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Chapter X

ILLUSIVE

Ex

"Hunter?" I peered further in. "What the hell are you doing in there?"

I forgot about the cold right then and there and focused mainly on Hunter and the dragon who was sitting with him. That was when I noticed the second dragon sitting next to Hunter who then looked around our age, yet he seemed to be a little more on the languid side of the spectrum. Nevertheless, I focused my attention mainly at Hunter, who just beckoned me to join him in this...stranger's vehicle.

Hunter smiled. "C'mon! We're going home!"

"I'm not sure how I feel about this," I retorted, turning my gaze to the adult in the car. He seemed very calm and inviting, yet I wasn't one to fully trust this random stranger just yet.

The younger drake sighed. "Would you just get in already? Some of us want to go to bed and sleep."

As much as I wanted to argue back in his face, I had to side with him on that...whoever he was. I looked at the older dragon then at Hunter and sighed, opening the door just as the eldest one in the car scooted over. A part of me felt to be a little wary of entering a stranger's car, despite my friend being in there with him, and not know where they were heading. I mean, for all I knew, these guys could've easily kidnapped Hunter and made him act positive while having a knife pressed against his back.

Damn it. I was doing it again. I was being overly judgmental, once again, after apparently not learning my lesson with Hunter only a few hours ago. This was a clear reminder of how negative I was about the outside world. As much as I hated to admit it, I gave this guy the benefit of the doubt. Considering my only options were to either A) Freeze to death or B) Get in the car and hope they would be taking the both of us somewhere warm and cozy. Inevitably, I decided to get in and ask questions once I was warm.

While I sat down next to the older drake, who gladly left enough room for me to sit, I wanted to keep my guard up despite everything telling me that I felt like I could relax right now. For the next few minutes, I wasn't sure whether or not I was comfortable here. Hunter was a few feet diagonal from me looking out the window with a smile on his face, and I couldn't understand why. The teenage drake sat beside him with his head propped up with a fist, and I could see it in his lackadaisical glare towards me that he didn't want to be here. Lastly, but certainly not least, I think, was the father of the teenager by the looks of it. Surprisingly, he looked just as upbeat as Hunter yet seemed to keep it on a down low where he looked professional yet gay--in the old sense of the word.

Okay, what had I walked into? As far as I could see, I was in a car with complete strangers, save for Hunter, who didn't seem to mind picking up a random guy from the street just because a friend told them to. The silence was probably the worst part since, well, no one wanted to say a word despite the father seeming like the talkative type.

However, I was surprised at who did break the silence. "So...you're Alex, right?" The teenage drake asked. He didn't seem excited about talking to me; he didn't seem excited about anything really.

Instead of blowing him off, I casually nodded. "Yes, though its actually Alexander." I corrected.

He rolled his eyes. "I'll just call you Alex."

A little rude of him? Maybe. Did I blame him? No. I sometimes called the professor 'Alex' on some days since it was a long name. Still, he didn't have to be pretty stoic about it. I kind of wanted to learn more about him, but I decided to save that for another time when he wasn't in a bad mood--and I wasn't sure if he would ever get out of that mood.

His father raised his hand, almost like he was ready for that. "Now, Maximus, you could be a little more polite when greeting new people."

The drake rolled his eyes and huffed before looking away. "Whatever. I'm gonna take a nap."

He stayed true to his word and closed his eyes. I watched as he steadily breathed for a few moments until the elder drake caught my attention by clearing his throat. When I met his gaze, I was a little shocked. He seemed a little tired to me, or maybe that was just my vision betraying me, but I swore I saw a bit of sadness in those pupils.

The drake finally sighed and waved his hand aside. "Ah, do not mind my son. He just gets a little cranky when he doesn't get enough sleep is all." I could see the look on his face, which told me he was lying, yet he paid me no mind.

"Yeah," I responded meekly. "I'll bet."

He nodded and turned to me. "Ah, but where are my manners? My name is David Thatch.

You can call me by either my first or last name." The positive attitude he had earlier returned which had me a little unsettled.

"A pleasure to meet you...Uh, Mister Thatch," I replied a little uncomfortably. "Um, you wouldn't mind me asking but how do you and Hunter...?"

Thatch raised a finger. "Ah, is the question not so obvious, dear Alexander? My son, Maximus, and your friend, Hunter, are close friends." Okay, he was right. That should've been a dead giveaway. "You see, we had just finished a little shopping when we noticed poor Hunter walking home by himself. We wondered why he didn't have a car and were shocked to find out that it had been stolen but had a friend chasing after the crooks. However you managed that, I humbly applaud you." He added a little clap of his hands.

"Thanks," I responded almost insincerely. "But how did you find me?"

"Ah, that was the trickier part," he stated.

Hunter broke in this time. "After I got in their car, we decided to look near the outskirts of the city since usually that's where most illegal deals are made, and we figured that's where you were heading. We actually stumbled upon the scene just about twenty minutes ago and managed to get someone to tow my car home."

I nodded. That made sense. Find the scene, they get one step closer to me. That still didn't explain how they managed to locate me.

"How did you find me, though?" I asked.

Hunter reached and scratched his back without saying a word. It took me a few minutes to figure out what he meant, which had my good wing rustling underneath the coat.

"We found a very thin blood trail leading away from the scene and decided to follow it since all the cooks were tied up. Nice work on that."

I blushed at him. "It was nothing."

Thatch seemed a little confused by this. "Yes...but I don't see a scratch on your body, though. That couldn't have been your blood, could it?"

There had to be a way to put this without creating suspicion. "I...well, one of them did get a good cut on my side, so decided to steal one of their coats to conceal it. I guess I just didn't realize I was bleeding enough for me to make a trail out of it."

"Would you mind if I take a look at your injury?" Thatch said, leaning forward.

My wing began to vibrate, so I scooted away until I could calm down. "N-no!" He seemed shocked at my reaction, in which I gulped. "I mean...I'm fine. Like I said, its just a minor cut."

"A minor cut doesn't just leave a trail like that, you know," Thatch warned, staring into my eyes. "I'm only trying to help you out, Alexander."

I gulped again. If this guy saw my wings, I wouldn't be able to keep much of a secret around here. I couldn't trust this guy, but I could trust Hunter because he had shown me kindness and compassion, and I knew that I could reveal any secret I had to him without judgement. A part of me wanted to trust this complete stranger, despite that he was acquainted with Hunter, but I knew that enlisting my trust to him might end up being my downfall.

Raising my hand, I gave him the best reassuring smile I could muster. "No, no, really. I'm fine. If I wasn't, would I really have survived over an hour in the cold with a bad wound? Hell, I would've already been dead if that were the case, wouldn't it?"

Hopefully that would be enough to prove that I wasn't in serious pain, but I still kinda was. Now that my wings were warming up, the pain from my injured wing was coming back. It was like when someone presses alcohol against a wound where they feel that first sting of pain--yet I was feeling it as if it was on repeat over and over again. My injured wing stayed practically immobile while my good one furrowed a little against the coat, which forced me to move around a little to throw off Thatch so he didn't notice. I could feel the sweat rush to my forehead while he examined me very closely, almost studying me like I was some sort of science project...which I kinda was.

After about a few minutes of uneasy silence, the drake finally shrugged and returned to his seat. "Well, if you say that you are fine, then I will go with your judgement. Just tell me if you need to be dropped off at the hospital, and I'll have Benson drop us by."

He gestured to the driver up front. The man, who was another dragon of the red scales, turned and flashed us a warm smile. "That'd be me."

"Right," I nodded before waving to the driver. "Thank you for the offer, though. I appreciate it."

Thatch chuckled. "Oh, its no bother to me whatsoever. I'm just sure my son wants to get to bed as soon as possible, but I knew the right thing to do was to help out Hunter."

Hunter blushed, rubbing his arm. "Ah, its nothing really. Besides Mr. Thatch, my grandmother used to work as a nurse for a long time, you know. Why take him to a hospital when she can work on him somewhere where he might be more comfortable?"

The dragon closed his eyes and nodded. "You have a point there, Hunter. Still, it doesn't hurt to check."

"Anyway," I cut in. "I'm glad you helped me. I was almost about to run away when I saw the car pull up. You know, watch out for strangers and all that jazz."

Thatch chuckled at this. "Quite alright. I probably would've done the same had it been me in your shoes. But tell me, how exactly did you best those crooks? From what we saw, they were all tied up and looked as though they had went through a major beating. Did you...happen to do all that by any chance?"

I could've probably thought of a number of ways to explain that to him without giving away anything crucial. I could've said I got the jump on them from behind and managed to beat them up while they were trying to figure out who I was. Then again, I could've said that I flew at them and beat the hell out of them with my freakish strength and speed, yet I had a sinking feeling that I would have to explain more to that side of the story than the other. Either way, he was going to want an explanation regardless.

So, I told him. "Well, they stopped the car and slashed the tires, so I chased them on foot once they ran. I cornered them in the alley and did what I any other person would do: beat the shit out of them."

Thatch didn't seem to buy that story. He just gave me a blank stare, and I just realized how many flaws in the story there were. How had I managed to keep up with them in a car while I was on foot? Why didn't they just fight me on the road instead of in a dark alley? Why didn't they just trash Hunter's car after slashing the tires? How come I looked relatively fine and they looked as though they had just gotten beat up by a dozen MMA fighters? I should've had more injuries than just the bullet to my wing, which he didn't know about, so he was probably wondering that too.

I wracked my brain trying to look for another possible answer for him, yet I was coming up short. Of course I would have no clue how to talk my way out of this one in a situation like this. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Feeling the atmosphere pressed against me, I placed a hand on the back of my head. "Sorry, my head is killing me. It's...been a long day."

Thatch looked at me for a few moments. He studied my movements like a hawk - looking for anything that would show my fallacies, yet I just kept my gaze casually away from his. Groaning, I cupped the back of my head and leaned against the soft leather seats, hoping my little act took his attention off of my story.

Finally, the dragon sighed. "I see, I see. Well, I don't think I need to ask any more questions of you, dear Alex. Forgive me for being prude after the...stressful night you've had. I'm sure you're very tired."

Nodding, I faced him with a weak gaze. "Yeah," I replied softly. "I could really use a good night sleep right now actually."

Hunter edged into the conversation. "Yeah, I'll be sure he gets home safe, sir. Thanks again for driving us home."

Thatch beamed at Hunter, quickly giving him a warm smile along with a pat on the head. "Oh, child, think nothing of it! Though I wish my son was just as enthusiastic as you are..." he looked to the younger drake out cold near the window, "...the devotion you have to your friends is commendable on many levels! If anything, it is my pleasure that I could help you this fine night."

For a guy who asked a crap ton of questions, he was surprisingly okay for someone completely oblivious to my secret. Even I had to admit his kindness was truly something to be grateful for, and I had just met him! Still, I was glad Hunter kept my secret from him else I'd be playing 20Q with this guy for the entire ride home - as if I wasn't already. Despite having to chase down a trio of crooks, walking home in the cold with a relatively minor bullet wound, and having to play Twenty Questions with a random savior, I considered myself lucky even after all the things that could've gone wrong this night. I could've lost Hunter's car. I could've been killed. I could've frozen on the side of a street.

Just thinking about all that stuff made my body shake a little. I pushed the thought aside once I heard Benson call us up front "Two minutes until Hunter's home, Thatch!"

The elder dragon nodded. "Very good. Thank you, Benson."

Sure enough, we arrived in two minutes. Benson pulled up to the driveway where two very expensive cars were parked. Great, Hunter's grandparents were home and it was a little past midnight. The way I saw it, we were faced with two options: either we could explain ourselves the best way possible and hope they were feeling lenient tonight or they would ground the both of us for being out an hour past our curfew. They made that perfectly clear while I stayed with them, and I had to abide by their rules so long as I lived under their roof, and I was sure Hunter knew the consequences of staying out late just as much as I did.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Max groggily woke up and rubbed his eyes to find us at home. "Finally, now we can get home so I can get some proper sleep." He sneered in an annoyed tone.

While his father shot daggers at him for a few moments, he stepped outside with Hunter and I and said his farewells. "A pleasure it was meeting you, Alexander." He shook my hand. "Hunter, you may go ahead inside. I just need to say a few things to your friend first."

FUCK!

Hunter looked from Thatch to me and sighed yet still managed a smile. "Alright, alright. I'll see if I can lessen our punishment while you talk."

The dragon smiled. "Tell your grandfather to call me afterwards and perhaps I can talk you two out of punishment. I mean, after all, you were helping a dear friend. I'd hardly call that a serious offense."

Hunter smiled and shrugged. "You're the best, Thatch! See you another time! See you again at school, Max!"

The younger drake turned to Hunter and gave a weak wave before dozing off again while my friend headed inside. I wanted to join him but there was nothing more insulting than just dismissing a man of his age who wanted to talk to me about something I could take three guesses at.

Once the door shut at the house, I turned to the dragon, who had shut the door of his car. "So, would you like to tell me the truth, Alex?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir," I nonchalantly replied. "I told you everything that happened."

The scaled male folded his arms across his chest and stared right at me. I knew that stare all too well. "Child, I am an old man, yes, but with age comes wisdom, and these old eyes and ears can see and hear a lie when there is one. I knew you were lying just to stall for time once I asked you the first question. Now, I would stand here and ask questions all night save for two problems."

"It's too cold and your son needs sleep," I finished for him, not so much as a question but more as a statement I could discern.

The dragon chuckled. "Astute, and yes. So don't play coy with me, Alex." His tone grew a little cold. "I don't like being lied to, and my son knows that very well, but if there's a good reason you had to lie, I'd like to know about it right now."

As much as I wanted to lie and get out of this situation right now, I could tell this man didn't take too kindly to my fibs but kept his attitude in check because Hunter and his son were around. Now that Hunter was inside the house and Max had been blocked from the conversation, he could keep me out here for a few minutes and wait for an answer. I gave the man credit enough: he did have good eyes and ears in order to pick up on my lies, but, then again, I probably didn't make it very difficult for him either. Considering how nervous I looked and acted while we spoke, I really didn't make it a challenge for him.

A small victory that yielded major chances for him.

Resting my hands in my coat pockets, I looked him in the eyes. "Mr. Thatch, I can't really explain it to you. It's...very serious and telling you would put me at risk."

The man raised a brow. His posture relaxed and he leaned closer. "Why can't you tell me? How serious is it?"

On the outside where he could see my face and body, I looked as normal as possible as a normal teenager should be. I shuddered, pulled my hands out to warm them with my breath, and shifted from foot to foot. That wasn't the same case on the inside. In my mind I was shaking sporadically, frantically gnawing my brain for possible methods to get out of this without telling him the whole truth. He was still a new, random person I've just barely gotten to know, and I had no intention of telling him my situation - not right now at least. As much as I wanted to trust him, and he really was a nice guy, I just couldn't force my feelings to trust him at the moment because I didn't feel like he had earned my trust.

Hunter was different; he hit me with his car but took me into his home and brought me back to health, and gave me a place to stay and hide from the Division for the time being. This guy...he may have gotten me off the streets while I had a broken wing and was exhausted from chasing down a few crooks, but that was only because Hunter just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

I sighed, shaking my head. "Please, I'm not asking for you to accept my lies, but I need you to trust me on this. I'd like to tell you, but, no offense, you're still a stranger to me. Telling you, while I'm still trying to register you as a friend, my secret is like giving a prisoner the keys to his handcuffs."

Surprisingly, I saw the dragon nod, albeit slowly. "I see your point, child. Though I honestly didn't want you to think you couldn't trust me, I cannot change your mind in only half an hour."

"So you won't squeeze me dry for answers?" I asked, actually shaking from the cold now.

"Well, not right now. Since you're still apprehensive around me, I see no point in trying to coax a more appropriate answer from you until you feel comfortable telling me the truth." The dragon sighed, checking the watch around his wrist. "And it seems I should be on my leave. I bid you a fond goodnight, Alex, and, if you come to trust me, please give me a call. I'd love to hear what you'd have to say. Does that sound fair enough?"

That actually sounded pretty fair. "Alright, and thanks for understanding." I actually felt pretty bad about keeping most of the truth from him because he was so nice and understanding to a random teenager.

He left with a warm smile. "Any time, child. You have a good night, and we shall speak again another time." With that, he opened the door, stepped in, and was down the street before I was halfway at the doorsteps.

Even as I saw the lights of the car vanish, I knew that I had to get my wing back in working order quickly because it wasn't healing properly, and the best person for the job was inside the house ready to ground me.