"So, how was last night handled?" I asked, shifting the car into park.
"What do you mean?"
"Okay, so I was doing some shopping last night. I saw some weird thing, ran through it, and then used my telekinesis to throw it across the store. I might have pushed a few shelves over too. How would that be explained without letting everyone know that the supernatural exists?"
"There are a team of people in the Overwatch Division that are dispatched to erase the memory of the event in witnesses and fix anything that might have been destroyed. If the things can't be fixed, they'll orchestrate cover stories, rewrite witnesses' memories, and leak the new story to the press. It's a whole process."
"So I won't go in here and get arrested for trashing the store?"
Dallas snorted and patted my shoulder. "If someone tries to whisk you away, I'll back you up."
"I'm holding you to that." I slid the keys from the ignition and got out of the car. Dallas and I walked into the supermarket and walked straight back to the last few food aisles I'd been in when the attack happened.
"What'd you come across last night? A ghost?"
I shrugged. "Channing said it was a poltergeist. It was just a big, black, shadowy figure."
"Well, I'm picking up some sort of ghost vibe right now."
I cocked a brow. "How can you tell?"
Dallas rolled up his right sleeve. "The hairs on my arms stand up. It feels colder over here than some of the other spots—and it's not from the freezers," she added, cutting me off as I opened my mouth to remind him of that. "My chest feels heavy, and I feel like someone is watching me, even though I know you're the only person on this aisle that would be paying attention to me."
Sucking in a deep breath, I tried to feel more aware of the things around me. Did I feel nervous? Was someone watching me? They were odd little sensations that could be explained away, but in a new world with all new things, maybe sensations like those weren't things that could be dismissed so thoughtlessly. As I stood there, trying to pick up on little things like Dallas mentioned, I shivered, my stomach dropping as I felt a presence right behind me.
I whipped around, forcing myself to pull my hands back to my sides when I saw the figure in front of me. The shadow figure from the night before was not what I found. No, instead, I ended up with so much more than what I bargained for.
A translucent, scaly beast hovered over us. It was as wide as the aisle and even taller than the ceiling, which caused it to curl its neck and forced us into its line of sight. I reached back and grabbed Dallas' arm, reassuring myself he was still there.
"Is that—?"
"It seems that way," Dallas said breathlessly.
"A ghost dragon?"
"Yep."
When I tried to swallow, I ended up desperately attempting to stifle a cough from the dryness in my mouth. "You still backing me up?" I croaked.
"Fuck yes."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
The little voice of doubt was still there as I stared up at the snarling beast that looked only seconds away from singing us with some sort of ghostly fire breath—or whatever it was that ghost dragons would do to things they wanted to devour. "Cross your heart?"
"And hope to die."
I glanced back at him, finding him grinning at me. He slowly brought up his hand in a fist. Snorting at the absolute absurdity, I bumped my fist against his and turned back to focus on the dragon. "Okay, well, we picked a fight with the ghost dragon. What now?"
"Common sense says to back away and call Channing."
"So you want to fight the dragon too?"
"God yes."
I flung out my hands and watched as the beast slid a mere inch backward. Snarling, it reared back. A swath of flames billowed from it's mouth as it roared loud enough to shake the ground beneath my feet. I stumbled back, catching myself on a shelf. Dallas darted past me. He placed his hands on the dragon's leg and his skin lit up an ethereal shade of silver.
The dragon screeched and stepped back, aiming another stream of fire toward him. Stepping up, I waved a hand, redirecting the fire away from Dallas. Fortunately, Dallas went unharmed. Unfortunately, the supermarket's ceiling didn't.
Dallas sent another burst of magic up through the dragon. "Daisy! Assist!"
"What do I do?"
"Just push him back. I started a portal inside of him to send him back through to his own realm. Push and he'll go back!"
I flung my hands out, shooting him straight back. Like Dallas said, he vanished the second I did it. Wide eyed, I looked over at Dallas, finding him a little sweaty. Noticing my gaze, he glanced back at me and grinned.
I laughed. "I'm really shit at errands."
"No kidding." Dallas chuckled, leaning back against the shelf as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "Oh my god, remind me that I like doing errands with you."
"Don't say that yet." I glanced up at the burning spot in the ceiling and the cracks and scorch marks on the floor. "We might still get arrested."
"Oh, arrested isn't even on the list of things you need to be worried about, Daisy Madison."
"Fuck," I mouthed at Dallas as I turned back to see Channing standing at the end of the aisle.
Arms folded over her chest and mouth set in a tight line, Channing stalked over to me. The heels of her boots clacked menacingly against the floor. "I explicitly asked you to stay out of trouble."
"No, you told me to not tell humans anything and not to disrupt the universe. I have done neither."
"You provoked a ghost dragon in the middle of a crowded supermarket. Do you have any idea what would have happened if there had been people on this aisle when you provoked it?"
"I—"
"Actually, Channing," Dallas said, coming over to us, "if Daisy and I hadn't found the dragon and stopped it, the store probably would've ended up burning down—maybe with several humans inside."
Channing eyes looked like they would pop out of her head at any second as she looked between the two of us. It was as though she wasn't quite sure what to say, think, or do with us.
"Just realizing you fucked up, huh?"
Her eyes locked on me—and fucking hell, they really could get bigger. That wasn't healthy. "I swear to the gods," she spat, shaking her head as she stepped back, turning away from me. "Oh my—I could just—" A sharp hiss of frustration tore out of her as she whipped back around to look at us. "Fine, you did a good thing, you probably saved a lot of damage and a few human lives. But the next time you find a fucking dragon in a supermarket, call me. Don't stop it, don't use your magic, don't do anything. Walk away, pick up the phone, and call me. Understand that, Daisy?"
"I understand what you're saying." Didn't mean I'd do it. While nerve wracking, I'd gladly fight another ghost dragon. It was the most fun I'd had in years.
"Dallas?"
"Yes, ma'am. I understand."
She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I honestly expected better from you, Dallas. What got into you?"
He smiled a bit sadly and shrugged. "I guess you guys didn't observe me close enough before the accident." Glancing back at me, Dallas smirked. "Thanks for today, Daisy."
"Want to come back to the house for a celebratory nap?"
"Well." Dallas looked back at Channing. "We are supposed to use today to get to know one another, so yes. I wouldn't miss it."
"Looks like we're done here, then. See ya around, Channing!" I dropped her a coy wink and turned, heading out with Dallas on my heels.
"You two are on my list!" she called. "And your first training sessions start Sunday night at 22:30 sharp! I mean it, Daisy, do not be late!"
Dallas and I went back to my apartment. I headed into my bedroom to nap, while he took the spare room next to mine. We napped for a few hours, woke up around sunset and went out for dinner. He told me he would come by almost every day since we were supposed to be watching out for one another. After that he left.
And so, there I sat, alone and bored and working on a list of questions to ask my trainer about ghost dragons, where they live, and why one would end up in the human world in a supermarket of all places.
But Dallas… He was really interesting and even though he seemed kinda depressed, he was wild. And, even though we got into something completely insane, he covered me. I was definitely not an expert, but I thought I made a friend.
At the very least, there was someone else who liked adventure and chaos, which meant when I got in over my head, there would be someone around to back me up.