by Rae Knightly
Her eyes slid back to Mesmo. “You know I love you, don’t you?” she breathed, the words leaving her mouth in such a natural way, she did not even try to stop them.
He turned to face her. Although covered with shadows, his brows knit together slightly. Was it from sadness? Or disappointment? He opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted before he could.
“Don’t!” she said. Then, more gently, “You don’t have to say anything. I’ve been fighting this feeling for the longest time. There’s nothing I can do about it. It’s the simple truth and I have to learn to live with it.”
She studied his handsome face. “I don’t expect anything from you, Mesmo. I know your people won’t allow you to love again...” She sucked in air. “…which is something I will never understand… but I know you have to leave. And I promise I will do everything in my power to help you get back home.” Her eyes clouded. She breathed deeply and turned to face the landscape so he wouldn’t see her tears.
The Northern Lights faded away slowly, leaving place for the stars and distant, incoming clouds. A freezing wind picked up around them, seeping through their invisible cocoon.
“Laura,” he said.
She struggled to look at him, not wanting him to see her so vulnerable. When she faced him, she noticed that his eyes were sparkling. Was he crying, too?
He stated in a clear voice, “I cannot love you.”
They held each other’s gaze for the longest moment, like an invisible bond drawing them together. Then, without warning, he closed his tired eyes and disappeared.
Laura gasped at the sudden, cold void before her. The wind whipped at her face, freezing her ears and nose. With a heavy heart, she abandoned the hilltop and trudged back to the house, holding the alien object tightly. And all the while, she pondered the hidden meaning behind Mesmo’s words, when he had purposefully said, “I cannot love you,” instead of “I do not love you.”
* * *
In a high-rise of Phoenix City, sprawled in the Arizona desert, a stocky man typed a password on his laptop. The screen wavered before revealing black-and-white images. The camera that filmed the images was placed in the top corner of a bare room. A hospital bed was the only furniture. A tall man lay on it.
The stocky man adjusted his Gucci glasses before his small, green eyes before using the mouse on his laptop to zoom in on the sleeping man’s face, then waited expectantly. Soon, the sleeping man’s eyes fluttered open. He remained lying still for some time before pushing himself up into a sitting position with difficulty. Even on the black-and-white image, his white hair contrasted with his darker tan and eyes. After remaining that way for several minutes, the subject being watched so intently carefully got off the bed, then took a few paces around the room, rubbing his face with his hands.
He seemed to notice a food tray that had been shoved under the only door in the room and stared at it for some time, before reaching down to pick it up. He placed the tray on the bed and poked unenthusiastically at its contents. Finally, he picked up the hamburger and took a small bite.
A distant voice came through the computer. “Boss, are you watching this?”
The stocky man knitted his thick black and grey eyebrows, unhappy at the interruption. “Of course, I am!” he said icily. “The question is, what am I to make of it?”
The voice said neutrally, “He’s getting better. Whatever it is he’s doing during his blackouts is working. We held off the feeding tube as long as we could. The invasive procedure could have set his heart racing again. So this is a good sign.”
“Is it?” The green-eyed man asked as the air conditioning started blowing through his curly black and grey hair. “I don’t trust him,” he stated. “For all we know, these blackouts could be his way of reaching out for help. We don’t know what he’s capable of.”
There was a silence at the other end, then the contact said, “There’s not much we can do except monitor him until you return.” There was a pause, then the voice asked, “How’s it going on your end, Boss?”
The man sitting in the Phoenix office stretched out the fingers of his left hand which held a golden ring on the index finger. “We’re good for now,” he said. “Our partners will hold off. But I must get answers when I return or things will get ugly.”
The far away contact asked carefully, “What if he doesn’t have answers?”
The stocky man snapped, “Of course he has answers! You don’t cross half the universe without that type of knowledge! Mark my words: that alien has the information I need, and he will give it to me!”
CHAPTER 9 Cold Friendships
Wes and Tyler ambushed them on a Monday afternoon in early February. By the time Christmas break had come and gone, Ben and Kimi had forged a strong friendship and he had long since grown accustomed to walking home with her instead of taking the bus. Sometimes she would drop by Thomas’ house so they could do their homework together, or they would take Tike for a long walk. Ben knew he was clinging on to Kimi, first and foremost because he enjoyed her company, but also because she kept both his feet on the ground. With her, Ben remembered to be a student, a friend, and, basically, an ordinary boy going about his normal teen business.
It happened just as they reached the school field bordered by a group of pine trees.
“Aargh!” Ben yelled when a freezing snowball smacked him in the back of his neck. He barely had time to turn to search for the culprit, when Kimi’s backpack was struck by another snowball. They heard laughter and spotted Wes and Tyler peeking out from behind the trees.
“Take cover!” Kimi shouted as they were pelted by another batch of snowballs.
They searched for safety but found none, so they scooped up snow themselves and aimed at the two hidden boys. But their efforts were useless; Wes and Tyler had the advantage of cover and a stack of ammunition.
Kimi howled at the top of her voice and charged towards the attackers. The two boys threw their remaining snowballs at her until she fell headfirst into the snow. Then, they hooted with laughter.
“Whoa!” Tyler shouted when he saw Kimi getting up again.
“She’s crazy! Run for it!” Wes yelled.
The boys made their escape, laughing loudly.
Ben caught up with Kimi. “Are you okay?” he asked, unable to wipe a big grin from his face when he saw her snow-covered face.
“What?” she retorted. “I scared them off, didn’t I?” She grinned at him as he reached for her hand to pull her upright. She brushed the snow from her flushed cheeks.
They headed off again, checking their surroundings for another attack. Once they had made it safely to the street, Ben invited Kimi over for some hot chocolate, which she accepted gladly. She was much more at ease in Thomas’ house since Ben’s birthday dinner three months earlier, and clearly enjoyed his and Tike’s company. She did not seem in a hurry to go home anymore.
They sipped on the hot liquid in Ben’s room. He tapped a pen on his notebook, trying to figure out a math problem, while Kimi lay on her stomach, scratching Tike’s head.
“Ben,” she said. “How come Tike can’t bark?”
Stiffening slightly, Ben answered, “He was in an accident. I think the shock damaged his vocal chords.”
“Really?” Kimi exclaimed, placing her weight on her elbows to look at him better. “I wonder what type of accident it was. I’ve never heard of anything like it before.”
Ben pretended to concentrate very hard on his math book. Staring at the numbers, he said deftly, “How come your mom calls you Kimimela?”
Kimi rolled on her back, staring at the ceiling. She blew the side bangs out of her eyes, then said, resigned, “It’s a Native name. It means ‘butterfly.’” After a pause, she added, “My mother’s name is Magaskawee. She is of Dakhona First Nation. She left the reservation when she married my dad.”
Ben considered her reply. “So you’re First Nation, too?”
Kimi lifted her eyes in annoyance. “Only half.”
“That
’s really cool!”
Kimi stood up suddenly. “No, it’s not!” she burst out, startling him. “Why does everybody always say that? I hate being First Nation! It sucks!” She grabbed her backpack and stormed out of the room, leaving Ben gaping.
* * *
Kimi was absent the following two days. Ben found himself deeply worried. He wondered how he had managed to upset her; for the life of him he couldn’t figure out what had set her off. He walked home, lost in thought, completely forgetting about Wes and Tyler until it was too late.
Cries of war surrounded him. He ducked with a yelp just as the two boys appeared out of nowhere and pounded him with snow bullets.
Not this time!
He plunged his hands in the snow and shoved it at them as fast as he could. Soon the three of them were flopping around like fish out of water, their arms flailing as they urgently reached for more ammunition to defend themselves. By the time they were finished, Ben lay flat on his back, laughing and hurting at the same time.
“Ah, this is no fun!” Wes said, grinning. “Two against one! Where’s that scardycat girlfriend of yours, Ben?”
Ben launched a handful of snow at him but Wes avoided it as he laughed.
“See ya!” Tyler yelled, and the two boys scampered away, pushing at each other playfully.
Ben remained on his back, catching his breath. A shadow hovered above his face and Mesmo came into view.
“Did those boys hurt you?” he asked.
“Nah,” Ben replied as he got himself off the ground and brushed snow away from his jacket. “I just wish I could get back at them, is all.”
They watched as the two boys walked away. Mesmo bent suddenly and placed his hands in the snow. A flash of blue emanated from them, shooting through the white ground towards a pine tree next to the boys. Ben swore the tree shivered. A mound of snow released from the branches right on to the boys’ heads. They yelled in shock as a heap of snow buried them.
Ben’s eyes bulged at the sight. He glanced in disbelief at Mesmo, then at the boys, then back at Mesmo.
You’ve got to be kidding me!
He fell over in a guffaw of laughter.
Wes and Tyler shouted at him angrily, their honour in shambles, as they struggled to get out of the mess. They hurried away, leaning on to each other, while Ben laughed his heart out.
“Did you see that?” he gasped, trying to catch his breath. “That was awesome!”
Mesmo stared at him quizzically. “You’re doing that thing again,” he noted.
Ben wiped his eyes. “What thing?”
“You’re laughing and crying at the same time.”
That only set Ben off again. “Oh boy, you have a lot to learn! Remind me to teach you about jokes some time.” He bent to pick up his backpack, which he had dropped on the field before the attack happened. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He peeked over his shoulder to make sure Mesmo was heading off with his back turned, then straightened, holding a huge snowball in his hands. “Timber!” Ben yelled, throwing the big snowball at Mesmo. But it went right through the alien and landed in a useless heap on the other side.
Mesmo stopped in his tracks, then turned slowly, throwing Ben a cheeky look.
“Uh-oh!” Ben moaned, slapping his gloved hand on his forehead.
How could I forget?
Ben turned to make a run for it when what felt like a truckload of snow crashed on top of him from a nearby tree, nailing him to the ground. He spluttered and coughed the snow out of his mouth.
Mesmo bent over him with his hands on his knees, grinning. “Was that a good joke?” he asked.
Ben groaned in surrender. “Not fair.”
Mesmo placed a hand on the mound of snow to melt it so that Ben could free himself. Smiling, the alien teased, “You have the wrong skill, my friend.”
* * *
“Nothing!” High Inspector Tremblay hit his desk with his fist. A stack of files slid off, crashing in a messy heap on the floor, while an expensive-looking pen did a somersault.
The sturdy middle-aged man with a perm-pressed suit grabbed the one file that was still placed on his desk and pointed it threateningly at the two men standing before him. “For heaven’s sake, we are the CSIS, one of the most respected agencies in Canada. And you dare come to me with…” he waved the file in their faces, “…nothing!”
He paced up-and-down the length of the desk while Hao and Connelly stood before him, weathering the storm.
“What do I care if you picked up a homeless guy off the streets of Chilliwack? What do I care if he ran off with that woman, Laura Archer? It’s the little green men I want! Where are they? Not a shred of hair! Not a single fingerprint! My meeting with the Minister of Defense is scheduled next week. What do you expect me to tell her?’ The Americans and the Chinese think we’re incapable! We’re the laughing stock of the international secret services! If you don’t deliver pronto, this country will lose control of the biggest case in the history of the planet!”
The muscles on the side of his neck tensed. “You have one week, gentlemen! One week to uncover the little green men! If I go down after that, I’m taking you down with me!”
Hao waited for the blink of an eye before he ventured to speak, “Yes, Sir!” He understood full well that he could be jobless within seven days.
With a visibly superhuman effort to calm himself, the High Inspector barked, “Dismissed!”
Immediately, Hao and Connelly exited the modern office. Once they were in the hallway, Hao said, “We’re back at square one. We’ve got to find that plane!”
“Yes,” Connelly agreed. “And while you do that, I’ll widen the perimeter for the facial recognition programs.”
“Excuse me?” Hao retorted with an offended tone, stopping in his tracks to face Connelly. “That’s searching for a needle in a haystack. Besides, we already have a team accessing public cameras. That plane is our best bet, and I need you on it!”
“Your plane search doesn’t require a big workforce. Problem is, your fugitives could be miles away from the plane’s landing location by now. Public cameras are our best bet. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”
Hao stepped an inch from Connelly’s face and pointed a finger at him. The other did not budge at the menacing gesture. “Listen here, wonder boy. I don’t like you. Never have. Never will. But I run the show around here, and when I give you an order, you follow it. I didn’t get to where I am by dawdling in front of TV screens all day. If you don’t believe me, you can check my track record. Just see how many criminals I’ve put behind bars. I did my homework and had a look at your record. Guess how many you’ve caught during your very long small-town police career? None! Zilch! Nada! So when I tell you I need you to work on finding that plane, you get on board, or I’ll have you distributing parking tickets in a heartbeat. Do I make myself clear?”
Invisible static filled the narrow space between them. Connelly’s mouth twitched as he glared back at Hao with cold, impenetrable eyes.
“Yes, Sir,” the bald man replied stiffly, though Hao could almost touch the smouldering anger emanating from his colleague.
CHAPTER 10 Ice
“Ben, have you seen Kimi lately?” Ms. Evans asked.
Ben shook his head.
Ms. Evans’ shoulders sagged. “I was hoping she would be in today. You know the civics exam is next Friday, right? I’d like her to be ready for it.”
Ben offered, “I can go by her house later and give her a copy of my notes.”
Ms. Evans smiled. “Well, if it’s not too much trouble...” She handed him some photocopies. “She should study these as well.”
Ben took the documents and nodded when she thanked him. As he crossed the school field, he remained on the lookout for Wes and Tyler, but the two had clearly learned their lesson because they were nowhere in sight. He walked several blocks, then had to backtrack when he realized he had taken a wrong turn. Finally, he found a door with a veterinary sign on it that he took to be
the front of Kimi’s house. He pressed the doorbell, which chimed loudly inside.
A distraught voice called, “Kimimela?” It was followed by shuffling sounds and the outline of a woman appeared behind the hazy doorframe. “Kimimela?” the woman’s voice came again as she opened the door. She stiffened at the sight of Ben.
Ben stared at the woman in surprise. He barely recognized Kimi’s mother: her hair was a mess, a night robe fell loosely over her crumpled pyjamas which were unevenly buttoned up, and there were deep bags under her hazy eyes.
Maggie brushed away at her uncombed hair with the tips of her fingers. “Hi, Ben,” she greeted him shakily, her breath smelling foul. “I thought you were Kimimela.”
“Hi,” Ben said awkwardly.
Maggie attempted to straighten her clothes unsuccessfully. “Kimi’s not here. We had a fight this morning. It’s not easy for her, you know, taking care of her sick mama. I haven’t been very well, you see…” She seemed to remember something. “Oh, were you here about the crow? I released it a month ago. I’m sorry, I should have told you…”
Ben shook his head. “No, no, it’s okay. I was just bringing some notes for Kimi. We have an exam next Friday.” He pulled out Ms. Evan’s photocopies from his backpack and handed them to her.
Maggie’s lower lip began to tremble. “You’re a good friend, Ben,” she said gratefully. “She desperately needs one.”
Ben felt sorry for this woman. She had shown a witty spirit on the evening of his birthday, telling colourful tales about the region with great enthusiasm. Not so today, however. He thought of his friend with a pang of sadness, realizing how hard it must be for Kimi to live with a mother in this state. He cleared his throat. “Well, please tell Kimi I said hi, and to let me know if she needs anything.”
