The Cold Winds of Summer

By Gary T Brideau

For the first time in centuries the frigid winds blew as the temperature drops below freezing on this tropical planetoid. Thor, the Galaxy Sentinel, and head of the Institute for the criminally insane and his family do what they can to stay warm. But as the temperature continues to drop day after day a sinister plot to destroy the Galaxy Sentinel and what he stands for is revealed. Thor has to the ones who are out to destroy him, his family and staff before the Planetoid turns into a glacier forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9781669862352

Gary T Brideau

I was born in a small house in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1947 and moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut as a small boy. I met Lauren, the love of my life in1985 and were married years later and moved to Bristol, Connecticut. One night, I had a vivid dream that caught my attention, that spurred me to write it down, and sent it to my sister T. Jene Brideau, for an interpretation who also is a writer. She wrote and told me that the story was good. I took her encouragement and my imagination went to work. That’s when I discovered my God-given talent to write great space adventures stories. From then on, I have written over fifty stories of which only seven of them have been published with great reviews.

Book preview

Characters list

The Institute: sits on top of Mount Baldwin, some seven hundred feet above Smile Lake. Two hundred fifty men and women guard and work at the Institute.

Thor: or Thor Manning Stromburg, he grew up on a farming planet and was more trouble than he was worth because of his powerful desire for adventure. His parents did everything they could to teach him farming, to no avail. When he reached nineteen years old, Sam took him under his wing and gave him a job working for the Agency on the planet Avalon Prime.

Cherry R. Blossom: was born on Planet Haskel Prime, slightly smaller than Earth. Cherry’s younger sister’s name was Jasmine; she disappeared and was presumed dead at sixteen. But she was found years later, on Earth.

Cherry is a six-foot-tall, well-built woman with long wavy brown hair who loves pastel colors and red lipstick. She is soft-spoken and gentle. She is the first one to give an encouraging and uplifting word to others. If you’ve seen cherry blossoms in the springtime and their beauty, then you know why she is called Cherry Blossom, or Cherry for short. She can handle herself quite well in times of trouble and is an expert in firearms.

Cherish Apple Blossom; Thor and Sam accidentally cloned her. She is an exact duplicate of Cherry. Cherry’s twin sister Apple died shortly after birth. Cherish was first called Likeness. Cherish has a heart-shaped birthmark on her tailbone, and a mangled big toe, on her right foot that Cherry doesn’t have. Cherish likes showing off her body, but Cherry doesn’t. Cherish has a mole in the center of her chest, whereas Cherry doesn’t.

Rock: Thomas L. Buttermen is his real name; he was born to a wealthy family on the Planet Avalon Prime, where people told him that he should rent himself out as a beanpole. Rock was skinny through his adult life but worked out and now is muscular. He is six feet four and has blond hair; he is the chief of Security at the Institute.

Rose M. Bud: married to Rock Buttermen. She wears perfume, which gives off a gentle scent of roses. She is six feet tall with long, silky brown hair and a fair complexion. She loves long flowery, pale-colored dresses. Her bright blue eyes sparkle when she speaks. She was suspended in a timeless void for fifty years as Agar used her as his means of strength.

Gideon Bear: he is a two-foot-tall, blue Three-Dimensional Particle Acceleration bear. He is the messenger bear around the Institute and is a favorite of Thor because he saved his life. Gideon is also known as Gideon the Avenging Bear and carries two Katanas on his back.

Sam: was an orphan at the age of eight and grew up in a home for boys. There he had to learn to defend himself against those who were twice his size to survive. At eighteen, Sam joined the Avalon Prime Space Patrol and quickly moved up through the ranks to the position of Admiral. After his turn in the space military was over, Sam formed; a company called The Agency and was referred to as Admiral Sam the Stout. Sam has red hair around the sides of his head. He is an adventurer, gung-ho, is this a private fight, or can anyone join, type of person. He is short, about five feet three inches tall, and rather plump.

Gumshoe: is a mischievous blue nose monkey found on the same planet as General. He is very loveable and obedient. Gumshoe favors Cherry since she found him on the beach in the lagoon trying to steal her towel. He goes on all the missions because of his keen ability to know when danger is about to occur.

Kara: Tippy’s best friend and the only crippled Will-o-the-wisp, who is an embarrassment to the Wisps because she is disabled.

The Will-o-the-wisps, Are six-foot pixies; they live in secret; when an infant Will-o-the-wisp is born, it is snow white, and as it grows older, they change to yellow in its youth. Then, adult women are red; the men are dark green. The military is blue green; the ruler is always deep blue, whether male or female. As the human population grew on Dicapl, the Will-o-the-wisp were seen less and less until Harry and Bitsy came along and helped the humans and the Will-o-the-wisp live together in harmony.

Ab: is a tall, thin figure in a white robe with light orange skin, dark blue oval eyes, and a small slit for a mouth. His full title is Master Ashdothmpisgah Shechaniah Bashanmhavothmjair. The name Bashanmhavothmjair was taken from Dut 3:17. He is the leader of a planet called Mystera and is suspended between time and space. The only way to visit Mystera is to be taken there by one of the leaders.

The Zamzummims: commonly called ‘The Greys. The leader, Noleck, his saucer ship weight seventy-five thousand metric tons. Their planet is a warm tropical world that is rich in mineral resources.

Pixy: she is a Sprite, 35 inches tall, from Slandor.

Jay Bright: a sprite who is a geek.

Todd, sprite, 37" He is in love with Mary Bell, but all he can think of is getting in bed with her.

Wilfred, Zachariah Scott: A fun loving male sprite who drugged and raped Mary Bell and was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor by King Mex.

Moonbeam Victoria Dakota: A female sprite with yellow hair 36 inches tall" from the tundra of Dicapl. She has extraordinary powers when she holds onto a person and can tell what their emotions are. She loves yellow to the point that most of her clothes are yellow.

King Franklin, Arthur, Samuel, Mex the IV is from the planet Slandor and is 40 inches tall. He is excellent with a sword. He has brown butterfly wings and is an excellent swordsman and takes every opportunity to test his skill.

Patrick: a leprechaun or Patrick Seamus, Fionn Oisin Colm O’Donnagái O’Brien

He is 38 inches tall, a leprechaun from the planet Kylee, formerly the Mad Planet. He likes to tell people he is from Earth; Patrick has a computer watch, from which he can access anything from a sandwich to a part for the star car. All the data is stored in his shirt, which is made of memory fibers. Patrick usually pops in from time to time and is always forgotten by Thor.

Chapter 1

A CHILL IN THE AIR

Thor, a six feet tall, rugged-looking man with dark brown hair, woke up at nine-fifty Saturday morning, rolled over in bed, and kissed his wife Cherry on the lips, a six-foot-tall, well-built woman with long wavy brown hair. She smiled and replied, Alright. Give me a chance to get my nighty off.

Their daughter, Belinda, a perky individual five foot two tall with curly brown hair, hollered, from the kitchen, Dad! Where’s the heater? It’s cold in here!

Cherry ignored her daughter, threw her nightgown on the floor, took Thor in her arms, and said, Ready when you are.

Their daughter Abbie, a tall young female Will-o’-the-wisp, who looks like a 6-foot pixie with fuzzy white wings, shouted, Hey, Momma! My wings are frostbitten! Where’s the heater?

Cherry grumbled, I swear our kids are conspiring against us. trying to disregard her two daughter’s demands.

Thor stared into his wife’s eyes and said, Shall we get up and tend to their needs?

After we take care of our needs, first, stated Cherry, taking Thor in her arms again.

Mom, I’m turning into an ice cube out here! screamed Belinda from the kitchen.

Dang it all! hollered Cherry, got out of bed, put on her long deep pink robe, stormed out into the kitchen, and grumbled, What is the matter with you two? Can’t you fend for yourselves for once in your life?

Ah, mom, did you forget something? Like closing your robe, stated Belinda giggling.

Dressed, Thor wandered into the kitchen, saying, Cherry, why don’t you shower and get dressed while I take care of things in the kitchen.

Their other daughter Tippy, a five-foot-tall female Will-o’-the-wisp with brown hair, entered the kitchen bundled up in a long, dark blue robe and stated, Dad. It’s fifty degrees outside. Is the sun cooling off? And why is mom running around in her robe?

I don’t think the sun is growing cold. It’ll warm up as the day goes on. I’ll make a pot of coffee while you get the morning meal going. And your mother was just about to step into the shower.

After the morning meal, Belinda and Abbie approached Cherry and stated, Mom, Belinda, and I are sorry that we interrupted you and Dad this morning.

Nonsense. It’s no big deal. You two had a need, which was important.

Abbie hugged her mother and then left for the day. Belinda stared at Cherry and stated softly, Mom. Private time with Dad is important to you, and I am sorry for interrupting.

Cherry smiled gracefully and said, I’m going to join your father on the front porch with a cup of coffee. Care to join us?

No thanks, mom, but I think you should put something on besides your bath towel.

Good point.

Later, Mary Bell, a 38 inches tall Sprite, fluttered down, landed on the beach, raced up on the front porch clad in her dark blue shorts and a yellow top, and hollered, Hi, Mr. and Mrs. T., I love a brisk morning like this, don’t you?

Cherry sat next to Thor, glanced up at the sky, and remarked, That sky is hazy today. Could that be the reason for the cool morning? Wanting to get rid of the pesty Sprite so she could spend some time with Thor, Cherry then suggested, Mary Bell, why don’t you pick some flowers for the staff dining room?

Mary Bell took off like a shot over Smile Lake, landing in a meadow full of flowers, and began picking them. Spotting a patch of white Avalon Passion Flowers growing by the edge of the jungle, she took flight.

At the patch of flowers, the Sprite bent over to pick them. Mary Bell felt a hand sliding up her right thigh a minute later. She let out a squeal, quickly straightened up, spun around, saw Sprite Wilfred, a three-foot-tall Sprite dressed in blue prison garb, and questioned, What are you doing here, Creep?

The king let me off on good behavior. Sprite Wilfred took the flowers from Mary Bell’s hand, dropped them on the grass, grabbed her around the waist, and passionately kissed her on the lips.

Mary Bell pleaded, Please don’t do this to me. then felt his hand on her hip. Her heart raced as fear took a firm grip, robbing her ability to fight as Wilfred pulled her down on the grass. She closed her eyes and pleaded, Please, Lord. Help me through this.

Wilfred let out a scream as Sprite Todd who was the same size as Wilfred, took hold of Wilfred’s hair and hauled him off Mary Bell. Wilfred fixed himself and hollered, What’s the big idea interrupting while Mary Bell and I are having fun?

Todd screamed, That’s not the way I saw it! You were forcing yourself on her! Then, he landed several swift blows to Wilfred’s face, grabbed his shirt collar hauled him up to his face, and stated, through clenched teeth, You come near my girl again, I’ll rip your wigs off and shove them down your throat. Oh, this is from Mary Bell.

Wilfred whispered to Todd, The disk has to be inside Mary Bell. I don’t care what you do to her but get that disk.

Todd jumped up and kicked Wilfred between his pockets, putting him in pain on his knees.

Mary Bell sobbed as she made herself decent, cuddled close to Todd, watched Wilfred hobble away, and asked, Am I your girl, Todd?

Sorry, that just slipped out.

Mary Bell smiled from ear to ear as she replied, in a soft voice, I would love to be your woman. she slipped her arms around Todd’s neck, gave him a long kiss on his lips then placed her head on his chest.

Todd put his arms around Mary Bell and stated, I never knew you felt that way towards me. then slowly slid his hand down Mary Bell’s back stopping just below her hips. Mary Bell looked at Todd and inquired, And just what are you doing?

Holding you why, tempted to move his hand lower.

You touch my sit-down, Mister, and you will be singing soprano.

Sorry, your long kiss gave me ideas.

Mary Bell sat down on the grass, pulled Todd down with her, and said, as she held his hand, If we are going to be dating. We need to set some ground rules. No making out because that will eventually lead to things, and I do not want to get into it with you before marriage. If I have to shower, you go outside on my back deck. Oh, and I am sorry if I gave you the wrong idea. You’re the first man I kissed, and I got too carried away.

So, you want to have a morally straight relationship. I can do that, stated Todd.

What about that little Minx you’ve been seeing? questioned Mary Bell.

You mean Charlotte? I’ve been looking for an excuse to dump her. Let’s get the flowers back to the Institute then; I’ll walk you home.

Great Idea! shouted Mary Bell.

At Mary Bell’s yellow, with white trim ranch house, she unlocked the front door and invited Todd in for a snack. He glanced around the living room with the kitchen and dining room on the other side and remarked, Kinda skimpy on the decorations, aren’t we?

I’ll get around to decorating this room one day. Why don’t you go out on my back deck while I freshen up?

Where is your bathroom?

Down the hall, to the left.

In the bathroom, Todd connected a small container of sleeping gas to the shower and set it to go off when Mary Bell entered. Todd then walked across the living room, opened the sliding glass doors, and was amazed when he saw an eight-foot by a three-foot-wide waterfall cascading down over rocks into a pool. He carefully studied the tropical vegetation surrounding the falls, and commented, Not bad, Miss Bell, not bad. Looking down, he noticed a large rock with a handle on it. He pulled on the handle and found that it was a small fridge full of fruit drinks. Todd helped himself to a grape drink, sat down, and waited.

An hour later, Todd took off his shirt and shoes to relax in his undershorts, poked his head in the house, and hollered, Mary Bell, are you alright? Upon receiving no answer. He muttered, Yes. he entered the house, walked down the hall to the bathroom door, and hollered, Mary Bell, are you alright in there? Todd slowly pushed the door open and entered a bathroom designed like a jungle. The sink was made from a boulder and a commode resembling a tree stump. Spotting a cave at the end of the bathroom, he knocked on the mock stone shower door and asked, Mary Bell, are you alive? Upon hearing no answer, Todd opened the stone door and found Mary Bell lying on the shower floor, out cold; he smiled and muttered, Now to find that disk He Picked her up and carried her to the bedroom that was designed to resemble a beach on Avalon Prime, complete with the sounds of waves crashing on the shore. He placed the unconscious Sprite on the bed, staring at her for a minute, then carefully rubbed his hand over her stomach, muttering, The disk has got to be inside her somewhere. But where? Wilfred told me she is the last female Sprite on his list he wants me to check.

Just as Todd placed his hand on the lower part of Mary Bell’s stomach, she moaned, opened her eyes, saw Todd smiling at her, pushed his hand away, and screamed, Don’t even think about it, Mister! Get out of my room, now! Out, out, out! then quickly wrapped herself with a quilt.

Ten minutes later, Mary Bell exited her bedroom clad in dark blue shorts and a long-sleeved, white blouse and asked softly, Todd, are you still here? She walked out on the back deck, found Todd in his underwear, and said, Put your pants on, then I want to talk to you.

With Todd dressed, Mary Bell stated, Please forgive me for showering with you here. And thanks for coming to my rescue; I don’t know why I passed out in the shower like that. Mary Bell sat next to Todd, stared at him, and then asked, Did you take advantage of me while I was unconscious?

No, of course not; my only concern was for you. Todd hung his head and confessed, "Sorry.