by Rae Knightly
He took one look at Ben and sprang up. “What is it?” he asked hurriedly, catching Ben in his arms.
Ben choked up into his sweater. “Too late! They’re here!”
* * *
“Enjoy your latté,” Laura said, as she handed a steaming cup to a customer over the counter. The customer headed to the door of the coffee shop when it swung open and someone collide head-on with him. The latté flew through the air, then landed in a splash on the floor. “Hey!” the customer yelled, but the offender did not offer an excuse and instead searched the place with frantic eyes.
“Kimi?” Laura exclaimed, recognizing the girl’s long, black hair.
Kimi rushed around the counter and placed an icy hand on Laura’s arm. She wanted to speak but instead broke down in a fit of coughs. “Girl, you’re freezing!” Laura scolded worriedly. “Where’s your jacket?”
Kimi caught her breath and stared straight at Laura. “Ben said to come quick!” she said sharply.
Laura felt her heart drop. “Where’s Ben?” she asked urgently, already removing her Tim Horton’s apron.
“My place,” Kimi coughed.
“Come on.” Laura led Kimi to the back of the coffee shop.
“Some men came to the school looking for him.” Kimi said through her coughs.
“Hey, lady,” the unfortunate customer called after them over the counter. “I want my latté!”
Laura dropped the apron next to a sink, grabbed her winter jacket and wrapped Kimi in it. “Let’s go,” she said, heading for the back exit.
“Hold up! Laura!” someone called behind them. A large woman with a similar apron hurried to catch up with them. “Where are you going?” the woman puffed. A pin attached to her apron said MANAGER.
Laura let go of Kimi. “I’m sorry, Rhina, I have to go,” she said.
“But… are you coming back?” Rhina asked in dismay.
Laura shook her head. Her chin quivered.
Rhina’s shoulders sagged, but she said, “Wait a minute. You can’t go without your pay.” She dug into her apron and fished out a handful of dollar bills and coins. “Here, take it. Don’t worry. I’ll figure things out with the others later.”
“No… I…” Laura objected, pushing the woman’s hand away.
“Take it!” the woman insisted. “It’s all I have on me. It’s your share of this week’s tips. You’ve earned it.”
Laura hesitated, then accepted the money. “Thank you,” she said, her eyes falling on the unhappy customer.
Rhina rolled her eyes. “Don’t you worry about him, dear. We’ll fix him up with a gift card or something.”
Laura hugged her. “Goodbye,” she said, holding back the tears.
“You take care, now, you hear?” the woman insisted.
Laura nodded, then headed through the exit with Kimi. A gentle snow fell around them as they hurried down the cold streets.
CHAPTER 16 Dreamcatcher
Laura found Thomas and Maggie pouring over a large map, which they had spread out on the countertop of the kitchen island.
“Where’s Ben?” she asked as she rushed to join them.
“Outside,” Thomas pointed to the outer deck which lay off the dining room.
Laura stepped towards it, but Thomas grabbed her firmly by the arm. “There’s no time.”
Laura set her jaw, then nodded in understanding. “What’s the plan? Are we flying?” She stared at the map.
Thomas shook his head. “Too late for that. Canmore Air is swarming with cops.”
Laura gaped. “What do we do?”
“Do about what?” Mesmo’s voice startled them.
“Mesmo!” Laura felt a wave of relief.
“Who’s Mesmo?” Maggie frowned.
Thomas and Laura stared from Mesmo to Maggie.
Thomas took Maggie’s hand. “Maggie, this man is not Jack Anderson. His real name is Mesmo. I know this is a lot to ask, but I need you to trust him. I need you to trust me.”
Maggie glanced thoughtfully at the tall man in the fur hat. “My people have told me that Angakkuq crossed the country to confer with a great spirit here. I don’t know who… or what you are. I don’t know what you did to my daughter. But I do know she is alive, thanks to you.” Her eyes fell on Thomas. “Tell me what you need.”
Thomas’ brow relaxed and he nodded in thanks. “It’s not Mesmo I’m worried about. We need to find a safe passage out of Canmore for Ben and Laura. Mesmo will follow them in his own manner.” He turned his attention to the map. “There aren’t many options. We obviously can’t send them back west. They need to go east.” He followed Highway 1 with the tip of his finger until it reached the city of Calgary. He jabbed at the name on the map. “There!”
“But how?” Laura studied the area around Thomas’ finger. “The only way out of Canmore is north, by way of this road that links to the highway. They’ll have set up barricades and will be checking every single car driving out of Canmore.”
They stared at the map as if waiting for it to give them an alternative.
Suddenly, Maggie said, “The Kananaskis!” She bent over the map and pointed at the main road linking Canmore to the highway. “Look,” she said. “Before you reach the highway, you turn left into this small road. It makes a U-turn and will take you south, past Canmore. You follow it all the way down to… here.” She indicated a spot that seemed lost in the middle of nowhere. “There is a crossing here that will take you over the Kananaskis Mountain Range.”
“That’s a huge detour!” Thomas exclaimed.
“It is,” Maggie agreed. “But once they reach the other side of the mountain, they can travel north again and rejoin the highway between Canmore and Calgary—here.”
Laura contemplated the map. She followed Maggie's instructions in her mind and realized they would basically be making a huge circle around Canmore that would eventually get them back to the highway.
“I don’t know,” Thomas’ voice reflected his uncertainty. “A snowstorm is approaching. I think it’s too risky.”
“They can make it,” Maggie insisted. “If they leave now, they should be over the Kananaskis in a couple of hours, before the worst of the storm hits.”
Thomas glanced at Laura. “What do you think? You’re the one who has to drive.”
Laura straightened, suddenly realizing that she and Ben would be on their own soon. “What about you?” she asked.
Thomas pressed his lips together, his eyes on Maggie. “I think I’m going to stay this time.”
Maggie offered him a smile.
Thomas spoke to Laura, his eyes still on Maggie, “I don’t think the CSIS will be very interested in me anymore.” He fished keys out of his pocket and gave them to Laura. “Here, you can have my car.”
“No,” Maggie objected. “They’ll be looking for it. Take mine. It’s a pickup truck with sturdy wheels. It will get you over the mountains.”
“Thank you,” Laura whispered, her head swirling at the task ahead.
* * *
Ben stared at nothing in particular. He sat outside on the top steps of a wooden stairway that joined the deck with the yard. He had grabbed one of Kimi’s jackets, covered his head with the cape and leaned against the wooden railing.
Mesmo appeared in his field of vision and crouched beside him.
Ben hid his face under the cape unable to face the alien. The boy’s words came out with difficulty, his voice empty of emotion. “Hao said I’m not human.” His chin began to tremble. “I don’t know what I am anymore.” He finally turned and glared at the alien. “This is all your fault,” he said accusingly, his nostrils flaring.
“Benjamin…” Mesmo began.
“Leave me alone.” Ben lowered his face into the cape again. His tone was final. He felt Mesmo pause, then move away. He wanted the alien to stay and comfort him, but the part of him that was angry and unaccepting wouldn’t allow it. He heard the deck door slide open and for a moment his mind tricked him into believing the alien had d
oubled back.
Mesmo can’t open doors, he reminded himself.
Black army boots came to stand beside him. “My mom said to try these on,” Kimi dangled snow boots at him. “She said you’re going over the mountain in our pick-up truck. She’s putting together some backpacks with emergency gear. Any Canmore resident knows to never approach the Kananaskis without emergency gear, even if you’re in a pick-up truck. The mountains can be unforgiving and must be treated with the greatest respect.”
Since he didn’t react, she plopped beside him with a sigh, dumping the snow boots before her as if they weighed a ton. They didn’t speak for a painfully long time.
Ben heard Kimi’s voice waver when she broke the silence. “You knew this was coming, didn’t you?” she asked. “Back at the hospital, you already knew you were going to leave…” Her tone wasn’t accusing, but it hurt anyway.
He looked at her without answering. He found tears streaming down her cheeks and his heart tightened. “I don’t have a choice.” He wrung his hands together. “I have to go.”
“But, it’s your dad they’re after, isn’t it? Maybe you could stay, and your dad could go away for awhile…” He heard the false hope in her voice.
Ben shook his head. “He’s not my dad.”
She knit her brows.
Ben sighed. “My dad died shortly after I was born. I never got to know him.” He gestured vaguely inside the house. “His name is Mesmo. And, no, I can’t stay. He goes wherever I go. We’re stuck together in that way.”
She blinked and turned away. After a silence, he heard her say with a touch of unease, “Ben? What did that man mean, when he said you’re not… human?”
It hurt to hear her say it just as much as when Hao had said it.
Ben shuffled his feet in the snow, then breathed, “It’s true.” He listened to his own words, trying to accept them.
She turned to him abruptly, her eyes filled with tears. “No, it’s not!” she said vehemently. “Don’t be daft! You’re my favourite human being in the whole world.” She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.
The sweet gesture cracked his resolve. Overcome with emotion, Ben shut his eyes and squeezed her back.
They were still hugging when Laura stepped onto the deck, her arms full of bulging backpacks. “Ben?” Her voice broke up their embrace.
Kimi stared at Ben with reddened eyes. She leaned over to him and pecked him with cool, soft lips on the corner of his mouth, then ran into the house.
Ben watched her disappear, his heart breaking.
“Ben?” His mother’s voice called. “We have to go.”
He nodded forlornly, then changed into the snow boots. When he stood up, he began to remove Kimi’s knee-length jacket from his shoulders, but Maggie stopped him. “No, keep it. You’ll be needing it.”
He nodded in thanks, then accepted one of the backpacks that Laura handed to him. They hugged Maggie and Thomas, then got into the pick-up truck, which was parked next to the veterinary building. Laura took the wheel of the four-door pick-up truck while Mesmo sat on the passenger side. Ben slipped into the back. Tike jumped on his lap.
“We’ll get the truck back to you somehow,” Laura reassured Maggie.
“Just be safe,” Maggie replied, squeezing Laura’s hand through the window.
The screen door slid open and Kimi came running up to them. Ben rolled down his window as she approached. She reached out and placed something in his hand. It was a flat, circular object, the size of his palm, with a finely woven net inside. Some beads and feathers hung below it.
“What is it?” Ben asked in wonder.
“It’s a dreamcatcher,” she explained. “I made it with my grandmother on the reservation. It will protect you from bad spirits.”
Ben felt a wave of gratitude. “It’s beautiful. Thanks!” He stared at the carefully knotted strings that resembled a spider’s web. “But, I don’t have anything for you!”
She placed her hand on her heart as she stepped away from the truck. “You gave me back my family.” She smiled as she joined Maggie and Thomas.
Laura revved up the pick-up, and soon their friends disappeared behind the veterinary clinic. She headed down the main street of Canmore as snow began to fall more insistently.
“Mom!” Ben shouted suddenly, making her hit the breaks with force. Ben and Tike slipped forward into the back of Laura’s seat.
“What?” she said in alarm.
Ben rubbed his nose.
“Put on your seat belt!” she scolded.
He did so in a hurry. “Your asthma inhaler!” he said. “Do you have one?”
He saw her eyebrows draw together. She drove slowly for a while as if in deep thought. “No, I don’t have one. Truth is, I haven’t used one in months.” She glanced at Mesmo curiously.
“Like me!” Ben gasped. “I haven’t had a panic attack either.”
They both stared at Mesmo as if expecting the alien to explain the mysterious disappearance of their symptoms, but Mesmo pointed ahead. “We are nearing the highway ramp,” he said.
Ben stretched his neck. In the flurry of snow, he spotted the whirling lights of a dozen police cars in the distance.
“Where’s that other exit Maggie was talking about?” Laura’s anxiousness was palpable. “Ben, check the map, would you?” She shoved the map to the back and he scrambled to open it wide enough to find their location.
If only we could use Google Maps like every normal person!
The vehicle slowed but inevitably neared the ramp. A line of cars was being monitored one at a time before being released to the highway.
Laura came to a stop. “Ben!” she urged.
“Uh…” Ben scrunched at the map in his haste. “Turn back, Mom! We missed it. Turn back!”
The tires screeched on the snow as she made a full u-turn. They squinted at the scattered houses and snow-covered trees.
“Got it!” Laura exclaimed, swinging the pick-up to the right into a small street they had previously missed.
Ben glanced through the rear window, and his heart leapt into his throat. A couple of police cars had detached themselves from the main body of vehicles at the ramp. “They’re coming!” he warned.
CHAPTER 17 Trapped
Laura grasped the wheel, the knuckles of her hands turning white from the pressure. The windshield wipers worked wildly to keep the snow out of her vision, but even so, it became harder to distinguish anything on the gloomy road bordered by dense forest. There wasn’t a soul in sight, so she switched on the headlights and pressed on the pedal to pick up speed. The motor sent a satisfying lurch of power into the tires.
“I thought the storm wasn’t due until later,” Ben echoed her thoughts. She bit her lip and tried to ignore a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. The flashing red-and-white lights pressed her on. There was no turning back now.
The pick-up truck wound its way through the lonesome road bordering the towering Kananaskis Mountain Range. Laura’s brow beaded with sweat as she checked the rearview mirror, but she didn’t think the police were making any headway on them.
“Watch it, Mom!” Ben warned. “We should be nearing the crossroad going over the mountain.”
Laura slowed down reluctantly. They couldn’t afford to miss the exit this time. After a couple of minutes, Mesmo’s sharp eyes found it. “There it is!” He pointed.
Laura hit the breaks. She switched off the headlights and swerved to the left into an almost invisible crossroad that immediately began to ascend.
“Stop!” Mesmo ordered. “Let me out of the truck.”
Laura obeyed without a second of hesitation.
The alien ran to the back of the truck and placed his hands on the tracks that the tires had imprinted into the snow. A wave of blue light flowed from his fingers to the bottom of the road, melting the snow until it looked smooth and even. He hurried back and said, “That should keep them off for a while.”
Laura realized he must have turn
ed the snow into a sheet of ice behind them. She revved up the engine again and began the steep climb into the evening sky.
* * *
Hao placed his hand on the dashboard as if that would make the Sheriff’s car go faster. He leaned in, trying to make out the pick-up truck in the dark tunnel of trees ahead.
“Don’t lose them!” he urged the Sheriff who was at the wheel.
After several minutes of tense silence, the police radio crackled. The Sheriff answered, never taking his eyes off the road.
Hao glanced at him questioningly.
“It’s Connelly,” the Sheriff said. “He says we need to turn back. He thinks they’re heading into the Kananaskis.”
“The what?” Hao’s face went red.
The Sheriff pointed at the looming peaks alongside the road. “The Kananaskis Mountain Range.”
Hao swore as he whirled to check behind them. Two police cars were still following them, but a couple of others had stopped some way back. “What does he think he’s doing? Tell him to get over here! That’s an order!”
The Sheriff spoke into the radio, then glanced at Hao. “One of the cars got stuck at the crossroad. They’re on a patch of black ice. But Connelly says he can get through. He’s convinced the fugitives are on their way up.”
“Black ice?” Something triggered in Hao’s mind. He remembered the unnatural formation of ice at the Vancouver Police Department.
He squinted ahead. Earlier, he’d been able to follow the pick-up truck in the distance; now there was only darkness and swirling snow.
“All right! Back up, back up!”
The Sheriff did so, but he warned, “The storm is picking up strength. It’s going to be hell up there. I may have to pull off the search.”
“You’re not pulling anything off, Sheriff!” Hao flared. “Or shall I have you reflect on that with the High Inspector?”
The Sheriff straightened his cap and pursed his lips, but made no comment as he drove carefully along the edge of the crossroad to avoid the slippery patch in the middle. An officer tried to manoeuvre his car off the ice patch. A second police car stopped next to it to help.
