by Rae Knightly
CHAPTER 3 The World Beyond
Ben’s sight blurred.
I can’t be running out of oxygen now!
Even if he had been able to release his wrist from the octopus’ grasp, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what his oxygen levels were. Not that it mattered. He was about to get mauled by a shark unless the octopuses decided to cram him into their nest in some crevasse first.
Feeling lost without his sight, Ben went ahead and relied entirely on the information provided to him by his alien skill. He caught a clear feeling of mutual respect between the octopuses and the shark, and Ben realized that, although the latter was heavier and larger than the mollusks, the shark would have trouble taking on two full-grown octopuses if it had to.
The three creatures’ attention turned to Ben, and, surprisingly, their feelings turned cold, as if they rejected him.
The eight-armed mollusks greeted the shark.
Dark king, we bring you a gif-ft.
The great white shark approached, its voice echoing in Ben’s mind.
Why do you bring this creature from the world beyond? Of all living things, it is the one I trust the least.
Ben started. Was the shark talking about him?
The octopus spoke tentatively.
S-still, it is-s better than noth-thing, dark king.
Ben had had enough. He spoke with as much courage as he could muster.
I am Benjamin Archer. I will speak to you, and you will listen!
The shark’s tail fin flicked in surprise. Ben felt the tentacles loosen just a bit around his arms. The cool sensations he had felt from the shark before, turned to interest. You speak. Black eyes watched him. I have never met one of your kind who could speak the tongue of other living creatures. How can that be?
Ben caught his breath. He had to act and fast.
It’s a long story. There is no time to tell it now. I came to give you a message, and I came to check on the corals but found nothing. I want to know what happened, so that I can help.
The shark swam back and forth, considering his words.
Why do you lis-sten, dark king? This-s creature does-s not des-serve your attention. Take him, now.
Ben struggled against the octopuses’ grasp, irritated by their interruption. He could not afford to lose the shark’s attention.
The shark eyed him.
Why would you care about the corals? Your kind destroyed them. Your people raked the floor, broke everything. The fish have gone. Those who survived the attacks have starved to death. We are the only ones that remain, and our time is counted. How can you not know this, you, who come from the world beyond?
Ben caught the tone of accusation in the great beast’s words. A wave of sadness washed over him. I am sorry. This should never have happened. But that’s exactly why I came. You see, I speak your language, and I also speak the language of my people. I wish to be the translator between our two worlds. I will be your spokesperson. Let me be your voice.
While he sent out his thoughts, Ben tried to take small gasps of breath. He knew he was running dangerously low on oxygen. His brain fogged up, and his muscles numbed.
The shark showed interest in Ben’s words, and the octopuses knew it.
Dark king. Do not lis-sten to th-this-s treacherous-s creature. It cannot be trus-sted.
Without warning, the shark lurched forward, snapping rows of razor-sharp teeth. Although it had only meant to startle the octopuses, it succeeded so well that they loosened their grip on Ben. His arms slipped between the tentacles.
Too shocked to react, Ben toppled down the chasm. He reached out, willing his arms and legs to swim, but instead, his right hand banged hard against the rocky wall.
“Ouch!” he mumbled, eyes watering. His foot hit a jutting rock. By some miracle, his left hand caught it as he tumbled past. He clung on for dear life.
BLOOD!
The shark’s word boomed from the darkness.
I smell blood!
In a flash, the shark went berserk.
There was no escape.
Ben shielded his head with his arms and braced for the iron-clad jaws to close on him.
BANG!
Explosions blasted through the ocean.
Peeking through his arms, Ben watched a thick sheet of transparent ice barrel past him, separating him from the shark’s attack.
The shark backed away, surprised, but not defeated. Already, it turned again. There was no talking to him now.
A slimy octopus tentacle wrapped itself around Ben’s leg, tugging him off the rock.
SNAP!
A flash of lightning (or was it ice?) bolted through the water, slicing the tentacle from its host. Ben vaguely registered falling into a black spray of ink as the octopus scampered away. He rolled further down the abyss.
Then, out of nowhere, Mesmo caught him in his arms. The boy let himself go limp, though he remained conscious enough to know the shark lurked close.
The second octopus curled an arm around his wrist.
SNAP!
It, too, lost a tentacle.
More ink. More confusion. Frenzied jaws snapping at them from behind the artificial ice created by Mesmo’s skill.
The alien sped up the chasm wall.
Too fast.
Way too fast. “Mmm…mmm.” Ben tried to warn his friend.
But Mesmo soared like a bullet towards clearer waters, oblivious to Ben’s weak calls.
The boy’s brain crushed under the pressure. He reeled as pain seared through his muscles.
As soon as they breached the surface, the alien man tore off Ben’s mask and snorkel.
Thick liquid poured out of Ben’s nose, turning the sea, red.
“Benjamin!” Mesmo’s distraught call sounded distant.
Ben fought to control violent spasms that coursed through his body. “De-c-c-comp-p-p…” Decompression, he tried to say, casting a pleading look at his friend.
Mesmo held him tight. “I’ve got you,” the alien said, his voice hollow with worry.
Darkness swallowed Ben.
I’m falling again!
“I’ve got you,” the voice echoed.
* * *
Laura Archer rushed into the kitchen, emptied her half-empty cup of coffee in the sink, then buttoned up her suit jacket. She grabbed her smartphone out of her purse and checked for messages. There was nothing new since Mesmo’s last text: RUNNING LATE. C U TONIGHT.
That was it. No further explanation.
She tapped her fingers on the counter, wondering what to do. If she delayed any longer, she’d be late for work. She checked the phone again and confirmed that the message had arrived in the early hours that same Monday morning. So, Ben and Mesmo would be home tonight.
Everything’s ok, then, right?
Except that Ben was going to miss another day of school. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
Ben’s learning so much on his trips with Mesmo, she reminded herself. What school could offer those kinds of global field trips?
She wondered once more if she should have gone with them, but then stopped herself. She’d had enough adventures. Doing normal things helped her keep focused and anyway, at least one person in this household had to keep their two feet on the ground.
She only had herself to blame for worrying.
A loud knocking on the door startled her. She rushed to open it, wondering why Mesmo and Ben weren’t coming home through the back.
Except it wasn’t Ben or Mesmo. It was a young man with curly hair and a camera strung over his shoulder.
Laura blinked, raising her guard. “Yes?”
“Oh, hello, Miss. Sorry to bother you so early,” the lanky man said, raising his sunglasses to rest on his head. “I’m kind of new to the area, and I guess I got lost. I’m looking for Joshua’s Eco Farm. It’s supposed to be the second exit after Chilliwack. Have you heard of it?”
Laura gave him a quizzical look. “Hum, no, sorry, I haven’t heard of it. But this is th
e first exit, so you probably want to go back to the Highway and keep going till the next exit.”
“Ah, ok, that would make sense,” the man said. He backed away with a salute. “Appreciate it.”
Laura nodded and inserted the key into the lock of the front door to leave for work, but the man just stood there.
“Say, Miss,” he said. “Would this be the place where The Cosmic Fall occurred?”
Laura froze with the key still in the lock. She took it out slowly and faced the man. “Why do you want to know?”
“I’m sorry. I should have presented myself,” the man said, stepping forward and extending his hand. “I’m Jeremy Michaels, reporter with the Provincial Times.”
Laura stared at his hand then shook it loosely, felling goosebump rise on her arms. “A reporter?”
The man gave a little cough. “Yes, well, straight out of university, really. I’m on my first assignment.”
He must have sensed her tense because he added quickly, “Oh, uh, not The Cosmic Fall. I mean, my assignment is to write an article on Chilliwack’s organic produce. That’s why I’m looking for Joshua’s Eco Farm.” He stared at the fields longingly. “But, yeah, coming here, I suddenly remembered The Cosmic Fall happened somewhere close, so I was wondering if you could point out the location to me.”
“You won’t find anything around here,” Laura said. “You need to go into Chilliwack for that. The town hall can probably give you a lot more detail.” She headed to her car. “Look, I’m sorry, but I’m late for work…”
The reporter caught on. “Of course! Of course!”
Laura slipped into the car seat and was going to shut her door when the reporter stepped forward and blocked it.
“So, like, you don’t know anything about The Fall? I mean, from what I heard, the explosions woke up the whole town. You must have seen something,” he insisted, infuriating Laura.
“Look, Mister Michaels, I wasn’t living here at the time, ok?” she said, then pulled so hard at the door that he had to leap back, so it didn’t hit him.
Laura glared at him as she turned the key in the ignition and sped away, watching the reporter stare after her in her rear-view mirror.
* * *
Soft, blurry light.
Ben’s cheek stuck to a smooth surface.
The floor of the spaceship…
He recognized it because the metal wasn’t cold and hard like iron but rather, a softer version that copied his body’s temperature. So why did he feel like a battered lump of clay trying to mould itself into shape again? Why did every extremity hurt?
Then he remembered the great white shark and gasped.
“Sh,” Mesmo said beside him. “Lie still.”
Ben’s eyes focused. A soft blue glow travelled up and down his body, leaving him with a warm, tingling feeling. “Wha…?”
Mesmo’s sat cross-legged before him, forehead creased. “Relax. Give it some time,” he said. The alien was biting his nails.
Ben had never seen Mesmo bite his nails before. Mom does that, too. “How long…?” he croaked.
“A couple more hours.”
Ben tried to move his arm, but that only sent lightning-bolts of pain from his fingers to his shoulder. He sagged in resignation. A couple more hours… He scrunched his face, trying to ignore his screaming muscles.
“I don’t get it,” Mesmo said, interrupting the boy’s inner battle.
Ben forced his eyes open a crack. “Wha’?”
“I don’t get why humans have forgotten how to live under the ocean.”
That was unexpected.
“Huh?”
“The A’hmun… you know, your ancestors? Well, if my people’s history records are correct, the A’hmun built many cities under the vast oceans of their planet, Taranis.”
Mesmo was trying to distract him from the pain, Ben realized. It worked. The truth was, Ben still hadn’t quite wrapped his head around the fact that millennia ago, humans had originated from a distant planet called Taranis. Humans had called themselves A’hmun back then.
“Wha’ happen’ to Taranis?” Ben managed, welcoming Mesmo’s diversion.
The alien shrugged. “Oh, from what I’ve heard, the planet has been uninhabitable for centuries, ever since the end of the Great War of the Kins.” He looked down at Ben and added apologetically, “I guess my people didn’t give it much of a chance of survival.”
Ben felt a ripple course down his spine at the idea that an alien civilization had the power to wipe out life from an entire planet. Ok, maybe that wasn’t exactly the kind of distraction he’d hoped for.
The A’hmun and the Toreq. A glorious past of ancient alien races, erased from human minds. They had been like brothers once. But then the War had broken out, leaving both civilizations in shambles. The Toreq had herded the few A’hmun survivors and banished them to a tiny, insignificant planet called Earth.
Earth isn’t insignificant.
Ben clenched his jaw. He had admired his home planet first-hand from the cockpit of Mesmo’s spaceship.
A speck of blue. A grain of sand lost in the darkness. Perhaps. But not for Ben. There was no darkness on Earth. It teemed with life, sounds, colours and emotions. Ben didn’t care if the Toreq saw it as a mere prison for the remnants of their terrible enemies. He would protect and preserve it to his dying breath.
Ben exhaled slowly, clearing his mind and willing himself to be patient while he healed. He turned his head and watched the circle of light wash over him time and time again, soothing his aching body. He recognized the closed shaft. Mesmo’s shapeshifting enemy – Bordock – had lain lifeless in this exact spot not so long ago. “What is this, anyway?” he said, unable to stop a shiver.
“Radiation,” Mesmo answered. “It is removing the nitrogen bubbles from your bloodstream.”
Radiation? Ben decided he didn’t need any more details, so he turned the other way and caught sight of thick, pink clouds outside the spaceship window. “Are we airborne?”
Mesmo nodded.
“How long have I been out?” Ben could feel his strength returning by the second.
“About ten hours.”
“Ten hours?” He sat up this time, horrified, then shut his eyes as his brain exploded. “Ouch,” he groaned, grabbing his head between his hands. He squinted at his friend. “Mom’s going to kill us.”
Mesmo lifted an eyebrow. “She can’t do that. I just saved you.”
Ben grimaced. He rubbed his throbbing head and admitted, “That didn’t go quite as planned, did it?”
Mesmo jabbed his index finger at him. “Benjamin, you are diving with me next time.”
CHAPTER 4 Camping
Ben stared out the window of the rowdy school bus and drifted into a daydream.
“…Matt Caine’s in it too,” a blond-haired boy commented from a row behind him.
“Yeah, he’s the bad guy,” a second teen agreed.
“It’s showing tomorrow at 3.50, at the Star Theatre,” a third one said, glued to his smartphone.
“Ok, great! So, who’s coming?” The second one asked, to which all three cried “Me!”
“Hey, Ben, are you in?”
Ben turned, blinking. “Huh?”
“Dude! Galaxy Hero is on this weekend. Are you coming?” the blond-haired boy insisted.
Ben straightened. “Oh. Um, I can’t. But thanks.”
His classmate stared at him.
Ben cleared his throat. “Maybe next time. I promised my dad I’d help clear the yard.”
The second boy groaned. “Again?”
“Didn’t you do that last weekend?” the third one quizzed, pointing at Ben’s bandaged hand.
The blond-headed boy shook his head knowingly. “Parents. They never give us a break…”
“I found the trailer!” the boy with the phone shouted.
“Lemme see!”
All three boys shoved into the same bus seat to peer at the small screen, freeing Ben from their attention. He tur
ned and watched the passing scenery again, sighing inwardly.
The bus emptied a handful of students at a time until only Ben remained. Once on the outskirts of town, he said goodbye to the cheerful bus driver and began his walk up the dusty road towards the house his grandfather had left him and his mom.
His thoughts shifted to the three boys on the bus. In other circumstances, he wouldn’t have minded getting to know them more. He would probably have fit in quite well, come to think of it, as he had noticed that they had timidly tried to include him in their conversations before. He’d also heard Galaxy Hero was a hit, and he knew without a doubt that the movie would be the talk of the class by next week.
He kicked at a stone, feeling guilty for thinking about a fictional movie, when, in the real world, he was stuck with major problems that required his full and undivided attention.
He straightened his backpack, then winced because he forgot he was using his injured hand. Although the gash he had obtained under the sea was healing nicely, it was a constant reminder of last weekend’s failed outing.
Everything had gone wrong: the thriving coral reported by one of the Wise One had been destroyed, the creatures he had tried to communicate with had turned against him, and he hadn’t even been able to deliver the carefully crafted message he and Mesmo had worked on.
And this hadn’t only occurred in French Polynesia. Out of all the locations he and Mesmo had visited so far, only a few sustained a viable ecological environment to maintain animal life. And where animals thrived, a silent illness – caused by human contamination – infested them like cancer that risked declaring itself within a decade, a year, maybe even a month.
The future looked bleak.
If Mesmo and Ben didn’t find a way to communicate with the animal kingdom, their future and that of humans was at stake. If humans didn’t learn to live peacefully beside other living creatures and didn’t help them with the healing process, there wasn’t much hope of survival for any of them, human or animal. And, in the end, the wrath of the Toreq that hung above their heads like the sword of Damocles would come crashing down on them.
Ben’s mood dropped a notch. He was failing grandly at his task. How was he ever going to bring everyone together?