Rango: Retribution Chapter one (?): The Tragedy
On January 6th, 2011, it was supposed to be another joyous day for Jake, the Grim Reaper of the West, his cobra wife Selena and 10 hatchlings. It was Three Kings Day for some of the Mojave desert critters, an early month after Christmas Day and the birth of Jake's babies a day later. While he had chosen Pearl, Mattie, Mikey, Joey, Zee and Pat as names for 6 of his rattlers, Cobra Selena picked Yahvi, Badal, Jenni and Leo for the remaining 4 who were hybrids. As she was the firstborn, Rattlesnake Jake first took a preference for his albino diamondback daughter, his beautiful "Pearl of the World". The greenish albino Zee would come close second then Jenni. All his boys loved and respected his father, even imitated and aspired to be like him when they grew up but Rattlesnake Mattie, a brown scaled diamondback like her father but inherited her mother's eyes was the troublemaker of the 10 hatchlings. Every time she would run off on her own or pick on one of her siblings causing her father to discipline her with a good whipping but she would constantly yell "HAWK" to scare Jake away.
The holiday started off peaceful with the snake family having a picnic with their young on the sand near the highway. The band of Mariachi Burrowing Owls played their lively tunes near their branch as the little snakes opened their presents. Just a bit far, two coyotes were lying in the middle of the road to attract any van or truck. Those two were Chaney, a tall and muscled coyote and the short and slim Damon.
"Well, I better git back to Pepper. You keep lying like I told you." Chaney said as he left Damon behind.
"Babies, it's time go home." Selena commanded as Jake nodded.
"Ma' I left my doll and Mikey's cards!" Pearl beckoned and then Badal and Mikey followed her to the other side of the highway for their stuff. The coyote lying behind them was too busy waiting for his pack to come that he ignored the three slithering hatchlings. Then a red pickup truck with two drunken men inside sped furiously on the highway til one man noticed the coyote and grabbed the steering wheel to drive away from it. But the vehicle hit a rock and slipped in a zigzag maneuver.
"Mikey don't leave your cards there again- CAR!" Pearl screamed after telling her brother then Badal screamed for his father and mother. Mattie slithered quickly to aid her 3 three siblings on the highway but Jake followed in a quick panic. The other hatchlings were told to slither away to safety by Selena as she watched in horror at the truck coming at her family. First one front tire squashed both Pearl and Mikey apart then the other behind it crushed Badal's whole body then Jake fired his bullets at the tires causing the truck to fall off the highway but it got away from the family. Mattie hurried to her father through the smoky side of the street to find Mikey all torn and already dead from the tire and Pearl's top half with head bleeding and crawling to her father, trying to apologize to him before giving her last breath.
"My Pearl of the World! My beautiful Pearl!" wept Rattlesnake Jake as he cradled his firstborn in his coil. Cobra Selena also wailed in despair for Mikey and Badal with the rest of the surviving children reunited with her. Rattlesnake Mattie's yellow green devil eyes soon looked at the fleeing truck and immediately thought of revenge.
Chapter 2(Rattlesnake Mattie's POV with monologue)
I was just 12 days old like my other brothers and sisters when two drunkards drove in the road by the Mojave desert and robbed us of our peaceful happiness and our tight knit family. Like any of us hatchlings, Pearl, Mikey and Badal were just beginning to live. Daddy loved Pearl so much! For no reason these men ran them over without any care in the world. They just fled out of the road. After my 3 siblings died, my Daddy and Mommy stopped loving each other for a while. My Grim Reaper of a Dad would now spit abusive words towards her, threatening with his rattle gun and she would bite back. When they couldn't take hurting each other after the mourning, Daddy left our pit, alone and continuing his job as the Snake Assassin from Hell and at the same time, trying to find my siblings' murderers. As for me, I must get him back and take those drunkards' souls so they could rot in the Pit for what they did.
And now I find myself slithering over the town of Dirt on my own again looking for someone to track down my father. But everyone in this town still feared my father even the sheriff who has a deep respect towards him. But when I met Mr Rango, he wasn't any help to me after I talked about my Dad. Priscilla the rat girl was with him and I grabbed some tamales from her bucket for lunch.
"No, we ain't arrested them. Ain't caught up to them, they lit out
for the Territory. I would think he has throwed in with
Alpha and Chaney, whose gang robbed a mail hack
yesterday on that riverside." said Mr Rango to a couple of mice and two lizards who had a brush in with coyotes.
"Why are you not looking for my father?" I said.
"Little sister you know I have no authority over that side of the Nation. The Coyotes are the business of the marshals so they can't pursue two unknown humans and a rattlesnake!" Mr Rango told me.
"Uh huh! So will they be arrested? These coyotes.. They also hate my mom."
"Not soon I am afraid. The marshals are not well staffed and,
I will tell you frankly, Chaney's gang is at the end of a long list of fugitives and malefactors." the chamealeon replied.
"So could I hire a marshal to pursue my Dad so he could pursue them?" I asked.
Sheriff Rango chuckled at me: "You sure have experience with bounty hunters!"
"It's in my blood! I'm here to settle my father's affairs!Yep all alone! I am the person for it. Mama was never any good at sums
and she can hardly spell cat-"
"Hey if your Daddy caught you lying like that-" Rango reminded me then I said: My intention is to see those coyotes brought to justice and my siblings' killers...sssssskinned!"
"There is one tracker who might be the one you'd find the best! He's new in town these days following an incident where he used to work. Pitiless fowl, double tough and fear don't enter into his thinking. Name's Reuben." Rango points at an old fat figure in a wide brown hat passing and turning his back on the lizards, jackrabbits and everyone. "And that's where you'll find him." Rango winked with glee. So I slithered quietly to follow this Reuben feller who entered a large fixed Pepto Bismol bottle.
