To cower in hiding because he heard a noise in the house would have shown weakness. It was a man’s job to demonstrate courage and protect his family. Even his wife, had she been home, would have jumped up to investigate without a second thought. Jackson slowly turned the corner and stepped into the dimly lit kitchen. “Who’s there?”, he insisted, with as much confidence as he could muster. The blow came out of nowhere, and suddenly his world went dark. As he regained consciousness, he had the sensation of zip ties tightening around his wrists. He couldn’t let this intruder incapacitate him or it would all be over. He pulled away with all his strength and swung for the intruder’s head. With perfect precision, his punch landed on what felt like a nose. The loud cracking sound and splash of blood across the floor confirmed it. The intruder was down, but - with all the gore in his line of sight - so was Jackson (he had no tolerance for blood). After what seemed like hours, Jackson was finally able to force his eyes open. He blinked awake, shook his head, and rubbed his face. The pool of blood around him on the floor that had started to solidify. Sticky and sore, Jackson pulled himself up from the floor and reached for the light. The terror was over. It was time to get a big dog.