The air was cold as fog swirled, rustling the pine trees in the darkness. Eyes fluttered open, slowly, as a bright light bobbed in between the dark shadows.

"Miss! Miss!" a voice called.

It sounded as though a person were underwater. Charlotte struggled to understand the words floating around her. She couldn't get her mouth to utter anything, or her brain to focus. The wreckage surrounding her told its own tale. How she'd managed to survive in the middle of all the crumpled-up metal was anyone's guess.

"Miss! Can you hear me?"

A grey-haired man with weathered skin approaches Charlotte, kneeling to check if she is ok. He holds a flashlight in one hand and a first aid kit in the other. The car she had rented was totaled, having gone off the road and flipped over onto its side. Charlotte blinked and slowly moved herself. She moaned as a slight pain radiated from her side.

"Hold on there. Easy does it. Let me help you. How you're alive in this mess I don't understand!" the man exclaimed, gently helping her out of the empty space where the driver's side window was.

"Th..thank you." Charlotte managed to say.

She winced at the pain in her side as the man gently touched her shoulder, looking her over with the flashlight. A warmth she wasn't expecting radiated through her body.

"You're lucky I was driving by. Are you hurt anywhere? I don't see any blood."

Charlotte slowly stood upright, taking notice of anything that felt injured. She touched her side, but the pain was gone.

"I don't think...I don't think so."

She looked at the wreckage of the car she was just in. The man shined the flashlight beam on it, illuminating each twisted section. Charlottes stomach lurched at the sight.

How did I survive this? What happened?

Her mind was still shrouded in confusion. She was driving, and a car was chasing her. A dark car. Then her mind blanked. The details weren't coming forward, no matter how hard she concentrated.

"You're gonna need a ride out of here. I called the sheriff, but they won't be here for hours. Looks like you hit a deer by the likes of that carcass."

A deer? That can't be right.

The man gestured for Charlotte to see as he shined his flashlight toward a brown animal on the other side of the road. Blood was trailed in the grass. She was even more confused now. There should be tire marks from the other car. It was pitch black out though, there was no way to really make out anything on the darkened pavement. Leaving the scene seemed like the only option so she followed the man back towards a waiting bus.

"I apologize for the vehicle size. I'm off duty and was headed home."

Suddenly a memory flashed in Charlottes mind. The buses. Josh from the coffee shop, the barista, he had told her to check into them.

"But the sheriff, won't he need my information?" she protested as they walked.

"Naw, gave him the license plate number right away, pretty much the only thing I could see. He'll run it and find you. He's a good guy, nothing to worry about."

She relaxed slightly at the words. The only real headache would be dealing with the rental company. It would likely cost a fortune to replace the car, since she'd opted out of the additional insurance when renting it. She could kick herself if not for the sudden sight of the bus.

Trinity Bus Company.

Three words were etched onto the side of the bus in black. Nondescript but glaring to Charlotte, nonetheless. Her intuition had kicked into high gear. This meant something. Her rescuer ushered her onto the warm vehicle with a haphazard smile.

"You can sit up front. There's seatbelts and everything. Where should I take you to?"

Charlotte sat on a leather seat and marveled at how nice it was inside. Definitely didn't match the military aesthetic from the outside. She'd seen those old training buses when on bases before, while conducting research. This was definitely way out of the ordinary.

"The Marriott downtown Denver please. If that's not too far to get to.."

"Of course not! Was coming from downtown actually. I work at the airport."

Charlotte perked up at the words. She felt a warmth spread over her torso and snake up to her face. Touching her cheek, she felt as though her body was blushing. The feeling stopped as the coolness of her hand contacted the skin on her face. Her rescuer fired up the bus and began to move forward, past the wreckage of her car. She watched it pass by out the window.

Where is the driver of the dark car?

She couldn't help but wonder if the person who'd caused her to wreck was connected to Jeremy Johir or his construction company. He'd been the one to send her out here after all, to interview Tim Brown.

But why send me, to then turn around and try to kill me?

The thought of Johir being behind the wreck sent shivers down her spine. Like the serpent that tempted Eve, Charlotte had been taken in by his charm. Going this alone as podcaster was throwing her off of her game, and it frightened her.

"You're deep in thought miss. You sure you feel ok? I can swing by the hospital first, if you need me to, to get checked out."

"Oh no, I'm ok. I'm just shook up is all. Mr?"

"Ken. Names Ken. Nice to meet you Ms?"

"Charlotte. Thank you for stopping to help me. That was awfully kind of you."

Ken settled into his seat as the bus merged onto the highway, headed towards Denver. He studied the petite redhead in the rear-view mirror. She appeared to be deep in thought. He hadn't hesitated when he received the call to check on her, despite being exhausted from shuttling workers back and forth all day. Charlotte's background intrigued him, and he was a sucker for a damsel in distress.

After a half an hour, the city lights came into view. Charlotte had dozed off, her mind blissfully blank and void of dreams. Ken woke her as he took the correct exit headed to her hotel.

"Whatever you're here for Charlotte, be careful."

Kens words hit her full on.

What does he mean?

She sat up straight and finally took notice of Ken in the large bus rear view mirror. He had on a dark blue jacket with a triangle patch stitched onto the left chest area. Nondescript, it had 'Trinity Bus Company' stitched in the center. Charlotte mentally filed the name away. She had looked it up before and found that it was buried online, hidden in plain sight. She had a feeling Ken was important somehow.

Fairly quickly, they arrived out front of the hotel. Ken engaged the air brakes as the bus emitted the familiar whooshing sound that Charlotte was accustomed to. The older man turned in his seat and gave her a smile.

"I saw a coffee shop next door, you should go get yourself a cup of nice tea if you're up to it. Good for your immune system and calms the nerves."

It wasn't a half bad idea and Charlotte considered it.

"Thank you for the ride and for stopping to rescue me. It was nice to meet you Ken."

She shook his hand as she moved near the front door to exit the bus. His hands were warm, and he gripped hers lightly. A warm sensation traveled up Charlottes arm and settled in her chest. She felt immediate comfort from the contact. Letting go, she stepped down the stairs and onto the dark pavement. The bus doors click shut behind her and she hears the gears being engaged. As Ken drives off, she wonders who exactly he could be.

Get a cup of tea.

Ken's words play in her mind. Absentmindedly, she began walking towards the coffee shop. The entire day felt surreal and as if she'd imagined it.

Maybe I have.

The lights shone brightly from the shop's windows, illuminating Charlottes feet as she approached the entrance. She should've felt tired, but a spark of energy had surged in her. Making her way to an empty table, she sat down and picked up a paper menu. They did have tea, quite the variety. She silently mulled over the choices.

A barista eyed Charlotte from behind the counter. Josh spotted her the moment she walked in. Charlotte's hair was messy, and her clothes were dirty, with dirt smudged onto her shirt and the sides of her jeans. He was surprised that she'd wandered into his coffee shop in such a state, and so late at night. No one else was in the shop except for a smattering of regulars, night owls, who were working on laptops.

He smiled as he approached to take her order, twirling a long strand of her hair in between two slender fingers.

"Made up your mind yet?" he softly asked.

Charlottes eyes flew upwards and met his. The vivid blue startled Josh, causing him to blush. She was beautiful.

"Hey. Josh." she replied. "I'll take a chamomile tea please."

He let the corner of his mouth hitch upwards, "sure thing. You want it here or to go?"

Contemplating the options, she reached next to her for her handbag. It wasn't there though, having been left in the wreckage back outside of town.

"Crap. I don't have my wallet...."

"It's ok. It's on the house. Hang tight," Josh said, letting his hand lightly touch hers.

Charlotte's insides did a flip at the contact. Was he taking pity on her or genuinely being a nice guy? It was so hard to tell anymore. Especially being surrounded by so many different groups of people here. She wasn't sure who was working for who.

Josh returned with a to go cup and a brown paper bag. He smiled at Charlotte, handing the items over gently.

"Hopefully this helps your night go better," he says.

Nodding, Charlotte stands and takes the warm items. Whoever Josh Diaz really was, right now, he was an angel.