The Dying Breed
written by
Dercambo
Prelude: Mexico 1914
Jack Marston stared down the sight of his pistol, at the corpse of a man who had caused his family nothing but pain, this was the corpse of Edger Ross, the man who killed his father, John. Jack looked at the pistol he had inherited from his father, a nine barreled gun known as a LaMatt revolver, he looked at it throughly, with this, he killed a man. "What the hell?" said a voice from behind Jack, Jack spun around and noticed a man standing there, holding a shotgun and some ducks. Jack fixed his revolver on the man, who put his hands up, dropping the ducks and shotgun, the two men stood there, in utter silence, watching each other's moves. Jack could see the man in front of him was terrified of what he saw.
"What can I do for you partner?" asked Jack, not taking his eyes off of the man in front of him. The man, shaking slightly, cleared his throat and managed to say "What did you do to him?" Jack seemed completely surprised by this, he quickly looked behind him then back at the man "I killed him" said Jack with a cold tone. The man looked at Jack in grief and sadness followed by rage, the man took off his hat and laid it on the ground next to his shotgun, the man grabbed the shotgun and stood slowly. The man stared directly into Jack's eyes, the shotgun in a ready position. Jack could feel the sweat trickle down his temple under the hot mexican sun, there was now a mutual understanding between these two men, that only one man was going to walk away from this.
Jack holster's his weapon, standing up tall in front of this man "what's your name mister?" he asked gently. The man now points his shotgun at Jack, now showing that it is a double barreled shotgun, Jack smiles at him "When I visited Mrs. Ross... she told me he was out hunting with his brother... are you that brother?" the man nodded gently "It's Phil, Phillip Prescott Ross" Jack nodded gently at this "well Philip, nice to meet you, my name is Jack Marston, my father, John Marston, was an outlaw, but he gave that up and started a ranch with me and my mother, then, my mother and I were taken by" Jack pointed at the body of Edgar Ross "That man". Bill didn't move his gun from Jack's position, Jack adjusted his windbreaker, which fluttered in the breeze of the wind. "Go on" said Phil in a shaky voice, Jack looked at him with his cold stare "He had my father run around and catch all of his old friends, kill them or send them to jail, and then after everything, after he did what they asked, this man" he said, pointing at Edger Ross again "killed him, and left his family to scavenge for themselves."
Phil lowered his shotgun at this, shocked to hear this story, Jack then faced this man, full body "I wear what my father did the day he died, I hold the pistol that he held when he killed the vicious dictator Col. Agustin Allende, and I wear his hat, while I wipe out the bloodline of the son of a bitch who killed my father!" Jack drew his pistol quickly, firing off three rounds, hitting Bill with each. The force of the bullets caused the shotgun to fly out of Bill's hands and into the near by brush, the force also caused Bill to fly back and fall to the ground. Jack stood there a moment, gun drawn, and then stared at the pistol yet again, seeing that he killed another man. Jack holstered his gun and walked over to the shotgun, picking it up he heard the sound of Bill gasping for life, Jack turned around and noticed that he was still breathing. Jack smiled and walked over to him, shoving the shotgun into Bill's mouth, the scraping of the barrel breaking his teeth and without thought, Jack pulled the trigger, killing Bill.
Jack looked up into the sky, then pulled out his pocket watch, noticing it was high noon, Jack looked across the river to the soils of America "You couldn't stop me Pa.. I was meant for this".
MacFarlene Ranch, 1915
Bonnie Marston sat at the top of a hillside, watching over the Ranch that she had recently just taken over, examining the situation that she had just endured. Her father had challenged a member of the Bollard gang, and lost, bullet to the heart, if not for Amos, Bonnie might have been dead to. Bonnie stood and began making her way back into town, humming slightly, smiling. "Excuse me miss" said a voice from behind Bonnie, Bonnie turned around to see her husband, Jack Marston, on a horse, riding towards her. Bonnie noticed that a man is strapped to the horse, a bag over his head. Bonnie shakes her head at him "Jack Marston, you never cease to amaze me, this is what? your 25th bounty?". Bonnie smiled as she kissed him gently on the lips. "It's been days Jack" Jack pointed to the man laying on the back of his horse "This is Dwayne Williams, my 27th bounty, he's been killing settlers over in Tumbleweed and I lended Jonah a hand". Jack smiled at Bonnie, kissing her again holding her in his arms, Bonnie pulled away slightly "now, now Mr. Marston, be gentle with me". Jack smiled " I've gotta run Dwayne to Thieves Landing, meeting up with some BOI men so they can take care of him. Go home, I want you waiting for me when I get there" he said with a sly laugh, Bonnie smiled and began walking back towards the ranch "I'll see you soon dear" she said walking away, blowing him a kiss as she walked away toward the ranch.
Jack smiled as she walked down the hill and out of sight, his smile disappearing with her. Jack looked over at the man laying on the horse, who groaned and fidgeted on the horse, Jack walked over and punched the man in the side of the head "Shut your fuckin' mouth you snake". Jack grabbed him by the restraints of his rope and tossed him off the horse. Jack kicked him a few times in the ribs, the sounds of the man groaning from the pain. Jack stood there for a moment, Jack grabbed his ropes and started dragging him. The walk felt like it was miles, Jack needed to make sure he was out of distance from the ranch. Finally stopping at the old Oak tree, Jack leaned the bag man against the tree. He stood there a moment, looking at the tattered victim in front of him. Jack took out a cigarette placed it in his mouth, he began patting himself down, looking for his matches. Jack leaned towards the man, removing the bag "got a light" asked Jack politely as he patted him down, the man scowled at Jack, eyes glaring "You have no idea who you're messing with!" Jack found a box of matches, striking it and lighting himself a cigarette "Oh I know who you are" he said, grabbing the man by the restraints and positioning himself on his knees. The man spat at his feet in anguish, Jack crouched down to have eye contact with the man, blowing smoke in his face "you're Captain Howard Jones of the United States military, Born and raised in New Austin, moved to Blackwater, joined the military and helped in the murder of outlaw John Marston, right?" asked Jack, Jones looked at him with confusion "I've hunted down the people that had a hand in my father's death, I now have you". Jack pulled out his infamous revolver, placing the barrel against Jones's head "But, I am gonna make you an offer Howard, I will make your death quick and painless if you tell me something". Jones stared at him for a second "What?" Jack smiled "Tell me where I can find Agent Archer Fordham" Jones spat at Jack, hitting his face "fuck you" he muttered. Jack frowned, pointing the gun at Jones's gut, pulling the trigger. Jones fell over, screaming in pain, Jack walked a few steps away and stared out into the plain, watching a deer graze in the grass. "My father took me hunting once when I was a boy, I killed an Elk, felt good. Thats the worst part of Henningins stead, no Elk, just deer" Jack turned to see Jones's face red with tears, Jack blew out smoke from his cigarette "You can make all this go away, just tell me where". Jones looked at him, tears rolling down his face "Ag-Agent Fordham qu-quit the BOI after the death of your father" Jones coughed up blood onto the dirt, he looked back up to Jack "He's running with a ga-gang now in-in-in Rio Bravo"
Jack nodded "thank you Howard, you've been a big help" Jack flicked his cigarette, shooting Jones in the skull before it touched the ground.
Jack smiled at the sight of Jones's brain covering the old Oak tree. Jack holstered his revolver, smiling in victory, he had done it, he killed everyman who had a hand in his father's death, all but one, one more. Jack took out a flask, showering Jones's corpse with whiskey, Jack took one last inhale from his cigarette "I'm almost done Pa" Jack flicked the cigarette onto the corpse, watching the flame light up the sky. Jack watched as his victim burned Jack began walking away from the corpse, whispering under his breath "I'm almost done".
Jack nodded and waved to the people of the MacFarlene ranch, after killing Edgar Ross and his brother, Jack came to the MacFarlene ranch to see if he could get some supplies from the MacFarlene's for his ranch. Bonnie and Jack got along well, helped keep cattle around, he even watched over the ranch, keeping The Bollard gang from terrorizing it's folk, in time, Jack moved his Ranch to the Macfarlene's, and soon became sheriff of the small community. After a few months, Jack and Bonnie married and began living in the house she grew up in, life was good for Jack Marston.
In his free time, however, when he wasn't busy with the ranch and keeping it safe, Jack hunted down every last individual involved with the death of his father, and today, he had finally killed them all. "Sheriff Marston?" said a voice from behind Jack, Jack turned around to see a fairly well dressed fellow approaching him, Jack turned a flashed a smile to him "Yes?" The man was dressed in peculiar attire, showing his individualism from these parts, the man smiled "It's a pleasure to meet you sir, my name is Ulysses, I work within the BOI" Ulysses held out his hand to shake, Jack politely grasped his hand "Good to meet you sir, what can I do you for?" Ulysses began to walk past Jack, Jack promptly followed. Ulysses coughed slightly "Sheriff, your Governor is quite concerned with this area lately, alot of important people have been killed or gone missing in just the past year". Jack nodded "Well we are doing what we can to-" Ulysses held up his hand, stopping in his tracks, Jack following, "The Governor believes in this area as well as your abilities to handle this but we have reason to believe these disappearances have to do with a previous lawman by the name of Leigh Johnson." Jack had heard that name before from his father. Ulysses continued "Johnson has been robbing general stores in New Austin and recently killed a group of travelers a few miles down the road from you. He has also accumulated a following of misfits, Governor Johns has instructed me to tell you to head out to Rio Bravo immediately to dispose of him". Jack looked at him with shock, 'he's running with a ga-gang now in-in-in Rio Bravo' It took all of Jack's strength not to smile at this, he had to remain calm "why would the Governor want me to handle this personally? Isn't that your job?" Ulysses smiles gently "normally yes, but he also needs us for the savages, they need to be controlled". Jack nodded slightly, Jack could feel his heart jumping up an down with excitement, all the people he had killed were being blamed on some old man and a gang and he was being handed the ex-agent that helped kill his father. It was almost impossible to hide his smile. Jack looked over to the yards "Amos!" he cried out, Amos peaked his head around from the fence "come here a minute" Amos started over to them, Jack refocused his attention on Ulysses "I will go, but let's rest a spell and get going early in the morning, I've been gone a while and want to sleep in my on bed for a change" Ulysses nodded at this, Jack looked back at Amos "Amos this is-" Ulysses cut in "Marx, Ulysses Marx" The two shook hands, Amos smiled "names Amos" Jack continued "show Mr. Marx to the guest house and help him with whatever he needs" Amos nodded and led Ulysses away, as Jack watched him walk off almost laughing at the conversation, Jack was finally going to get what he has always longed for, revenge. Jack began walking back to his home, chuckling to himself slightly as he strolled down the dirt rode.
Jack felt his eyes burn at the sight of the morning sun, he began moving only to feel the arms of a naked Bonnie wrapped around his torso, Jack looked into the face of his pure sleeping wife. he leaned in and kissed her on the lips, awaking her, she reacted immediately, the two making love in the warmth of their room. Feeling her scratch at his back, arching her body to be closer to his, all Jack could think about was killing Archer Fordham, what would his death be like, how would it make him feel, Jack couldn't help but smile as he imagined putting the gun to Fordham's head, pulling the trigger, watching the back of his head explode into a thousand pieces, it was orgasmic. After they had finished, the two laid there a minute, Bonnie, relaxing into the ecstasy of their love making. Jack, on the other hand, thought of what a monster he had become in just a year. "I know what you're going to do" said Bonnie with a hushed whisper "Amos told me who that man was and why he was here" Jack looked over at her then back up a the ceiling. Bonnie bit down on her upper lip "was what we just did...a goodbye?" Jack looked over at his tearful wife and smiled at her "I'm John Marston's son, No old man is gonna get rid of me" Bonnie nodded gently "You know federal agents sent your father on a mission similar to this" Jack got out of bed and began putting on some of his clothes "Leaving so soon?" he heard her say as he began putting on his father's old duster, Jack looked in the mirror at himself, wearing his father's old clothes. Bonnie came up to him wrapped in the blanket, smiling "You look just like your father with that old coat on" Jack smiled slightly at her, he knew she was right, but he could never be the man his father was. Jack put on his hat, the same his father wore and started for the door. "Jack" she said to him, making him turn to look at her, she bit he lower lip "I love you" she said gently. Jack walked over to her and kissed her, kissed her as he never had before "I love you Bonnie, I'll be back". As Jack walked out the door, heading for his horse, Jack caught him questioning himself.
Jack walked out of his home to see Ulysses sitting on a carriage, smoking a pipe. Jack walked up to him slowly and casually, somewhat annoyed by his calm demeanor. Ulysses looked over at Jack with a slight smile "good morning Mr. Marston, a fine day is it not?" Jack nodded, whistling loudly, not shortly after, a white horse galloped around the corner, Jack mounted the horse, not a word being spoken from his lips. Ulysses nodded at his silence "Mr. Marston, I will not be accompanying you as of now" Jack spoke up "where are you off to, Mr. Marx? Ain't you supposed to take me to Johnson?"
Ulysses shook his head at this "no, I am supposed to deliver the message and then point you in the right direction. and that sir-" Ulysses points down the road "-is to Armadillo. The Sheriff there has been briefed by some men working for the BOI."
Jack smiled at this "Jonah is gonna be in on this?" Ulysses nodded, Jack shook his head at this "and where are you off too?" he said with a sneer, Ulysses smiled "Blackwater, I'll be looking over the files on Leigh Johnson, good luck to you Mr. Marston" Jack nodded and started off to Armadillo
Sitting at his desk and enjoy the paper, Jonah couldn't be any more content with his life. Armadillo had become much more orderly since Jonah took over as Marshal, only because he allowed the Walton gang to come in and extort the businesses. Truth is, Jonah was a disappointment as a sheriff, made arrests when it suited him and made him look good for the government. Jonah himself, was nothing but a hillbilly with a badge, no respect for anything but himself. "Sheriff! Sheriff!" yelled a deputy Jonah grunted in annoyance, he hated to be interrupted during his time alone "What!" he said with anger, the deputy stood at the front of his desk huffing and puffing "Theres a man at the saloon and- and- and- and- and-" Jonah slammed his hand on the desk "Goddamn it Jedediah, you better spit it out before I shoot you myself!" The deputy sighed and collected himself "There is a man at the saloon and he got into some kinda argument with one of the Walton fellas and he stabbed him and that pissed off all the other Walton boys and they pulled their guns and he killed them! He killed them all!" Jonah side slightly at this "how many dead?" The deputy began counting on his fingers "uh...25". Jonah looked at the boy in shock, grabbing his double barrel shot gun and running for the saloon.
Gunshots, screaming civilians, these were all the things Jonah heard coming from the bar, a Walton man ran from the bar toward Jonah and his deputy. Jonah took aim "Hold it you!" the man stopped, hands in the air, suddenly his palm burst, the man screamed in pain, another shot, his knee cap exploded, the man fell, screaming with pain. Behind him stood Sheriff Jack Marston, Jonah looked at him for a minute, then threw his hat on the ground "goddamn it Jack! Every time you do this, one of my deputies gets shot!" Jack holsters his pistol and struts over to Jonah "maybe working with outlaws isn't the best idea huh?" Jonah points his shot gun at the outlaw in front of his, shooting twice, Jonah then looks over to his deputy "Get in there and lock up any he left alive, they give you trouble or look to dead to save, shoot 'em". The deputy runs into the saloon, Jonah and Jack start walking towards the jail house. "You know Walton and his boys want you dead Jack, rumor has it that he and those Bollard twins are thinking of going over to the ranch and killing all y'all that live in Henningans Stead" said Jonah, reloading his shot gun, hearing shots go off from the saloon.
Jack nodded at this "Yeah i know, I got all my boys watching the ranch day and night, we're ready for them when they hit" Jack was lying, he didn't even know the Bollards were still in his jurisdiction, but he knew what a crooked bastard Jonah was, yet, Jack still trusted him. Jack needed to get down to business "Jonah-" Jonah cut him off "Them government boys already told me what you're here for Jack, and I don't want no part of it. Mr. Johnson was my friend, my mentor-" Jack cut him off "And now he's a wanted felon, I do what I can to keep the government off your ass Jonah, where is Johnson." Jonah stopped where he stood, glaring at Jack.
Jack and Jonah hadn't got along since Jack was forced to kill that drunk crazed lazy-eyed fool Eli for raping a small girl a few months back. Jonah held the shotgun in an upper position than before, somewhat pointing in Jack's direction. Jack walked over to Jonah, his stature way over Jonah's. "Jonah, tell me where that old shit is, before I put a bullet in your head and watch your brain drain out". Jonah was silent for a moment, not knowing how to react. Jonah side "His Gang resides at Twin Rocks... You are a piece of shit Jack Marston" Said Jonah brushing past him in annoyance, "A piece of shit". Jack walks over and grabs his arm, "You're coming with me Jonah, we both know he needs to be stopped and you owe me for all I've done for you" Jonah glares at Jack, knowing he's right. "You're worse than your father Jack" he says as he brushes past him. Jonah calls over to his men gathered at the saloon, he stands there and shouts "Alright boys! get a posse together and mount up! We got us a United States Marshal to catch"
The ride was quick, twelve deputies, a few townsfolk, him and Jonah, Jack knew this was going to end badly, he just knew it, stopping at dead mans tree, Jack stood in front of all these men and saw the look of both fear, anger and determination. Jack sighed gently, relaxing himself before going into the storm. "Many of you knew Marshal Leigh Johnson, many of you accompanied him on these posse rallies to take out criminals. But I want to make something very clear to all of you today. Leigh Johnson has killed men, women, and children for his own selfish gain. The man we are going to see today is not the man you all once knew and loved, he is a murder, a thief, a rapist and a nuisance. Now it is our job today to capture or kill Ex-Marshal Leigh Johnson, it's either him, or us, and the way i see it, it mine as well be him. Any questions?"
Everyone was silent, Jack continued "Now, I am going to have my riflemen separate from us once we draw nearer to our destination, Johnson will have men planted at top twin rocks and we can't have them get that jump on us. how many rifles men do I have?" Four men raised their hands, a deputy and three civilians Jack nodded "Jonah will take you to point and be ready. As soon as we get there, pop them off immediately, then wait for Jonah's signal, but be carful, we'll still be there, try not to shoot at us ok? You have your orders, keep us alive out there." Jonah took the four riflemen out of earshot from Jack and off into the distance.
Jack looked at his remaining men, all at attention. Jack took a deep breath "A man by the name of Archer Fordham is with Johnson, you are to catch him, not kill him, the man who catches Archer Fordham for me, gets seventy five dollars as well as some land in Breechers Hope. Don't ask any questions, just do. Lets go"
The roar of the two rifle shots gave Jack the signal that things were clear, dismounting his horse he and the remaining deputies began walking around the corner, only to find well over the number of people they had stand guns drawn. The two groups fell silent. Jack cleared his throat "Leigh Johnson! Marshal Johnson come out! Lets talk!" A few moments went by, till the door of the main building gently opened to reveal ex-marshal Leigh Johnson standing with a well dressed man, Johnson and the man slowly walked out, Jack slowly begins approaching them, alerting Johnson's goons. Johnson waved his hand to have them back down as he and the suited man approached Jack "relax fellas, this here is a decent fella, honorable, courageous, someone who knows better than to pull a gun on me when I got 30 plus men doing the same to him". Jack and Johnson stop a few feet away from each other, Johnson holds out his hand "good to see you Jack, been a long time" Jack grips his hand and shakes it gently "Not since your retirement party I believe". Johnson blows out smoke, smiling "What do you want Jack?"
Jack took out a cigarette and lit it, looking back at the men he had with him, their guns in ready position. Jack sighed gently, looking over to Johnson "I'm here, because Nate Johns sent a man to send me out here to kill you or capture you, and I must oblige him". Leigh nodded gently at this statement, chuckling a little bit "Johns eh? Well thats mighty interesting, but why are YOU here Jack Marston? This is Jonah's jurisdiction" Jack looked up at him, glaring at the suited man, whose face seemed to have changed when hearing Jack's name "That Archer Fordham?" Johnson smiled "Mr. Fordham? What about him?" Jack pulled out his revolver, sticking it In Fordham face, Fordham pulls out a pistol and sticks it in Jack's face, followed by Johnson pointing his dual revolvers at Jack. Jack smiles at this "This is interesting" Archer smiled as well "Indeed it is" The silence was broken by a rifle shot, striking Archer Fordham, Jack turned around to see a deputy holding a smoking rifle pointing their direction. "You piece of shit!" he screamed as he turned around, shooting the deputy in the face.
All hell seemed to break loose after that, the gang member began to fire upon the deputies an vice versa, Jack ran past Johnson, grabbing Fordham and dragging him off for cover, Jack looked to see that Archer was still alive, holding his shoulder. Jack bent down and began to examine the wound, smiling with relief "thank god, you'll be ok" Jack smacked Fordham with his revolver, knocking him unconscious. Jack stood, firing his revolver, killing all add any in his sights, deputies and gang members alike. Jack watched a man's head explode, bullets tearing through men, Jack watched the carnage and couldn't help but love every minute of it. Jack ducked and began loading his revolver, Jumping up and shooting all and any who stand in his way, killing all and any in his way. A Bullet struck Jack in the back, causing him to fall, feeling the burning hot sensation sting his back followed by the hot blood pouring from his back. Jack fell to the ground feeling the wound fester and burn. Jack stood up and started shooting again, killing whoever and whatever got into his way. Jack looked over and noticed a rifle on the ground and grabbed it, shooting several of the gang members that he could, Jack looked over to see that the deputies have all been killed and that the gang memebers had been shooting at Jack.
Jack tried to get his count, noticing that there were still well over ten left, eleven considering Johnson, Jack needed to think fast. Jack checked his ammunition, he had seven shots left in the rifle, and plenty of bullets for the LeMatt, Jack took aim and shot at a outlaw, striking him in the head, nine left he thought. Suddenly, the attention was taken off of Jack and focused on something else, Jack looked over his cover to see Jonah an the riflemen riding towards the hideout. Jack stood up and began firing, shooting the remaining gunslingers, killing them all, except for Johnson. Jack tossed the now emptied rifle to the side, taking out his revolver and walking out of his cover, ready to finish the job.
Johnson turned around to shoot Jack, Jack shoots the revolvers out of Johnson's hand then in his knee. Johnson fell screaming in pain, Jack pointed his gun down at Johnson, Jonah and the men arrived, one of the men jumping off the horse and running over to Jack, only to be shot dead by Jack himself. Jonah pulled out his gun in shock pointing it at Jack. Jonah spat to the side "put the gun down sheriff" Jack turned around, killing the remain men with Jonah, glaring at Jonah, gun ready "You put the fucking gun down Marshal" he said in a low cold voice. Jonah stared into Jack's cold eyes. Jonah stepped off his horse, gun still fixed on Jack, the two stood there a minute, Jonah looked around, seeing the massacre that lay around him,t hen back at Jack "I assume you killed my men?" Jack didn't speak, Johnson started laughing "Almost like he was on my side" Jonah pointed his revolver at Johnson, blowing a hole in his side, In turn Jack shot Jonah several times in the chest, killing him.
Jack looked over at Johnson, seeing he was done for, Jack pointed the barrel at his head. Leigh Johnson smiled and sat up, placing his forehead against the barrel "I'll say hi to your father, Jack" Jack pulled the trigger, watching the blood explode from Leigh Johnson's head, Jack was finally finished. Jack holstered his weapon and walked over to Archer Fordham, who still lay unconscious, Jack tied him up, placed him on a horse and began riding out into the sunset, blood leaked more and more out of his wound, but the pain was nulled by the pure excitement that he held in his heart, Jack was finally going to succeed, he was finally getting the revenge he longed for.
Archer awoke with the brush of dust being blown onto his face, Archer groaned at the feeling of the dirt scraping into his wounds. Archer felt the restraints of rope on his hands, the tug of a nice slicing through them, relaxing his arms, Archer sat up and looked up to see a wooden headstone, reading
John Marston
1872-1911
blessed are the peacemakers
"He died here on the farm" Archer turned around, seeing Jack Marston standing a few feet away from Archer. Archer started getting up, Jack took out his revolver and pointed it at him "stay still... I don't want to soil my fathers grave". Archer slowly sat back down wearily staring down the barrel or his gun. Jack walked a bit closer, holstering the gun "You move and you'll have a hole in your head with enough time to notice it, understand?" Archer nodded gently. Jack took out a cigarette, blood dripping off his riders glove and onto the ground. "You're bleeding" said Archer, swallowing the lump in his throat, Jack nodded "got shot during the shootout, not surprising" Jack tossed the match to the side, staring down at his father's grave.
"All my life, my father did his best to teach me best... don't back talk authority, don't gambling in affairs you don't understand... 'Don't be like me, son'" Jack looked over at Archer, glaring at him "tell me what happened Fordham" Archer sat there a moment, staring into the ground, knowing his fate. "When Dutch Van Der Linde was killed and we let your father go, Governor Johns came to us, telling us of the legend your father had built himself and felt it was time he went. I disagreed but without any hesitation, Ross said it was a good idea. We spent the next several hours arguing and then I left, quit the BOI and worked in Armadillo for a while, when Johnson left, I went with him" Archer spat off to the side, looking up at Jack "I wasn't present at your fathers death, you should let me go, do whats right, son. Remember the words o your father" Jack immediately kicked Archer in the face, stomping all over his body in fury "YOU DON'T KNOW MY FATHER! DON'T EVER QUOTE HIM!" he cried, mashing the bones of Archer Fordham under his boots.
Jack relaxed, glaring down onto the heaving and bloodied body of Archer Fordham, Jack grabbed Archer from the collar and began dragging him away from the grave site, ignoring his slight pleas for help. Jack stopped several feet away from his parents grave, letting go of the bleeding Archer, Jack pulled out his gun, pointing it AT Archer "Get up" he said softly, Archer stood up, looking at Jack with fear, Jack stepped closer, placing the barrel against his forehead. "Have you made your peace with god Archer?" Jack said with a slight laugh, Archer stood there silent, closing his eyes, Jack cocked the gun, a little more annoyed this time "I asked you a fucking question!" Jack moved the barrel of the gun, shooting Archer in the neck. Archer fell to the ground, gasping and holding his neck, Jack walked closer, stepping on Archer's wound, digging his foot into he wound, Jack smiled "Rot in hell you fucking piece of shit".
The sight of a victims head exploding never seemed to upset jack anymore, always seemed to just be apart of life. Jack removed his foot from the wound in Archer Fordham's neck, smirking as he put the revolver back into it's holster. Jack walked back over to his families grave, starting at Uncle's grave "I got 'em uncle," Jack looked at Abigail's grave, wiping a tear from his eye "I miss you mother" jack looks over at John Marston's grave, glaring at it "I'm who i am because of you father...a murder, I killed in your name, and I'll so-". Jack could feel a blackness beginning to surround his vision, he knew what was happening he had lost to much blood, Jack fell to his knees, huffing and puffing at the feeling of collapsing. "I killed for you Pa, I killed them all Pa, I killed...them...all" Jack fell the the foot of his parents grave, collapsing, his whole world going black.
Jack jumped awake, feeling his back ache at the bullet wound, he winced. Looking around Jack figured he was at his home at the ranch. The door opening, Jack smiled, seeing Bonnie walk in, "Oh darlin', I've missed you" Bonnie walked over to him, smacking him in the face, Jack looked up at her confused. Jack got up, looking at her with confusion "what the hell was that for?" he asked, "I'm the one that brought you here" said a voice from outside, Ulysses walked into the room, a pistol out "I followed you from twin rocks, you're under arrest Mr. Marston". Jack looked at Bonnie, whose glare hasn't changed. jack nodded "let me get my clothes-" "your clothes and such are down stairs in the carriage, I'll be waiting" Ulysses walked away, leaving Jack and Bonnie alone. Jack walked up to kiss his wife goodbye, only to be shunned away, Jack looked at her, hurt, looking for the words to explain to her what had really happened, but he couldn't, leaving the room, Jack could feel his heart break from under his chest, this, was his death sentence.
The authorities had blind folded Jack so he could not know his exact location, he wondered if this was it, the strangest of things was them allowing to get dressed and keep his revolver on, "I trust you to not do anything stupid" Ulysses had said before, but Jack had an uneasy feeling. From what eh was told, he was being charged with over 50 accounts of murder as well as 14 accounts of conspiracy. Jack knew he was probably going to die, maybe not today, but in the next few week, between his trail, witnesses who survived the shoot out at Twin rocks, including Jonah, It was inevitable. All these things that Ulysses told him didn't really shock Jack. In his mind, he was expecting to get caught sometime, he just wished he could have put up more of a fight
The ride was quiet, not much was said between the two men and what was said was strictly business, according to Ulysses, Jonah had survived the shootout and made a call once he walked back into Armadillo. Jack felt the Carriage stop and felt Ulysses get out, followed by Jack "gracias amigo" said Ulysses, Jack could hear the carriage ride away and could feel Ulysses untie his ropes around his wrists as well as the blindfold. Jack looked at his surroundings, he this place felt familiar to him, the sounds, the emptied areas, Jack remembered, he was in Mexico, Jack watched Ulysses walk around near the bank of the river. turning around smiling "Welcome to Mexico, Mr. Marston, what do you think? beautiful, isn't it?"
Jack felt a cold wind, making his hair stand "whats all this really about Mr. Marx?"" Ulysses turned around, smiling at him gently, placing hand inside his jacket and pulling out a knife, throwing it into the ground, "We stop here, Jack Marston" Jack looked at him curiously, Ulysses just smiled "do you know where we are, Mr. Marston?" he asked gently. Jack looked around, then shrugged "a river bank in Mexico" he said, Ulysses just laughed "Yes! Yes! that is correct Mr. Marston! But which one exactly?" Jack shrugged "you gone and lost your mind sir?" Ulysses just smiled "You killed my father here Jack Marston... I've brought you here to give you your redemption".
Jack felt his heart stop, he couldn't feel any moisture in his mouth, Jack swallowed what little spit he had "Who was your father" he asked gently, trying to re-capture is composer, Ulysses smiled again "My real name is... Ulysses Edgar Ross, my father was the late Edgar Ross, a great man within the BOI, a man you killed". Jack felt pain in his stomach "you don't even know Nate Johns do you?" asked Jack, his voice shaken by these news. "Oh, I know him, Jack" said Ulysses " I know Nate Johns, I know-" He stopped himself for a second "I 'knew' Archer Fordham, I know of everyone you killed, BOI agents as well as the few remaining soldiers not killed by your father that day"
Jack finally collected himself, smiling slightly at Ulysses, Ulysses smile faded and was replaced by confusion "whats got you so chipper Jack? I'm here to kill you, not arrest you" Jack nodded "I understand" he said still smiling, Ulysses became a little annoyed "whats so god damn funny!" he asked abruptly. Jack spat to his side, his composer finally returning "I've killed all the men involved in this, all the executioners, Fordham, your father, your Uncle was a mistake and in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I don't regret it, and now you're telling me, I get to kill the son of the man I sent to hell? It's like christmas". Ulysses grabbed the knife from the ground in outrage, charging at Jack, Jack prepared himself and dodged the blade, striking Ulysses in the head with his fist. Ulysses fell to the ground, the knife falling out of his hand, Jack began to draw his revolver only to be tackled by Ulysses, the two struggles on the ground, kicking a punching at each other, one bruise after the next, a cracking, a crunching, the sounds of barbarians killing each other with their own two hands. Back on their feet, Ulysses charged again, Jack managed to land a few punches and kicks, landing Ulysses in the water. "You fucking bastard!" cried Ulysses as he pulled out his M1911 colt pistol, Jack unholstering his LaMatt revolver, each firing wild at each other, both managing to make hits. two more shots were made, one into Ulysses forehead, the other, into Jack Marston's chest. Ulysses fell into the water, the current carrying him down stream, sinking the Ross legacy into the very water, where it began to end.
Jack Marston stood there, defeated, falling to his knees and catching his final breaths of life. People used to tell Jack that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes, Jack didn't believe this until it began, his birth, his mother and father, the death of John Marston, the death of Abigail Marston, all Jack's killing, everything. Jack lifted his head, to stare into the America he would never see again, in front of him, blocking his view, were Abigail and John Marston, smiling at him. Jack smiled back "Pa?" he whispered out. John Marston walked over to his son, kneeling down at him "I love you, son, you didn't become a rancher like I wanted, but you protected people, I'm proud of you" John wrapped his arms around Jack, hugging him lovingly. Jack smiled at this as he felt his father's embrace, falling into it and trying to use the strength he had to hug him back. "Now, come on, your mother has dinner waiting" John whispered into his ear Jack nodded "ok Pa" he whispered back.
Jack feel face forward into the Mexican dirt, his eye sight leaving him, but the sound of the stream still there, guiding him into the afterlife with his mother and father and as his finale thought before his passing, he wondered what would become of his beloved Bonnie, knowing that her loving and caring husband, who protected her and her family and friends, from the very men he had become, the last of a dying breed, the last of the infamous western gunslingers.
A note for Dercambo
Well I have finished this short story, hope this will keep everyone entertained until I finish the 5th chapter of 'The Humbolt' keep the comments coming! they are very helpful in my writings! Thank you all! hope you enjoy.