SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Twenty-Two.
James looked at the page highlighted and translated it. “These runes are Air Runes”, he said, “and need to be expressed with power and authority into the air…, and it will then protect the area it covers.”
So, we duplicated them throughout the station, and then Steve and Susan went into the car park and wrote the runes into the air.
The result was instant and for a space of over a mile the air cleared and became free from the brain numbing vibrations, so then, team members set out to cover all of Detroit, and it was easier than you would think other than clambering around or over obstacles, as the areas cleansed by the ruins held a distinctive change of colour to the light, and so seen the boundaries proved very easy.
We informed Chicago and eventually the news traversed the globe, it never prevented the upcoming invasion, but it temporary stopped all such attempts…, until the actual invasion started, and gave us almost another 4 weeks to prepare.
I then took the courage and took my responsibility into my own hands and requested if the Mayor would grant me funding under the budget to purchase a replacement car.
He enquired why, and I explained. “Mr Mayor as grateful as I am for the 4x4 BMW from the Chicago crime lord…, it concerns me in more than one way,” and he looked at me genuinely interested in my words as I continued talking.
“Well sir…, firstly he is a crime lord and although helping us for now…, if this is ever defeated and we are able to rebuild and return to normal…, then could these gifts not be turned against us. Secondly if that be the case …, and bare also in mind that all the vehicles are looking the same and can be seen identified and standout like a bleeding eye. We need different alternative vehicles which are not known to the crime lord or his minions.”
He looked me in the eyes, “I was beginning to think you were never going to make this request, as I also realised that such a gift from one as he, would come with unseen attached conditions, and if I am truthful I know you have been distracted…, but I was beginning to wonder if you were the right person for this job.” I breathed a sigh of relief that I had not put off talking to him any longer.
“I wanted to bring it to you when we were given the vehicles sir…, but you know for yourself the events which unfolded, and it took all of my time, and I never had enough staff to delegate, so I could free up some much needed time.”
Yes, that is why I held off like I did…, and for the record…, I think you are doing a wonderful job…, keep your faith child and look to him above”, he told me, and I felt a tear in my eye at his words, as strange as it sounded he was a God believing God fearing Holy warrior.
I know that sounds impossible…, yet that is what he was, as he had volunteered at a time the church needed and trusted people to become equipped to take on vampiric warriors.
And his gift for this sacrifice was almost eternal life…, speed and strength which could be used to defend others, and he was trusted by Father John…, which meant more to me than trusting the church. I did not know the church…, but I had known Father John and he saved my life and that of my girls so many times.
I was granted the budget and told secretly to start changing the staff’s vehicles as well. But for now, to concentrate on replacing my vehicle…, which I did.
I had seen an old Ford extended Pickup truck, and now owned by a fully-fledged factory and highly qualified mechanical engineer, and whom had hand build many parts modifying the vehicle by himself.
It had an extended chassis and the cab area was made to seat two in the front and three in the back, and then the actual flatbed truck had folding sides and a folding tail gate and was 4x4 with a hand-built gearbox.
The engineer had created, eight forward gears and three reverse gears, and the vehicle held enough torc to pull a tank, and if it was not for gravity, it would have driven almost vertical up a mud slide upon the face edge of a mountain.
The glass was removed, and it had been stripped down to bare metal awaiting prima. I had known the mechanic who had just installed twin V8 engines…, and fitted a larger twin air- and water-cooled fans…, plus reinforced brakes etc.
I had enquired for a buy it as it was price, and he picked some crazy figure out of the air, and I had been prepared to drain my bank account or even mortgage my home to buy it, yet secretly praying I could talk the Mayor into financing it.
Whatever, I agreed on the price on condition he would help if needed and give guidance when requested.
As great as it was…, he would have been a blind fool to turn it down and agreed there and then…, and I wrote a cheque and received a receipt, fortunately it was stored in an area as of yet unaffected by the weird atmospheric conditions or demonic attacks.
I took delivery upon an army heavy duty truck and the mechanic’s eyes widened in shock to see me driving the huge vehicle and five burly soldiers exit to help load it…, but I think what freaked him even more was the six soldiers positioned around us in full tactical battle gear and wearing the very latest in armoured and runes upon their gear and weapons.
“Dear Lord missy what…, or more to the point who are you”? he said, and I laughed “Just a humble meek and grateful customer,” I replied, that was ok…, until a fricken attack helicopter hovered overhead, and I think he almost soiled himself.
It turned out to be the boy’s way of playing a little joke and been just a tiny bit over protective.
I had a feeling however…, that if the mechanic ever thought of reneging on his promise, he rather quickly changed his mind…, not that I thought he would, have but it comforted me the ways the men with their toys protected me.
With the help of the boys or the team as I should call them, we off loaded the truck and set about preparing for a few extra military upgrade, and then had the entire chassis tyres body work engine etc. engraved in miniature runes, glass included, and then the surface was prepared and given a primer.
When that was dried a soldier threw a spanner at the vehicle and it rebounded over five metres away before it got even close to the vehicle, the air wards and the modified new wards from the book highlighted by God or an angel, certainly worked.
I did not want a fancy paint job, as I wanted it to blend into the streets and ignored by others. So, it was sprayed in such a way as to look like a dull old vehicle.
When it was finished the final testing came, and I truly prayed my investment would work, as so much depended upon this experiment, I drove it myself to an old muddy field and positioned it so there could be no collateral damage.
From there and in my mind, I was on my knees pleading to God to protect it, but outwardly I held a look of complete confidence, possibly just a bit too much confidence, as the boys became very creative in trying to destroy their new creation.
It started from firing 9 mill hand gun munitions into it and increased in stages, when it came to throwing grenades…, I was beginning to wonder what else they planned to do. I loved this vehicle…, it was a dream of mine to own such, and I had been prepared to mortgage my fricken home to acquire it.
So, when I saw what they drove onto the field next; well …, well let’s just say it scared me…, so much so..., that I almost had to change me nickers.
They brought in a fricken Abrams tank and fired a round directly at the truck. I’m not kidding you; they fired a fully-fledged and loaded shell directly at my baby, and my heart jumped almost out of my chest and waved a white flag of surrender. However, the fricken shell bounced off the defence’s barrier and totally destroyed two of the boy’s cars parked in an adjoining field.
I grinned quietly…, “Oh dear look the nasty naughty shell has not played fairly…,” I said looking to them grinning. We were fortunate that was all it destroyed, the problem was the driver of the tank…, owned one of the cars and he kind of lost it.
He revved the beast of a tank and drove it directly at my truck, I guess intending to turn it into one rather large expensive paper weight.
The tank drove towards the truck and suddenly rebounded flipping over in a somersault action landing on its barrel and eventually upside down. My truck however was undamaged, and I walked over and patted it upon the roof…, “That’s my baby…, you showed those nasty boys you were not to be mistreated,” I told it…, and the soldiers laughed as I drove away, and left then to kind of explain to Steve why an Abrams tank had a wrecked barrel and one partly destroyed tank.
Fortunately, the entire episode was filmed so Steve could understand the events that explained the damage, none the less I would not have wanted to explain to my superiors how an old fifty-year-old scrap looking pickup truck wrecked an almost new multi-million-pound tank.
I also now understood as I heard the angel talk to me in my head, and I knew now why the Air Runes were so important, as they even prevented microbe attacks from unseen viruses.