Anaz-Voohri

Eight hundred year ago,

The Great Ones descended from the sky,

And their vessels hovered above the desert floor,

Like flocks of hummingbirds as big as houses.

They selected the best Anasazi warriors

To take them to their home in the stars,

Raining death and destruction

On the rest of the tribe.

But among the stars of the Pleiades,

The proud warriors found only slavery.

No more Anasazi but part man, part machine,

They became the Anaz-voohri,

The fiercest fighters in the known galaxies

When they finally spilled the blood of their captors,

The Anaz-voohri went in search of a home,

A safe harbor to grow in numbers and in might,

Before embarking on their conquest of the universe.

Remembering the legends told by the shamans,

They turned to the planet of their ancestors,

A mythical blue orb called Earth

Chapter One

Los Angeles
- July 2003

Zack woke up with a start, unable to see anything.
Anything at all.
Had the power gone out? A subtle vibration permeated the house.
Earthquake?
No. Earthquakes didn’t make the walls sing.

Something was wrong. With no glow from the digital clock or from his computer screen, Zack tossed his blanket aside and felt his way to the window. He pulled up the black roman shade and lifted the glass pane. The sweet fragrance of roses from the front yard filled the room. As he craned his neck outside, the second story view revealed a full moon but no street lights in the whole residential area of Granada Hills. Had all of Los Angeles blacked out?

Outside, the strong vibration shook the foliage of the eucalyptus trees. As far as Zack could see, the streets and houses looked dark and quiet. Too dark, too quiet, with no breeze, no birds, not even the chirp of a cricket.

Moonlight filtering into the room illuminated the life-size poster of Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider. As the vibration intensified, something familiar tugged at Zack’s mind. Ashley? His baby sister screeched for help in his head! She was terrified.

Rushing out of the bedroom, Zack stumbled over his sneakers and stepped into the ink black hallway. The vibration shook the hardwood under his bare feet. The smell of burnt rubber or heated machinery assaulted his nostrils. How weird!

Feeling his way along the wall, Zack turned the corner and saw an outline of white radiance around Ashley’s door. He’d left it ajar last night.

Wearing only his boxers and tee-shirt, Zack shivered when a malevolent breeze coursed across his skin, as if to keep him away. Was he dreaming? He bit his lip. It hurt, and the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. Wide awake! His heart beat so hard, it threatened to explode.

Outside Ashley’s door, their Persian cat arched his back and hissed, spooked. His bristled tail rose straight up in the air, sparking with static electricity.

“What’s going on in there, Dude?" Zack whispered, his heart faltering. He swallowed with a dry throat, remembering the horror movies he used to enjoy watching. But this was no movie, and he couldn’t stand the thought of his baby sister in any danger.

Zack moved sluggishly, like through water with weights on his ankles. Had the air become dense? Had he landed in the middle of a strange videogame? Finally he pushed the door open. Blinded by bright light, Zack stood paralyzed. He tried to step inside, to no avail. His legs refused to move.

Unable to scream his frustration, he remained frozen in the doorway, immobilized by a strange force that controlled his body. As his eyes adjusted to the brightness, the unobstructed view of his sister’s room chilled his spine.

Bent over the bed, a tall creature of humanoid proportions hovered above the floor, wearing a long, shimmering cape that accentuated its square shoulders. Seven-year-old Ashley, her blue eyes wide with terror, blonde curls framing her tan face, clutched her favorite Barbie Doll, her mouth open in a silent wail.

Get away from my sister, you freak!
No word came out of Zack’s mouth.

The creature turned to face Zack. Under the hood, the bald skull glowed from within, blue, pink and green, like a see-through phone. The face had large oval eyes, milky skin, elongated cheeks, and a straight thin mouth etched with grim determination.

Hang on, Ashley, I’m coming.
When Zack attempted to rush the creature, his feet stuck to the floor. He tried to yell but his vocal cords remained mute. He wanted to break the freak’s skull, bloody the monster’s small nose, make it feel pain. What did this thing want with his baby sister?

The creature turned its attention to a small device it held in spidery fingers. The bright light shrunk to a wide oblique beam that angled out through the gaping window. Beyond it, an ominous shadow hung above the house. The vibration emanated from it. Zack couldn’t believe what he saw.
A spacecraft?

Howling inside, but unable to intervene, Zack watched as the creature lifted his frightened sister from the bed. Ashley didn’t protest when the monster wrenched the Barbie doll from her grip and threw it back on the blanket. Then the monster stepped into the beam of light and floated out the window with its prize. The paralyzing hold ebbed. Zack staggered into the room toward the window. He wanted to call for help but his throat still refused to make any sound.

As Zack stepped after them into the beam of light, the creature had almost reached the waiting craft. The alien pointed a small device at Zack. The shot sizzled and shook him like an electroshock. Zack’s legs buckled from the pain. He hit the plush pink rug and darkness engulfed him.

*****

Somewhere above the Pacific Ocean

As her spaceship flew over the dark ocean, Captain Kavak, Exalted Leader of the Anaz-voohri fleet, cursed the intervention of Ashley’s brother. Surprised by his persistence and distracted by the child in her arms, Kavak hadn’t checked the setting on her weapon before firing. She hoped the charge had killed the young man. Well, even if it didn’t, it would definitely scramble the memory of their encounter.

Kavak didn’t like sloppy work. She didn’t tolerate it from her underlings and didn’t want it known that she may have slipped. This particular mission required stealth, not slaughter, and she should have avoided detection, not to mention confrontation. But the truth be told, Kavak lusted for bloodshed as much as the next Anaz-voohri warrior, if not more.

Through the clear hull of the piloting deck, an island chain appeared, like a line of ducklings floating on the dark waters below. Humans called these islands Hawaii. Tonight, the sand beaches sparkled in the moonlight. On her screen, Kavak pinpointed a precise cove dotted with sparse houses. Previous scanning of the area had revealed that an exceptional child lived there, a little girl with great intelligence, a strong spirit, and even an auspicious name, Celene, after one of the Pleiades stars.

Human females, less intimidating than males in that society, would provide the perfect weapon for Kavak’s plan. She would use these little girls as effective tools to bring about the destruction of their own species. And they would destroy humanity without further endangering the precious planet of Kavak’s ancestors, already damaged by these careless fools.

Waving her hands over the panel in front of the pilot’s chair, Kavak linked her electronic brain to the ship’s controls and brought the vessel to hover above a white sand beach. She set the small ship on idle and rose from the chair.
Time to go get her last girl, Celene.

As the captain of the Anaz-voohri fleet, Kavak didn’t have to participate in the harvesting of human girls, but she had a weak spot for this little blue planet and never missed an opportunity to study or visit Earth. She’d offered to collect two girls out of twelve. As she glided down the light beam, a dog barked in the distance. Kavak willed the silly animal to choke on its tongue. The barking strangled then stopped. She’d better not attract attention this time.

Glancing up at the night sky, Kavak admired the multitude of stars. She breathed in the salty ocean air and delighted in the sound of the surf on the shore. She would enjoy living on this beautiful planet. Maybe she would raise a batch of little warriors, realizing the dearest dream of her declining race, or better yet, she’d run a military academy for the miracle generation that would bring new hope and glory to the Anaz-voohri nation.

Kavak approached the modest bungalow shadowed by palm fronds that trembled from the vibration of the ship hovering nearby.
How serene, how peaceful...
An assortment of shoes sat by the side of the door, but Kavak following her instinct, circled the house toward a sealed window pane topped with two rows of open louvers. She couldn’t see through the drawn curtains, but she could sense the chosen girl sleeping inside, breathing,
stirring
.

Humans thought themselves safe inside closed rooms. How naive of them. The weapon at Kavak’s belt flew into her hand. Adjusting the setting, she linked her mind to the weapon, focused on the glass and fired. With a soft whooshing sound, the window vaporized into a cloud of glittery dust, sending the curtains billowing.

After brushing the residue off her shoulders, Kavak pushed aside the curtains as she rose and floated inside the room, approaching the small bed. Sleeping peacefully with no sheets or blankets, Celene sucked her thumb. Unlike Kavak, the child had two perfectly formed hands. How unfair. The girl looked about six, wearing red shorts and t-shirt. A sweet, subtle flower scent emanated from her tan skin and long auburn curls. What was it about the human fascination with hair?

A large white cat on the child’s bed hissed and meowed aggressively at the intruder. Not one of those again! The pesky beasts seemed immune to mind control. The feline swatted at Kavak, all claws and fangs, scratching her skin veneer,
then
it scampered away.
Too late.
The stupid animal had disturbed the sleeper.

Kavak had no other choice than to neutralize the waking child. She switched the controlling device from her deformed four-fingered hand to her thumbed hand. When she pushed a pictograph on it, a high-pitched whine, an ultrasound meant to incapacitate humans, filled the room. Green eyes wide with terror, little Celene opened her mouth as if to scream, but no sound came out. A tear rolled down her face as the child lay helpless on the bed. Kavak snatched Celene, slung her over her shoulder then levitated out the gaping window. Carrying the child back to the ship, she ascended along the shaft of light.