Earthbound (38 page)

Becca’s entered the room. “Nice of you to
give permission,” she says sarcastically.

“Sorry,” Boze mumbles. Yeah he’s scared of
her. “Thought I had a right.”

Becca walks over to us. I can smell her
flowery shampoo. “I’m through with both of you,” she says. “Have
your adventures, get yourselves killed. I like the idea of going
with Boze to another settlement, starting over.”

“What if I said our outlaw days are over?”
Pace asks. “Does that change your mind?”

Becca stares at Pace for a long time. “No,”
she responds, “it doesn’t. Not anymore”

“Well,” Pace mutters, “you’re going west.
We’re not. So I suppose this is it.”

Becca turns to me. “I’m sorry to you most of
all,” she says. She takes my hand in hers. “Go as far east as you
can. Get away from anyone who knows your face. And find your own
way to start over.” I’m listing but I feel something. Something
metal on her hand. I pry away her left hand and there’s a silver
ring on her wedding finger. She looks away, kinda embarrassed.

“You getting hitched?” I ask.

“I asked her,” Boze interrupts. “She
agreed.”

I nod. Sure seems final now. If that’s what
she wants, marrying that stupid oaf, then that’s what she
wants.

“We’ll go,” I say. I pry away her other hand
and turn to Boze. “I know you’ll take care of her,” I say. “Cause
if you don’t, there’s a bullet going right into your head.”

Boze agrees. We’re both sentimental I
guess.

“Let’s go Pace,” I say. But Pace isn’t
moving. “Pace?” I turn. He’s fixated on Becca’s wedding ring.
“She’s effing marrying Boze, it’s over, time to go.” He’s not
moving. Guess this is hitting him harder than me. Slowly, slowly,
he’s turning around. He walks up to Boze. Gets in close. Real
close.

“Boze,” Pace whispers, “one more thing before
we go.”

Next thing I know, Pace grabs Boze’s revolver
out of his holster. He pulls back the hammer and holds the gun up
to Boze’s temple. Takes about a second for Birkin and Lister to be
pointing shotguns at both of us.

“Oh what the eff is it now?” I yell.

Everyone’s quiet and all eyes are on Pace and
Boze.

“What’s this about?” Boze asks. He seemed
genuinely confused. “Got a problem with me marrying Rebecca?”

“Nope. That suits me fine,” Pace replies. He
waits for a long dramatic pause. “I’ve got a problem with you.”

“I’m listening.”

“Only way you’re leaving is with a good old
fashioned duel.”

I could see Boze was really sweating. “What
for?” Boze asks. Then he started pleading. “Far as I can tell we’re
square, right? We just let each other walk away?” Pace flexes his
trigger finger. I could swear he’s drawing out the drama on
purpose, making Boze twist in the wind as much as he can. “Well
what is it, Pace?” Boze asks impatiently.

Pace finally replies. His eyes are all steely
with determination.

“My father. You gunned him down. Shot him in
the head. Executed him.”

I hear a few gasps. Myself included. What the
eff is Pace talking about?

“I did no such thing,” Boze insists.

“You can’t lie about this sort of thing,”
Pace continues. “Becca, come over here. Show me that ring.” Becca
removes that ring from her finger like it’s poison. She steps over
to Pace and puts it in the palm of his left hand. “This look
familiar to you? Looks familiar to me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,”
Boze insists.

“This ring,” Pace explains, “was my mother’s.
When my father died he was wearing it around his neck on a chain.
When I found him dead I found the chain, but no ring.”

Boze’s got nothing to say. Must by true.

“I’ve suspected for quite some time,” Pace
continues. “The caliber of gun used. Your opportunity. Your motive.
Hell, who better to cover up his own crime than a lawman? I just
needed a piece of evidence to prove it.”

“What you want me to do, Boze?” Birkin
asks.

“I know what I want,” Pace says. “We settle
this the right way.” He backs up a little bit. “Let’s take this
outside. Someone give Boze a gun.”

Boze is quiet for a moment. Guess he can’t
keep up his lies. He lowers his head with shame. “I ain’t gonna
fight you, Pace.”

“Then you’re not leaving. Stay here and wait
for the Bions to close in. One way or another, a pine box is the
best you’re gonna get.”

“You gotta defend yourself,” Birkin shouts
out. He was right I suppose.

Boze seems to agree, slowly. He walks over to
Lister and holds out his hand. Lister hands over his revolver. Then
Boze walks over to Becca. “I don’t want you watchin’ this.”

Becca seems mighty confused. She thinks
things through for a second, and then she responds. “I want to
watch. If you did this, I want to see justice done.”

That makes Boze seem kinda sad. He walks
quietly out the door. We all follow. I notice Birkin’s still got
his finger on his trigger.

“Fair fight?” I asked.

Birkin chuckles and lowers his shotgun.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Outside Pace and Boze square off. “Here,”
Pace says, holding out Boze’s revolver flat down in the palm of his
hand. “We’ll switch. You can have the advantage of using your own
weapon. You’ll need it.” I got my eye on Birkin, just in case he
decides to take advantage of Pace’s sense of honor.

Boze takes Pace up on his offer and they swap
weapons. Pace examines Lister’s revolver, tugs back his coat and
places it in his holster. Boze does the same.

And then the two of them just stare at one
another. Neither one moving. Neither one saying anything. I can’t
exactly breathe, waiting to find out who will flinch first. Pace is
an adequate shot. He’s been getting better. Lots of practice and
all. But Boze is better. I find my hands reflexively going for my
revolvers, but I forget they’re not there.

I eye Birkin and Lister, just to make sure.
So far they’re just bystanders just like me. Becca, though, she
don’t look so good. But she’s still watching.

The standoff lasts a good minute. Neither man
moves an inch. Until finally, Boze’s arms just kinda collapsed in
exhaustion. His shoulders slump over.

“I can’t fight you, Pace.”

“Coward!” Pace run at Boze, pulling the
revolver out of his holster and ramming it in Boze’s forehead. Boze
goes down on his knees. “You’ve always been a coward Boze, and you
keep proving it over and over.”

“Don’t shoot me,” Boze pleads.

“Was it just the money?” Pace uttered through
gritted teeth. “Or was it Rebecca?”

Boze sighed. “I reckon it was both.”

“She worth dying for?”

“I think we both know the answer to
that.”

Boze closes his eyes. Becca is worth dying
for. And we all know it. And he was gonna take a bullet for it.

Pace redoubles his resolve. He pulls back the
hammer. His finger starts to squeeze the trigger. I’m probably the
only person who could stop him at that point. Not sure if I should
interfere. Blood feud’s gotta run its course. Whatever happens next
is justice as far as I’m concerned. Although I know it would change
both of their lives forever. Pace just as much as Boze. Death would
creep inside both of ‘em. Boze would die fast. Pace would die
slow.

Pace wants to pull that trigger. I know he
does.

So does Birkin.

I eye Birkin raising up his shotgun to take a
shot at Pace. Of course I wasn’t gonna let that happen. I grab hold
of his shotgun and butt him in the face with it. That knocks him
backward.

“Fair fight, remember?”

I quickly pounce on him and deck him. I’m way
stronger than Birkin. His shotgun lands on the ground. Through the
tussle I see Lister raising his shotgun. Not sure I can handle both
of ‘em in time. But next thing I see is Becca, good old Becca,
raising up her arm and taking a swing at Lister. And Lister goes
down hard.

“Get his shotgun!” I yell. Becca complies but
in the distraction Birkin manages to crack me a good one in the
jaw. I falter and he manages to get up and run off. I glance
around. Pace seems to have Boze under control. And Becca, she
obviously doesn’t need any help. She sure looks sexy holding a
shotgun. I look in her eyes. She nods toward where Birkin ran off.
We both know he’s a wild card. I nod, grab his shotgun and head off
to find him.

I’m at the corner of the house. I peek around
the side. Nothing. I run as fast I can to try to get to the next
corner. Before I do, I see Birkin. Course he sees me too. I leap
out of the way again as he wildly shoots at me with a pistol.
Several rounds. I hit the dirt. I think he missed. Don’t feel any
holes in me.

I take aim and take a shot at Birkin, but I
only hit the side of the house. Wood splinters all over the place.
Bad shot, I know better, and I don’t have any shells to reload. Now
my only option is to stay alive until he runs out of bullets and
needs to reload. I crawl up to the corner of the house. He’s gotta
be around the corner. Maybe I can distract him. I see a rock. Also
a pointy shard of wood that got blasted away from the house. I grab
them both and roll around the corner. Sure enough, there’s Birkin.
I throw the rock as hard as I can and it connects with Birkin in
his side just as he opens fire again. It sends his shot off wildly.
He should be out of ammo. I bolt up and leap at him. He manages to
get another shot off that narrowly misses me. Guess my counting
ain’t so good. But that’s okay. I take hold of that pointy wood
shard and stab it into his side. That’s gotta hurt. But not as bad
as what I’ve got planned next. I make a fist and pound him in the
face. He’s dazed so I keep punching. A few to the jaw. One to the
gut. And one to his side right where the wood shard got him. Yeah,
I fight dirty. He loses his footing and falls in the dirt. But I’m
not done. I pick him up by his neck and break his nose with my
fist. Blood comes gushing out. Huh, that’s gonna make him look more
like me. Lucky guy. He collapses on the ground. He’s down. Nope. I
see something out of the corner of my eye. Birkin’s reaching for
something. His boot. Uh-oh. He keeps a spare pistol in his boot. I
lunge for his arm. He’s got the gun. He’s trying his best to point
it at my skull. But I’m stronger. I break his hand and he screams
like a baby. The gun falls from his hand. I pick it up. Check the
chamber. Yeah, it’s loaded. I pull back the hammer and point it at
his skull.

Then everything gets real still.

Birkin’s just looking at me with his cold
eyes. He knows he’s beat. He just doesn’t know if he’s dead yet.
I’ll let him know.

“Go ahead and kill me,” he says. “I’m dead
sooner or later anyway. Now that I’m wanted and all.”

“Nobody wants you,” I say. “Dead or
alive.”

That kinda makes him laugh.

I realize something. I’m going to kill him. I
want to spill his blood. Shoot him in the head like a Mankin. Blast
a hole open in his heart like a Bion. Slaughter him like a cow.
He’s just meat. Worthless meat. And this settlement I’m leaving
behind – the whole Great Plains actually – will be better without
him.

I’m taking too long and Birkin knows it.

Birkin spits out blood. “Seen Gwen lately?”
he says. “That whore who helped you out up in Conrad? Didn’t much
like that she was your accomplice. I carved her up good.”

Damned Birkin! Killed that poor girl who just
wanted to find her own way out of a bad situation. No, it’s not
true. Birkin’s just trying to get in my head. Get me to worry about
Gwen. Distract me so he can make a move. I’m not gonna let him. But
he keeps talking.

“Carved up her little whore friend Sage too
just for fun. After I had my way with her, that is. Heard you
couldn’t get it up for her so a real man had to finish the job. She
was used to that, but I made sure it was mighty painful.”

I can’t breathe. He’s not lying. How else
would he know I didn’t go through with anything with Sage.

Well, if I need one more reason to put a
bullet in Birkin, he just gave it to me.

So how come I can’t pull the trigger?

We look at each other for a second.
Everything seems to get real quiet.

“I know you’re gonna kill me,” Birkin says.
“You’re just like your old man. You’re a killer. It’s in your
blood. Same as me. You need it, don’t you? Kind of crave it? I know
that feeling Asher.”

“Don’t call me Asher,” I say, shoving the
nose of the gun into his cheek.

“Murder me,” Birkin says. “Turn me to dust. I
have it comin’.”

I start to squeeze the trigger. It’s
vengeance for everything Birkin ever did. But more important, I
want it. He’s right. I want to taste his blood. I am just like my
father.

Behold a pale horse, and his name that sat
upon it was Death, and hell followed with him.

I open fire.

At the wall.

I don’t know why. I just can’t kill him.

Maybe I’m not that much like my father after
all.

“Pussy!” Birkin scoffs.

So I deck him. Now he’s out cold. Probably
won’t come to for a few hours I suppose.

I stand up and realize that it’s completely
quiet. That can’t be good.

“Pace?” I yell.

“Over here!” It’s Becca who responds. I
follow the sound of her voice to the back of the house. I see Pace.
He’s still got Boze down on his knees where he belongs, and he’s
got the mouth of his gun shoved into Boze’s mouth.

Becca’s still got Lister under control,
pointing his shotgun at him. But Becca’s real concerned.

“Pace isn’t listening to me,” she says.

I go up to Pace.

“What’s going on?” I ask, trying to be all
nonchalant. But Pace doesn’t respond this time. His eyes are
staring too intently at his prey. I sure understand it. I’ve been
there. Like ten seconds ago. But I’m not terribly concerned. Pace
was never the killer. That was me. He had his chance to kill Boze
before and he didn’t take it. Cause deep down he doesn’t want to.
But I get it. We’re leaving the Great Plains. He wants to settle
his score. I offer a possible solution. “Why don’t you cripple
him?” I figure that’s smart. Leave him with something he’ll never
forget. But leave with a clean conscience too. “Take out his pecker
if that’ll please you.” That pecker that’s probably been inside
Becca. Okay, maybe that’s more my revenge fantasy than Pace’s.