue from Barnes, slaps him on the back.
BUNNY Ya worry too much O’Neill …
EXT. PERIMETER #2 – CHRIS’ POSITION – DUSK
Elsewhere on the perimeter, Chris is digging out a foxhole with Rhah, as King and Lerner prepare the C’s for dinner.
RHAH I know Barnes six months and I’ll tell ya something – that man is MEAN, red in his soul like a dick on a dog.
KING Barnes gets killed, his jaws’d go on clacking …
CHRIS Where’s he form?
RHAH Barnes comes from Hell.
LERNER Tennessee someplace. Hill country.
RHAH Barnes took a bullet right there. At Ia Drang Valley … (points to his forehead) And the cocksucker SURVIVED – that’s BAAAD man. That’s his high, baby. High on WAR!
His eyes flare out dramamtically. Chris, enthralled in spite of himself.
KING He done a year in Japan in the hospital, then when he gets out, the first thing he done is re-up. Four years he been in the field …
RHAH … and you know how many times he done been shot? (Chris shakes his head) Seven times! (with his fingers) Seven.
CHRIS And he still wanted to come back?
LERNER Does a pee wee wanna take a wee wee?
RHAH The Good Lord works his revenge in strange ways.
KING Yeah, you done said it. Revenge on US.
CHRIS Does he have a metal plate in his head?
RHAH (smiles) You mean he’s crazy? No more crazy’n the rest of us been out in the bush too long.
LERNER Well he ain’t normal that’s fosure.
RHAH That’s what he is … Baaaa!
His hand flashes forward in front of Chris. ‘HATE’ is written across the left hand knuckles in a sloppy, purplish-black tatoo. Chris looking at it.
RHAH (CONT’D) … and he’s FILLED with it. He’s roaming these jungles looking for little yellow devils to kill. Remember the Devil does God’s work too. (pause) … and this here’s Elias … Baaaa!
The other knuckle is out – ‘LOVE’ tattooed across it. Rhah smiles his crazy smil. Chris stares fascinated at the two knuckles side by side. A moment on his face.
KING Love, yeah!
LERNER (makes a cuckoo sign) Here we go again with the crazy preacher stuff. Rhah seen too many movies.
RHAH Baaa, got no time to go to the movies. Love and Hate too busy fighting for possession of my soul.
CHRIS Where’s Elias come from?
RHAH (interjecting) ‘Lias come naturally.
LERNER … don’t know. Done some time. Heard he worked the oil wells in Oklahoma, made some bread and washed up in El Lay.
KING Yeah, get married to some crazy El Lay bitch, an actress or somethin’, she blew all his bread – LSD, gurus, all that California shit, and then she turns him into the cops on a drug rap.
RHAH Not the only man to meet his Jezebel either.
KING So he got a reduced and come over here. Nam’s his freedom man, Nam’s his pussy. Three years he been here.
CHRIS Three years, Jesus, he’s crazy as Barnes …
KING Well sometimes a man jes don’ wanna go back. How you gonna talk to civilians man? People back in the world just don’t give a shit, y’know what I mean, to them you’re a fuckin’ animal is all –
LERNER (to Chris) I was home on leave y’know and everybody’s just worried ’bout making money, everybody’s out for themselves, they don’t even want to talk about it man, it’s like the fucking Twilight Zone back there – you wouldn’t even KNOW there’s a war on here. My sister says to me why you have to go there like I started this …
RHAH Baaaa! Fuck it, they sold us out – so what! What’d you’all expect? Civilian life is phoney BULLSHIT man. They’re ROBOTS man – watchin’ dopey television and drivin’ dopey cars, and they fuck up, nobody dies. That’s all right, you keep fuckin’ up, politicians keep lyin’. Cause it don’t really matter. Don’t mean shit. So what! Whatcha want – a parade! Fuck that too! No war time no grunt never got no respect. Till he was dead – and even THEN! You’re fighting for YOURSELF man! You’re fighting for your SOUL, dat’s all. Remember dat. And it’s some goddamn battle too – if you’se a man, wrestle with that angel … (swings his entrenching tool in a rhythmic chain-gang style) … Love and Hate – the whole shitbang show, that’s the story then and now and it ain’t hardly gonna change …
EXT. PERIMETER #2 – JUNGLE – NIGHT
The stars are out in magnificent splendor. A breeze rustling through the trees.
EXT. PERIMETER #2 – CHRIS’ POSITION – NIGHT
Chris is turning in his sleep, perturbed, writhing. The whispering is more and more urgent. Death is all around. He shoots up out of his poncho liner as if shot, stunned. Scared. Looks around. All is quiet. Men sleeping.
Elias is huddled in his poncho on guard next to his foxhole. Chris joins him, sitting, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
CHRIS … I can’t sleep, why don’t you get some sack time.
ELIAS … don’t feel like it either.
CHRIS … beautiful night.
ELIAS Yeah. I love this place at night. The stars … there’s no right or wrong in them, they’re just there.
