IMPULSE Written by Christopher Scott Carpenter

EXT. SIDEWALK - AFTERNOON A young man walks briskly into frame, and stops a moment to read a text on his phone. He smiles. We latch onto him and follow as he resumes motion. He is lost in the forming crowd. VOICE (V.O.) Ive never been in a psychiatrists office before. CUT TO: INT. PSYCHIATRISTS OFFICE - UNKNOWN TIME Another young student teeters on the edge of a couch. Its his voice we heard. His hands rest in his lap, and his back is straight and professional. He never leaves our sight. VOICE I consider myself lucky to have never needed to be. THE PSYCHIATRIST (O.S.) Thats okay. Its a very simple process. All you need to do is relax, and to release all the strains and pressures that exist outside this room. Your mind should be blank except for the things I ask you about. Okay. THE STUDENT

THE PSYCHIATRIST (O.S.) While youre here, please dont ever forget that I and a whole team of others are here to help. Believe me, youre in good hands. The student smiles meekly. Hes beginning to understand the apparent mess he caused. THE PSYCHIATRIST (CONTD) (O.S.) To begin, why dont we take a few breaths, and then close our eyes and-

2. THE STUDENT (interrupting) Id actually prefer to keep my eyes open. A beat. THE PSYCHIATRIST (O.S.) Thats perfectly alright. If youre ready to go, then, lets get started. CUT TO: EXT. SIDEWALK From across the street we watch as the young man moves about a crowd. His head bobs amongst the rest, and a smile slowly forms on his lips. He looks at his phone again, and the smile grows. THE PSYCHIATRIST (O.S.) Now, tell me about these thoughts youd been having. THE STUDENT (O.S.) What do you want to know? THE PSYCHIATRIST (O.S.) Talk about the nature of them. THE STUDENT (O.S., and after a nervous laugh) Well... CUT TO: INT. PSYCHIATRISTS OFFICE A beat. The student resumes. THE STUDENT You know when- well, I dont know if you would know when, but I think you understand- when a person... sort of... (MORE)

3. THE STUDENT (CONT'D) thinks about something that is totally insane, like an action or a desire? Its obviously something that I wouldnt, uh, do, but, um... A beat. Hes run out of things to say. THE PSYCHIATRIST (O.S.) Um... What I understand you to be describing are what are called intrusive thoughts. They are the brains natural response to what Freud called the id, or mans desire to return to the emotions of his primal nature. The thoughts themselves are actually common, so please dont feel that you are alone in that regard. A beat. The student shows signs of relief. THE PSYCHIATRIST (CONTD) (O.S.) Im glad that weve come together on this problem. It should be encouraging to be able to identify it. THE STUDENT (taken aback) Hold on. Come together? Did you already know? (O.S.) I did. THE PSYCHIATRIST

CUT TO: EXT. SIDWALK Once again from across the street we notice the young man as he stands at a busy street corner, surrounded by people waiting to cross the street. He talks on his cell phone, and as evidenced by his smile and laughter the conversation is jovial. THE PSYCHIATRIST (V.O.) Like I said, its encouraging that youre able to identify it. (MORE)

4. THE PSYCHIATRIST (CONT'D) Can you give me an example of these thoughts? The student hesitates. He thinks for a second. An example comes to him. THE STUDENT (V.O.) Uh, well, one, for instance, is when Im driving on the freeway, and for some reason I feel compelled - almost like Im possessed or something - to ram my car into oncoming traffic. Or Ill see someone walking their dog, and against all logic feel the desire to kick it in the stomach, just to see what would happen. CUT TO: INT. PSYCHIATRISTS OFFICE The student grows emotional. THE STUDENT Things like that. An extended beat. The psychiatrist tempts the student into speaking. THE STUDENT (CONTD) I mean, Ive never acted upon these urges. (smiling through the fear) That would be insane. THE PSYCHIATRIST (aside, and O.S.) Then it has been repressed. Theres certainly motivation... THE STUDENT (still smiling) What are you saying? THE PSYCHIATRIST (O.S.) How much of the last 24 hours do you remember?

5. THE STUDENT (with smile fading) What are you saying? The psychiatrist exhales. Time to try a new approach. THE PSYCHIATRIST (O.S.) To understand these intrusive thoughts, it is necessary to be aware of their power. In some very rare cases, the thoughts can actually influence behavior. Another extended beat as the information sinks in. Breaths become rapid, jagged. Mouth hangs ajar. Eyes widen in abject terror. THE PSYCHIATRIST (CONTD) (O.S.) I can see my words have had an effect. Dont let the memory rush. Ease into it. Ease into it. Remind yourself: this is how I can be helped. CUT TO: EXT. SIDEWALK The crowd lumbers forward; the street is clear to cross. In the throng of bobbing heads and shoulders the head of the young man stands out. He waits excitedly on the street corner, constantly checking for something with a smile. The crowd is disappearing, as if blown by a gust of wind. The moving mob reveals the young man and, several feet behind him, the student. The student appears emotionless. The young man turns toward him and smiles. The student meekly smiles back. We notice the traffic rushing past. In a crane shot we begin on the two men, the young man near the street and the student behind him, and then swing away just as the student lunges forward and pushes the young man into the path of an oncoming car. We continue swinging away as passers-by react, first with shock and confusion, then with acts of heroism and phone calls to 911. We drift upward toward the sky as chaos unfolds behind us. CUT TO:

6. INT. PSYCHIATRISTS OFFICE The students mind has been flooded. He struggles to withhold the enormous amount of emotion. His eyes search for comfort, but find none. They return to the psychiatrist. THE STUDENT I mean, this doesnt make me a crazy person, right? You said it can happen to anybody. An extended beat. The student longs for a response, but receives none. After several seconds, his eyes drop from those of the psychiatrists and break the fourth wall, just in time to: SMASH TO BLACK END.