THE GUNMAN

Chapter 2 Midnight Showdown

The bounty hunters closed in, their guns drawn and their eyes fixed on Eli. They had him cornered, and they knew it. But just as they thought they had him right where they wanted him, a figure emerged from the shadows. At first, it was just a hint of movement, a faint blur on the edge of Jeremy's vision. But as he turned to face it, the blur coalesced into a figure, emerging from the darkness like a ghost taking form.

The figure's features slowly became clear, and Jeremy's breath caught in his throat as he realized it was another Eli, identical in every way. The duplicate Eli's eyes locked onto the bounty hunters with a fierce intensity, his hand resting on the butt of his gun.

The bounty hunters' eyes darted back and forth between the two Elis, confusion and uncertainty etched on their faces. Jeremy's mind reeled as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing.

The duplicate Eli's smile spread slowly, like a crack in the earth, revealing his teeth. "You boys shouldn't have come here," he said, his voice identical to the first Eli's, but with a slightly different timbre, like an echo in a canyon.

The leader of the bounty hunters, a grizzled veteran with a gruff demeanor, narrowed his eyes. "What kind of trickery is this?" he growled, his hand tightening on his gun. "Which one of you is the real Eli?" His voice was firm, but a hint of uncertainty crept into his tone.

The two Elis just smiled, their eyes glinting with amusement. The leader's face darkened with anger. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but we're not leaving until we get our man." His jaw clenched, and his finger tightened on the trigger.

Just as it seemed like things couldn't get any more tense, more Elis appeared, identical in every way, forming a semi-circle around the bounty hunters. The air was thick with tension as the two groups faced off, the windmill's sails creaking ominously in the background.

The leader of the bounty hunters snarled, his face red with rage. "Shoot them all!" he yelled, his gun raised. The sound of guns cocking echoed through the windmill, and Jeremy knew things were about to get bloody. But before the bounties could move, the Elis struck. With lightning-fast speed and precision, they drew their guns and opened fire. The bounty hunters tried to return fire, but they were no match for the Elis' superior skill. The bounty hunters fell, their bodies crumpling to the ground like puppets with their strings cut. Jeremy watched in horror, his mind unable to comprehend the carnage unfolding before him. The sound of guns firing and men screaming filled the air, and the smell of smoke and blood hung heavy over the scene. The leader of the bounty hunters, his face twisted in anger and defeat, tried to attack Eli, but his gun was knocked out of reach. He drew his knife and tried to stab Eli, but Eli held the sharp edge of the knife by his hand, his palm bleeding. "You are weak," he said, his voice dripping with contempt. "I thought you said I was the old man.":

The leader of the bounty hunters, his face contorted in terror, gazed up at Eli as they stood amidst the creaking wooden blades of the windmill. "What are you?" he stammered, his voice barely audible over the howling wind.

Eli's laughter echoed through the windmill, a low, menacing sound that sent shivers down the spines of the bounty leader "Once upon a time, there was a man and a woman who fell deeply in love," he sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The wind whipped through his hair as he spoke, his eyes glinting with a hint of madness.

"They were happy for many years, living a simple life in a small village. They had dreams of building a family, of growing old together, and of leaving a legacy that would last generations. And then, the woman became pregnant. They were overjoyed, thinking that their happiness was complete."

Eli's voice grew more intense, his words pouring out like a torrent. "But fate had other plans. The woman's pregnancy was unusual, to say the least. She carried not one, not two, but ten children inside her womb. The villagers were shocked, amazed, and some even claimed it was a sign of dark magic."