The two girls lowered their heads, their shoulders trembling. They understood if they went back to him, there would be no second chance. The gunslinger slowly turned his head. His eyes met Hails, not angry, not defiant, just an empty, freezing void. "You did not buy them."
A beat of silence. "I did," Hail chuckled. But the smile never reached his eyes. "In this town, I decide the law." A strong gust of wind swept through, sending snow swirling into the air.
The gunslinger tilted his head slightly, as if he had just heard something beneath his concern. Then his voice dropped. Low and steady. "You should change the law. Fast."
One of Hail's men drew his gun. At that exact moment, a gunshot exploded, tearing through the silence. But the one who fell was not the gunslinger. Everything shattered, and in the blink of an eye, the once peaceful square turned into complete chaos. The first gunshot had barely faded.
When the real nightmare began, the men of Corven Hail all drew their guns at once. "Get him!" But the gunslinger had already moved so fast that no one could clearly see it. A second shot rang out. Another gunman dropped, his weapon flying from his hand.
Not dead, but no longer able to stand. The gunslinger was not shooting to kill. He was shooting to disable. The two girls were still tied, their eyes wide with panic as everything collapsed into chaos. Screams, stomping feet, and shattering glass blended into one violent storm of sound.
The gunslinger rushed forward. One clean slash. The ropes fell apart. "Get up," he said, short and firm. One of the girls tried to stand, but her legs gave out.
Her body had been exhausted for far too long. Without a second of hesitation, the gunslinger dropped to one knee and pulled her over his shoulder. The other gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stay upright. "Stay close to me." They plunged into the white storm.
Behind them, Hail roared in fury. "After them! Do not let them leave the town!" The sound of horses thundered in the distance. The wind howled violently.
Snow lashing against their faces, erasing every trace, but also turning every step into a risk. Three figures growing smaller and smaller were swallowed by the blizzard. They did not get far. After just a few hundred yards, the other girl began to stumble as well. Her breathing turned ragged, her legs completely numb.
"Leave me," she whispered weakly. The gunslinger did not answer. He looked around, nothing but endless white. Then he crouched down. She froze.
"You cannot carry both of us." He did not explain. He simply pulled her onto his other shoulder. "Now in the heart of the storm, one man carried two people who were already on the brink of collapse. Step by step, heavy, slow, but he did not stop.
Far ahead, a dark shape slowly emerged through the snow. An abandoned cabin, the gunslinger stepped inside, kicking the door open. The wind rushed in behind him, as if trying to devour everything. He set the two girls down on the floor, quickly, gathering scraps of rotten wood and striking a fire. The flame flickered weakly, but it was enough to hold on to life.