Scales

Chapter Thirty-three

​​After a good talk with Rusty Ratchet, I decided to check out the radio a bit more and fiddled around with the channels. On the top music channel a good pop song played. The lyrics were so catchy I started dancing along to it like a goofball in a prank video, before grabbing a hold of myself. Later in the evening, while roasting some flavored fish for dinner, I found the Sacramento primary news channel. And its topic caught my attention right away:

"And, now, one of the more bizarre events from Loon Lake. Two days ago, a family reported that their daughter had been lost during that violent Sierra Nevada storm, but was rescued and arrived the following day on the back of a dragon. Further reports say that the large flying creature spoke like a human, and behaved in a very friendly manner to the family, and spent a joyful day with other campers. The location of the friendly black dragon is still unknown, though..."

A smile spread across my face as I heaved a sigh of relief, listening to the rest of the talk right up to the next article of discussion. They didn't know exactly who I was or where I resided, but at least they knew I was a talking dragon who had saved a little girl's life and wasn't a direct threat.

I shut off the radio and relaxed for a while, contemplating on my life so far, given all my memory was restored. I lived like a normal teenager, became a dragon, went into hiding, and then my friends took me to the forest, where I now resided, alone, in the mountains. Leaving everyone I loved so dearly had been the hardest part of my new life, with it occurring so abruptly with little room for choices. Being a dragon who could fly, spin, and turn so gracefully, albeit quickly, seemed like the most amazing thing in the world - only as time went on, it became an everyday occurrence. Flying was still a great thrill and a way for me to chill out, like going for a quick casual drive or walk.

I ignited the fire pit and roasted some minnows for a late dinner. I folded up the solar panels and skimmed through the radio again, but all the music channels just played some crazy nightclub-style tunes, which I disliked so much.

"Why always provocative modern stuff?" I silently fumed, flipping all the switches and shutting off the radio. As I chowed down on the last of the fish flesh, the satellite phone started buzzing. I washed my hands, rinsed out my mouth, and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Oh my god, is that you? Is it..."

I gasped, recognizing the voice on the other end of the line myself. "M...M-Melanie?!"

"IT'S YOU! IT'S REALLY YOU!" she exclaimed so loudly the phone's speaker output dissolved into a choppy blur of painfully loud static.

"Ah-eh heh-heh, yes, it's me, Melanie!" I continued with a little chuckle. "How are you? How is your mother? Are Cody and Jack okay?"

Melanie was so overjoyed she could hardly breathe, though I could feel sad energy leaking out of her voice. "I'm good, still going strong in school. Doesn't feel the same without you. The search for the lost Maverick Johnson is still ongoing but the hype has died down. Jack has come out with the truth, but we could face several years in prison. Cody's doing well in school, even better than before. He still thinks of you often, though. The real reason I called is because our court trial is in a week's time."

"Even if dragon transformation is the stuff of myth, we should have revealed everything strategically instead of hiding it," I replied sadly.

"So how's your life?"

"Pretty hectic recently, but it's all smooth now. While being in the presence of nature is unbeatable in the sense of psychological therapy, I do feel lonely at times. I did make a new friend though. Have you read the hottest Northern California news article in the past few days?"