Ben Archer

by Rae Knightly

  Her mother shushed her as she held her in her arms.

  When she could speak again, Kimi whispered with an emotion-filled voice, “Iná, are you going to abandon me, too?”

  Maggie’s eyes widened. She took her daughter’s face in her hands, then placed her forehead on the girl’s own. With great determination, she answered, “Never!” She looked deep into Kimi's eyes. “I know I am lost, Kimimela, but I will find my way back to you! I promise!” She spoke words in a language Ben could not understand as mother and daughter hugged each other and sobbed.

  “Benjamin!” Mesmo whispered urgently.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Ben saw the alien disappear, while outside the park, two ambulances pulled up, followed closely by a police car. Paramedics swiftly pulled out stretchers from the back, then rushed over to them.

  Ben reacted too late. He tried to get up, but his legs wouldn’t cooperate. One paramedic covered him with a blanket, then a second one arrived, and they heaved him up with the intent of placing him on the stretcher.

  “N-n-o!” Ben protested, realizing at the same time that he was paralyzed with cold. “N-no hosp-pital!” he stuttered as he struggled to roll off the stretcher. He could see the police officers getting out of their car and heading his way.

  The first paramedic flashed a small light in his eyes. “What’s your name, son?”

  “B-Benjamin A-Archer,” Ben said automatically, then caught himself. “A-Anderson! I mean B-ben And-derson!” He tried to get off the stretcher again.

  The paramedic eyed him worriedly, then took his arm and gave him a swift injection. “You’re in shock,” he said calmly. “You’re suffering from hypothermia, son. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Just try to relax, ok?”

  Ben saw Kimi being taken away on the second stretcher. “No b-blood s-sample!” he managed to utter as he grabbed on to the paramedic's coat. But his fingers had lost their strength and his head swam as he felt himself fall into an induced slumber.

  They’ll find out!

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The War of the Kins

  Laura Archer’s forehead creased with worry over her tired, green eyes as she stared at her sleeping son. Her ash-brown hair was tied in a quick bun, and she bit her lip as she waited for Ben to show signs of waking. She stroked his hair away from his forehead. The boy did not stir but remained in a deep, repairing sleep. She followed the contour of his young face, which had lost its toddler roundness and showed hints of what he would look like as a man. It was only a matter of time before he would be taller than her.

  “Laura,” someone called softly behind her.

  She turned to find Thomas in the doorway. He held the door open to let in a doctor of lanky stature and military-short, grey hair.

  Thomas presented him. “This is Dr. Paul Hughes. He is President and CEO of the Canmore General Hospital.” Then he added meaningfully, “He is also a faithful Canmore Air client.”

  Dr. Hughes and Laura shook hands. “That’s right,” the former said, smiling. “Thomas regularly flies me to conferences and remote locations across the province. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

  Thomas took over. “Dr. Hughes was kind enough to offer to check up on Ben himself.”

  Dr. Hughes held Laura’s gaze, then said with sincerity, “I came to reassure you that Ben’s welfare is our greatest concern, Ms. Anderson. The Canmore General Hospital will do everything to make his stay comfortable. But I must warn you that your son’s heroic act may already have spread like wildfire. We will contain this story as best we can. I have instructed my staff personally to turn away any curious reporters. As a minor, Ben has the right to privacy and his name may not be shared without your strict consent.”

  Laura felt a huge weight lift from her shoulders. “Thank you. We don’t want to become tabloid gossip. I really appreciate your discretion.”

  Dr. Hughes nodded. “You can count on it. Ben only suffers from mild hypothermia, which is quite astounding considering the time he spent in that freezing lake. I could dismiss him now, but encourage you to stay the night so we can monitor him. Physically, he will be back to his old self by tomorrow, though, emotionally, he may be a little shook up.” He took out a card from an inside pocket and handed it to Laura. “Here’s my card. Call me any time if you notice anything unusual. It will be my pleasure to help out a local hero. You can be proud of him!”

  Laura gave him a weak smile as they shook hands again. As soon as the doctor left, Laura glanced at Thomas. “What do you think?” she asked in a low voice.

  Thomas pursed his lips. “I think we should wait. We’ll know by tomorrow if the media caught wind of this.” He paused, before adding tensely, “But if they do, it could mean trouble...”

  ***

  Laura dozed off in an uncomfortable armchair by Ben’s bed. She half-sat, half-lay with her head resting on her arm, her legs folded against her. She felt a soft whisp of air on her cheeks and blinked, only to find Mesmo kneeling before her, studying her face. She breathed deeply through her nose and stretched her cramped muscles.

  “How long have you been here?” she asked, yawning. She checked that Ben was sleeping.

  “A while,” he replied, still staring at her. He pointed at Ben. “How is he?”

  “The doctor says he’ll be fine by morning,” Laura said. She noticed his olive-coloured skin. “You look better,” she observed.

  Mesmo stared at his hands, then said, “I’m eating.” He looked at her with his deep honey-brown eyes again, then added with a small smile, “At least, I am trying to.”

  Laura reached for his face, then followed the contour of his cheek with her hand. She marvelled at how real he looked from so close up. She could see every strand of hair of his brow, the texture of his skin, the detail of his iris. The thought that he was only an illusion when he seemed to be standing before her in flesh and bone was excruciating. She pulled her hand away and held on to the jacket that she had covered herself with to keep warm, never taking her eyes off him. After a silence, she said softly, “Tell me about your wife.”

  Mesmo sat on the floor next to her, leaning his arms on his bent knees. “Her name was Sila,” he said. “She was beautiful and strong. She was highly regarded in her skill–one of the best. She insisted on keeping her hair short. She said it made it easier for her to shift.” He smiled. “She would toy with me and change into amazing beings, but I would always find her in the crowd. It was her expression, you see. No matter who she shifted into, her mouth always made a funny smile, like this…” One corner of his mouth twisted upwards slightly.

  Laura frowned as he spoke. “Wait a minute,” she interrupted. “You said she could shift. Do you mean shapeshift? Like Bordock?”

  Mesmo shook his head. “No, not like Bordock. Bordock was not born with a skill.” His eyes darkened. “So he took hers.” He wrung his hands together. “She did not survive.”

  A shiver crept up Laura’s spine as she straightened in the chair. “What? Are you saying that Bordock forcefully took Sila’s shapeshifting skill? Why would he do such a terrible thing?”

  Mesmo sighed. “I will tell you why.” He held her gaze the whole time he spoke. “My people are called the Toreq. We have spread into the Universe for billions of years and are accustomed to meeting new species and interacting with them. We respect their growth and search for identity and strive to maintain a balance between helping out and interfering as little as possible. The Toreq have created many alliances and trade fairly, though mostly we are satisfied with our home planet and strive to maintain a healthy balance on it.

  “Many generations ago, the Toreq discovered a new species who called themselves the A’munh. We were astounded by their likeness to us, though they did not possess highly developed skills like ours. Still, we took a liking to them, and them to us. We felt as if we’d found distant cousins and were no longer alone in the darkness. We accepted them into our lives; they settled in our cities, in our homes, and made their way up to th
e ring of decision makers of our civilization. They, in turn, accepted us in the same way.”

  He paused. “By the time we realized they were not what they seemed, it was too late. They had infiltrated us to the highest ranks; they had blended into our families. We had been blinded by our joy at finding a kindred species.”

  “Why?” Laura frowned, fascinated. “What did they do?”

  “The A’munh were jealous of our skills and of our peaceful, balanced lives. They were impatient and wanted to reach the same results without understanding that only respect and long-term dedication over time could bring them our affluence. Things went from bad to worse and in their haste to get their hands on what we had, they began to exterminate us from within our very ranks. It took a while for us to realize what was happening. We could not comprehend that our brothers could turn against us like that. But too much jealousy had crept into their hearts and they began to scar the land and snatch things with greed. In spite of all our negotiation efforts, we were not able to avoid the Great War of the Kins.”

  “Both our people ended up broken and barely surviving. Yet the Toreq prevailed. In one of the most painful and shameful acts of our history, we extracted the remaining A’munh from our cities and banished them by force. This happened countless generations ago and we have grown strong again since then. We have not forgotten our past and have grown wiser than before.”

  He paused long enough to make Laura squirm, then stared away as he continued to speak. “It has come to light recently that some A’munh managed to remain hidden among us. The majority of my people live in ignorance of this danger, though a small group of us has become aware that dissidents exist. The A’munh survivors must have found out that I knew of them. That is why they sent a soldier to silence my family and me. And what better way to do that than far away from home?”

  “Bordock?” Laura breathed.

  Mesmo nodded.

  She closed her eyes. How was it possible that she and her son had got caught up in this mess? She thought of Ben and her skin crawled. Her son had one of these alien skills now.

  Mesmo must have noticed her face going pale, because he said, “You see, now, why I do not tell you much? I don’t mean to frighten you.”

  She breathed in shakily, then leaned forward with determination. “There is only one thing I will ask of you.”

  Mesmo waited expectantly.

  “Keep Bordock away from my son!”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Viral

  Ben was cleared from hospital the next day, though he found out that Kimi had to remain there as she had contracted pneumonia and had to be put on antibiotics. She was reacting well to them, however, and doctors were counting on a speedy recovery.

  Ben, Laura, Thomas and Mesmo spent the rest of the weekend at home, flipping through TV channels and radio stations to make sure there were no reports of the incident at the lake. Thomas said that he only heard a quick mention of it on a local radio station, but the conversation revolved more around the danger of people ignoring warning signs near frozen lakes or ice skating on their own.

  By Monday morning, Laura told Ben that she had spoken to Dr. Hughes, who confirmed that his staff had successfully snuffed out the story with curious reporters and that he had dealt with the police himself. She and Thomas decided it was safe to go about their usual activities. So, Laura headed to Tim Hortons, while Thomas dropped Ben off at school.

  Alice, Joelle and Kimberly, the three popular girls of his class, were the only ones still removing their snow gear and rearranging their hair in front of his classroom when he arrived. While he hurriedly took off his toque and gloves, Kimberly turned to him and said shyly, “Hi, Ben.”

  “Uh, hi,” Ben replied, taken aback by the greeting. She had never directed a single word at him before. He realized that all three were looking at him with bambi eyes and smiles that he could not interpret. Ben blushed and concentrated on removing his snow boots.

  As he hung up his jacket, a sixth grader slapped him on the back. “Thumbs up, dude,” he said as he hurried by.

  Ben stared at him, confused, but the boy had already disappeared down the corridor. Was it his imagination, or were several students staring at him while giggling behind their hands? He felt his cheeks go hot and wondered whether there was breakfast cereal stuck to his face. He checked to make sure he hadn’t put on his clothes back to front, but everything was in place. He shrugged and decided he was probably part of some practical joke, then picked up his backpack and entered the classroom.

  Ms. Evans had already started class, so Ben slipped into his seat and hurriedly copied the instructions on the blackboard. He was late as well when the lunch-bell rang because he lost time separating his and Kimi’s notes and assignments. He was still organizing papers when he reached the lunchroom, which was packed with noisy students.

  He became aware of the stares by the time he was halfway across the hall. He slowed and saw students chatting behind their hands with their eyes glued on him. Some nudged each other and pointed.

  A whole group of his classmates were gathered together, focused on something happening in their midst. When they saw him approach, he heard them whisper, “He’s here!”

  Some of them began to clap. Then, to his dismay, the cheering spread to the rest of the group, and all the way to the other tables. In no time, the lunchroom burst into clamour: there were whistles, exhilarated yells and hands slapping against the tables.

  What the heck is going on?

  From the center of the group, Wes and Tyler grinned happily.

  Ben’s face must have been livid because Tyler exclaimed, “Holy moly! Hang on a second! He hasn’t seen it yet! Hey, Ben, come check this out!”

  With dread in his heart, Ben made his way to the center of the group, where Tyler was sitting with an iPad in his hands, which he was holding up for all to see. He punched the screen and a YouTube page appeared. He selected a video and pressed the play button. The person who had filmed the video was not a professional because the image swayed from the sky to the white ground, then back and forth. Wes appeared briefly in the corner of the video, making everyone laugh.

  The white background turned out to be a hill covered in snow, and when the camera peeked to the side of it, a frozen lake bordered by trees appeared. The camera stopped at the edge of the hill and focused on the boy and the dog standing before the lake, then on the girl who was ice-skating in the middle of it.

  “It got twelve thousand views over the weekend, dude!” Tyler announced proudly. “It’s gone viral! You’re a star!”

  Ben felt as if he had just been struck by lightning. He already knew what he was going to watch. There he was, trying to convince Kimi to get off the lake, then, just as he turned around to walk away, she fell through the ice and disappeared. There were gasps from his companions. Ben ran back and forth over the screen, then around the lake and across the ice to the place where Kimi had fallen. Soon he had removed his jacket and scarf, then plunged into the water. There was utter silence in the group as they waited for the protagonists to reappear.

  By some incredible miracle, Mesmo was nowhere to be seen in the video, as he had been standing on the other side of the hill. Ben’s head resurfaced a couple of times, though he was empty-handed, and there were murmurs of worry from his classmates. But when he broke the surface with Kimi in his arms, wild cheers and applause broke out around him.

  The emotions that overwhelmed Ben while he watched the video were staggering. Crippling fear, anger and despair washed over him in multiple waves.

  Twelve thousand people watched this video! Oh my God! Twelve thousand!

  The adrenaline of the past days boiled over. Ben snatched at the iPad in Tyler’s hands, inadvertently pushing against Wes who was sitting on a chair beside him. Wes shoved him back.

  “Make it stop!” Ben shouted desperately, as the video continued to play.

  By the time Ben had dragged Kimi out of the water and Maggie came running to their sid
e, Ben’s worst fear materialized as Mesmo appeared out of the corner of the screen. The alien turned his face briefly towards the camera, his distinct features appearing under his fur hat.

  “Stop it!” Ben cried. He was so desperate he crushed Wes as he reached over him to grab the iPad.

  “Hey!” Wes protested from his chair. He shoved at Ben who lost his balance and fell to the ground at the boy’s feet, his back pushing the table aside.

  Ben sprang up in a second. His mind burst with one thought: Get the iPad! As if that would stop the video from playing all over the world, from Timbuktu to the CSIS headquarters. This time he got ahold of the device, but Tyler had it in his grasp too tightly.

  “What’s the matter with you?” Tyler yelled at him angrily.

  “I said shut it down!” Ben cried, pulling at the tablet. Both boys fell to the ground in a heap, pulling and shoving at each other. It didn’t help when Wes joined the scuffle.

  Like ants drawn to a piece of sugar, a chaotic circle of students formed around them, cheering as the fight unfolded.

  Ben yelped when he received a punch in the eye. He must have kicked Tyler really hard because the boy groaned in pain. Boys and girls shouted them on excitedly.

  Someone grabbed his arm and untangled him from the other two boys. He kicked and punched at the air, even though Joe, the school caretaker, had managed to get a hold of both Wes and Tyler. The circle widened as they were pulled apart.

  Tears streamed down Ben’s face. “You had no right!” he shouted furiously at Tyler.

  ***

  Ben sat in front of the Principal’s office with an ice pack over his black eye–something he was thankful for because he could hide his feelings behind it. A sense of utter despair threatened to engulf him, making him want to weep his heart out. But he couldn’t.