Jacob's Ladder

"JACOB'S LADDER" by Bruce Joel Rubin EXT.VIETNAM - DUSK A swarm of helicopters swoops out of a yellow sky and deposits an army of men over a Vietnamese hillside. The SOLDIERS scramble over the terraced rice paddies for the protection of the jungle. Falling into coulmns, like strands of soldier ants, seventy-five men, at combat readiness, assemble on the edge of a sweltering wilderness. It is dusk. The mood is lazy, soporific. Members of one platoon huddle close to the ground smoking a joint. JERRY Strong stuff. ROD (to JACOB, a soldier squatting several yards away) Hey, Professor, how many times can you shit in an hour? GEORGE Don't bug 'im. DOUG Where are those gooks already? FRANK Some offensive. I don't even think they're out there. PAUL Jesus, this grass is something else. JACOB SINGER returns to the group, pulling up his pants. ROD Why even bother to pull 'em up? FRANK You jackin' off out there again, huh Jake? PAUL Hey, get off his back. ROD It's called philosophizing, right Professor? JACOB gives them the finger. JACOB Up yours, you adolescent scum. Laughter. SERGEANT (V.O.) Mount your bayonets. FRANK (frightened) Oh shit! PAUL Goddam! ROD Gimme that joint! JERRY Hey, something's wrong. GEORGE What is it? JERRY My head. GEORGE It's nerves. Take another toke. GEORGE reaches out, extending a joint. Suddenly he gasps and falls to the ground, his body convulsing uncontrollably. The others stand back, startled.