The Spectrum Force by Heather Ray (good inspirational books .TXT) 📖

The Spectrum Force flew over the quiet streets of Langstrum Alps in V formation, with Rachel and Keith in the lead. She glanced beside her, and saw Keith's pensive expression.

"You okay?" she asked gently. He glanced at her, a frown creasing his face.

"How could I be okay when the entire $@#*ing planet's going to die?!" he yelled furiously. Rachel remained silent, regarding her friend for a moment. She had known Keith Maloy longer than any other member of the Force, and she knew he only displayed such anger when he was truly and deeply afraid.

"Don't you give up on me, Red Enforcer," Rachel said in a dead serious tone, "We're going to fight until we can't anymore. I'm counting on you, Keith. Keep your head on."

Keith nodded. "I'm... I'm sorry, Ray," he whispered, his eyes catching the hotel his family was staying at as they passed over the city, "There's just a lot at stake here. Do you think Chris can really protect the whole city?"

Rachel sighed. "He's going to have to. LA's been overrun by footsoldiers, and I doubt the police can stop them. Or even the National Guard."

"Guys!" Craig called, breaking formation and staring directly below him, "There it is! The Hamilton River!"

"I don't see anything," Jocelyn commented, gazing intently at the long river that stretched across the ground below her, "The river is several miles long. How do we know where this monster is supposed to be?"

"We'll split up," said Rachel, "Keith, Matt, and Tammy, and Craig, Jocelyn, and me."

"We'd cover more ground if we go alone," Keith said.

"I'm not risking it," Rachel responded, turning to Keith, "Your team goes west along the river, my team goes east. Contact us as soon as you engage the monster. We have to beat it as quickly as possible to conserve power. We don't have much time left."

Keith nodded, and gestured to Tamara and Matt. The three Enforcers flew along the river, and Rachel's group went in the opposite direction.

"Let's get lower," Rachel said, "and keep your eyes open! We have no idea what we're looking for!"

The Purple, Blue, and Orange Enforcers streaked along the river, about three yards above the water's surface. They continued to fly relatively slowly, to get a proper look at the water. However, for over five minutes they didn't find anything suspicious.

"This is ridiculous!" Craig muttered, pulling ahead of the others, "Maybe Spectra was wrong. Maybe the focus of energy isn't a monster. Or maybe it's somewhere else."

"When has Spectra ever been wrong?" Jocelyn pointed out, "It's a monster, and it's here. Somewhere."

"Well, hopefully Keith and the other's are having better--" Craig began to say, when suddenly an enormous black tentacle broke through the water, stretching as tall as a tree in the blink of an eye. Craig yelped in surprise, and just managed to turn in time to avoid colliding with the tentacle. Rachel and Jocelyn, who were a distance behind, skidded to a halt.

"You wanted a monster, and you got it," Jocelyn commented.

Suddenly, the tentacle plummeted back towards the water horizontally. All three Enforcers moved quickly, and tried to injure the monster with concentrated beams of colored light. But the light didn't seem to have any effect, and the tentacle reached up again, and swung at the team.

"Back!" Rachel ordered, flying backwards from the tentacle, "Get out of its reach!"

As Rachel continued to back off, another tentacle broke the water behind her, and wrapped around her body before she could retaliate.

"GUYS!!" Rachel shrieked as the tentacle plunged into the water, taking the Purple Enforcer with it. Jocelyn and Craig looked at each other in petrified amazement.

"Contact Keith," Jocelyn said, "I'm going after Rachel!"

"What?!" Craig muttered, "Are you seri--"

But before Craig could finish his sentence, Jocelyn dove into the freezing water of the Hamilton River. Craig sighed, and flew upwards, until he felt he was safely away from the monster to concentrate on a telepathic message to the other Enforcers.

Stephen Maloy had experienced much during his fifty plus years of life. He had traveled the entire world, and seen many of the sights. He was the founder and CEO of a highly successful company, and he managed to care for his family much better than his own father had done for his. He had three wonderful children, all of whom he was very proud. He had a lovely, caring wife, who always understood him when even he didn't understand himself. He had lived a charmed life. And now, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd run out of luck.

It didn't take long before the strange creatures broke through the glass windshield of the minivan, and pulled him out. One creature hefted Stephen out of the driver's seat as if it were lifting a bag of potatoes, and tossed him into the snow, which had already accumulated to about four feet. Stephen tried to lift his body, but the creature placed its armored foot on his back, keeping him face down in the snow.

"Let him up," a decidely female voice commanded in flawless English. Stephen felt the foot move off his back, and he rose to his knees. The creature that had held him down was one of about a dozen troops, with ash-colored skin, blood red eyes, and fierce expressions. They all wore matching black uniforms, with armored boots, gloves, and shoulder armor. They also had black helmets, which covered most of their faces. But the red eyes glowed brightly and menacingly.

Stephen swiveled his head, and saw the one who had spoken. She was easily distinguishable as the leader, and by the gold tiara adorning her forest green hair, Stephen determined her to be royalty. Unlike her soldiers, the woman wore no armor. Instead, she wore a black leotard, and gold colored boots and belt. Her green ponytail whipped violently in the harsh winds of the blizzard, but she didn't seem to feel the cold, despite her minimal dress. Stephen's eyes then fixed upon her long bow, which she was leaning on like a walking stick.

"Hello, Human," the woman said, "You look like you've had a difficult day."

"You could say that," Stephen responded, "Snow in LA is rather uncommon, especially for springtime. And yes, it's been awhile since I've seen armies of aliens roaming the streets."

Celea smiled at his sarcasm. She was rather surprised to see him display no visible fear of his present situation. But she heard his heart quicken dramatically with her superior senses. He was terrified, although he refused to show it. She would enjoy torturing him.

"You know," she remarked, walking atop the accumulated snow as if she were weightless, "you're the first civilian I've seen since my soldiers and I invaded. Are you all hiding?"

"We're not hiding," Stephen replied, "There's just a great baseball game on, and we Americans have our priorities."

"Enough insolence," Celea commented, holding her bow with both hands, "I tire very easily with you humans."

"Perhaps you're not getting enough vitamins," Stephen remarked. Celea frowned, and glanced at the nearest soldier. The soldier nodded, and sharply kicked Stephen in the stomach. Stephen yelped, and fell back into the mounting snow sinking several inches due to the force of the attack. The Denebian soldier then picked up the man by his hair, forcing him to look at Celea.

"Perhaps you don't know how serious your situation is, Human," Celea commented, "Your life is at stake here. Tell me one reason why I should spare you."

"Well, I'm good with animals, and I'm legendary at karioke bars across Texas."

Celea's frown deepened, and she placed her hands on her hips. "Search him," she ordered, "He must have some identification on him. Let's see if he's important."

The soldier nodded, and frisked Stephen. He located a wallet, and held it out. Another soldier took the wallet, and handed it to Celea, bowing humbly before her. Celea waved him away, and opened the wallet.

"Stephen Maloy III," she read from his driver's license, "born 8-30-46. From Austin Texas. You're a long way from home, Human."

Celea cracked a small grin as she flipped through the contents of the wallet. She found numerous credit cards, club memberships, and cash-- none of which impressed her. Then, she found a series of photographs. There was one of a woman, most likely Stephen's wife. Also, there were three younger humans, a girl and two boys. One photograph caught Celea's eye.

"Now this

is interesting," she commented, pulling the photograph out of its jacket and looking on the back. Her crimson eyes widened slightly as they read "Keith's Senior Photo". Celea bared her sharp teeth in frightening smile, and her gaze rose from the photograph and fixed on the human before her.

"So, Mister Stephen Maloy III, you are related to this young man," Celea stated, showing Stephen the photograph.

Stephen looked at Celea, bewildered. "What of it?"

Celea smiled again, and tore the photograph in half. "Guilt my association," she remarked, "Your connection with the Red Enforcer has sealed your fate."

"My son... the Red what?" Stephen asked, "What the hell are you talking about?!"

Celea nodded at her troops, picking up her bow from the snow. All the soldiers stepped back, leaving the bewildered human being alone before Celea. Stephen's eyes widened when he saw her draw an onyx arrow from her quiver. He staggered to his feet, and stepped back as Celea pulled the drawstring back on her bow. She smiled as she took aim.

"My signature arrow," Celea explained, "I want Keith Maloy to know who exactly killed his father."

"NO!" Stephen cried as the shiny black arrow streaked through the cold winds. It plowed into Stephen's chest, and wedged itself there. Stephen choked out another cry, as red blood stained his shirt and jacket. The strength in his body vanishing, Stephen fell onto his back and sank into the mound of snow. Red blood stained the frigid powder beneath him, as Celea's wicked laugh filled the crisp air.