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Last Rites of Ransom Pride, The (2009)
I was 11 years old
when general Batista slaughtered half my village. I watched him torture my father and butcher my mother. The kids that survived, I took to Juarez. We roamed the streets like wolves. I came back the night of the general's wedding. Stole his straight razor. The general awoke to the sound of his own throat being cut. While the general bled, I sang to him. "'Tis better to whisper the sun is rising. 'Tis better to whisper the sun is rising." There's two kinds of people in the world, fellas. There's the wicked... And the righteous. And it's the wicked man's job to get the righteous man's money. This righteous tool here is used by the wicked to get that money. Sure, they're old. But they shoot true. Now, in the hands of a man such as Louie Chama, well... it could bring great wealth. - Huh? You don't fuck with Louie Chama. - Amigo mio The last thing Ransom Pride said to me was, ''I was always a lover, despite the killings.'' The body of Ransom Pride belongs to me. And I understand there's someone here who believes otherwise. Mescal? You go on and tell that broke-dick son of a bitch he's mistaken. I stick my dick in you. Hmm. Your Ransom... he killed a priest. This priest was my brother by birth. And although his faith was misplaced, he remains my brother in death. Therefore, the body of Ransom Pride will be fed to the devil's black vultures, for there must be atonement. He has a brother. So this is your offer? A woman willing to buy back a man's soul... With the blood of his brother... Is beyond salvation. The puppies could be coming out tonight. Maybe I should think up some names for 'em. She's taken to me. Maybe she thinks I'm like him. How is it you consider yourself like Ransom? I'm sorry, Pa. I didn't mean we're the very same. I just... - I just think that maybe- - No, finish what you said. I want to hear how it is you think you're like your brother. Whorin'? Runnin', robbin'? You're right, Pa, we're nothing alike. No, you're not alike. And you should get on your knees and thank the Lord in heaven you're not like him. He's coming to get me, Mama. Hey, Mama. I'm sorry. She had them pups? She's suffering, Pa. She... What's wrong with you? You like to watch that suffering? What? Nothing's wrong. Nothing's wrong. Come here, sweetie. Come here, sweetie. - Pa, please, please. - Come here. Come here. You know, what's wrong with you? - Pa. - Don't you let her suffer. You don't let her Come here, sweetie. God damn you. What's wrong with you? Where are the dead? I've often wondered. The scripture tells us where the dead are. Well, see, my wife... The scripture tells us what becomes of the dead. all those who go to their graves unsaved shall know the torment of hell. Whore of Babylon. Ransom's dead. In Mexico. Father, I've sinned. I'm no longer worthy to be called Thy son. Proverbs 16:18. Don't you dare quote scripture to me, whore. Ezekiel 33:33-32. ''And they come unto''- Thessalonians 4:15-17. Now, I swore I'd bury Ransom next to his mother. We owe him. You owe him, whore. You listen to me, bitch. You listen to me. Ahh. Get off me. Oh. Ow. Oh, no. No. I'm sorry. I'll leave. I'll leave. I'll get out of here. Sorry about your ma. How did he die? He got shot. A gun-runnin' deal. Took the first bullet in the back. This walleyed bastard bitch claimed the body. There ain't nobody left but me and you. We'll do this for him. How do we get him back? I got that worked out. Come on. It's time you got weaned. This is my father's. Ransom took him when he left. He should have taken better care of this horse. Belongs to you now. See that you earn it. Champ. Come on. Champ. Champ. Don't do that. Well, well. Welcome back, Captain. Or should I say Reverend? Ransom's whore got him killed down in Mexico. And now she come back and took his brother. The one who killed Edna when he come out? Graves... you mention my wife again, I swear to God, I'll kill you with that whore on your lap. You're the one who put the blame on him for that. Whore got a name? Yeah. Juliette Flowers. Goddamn, Captain. I guess she's growing a conscience. Was a time she'd have murdered y'all in your sleep. Yeah, in certain parts of Mexico, they sing corridos about that half-breed girl. Yeah. Ain't no place in the world my father hates more than Mexico. Quantrill and bloody Bill said leave him for dead in Kansas. He was shot up too bad to ride. What'd I do? Did I leave you, Graves? No. I didn't leave you. Stayed right there with you. There's a debt here I guess I come to collect. Asking for help... oh, that's a hard thing to do. I guess you could ask God to help you. And maybe the Christ Jesus. I don't need God's help for this, Graves. I need a son of a bitch. Mr. Graves wants to see you. Your uncle has a job for you. Captain, behold the answer to your prayers. How is it you're still living, Matthew? You know, you ain't the only one that Jesus saves. Matthew was the toughest son of a bitch. But the meanest was Early Pride. He had no conscience whatsoever. God damn it, you fucking whore. - Who in the hell are you? - That's my sister's boy. Been here since she passed. Well, he's disturbing. I don't like the looks of him. No, neither do I. Son of a bitch is uglier than a three-peckered goat. But he don't mind getting his hands bloody when a man needs killing. Or a woman. A half-breed bitch name of Juliette Flowers took my boy to Mexico. I-I know her. I know who that is. That's that Juliette Flowers. She-she-she's that girl This is kin to you? I don't care what you do to her. hell, you can stammer her to death if you want. But you just make sure she ain't breathing when you finish. Now, get away from me. I heard he was barely 15 years old when he and my uncle rode into Northfield with McCluskey. - What, you heard? - Yeah. Hell, me and Early was barely weaned from the tit when we got recruited by Quantrill. Back then, Shepherd, he seemed like a man, but looking at it now, hell, he wasn't much more than a boy himself. Well, we killed every man, and we killed every chlid, and we killed every goddamn dog, and we rode all the women. And when they couldn't ride no more, we killed them. Reverend's gonna ride down on us like some kind of hell. He'll put a strap to me, but he'll kill you. I doubt it. It felt like he always hated me. 'Cause of your mama? It was like I was to blame. Ransom said it wasn't my fault. The old man would get whiskey-ed up and start cussin' me. Ransom would never let him lay a hand on me. After he'd pass out, Ransom would always say, ''It ain't your fault.'' Somebody here to see you. Have 'em wait. I'm doing this. You'll want to hear this. Now. Yeah? This man tells me that... Ransom killed a priest before he died. What? That priest was the younger brother of a woman they call Maria la Morena. She kept Ransom's body in recompense. Apparently, Juliette Flowers aims to swap out your live boy for the dead one. Buenos dias, nia. She's deaf. She's pretty too. Dice que es bonita tambin. I'll bet you didn't know, first time they laid eyes on each other, when Ransom got throwed in the same Mexican jall where they was holding Juliette Flowers. They was fixing to hang her for gut-stabbing that man beat that whore to death in Juarez. And Ransom, Well, he got arrested for being drunk and pissing on the statue of some saint. Hey, when we catch her, don't kill her right away. Make sure she can't hurt us, but don't kill her right away. Just...just tie her up. Tie her up so she can't do nothing. Why weren't you with him? What the hell of a difference does that make? He was gonna come back for you, you know. Yeah, well, he never did. He's supposed to be looking out for me. Instead, he was running around Mexico with you. Not now, Ransom. Show some patience. Patience is a virtue I do not possess. Yeah, well, you ain't much for wisdom or temperance, neither. I feel like I'm back in Glory finishing up his chores. For whatever reason, he honestly believed certain tasks were beneath him. ''A man with vision can't be bothered by pissant detalls.'' How many times I hear that? That goddamn ranch in Michoacn. Never even been there, but he'd get it in his head we were gonna get it. When we got it, he was gonna get you and bring you down here. His pride wouldn't let him get you when he was hiding out, sleeping in caves. I'll hide the horses. You got any whiskey? You got any whiskey? I-I-I tell ya- I'll tell ya one thing, Matthew. That Ransom Pride was a lucky son of a bitch. He killed a federal judge back in Tyler. He jumped out a second-story window, didn't even break his foot. He was a lucky son of a bitch. Luck had nothing to do with it. Serves him right for trying to do a gun-running deal by hisself. Shouldn't go and do something like that. Whoa. What? You think they've been here? They've been here, haven't they? Hyah, hyah, hyah. Wherever you are, good enough place as any to start over. I'm ready to start over. Now, how are you gonna start over? You ain't even begun to start. This is as good a time as any. If you're gonna start something, by God, you ought to... You ought to finish it. And whatever you do, it better goddamn be worth it. 'Cause when you- when you make an investment, a commitment... You follow through. You know the difference between an investment and a commitment? Hmm? Yeah. You take a plate of ham and eggs. Now, the chicken... is invested. The pig... is committed. If I had my life to live over, I would live very, very little of it the same. When you hear folks say that they wouldn't change their life, I think they're either liars or fools. Life is about learning. And if you respect life and you learn from it, you would, of course, not do things the same way. To start with, if I had my life to live over, I would never say no to a woman. And I would do nothing purely for money. If we were to sell them pistols in Tres Piedras... How dare you heat me up for the sole purpose of selling some shitty old gun? We won't be in Tres Piedras more than a couple of hours. Oh, I ain't going. Ride in. We do the deal. Then we ride out. I ain't going. Well, I gave him my word. Yeah, you gave your word to Louie Chama. You gave him your word before talking to me. What'd he say? He wasn't talking to you. Hola, chiquita. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Huh? Have you seen Juliette Flowers? Oh, you're a pretty girl. Yeah, I know you have, you little fucking whore. Huh? You seen her, you fucking whore? We don't have time for you to go wetting your pecker. You gonna kill somebody, you show some goddamn respect. Put your little pig sticker back in your britches and remount. Remount. Hang on, son. - Hold still. - What are you doing? Here. What the hell are you doing? His windpipe's crushed. Got to stick this tube down his throat, or he'll choke to death on his own blood. Hold his head. Easy, son. Hang on, son. Hang on. An hour southwest of here, there's a man. Now, he ain't exactly a surgeon, but he can keep a rooster allve. Son, you're gonna be okay. You're gonna be just fine. Now, I need you to get to your feet. Come on. Let's stand. Stand up. Come on. You can do it, son. I'll get the horses. What the hell you doing? What the hell you want with that for? Because I want it. And when we kill that whore, I'm gonna cut something off of her too. Like hell you will. He said kill her, that's all. Didn't say nothin' about cutting her. You want to make a black ass fool out of yourself, you go right ahead. If you shame me, I will kill you. This ain't it, but we got to chance it. The boy's hurtin'. We got a boy out here tore up bad. He's in a lot of pain. We have something for pain. My name is Cerce. And this is my brother Solomon. He's dying. Now, do you mind if I inquire if y'all got any particular destination, or y'all just wanderin' around out here? - Tres Piedras. Every equinox, we are obligated to make a pilgrimage to this festering parcel of land, where we perform for illiterate imbeciles and pathetic whores, and they mock us. Why? Four 6s beats Jacks over Queens. You mean somebody won you in a card game? Maria la Morena. There's a vicious, hungry evil feeding on Solomon's poor, wretched bones. He'll expire first. Then I will pass away. And in those last few moments before I die... For the first time in my life, I shall be alone. After she died, something dark and vicious come on him. The old man, he just up and cracked in two. Son of a bitch used to take us to this old prairie dog town north of Glory with a couple .22 rifles. Now, I didn't mind killing the little critters, but Champ... tore them up something fierce. Goddamn, Champ could shoot. Ahh. So, uh, what's it like? What? Mm, being a... uh... It's great. What's it like being a... You ever been to Mardi Gras down in New Orleans? As a matter of fact, I have. - It's like that? - Oh, yes. I once ate pussy standing up. I come here for a piece of Juliette Flowers. Which one of you sorry motherfuckers wants breakfast in hell first? Come on, you fuckin' whore. Oh, sweet Jesus. Oh, I'm punctured. Oh, I'm shot. Mama, don't let me die. Come on, you little black ass bastard. Do it. I was born dead. Oh, my God. There's nothing we can do. You could get me a whiskey. We'll bury him. If we should meet in Tres Piedras, it'll be as strangers. After they shoot me dead, you take me back 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 fucked 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 bitch. 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 bitch 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 bitches 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 # # Tremblin' and a-shakin', I looked down # # A black sparrow was tattooed on my hand # # 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 # # Oh, 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 # # Oh, come on # # Oh, ah # # Ahh # # Ahh # # Ahh # |
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