The Deer Hunter Page #18

JOHN:

Psst. Vince!

JOHN signals with his head. VINCE turns. ANOTHER DEER has

come out of the woods. The DEER is rattled by the gunfire and

peers at VINCE uncertainly. VINCE spins and grabs his gun,

which immediately goes off. He slams another shell in the

chamber and scrambles to his feet but the rifle sling is

hooked on the antlers of the DEAD DEER and another shot

ricochets off a nearby rock. JOHN and ALBERT dive for cover.

As they look up, they see the DEER trot down the slope and

then VINCE, firing wildly, running after it.

EXT. MOUNTAINS - RIDGE TOP - DAY

The wind is much stronger, moaning in the trees. NICK

appears, moving fast, at a near trot. Suddenly he stops,

listening. At the same moment there is a snort. NICK wheels.

The BUCK is behind him, bounding away.

EXT. MOUNTAINS - RIDGE TOP - DAY

The BUCK appears, trotting out of the swirling snow. Reaching

a deadfall the BUCK pauses, looking back, and then turns

sharp left and disappears.

NICK comes out of the snow. He is winded but still going

hard.

EXT. MOUNTAINS - DEADFALL - DAY

NICK reaches the deadfall, hesitates, then rapidly springs

over. As he touches down on the other side there is a

growling sound.

NICK grabs for the deadfall. The wind shifts and we see that

he has stepped onto a boulder which is loosely planted at the

top of a steep scree slope. As NICK watches, the boulder

begins to roll, then to bound, dislodging other rocks and

boulders, all of them bouncing and leaping and cracking...

and then falling -- soundless -- over a sheer ledge to

unknown depths below.

EXT. BUSTED-DOWN OLD LOGGERS SHACK - DAY

ALBERT and JOHN have dragged their TWO DEAD DEER to a log

beside the shack. They sit side by side, drenched in sweat,

guzzling beer out of both hands.

JOHN:

Sweet! Oh, that is sweet!

ALBERT:

Hey! F***in' A! Just... just like a

hot sh*t... except cold.

JOHN lowers his beer. ALBERT gives him a blank expression,

then cracks up. SHOTS explode nearby. At first the shots are

scattered but they quickly open into a FULL BARRAGE. ALBERT

and JOHN stand up.

EXT. HIGHWAY EMBANKMENT - DAY

The DEER that VINCE was chasing earlier comes hobbling out of

the woods pursued by a GROUP OF HALF-DRUNK HUNTERS. VINCE

comes barreling through the HUNTERS, shouting and screaming.

VINCE's clothes are in tatters, the sole is gone from one

shoe and the barrel of his rifle is jammed up with mud and

perceptibly bent.

VINCE:

I got this one!!! This one's

mine!!!

VINCE loses his footing and rolls down the embankment, head

over heels.

EXT. DITCH - DAY

VINCE comes up ten feet from the bewildered DEER. He raises

his rifle, fires, and the BARREL SPLITS OPEN. SHOTS begin

coming in, thudding in the mud and ricocheting off rocks. The

DEER wheels out on the highway. VINCE heaves his rifle at the

DEER, draws his pistol...

EXT. HIGHWAY - DAY

Cars are parked on both sides of the road. HUNTERS are

sitting in the cars, drinking, eating sandwiches and warming

themselves at small fires. MORE HUNTERS are up on the

embankment.

VINCE:

I got this one!!! This one's

mine!!!

The panicked DEER bolts down the highway between the parked

cars. The HUNTERS ON THE EMBANKMENT open fire. The HUNTERS IN

THE CARS dive for cover.

VINCE (CONT'D)

Hold your fire! I got this one!!!

VINCE FIRES, FIRES AGAIN. SHOTS are ringing everywhere.

HUNTERS are shouting, running, yelling. A car window goes

out, a headlight goes out. The DEER is hit, falls and gets

up. VINCE takes aim. A FLEEING HUNTER bowls him over. The

DEER bolts for the woods, bullets smashing all around it.

VINCE scrambles to his feet and plunges after it.

VINCE (CONT'D)

I got it! I got this one!

EXT. WOODS - DAY

The DEER staggers through the trees, blood pouring from its

wounds. VINCE comes stumbling after it. HE FIRES, FIRES

AGAIN.

EXT. BUSTED-DOWN OLD LOGGERS SHACK - DAY

ALBERT and JOHN stand with their beers, looking into the

woods. A shot zings by, close, and they dive behind a log.

The DEER comes out of the woods, barely able to keep moving.

VINCE appears, reeling. He takes aim at the DEER and there is

a DULL CLICK. VINCE jams his pistol back in his holster.

VINCE:

Gun! Gimme gun!!!

ALBERT indicates his rifle. VINCE stumbles over to it, rams a

cartridge in the chamber.

VINCE (CONT'D)

(looks around, bewildered)

Where's it gone?

JOHN:

Inside, Vince.

VINCE staggers to the cabin door. The DEER is lying on the

floor, motionless, DEAD.

VINCE:

I got it! Hey, you guys, I got

it!!!

EXT. MOUNTAINS - FROZEN LAKE - DAY

The wind is blowing in gusts, slanting the snow first one way

and then the other. NICK appears in the distance, a black

speck in the endless expanse of shifting white.

As NICK draws closer we see that he is near exhaustion. His

clothes are , caked with snow, his breath comes in a shallow

gasp and his gait is uneven, favoring one leg. As NICK

APPROACHES CAMERA HE FALTERS AND LIMPS TO A STOP. There are

no tracks. There is nothing to go by and he hunkers down in

the driving snow.

The wind bangs in from one way, then it shifts and bangs in

again from another way. Suddenly it stops entirely. In the

silence there is a sound -- the click of a hoof on rock.

NICK turns. The BUCK is standing on the shoreline, not thirty

feet away, looking down at him.

NICK pushes himself to his feet, raises his rifle and sights

down the barrel.

WE SEE THE BUCK THROUGH NICK'S SIGHTS. IT IS A CLEAR SHOT.

NICK'S FINGER IS ON THE TRIGGER. HE HAS ONLY TO SQUEEZE IT.

NICK LOWERS HIS RIFLE. THE BUCK SNORTS, TOSSES HIS HORNS AND

DISAPPEARS IN THE SLANTING SNOW.

NICK STANDS MOTIONLESS, STARING AFTER IT, SO WONDER-STRUCK HE

HAS FORGOTTEN TO BREATHE.

NICK:

(grins)

Damn... God damn...

EXT. MOUNTAINS - OVERLOOK - DAY

NICK sits on his haunches with his back against a sheer rock

face. As he devours a Hostess Twinkie he looks out over a

snow-shrouded landscape of such spectacular beauty that it

might be something from a dream.

NICK:

(shouts)

Hey! Hey... okay!

INT. BUSTED-DOWN OLD LOGGERS SHACK - NIGHT

The Coleman lantern hangs from the rafter, rocking in the

wind. NICK is propped against the wall, dozing. JOHN is out

cold. ALBERT and VINCE are both drunk and arguing bitterly.

ALBERT:

You're full of sh*t, Vince! You're

so full of sh*t you're going to

float away!

VINCE:

Who? Who is?

ALBERT:

You, Vince! You! You are! You're a

crock! You're a walking, talking

crock!... I mean, what do you know?

VINCE:

I know! I f***in' know!

ALBERT:

You don't!

VINCE:

I do!!!

ALBERT:

I'm tellin' you she does it, Vince!

With twenty guys you know!

VINCE:

She does not!

ALBERT:

Then what's the gun for! What's

this for?

VINCE:

In case!!! The gun's in case!!!

ALBERT:

In case???!!! In case of what? In

case you stumble on her, suckin'

cock in the front f***ing hall?!

VINCE:

She might!!! She might do it,

Albert, but you can't f***in' tell

me that she does!!!

ALBERT:

She does, Vince! That's what I'm

telling you! She does!!!

VINCE is sheet-white, trembling. He grabs up the pistol and

c*cks it.

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