Platoon
Suddenly from down the perimeter there is the sound of a faulty LOUDSPEAKER crackling out from the jungle. A pidgen English, the words mauled, then a snatch of patriotic North Vietnamese music, played from a scratchy old record.
Chris uneasy, looking at Francis who looks terrified. The SOUND now of a whistle. Two hoots, then a sharp third. Then yelling.
Chris grabbing Francis’ arm, pointing. There is a VOICE directly out to the front of them – muttering something in Vietnamese, no more than 20 yards away but unseen. It’s like hearing a casual conversation from another room, then the sounds of several bodies moving in separate directions – encompassing the foxhole.
CHRIS (CONT’D) (to Francis, a whisper) Out of the hole! Fast!
Chris crawls out, stops, looks back. Francis won’t leave, hugs the shelter.
CHRIS (CONT’D) (a fierce whisper) Goddamit Francis! Move your fucking ass. Now … THEY GONNA BLOW IT!
Reaches in and yanks him with all his strength half out of the hole. Francis, finally sparked, now moves out. Both of them bellying it into the brush behind the hole.
Not a moment too soon. An RPG ROCKET whistling in.
The FOXHOLE takes a direct hit, caving in, whirls of smoke spinning off it.
Chris and Francis look back covered with debris. They hear movement.
SHADOWS are swarming towards the foxhole, firing into it to finish them off.
Francis grabs Chris’ leg, indicating they get out of there. Chris hesitates – a moment, a decision made now in angry passion – rises up and charges the NVA.
SHADOWS scatter and tumble, caught by his surprise close-range fire.
Chris moving forward into them, blasting, agile, his instincts finely tuned, and totally insane in this moment of time, indifferent to his life. He YELLS insanities, pumping himself up with the adrenaline of courage.
CHRIS (CONT’D) DIE YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!!! YAAAAAAAAA!!!
Screams from the dark shadows, they fall.
Chris smashing a wounded SHADOW with the butt of his gun down into the foxhole. He jumps back into it, reoccupying it. Blasting the dead gook.
Opening fire out to the front, driving the Shadows back.
Francis watching this, amazed. After a moment of doubt, he too tears back out to join Chris in the foxhole, unbelieving, as he jumps in with him.
FRANCIS (joining in the frenzy) YAAAAAHHHH!!!! KILLLLL!!!
Then stunned again to see Chris suddenly rise up out of the foxhole and charging forward into the jungle. He is now over the edge.
CHRIS (charging off into the jungle) DIE YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!!!
EXT. PERIMETER #3 – BUNNY’S FOXHOLE – NIGHT
In his position, Bunny is experiencing the same ‘high’ as Chris, yells out at them.
BUNNY Come on MOTHERFUCKERS, COME ON!!!
Junior, huddled in the hole with him, speechless and terrified, looks at him with huge eyes. The guy is nuts. An incoming grenade explosion shakes the hole.
BUNNY (CONT’D) (laying out more fire) Come on you can do better than that!
JUNIOR Fuck this shit! I ain’t dyin’ in no white man’s war! Ise didi-ing this motherfuckah!
Junior freaks out, throws his rifle down and hobbles out of the hole on his damaged feet at an incredible speed.
BUNNY (yelling after him) Get back here you gutless shit …
A SHAPE suddenly out of nowhere, looms up fast behind Bunny, running at him.
Junior, insane now with fear, runs smack into a tree, knocked senseless and reeling to the ground.
Bunny turning back too late. The crazy drug-high Shape is yelling something like:
NVA SOLDIER Diiiiikaaeeeeeee!
And jumps right into the hole blasting Bunny point-blank in the chest.
Bunny struggling to consciousness at the bottom of the hole. THUCK! A boot in the gaping hole where his chest was. Bunny, his eyes uncomprehending. A muzzle is jammed into his mouth, breaking his teeth with an ugly sound. Another yell from the NVA trooper. A flash of orange red light. Bunny’s face blown to bits.
Junior, dizzy from the blow to his head, looks up.
A yellow flare somewhere out there and a SHADOW above him digging a bayonet into his belly with a grunt. A long oozing sigh of belly gas.
An explosion. The Shadow with the bayonet staggering blind without eyes, holding his brains with his hands.
Barnes throws open the empty LAAW rocket casing he has just fired off and charges forward with a yell, cutting down another NVA in Bunny’s old foxhole. Jumping into the hole, the bottom of which is a liquid pit of guts, blood, ooze. Another Enemy running in on him. A short burst of fire. Barnes hit. Firing into each other. Barnes draggin him down into the pit with him, grappling alongside the corpse of Bunny. Barnes uses an entrenching tool to finish him off.
EXT. PERIMETER #3 – PLATOON CP – NIGHT
At the Platoon CP, small arms fire is all over the place, the NVA closing the ring. Ace, in the foxhole, yells to Wolfe.
ACE Negative contact. Can’t raise Barnes, Two Bravo, Two Charlie, nothin’!
WOLFE Get me Six!
Nervously aiming his rifle as a man comes running towards them, staggering.
ACE It’s Doc!
Doc plops down, out of breath, drained, bleeding all over his chest.
DOC They’re coming through all over! I can’t … I can’t do …
WOLFE Where’s Barnes!
DOC I think he’s dead … it’s awful, they’re all dying.
Wolfe is stunned, Barnes his last crutch against the chaos. Ace handing him the handset.
ACE Six!
CAPTAIN HARRIS’ VOICE Yeah! Send traffic or clear this goddamn net!
WOLFE We’ve been overrun Captain, we’re pulling back. Over!
EXT. PERIMETER #3 – COMPANY CP – NIGHT
At the Company CP, things are just as bad. A Radioman is sprawled over a smashed radio. Captain Harris is in a bunker working the radios himself, as his Radiomen fire at yelling, running FIGURES scurrying all over the inner perimeter.
HARRIS (furious voice) Bravo Two, Six! Goddamit where the hell you plannin’ to pull back to! They’re all over the perimeter. Be advised Lieutenant, you WILL hold in place and you will FIGHT and that means YOU, Lieutenant. Out!
EXT. PERIMETER #3 – PLATOON CP – NIGHT
At the Platoon CP, Wolfe is astounded by the message. Ace looking at him straight in the eye.
ACE You’re an asshole Lieutenant, you know that.
As he abandons his radio, grabs up his 16 and moves to an adjacent position. Doc, a quiet man up to now, is treating a wounded Parker who is now hit by bullets and thrashes wildly and jerks to a stop. He is obviously dead but Doc goes on trying to finish the bandage. Suddenly he goes beserk, grabs a 16, starts firing and yelling.
EXT. PERIMETER #3 – COMPANY CP – NIGHT
At the Company CP, Harris gets on the radio with the air strike. One of the RTOs on a separate radio calls over.
RTO #5 Captain, Third Battalion Armoured’s on its way with tracks ’bout 2 kliks west!
HARRIS (ignores it, into radio) Snakebite leader, Ripper Bravo Six, we’re gonna need you soonest be advised I’ve got zips in the wire down here, over!
PILOT’S VOICE (distorted high frequency) Roger your last Bravo Six, Snakebite lead we can’t run it any closer. We’re hot to trot and packing snape and nape but we’re bingo fuel. It’s your call, Six actual, Over.
Harris looks around. The decision made.
HARRIS Snakebite leader, Bravo Six, for the record, it’s my call. Dump everything you got left ON MY POS. I say again, I want all you’re holding INSIDE the perimeter. It’s a lovely war. Bravo Six Actual and Out.
Pilot’s reaction. Very calm. A Farmboy twang.
PILOT’S VOICE Roger your last Bravo Six. We copy it’s your call. Get em in their holes down there. Hang tough, Bravo Six we are coming cocked for treetops. Whiskey to Echo … Snakebite Two, this is lead. Last pass on zero niner. Watch my smoke to target, expend all remaining. Follow my trace …
The transmission drops out. Harris now looking up into the darkened skies. The planes in no way evident – but they’re there. And they’re coming.
EXT. PERIMETER #3 – PLATOON CP – NIGHT
At the Platoon CP, the NVA are sweeping fast, crouched, using cover, yelling. Small fires are raging all over the perimeter.
Ace putting out fire, is hit. The NVA are coming over his sandbags. A burst of fire. Ace goes down.
Doc has cracked up, firing at anything, indifferent to his safety. One of the NVA goes down. The Doc is hit in the side, wounded, struggles, is hit again, but keeps trying to fire. He’s hit a third time – in the jugular vein. Nearby, Wolfe is firing madly at the oncoming NVA. One goes down. A second is wounded, yelling in pain. Wolfe reloading his 16, popping up, too late. One of them is coming over the sandbags. He sees Wolfe. Wolfe sees him. In the same moment.
Wolfe hesitates, frozen up. The gook unloads his AK-47, a magazine worth, into Lieutenant Wolfe, who crashes down, sprawled unnaturally on the jungle floor. A spasm shakes his body. Then stops. Dead.
Boots run by.
EXT. PERIMETER #3 – O’NEILL’S FOXHOLE – NIGHT
At his foxhole, O’Neill peeks up out of the hole. Several NVA are darting through the jungle 20 yards away, coming towards him, talking loudly to each other. He quickly slips back down in the hole, entwining himself with the approaching NVA, clinking metal.
The NVA stop, glance in the hole. Something is muttered. They run out.
O’Neill opens his eyes, breathes.
EXT. PERIMETER #3 – BARNES’ FOXHOLE – NIGHT
BARNES swings his mashed M-16 full into the FACE of an enemy SOLDIER who screams and goes down, Barnes chopping at him with his club. His helmet is gone, his shirt ripped to shreds, his shoulder bleeding, making his last stand against the hated Gooks.
Nearby HUFFMEISTER is hit in the shoulder by a running FIGURE and collapses into the bottom of the foxhole, crying out in pain.
The running FIGURE runs past right into the full force of BARNES’ swinging rifle. SMACK! He crumples.
INTERCUT
Chris bellies into the area, see Barnes, recognizes him, amazed.
An ENEMY fires, taking Barnes high in the left thigh. A patch of skin blowing off. Barnes rigidly goes down on his left knee like a wounded horse. Holds there, staring into the Enemy, waiting for the coup de grace.
A series of SHOUTS and the Enemy staggers dead as:
Chris lays out a curtain of fire. A GRENADE goes off near him, blowing off his helmet. Dazed, Chris rushes forward firing from the hip – sucked into Barnes’ suicidal vacuum. He cuts down an Enemy as:
