Chapter 17

After returning from the Tibetan Nest, things were very quiet for the next ten days or so. We played with our children, who were awake a lot more now, and worked our normal shifts at Dragon Security.

Things had settled down again in D.C. when the Wards that we had cast vanished after five days. There were pictures on the television news of shocked people as they emerged from the warded buildings. Many looked a bit thin and haggard plus being in need of a shave and a shower. Congress was demanding answers and was preparing to hold hearings as soon as the bureaucrats in question had recovered sufficiently. The President held another news conference after the wards vanished to assure the nation that those responsible for creating the trouble had been paid to do so by two foreign nations, and that they would all be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. He never named any of those involved, but it wasn’t difficult for people to determine who some of them were, as they resigned from their positions after being released.

Five days or so later, there was news out of China. We saw it on the evening news.

“We now take you to an interview with our correspondent in China. This video was received earlier today,” the local news anchor told his audience. The picture of a man in his mid-thirties appeared on the screen.

“There has been great excitement in the area around Shanghai today caused by apparent fires at two of China’s Navy bases some sixty miles (100 km) south of the city.

“The bases are the Zhoushai Naval Base at Hangzhou Bay and the Xizhou Naval Base at Xianghan Harbor. Both of these bases are located in Ningbo Prefecture and are part of the East Sea Fleet Headquarters. Both bases have always been off limits to civilians.

“Today, it wasn’t hard for those living in the area around the bases to spot the huge columns of black smoke rising from multiple fires at both bases. Those from as far away as ten miles (16 km) claimed to be able to see the heavy smoke rising high above the bases. The fires appear to have been burning for most of the day according to those in the area and were still burning as night fell. Neither the Chinese government nor the Navy have released statements on what has occurred. We will update this story as more information becomes available,” the correspondent promised as the video ended.

The local news anchor reappeared with another news story.

“In an unrelated story, there are also reports of fires, large fires, in or around the Iranian port of Bandar-e’ Abbas. Oil tankers leaving the Persian Gulf and traveling through the Straits of Hormuz report seeing the thick columns of black smoke rising high above the port city. There are videos from two different tankers taken more than six hours apart that show the smoke from the fires. The Iranian government hasn’t released any statements concerning the fires at this time,” the news anchor finished as the two videos made by handheld cell phones ended. The phones had been less than stable, but the huge clouds of black smoke in the distance were very visible. We all looked at one another as the news program went to a commercial.

“It would appear that the Dragons and the Major Demons have been very busy over the last couple of days,” Mom said as she fed Deirdre.

Over the next few days following that, there were reports on the news from both the Chinese and the Iranians about the devastating fires in their countries. The Iranians blamed the problem on saboteurs hired by the government of Israel to cripple their export of oil. They again made threats to wipe Israel off the face of the planet. The Chinese were much more devious in their accusations. They blamed the fires on dissident Navy personnel who accidentally blew themselves up while constructing incendiary devices with which to attack their own ships. The fires had quickly got out of control and burned down the extensive warehouse areas of both bases. The fact that a number of senior Navy Officers suddenly disappeared wasn’t mentioned in the official Chinese report, although the reporter had mentioned hearing rumors to that effect.

The next several weeks flew by until it was time for our next visit to Tibet again to check on things there. Our Daughters were now four months old. Mom and Jorani had stopped breast feeding them and now fed them with formula in bottles. They could heat the bottle and its contents with Magic. Of course, this involved sterilizing the bottles and mixing the formula, but they could keep it in the refrigerator until needed.

They had also just started them on baby cereal. Jorani being Asian had chosen rice, and Mom had agreed to use that to start with and see how Deirdre liked it. She was considering trying other types later. These choices had caused some problems. How can such cute little girls smell so bad, and they hadn’t even started on other types of baby food yet.

Following our trip to Tibet and the revelation of the demise of the Guoanbu because of their plot to detonate an atomic device near our houses outside of Atlanta, Mom and Jorani plus the Queens of Old from Tibet and the Queens in the Jewel from here were all upset about others trying to do the same thing.

“We definitely need a backup location in case things go to hell for us in this Reality,” Mom told us in an upset voice a few days after the revelation. Looking at her, I wondered if she had seen something again.

“Where?” Dad asked.

“In the Dragon Reality would be best. The Demon-lands are not worth considering. It’s too dry and dusty there plus it’s too old. The Dragon Reality is the only one to consider,” she insisted, and I was fairly sure that she’d had a premonition.

“Where would you establish this backup location there?” Dad asked, but Jorani had a question also.

“Will we need one in Tibet also?” she asked.

“Yes, I believe so, but not necessarily in Tibet. It could be in Nepal or even in Thailand, but that’s a bit far from where the Dragons of the East appear to stay,” Mom told her before turning back to Dad.

“It should definitely be in the Atlanta area, as the Dragons here are all familiar with it,” Mom told him.

“Would you put it in Stone Mountain again in the Dragon Reality?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. What affect would a nuclear explosion on Stone Mountain in this Reality have on the Stone Mountain in the Dragon Reality?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t think it would have any effect,” Dad told her, but he could see that she was worried.

“There are several other mountains in the vicinity of Atlanta,” he told us. “Perhaps we should consider one of them,” he finished.

“Yes, there is Kennesaw Mountain. It was mentioned when I did my research on Stone Mountain before we found the Nest. Are there others?” she asked.

“There is at least one more close to the Atlanta area. That is Sawnee Mountain, north of Atlanta. After that, there are the mountains in North Georgia. They are rather a long way from Atlanta though,” Dad told us.

“I’ll look them up on the internet and see what they look like. We can take a trip to look at them in person in a few days,” Mom told us.

Mom spent considerable time on the computer the next day looking up both sites. She had a hand full of printouts when she called us together that night.

“I would like to go to look at Kennesaw Mountain tomorrow, and Sawnee Mountain the following day,” she told us.

“Who all should go with us?” Dad asked presuming that he would be going with her.

“In addition to the two of us, Craig and possibly Dallas if she is interested. Jorani can go also if she wishes. We will be walking the mountain while we are there, so the babies will need to remain at home,” Mom told us.

“I will stay here and watch our Daughters. Later, Craig and I will go to Tibet to find an appropriate place for a new Nest in the Dragon Reality,” Jorani told us, solving the babysitting problem.

“What about you Dallas?” Mom asked.

“Henry has been rather cranky the past couple of days. He may be teething. I’ll pass,” Dallas told us holding up her Son who was sleeping fitfully. Doreen shook her head to indicate no.

The next morning, it was just the three of us who were preparing to leave for Kennesaw Mountain when we were joined by Doreen, who had decided to accompany us after all. We went in Dad’s personal vehicle, a medium size SUV. I was driving. It is a good ways, about fifty-four miles, from where we live east of Atlanta to the Marietta area in the northwest part of Atlanta. Traffic around Atlanta is terrible no matter what time of day you travel. The present time wasn’t an exception.

We finally got to Marietta and took the GA Hwy 120 Loop around it to Kennesaw Avenue, and then traveled a short distance on Old U.S. 41 to the North Entrance of the Park close to the Mountain. Once in the Park, we took Kennesaw Mountain Drive to the top of the mountain where there is a parking lot. The summit of Kennesaw Mountain is at an altitude of 1808 feet above sea level, and it is about 800 feet above the surrounding terrain.

Following parking, we spent some time observing the mountain and its surroundings before walking around the summit. In all directions you could see the progress of civilization, as it encroached closer and closer to the Park. Mom didn’t appear to be happy with what she was seeing of the mountain itself.

“Let’s take the trail to the top of Little Kennesaw Mountain. Maybe it will be better,” she told us after a time. The trail was marked, and it was a walk of about one mile. The summit of Little Kennesaw Mountain is about 200 feet below that of the main mountain. Mom spent considerable time looking around there but still wasn’t happy.

“No, this just isn’t right,” she kept muttering before we returned to the parking lot at the summit of the main mountain. Back at the car, Mom apologized.

“I’m sorry, but this just isn’t the right place. It would never do for a backup position even in the Dragon Reality,” she told us before we drove back home. Dad drove on the way back.

“We’ll try Sawnee Mountain tomorrow and see if it is any better,” she told us on the way back. I was wondering what she was looking for until it occurred to me that she had seen something but wasn’t sure where it was.

The following day, we were up reasonably early and prepared to leave for Sawnee Mountain. Jorani again declined to go with us and remained at home to feed our Daughters and Mom’s. She could now give two of them a bottle of formula to drink while she fed the other two cereal. They could eat in their infant carriers as they weren’t old enough to use a high chair yet. Once the first two had enough cereal, she would give them bottles of formula while feeding the other two their cereal. They all liked the cereal, and you could see their little mouths and lips work as they ate it.

Doreen again decided to go with us. It was a nice sunny day and not too hot. We again took Dad’s SUV. He was driving. It wasn’t far from our houses to GA Hwy 20, which we took to the City of Cumming. It was an enjoyable ride on a secondary road with a lot of scenery along the way between some minor built-up areas. Sawnee Mountain is just a few miles northeast of Cumming, the county seat of Forsyth County.

Sawnee Mountain is actually a mountain range of about five miles (8 km) in length which consists of five knolls and three gaps. It’s highest summit is 1967 feet (599 m) above sea level and about 750 feet (230 m) above the surrounding terrain. Mom was interested in visiting the area of the Mountain known as the Indian Seats. This is an area of a collection of rocks surrounding an open area where the native Americans were reported to have gathered for conferences. It is located at the top of Little Sawnee Mountain.

On leaving Cumming, we proceeded a few miles further along GA Hwy 20 to Dr. Bramblett Road. That morning, I had studied the map that Mom had printed out so was aware of the route. Not far up Bramblett Rd., we turned right onto Spot Road which leads to the Visitors Center for the Sawnee Mountain Preserve. We had only gone a short distance up Spot Rd. when two heavy duty pickup trucks pulled out of the trees near the fruit stand at the roads intersection and started up Spot Rd, in pursuit of us at high speed.

“Step on it Dad. It looks like we have a problem,” I told him looking out the back window of the SUV. This was right before both pickups started shooting at us. Of course, we had a ward around the vehicle, but the road was a narrow two lane one, and there wasn’t anywhere to stop and make a stand without others being involved.