by Greig Beck
It’s nothing, he thought, and pulled himself back to the moment. He was here now, home, and he had survived his ordeal. He was safe.
Ben grinned, then laughed out loud, and then threw his head back. “I’m alive.”
“You won’t be for long if you don’t hurry up, buster.”
Ben grinned wider and looked up. Emma was already at the top, standing on the very cliff edge, unafraid, with her hands on perfect hips. Her tanned, muscled shoulders gleamed with perspiration in the sunlight.
He chuckled and started to climb again. Though she was the expert climber, she had taken him on more climbs now than he could remember. It had made him stay fit, in top shape, and though there were silver streaks in his hair, he was still as tough as iron—at least in his book.
He began to climb faster, and his arms and shoulders screamed. He bet he’d need a good soak in a warm tub, plus a few cold beers after this one.
He reached the top and shook his arms and hands out, letting the muscles unwind. He grinned at her.
“Funny, it looked a lot easier from all the way down there.”
Emma smiled back, her green eyes crinkling at the corners. To him, she was still as beautiful as ever, and though the years had lined the corners of her eyes and mouth, and the sun had given her a million more freckles across the nose and cheeks, she still made his heart leap.
She held her arms wide. “But didn’t I just hear you say you feel alive up here, Captain Cartwright?”
“I sure did. After all, you have to be alive to feel pain, right.” He grimaced theatrically.
“Oh, you big baby.” She walked right up to the cliff edge again and peered over, absolutely fearless. “Climb down, or via the path?”
He held up both hands. “Two votes for the path.”
She laughed. “Deal, but we jog, okay?”
He groaned. “Can we enjoy the view for a few more moments?”
He sat down on a rock, she beside him. Nine years had passed since Emma had ventured to the dark heart of the Amazon Jungle to find him and bring him home. The psychological scars for both of them ran deep, and would take a lot longer to heal, but would never ever fade from their memories.
Ben looked up at the sky. Soon, the comet, Primordia, would arrive back again. Frankly, he didn’t want to give a shit, but every year at this time, it managed to creep back into his consciousness. It was an evil anniversary that had burned itself deep into his brain.
He felt Emma’s thigh rub up against his and he felt he was the luckiest man alive. He sighed and looked back out over the view. The trees drew his attention again.
“Hey, Em, the forest, what’s different about it?”
She stood and walked to the precipice edge and put a hand above her eyes. Her head turned slowly as she scanned along the treetops. She began to shake her head and looked over her shoulder.
“Sorry, I love the view, but I’m usually more focused on the rock faces.” She turned and walked back to him, and came and tapped his broad chest. “You’re the ex-special forces guy supposed to be observing things.”
She was right, he was, and he did. He smiled crookedly up at her for a moment and looked back to the trees. He was sure those pine trees weren’t there before. And they were huge, abnormally huge, and for some reason, familiar.
He wracked his mind, but it just wouldn’t come. He gave up, smiling up at Emma who was still half-turned to him and looking out at the trees again. He smacked her tight butt.
“Okay, last one down buys the beers.” He began to sprint.
CHAPTER 04
The Helios star system, also known as Earth’s Solar System
Comet P/2018-YG874, designate name, Primordia, had finished its elliptical curve around the sun and was on its way back toward Earth. In a few more months, it would be at its apparition point—the closest point to Earth where it becomes visible to the naked eye.
At that time, its astral effects would be felt, but only in one place on the globe—a tabletop mountain, or tepui, deep in the Venezuelan jungles of the Amazon. Primordia had done this for 100 million years, and maybe would for 100 million more.
Unless.
At the other end of space in a circumstellar disc in the outer Solar System, approximately 31 million miles from the sun in a place called the Kuiper belt, an astral body rushed to join the countless other fragments of space debris that already existed there.
Most of the astral bodies were small, made up of little more than frozen gases such as methane, ammonia, and water, and were remnants from when the Solar System was formed. But other suspended bodies were of titanic proportions, and were composed of dense rock and metals.
The newcomer was traveling at bullet speed as it entered the Kuiper belt, and just like in a game of pool, its velocity and mass on collision caused some of the other asteroids to be exploded away from it, and thus, out of the belt.
They were scattered throughout the solar system and beyond. But one of them was sent on a voyage into the heart of the Solar System—toward Earth.
CHAPTER 05
Re-Evolution: 004
The flight home to Greenberry, Ohio took under two hours. Several times, Ben had felt the tingling waves rush through him, making his stomach flip. He also saw the light flick on and off briefly, like a temporary power outage makes the light bulb in a room blink. Once he turned to see Emma’s brows knitted as well, so guessed he wasn’t the only one.
The taxicab dropped them back at the huge family home by early evening. His mother, Cynthia, had passed away a few years back, and now Ben was the new owner. The family estate, assets, as well as the history of the house now all belonged to him, and his wife, Emma.
Ben dropped the bags on the front porch and checked his watch. Zach, their 6-year-old son had been staying with a friend, so this might be the last getaway he and Emma did by themselves. She was determined to take him with them next time, already having him practice on the climbing wall at the local gym.
Zach was being dropped back after dinner, and Ben looked north toward the tree line of their estate, gauging how much time he had to do his last chore. Belle, their aging Labrador, was also having a sleepover with their closest neighbors, Frank and Allie—who overfed her, let her sleep on their couch, and never even bothered to sound off at her when she tracked muddy paws in on the rug. It was a wonder she ever wanted to come home afterward, and probably wouldn’t except Zach was her unofficial fur-brother.
The house was big and would feel empty now. Emma had opened the front door, and he tossed their bags inside.
“Are you gonna get Belle? You can forget about us, because she’ll be the first one that Zach looks for when he gets back.” He heard her rummaging inside.
“Yeah.” He knew she was right. “Kids and their dogs, with Mom and Dad a distant second.”
“Good man; I’ll make you something for when you get back with our four-legged fur-bag.” He heard her chuckle inside.
“Great.” Ben reached inside and grabbed his car keys. “Make mine something that rhymes with: cold deer.”
“Cold ear?” She leaned out and grinned. “You got it.”
Ben laughed as he jogged down the steps and headed to the garage. He took the SUV, revving some life into the cold engine, and then headed down their long driveway to the road.
The properties were big here, so it’d take him a good 20 minutes to reach Frank and Allie’s place across a few miles and some gently sloping hills. They were a nice couple, a little older than Ben and Emma—he a retired engineer, and she still doing something in IT consultancy. Their own kids had grown up and moved away, and their big house just had them rolling around in it now, so any chance they had to look after Belle or Zach, they grabbed it.
Ben pulled into their laneway and headed up the small hill toward their bungalow. Oddly, Belle didn’t come bounding toward him when she heard the car, or even as he stepped out.
He paused to look one way then the other—probably being fed again, he thought
. Never get between Belle the belly and a snack, he guessed.
The porch light came on, the front door squeaked open, and Frank stepped out, holding a cup of coffee. He waved.
“Hi, stranger.”
Ben smiled and walked up toward him. “Howdy, Frank. Nice evening.”
“Sure is,” Frank said. “Coffee? Beer?”
“Nah, I’m good,” Ben replied. He turned about, hiking his shoulders. “Where’s the old girl?”
Frank frowned. “Allie?”
Ben grinned. “Yeah, right.” He came up to the porch and held out a hand for him to shake it.
Frank grabbed it. “Okay, welcome back, neighbor. So what can I really do for you?” He released Ben’s hand and waited.
“Uh, the fur-kid?” Ben still waited for the joke to play out. “You must have really spoiled her this time for her to be keeping her head down.”
Frank’s frown deepened. “Not getting it, buddy?”
Ben liked Frank, but after being away for a few days, he just wanted to get his dog and then get home. “Belle, my dog; can I get her, please? I’m a little tired.”
“Your what?” Frank stepped back a pace, as Allie came to the door.
“Hi, Ben, welcome back. Emma with you?” She looked from Ben to Frank and then back again. “Everything okay?”
Ben nodded, smiling again. “Yeah, sure Allie. Just came to get Belle. Can’t find her.”
“Belle?” Allie’s mouth quirked up in a confused smile. “Who’s Belle?”
Ben had had enough. “Guys, joke’s over. I want to get home. Thank you for looking after her, but I need to get her home before Zach gets back.”
Frank’s face became serious. “Not sure what’s going on here Ben, but you’re making no sense.”
“Belle.” Ben’s confusion was morphing into anger. “My dog.”
“Ben, there is no one here named Belle.” Frank’s voice now had taken on an edge.
Ben felt the emotional climate shift. He was angry, but he could tell the man wasn’t joking. “My dog?”
“What the hell is a dog?” Frank turned to Allie. “Best go inside now, dear. I’ll deal with this.”
Allie’s forehead was creased with concern as she gave Ben a fleeting watery smile and then disappeared back inside, closing the door behind her.
Ben felt like he was on an episode of the Twilight Zone. “My dog, Belle. She’s a Labrador. I gave her to you for minding.”
Frank reached out and put his hand on one of Ben’s broad shoulders, and gently eased him around. “Best you go home now. Get some rest, or something.” He guided Ben to the steps. “We haven’t looked after Zach for months, and certainly haven’t looked after anyone named Belle.”
“No.” Ben shrugged him off and turned. “Belle!” he yelled at the house.
He walked fast ahead of Frank, who stopped at the bottom of his steps and watched him with a careful eye.
“Belle!” Ben yelled again to the grounds. He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Be-eeelle.” But no dog came bounding back.
He whistled loudly. Nothing. It didn’t make sense. The dog was well trained, and if she heard Ben’s voice, she’d come sprinting to him no matter what.
Ben spun. “Joke’s over, Frank. Where’s my fucking dog?”
Frank was 15 years older and probably 50 pounds lighter, but he lowered his head and squared his bony shoulders. “Son, I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. You’re frightening my wife, and pissing me off. Go home and cool down. Right now.”
Ben walked away a few paces, hands on hips, and threw his arms in the air. “Fuck it.” He was more concerned about what Zach would think than anything else.
He stormed back to the SUV, climbed in, started the engine, and jammed his foot down on the accelerator, spraying dirt and gravel as he spun the car around and headed to the front gate.
On the way home, his mind whirled in confusion. He knew he’d dropped Belle off. He’d seen Frank ruffle the fur on her head, and Allie pop a treat into the silly dog’s grinning mouth. He didn’t know what game they were playing but he was damn sure he’d find out.
He grumbled in the cabin of his car; he’d come back tonight with a flashlight if he had to. He was an expert tracker, and as tenacious as a wolverine.
Back on his own property, he skidded to a stop out front, shouldered open the car door, and then jogged up the steps, still muttering.
He had a thought, and stopped—maybe she ran away and they were too embarrassed to admit it. Maybe she came home and found the house empty. Ben turned and cupped his mouth.
“Belle!” He waited a second or two. “Be-eeelle!”
Emma came out holding his beer. “What’s going on?”
Ben spun to her. “The hell if I know.” He rubbed both hands up through his hair, feeling that odd tingle in his stomach again. “Something…weird.” He sighed. “Belle…you know Belle?”
“Uh, yeah.” She held out his beer. “Has something happened to her?” Her brow was furrowed as she looked up into his face.
“Yes, no, ah God, I don’t know.” He grimaced. “I took her to Frank and Allie’s, didn’t I?”
“Of course you did.” She half-folded her arms, still holding his beer. “Where is she?”
“They said I didn’t.” He scoffed. “In fact, they said they never heard of Belle.” His voice rose and he couldn’t help it. “They said they didn’t even know what a goddamn dog was!”
“That’s crazy; you must have misheard him,” she said.
“No, I asked him several times—no Belle, no dog.” He looked heavenward for a moment.
“Rubbish; we’ll go together, talk to them.” She paused. “Wait, let me grab a picture.” She vanished back inside, still holding his beer.
Ben waited, feeling a growing sense of unease in his gut. He suddenly felt like he was being set up for some weird practical joke that everyone was in on except him. All that was needed was the creepy twist at the end.
He heard Emma rummaging, and then the tone of her voice worried him even more.
“Ben?”
He raced into the house and found her in the living room by the fireplace, her hands resting on the mantle. She shook her head slowly.
“It’s gone.”
Ben looked along the items there. Everything was as he remembered—small vases, a colored stone Zach had found, and multiple pictures in silver frames. There was his mom, dad, Emma’s folks, a few of the property in different seasons, several of Zach, and then that was it. There were eight pictures, like there always was. Ben craned forward to the frames—one of the pictures was different now.
He walked toward it on stiff legs, feeling like he was in a trance. It was Zach, after football practice, grinning like a loon as he had scored the winning touchdown. His helmet was lying beside him on one side, and on the other…nothing.
“Where’s Belle?” He lifted it. “He had his hand on her head, and she was sitting, right, here.” He pointed to the empty space.
Emma’s mouth opened and closed and her eyes were blank with confusion. And he knew why—there was no golden dog, looking up at Zach with her typical, sappy, tongue-lolling grin.
Ben brought the picture close to his face, examining Zach, the grass, shadows, anything and everything, as he tried to find some sort of photo-shopping trick. He slowly shook his head.
“What the hell is going on here?” He looked at Emma whose face had drained of color.
His wife’s eyes momentarily widened and she then raced to the kitchen. He heard drawers, cupboard doors, then the pantry opening and slamming closed, and things rattling. Ben followed her in.
“It’s all gone.” She looked at him and just raised her hands, palms up. “All gone; her bowls, her food, toys, everything.” She just shook her head. “It’s like she never existed.”
“What’s a dog?” he mumbled. “Just like Frank asked.”
“This is a mistake.” Emma took the picture from him, bringing it close to
her face and squinting at it.
Ben suddenly felt a deep sense of loss as if the animal had suddenly died. “She was real.” He lifted his gaze up at her. “What’s happening to us?” He smiled but without humor. “Thank God you see it too.”
“Or don’t see it, you mean.” Emma’s frown deepened.
“Mom, Dad?”
Emma’s eyes flicked up to him. “Zach…what’ll we tell him?”
Zach came belting into the kitchen but paused to spin and yell back to the door. “See you, Tim! Thank you, Mrs. Abernathy, bye!”
“Thanks, Angie,” Ben called, and heard Zach’s friend’s mom yell a farewell through the still-open door, and then close it for them.
Zach grinned widely, mop of black hair hanging over his green eyes, and rushed to kiss Emma and then hug Ben. He didn’t even notice their strained looks and instead headed for the pantry for a cookie. He came back and smiled at them through crumbs, but then stopped chewing.
“Wassup?”
Ben looked to Emma and she back to him, both waiting for the other to speak. Ben guessed it was only a matter of time, maybe minutes, before Zach asked where his buddy was, so…
“Zach, we think that Belle has gone missing.”
Zach’s brows pinched together. “Who?”
CHAPTER 06
Pacific Ocean, just off Pacific Beach, San Diego
Re-Evolution: 005
Drake Masterson pulled on the rope tightening the sail in close to the hull, making the boat tilt toward the water in the breeze. Where he sat, he was acting as a counterbalance on the opposite gunwale, and the boat lifted the more it accelerated, requiring him to lean even further out.
He grinned as salt spray whipped his face, and his brawny forearms clung tight to the elasticized rope in one hand and the tiller with the other. The bay was warm this time of year, and a good breeze wasn’t to be wasted.
Drake’s security company was doing really well now. In fact, so well, he didn’t need to be there to oversee it anymore. So he got to spend his time doing something he always wanted to do—go sailing.