The Dragon Wars (Book 1)

Chapter 22: Good luck (Joseph POV)

I was back at the bank, Chris had walked up to me and he looked a bit confused and scared for me at the same time. A few others were in the bank and I could see that they were all looking at me as well. He put his hand on my shoulder, I was angry, not at him but whatever had just happened to me, I knew it was real now.
"Are you okay Joseph? You were saying things about dragons and your eyes were in space..." Chris said to me. I looked at him for a few seconds completely forgetting what was going on right now, all I remember was dragons... They were real, and my father was not lying.
"Yes... Sorry, I had one of those random dreams, you remember I used to have them when I was younger." I said to him, he looked at me for a few seconds before he finally nodded to me. He then looked at everyone in the bank and shouted for them all to get back to business.
"Yes... I do... And they usually ended up being real. You're telling me you had a dream about dragons?" He said to me. I looked at him and then nodded to him, I had forgetten that I had told him about them a long time ago, my group of friends laughed it off as a joke, but Chris always listened to every word I had to say.
"Yeah... I will tell you about it later, just go to Redwood Acres later tonight, I will tell you about it, if you need somewhere to sleep I have a chair right beside a sofa in my living room." I told him. He nodded to me and then I could see in his eyes that he was a bit scared.
"Alright Joseph, I trust you... Stay safe out there man. I'm worried about you, it has been a long time since we have talked." He said to me. I nodded to him, and he smiled and then walked back up to the front counter and worked on the next costumer that was there.
I shivered, to be truthfully honest I was not okay. I would have to tell myself that it was not real and I was imagining all of it. But would it really be true? Was my father not lying, he never was one to lie. I had heard so many things from those dragons, this couldn't be something that happened randomly in my mind.
I shook it off and then opened the door to the bank for the next person who was coming in, he nodded to me, I looked at him, I felt like I had seen him before, but I shook it off as if it was normal, there had been a lot more crazy things than just that today.
I walked through the door, then I thought to myself as I sat by the bench where I had seen that scary looking lady sitting earlier. I had to remember what I was doing, my mind was going crazy, maybe I was just going crazy, I did not want to end up like my dad.
I sat there for a few moments trying to remember what I was doing. I tried my best to shake of the thoughts of what had been going on all day. Once I felt like it was safe for me to continue where I had left off on the day I got up and began walking over the clothing store.
I walked down the street and then I turned around, it seemed like someone was watching me, but I did not see anyone just staring at me, I just saw a few people here and there walking down the street like it was a normal day, and they were just trying to go to work or wherever they felt like going that day.
I shivered, it seemed like someone was truly watching me, and I looked in the sky and on the roofs to see if it might be a dragon. I did not see anything, and I shook it off, I knew dragons were not real and I was just going crazy.
Could you really blame me for it, so much had happened over the last couple of days, it seemed like I was just stuck in a never ending dream, and who knows... Maybe I actually was, it would not be the first time that it had happened to me.
I looked around one last time and then continued walking, I remembered what I was doing in the first place. First I would go get some stuff for Julia, and maybe a few things for Mariah, then I would go take it back home, then go to my old house and get some stuff that Mariah still had in her dresser there.
I shook my head, still thinking about my father when I thought of my old house. My mother as well, making food for all of us and giving us her best smile, pretending like everything was okay, even though we all knew that it really was not.
I kept walking the the store, the place was a block away, I kept going. But once again after just a couple of meters it seemed like someone was watching me once again. I turned around and looked around the area trying to see if anyone was looking at me.
I suddenly saw someone about 30 meters behind me just staring at the ground standing completely still. It was the same guy that I had seen at the bank, I could tell from the clothing that he had on, I remembered the way he had looked at me while I was in the bank.
I was tempted to do something, maybe run at him, or even yell to a police for help, but maybe he was not even really there in the first place, and maybe I was just going crazy. I shook it off and then I continued walking to the store. I shivered thinking that someone might be watching me.
Maybe it was a normal person and they were just walking down the street and they had dropped something. Why would they only be in the bank for just a few seconds then? It took a lot longer than just that to get funds or put in money.
I looked behind me once again, this time I went a bit faster, the guy I could see looking at me, it seemed like I had seen him before but I did not recognize him on the half second he looked straight to the ground. This time I knew that the guy was watching me.
I was tempted to go after him and maybe tackle him to the ground, but if he was going to try to kill me in a store, there would be a lot of people and there would be security there that would notice it.
I shook my head, but what if it was a person that was working for those dragons! I shook my head once again, the dragons were not real, and even if they were, they had told me how much they had hated humans and how they were going to wipe the whole species from off of the map.
I walked to the store and then opened the door, I looked around but this time I did not see the guy walking down the streets nor anywhere near me. I shook it off, maybe it was just a normal guy just walking down the street.
Maybe it was a different guy that just had the same clothes as the guy in the bank. I wanted to say to myself that the guy was not watching me or following me but I could not put the words into my thoughts. They guy was obviously following me, maybe I had just gone a bit too quick for him to see me through all of the mess that was going on in the street.
I shook it off, the guy was obviously the same guy that I had seen looking at me when I opened the door to the bank. I had seen his face for maybe a second when I looked down the street, but I could tell it was the same guy. I swear I had seen him before I just did not know from where.
I just continued with what I was doing... What was I doing again? Thats right... I was getting some clothes, mainly for Julie, probably about 7 or 8 packs, I remembered the types of clothes she liked to where and made a mental note for that in my mind.
I would get some to hold her off for a week at a time periods, then I would just get her to wash it off at Pop and Susans place that they had to clean up all of your clothes. I would have to go and get her some more clothes within the next month though. I knew how she was with clothes, it seemed like I had never seen her wear the same outfit in the same year twice before.
I laughed at it, not loud enough for anyone in the store to hear but it was still a bit funny to me. I would get about 3 packs of clothes for Mariah as well. I knew she was not as picky as Julia was with her clothes. I was not worried about money now, nor ever again, Im sure that the 30 million was a mistake and he would get the money back, or at least most of it... But the 2 million would be enough for the rest of my life.
I knew that I could tell Julia and Mariah about it and they would not have to worry about work the rest of their lives. But I did enjoy working at Jim's bar, I might tell him about it. But I also knew that Jim was giving the bar over to me once he died or retired.
I also did not want to be like my father and spend most of my life drinking and sitting at my house, I had to go work, it was so boring if I did not. I shook it off, I could buy the nicest fashion clothes for sure next time I went in here, I just did not think about having so much money from my father.
I made a mental note to myself next time I went to the bank, which would be in the next few days because I did not have much money on me at the house. I shook it off and then began getting clothes for Julia and Mariah, I realized that I had a bit too much money and I did want to buy a cab ride back to the house, but I also did have enough to get me a decent pair of shoes.
I shook my head trying to to think about my fathers house, he said it was for me, but if my father had killed my mother I did not want to live in a place that my dead mother had lived and my father that was in prison lived as well. That place would surely be haunted.
I shook it off and then I walked up to the front desk to buy the stuff up there. But then I noticed that the guy that was watching me in the street was in the store as well. As soon as he noticed I saw him he looked straight to the ground. But this time I had gotten a good look at him, and I walked over to him realizing who it was.
"Padre... How the hell did you get out of prison, and I'm guessing you are here to kill me or teach me a lesson?" I said to him. He looked up and shook his head to himself cursing himself for not being that careful. I laughed at him, if he had a knife I could easily dodge it, it would not be a smart decision on his part.
"No... I got out because... As you know I am a part of the gangs, and the police let me out, told me that I had done nothing wrong..." He said to me. I shook my head, it would make since that the police in this city would pull some sort of bullshit like that out of their ass.
"You're not going to be able to kill me if that is the reason you are here." I said to him. He looked at me, but it looked as if it was a bit of a saddened expression. He shook his head and then moved back a little putting his hands up showing that he had no weapon on him, which I still did not believe.
"I was a friend of your uncles son when he was really little... He went into the army and died, that is why your uncle went into the army." He said to me. I remembered him when I was really little, he was about 12 years older than me, I knew that Padrea was not that up there in age.
I shook my head at him though, what was he even trying to tell me, I did not want to talk to him, I should be yelling to the secruity gaurd that he was stalking me and he had attacked me the other day.
"Okay? What does that have to do with anything? Can you just leave me alone? You tried to kill me." I said to him. He looked at me and then shook his head at me. I didn't know if that was to tell me that he was not going to leave me alone or if he was saying that he was not trying to kill me.
"I was just trying to get you off of me, I don't kill, I only steal... I wont be stealing again, I am going to change." He said to me. I looked at him and then began laughing then he looked at me and he looked a bit frustrated becuase he knew that I did not believe him.
"Bullshit..." I said to him. He looked at the ground sadly, he knew that I did not trust a single word that he said. Why should I? Why would I trust a mobster in the first place? That would be the dumbest decision for anyone that was living... Probably not for long.
"I was a friend of your uncles son... I knew your mother... I just wanted to tell you, I'm sorry."