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Jesse walked slowly back from the livery after stabling his horse for the night. He'd gotten a room at the boarding house for the night, but he didn't really feel like sleeping yet. It was dark out, though the full moon illuminated his surroundings enough to see what was going on. As Jesse surveyed both sides of the street, the only thing that met his gaze was a town that had already gone to sleep. To his immense surprise, even the bar was empty.

Jesse felt so guilty about leaving Zee behind. He missed her tonight, and wished she was there to hold him and to make him laugh. "Ah, what the heck am I doin'?" Jesse thought to himself.

He was getting mighty soft. He knew that getting soft could cause carelessness.

Jesse reached up and removed his hat as he walked back to the boarding house. The humidity was high and sweat trickled down his face. He was reaching for his back pocket to retrieve a handkerchief when he felt someone grab him from behind.

Jesse's face lit up with surprise and his dark brown eyes clouded over with anger. He fought hard to try to gain the upper hand in the surprise attack, but the next sensation he felt was that of a pistol being leveled to his temple.

Jesse felt his breath hitch in his chest. Not moments ago, he was thinking about being careless, and now he had paid the price.

Jesse thought he better say something, and quick. "What's the big idea here, buddy? I'm just out takin a little walk."

No voice answered, but the pistol shoved against his head replied with a click.

Jesse tried again, "I don't know what the problem is here, but maybe we can . . . ah . . . work this out?"

He knew he had to do something, and he was itching to move. At that moment, Jesse whirled around, hoping to catch his attacker off-guard. He swiftly punched the attacker in the gut and tried to reach for his own guns while fending off another attack. If only he could get to the guns, this fight would be over in the matter of seconds.

Before his hand got to his holster, however, Jesse heard the loud report of a gun firing. It was if things were moving in slow motion. Moments after the sound of the gunshot, he felt the bullet enter his left side. Jesse grunted in pain, and his thick eyebrows twisted with agony as he fell to the dusty ground.

He tried so hard to stand back up, but his body was betraying him. He again tried to reach for his guns, but was met with the stickiness of his own blood. His attacker began to kick Jesse repeatedly in the ribs, until Jesse cried out involuntarily. At that moment the man stopped and bent over to grab Jesse's guns. As Jesse writhed on the ground, the attacker brought the butt of Jesse's own gun down to connect with his temple.

Jesse's muddled mind could only think of Zee and his mother as the darkness finally surrounded him. He finally sank into a blissful unconsciousness as his attacker dragged him away.

As the man disappeared, he failed to notice Jesse's bloodied hat lying in the dirt.