A year had passed. A year since the gang fell apart.

Javier had tried. Truly, he had tried to forget everything that had happened and start over. He even returned to Mexico, hoping that, at last, he might settle down. But something — like invisible threads — kept pulling him back. Ordinary life wasn’t meant for him, no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise.

And now, he was here again. Like a restless spirit, he wandered through the ruins of the places where the gang — the family he once called his own — had set up camp.

Horseshoe Overlook, not far from Valentine. The view from here was mesmerizing. For a brief moment, he stood frozen, gazing into the distance — toward the very freedom he once longed for.

CRACK!

Javier flinched. A twig snapped behind him. His hand shot instinctively toward the holster on his hip, and he spun around.

"You..." — he breathed in surprise, lowering his hand from the revolver. — "I.. I’m glad to see you, amigo. Though I doubt the feeling is mutual."