by Rae Knightly
Ben gave a tense nod.
The Sheriff turned to leave, then added, “I will not sleep well tonight, knowing these poor creatures continue to suffer needlessly by your doing.”
The men threw Ben a dissatisfied look, then headed back the way they had come.
Uncle Pete squeezed Ben’s arm, then joined the group.
Ben felt his muscles weaken in relief, as he and Wilson watched the men leave.
“Well, there you have it, Ben-friend. One more night,” Wilson said. “Though I really don’t see what difference it will make. Even the tide did not pull the orca back into the sea. Only a miracle can do that now.”
Anna approached and placed her hands on Ben’s own. “I’m sorry, Ben,” she said sadly.
Wilson put his arm around Anna’s shoulders, and the couple walked away with their heads down.
Kimi came running to Ben’s side, having been held back by the police officer combing the beach. She rubbed her hands over her pale cheeks. “What are we going to do now?”
Ben stared at the sea, the words that Wilson had spoken bouncing around in his mind. What was it that he had said? Goosebumps covered his arms. “The tide!” he breathed, adrenaline rushing through his body.
Kimi sniffled. “Yeah, that’s what Wilson said. The tide came in while we were sleeping on the beach last night. But all it did was keep the killer whales wet enough so they could live another day.”
Ben’s eyes widened. His mouth fell open. “The tide!” He slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. “How could I be so stupid?”
Kimi looked at him as if he had gone crazy.
A huge grin crept on to his face, excitement coursing through his blood. His voice trembled. “I know how to save the orca!”
The wheels in his brain turned at full speed like the engine of a locomotive. He glanced hurriedly up and down the empty beach. “A phone! I need a phone!” His eyes widened. “And I know just where to get one.”
CHAPTER 13 A call
Jeremy Michaels crouched in his tent and connected his camera to his laptop so he could download his pictures. The laptop rested on his backpack, and the camera sat on a book on the ground. A camping light was swaying on a hook attached to the roof of the tent. To the side, the reporter had spread his sleeping bag and placed a neat pile of fresh clothes at the foot of it so he could change easily in the morning. His smartphone lay visible on top, so he wouldn’t miss any incoming messages or calls.
He was still chewing at the last piece of caramel-and-nut bar, his fingers typing swiftly across the keyboard when a branch cracked outside.
“Who’s there?” he yelled, all senses alert.
“It’s me,” a voice replied. “Ben Archer.”
Jeremy stopped munching.
What’s that kid up to now?
Jeremy unzipped the front of the tent, and a humid ocean air slapped him in the face. He stood protectively in front of the tent, allowing just a sliver of light to illuminate the kid. And beside him was a girl with long, black hair.
Great. Now there’s two of them.
The kid gestured towards the girl and said, “This is my friend, Kimi. We’re staying with her uncle and aunt not far from here.”
Jeremy rested his weight on one leg, waiting.
The kid cleared his throat. “Um, I saw your tent,” he said.
“So?”
“I also saw you using your smartphone on the beach earlier.”
“So?”
“So, if you used your phone, it means communications are up again.”
Jeremy crossed his arms in annoyance. “Get to the point, kid.”
“I need to use your phone,” the boy blurted, then added quickly, “Please?”
Jeremy’s mouth opened in mock disbelief. “Is that so? And may I ask why?”
“I need to call my mom. It’s an emergency.”
Jeremy snorted.
I knew he was up to no good.
“Um, let me see.” Jeremy stared in the distance, pretending to think hard, then said, “No. Goodbye.” He whirled and made to enter his tent again.
“Wait!”
Jeremy turned and looked at the kid again.
“Please, this is really important. It won’t take more than a minute.”
There was something about the kid’s voice that almost made him give in. Almost. But then he came back to his senses. This was a boy he had come to mistrust. And he knew the feeling was reciprocal.
“Jeez’,” Jeremy said. “Do you really think I’m going to lend you my phone just because you’re homesick? That’s my office phone, by the way. Do you know how hard I worked to get my boss to give me one of those?” He rolled his eyes. “What would you know?” He waved the kid away with his hand. “Go on, scram. Both of you. I’ve got an article to finish.”
This time Jeremy entered the tent and zipped up the entrance, feeling a pang of guilt as he did so. He sat in front of his computer, his hands hovering over the keyboard. He was supposed to write but found himself listening instead.
Are they still there?
He couldn’t hear anything. After ten minutes, he unzipped a corner of the entrance and peeked outside. Even in the dark, he could just make out the shore through the bushes and trees that protected his tent, but nothing else moved.
Some animal chirped nearby.
Jeremy shrugged, zipped up, and wiped his hands together.
Good riddance.
He settled down and raised his fingers over his keyboard again.
More chirping.
But this time, the sound came from close. Very close.
He froze, struck by certainty.
There’s an animal in my tent!
Fear scurried up-and-down his spine. He whirled and found a tear in the fabric on the other side. Something rather large moved under his clothes.
“Aargh!” he shrieked, falling back in shock.
A raccoon popped its head out of his sweater, resembling a thief from a comic book. It stretched and eyed him curiously, it’s pointy nose sniffing. Jeremy’s smartphone wobbled in its dexterous paws.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Jeremy yelled.
The furry animal screeched.
Jeremy plunged after it, narrowly missing it as it slipped through the opening with his phone. “Come back here!” he bellowed.
Jumping up, the reporter bumped his head against the lamp, then stepped on his computer in his haste to get outside. Roaring, he tore at the zipper, rolled on the ground, and sprang to his feet like a ninja.
Jeremy scanned the darkness, a thousand nasty words racing through his mind. As the chirping receded, he balled his fists and hollered, “Oh, you… you!”
* * *
“Mesmo’s in a meeting. Mom said she’ll have him call right back,” Ben said, thrusting Jeremy’s phone on his sleeping bag.
“A meeting in the middle of the night?” Kimi raised an eyebrow. “I don’t see what Mesmo could do. It’s not like he can just beam himself over.”
Ben hopped on one foot, then on the other, pretending to be cold. He walked over to his sleeping bag and lay down on it. “I just know he can help. There’s nothing more we can do right now, except wait for him to get back to us.” He zipped up the sleeping bag to indicate he wanted to get a shuteye.
Kimi curled up in her own sleeping bag, eyeing him silently.
Feeling awkward at not being able to give his friend more details, Ben placed Jeremy’s phone next to him and cleared his throat. “Can I ask you something?”
“Mm.” Kimi pulled the sleeping bag over her ears.
“Wil said something in Flemish to Uncle Pete earlier. He said I was a zieflusterer, or something like that. Any idea what it could mean?”
She didn’t answer at first, and for a moment he thought she was tired and wanted to be left alone. Several times that day, she had seemed distant, as if something had bothered her. But then she turned on her back and blinked. “I don’t know the Flemish word, but Wilson told me it m
eans ‘ocean whisperer’. Wil and Uncle Pete’s ancestors have known the ocean for so long that they have become one with the sea and the shore. They know the meaning of the ocean currents and the winds; they know which school of fish feed where, what they feed on, and which birds to follow for a good catch. The ocean is so ingrained in their lives that they’ve come to believe there isn’t much difference between humans and sea creatures because they all form part of the natural world.”
She turned to her side and closed her eyes. Her voice sounded muffled and drowsy. “Wil was telling Uncle Pete that you know something more about the sea than he does. It’s not an easy thing for him to swallow. How could an outsider know more about the sea than he? But he trusts Wil, and so he trusts you.”
She fell silent.
Ben sat with his arms around his knees, staring at the dark forms of the killer whales before him. A sprinkle of stars illuminated the crashing waves, and he thought of the immense world that lay beneath the water. A world he did not know that well but one which he had had a small glimpse of through the eyes of the creatures that inhabited it.
Humans are so busy on the surface of the planet. Why do they ignore what lies below?
“Kimi?” he said.
There was no answer.
“Good night,” he whispered.
She had given him an honest answer, but no more than that. Normally, they would have talked for hours, but it wasn’t really surprising, he guessed, considering everything that was going on. It was best to let her sleep. Once this was over, he promised himself they’d talk more.
Ben yawned so hard his jaw hurt. His eyelids felt like lead. He settled further into his sleeping bag to fend off the chilly air.
It was his second night on the beach, and every muscle in his body hurt. He thought briefly of the comfy bed in Uncle Pete’s house but quickly shut the idea out of his mind. As long as the orca were agonizing out here, he would stay by their side.
He glanced at Jeremy’s phone. It was one o’clock in the morning. He bit his lip, feeling another wave of remorse at having stolen it, but this was a question of life and death. He’d return the phone by morning and make it up to Jeremy, somehow.
He snuck the phone into the back pocket of his jeans, then checked on Kimi, who lay fast asleep beside him, wondering if she was all right.
CHAPTER 14 Tide
“Benjamin?”
Someone shook him by the shoulders. Ben opened his eyes. He blinked and found Mesmo crouching beside him, his index finger over his lips to indicate silence.
Ben flung his arms around the alien, then checked on Kimi.
Boy and man got up and walked until they were out of earshot.
“Am I glad to see you!” Ben exclaimed.
“I came as soon as I could,” Mesmo answered. “Your mom said it was urgent, that you were in some kind of trouble.”
Ben shook his head. “No, not me,” he said. “But them.” He pointed at the orca, then took Mesmo by the arm. “Come.”
They approached the biggest orca, and Ben’s hands glowed as he touched Kana’kwa’s tough skin. The orca’s pain made tears spring into his eyes. “This is Kana’kwa,” he told Mesmo, then pointed at the other killer whales. “And this is her family. They are stranded and can’t get back to the sea. We’ve tried everything, but have not been able to save them. Only you can do that, with your water skill.” His belly fluttered. “What do you think? Could you do it?”
Mesmo glanced at the orca, frowning. “There are so many of them…” he began, then rubbed his chin, as if calculating his chances. “This is a job that would require at least three Toreq people skilled in water, but maybe…”
He paced up and down, analyzing the situation, then threw Ben a determined look. “I don’t know, Benjamin. This is going to be hard, but I’ll do my best.”
Ben’s heart leapt.
“Tell them to be ready,” Mesmo said, then stepped straight into the waves, unfazed by the water’s strength or temperature. His hands gleamed blue.
Breathless with excitement, Ben directed his thoughts to the killer whales.
Brace yourselves!
“Better move away,” Mesmo yelled, before plunging his hands into the water. A blue glow seeped through the water from Mesmo’s hands down the shore, reaching at least five orcas. The waves stilled as if listening to a silent command. Then the phosphorus liquid began rising smoothly up the beach, forcing Ben to step back further and further.
Ben could tell that Mesmo, who crouched with his hands outstretched, tensed under enormous concentration.
Orca vocalizations reverberated in the boy’s mind, making goosebumps rise on his skin. Static filled the air, born from a fragile hope. Already, Ben could feel his body weight lighten as he rested his thoughts on the outskirts of the orca’s minds.
The water rose, rose, almost covering the five whales’ backs.
Mesmo’s muscles trembled with the effort. He sustained the water with one hand and placed his other hand in the sand, forming an ice-sheet behind the whales. Then, just like that, he released his power. The air sucked at Ben’s clothes, making him stagger forward. The water receded like a tsunami swallowed by a gigantic drain.
The orcas’ clicks echoed across the beach.
Mesmo bent again, repeating the process, and each time, the killer whales slid back, some even rolling on their side, their tails splashing in the water.
This went on all night, five orcas at a time: Mesmo, crouching with his glowing hands in the sea, covering the mammals, then sucking the water, along with the killer whales, back into the sea. And Ben, running from one orca to the next, making sure they were free and unharmed.
The pod sang to one another anxiously, spouting fountains of water through their blowholes, and with painstaking effort, moved ever deeper into the bay.
By the time Mesmo and Ben were done, the beginning of dawn was creeping upon them.
The alien crashed on his back, gasping.
Ben crouched on all fours until he reached the alien’s side. His body was so exhausted and exhilarated at the same time, that he couldn’t stop giggling stupidly.
Mesmo stared at him and grinned.
“Lift your hand,” Ben said.
Mesmo did so, and Ben slapped it hard.
“Ouch!” the alien said, glaring at him. “What did you do that for?”
Ben laughed. “That’s a high five, dude! It’s a congratulatory gesture. Get used to it!” He rolled on his stomach. “We make a good team, you and I. If only the Toreq would work with humans. Together, we could make miracles.”
Mesmo stared at the starry sky and sighed. “If only the Wise Ones heeded your words, Benjamin.”
Ben lifted his head. “It’s that bad, then?”
Mesmo nodded glumly. “I’m going to have a hard time convincing them to help us, Benjamin. When the Toreq banished the A’hmun to Earth, seven Wise Ones were selected among your people, the rare ones whom the Toreq still considered worthy.
“The Wise Ones were appointed custodians and ordered to report back to the Toreq on the doings of your species, with the promise of a one-way ticket back to the Mother Planet at the end of their lives, as thanks for their lifelong service. The Wise Ones have been abiding by this order for millennia, passing on their knowledge from one generation to the next. Changing their habits now will be close to impossible.”
Ben lowered his head. “I’m sorry.”
Mesmo stood and shook off the sand from his trousers.
Ben followed. “Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll get them to change their minds. I don’t know how yet, but we will.”
Mesmo smiled. “Of course, we will, Benjamin. But right now, I have to get back. The last Wise One has just arrived, and I will begin the meeting. They will be wondering where I am. Plus, I wouldn’t want anyone to stumble on the spaceship.” He gestured towards the dense vegetation bordering the beach. He cast his eyes on Ben. “What about you? Will you be all right?”
�
��Yup. More than fine, considering everything that’s happened.”
Mesmo raised an eyebrow. “Really?” He smiled. “Then your mother was right. She does know you well. I was afraid you would hate us forever for sending you here.”
They walked up the beach, Mesmo’s arm around Ben’s shoulders, his arm around the man’s waist.
Ben shrugged. “It’s just that, it’s actually not that bad.”
“Well, all right then. But remember one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Stay out of trouble, ok?”
* * *
After saying their goodbyes, Ben ran back to the edge of the shore. The sky had turned a lighter colour. Some stars still clung to the night, but the bright rays of the sun began chasing them away from beyond the horizon.
It felt strange to see the empty beach, after having spent so much time with the orcas.
Ben scanned the bay and noticed many of the killer whales still lingered close to shore. They didn’t seem in a hurry to leave. He guessed they needed time to recover from their ordeal.
It won’t do to have them wash up on the beach again.
Remembering the small pier from which he had sailed with Wilson not long ago, Ben jogged down the shore and was relieved to find Uncle Pete’s motorboat still attached there.
He hopped on and felt his way around the steering wheel, where he had seen Wilson hide the key. And lo-and-behold, there it was, stuck under a loose board.
In an instant, the motor roared to life and Ben headed into the bay, approaching Kana’kwa. The voice that greeted him did not have its former strength, but it was not frail, either.
Benjamin Archer.
Are you all right?
Kana’kwa huffed through her blowhole.
We are tired, we are in pain, but we are alive. Thanks to you.
Ben grinned.
Yes, Kana’kwa, you will be alright. Just take it easy, and make sure you don’t head towards the shore again.
Benjamin Archer, will you lead us? We are too tired and confused.
Of course, Kana’kwa. Tell your pod to follow me.
He took off again, heading the way Wilson had gone last time because it was the deepest and safest route.