A Normal Life FADE IN: EXT. JUNGLE - DAY ELLIS "ELI" PARSONS, (21) runs through a Vietnamese jungle, an M16A1 in hand. IND VIET CONG (O.S.) TAN CONG! ELLIS FUCK YOU! Ellis jumps into a defensive position and points his M16 forward. The Viet Cong start their charge. IND SOLDIER 1 (O.S.) Screw you GI! I kill you GI! Parsons takes out two of them as they charge. Muzzle flashes come from their AKs. ELLIS Straw hat wearing mothafuckas! Ellis dumps a magazine full auto into the charging crowd of Viet Cong. He takes a knee to reload. His hands shake as he loads a fresh mag. He pops his head back up, only to get a bayonet in the back. A round flies through his skull as they rush in. ELLIS (CONT’D) God. Fucking damn it... INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT Ellis jumps off his computer and clicks out of Rising Storm Vietnam. He checks his watch and sighs. Enlistment forms sit on a table alongside others. The top lines carry the name "Ellis Michael Parsons" with a 4-F stamped at the top. Bottles of beer and whiskey surround his desk. A 1911 sits on its side next to an unfinished desktop. The laptop Ellis games on looks old, with a few stickers on it from differing universities and game companies. Ellis looks down, glances down at the enlistment forms. He lifts one up slightly. Denial reason: "Heart condition- signs of surgery" He shuffles through them again. He looks at the first paper. Denial reason: "Heart condition with history of cancer, further investigation showed signs of cardiac arrest previous". Ellis takes his phone out and checks it. "Appointments" "Appointment with Matt" Ellis sighs. INT. PSYCHIATRY OFFICE - NIGHT Ellis sits in a psychiatry office. Ellis carries a look of discomfort on his face. MATT, (mid-50s) sits there and looks at him. MATT What's going on now, Elllis? ELLIS Usual shit. Nightmares. .45 in my mouth and my dad beating me. What else is new? MATT What about it all though? What was the hardest part about going through all that? With your Uncle being an alcoholic- ELLIS Yeah, I fucking got it. Ellis chuckles. ELLIS (CONT’D) The fact they told me I was fucking worthless. The fact that I don't think I'm really good enough in comparison. MATT Good enough for what exactly? Ellis looks down. INT. ELLIS'S CAR - NIGHT Ellis puts a gun in his mouth and puts his finger on the trigger. ELLIS (O.S.) Others. That others don't like me for who I am. They're doing better than me and I'm stuck here. I'm just not good enough, full stop. I'm a fucking joke. MATT (O.S.) What makes you say that? INT. DESERT - DAY Ellis holds a bandage over a wound. KAYLA, (22) stands behind him, her hands over her mouth. NOAH, (24) holds a leatherman in his hand. ELLIS We gotta go to the fucking hospital, man. Noah laughs at Ellis. NOAH And why would we need to do that? ELLIS Because she's been shot, dude! NOAH Relax man, I took CLS and pulled a round out of one of my boots at one point. Ellis gives a look of annoyance. ELLIS You fucking serious? NOAH Yeah, get out of the way dude. Noah pulls Ellis back. Ellis watches in horror as the bandage comes off. Noah puts the leatherman. MIA It hurts, it hurts, don't do that. NOAH Yeah, we're going to the hospital. ELLIS Y-Yeah. Fuck yeah we are. INT. SUV - DAY Ellis sits in the back of the SUV his head down. INT. PSYCHIATRY OFFICE - NIGHT MATT And then what happened? ELLIS So check this, right? I yelled at him for being fucking stupid and he apologized. Profusely. Fucking idiot. Ellis sighs. MATT And why do you think you're a shitty person for that? ELLIS A good person would have stepped in. A good person would have done something. MATT It's not your fault. That whole thing. She's still alive and kicking- ELLIS And they all still hold it over my head like it fucking means anything. I dropped about half of them after that. I don't want to be associated with a bunch of unsafe fucking idiots who don't realize that when you shoot steel, it comes back. MATT You did your best though, Ellis. You're loved at work. Don't let this get you down. Fuck them, fuck what they say. You did your best. ELLIS Thanks. MATT Now let's get you started on some EMDR next week and see where we can go from there. INT. ELLIS'S CAR - DAY Ellis drives home and looks forward.