Alpha Raven | #1 in the Trueblood Series

Sometimes when we look into the mirror, we assume that the reflection is the truth…

And sometimes..this assumed truth becomes our biggest mistake….

******

Charlotte nodded at Azraiel and started telling her version of truth.

“What I told you earlier wasn't entirely a lie. I mean the part where I said that I came to Coral woods for camping with my neighbors, only that they weren't my neighbors but my uncle's friends."

She read the silent question in Azraiel's eyes and decided to elaborate. "I am an orphan. My uncle, my mother's brother has been taking care of me all my life. Around two weeks ago, he needed to visit Canada for a business meeting, so he asked the Grisham's to take me in for a week, because he felt uneasy leaving me all by myself like that. Archie, the little boy I told you about, is their son.

I had been a bit upset because last week my uncle told me that he has to stay in Canada for a few more weeks. I have never been away from him for this long.

The Grisham's in order to cheer me up a bit, planned a weekend at Coral woods......We all went to Coral woods on Saturday, had a fun night and decided to travel back on Sunday morning. The next day...that's when everything started to go down the hill.

When I woke up on Sunday and came out of my tent, there was no one there."

"You mean the Grisham's were not there when you woke up?" Azraiel inquired. This is getting shady as fuck, he thought to himself. But this doesn’t sound like truth. WHy would they leave her alone like that when her uncle trusted them with her life?

"No...There was no one there. Their tents were missing along with them. Not only that, all my belongings had vanished too. I could only see my tent and nothing else. At first I thought that it was a prank since Archie often pranked me during their stay at home and his parents too helped him sometimes. So, I started searching for them around the area where we stayed at night, but there was no one." Charlotte looked scared as fuck, like she still couldn't believe everything that has happened till now. The woman that was talking so confidently to him had turned into a little girl within mere minutes or she was really good at acting.

"What did you do when you couldn't find them?" Azraiel interrupted her thoughts…afraid she’d back out of telling the whole story.

"I...I tried searching for them for maybe an hour or so. But I think it was around noon that I lost all hope. I was hungry and tired. So, I decided to walk down till the main road and then search for any help." Charlotte replied still shaken...or maybe it was what happened after that made her more nervous to recall all the details.

"But you didn't reach the main road?" Azraiel questioned again. He felt bad at making her relive those events again but he had no other option. If she was in danger, then they were already far behind their enemy.

"No...I didn't. We had placed our tent just outside the woods...where the commercial agencies organize camping every now and then. So... When I was searching for the Grisham's, I never wandered off into the woods mainly because I was afraid I'd get lost there. But...just when I was about to leave the camping site, I heard someone's voice." Charlotte was shaking slightly. Azraiel wanted to embrace her and tell her that it was okay. She was safe here. But, he didn't want to scare her off. So, he continued with his questions.

"Who was it? Whom did you hear? " Although he had an idea whose work it was.

"It was Archie's voice. It was coming from the woods. He was calling my name...he...he was crying, asking for my help. He said, ' Char.....Help me Char.....please.' . I got worried. I mean...I really thought that he went into the woods and got attacked by some animal or..or...that he fell into some hole or something. I..I just wanted to help him..okay. So I tried to follow his voice. I kept on walking and as I walked further, I could hear his voice much better. It was like he was just around me somewhere but I wasn't able to see him. After walking for a few more minutes, I came to a clearing and that's when I saw him." Tears were streaming down her face as she tried to say everything that she had experienced. Azraiel could see the pain she was in but by the looks of her injuries, they weren't even half way there.

"Charlotte, who did you see at the clearing?" Azraiel asked as softly as he could. He knew who she must have seen but he wanted her to say it so that she can acknowledge it to herself.

She blinked fast three-four times to see clearly through her tears. She looked up at him, " There was a man lying on the ground. He..he was injured...he was bleeding from the abdomen. I think I knew who he was even before I saw his face."

Azraiel watched as her face twisted in pain at the memory. She was full out crying now.

"It was my uncle. He looked almost....almost..dead. I...I just cried out and ran towards him. I tried calling his name, patted his cheeks but he didn't respond. I was trying to lift his head on my lap and that's when I heard it again. Archie was calling my name again and again....but...but the voice sounded almost ominous now....it was loud and distorted. I kept looking all around trying to figure out if he was around and...and then I saw my uncle's finger twitch. I immediately looked at my uncle's face and I think I'll never forget it for the rest of my life. His eyes were open..slightly red. There..there was blood oozing out of his mouth and his mouth was moving. He was asking for help and…. Archie's voice was coming from him."