Plantation

Serefin Plantation had long since been forgotten. It lay deep within the swamps of Louisiana after all. Not many were able to find it. Not many knew where it was at either. Those who did didn’t often venture there. For good reason.  Its grounds were steeped in mystery. Three hundred years had passed it by. It’d lay abandoned the majority of that time. Except for the secrets that lay within. Rumors had swirled around in the years after it was abandoned. Nobody wanted to investigate. Something happened each time someone investigated. They’d become ill. Or die. It prevented people from wanting to go anywhere near it. People speculated. The Caretaker had been the only one brave enough to go near it. For a little while anyway. He’d been driven away whatever lay inside the Plantation. 

Oliver found it when he followed the clues. Clues from historical sites he found. Historical sites that didn’t provide much information. He’d surprised himself by finding it. He’d doubted himself. Much like everyone else had. He had a way of looking at clues left behind differently. Breadcrumbs leading him straight to the Plantation. As if there were arrows pointing him to it. That’d been the only way he was able to explain it. He’d gotten caught in a storm. Of course. The classic, age old, getting stuck in a storm at a haunted location. It was poetic in his eyes. 

Oliver spent the next three days roaming around the house. Wyatt and Sawyer had made themselves known. That they didn’t want him there. Oliver didn’t care. He’d voiced his opinions. He wanted answers to questions he had. Their hesitance told Oliver everything he needed to know. His insistence led the trio to Wyatts room. To the bookcase revealing a secret room. A panic room of sorts in case anything happened. Hayden shutting the door trapping Oliver in worried Oliver. He knew there was a way out. He hoped so anyway. He put all the papers on the small table in his backpack first. He’d found out why Hayden trapped him in there. He knew what he was doing. Oliver did as well. He’d read everything before trying to find his way out. 

“We hope we didn’t startle you” Wyatt said
“No, you didn’t. Takes a lot to do that” Oliver chuckled
“We hope you’ve liked our humble home so far” Sawyer asked
“I have. It’s a beautiful place. I can see why you built it here” Oliver replied
“We had lavish parties here. Grand affairs people flocked here for” Wyatt mentioned
“I can only imagine. What happened?” Oliver asked
“Hayden happened. He was our Overseer. He-” Sawyer began before the door had shut

He read all the accounts from the Slaves. People who’d wanted Hayden gone for a while before Wyatt and Sawyer disappeared. Everyone suspected Hayden had something to do with it. Nobody could prove anything. The Slaves had escaped in the dead of night. They’d trapped Hayden inside the house before leaving. A safeguard ensuring they’d be able to leave without him being able to get to any of them. Hayden lived amongst his hatred after that. He spent the remainder of his days at the Plantation. More slaves were sent to him. Enough to run the Plantation. It didn’t take long for them to escape as well. Hayden died shortly after. An unknown sickness plagued the area. Hayden had become one of its victims. Where Wyatt and Sawyer died with him. 

The way out seemed too easy for Oliver. Something Wyatt said left him wondering at first. Until a book about death seemed out of place. The act of beginning to take it off the shelf triggered the mechanism to open the door leading out. It led him to a nearby Crypt. Where Wyatt and Sawyer were waiting for him. They’d told him everything about Hayden. He’d always been a hassle to deal with. A Butler that seemed to have his own agenda. The storm had raged on in the meantime. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get back into the Plantation. Or if he wanted to. He knew going back in was the key to solving the mystery. 

“They needed to be put in their place!” Hayden shouted
“They’re also human beings who deserved respect” Oliver retorted
“They’re slaves. They have no rights” Hayden said 
“They’re human beings who kept this place going while also living happily because of Wyatt and Hayden treating them as the human beings they are. As employees instead of the way you treated them” Oliver replied 

Oliver went back into the Plantation knowing what he was facing. A man that was nothing but selfish and ignorant. Someone who wanted to rule the Plantation with an iron fist. Hayden was an Overseer after all.  He wanted to be the Owner of the Plantation though. Harsher punishment for the Slaves. Wyatt and Sawyer being the people they were didn’t believe in the same things Hayden did. The brothers treated the Slaves as employees instead of second class citizens. found Haydens weakness. He’d exploited it. Banished him from the grounds into limbo where he’d forever remain. Where he had ample time to live in his own hatred and ignorance. Wyatt and Sawyer felt indebted to Oliver. 

Thank you. For everything” Wyatt smiled
I did what I knew was right. I’ll look after this place. I promise” Oliver sighed
We know you will. You’ll be happy here regardless of whether its a Museum or the place you spend the rest of your days” Sawyer replied

Oliver made a promise to him. They were free to leave if they chose to. Or stay and help him restore the Plantation to its former glory. They agreed to stay and help him before going onto their next adventure. They let him put his own touches onto the Plantation as well. It was going to be his home after all. They’d let him know where the deed to the Plantation was. A place he didn’t have to look because of the deed already being in his possession. He’d looked through the papers again before looking where they’d told him. The storm had passed. It took all the negative with it. He went back to the nearest town to let authorities know what happened. They paid for the restorations. They’d deemed it an Historical Site that could never be demolished. It was Oliver's suggestions to make it into a Museum that was considered. An idea that was ultimately turned down. He chose to live there. To have the peaceful life he’d yearned for.