Chapter 29: Back to Reality

As he stepped into the light, I got a better look at him. Slender, of about average height, he had dark skin, curly black hair, and was wearing a long, black leather coat. His hand was extended.
"Skyler Woods Brimmer the sixth," I answered, shaking his hand.
"Bad move," answered the vampire hunter. "You had no way of knowing I was telling the truth. I could have been another dragon hunter, and you would have just held up a 'please kill me' sign. We gotta work out some kinda code or something, cause that ain't gonna work,"
"Umm..." I started, "You saw me turn into a dragon. Shouldn't that have tipped you off?"
He looked embarrassed. "Well, probably," He said, "But you never know. These dragon hunters aren't always so smart,"
"So, uh, reverend, you work for the MLA?" I asked him.
"Please, call me Bobby," he answered, "Cause I think we're gonna be pretty tight. Technically, I only worked for H.O.U.N.D. and the First Baptist Church of Minneapolis. But right now I'm apprenticed to Quentin, who works very closely with the Northern Alliance, and he assigned me to keep an eye on you,"
"Nice job," I said sarcastically.
"Hey, don't blame me," he answered, "I saw you head off into the words with a lady friend and figured I could give you two a little privacy. Speaking of which, I think she's coming to,"
I turned around. Zhong had opened her eyes and was slowly trying to sit up. She looked very confused.
"And I suppose I have you to thank for taking out those two vamps?" Bobby asked her as he helped her up.
"What?" she said, looking around, "No. Who are you?"
"He's a friend," I said before he could answer, "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I think so," She said, "But I was supposed to be home hours ago. My parents are gonna kill me,"
"Wait a minute," said Bobby, "So if you didn't take out those vamps, who did?"
"I told you," I said, "A bright flash of light turned them to dust,"
"Yeah," he answered, "But somethin' had to have caused it. Never mind. Lets get back to the parking lot,"
We followed Bobby back to the parking lot. When we got there, we saw a police car parked outside, along with my mothers car and Zhong's family van. Someone gave a yell as we approached, and both our parents' ran out to greet us.
"Where were you?" asked my mother, smothering me with a hug. "We were so worried! It's not like you to be an hour late when you say to pick you up at a certain time! We were about to send out a search party and everything!"
Next to us Zhong's mother was telling her what I can only assume was something similar in Chinese.
"We got lost," I said. "Then it was really dark and Zhong fell and got knocked out. Luckily, Bobby found us, and - "
I looked around for the Vampire hunter, but he was gone.
"Yes?" asked my mother.
"Where'd he go?" I asked.
"I don't know, Skyler," she answered,"I'm just glad your safe," As she turned around to hug me, she noticed the damage to my clothes. Then looking at me more closely, she noticed the lack of rollerblades and the helmet with the broken strap.
"What happened to your clothes?" she asked.
I didn't have a lie thought up. I tried to buy myself some time.
"It's a long story," I said. "Can we please get on home? I'm really hungry,"
That was true. Since I'd changed back to a human, I'd been starving.
"What happened to your rollerblades?" my mother asked.
"Wheels broke off them," I lied.
"All of them?" she asked.
"One from each, I answered, "But I figured they were useless now anyway. I'll explain it all when I get home. Can we just go please?"
"Alright," she said, "You've had a long night, and I'm sure you'll tell me all about it tomorrow. It's just you'd only had those things, what, a month? You have to be more careful with your stuff,"
We bickered and argued all the way home, but I think I got through it without giving anything away. When I got home, I ate a banana, climbed in my bed, and slept a solid ten hours.