The cold winds of summer, p.14
The Cold Winds of Summer, page 14
Thirty-six minutes later, all was silent; Sam walked up to Thor and said, “I think we got them all.”
“Tend to our wounded and dead. Then get the rest of the staff to dig graves for Gus’s men, then get a head count of our people.”
Five hours later, Rock approached Thor and stated, “Sir, It’s getting dark, and we only buried half of Gus’s men.”
“Light some torches. We have got to get those bodies in the ground before the wild animals start coming around. Oh, Rock, have the Sprites gather some wood and build a fire in the middle of the field. Sam and I will break out the food.” Thor turned to Sam and inquired, “Who is going to take the first watch? Everyone has worked their butts off trying to get the dead buried.”
“I’ll take first watch and let them decide amongst themselves who wants to do the other shift?”
That night around the Campfire, Rock reported, “There never was an accurate head count of Gus’s men, so I pray we got them all.”
“Keep your eyes open for any stragglers,” stated Thor.
Thor’s two Will-o-the-wisp daughters, Tippy and Abbie, sat next to their father and suggested, “We’ll take the third watch, sir.”
Thor gave each of his daughters a hunting knife and said, “Don’t be afraid to use it if you have to.”
“Don’t worry about a thing, Dad; Abbie and I will nail anyone who tries to sneak into our camp.”
That night while everyone was asleep, Tippy contacted her sister on her computer watch and said, “Heads up, sis. I think you have something in your area that needs looking into.”
“I’m on it. The dark figure crawled into Tracy’s tent.” Abbie spread her wings and swiftly flew down, rushed into the tent, and grabbed the attacker’s knife just as he was about to slit her throat. Abbie smiled and asked, “Are you alright, Tracy?”
“Yeah, and thanks.”
“Give me that dirty sock of yours.”
Abbie stuffed the sock in the attacker’s mouth, saying, “Don’t you know it’s improper to sneak into a woman’s tent when she is sleeping? I tell you what. Since there is a full moon out tonight, let’s go for a walk and chat for a while. “Abbie took the sock out of his mouth and practically dragged him into the jungle, flew high up in a tree with him, and sat on a branch. She pointed to the ground far below and asked, “How many more are there?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Look, I am trying to be nice about it. How many men are there sneaking around in the dark?”
“Go suck an egg insect. I am not telling you anything.”
“Tell me what I want to know, or you won’t see the sunrise.”
“Then, kill me.”
“Okay.” Abbie shoved the sock back in his mouth to muffle his screams and pushed him off the branch, saying, “Oops.”
Horatio flew down, sat on the branch next to her, and stated, “Don’t you know, humans can’t fly.”
“I do now. What’s up?”
“Four goons are sneaking into the camp. Tippy is after two of them; you’ve got to take out the other two.”
“On my way. Abbie soared down to the one man creeping up to Thor’s tent and tapped him on his back; he spun around with a surprised look on his face, and she shoved her knife into his stomach. Then rushed to hundred feet to her left, grabbed the guy by his head, and gave it a quick twist, snapping his neck. Looked inside the tent and inquired, “You alright, Miss Franks?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
Abbie met Tippy and asked, “How’re things going on your end?”
“Quiet now. How many did you get?”
“Two. What about you?”
“Two.”
Just then, a woman’s scream broke the silence of the jungle. The two sisters rushed to where the screams were coming from and saw a man clothed in black going into Belinda’s tent. Tippy rushed inside, dragged the attacker off their sister and outside, and said, “Abbie, see how Belinda is doing.” Tippy’s eyes blazed with anger as she squeezed his throat, saying, “That’s my sister.” Then reared back and let go a loud shriek, inches from the man’s face. Abbie hollered from inside the tent. “Get Patrick! Belinda’s hurt bad!”
Patrick rushed into the tent to tend to Belinda; Thor walked up to the attacker, glanced at Tippy, and questioned, “What happened?”
“He stabbed Belinda.”
Thor called for Blue, Prince of the Will-o-the-wisps, and minutes later, he walked out of a glowing red cloud and asked, “Do you know what time it is, Thor?”
Thor pointed to the man. “This thing stabbed Belinda. She will be alright because she is linked to the Wisp community.”
Blue squinted at the assailant and asked, “Do you mind if I take him off your hands? Maybe, I can get him to talk.”
The assent gazed into Blue’s fiery eyes as panic gripped him. He then screamed, “You can’t do that to me! He’s not human!”
Thor patted the guy on the back and said, “Have fun.” The man’s screams of terror slowly vanished as Prince Blue dragged him away.
Thor announced, “Okay, everybody, you have three more hours before chow. So, let’s all get some sleep!”
At eight that morning, Thor bellowed from the entrance of his tent, “Rise and shine, everyone!”
Moonbeam crawled out of her tent, holding Gideon in her left arm, stretched, and grumbled, “Do you have to be so obnoxious this early in the morning, Sir?”
Thor gazed at Gideon and said, “I need you to check and see how Belinda is doing. Then I want you to be her personal messenger.”
Gideon raised his right paw to his forehead and then down again and left.
Moonbeam stared ahead as she walked to the Campfire for a cup of coffee.
Thor stated, “Moonbeam, you look cute in your yellow undies, but you need to put some more clothes on.”
Sprite Missy rushed up and whispered, “Shhhhh, she’s sleepwalking. I’ll get her back in her tent and then wake her.”
After the morning meal, Thor ordered, “We are on safe ground, and the planetoid is ours, once again! But look sharp, everyone, because there might be a few snipers lurking in the trees!”
Thor approached Sam and stated, “Have everyone ready to leave within the hour.”
Thor walked by a dressed Moonbeam sitting on a folded stool, drinking her morning coffee, sat down next to her, and asked, “Ever think of wearing Pjs to bed just in case you walk in your sleep?”
“The only time I walk in my sleep is when I am way over tired.” Moonbeam took a swallow of her coffee, glanced at Thor, and asked, “Did I ah?”
“Did you walk in your sleep? You sure did, and I think you looked adorable in your yellow undies. If you want, I can have Missy stay with you once we are back?”
“What else did I have on besides my underwear bottoms?”
Thor smiled and said, “We’ll be moving out in a few minutes.”
Moonbeam moaned as her face turned red from embarrassment as she stood up to get ready.
Cherry walked up to her husband, gave him a peck on his cheek, and asked, “Are you teasing Moonbeam?”
On the way back to the Institute, an energy blast struck Cherry’s right shoulder. Thor ordered, “Everybody get down!” Thor pulled His wife out of the ATV and asked, “Are you alright?”
“All but my shoulder. Who’s the creep that decided to ruin my day?”
“I don’t know. He’s in the trees.”
Rock crawled up to Thor with blasts of energy striking all around and said, “The sniper is in the trees north of our position, but none of my men can get a clear shot.”
Gideon Bear waddled up to Thor with his katana in his paw, pointed to the sniper, then to himself. Thor inquired, “You want my permission to take out the sniper? You have it; just be careful.” Thor then ordered, “Rock keep our friend busy.” Gideon quickly crawled on all fours up to the tree, promptly scampered up it, and waited behind some leaves for the right moment. He then jumped on the sniper’s back, drove his blade through his neck, and leaped off him just as he fell out of the tree, dead.
On the tarmac hours later, Thor announced, “Work schedule for tomorrow is as usual!”
A woman in her thirties hollered, “But, Sir, all the clients have escaped, so what are we going to do?”
“Clean and sanitize all the rooms for their return.”
The next day, Thor approached Todd’s bed in the infirmary, checked the restraints, sat in a chair next to the bed and inquired, “How are you doing?”
Todd glared at Thor and screamed, “I’ll kill you; just give me a chance, and you’ll see who’s in charge around here!”
“You are a thirty-eight-inch-tall Sprite that’s strapped to a bed. You couldn’t even kill Mary Bell, so how will you kill me?”
“Give me a knife, and you’ll see who’s the boss!” screamed the enraged Sprite.
Thor hollered, “Doc! Come in here and let Todd lose!”
Chrissy walked into the room, stared at Thor, and inquired, “Are you nuts? It took four men just to strap him down.”
“Let him go and get out of here and shut the door.”
As soon as the doctor loosened one strap so Todd could do the rest, she took flight and flew out the door and closed the door.
Breathing heavily, Todd hunched himself forward and made a lunge for Thor. He quickly stepped aside as Todd slammed headfirst into the wall. Thor stated, “Todd, snap out of it. The Todd I know does not go around raping women and killing people.”
“A lot you know about me. Now, you are going to die, Sentinel!”
Thor slammed his fist in Todd’s face several times, knocking him to the floor.”
“Is that all you’ve got, grandma? My mother can hit better than that!”
Thor landed a powerful right cross to Todd’s jaw knocking him out. Picked him up and put him back on the bed and secured him. As he was leaving, Todd whispered, “Thor, Sir. What are they going to do to me?”
Thor gave Todd a hug and said, “Welcome back. I am sorry I had to beat the crap out of you.”
“That’s alright, Sir. You did what you had to do.”
“How is Mary Bell doing?”
“She is married to Jay.”
“Oh. I guess I blew it. Didn’t I.”
“I will do everything I can to help you.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
Dr. Chrissy slowly opened the door and asked softly, “Shall I get a body bag for Todd?” She stared at the bruises on Sprite’s face and said, “Kinda crude way of doing things. But I’m glad it worked. I’ll leave the straps on him for safety’s sake and start the test on him first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Okay, that’s it for me; I’ll check in tomorrow to see how he is progressing.” Thor poked his head in the next room, smiled, and inquired, “How’s my favorite daughter doing?”
Belinda moaned, “She hurts, but she’s glad to be alive.”
“You have got to go to Willow City and see about why your mental link with the Will-o-the-wisp is because I think it’s weak. That attacker should not have hurt you that bad.”
“Oh, Dad. I am human, and there were probably only a few Wisps around the area to strengthen me. No biggy.”
Chapter 16
KIDNAPPED
Thor rose the following day with a knock at the front door and answered it. A woman in her thirties with short brown hair and a medium build smiled at him and said, “I’m Nicole, the cleaning lady.”
“Come on in. I’m sorry, I am in my robe and slippers.”
“That’s alright; I overlook things like that. You go about your business. Where is your wife?”
Cherry hobbled up to Thor with her left shoulder bandaged and her arm in a sling, kissed Thor, and asked, “Who’s she?”
“She’s The cleaning woman,” stated Thor and went into the bedroom, dressed, but could not shake the feeling that he knew the cleaning lady from somewhere; he kissed Cherry and left for the day. Halfway up the mountain path, he decided to return home. Quietly walked in the back door and found Cherry in the shower and Nicole in the bedroom, busy going through Cherry’s dresser draws, then carefully closed it. Thor pointed his energy pistol at her and ordered, “You make a move, ma’am, and I’ll shoot you as sure as you are standing there. Now, take out what you just put in the drawer.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about, Sir. I was putting away some clothes.”
Thor slowly opened the drawer, moved Cherry’s blouses aside, and uncovered 5 pounds of high explosives set to go off in ten minutes. Thor picked up the explosive device, marched outside, and had the cleaning woman dig a hole in the sand, place the explosive device in it and cover it up. Thor then ordered the woman to sit on the bomb and stated, “You are Joe’s main squeeze; tell me where he is, or you’re going to go all to pieces.”
“I don’t know!”
“You have just four minutes to tell me where Joe is.”
“I told you; I don’t know!” screamed Nicole.
Thor looked at his watch, stepped back ten feet with his weapon pointing at her, and said, “You have 2 minutes left to tell me where Joe is, or you are history.”
“I told you; I don’t know!”
Thor calmly glanced at his watch and said, “Thirty seconds before liftoff.”
“He’ll kill me if I tell you!”
“If you don’t tell me where he is, you will die.”
“Alright, alright, alright! He is on Haskel Prime somewhere. That’s all I know!”
“Too late.”
Nicole let go a shriek, but nothing happened. Thor held up the detonator and stated, “I am not like Joe, who murder innocent men, women, and children in their beds.” Thor touched his computer watch and said, “Rock, send a team of security to Smile Lake. I have Nicole Swanson, Joe’s girlfriend.” Thor’s face lost all expression as he stated, “Nicole Swanson, you have been deemed unfit to live in society because of your actions. Therefore, you have been retrieved.”
“I want to see my lawyer!”
“Because you were caught trying to blow up Cherry Stromberg, my wife, your actions have been witnessed against you, and you are found guilty and sentenced to live out the rest of your life here at the Institute.”
Two men walked out of a pale blue flash of light and dragged Nicole away, screaming every curse word at Thor she could think of. He then picked up the bomb, threw it in the air, and vaporized it.
Cherry walked up to Thor, clad in a burgundy slack suit, and asked, “Where’s the cleaning lady you hired for me?”
“I thought you hired her. She tried to blow us up, so I locked her in one of the client’s rooms. She was Joe’s girl. Need I say more?”
Cherry caught the sight of a bush moving on the edge of the jungle, kissed Thor, and said, “If you will excuse me, I need to talk to Mary Bell.” Walked to the jungle and said, “You want to come out from hiding?”
Mary Bell walked out, plopped herself down on the sandy beach, and put her head in her hands, pouting.
Cherry sat next to the sorrowful Sprite and inquired, “Why so down in the mouth?”
How can Christ love a vile thing like me after all the sex that went on between Todd and me?”
“Most of it was not your fault, to begin with.”
“But, when he tried to kill me, I ah, I let him have sex with me so he wouldn’t. Now, I am doing everything I can to get back in right standing with God, but I’m failing miserably.”
“Ask Christ to forgive you, put the past behind you and go on. When Christ was on the Cross, He provided for your forgiveness, healing, deliverance, and whatever your need, it was provided for you on the Cross. All you have to do is receive.”
With tears in her eyes, Mary Bell stared at Cherry and said, “Thank you.”
“Christ even forgave you when you and Jay mixed it up.”
“You know about that?” asked Mary Bell in shock.
“Remember who you are because of Christ’s death, burial, and Resurrection. It’s not what you can do that makes you victorious. It’s what Christ has done on the Cross.”
Mary Bell looked at Cherry and stated, “Did you know the protective shield around the planetoid is down?”
“I do now. That’s probably how Nicole got here. Hey, you wanna check out the Hot Springs?” Cherry touched her computer watch and said, “Hon, Mary Bell and I are going to spend some time in the Hot Springs. I think Joe left the back door open to the planetoid somewhere.”
“Thanks, I am on it. Have a good time.” Thor entered the infirmary, checked on Todd, then inquired, “Doc. How is Todd doing today?”
“Surprisingly well. So, I removed his bonds.”
“Why isn’t he in his room?”
Doctor Chrissy sighed and said, “I am sorry, Sir. Todd promised me that he would stay put.”
“I know where he is. I’ll be right back.” Thor walked out of the infirmary, down the hall to his office, and inquired, “Lacy, did you see Todd go into my office?”
“No, Sir. I was called away from my desk for a moment.”
Thor entered his inner office, turned left into the Sprite Security office, and found a bloody Moonbeam lying on the floor, out cold, tied up with a lamp cord. Todd was at the control station talking to Big Joe, saying, “Thor has retaken the planetoid. I opened a portal for your main squeeze to take out Thor and his wife. I am sending you the new shield harmonics.”
Thor quietly walked up behind Todd, seized him by his wings, lifted him out of the chair, and threw him against the far wall. Picked up the mic and stated, “Joe, there is no place in this galaxy where you can hide from me.”
Thor touched the intercom on the wall and announced, “Man down! Security and Chrissy to the Sprite Security!” enraged Thor, picked up Todd by his waist and threw him through the door into his office screaming, “You like to rape helpless female Sprites and watch Joe butcher innocent, men women and children by the hundred?”
