The Friends My Dad Had

[YFWE]

Story No. 2, yall! ;D

“The Friends My Dad Had”

Jake Long’s dad was always a little on the oblivious side. Kind of like Jake’s friend, Spud, only Jake’s dad was an adult, and usually, this type of thing goes away by the time you reach that age, right? Well, that wasn’t the case with Mr. Long.

I mean, if you had married into a family of dragons, wouldn’t you have figured it out by about the, say, 15th year of marriage? Not Mr. Long. 15 years the secret had been kept, and at this rate, he could be of an old age and STILL not know.

What I mean is that Mr. Long had married a woman who was a descendant of dragons. Jake’s mom’s father was a dragon, a Chinese one at that. He had the ability to transform into a dragon. These powers were partially passed down to his daughter, Kana. However, transforming powers skip a generation, so the next dragons would be Kana’s son and/or daughter. They came to New York City, where Mr. Long married Kana, and they had two children: Jake and Haley. These two received the transforming powers of the dragon, although they were also part-human, since that’s what their dad was. So, now Jake is 14, and has been entrusted by his Grandpa with the responsibility of becoming the American Dragon, and to defend all magical creatures living in New York City. Jake’s powers began appearing at about the age of 12, so Mr. Long has had “dragon business” going on behind his back for about two years.

Mr. Long had always been referred to as just a little “jumpy” by his colleagues, as well as his family. Still, he had some really good friends. Friends that would always go the extra mile for him. But that’s where the trouble started; it involved Mr. Long’s friends.

“Hey, dad!”, said Jake as his dad came home from work that night. Mr. Long sat down, looking a lot different than he usually does when he comes home. Usually, he’s singing. “Uh, dad? You okay?”, Jake asked.

“Hm? Oh yeah, bud. Don’t worry about it. Uh, honey?” He turned to Jake’s mom. “Could I talk to you for a minute?” The two disappeared into the adjoining room.

“Hm, this is kinda strange. This isn’t like Dad”, said Jake. “I know I shouldn’t do this but...” He averted his gaze away from the room where his parents were talking. “Ear of the dragon”, he said, and his ear morphed into that of a dragon’s.

“Jake, this isn’t any of your business”, said the ever-tattling Haley. “If you don’t stop, I’m going to tell Mo-om”

“Hey, didn’t you see Dad? He looked really upset”, argued Jake. “You want to know, right?”

“Well...”

“My thoughts exactly”, Jake concluded. And he turned his dragon ear towards the conversation.

“So, uh, what is it, dear?” asked Kana. She, just as her kids, knew that this wasn’t like Mr. Long, or Jeff- he never came home without coming in the door singing something.

“Kana... you know Bob Holden, my golf buddy from the Bagel Lovers downtown?” Said Jeff.

“Hmm.. Oh wait, isn’t he the one that gave the roman candles to Jake for his birthday?”

Jake smiled sheepishly. Good ol’ Uncle Bob. Bob wasn’t really their uncle, but everyone seemed to have a person named to be a family member, but wasn’t.

“Yeah, that’s him. Well, I got a call from his wife today. It seems that last night, he was... attacked. It would of been that he was mugged, except that no money or anything was taken. He just had scratches everywhere. The police said that they were like... claw marks.” He looked up at his wife. “This really scares me. He’s in the hospital right now, but the doctors said that he’ll be okay. Still... I’d like to go down there and visit him. If it’s all right with you.”

“Oh, sure. I’ll just take the kids to Grandpa’s. It’s going to be okay, Jeff”, she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Bob’s all right. You should be happy about that”.

“Haley, we’re goin’ to Grandpa’s house”, Jake said to his sister. “Finish up an’ let’s go.”

“Yay! Grandpa’s house! But, why, Jake? Is Daddy okay?” Replied Haley.

“Oh, yeah, Dad’s all right. It’s jus’ one of his friends, that’s all.”

“Ooh, is he the one who gave you the roman candles for your birthday? That guy’s funny”, giggled Haley.

“Yeah, it is. Now let’s go. We have t’ walk over.”

INTERMISSION

Just was thinking about this, and I thought I’d put in an intermission. This won’t be something I’ll do often. Just like to put it in for good measure. Get back to the story in a sec.

Hey! New cherry Pepto-Bismol! I like cherries. This is reason... to dance!

New Cherry Pepto!

And buy in the next 5 minutes, and you’ll get a free ringtone featuring Haylie and Hilary Duff’s “Our Lips Are Sealed”! We know we couldn’t actually sell these for money, so come in and get it!

NEW CHERRY PEPTO!

Ok, I’m done.

“Grandpa!”, exclaimed Haley, as she ran in to meet Grandpa.

“Why, hello, Haley, Jake. What is, how you say, up?”, said Grandpa.

“Uhhh... just great, Grandpa”, said Jake, trying not to laugh.

“Yes. Jake, could I speak to you for a moment?”, asked Grandpa. “Haley, stay with Fu Dog.”

“What up, Gramps?”, Jake asked the old yet wise dragon. But he could already tell. It was going to have something to do with Bob Holden.

“Jake, I was hoping that you and I could go out for a few minutes. I have heard whatever attacked Bob Holden could be out again tonight. There may be no problem; it just seems a little suspicious to me. What say you, young dragon?”

“Uh, no problem, G”, Jake said. “But, uh, how did you know that it may be back out tonight?”

Grandpa was staring out the window. “Because this Bob Holden is not the first to be attacked. There have been two other cases, each of which have the same injuries. Also”, said Grandpa, “I had nothing to do so I went to the scene of each attack.”

“Now, there are two things that shall come out of this”, Grandpa reasoned. “First, each victim had been spotted at the exact place they were attacked at many times before. The victims were there every day, so someone had been watching them; knowing where they were going to be. And second”, continued Grandpa, “I did a little research. I was able to use a spell to track the attacker, and every time, it’s goes back to...a house. A house where a normal human might live...but these marks, they’re like claw marks. No ordinary human could do that. That is all.”

“Hmm...well, so where are we going to go?”, asked Jake.

“I have reason to believe that the next victim could be victimized tonight, and it is at the convenience store across from Spirits, the place where Bob Holden was attacked. The attacker has been going in a pattern, so according to the pattern, this should be the next place.”

“A’ight, so let’s get a-movin”!”, exclaimed Jake. “I’d really like to meet whatever this thing, an’ when I do, KA-POW! That’ll let him know not t’ mess with the American Dragon! Hah!” And with that, Jake did a superman leap- right into Fu Dog, who just so happened to be walking in”

“Whoa, easy, killer!”, laughed Fu. “Save up your energy for the thing that’s out there!”

“Yes, Jake. We mustn’t underestimate whatever this creature is. We will need to stay sharp, and be ready for anything that shall come our way. Oh, and one more thing”, said Grandpa. “I shall inform you upon the person that we will be trying to protect. Or at least who I think is being targeted, since he comes there every day. His name is Gary Long.”

Jake gasped.

“I did not think it was true, but...is it someone you know?”, said the now wide-eyed Grandpa.

“Yeah. That’s my uncle.”

END

Later!

[dragon124]

not bad pls continue

[YFWE]

The Friends My Dad Had:Part Deux

“Your...uncle”, Grandpa frowned. “Well, that’s, er, nice to know.”

“Yeah, that kinda raises the stakes, doesn’t it?”, Jake laughed nervously. Gary Long was really his uncle. Uncle Gary was his dad’s brother, and was just like him- jumpy.

“Well, then this makes it more worth our while. Now come, let us be off”, said Grandpa.

UUUUUUUUUUUU

(I’m gonna try separating my paragraphs with these things, see if that works.)

The convenience store across from Spirits was probably the safest store in that part of NYC (and that’s a strong word, considering it was still broken into at least once a month). The store, called “The Store Across From Spirits” (I’m so creative with my names, aren’t I? Come on.), was owned by a guy named Tariq Abdullah, nicknamed “Papa John” (don’t ask why...really). Papa John, even though he was well-liked by a lot of area residents, just wasn’t able to stand up to some of the people who came in, and so he was robbed, mugged, etc. very often. Ok, once a month. He actually did pretty good, though, at least compared to Franklin Pierce V (who claimed he was distantly related to the president), as he could easily be confused and...well, you know the rest. Jake had actually stolen something once from his store- a dare, no less, and was never caught...until Haley found out, and Jake had to help out there for two weeks. (In the day, when nothing bad happened).

It was about 7:00 when Jake and Grandpa arrived at the Papa John’s store. They stood at the street corner, trying to remain oblivious until Gary arrived. Papa John was thumbing through the latest “Nuts about Newts” magazine, as no one was in the store at the time. It was about 7:20 when Gary Long finally entered the store.

“Hello, Tariq”, said Gary. “How are things?”

Papa John looked up from his magazine. “Oh, just fine, Gary. Thanks for asking. You know...”, he pointed to the calendar, “No break-ins this month. Maybe they are finally realizing to not mess with me.”

“Uh, huh, I sure hope so”, replied Gary. “Uh, what was it they stole last time?”

Papa John looked Gary right in the eye, as if he was about to admit a God-given secret only known to himself, “They..stole...my...Little Debbies!”

Gary strained himself not to laugh.

“I’m serious, man! Do you know how hard it is to get those things nowadays?”

Gary shook his head. Really, how would it be hard to get stocks of Little Debbies?

“Well, it is hard. Everyone wants them. I’m thinking about switching to Hostess or something. I think the Sunoco station’s the only one that has ‘em”

“Okay, Tariq, whatever you say”, said Gary, setting a case of SlimFast on the counter.”

Papa John looked at the case repulsively. “How can you drink this stuff, man?”

Gary grimaced. “Doc says I need to lose some weight. What do you think?”

Papa John laughed, “Hey, I’m no doctor. Still, you do look a little bigger than your brother...Jeff, is it?”

“Yeah, Jeff’s always been on the skinny side. Hey, seen his boy Jake lately? He’s been getting big; he was so small as a boy”.

Jake grimaced.

“Naw, maybe I’ll look for him later. Have a good evening”, Papa John replied as Gary walked out the door.

UUUUUUU

Gary walked outside, looked at his watch, and turned hurriedly away.

“Yo, Gramps, nothing seems t’ be goin’ down. Are you sure?”, Jake asked.

“I am not sure. It was a hunch. Maybe I was wrong. Still, the air doesn’t feel quite right...like we are being watch...Jake, look out!”, he yelled as he pushed Jake out of the way. Jake felt a huge gust of wind as something seemed to blow past him, and towards Gary Long.

“Uncle Gary!”, Jake yelled.

“Wha? Jake?”, Gary turned around, only to be hit full force by the “thing”.

“Oomph!”, his wind was knocked out of him as he fell backwards and landed on the hard sidewalk. The creature was on him in a flash. It was now that Grandpa and Jake were able to get a look at the thing.

The creature was covered in thick brown fur. Long claws were extended from its hands and feet. It had a long muzzle, with long dagger-like teeth that were dripping of saliva.

“Yo, look over here! Dragon Up!” yelled Jake as his body morphed into his dragon form. The thing looked back for a second, but turned back to Gary, who was screaming for help.

Papa John was still shaking his head over the whole Little Debbie ordeal, when he looked outside to see a wolf-like creature on top of Gary Long, threatening to rip him to shreds. “Holy nuts!”, his eyes widened as he ran for the phone. “9-1-1! Officer!”

On the other line, Larry McKinnis, four-year cop of that district, rolled his eyes. He, along with the rest of the department, knew Papa John all too well, what with him calling all too often, “Well, well, what is it this time, Tariq?”

“Oh, Larry! Good to hear you! Need help here!”, Papa John screamed in broken English as he stared out the window. “There’s some kinda big dog or something attacking a man outside my store, and...and there’s a dragon! Holy nuts! A dragon just flew in and picked up the dog! I dunno what’s going on, but...no!”, he stared in disbelief as the dragon (Jake) crashed through the window.

“Uh, huh. Well, Tariq, I thought that we told you to stay off the drugs. Well, since nothin’ else seems to be going on tonight, I’ll be down in a few.”

“Oh, thank you so much...bye!”, said Papa John as he hung up the phone from behind the counter. Grandpa had joined Jake, and they had cornered the wolf-thing by the Emerald Nuts. The wolf, or not necessarily a wolf as it stood on two legs, spotted Gary getting away, and with blinding speed sped past the two dragons and toward the running Gary.

He never had a chance to defend himself. The thing dug its claws into the back of his shirt, obviously into the skin, and turned to look at its prey.

Gary fell to the ground, bleeding from his back where three slash marks had torn the fabric of his coat. The creature, sensing victory, threw its head back and howled for the longest time. “No!”, yelled Grandpa as he ran toward it, changing to dragon in the process. It was ready, though, and it merely stuck out its claws, and the dragon never saw it coming; he ran right onto its claw. “Oh!”, screamed Grandpa, falling backward and revealing a huge bloody gash on his stomach. He reverted back to human form, but the gash was still there.

“Grandpa! No!”, Jake yelled, hurrying toward the spot where Grandpa had fallen. His breathing was scarce and heavy...but he was still alive. Nearby was Gary Long, who also seemed to still be alive. The creature had left its mark...again.

“Jake...”, struggled Grandpa. “You...must...follow..it.”

Jake, on the verge of crying, looked up at the spot where the wolf had been...but it was gone. “No..Grandpa...” But then he heard the faint sound of police sirens and leapt to a window ledge above where it all had taken place.

Larry McKinnis, not expecting anything, was driving up to the site when he saw the two bodies lying on the sidewalk. “Oh, my...HQ! There’s been an attack! Two down! Bring an ambulance! Immediately!” He jumped from his car, and ran toward the limp figures of Lao Shin and Gary Long.

After what seemed like an eternity, the ambulance arrived, and just as quickly attended to the two. Jake was still in disbelief. “Don’t worry, Grandpa”, he whispered as his grandfather and uncle’s bodies were carried into the ambulances. “I will find it. I will...I’ll find the...”

End of chapter

[dragon124]

not bad pls continue

[YFWE]

The Friends My Dad Had, Pt.3

It was a tough night for Jake. Try as he might, he couldn’t find the wolf-creature. He returned to Grandpa’s house, where his parents were just arriving from their hospital visit with Bob Holden. It was Jake that had to inform them that they had to go back. Now Uncle Gary and Grandpa were in there.

They were going to be okay, but they’d have to stay at the hospital, like Bob. These attacks couldn’t reveal them on the streets again. Plus, they weren’t in any condition to go anywhere. Grandpa was still unconscious when they left.

(Hell with it; I’m just gonna say that a part is ending by putting in parentheses (End) Ok? Ok. Remember, I still own you. So you shall continue reading.)

Jake was lucky that the next day was Saturday. For his own sake. He was afraid that he’d lose it in the middle of class, and that just might not sit well. So, this was a perfect opportunity for Jake to continue his search and maybe even visit Grandpa. In fact, that’s what he’d do first. Top priority. Maybe Grandpa could give him some advice...if he regained the ability to.

“Um, excuse me”, asked Jake to the receptionist at the hospital. “Mr. Lao Shin? Room number?”

The lady looked up from her computer wearily. She must’ve worked the late shift or something. “No problem, hon. 356. You’re not the first one this morning.”

“Not the first? Who could be wanting to see Grandpa?”, wondered Jake as he walked toward the room. He passed Bob Holden, who was sitting up in his bed watching Chris Rock on HBO. He also passed the more periled Gary Long, who was awake, but there was complete silence...especially beyond his room. Jake came to the next room...356. Grandpa’s. The door was shut.

Jake quietly opened the door. “Uh, Grandpa?”

‘Come in”, said a voice inside the room. It was not Grandpa’s.

“Who’s...” Jake stepped in to see a 40-something man with dark brown hair and a gray suit on. The man smiled warmly. “Who’re..”

“Hello, kid. My name’s Harry Jefferson. This your grandfather?”, he asked, pointing to the still-unconscious Lao Shin.

“Uh, yeah. That’s my Grandpa. Why’re you here?” Jake asked. The name Harry Jefferson sounded vaguely familiar.

“You see, I’m with the NYPD”, said Harry, taking out a badge of certification. “I’ve been hired to investigate the attacks that have been going on, with Mr. Holden, Mr. Long, and Mr. Shin. Do you know anything about it?” He eyed Jake curiously.

“Er..no, nothing at all”, Jake lied. “I just came to see if he was okay.”

Harry stood up. “He’s still unconscious, but at least he is okay. Well, I’d better be off. Have a good day.” And with that, he was gone.

After Jake watched him leave, he turned his attention back to Grandpa. “Uh, Grandpa? Grandpa, please wake up. I need you.”

But Grandpa didn’t stir. He wasn’t ever going to, it seemed like.

Jake sighed. “I’m so sorry, Grandpa. I feel like this is all my fault...even though it isn’t.. I just hope to God that you’ll wake up. Please.” Jake turned away. He didn’t want to cry, because he didn’t want anyone to see him. He opened the door, and looked behind him one last time.

“What, no goodbye? W-what have I taught you, young dr-ragon?”

Jake’s eyes widened. “Grandpa?” He turned around to see Grandpa’s eyes open. “Grandpa! Oh, man! Thank God!”

He ran over and hugged the finally-awake old man.

“Ah, that was a good rest. Now, what did I miss?”, asked Grandpa.

“Well, uh, I kinda...let the creature get away. Sorry.”

“It is not a problem. We, er, you shall find it tonight. It reminds me of some sort of werewolf, but I am unsure. Jake”, he rose eye to eye with Jake. “You must find it. I am afraid that...”

“That what? Grandpa, don’t go back to sleep! What?”

“Your dad...”, and then he fell back into unconsciousness.

“My dad? Grandpa! What about...oh, God.” Then Jake realized it. Bob Holden- his dad’s friend. Gary Long- Jeff Long’s brother. Lao Shin- his father-in-law. “Oh god, my dad’s next!”, exclaimed Jake.

(End)

Even with Grandpa’s hints as to coming events, Jake still had no luck in finding the location of the werewolf. Without Grandpa, he just couldn’t get anywhere. And there was another thing he thought about- if the thing was a werewolf, would that mean that they were dealing with a real person? All that Jake knew was if his dad was going to get attacked, then he’d better find out where he was going.

“Hm, I don’t get it”, Jake wondered, “According to Grandpa’s pattern, the next attack should be at the Harlie Night Club. My dad don’t go to any night club. Why would he go here?”

It was all too confusing. And without Grandpa, it wasn’t going to get much better. And even worse, the NYPD was in on it. They’d be looking, and they’d see him in dragon form, and they’d take him down. He couldn’t get discovered. He’d already come close enough with the incident with Natalie Portman (check out “You Raise Me Up” for that part). What to do? Well, there wasn’t really anything he could do. Until night. That’s when it would begin.

(End)

“Kids, we’re going out tonight. You be good”, Jeff Long announced. They were leaving. For where? Jake would soon find out.

“A’ight, see you later”, replied Jake.

“Have fun!”, smiled Haley.

And with that they were gone.

Jake turned to Haley. “Haley, I’m gonna be goin’ out tonight, too. You okay by yourself?”

“Jake...Mom and Dad said stay here. Why can’t you just listen for once?” questioned Haley.

“Okay, listen, Haley”, Jake bent down to her level, “I’m afraid that Dad might be in trouble. You know...like Grandpa or Uncle Gary.”

“Uncle Gary? What’s wrong with Uncle Gary!”

“Oh, nuts”, Jake said. “I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to know. It’s alright, though. They’re gonna be okay. I can’t say the same for Dad, though- I gotta go after him. Please, just this once, Haley”.

“Hmmmmm...”, Haley had to think about it. Apparently, she didn’t get the extent of the problem. “Okay, Jake, but you gotta do something for me when you get back.”

“Oh, uh, sure, whatever you say. Thanks a bunch!”

(End)

Jake, in dragon form, was following his parents’ car overhead of them, leaping across buildings so he wouldn’t be seen. “Please don’t turn left...d**nit.” They turned left. They were on the street of the attacks. Where the Harlie Night Club was.

Jake, now finally realizing where his parents went every Saturday night, jumped down past the security guards and into an alley. He tested the door to see if it’d open. And it did. Reverting back to human form, he walked inside, but in the darkened corner, where no one could see him but he could see them. “Ear of the dragon”, he said, morphing his ear into a dragon ear to hear better.

It was disco night. Which is why Jeff and Kana came. Jeff was his school’s dancing champion as a senior.

It took forever for anything to happen. Jake’s parents were merely sitting at a table. No more, no less. Jake himself found himself falling asleep. He thought nothing would ever happen, when..

“Harry? Harry Jefferson? Is that you?”

Jake gasped. It was his dad’s voice. He stared at the dark brown-haired man who had made his way over to their table. It was Harry Jefferson. The NYPD officer. Only not in uniform. In normal street clothes. Something was up.

“Hey, Jeff...Kana”, replied Harry, being polite as always. “It’s been awhile.”

“Oh, it sure has!”, Mr. Long replied, smiling. How did they know each other?

“Uh, could I talk to you for a moment, Jeff?”, Harry asked. “Outside?”

“Er, why certainly”, Jeff said. “Be back in a second, honey”

“Why do they need to talk? I’d better go investigate”, Jake whispered, and he slipped out the back door.

Jake watched as the two came outside, Harry behind Jeff.

“You know, Jeff”, Harry said. “You remember that day? The last time you saw me?” His voice grew cold. “That day you fired me?”

Jeff laughed. “Aww, Harry, don’t worry. It was nothing personal- you know that. You look like you’ve been doing fine.”

“Yes, now I am. But you see, when you fired me, I had nothing. I had to live off the streets”, his voice gained intensity with each sentence. “It was then that I realized that I must have my revenge on you. For all that you’d done to me. That’s when I met Mamas Lyoli. You know her? Didn’t think so. She taught me magic.”

“Hah, magic. Harry, I think you need to check in to the institute. You’re acting a little..”

“Shut up!”, screamed Harry. “Do you comprehend? All the attacks, those were me. Your friends. Your family. I thought I’d hit close to home, and then,” he narrowed his gaze, “I’d complete it all...by killing you!” Harry lunged toward Jeff. Only it wasn’t Harry. In midair, his shape changed into that of the werewolf creature. “Garrrrrrrr!”, the werewolf growled as he lunged.

“No, Dad!” Jake yelled. He dove...

END OF CHAPTER