Ben Archer

by Rae Knightly

  Ben took the envelopes from her.

  “And come down when you’re done,” she added. “I’ll teach you to make a mint-orange juice cocktail. You’ll see, it’s the best in town.”

  “Ok,” Ben said, grinning, then sprinted up the stairs so he could regain control of his burning cheeks. He shoved open the office door, his backpack slipping to his elbow in the process.

  He found his mother at a desk with a pile of documents around her.

  She placed a pen behind her ear and glued a phone to the other one. She waved at him and signalled for him to wait until she was done. Placing her hand over the speaker, she mouthed, “How was your day?”

  Ben gave her a vague thumbs-up. It wasn’t as if there was much to say: new buildings, new faces, new teachers. He had been left alone most of the time, which suited him fine. He was far from ready to start making new friends. He had waited all day just to be able to join his mother so they could visit Mesmo. Ben’s biggest fear was the alien would take off without saying goodbye.

  He dropped his backpack on the floor and rearranged the stack of envelopes from big to small while he waited for Laura to finish her call. Then, he frowned.

  Why is the wrong name on the envelopes?

  The name printed on them was: ROBERT MANFIELD.

  Laura hung up, and he reached out to give her the mail. “That’s weird. Why is Dad’s name on all the enve…” he started, before breaking off. His frown deepened, and he pulled back the mail before she could take it.

  “Mom? Why is Dad’s name on the envelopes?”

  Something clicked in the back of his mind, something he should have noticed ages ago, but had been too busy to notice.

  “Wait a minute! Robert…” he said with difficulty. “…and Bob. Aren’t those names one and the same?” His mouth went dry all of a sudden because he already knew the answer.

  He watched his mother’s face turn ashen.

  “Mom?” he croaked, engulfed in fear. “Is Bob short for Robert?” The envelopes slid from his hands. His voice shook, and he could not believe the words that came out of his own mouth. “Is Bob my dad?”

  Laura got up from her chair as if a huge weight crushed her back, and she had to hang on the edge of the desk for support. “I need you to listen to me, Ben,” she said slowly.

  Ben’s eyes bulged.

  Why isn’t she answering?

  “Mom?” he yelled. “Is Bob my dad?”

  Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.

  Ben didn’t want to hear the answer. He didn’t want to listen to her confirm her lies.

  “Yes,” she said.

  Ben’s hand flew to his face as if she had hit him with a bat.

  “There’s something you need to understand…” she began, reaching out to him.

  Ben recoiled.

  There’s nothing to understand!

  “You lied to me?” His voice rose a pitch.

  “I didn’t mean to,” she whispered, breaking apart before his eyes.

  “My dad’s alive, and you lied to me all this time?” he shouted, unable to help himself, knowing that every word cut her deeply.

  Memories flashed before his eyes–things that hadn’t made sense before, but did now; moments that he should have spent with his dad, but hadn’t. Years of lies. He backed into the door.

  “No, wait, Ben,” Laura begged. “Don’t turn away from me.”

  He whirled, pulled at the door and bolted down the stairs, ignoring his mother’s calls.

  “Hey, Ben, are you ready for that orange ju…” Pearl’s voice came from behind the counter, but he was already through the door of the pub and out into the bustling street.

  He ignored shouts of anger as he bumped into pedestrians. He dashed down the street, zigzagging among afternoon shoppers and office people, putting as much distance as he could between himself and his mother, his heart thudding with each step.

  The one person I trusted with my life…

  His feet took him to the park, and he kept running even though a stitch nagged at his side. He welcomed the pain. Maybe it would drown his grief. He dropped to the ground at the edge of the lake, sobbing.

  Tike! I need you!

  He wrapped his arms around his legs and bit into his knee. He shut his eyes tight and screamed into his trouser leg.

  Ben rocked back-and-forth, sobbing his heart out, releasing the pain of Tike’s death, trying to make sense of his mother’s lie, wondering if he could ever face her or Bob again.

  The sun reflected a soft orange on the city buildings, which reached for the sky from behind the trees. The lake was a calm greyish-blue, and a couple of ducks swam by.

  A hand touched him on the back. He jumped and laid eyes on Mesmo with relief. The alien sat beside him, and Ben sank his head against his shoulder.

  “What happened?” Mesmo asked.

  Ben told him.

  Mesmo remained silent for a long moment.

  When Ben calmed down somewhat, the alien said, “Has your mother told you her reasons? I’m sure there must be an explanation as to why she hid your father from you.”

  “I don’t care. I don’t want to hear it.”

  Mesmo paused, then said, “I’ve noticed that people sometimes lie to protect their loved ones from painful truths. There is usually a reason behind it. I think you should give her a chance to explain herself.”

  Ben watched a passing motorboat make ripples on the surface of the lake that slowly trickled to shore, thinking about Mesmo’s words. But he felt mentally exhausted and couldn’t come up with any reason to go and listen to his mother. “I want to go with you,” he said numbly. “There’s nothing left for me here. Grampa, Tike, Kimi, I’ll never see any of them again. And now you’re going to leave, too.” His eyes filled with tears again. “You’re the only one left that I can trust.”

  Mesmo wrung his hands together. “I think you’re overreacting right now.”

  “No, I’m not. I could be your co-pilot. I could learn, you know?” He glanced hopefully at the alien.

  Mesmo wrapped his arm around the boy’s shoulders and squeezed them without responding. He didn’t need to.

  Ben’s shoulders sagged. “What should I do, then?” he asked, kicking with his heel at the sand.

  “Make peace with your mother and father,” Mesmo replied. “Bob has offered to help you settle here. You’d be safe here, and you could live close to both your parents. Does that sound so terrible?”

  Ben considered it. He had never dared dream of such a thing: to have both a mother and a father in his life. And now it was suddenly a real possibility. But it would be a life without Mesmo. “You stay, then,” he riposted. “Teach me how to use the skill! Help me protect the animals! And–by the way–you love my mom. I saw you kiss her. So you can’t go!”

  I sound like a little kid.

  “Ben, I…”

  “Yes, I know!” Ben interrupted. “The Toreq won’t allow you to marry twice or something stupid like that. But you’re not on your planet. You’re on Earth.” He glanced pleadingly at the alien, knowing his reasoning was futile. “What? Does that sound so terrible?” he pressed on anyway.

  His words made Mesmo grin. “You are quite a special human being, Benjamin Archer,” he said. “And I’m not saying that because of the skill.” He fell silent and stared at the lake. When he glanced at Ben again, his smile had faded. “But no, I can’t stay.”

  Ben’s head drooped.

  “Come,” the alien said gently. “I will take you home, to your father. And then I must leave.”

  They walked side by side through the park, Ben with his hands in his pockets, the red tie of his uniform loose around his neck.

  “You know,” Mesmo said, “I like it better when you cry from happiness.”

  Ben smiled sadly and put an arm around the man’s waist. “I’m going to miss you,” he said.

  Mesmo placed his own arm around Ben’s shoulders. “I’m going to miss you too, Benjamin Archer.”

/>   CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Treason

  The elevator to Bob’s apartment pinged, and the doors slid open. Ben found his dad pacing along the kitchen counter with a plastic water bottle in his hand.

  “Ben!” he said with some surprise as if he hadn’t been expecting him. He stepped forward, but his face fell as soon as Mesmo exited the elevator. Bob licked his lips and drew back.

  Ben decided to ignore his father’s unwelcome reaction to the alien but felt reluctant to enter the apartment further. His parents’ lie loomed like an insurmountable wall before him. “I need to talk to you,” he said in a dull voice.

  Bob placed the bottle on the counter, then pulled at his collar. “Yes, I need to talk to you, too.” His eyes were fixed on Mesmo while avoiding Bens’.

  “There’s no need. I already know the truth,” Ben said glumly. “You’re my dad. Mom told me.” The words sounded foreign to his ears.

  Bob cleared his throat. “I know, she called and told me what happened. She’s looking all over for you.” He rubbed at the middle of his forehead with his eyes closed. “Look, she made me promise not to say anything. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. We were going to go out, the three of us, have a nice dinner, then talk about it–together. But then, this happened.” He made a gesture that seemed aimed at Mesmo.

  Frustration surged within Ben.

  Why’s he on Mesmo’s back?

  Bob’s eyes darted across the apartment. He waved the boy over. “Can you come on over here?” he said.

  Ben and Mesmo took a step forward.

  “Not you,” Bob snapped at Mesmo.

  Heat flushed through Ben’s body. “Will you stop that? Mesmo’s my friend. He came to help.”

  “Just, come on over here, squirt!” Bob demanded irritably, his voice calling for obedience.

  Ben approached him, a little apprehensive. He noticed small pearls of sweat on Bob’s forehead.

  What’s up with him?

  A reflection on the kitchen fridge moved, making him spin towards the living room. But too late.

  From behind a wall, Connelly stepped out with a gun in his hand.

  Ben yelped, shrinking into Bob in fright.

  “Sh! It’s ok! This is a police officer,” Bob said, wrapping his arm around the boy’s chest.

  “No, wait!” Ben shouted, struggling to free himself from Bob’s restraining grip.

  “Calm down!” Bob urged. “He’s here to protect us.”

  “Are you crazy?”

  “Listen to me!” Bob insisted as Ben squirmed. “This Mesmo is a dangerous felon. The police have been chasing him all across the country.”

  “So you went and called them?” Ben shouted in disbelief, lunging from Bob’s grasp and whirling to face him.

  “Relax, will you? I recognized this criminal the minute I laid eyes on him in the park. You can’t hang out with people like that! Trust me, I know what I’m talking about. They’re dangerous!”

  Ben was on the verge of a breakdown. “You have no idea what you did!” His skin crawled at the shapeshifter’s proximity. “He’s going to kill us!”

  “Don’t be stupid. Let the man do his jo…”

  Connelly bellowed, “That’s enough!”

  Ben whimpered.

  The shapeshifter hadn’t taken his eyes off of Mesmo for a second. His enemy stood poised like a prey backed into a corner, near the elevator.

  “This show has gone on long enough,” Connelly growled. “Time to wrap up.”

  To Ben’s horror, the bald man aimed the gun at him without taking his eyes off of Mesmo. “Let’s go,” he said, talking to the boy.

  “Wait a minute,” Bob protested. “Ben’s not going with you. And point that thing elsewhere. Somebody could get hurt.”

  The bald man turned his head and followed the direction of the gun. Even from where he stood, Ben could see his eyes switching from green to honey-brown. “I won’t say it again,” he hissed.

  Ben knew him well enough to realize that they could all be dead in an instant.

  But Bob didn’t catch on to the threat. “No, no, Ben has nothing to do with this, I told you already…”

  “Get down!” Mesmo yelled.

  A blue shockwave lashed out of the shapeshifter, knocking them off their feet. Ben hurled back as if flicked aside by a giant finger. He slammed into the kitchen counter and saw stars before his eyes. Fighting to stay conscious, he found Mesmo sprawled on the floor by the elevator, while Bob lay in a heap beside him. His back throbbing, Ben watched in horror as the shapeshifter’s body swelled from internal tremors. He reached for Bob and shook him frantically by the shoulder.

  Bob lifted his head dizzily and gasped at the sight unfolding before them.

  The shapeshifter groaned and barred his teeth, unable to control his metamorphosis from Connelly into Bordock. An eerie blue light emanated from him as he hunched over, the gun forgotten in his hand.

  Ben cast a glance at Mesmo, but the alien lay unmoving.

  Bob’s eyes, on the other hand, bulged in terror. He scrambled on all fours behind the kitchen counter.

  Ben wanted to rush after his dad, but instead, he spotted the water bottle that had been knocked to the ground by the blast and had rolled behind a kitchen stool. He reached for it with the tips of his fingers, then shoved it behind his back in a hurry, checking hastily on Bordock.

  The shapeshifter straightened his back, his muscles and bones falling into place. His head spun towards the boy, making a ripple of dread scamper up and down his spine.

  Bordock tossed the gun aside. “Useless thing,” he said. “Don’t make me do that again. Let’s go.”

  Ben cringed and glanced at his dad in a silent plead for help.

  But Bob cowered behind the counter, peeking out at the shapeshifter. He waved a trembling hand at Ben, indicating he should obey Bordock at once.

  His heart shrinking, Ben stood and carefully side-stepped to where Mesmo lay.

  The alien groaned as he regained consciousness. Taking in Ben’s fearful eyes and Bordock’s glowing hands, Mesmo understood they were helpless. He got up with Ben’s help and shoved the boy behind him so he could serve as a buffer.

  “Get the elevator,” Bordock ordered, his eyes burning with anger.

  While Ben obeyed, the shapeshifter revealed a police walkie-talkie from under his suit jacket. He pressed a button and spoke into it, “Coming down with the suspects.”

  Mesmo reacted swifter than lightning.

  Ben had placed the water bottle in his hands seconds after helping him up. A rope of water gushed out of the bottle, lashing at Bordock like a whip. It wrapped itself around the shapeshifter, turning into ice instantly.

  Caught off guard, Bordock lost his balance and fell heavily.

  “Go!” Mesmo yelled to Ben, who was frantically hitting the elevator button. The doors didn’t budge.

  Mesmo grabbed him by the arm and reached Bob in two long strides. “Is there another way out of here?”

  Bob blinked at him and answered with a trembling voice, “Emergency stairs.”

  Mesmo pulled him up roughly. “Take us there N-O-W!”

  Bob whimpered but did as he was told.

  Ben could already hear the ice rope crackling under Bordock’s effort to free himself. He stumbled fearfully after Bob, who led them to the balcony. Behind them, the shapeshifter roared furiously.

  For the second time, Mesmo yelled, “Down!”

  He threw himself on Ben and covered his head with his arms, just as a massive shockwave burst from the shapeshifter. The invisible onslaught hurtled above their heads, crashing into the large windows as if they were made of paper. The glass rippled, then shattered into a thousand pieces that were cast into the air like ice splinters.

  ***

  Laura had combed the park in search for Ben and Mesmo and was heading to Bob’s apartment when she heard the explosion.

  She watched in terror as the windows in Bob’s apartment blew outward. A sprinkle
of flying glass came tumbling into the street, causing havoc among the screeching cars and screaming pedestrians who ran to take cover.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Shame

  Mesmo urged Ben and his father to their feet.

  Bob hopped on to a ledge which led them across the roof of the building. They sprinted to the other side, then clambered down the fire escape staircase at the back of the building.

  “Hurry!” Mesmo pressed as if they needed encouragement.

  They had almost reached the bottom when Ben risked a look up and felt a chill run down his spine. Bordock was observing them from the rooftop.

  They had barely touched the ground when a police car screeched to a stop at the end of the alley. It backed up and turned to head their way.

  The three scrambled the other way.

  Ben checked over his shoulder. Bordock was still watching them from the rooftop, giving orders into his walkie-talkie. Ben could tell the outline of the alien was changing; he was shapeshifting into Connelly again.

  Mesmo rushed them across a street and into another back alley. They hugged the walls when a helicopter flew overhead.

  As soon as it was gone, Ben sprinted on, thinking the others were following. But instead, he heard someone groan behind him. He whirled in time to see Mesmo keel over and crash to the ground.

  “Mesmo!” he yelled, rushing to his side.

  The alien’s hands flew to his head.

  “What’s wrong?” Ben said in anguish, searching frantically for the source of Mesmo’s pain.

  The alien’s body went limp for a fraction of a second, then he came to again with a loud gasp of air.

  Whirling sirens zipping by at the end of the alley spurted Ben into action. “Help me!” he urged a pale-faced Bob, while he grabbed Mesmo under one armpit.

  Bob’s eyes were glazed, but he took Mesmo under the other armpit, and together they dragged the alien into an open warehouse which was filled with piles of boxes.

  Although half a dozen men were busy carrying cargo into the back of a store at the end of the warehouse, they found a safe spot in the right corner, behind a wall of boxes and scaffolds covered in plastic.