Alone (Book 1)

Prologue

"Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness." ~Marianne Williamson

" Castlena , Run"

Warm blood trickled from her scraped knee down to her nike symboled black sock that covered her ankle, absorbing the blood as it touched. She , however couldn't acknowledge the pain due to the adrenaline pumping vigorously within her, fear of pbeing caught sat heavy on her mind. The sounds of their feet breaking the sticks underneath them along with the morning breeze whispering in their ears were the only things to be heard, and this to say the least was a relief to them.

The abandoned park they ran through had to be one of the worst in town. It held no life, assuming the now moss covered swings were - where kids once played all day or the dismembered monkey bars that were now laid flat on the wet grass instead of sitting upward awaiting for its bar to be held on. The trees held no leaves this time of year , instead their long trunks stood nakedly with branches so long they almost looked intertwined with it's neighboring trees. You'd think due to their lack of leaves the early daylight would be able to glare through or at least that's what Castlena presumed. Instead the naked branches made the park incredibly dark to her dismay to say the least .

She couldn't see behind her which , in her case wasn't bad at all but her fear only intensified when she'd realized she couldn't see in front of her. Her boyfriend Anthony was far ahead of her barely realizing how far back she lagged. His only goal though was to beat the situation they were in and find safety immediately. Even if that meant leaving someone behind to protect himself.

She wanted to scream his name, get his attention hoping he'd turn back however she knew in her heart of hearts that this'll be the last time she'd see Anthony. Her vision blurred once she'd came to realization of this, tears filled the tear duct of her eyes, gliding down her cheeks as she broke down to the grassy area. Branches cracked underneath her fall , sinking into the muddy dirt.

"Fuck" She exclaimed loudly, she feared what would happen next but she knew there was no way she could get out of this one. The power of a woman's intuition is one not to be played with or doubted , from the time Anthony picked her up she felt angst. She couldn't necessarily say what she felt in exact words but she knew.

Less than an hour and a half ago she had evaded the police, and witnessed a robbery turned murder. This definitely was not what she'd anticipated when she'd left her dorm early that night. Anthony had spoke so highly of showing her a good time in Atlanta, giving her the best date that he could. He did actually at first , took her through Downtown, cashed out on expensive jewelry and clothes for her. Giving her material values to essentially prepare her for what to come later on. If only she knew, maybe she wouldn't have let it get to this point.

Anthony had taken a turn into a nice neighborhood from her sights, she hadn't been on this side of town before and she was astounded by the beautiful homes and scenery. She'd wondered if this was Anthony's place. After all in the months they've been together he'd always flashed his riches around she'd only assumed that at the age of twenty four that he had made a decent life for himself. Being a young girl new to the city of scammers it hadn't registered that maybe he was getting all this stuff a different way , an illegal way.

He'd parked his car parallel to the curb and pointed to a house approximating two yards away from where they were sitting. Grasping ahold to Castlena's hand he stared concerning into her soft gaze. He knew she was the one for this job . Consciously he knew the karma he'd receive for this situation would hit him however he had to do what was best for him.