The Yellow Birds Page #4

---

whooping cough or something

and get her to take

another look at you.

Hey, what's it called

when the doctor

makes you take your pants

down and asks you to cough?

You know what I mean?

F***, dude, they could

send you home maybe.

[helicopter humming]

They should just bomb

this place off the face

of the earth.

I hate it so much.

Yeah. Some f***ing garden

of Eden, right?

I'm never gonna tell anybody

I was here when I get back.

When I get back, I just...

I'm gonna get a place to myself.

I'm not gonna go no place

and not talk to anybody.

Wake up every morning

and go run, eat right...

And let my f***ing

hair grow back out.

[deep breath]

I might show up, and

if somebody says,

"Hey, Murph, didn't

you used to be

"in the Army or something?"

And I'll just say, "That

was something I did

"for a little while."

Or maybe I won't even say that.

Maybe...

I don't want this

to be a part of me.

[soft instrumental music]

All right, dude, let's

f***ing get outta here.

Come on.

Come on.

I'm gonna stay here, man.

No, come on, there...

Dude, let's go, seriously.

Come on.

[soft instrumental music]

[whooshing]

[bomb exploding]

[bombs exploding]

Murph!

[bombs exploding]

Murph!

[dramatic music]

[knocking on door]

[birds chirping]

Oh.

Is...

Are you Brandon's mom?

Amy, right?

And who are you?

Maureen.

My name's Maureen Murphy.

My son served with your son.

Did he?

[Maureen] Mm-hm.

Let me ask you, did your

boy come back an a**hole, too?

He didn't come back.

- Oh, oh, my God.

- He's missing.

They don't know yet.

I am so sorry.

Here.

Why don't you come in?

[Maureen] Thank you.

[Amy] Is there

something I can get you?

No, I'm fine.

I just wanna talk to Brandon.

It'd be nice to see him again.

You met him before?

Once, yeah, I did.

There was a party at the base.

Well, I don't know when

Bran's gonna be home.

Well, would you mind

if I just wait a while?

I just have some...

I wanna ask him some things.

I just wanna know what happened.

These people, they're

not telling me anything,

and I'm just sorting

it all out myself.

You know, I don't know how

somebody just goes missing.

I just don't.

And I just wanna know if was...

[glass breaking]

- Oh, my, I'm so sorry!

- I'll get that, it's okay.

[Maureen] Please, will you...

Oh, gosh!

[Amy] Oh, oh, okay, hold on.

Oh, God.

[Maureen] Here.

I'm just a mess, I'm just...

I really just wish

I didn't let him go.

- I know. Come here.

- [moaning]

I know.

[people talking]

[folk music]

[Luke] Ooh!

[Tess] Send it down.

[people murmuring]

[train rumbling]

[people murmuring]

[train rumbling]

[dramatic music]

[train rumbling]

[Tess] Sh*t!

[Luke] Jesus! Set him down.

- [Tess] No, I don't know.

- Bartle!

Hey, Bartle!

[Tess] No, we just pulled

him out of the water.

- Come on, buddy!

- Off the road. By the underpass.

[Luke] Wake up, buddy!

I think he's waking up now.

[Luke] He's up.

You all right?

[coughing]

Yeah, no, I'm good.

- Come on.

- I'm good.

We heard a noise.

So we ran over.

It was Brandon Bartle.

[man on radio]

[knocking]

Bartle.

Bartle.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[dramatic music]

[Police Officer] Try to

keep it together, buddy.

[Amy] People just

like to say stuff.

My friend told me

something the other day.

She said, "Maureen, you gotta

find your truth in all this."

Your truth.

What the hell does that mean?

"Your truth"?

Like mine's

different than yours,

or you got one and

I've got another?

I was watching this show

the other day, about birds.

They always said that if

you touch a baby bird,

the mother'll, you

know, smell you on it

and then she wouldn't

take her baby back.

Turns out it isn't true.

Birds can't even smell, really.

Besides, that's her babies.

Where they get these

stupid ideas, I don't know.

[floorboard creaks]

Bran?

[dramatic music]

[helicopter humming]

Let us wash it

away, wash it away,

for unless you are born of

the water and the Spirit,

you cannot enter

the kingdom of God.

[distinct radio chatter]

[siren blaring]

The usual?

Yeah, yeah.

- Hey.

- Hey.

How you doing?

Good. You?

Yeah.

Good, you've got like a

back room back there, right?

[Clerk] Yeah, why?

I could really use the

place to crash for the night.

Yeah.

Really?

Yeah, I mean, it's just

f***ing for one night, you know?

No, man, I can't...

You f***, I've...

Come on!

- Private.

- F***!

Hands where I can see them.

I'm Captain Anderson, CID.

I've been looking for you.

Easy now.

Are you armed?

[Bartle] No.

[Anderson] Sober?

Wishing I wasn't, sir.

Is that what the Army doctors

prescribed before you left?

Disappear from sight?

Drink yourself

into a black hole?

Yeah.

As I recall, that's pretty

much what they said.

You ready to take a

ride to the base with me?

It's time, son.

Who do you think you're

helping by keeping quiet?

Sterling?

Why don't you ask Sterling?

[Anderson] Sergeant

Sterling's gone.

Gone?

He took himself

out of the game.

It's just you now.

[dramatic music]

[man on radio]

F***!

[gun firing]

[dramatic music]

[Amy] Okay, so, where are you?

[Bartle] A stockade.

Army jail.

Well...

Are they gonna

let you come home?

[Bartle] I think

this is gonna be home

for me for a while, Ma.

Oh, God, Bran.

Ma, I need you to know...

You don't have to

say you're sorry, okay?

I know you are.

Or that it's gonna be okay.

Or you wish things

were different.

You don't have to

say any of that.

And I know you love me

the same way I love you,

so you don't have to

say any of that, either.

I know, Ma.

I know.

Well...

Are you gonna let me

visit you this time?

[chuckles]

Sure, Ma.

[snapping fingers]

All right. I gotta...

I gotta go, Ma.

Bye.

Thanks for that.

They have an old saying

about situations like this.

I don't know. What's that?

You're only as

sick as your secrets.

[bleeping]

They've got an old saying

about everything, don't they?

[Anderson] Just about.

[bleeping]

[clanking]

[dramatic music]

[coughing]

Help me.

What just happened?

[Bartle] Murph!

Murph, listen to me!

On here!

[dramatic music]

Hurry.

[thudding]

[groaning]

[Bartle] Hey, we

need help over here!

[dramatic music]

[inaudible]

[panting]

[buzzing]

[clanking]

[Guard] Bartle.

Your visitor's here.

[buzzing]

[Maureen] Hi, Brandon.

[Bartle] Mrs. Murphy.

You look so thin.

They said that you only

wanted to talk to me.

Is that right?

Yeah.

Why?

You said you wanted to

hear it from me first.

Here I am.

The day Murph, uh...

[exhales]

We were on a morning patrol

a few days after the...

Camp got attacked

by mortar fire.

Murph was in bad shape.

We all were, but they

sent us back out anyway.

I guess they didn't want

it to look like we got hurt

as bad as we did.

Murph was with us, but...

He wouldn't talk to anybody.

[intense music]

Halt.

Hold up!

All right, pull back.

LT.

That what I think it is?

Yeah, maybe.

F***.

Goddamn Hajji motherfuckers!

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes