ADAMS PATH

PROLOGUE

   The evening breeze was warm and it blew across the trees in a steady rhythm. The traffic was heavy due to the workers returning from work. Restaurants were getting filled up and the night clubs were also beginning to get the usual buzz of the young generation ready to catch some wild fun. This city always came to life during the weekends.

    I made my way past the city traffic and drove the car towards the countryside. I drove my car at a steady speed, I wasn't in a rush but I also wanted to arrive at my friend's house on time. My name is Micheal Darlton and I'm 19 years old. I'm the second of two children. My brother Mitchell is two years older and is the captain of his college football team.

     Our parents are doctors, dad is a cardiologist and my mom is a dentist. They're always busy and never have time for my brother and I but they make it up to us by buying whatever it is we need. I'm what you'll call a softie and a nerd but I'm good with numbers and I have a good memory.

    The only one who understands me is my best friend Noella. We've been best friends since childhood and I love her as a sister. My brother never has time for me and is always criticizing my ideas but she never does. I live in the city with my family but I'm always with her at her family's ranch on the outskirts of town. Her parents produce and sell the best corn around these parts. They also breed the best horses. She's the only child and they're pretty close knit. I love being at their ranch because I'm treated like a human being and not a possession.

    I'm going to pick Noella  up for a party. It's actually our first party. We're nerds and don't like noisy or crowded places. We prefer studying and helping out on the ranch. This party is different because the guy Noella has a crush on is going to be there and she hopes to get a chance to talk to him.

    I arrive at the ranch but I get the feeling that something is wrong. The security guards were there and I greeted them. They returned the greetings cheerfully as they always did and let me in. As I drove up to the house, the feeling that something was wrong worsened. I parked my car and got out. The first thing I noticed was that the house was dark. Noella hated the dark. Hasn't the guards taken notice? Her parents were out of town and they needed to make sure security was tighter.

     The plantation was at the far left of the estate and the stables and cottages for the ranch hands were on the fat right. The ranch hands lived in individual cottages with their families. There were six cottages in total. Then there was the stables and the barn. Two of the cottages were empty but the others had light coming out of them.  Had she gone up to stay with the ranch hands? She did that sometimes when she felt alone. She was particularly fond of The Diego's. An old couple that worked for her parents.

    I walked up the porch and pressed the doorbell but no one answered. I tried the doorbell a few more times but I got nothing. Something's not right. I tried her phone a few times but it was switched off. I let myself into the house and I was shocked when I walked into the living room and everywhere was a mess. The place had been turned upside down. The hair on my neck rose and goosebumps appeared on my skin.

     “ Noella, Noella, are you here? Noella can you hear me? ” I shouted as I ran up the stairs to her room.

    I pushed the door open and switched on the light and what I saw would haunt my dreams for years to come. Right in the middle of the room, hanging from the ceiling fan was Noella. Her body was hanging from a rope and her eyes were missing. She looked like  a Raggedy Ann Doll. I screamed and ran out of the house.