The Last Rites of Ransom Pride Page #3

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to Glory.

You swear it.

Juliette,

you swear it now.

I swear I'll take you

back to Glory

and bury you

next to your mother.

# Fly away

on them ole wings #

# Black as they may be #

# Believin'

what you leave behind #

# Is burned up

and junk debris #

# As you die

like a saint on high #

# Alongside gamblers

and thieves #

# So fly away

on them ole wins, now #

# Black as they may be #

# Black as they may be #

That's first time

I seen it.

What?

Somebody die.

Ain't pretty, is it?

No.

It's worse you're the one

pulled the trigger.

We need to change

your bandages.

- They're all right.

- We're gonna change 'em.

How are we gonna

get him back?

We're gonna trade

for him.

What are we gonna trade?

Whatever she wants.

What do we got?

You.

What'd you say?

Come here.

Now, I'm tired of trying

to talk Mexican to you.

The woman

that killed these men.

When did she leave?

No woman, huh?

Is that what you said?

You listen to me.

I want you to ride up

to Bandera, Texas,

and you find a man

named Shepherd Graves.

And you give him this.

Comprende?

Si.

Yeah. I bet si.

You sure

you can do this?

If it was

the other way around,

my brother would do it

for me.

One shot.

Square in the head.

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Ah.

A young life...

fliled with sorrow.

There is...love.

But it is stained

with blood.

There is fortune,

yet...

there is misfortune.

You just cost me $500.

This is a better trade.

No.

Get your ass outside.

$500...

$500 to buy

your brother's body back

from a bunch

of voodoo Mexicans

and wet-nurse your ass

up to Glory.

What were you thinking,

huh?

You think

you were gonna do,

shoot her, kill them,

put Ransom on a horse,

and ride out of there?

How does that woman

have this kind of power

over my offspring?

The only thing

more ignorant than a boy

is a boy who thinks

he's a damn man.

Get that off your head.

You're not a damn Apache.

$11 .

sliver dollars.

You know what I did back there

was right, Champ.

I know you hate me for it.

I know you hate me

for a lot.

I try every day

not to hate you, Champ.

'Cause I loved

your mother.

I know she's a part of you.

But it's hard,

'cause she's gone...

'cause of you.

I'm willing to have

a truce between us,

if you're willing.

Let's do that

for your mother.

Yeah.

Are we agreed, Champ?

Champ. Champ.

God damn you, boy.

I'll come and-

Champ.

Champ.

I'm glad we could agree

on a price.

I've waited

my whole life

to get f***ed

by a pig.

- Ugh.

We've decided

to stay.

Three years ago,

someone made a terrible wager.

Four 6s beats

Jacks over Queens.

We cannot allow

this precious time we have

to be stained

with ridicule.

The motorcycle.

So why not

a quick death?

With dignity.

Hyah.

Son of a b*tch.

Where's-

Cocksucking-

Ugh. Aah.

Whoa. Wait.

- Come on.

- Aah.

When my pa stepped on,

I should have went ahead

and pulled the trigger.

Well, who in the hell

would have known

that son of a b*tch

would show up in Mexico?

Ransom wouldn't even

have blinked.

He'd have shot her

and said, ''Hello, Pa.''

Well, you ain't ever

gonna be Ransom.

I don't want you

to be.

Whoa.

Matthew...

I never saw you back down

or break your word.

Couldn't have been

no more than 13

when I give him

this medal.

The war was over.

These two Yankee sons of b*tches

come up on our cabin.

Me and Early Pride

hid under the floorboards,

but they got Matthew.

Big Union sergeant

held his hand down on the table.

Lieutenant pulled out

a hatchet.

Said, ''I'm gonna start

cutting things off

''untli you tell us

where them other

little rebel bastards

is hid at.''

They chopped

his finger off.

They was laughing.

Cut off another finger.

blood dripped off the table

through the cracks onto me.

And I hollered out,

''We're down here.''

When they looked down,

Matthew grabbed the hatchet,

swung it at that Yankee,

and damn near chopped

his head clean off.

The other one

run for the door.

Matthew buried it

in his back.

I won't rest

untli I see her dead.

You will witness

her death.

But it will be

by my hand.

Come out there

where I can sight you.

Whoa.

- Stop.

- Get out of my way, boy.

- Please.

- Get out of my way, boy.

- Stop. Pa.

Don't you dare

try to steal her from me.

My deepest regret

is letting you live

at Tres Piedras.

And unlike Lazarus,

you'll not rise

from the dead.

Gospel of John 11:35.

- Jesus wept.

I won't.

I'm gonna kill you now.

But it's gonna take

some time.

First, I'm gonna shoot you

in the stomach.

And you're gonna

holler out

for the Lord Jesus Christ

to save your soul.

But He's not gonna hear

a word you say

through

those whore lips.

They've had their last dalliance

with my offspring.

There is a God

above your God

who you will stand before

and answer to

for your cowardice

and hypocrisy.

Maybe.

It's all right.

You're all right.

Where is he?

He's dead.

I'm gonna go

bury my brother.

# The time is near #

# For the great tribulation #

# This young man #

# Would have been aware

of this #

# For it is written #

# In a Christian Bible #

# Of the four horsemen #

# Of the apocalypse #

Sweet Ransom.

The woman you loved in life

has now betrayed you

in death.

You must suffer dearly,

knowing that she has lain

with your brother.

Be assured,

the day of reckoning is at hand,

for before the sun sets,

her flesh will nourish

a few black vultures

while your bones

shall rest at the altar

of Santa Muerte.

This very morning,

Ransom,

Juliette Flowers

will awaken to the sound

of her own throat

being cut.

It's all right.

I'll be right back.

The night of her wedding,

a young bride

wept in the garden.

The general lay asleep

in his bed

while a chlid climbed

the walls of the hacienda,

slipped his straight razor

from its case.

The general awoke...

...to the sound

of his throat being cut.

As he lay there, dying,

this little chlid sang.

I waited

in my wedding dress

while my general bled.

And it was your voice

I heard singing.

Aah.

I buried your father

on this side

of that goddamn river.

You killed your father.

You killed your mother.

Ow.

What's that feel like?

Aah.

Aah.

What's that feel like?

After Ransom was laid to rest

next to his mother,

Champ and I set out

for Tulsa.

Then we drifted west

to New Mexico.

July of '39,

Champ died of malaria

at the Mesilla Valley Hospital

in Las Cruces.

I attended the burial

with our only son,

Jackson Pride.

Champ's headstone

bears a quotation

from his brother, Ransom.

"I was always a lover,

despite the killings."

# Tarnished and disgraced,

I lay down #

# A black sparrow

come to me in a dream #

# He whispered,

A, enlightenment #

# B, endarkenment #

# Hint, there is no C #

# A, enlightenment,

B, endarkenment #

# Hint, there is no C #

# A, enlightenment,

B, endarkenment #

# Hint, there is no C #

# And heaven pours down rain

and lightning bolts #

# And heaven pours down rain

and lightning bolts #

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