Rain drops hit the windshield and dance their way down the glass as Kenzy drives down the dark interstate. The air coming through the vents is cold. An uncomfortable chill causes the hair on her arms to stand. Deep growls of thunder sound above her as dark clouds hover in the night sky, blocking any stars from shining through. Lightning bolts shoot across the horizon, lighting up the road ahead for mere seconds. She has not seen a gas station in over an hour and is thankful she filled up her gas tank in the last town she passed through.
As she drives in the storm, her hands grip the steering wheel firmly and her eyes are dead set on the road, all while thinking to herself nothing good comes from thunderstorms.Nothing. She tries to distract herself from the storm by thinking about why she is going to Georgia. For years she has wondered about her father. Not only why he was killed, but what he was doing the last few months of his life; what he was thinking. He was so secretive and distant from her. She remembers hearing him up at all hours of the night talking to himself, rummaging through parts of the house, constantly keeping watch of the house. Who was he watching for? What was he so afraid of? Her entire life, Kenzy never saw him act scared.He was her superhero. Kenzy knew something was wrong by his behavior. She regrets not digging into it further. Maybe she could have helped him. Maybe he would still be alive.
A vulgar boom sounds from the sky, so loud it vibrates her car. It does not sound like thunder and as she stares at the horizon she watches as a large ball of light shoots from the clouds. It is so bright that it lights up the sky like a sun rise. It is fast and within seconds it falls behind a cluster of trees far off in the distance. "What the hell?" She says to herself. The ball leaves a glowing streak in the sky for a few more seconds before it dissipates. When Kenzy sees a street sign up ahead, she does not think twice. She turns onto the dirt road and heads towards the direction of the mysterious light.
Dust from the gravel under her tires stirs up and makes the path behind her barely visible. Driving seems like an eternity and she is about to give up and turn around when she slams on her brakes, trying to avoid a massive dent in the ground. She turns on her bright lights and hops out of the car. Walking around to the front, she looks down and indented in the ground is a massive circle with burned earth around it. Kenzy looks around her surroundings, expecting to find someone... or somethingnearby but she is alone. To her right is a path of scorched grass, the grass around it still fresh and green. "What the hell is going on here?"
Hopping back in the car, she turns around and speeds towards the highway. Kenzy races down the road as fast as the thoughts run through her head. Unable to come to terms with what she just saw, she slightly panics. If zombies are real, who knows what else is out there.... Werewolves, vampires.... And whatever it is that she just witnessed. Getting to Georgia just became the most important mission. If her dad had answers, Kenzy can almost guarantee he hid them there.Why else would he leave a key? It is almost like he hoped Kenzy would find it.Did he also know he was going to die?
She drives through the night and pulls off the highway in search of a store or gas station. She passes a large sign that reads in red and brown letters The Whitmore PlantationFarm & VineyardEnigma, GeorgiaShe drives up on the stone driveway through two tall, cast iron fences on each side of her and comes up to an enormous plantation. The large colonial house is a dark red brick home with a large open porch complete with the famous old columns on each end. The windows are outlined in white framing.
She gets out of her car and stands, for a moment, in awe of the place. A thin, immaculate-looking woman walks up to her from the side of the building. She is wearing a loose white blouse with apaisley cover-up around her shoulders and white slacks with white heels. On her head, flattening her blond curls is an awful, debutant white hat. Packed on her chest, wrists and fingers are clusters of jewelry.
The absurdly dressed woman reaches out her boney, pale hand and introduces herself. "Hello, I am Anette Whitmore! Welcome to our plantation."
Kenzy, who is still at a loss for words, shakes Anette's hand. "I'm Kenzy."
"Well what brings you out here, Kenzy?"Kenzy immediately notices her southern accent and fights back laughter, and spoken under her breath, she says "And they say Texans talk funny".
"Well, Mrs. Whitmore..."
"Anette... you can call me Anette, dear."
"O....k.... Anette, I'm actually just passing through looking for a gas station. Do you think you could point me in the right direction?"
"I sure can." Anette says in an overly dramatic response, according to Kenzy"But not until you tour our plantation."
Kenzy give an uneasy look. She does not have time for any detours. "I'm really strapped for time. I must get there soon."
"Oh nonsense. I know everyone in this town. The nearest gas station doesn't close until midnight. Come now, the tour is about to start."
Kenzy, barely willingly, follows the woman up the stone steps to the beautifulold house.There is a gorgeous painted glass and mahogany wood front door and in front of the walls on each side of the door are solid oak rocking chairs. Next to white wicker chairs in the center of the porch, is a small metal table. Kenzy stares at the oddly matched furniture and wonders if Mrs. Whitm.... Um, Anette is either O.C.D or dysfunctionally O.C.D.
"Come, come inside" Anette instructs.Kenzy follows her through the door to reveal the most beautiful house she has ever seen in her life. The entryway alone looks like a palace. The floors are a golden marble, so clear you can almost see your reflection. The walls are a painted white wood halfway up and the top portion of the walls have a wallpaper design of light green swirls and bursts of gold. The tall ceilings reveal a golden chandelier about 12 feet above their heads.
"Wow. This really is beautiful." Kenzy compliments.
"Thank you, dear." Annette responds and begins rambling on about their prized vineyard that Kenzy does not have a care in the world for. They make their way into a large white room with the same walls as the entryway, but the floors are a dark oak. There is a cluster of tourists in the room. Most of them have cameras and fanny packs which causes Kenzy to let out a short giggle. Making her way to the back of the group, she follows along through the house as they are taken through rooms, each fancier than the last. Once outside, they stop at a large ivory water fountain. In the center of the fountain stand two large stone sculptures of naked women holding baskets that the water is pouring from.
Anette starts explaining the fountain when Kenzy notices aman to her left staring at her instead of the tour guide. He is a young black man, slightly built with short black hair and light brown eyes. He is wearing a gray shirt and tan cargo pants. As soon as their eyes meet, he quickly looks away. Kenzy makes a mental picture of him. One thing she has learned from her years alone is if someone is staring at you, there is a probably a reason.
The tour goes through the garden that includes a maze of neatly trimmed bushes and a vineyard that the Whitmore's are apparently famous for before they finally make it back to the house.
"Well, that's the Whitmore family plantation. Feel free to look around and explore some yourself and ask anything you'd like to know." Anette concludes thetour. Kenzy notices the same guy once again looking at her. Knowing it is time to go, she scurries to Anette.
"Thank you for letting me take the tour." Kenzy fakes being nice. The tour was really the most boring hour of her life. "I really do need to get going before dark. If you wouldn't mind giving me directions, I will be on my way."
"Oh, of course my dear." Anette gives a wide smile, flashing her big whitehorse teeth. "Just exit our plantation to the right, get back on the highway about five miles. Take the first exit, it's called Bowie. At the first stop light, turn right and you will see it about mile down that road on your left."
"Thank you so much." Kenzy shakes her hand and immediately heads for the door, not giving Anette a chance to speak. She does not even check to see if the stranger is still staring at her.
YOU ARE READING
UnEarthed
ParanormalKenzy's father was a secretive man. She only knew his job had him working on the road a lot. When he started behaving paranoid, she knew something was wrong. Then, after several men with red eyes broke into their home and murdered her father, she kn...
