The Secret
Corporal Michael Lockhart was looking out over the valley where he was currently keeping watch over the town of Tumbleweed Springs. He was looking for intruders, criminals, or anybody else who would harm his hometown. There was a secret buried several hundred feet under the ground. A secret so compelling that several hundred men over the last several hundred years have looked for it. They would spend weeks maybe even months of their lives searching for that item that would grant them eternal life. Some would even go as far as acquiring guides to search for it from all around the world. They never even stopped to think about how they could be risking their lives looking for something that was only rumored to exist.
After ten long hours of surveillance, Corp. Lockhart could find nothing that would indicate trouble was on the way. He breathed a sigh of relief as his replacement showed up to take the next watch. Andrew Smith was the deputy sheriff of the fair town of Tumbleweed Springs. He and his wife Dana had settled there about ten years ago. "The evenings been pretty quiet tonight, and it looks pretty secure." Michael said. "We haven't had any trouble for over 50 years. I hope it continues that way." Andrew commented. "See you tomorrow, Andrew." Michael said as he climbed onto his horse.
Andrew scanned the horizon for any activity. He knew full well that just because the town hasn't had any trouble for a while, did not mean that he should let his guard down. He thought back to a time where an incident occured that became out of hand really quickly from a simple act of carelessness. A young man by the name of Jason was sent on a patrol of the area. He was rather young and impulsive. He took for granted the fact that you must always be prepared for any situation that might arise while on duty. Jason noticed that there was a horse and rider coming his way. What he saw next took his breath away. He noticed that the most beautiful woman was dismounting from the horse. "Hello there handsome." The young woman said. Jason couldn't find any words at first. Then after he heard a gentle laugh, he finally found his voice. "Hello there miss, what's your name?" Jason inquired. "Daphne Reynolds, and what's yours handsome?" "My name is Jason, Miss Reynolds. What brings you out here all alone in this territory?" "I came from back east. I heard about this town that had unearthed a huge secret. One that might benefit all of mankind." Daphne said.
Jason thought about how he might respond to that. "Miss Reynolds, I don't know where you got your information, but there is nothing here that would be remotely of that importance in these parts. Were just humble folks that live a simple life." Jason wondered if she was able to hear the slight raising of his voice that would indicate he was hiding something. "Jason, let's be honest with ourselves. You and I both know that there is something very important here, and you're going to share it with the world!" To emphasize how serious she was, she brandished her shiny new Colt 45. Jason reacted quick but not enough to prevent her from holding the weapon to his temple.
"Now sheriff, I'm going to give you the next thirty seconds to be truthful with me or you are going to wish you had never been born." Jason was thinking hard about how to get the upper hand before Daphne did something she might regret later on. "Times up, sheriff. Tell me the truth or it's goodbye for you." It was now or never Jason thought. He reached over and attempted to pull the gun away from her, but he was too late. The shot had already been fired. His last thought before the blackness took him was, I've failed.
The day that Jason was found would be a day that friends and family would never forget. It just goes to show you that people will go to any link to get what they want. Andrew and the rest of the town made a vow that day that nothing like that would ever happen again. They had a treasure to keep safe. The town had to protect the fountain of youth at all cost.