Sacred Stones [Rewrite]

Chapter One - Jade

I heard a knock on my trailer door. I ran my dagger through the sharpener one last time, and then walked to the door. I opened it, shielding my eyes from the light that immediately invaded my trailer. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw the barkeep in the doorway.

"Hey, Holt. Newcomer?" I asked.

"Mhm. Seems a bit aggravated, might wanna watch out." He turned his head to blow cigar smoke out of his mouth.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I waved him off. He told me the same thing every time.

"Really, a girl like you oughta watch her back around some of these people. You know how they are, complete-"

"Fuck-ups, I know." I interrupted, pushing past him to make my way to the bar. "Bold talk comin' from a man who's teeth are rottin' out from those cigars; you're no better than the rest of this town, if you'd even call it that, it's more of a trailer park."

"None of us are better than the lot of 'em, not you, not me. The ones who are better don't stay for long. The good ones make the right choice, head into the city." He imparted, nodding in the direction of the city before following me back to the bar.

"This place is barely a town, only thing that classifies it as one is the farm, the bar, and the sheriff's office right across from it. And he's barely a sheriff at that." I opened the doors to the bar, seeing a blonde man whom I hadn't seen before sitting at a barstool. He had cornflower blue eyes with contracted pupils, showing he was intoxicated. He had a stubble, a strong jawline, and a muscular build. Looked about mid-30's. "That him?" I muttered Holt, pointing at the man.

"Yup. Now that he's drunk, he's even more trouble." Holt responded.

"Oh, bullshit. Drunk men are idiots, you'd know that. No match for me."

"Jade, you're crazy. You're a 14 year old girl, you can't beat him if he comes at you!" He hissed, standing in front of me to keep me from getting to the man.

"Holt, you talk like a newcomer. You've seen what the hell I can do, now outta my way before you piss me off!" I pushed him out of my way, sending him stumbling into a booth table. I heard the women sitting at it push him away, calling him some name I couldn't care less about.

I approached the man. "Hey, rookie. Welcome to Silverkeep. I'm Jade, and you are?" I held out my hand, offering to shake his.

He looked down at me, and snickered. "You're supposed to be my tour guide? Pah, you gotta be kiddin' me! Where's your daddy, little girl? Think he's the one who's supposed to show me around."

I sighed. I got this a lot, from the majority of newcomers who first show up here. "Sorry, man, I'm the one showing you the ropes 'round here. Now, you can go off on your own, but some people here don't take too kindly to trespassers. Step the wrong way, you'll get your head blown off."

He burst out in laughter. "Well, I'll be damned! Can y'all believe it? This town really is a wonder, y'all got an eight year old tour guide!" He looked around, waiting for the other people in the bar to laugh with him. Of course, no one did. I was notorious around here, everyone knew not to mess with me. "C'mon, eh? Nothing? Y'all pussies scared of a toddler?" He egged everyone on, to no avail.

"Tough crowd, huh?" I laughed at him. "Alright, stop humiliatin' yourself. You gonna let me show you around so you don't get killed, or you gonna jump blindly into this place and get beaten to death with a bat?"

He laughed again. I don't know what he kept finding so funny after everyone shut him down, but he was drunk, so I didn't question it. "Alright, alright, little girl, I think i'll go blindly into, er, what was it? Ironkeep or somethin'?"