Jacob's Ladder Page #10

PAUL (V.O.)

A long time.

JACOB:

Jesus Christ. How've you been? What's

happening in your life?

PAUL (V.O.)

Nothin' much.

JACOB:

Me neither. Nothing too exciting. So

tell me, to what do I owe the honor?

PAUL (V.O.)

I need to see you, Jake.

JACOB:

Sh*t, Paul. I'd love to see you. But

I'm kind of laid up here. I've been

sick.

PAUL (V.O.)

I need to see you.

INT. PAUL'S CAR - DAY

JACOB and PAUL are driving through EAST NEW YORK heading

toward WILLIAMSBURG. The elevated trains rumble above them.

JACOB pats PAUL on the back.

JACOB:

Jesus, man, you look terrific. You

must have put on twenty pounds.

PAUL:

I work in a bakery.

JACOB:

You're lucky. How many vets you know

are even employed?

PAUL:

Count 'em on one hand.

JACOB:

It's almost like a conspiracy, huh?

PAUL:

No joke. F***in' army! That goddamn

war. I'm still fightin' it.

JACOB:

It's not worth it. You'll never win.

PAUL:

You tellin' me? How many times can

you die, huh?

PAUL looks in his rear view mirror before changing lanes. He

sees a black car tagging close behind him. He pulls out. So

does the car.

PAUL:

(continuing)

Still married, Jake?

JACOB:

Nope.

PAUL:

You and everybody else. God I hate

this area. Makes me nervous.

JACOB:

Why the hell we drivin' here?

PAUL:

I just need to talk.

JACOB:

You can't talk in Brownsville?

PAUL:

I'm not sure where I can talk

anymore.

JACOB:

What's wrong?

PAUL:

Let's get a couple drinks, okay?

(he looks at his rear

view mirror)

Hey, take a look behind us. Do you

think that car is followin' us?

JACOB:

(turning to look)

That black car?

PAUL:

Pull the mirror down on the sun

visor.

(JACOB does)

Just watch 'em.

JACOB:

What's goin' on Paul?

PAUL:

I don't know.

JACOB:

You in trouble?

PAUL:

Yeah.

JACOB notices PAUL's left arm. It is shaking. The black car

passes on the left. Both PAUL and JACOB stare at it as it

speeds by.

INT. BAR - DAY

JACOB and PAUL are sitting in a dark booth in an obscure

WILLIAMSBURG BAR. It is nearly empty. PAUL is leaning across

the table in a very intimate fashion.

PAUL:

Somethin's wrong, Jake. I don't know

what it is but I can't talk to

anybody about it. I figured I could

with you. You always used to listen,

you know?

JACOB nods. PAUL takes a sip of his drink and stares

deliberately into JACOB's eyes.

PAUL:

(continuing)

I'm going to Hell!

JACOB's face grows suddenly tense.

PAUL:

(continuing)

That's as straight as I can put it.

And don't tell me that I'm crazy

'cause I know I'm not. I'm goin' to

Hell. They're comin' after me.

JACOB:

(frightened, but holding

back)

Who is?

PAUL:

They've been followin' me. They're

comin' outta the walls. I don't trust

anyone. I'm not even sure I trust

you. But I gotta talk to someone. I'm

gonna fly outta my f***in' mind.

PAUL cannot contain his fear. He jumps up suddenly and walks

away from the booth. JACOB follows him with his eyes but

does not go after him. A YOUNG MAN in the next booth

observes the scene with interest. He looks vaguely familiar,

like we have seen him before.

PAUL stares out the window for a moment and then walks over

to the juke box. He pulls a quarter out of his pocket and

drops it in the slot. His finger pushes a selection at

random. Some '60's rock hit blares out. JACOB's mind is

reeling by the time PAUL sits back down.

PAUL:

(continuing)

Sorry. Sometimes I think I'm just

gonna jump outta my skin. They're

just drivin' me wild.

JACOB:

Who, Paul? What exactly ... ?

PAUL:

I don't know who they are, or what

they are. But they're gonna get me

and I'm scared, Jake. I'm so scared I

can't do anything. I can't go to my

sisters. I can't even go home.

JACOB:

Why not?

PAUL:

They're waitin' for me, that's why.

PAUL's hand starts to shake. The tremor spreads rapidly to

his whole body. The booth begins to rattle.

PAUL:

(continuing)

I can't stop it. I try. Oh God! Help

me Jake.

JACOB slides quickly out of his side of the booth and moves

in toward PAUL. He puts his arm around him and holds him

tightly, offering comfort as best he can.

PAUL is obviously terrified and grateful for JACOB's

gesture. A few PEOPLE at the bar look over in their

direction.

JACOB:

It's okay, Paul. It's okay.

PAUL:

(crying)

I don't know what to do.

JACOB:

Don't do anything.

(PAUL begins to relax a

bit and the shaking

subsides)

Paul, I know what you're talking

about.

PAUL:

What do you mean?

JACOB:

I've seen them too ... the demons!

PAUL:

(staring at JACOB)

You've seen them?

JACOB:

Everywhere, like a plague.

PAUL:

God almighty. I thought I was the

only one.

JACOB:

Me, too. I had no idea. It's like I

was coming apart at the seams.

PAUL:

Oh God. I know. I know.

JACOB:

What is it Paul? What's happening to

me?

PAUL:

They keep telling me I'm already

dead, that they're gonna tear me

apart, piece by piece, and throw me

into the fire.

(he fumbles in his coat

pocket and pulls out a

small Bible and silver

cross)

I carry these everywhere but they

don't help. Nothing helps. Everyone

thinks I'm crazy. My mother filed a

report with the army.

JACOB:

(stunned)

The army?

PAUL:

She said I haven't been the same

since then. Since that night. There's

still this big hole in my brain. It's

so dark in there, Jake. And these

creatures. It's like they're crawling

out of my brain. What happened that

night? Why won't they tell us?

JACOB:

I don't know. I don't know.

PAUL:

They're monsters, Jake. We're both

seein' 'em. There's gotta be a

connection. Something.

JACOB leans back in the booth, his mind racing. The YOUNG

MAN in the next booth is watching them with rapt attention.

INT. MEN'S ROOM - DAY

PAUL and JACOB are in the MEN'S ROOM. PAUL flushes the

urinal.

PAUL:

I'm afraid to go by myself anymore. I

keep thinkin' one of 'em's gonna come

up behind me. Somethin's wrong when a

guy can't even take a leak by

himself. I've seen 'em take people

right off the street. I used to go

home a different way every night. Now

I can't even go home.

JACOB:

You come home with me.

PAUL:

What about your girlfriend? You don't

think she'll mind?

JACOB:

Are you kidding? We've put up more of

her cousins. You wouldn't believe how

they breed down there.

PAUL smiles.

EXT. BAR - DAY

The TWO MEN leave the bar on a dingy side street. It is cold

outside. Christmas lights seem ludicrous dangling in the

bar's front window. PAUL looks at them and smiles.

PAUL:

Merry Christmas.

PAUL steps into the street and walks to the driver's side of

his car. He pulls out his keys and opens the door. JACOB

looks down on the sidewalk and notices a dime.

JACOB:

Goddamn, this is my lucky day.

He bends down to pick it up. PAUL inserts the key into the

ignition and steps on the gas. He turns the key.

THE CAR EXPLODES. Pieces of metal and flesh fly into the

air. JACOB sprawls out flat on the ground as the debris

hurls above him. He covers his head.

EXT. VIETNAM

CUT TO A HELICOPTER suffering an air bombardment. Flack is

exploding all around it and the shock waves are rocking the

craft violently. JACOB's eyes peer to the left.

INFANTRY GUNNERS are firing rockets into the JUNGLE below. A

pair of MEDICS are huddled over him. A sudden gush of

arterial bleeding sends a stream of blood splattering over

the inside of the windshield. The PILOT, unable to see,

clears it away with his hands.

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