by Rae Knightly
The audience laughed a little too hard.
The boy blinked at her, a touch of annoyance showing in his face. “Yes, that’s what I said. Animals speak to me, and I can speak to them. I have offered myself as a translator to the animals, and they have accepted.”
The host waved her hands at him as if he were going way off track. “Ben, Ben, hold on a minute. You do understand that claiming to be an animal whisperer is a little hard to swallow for us normal folks here. Tell me, how old are you?”
“Thirteen. Almost fourteen,” the boy said with a touch of defiance in his voice. “But this isn’t about my skill; this is about what we’re doing to our planet…”
“Wait! Before you say anything else, you will agree that we need some kind of proof of this superpower of yours. It’s one thing to see these incredible pictures, but I thought we could do a little test, right here, in the studio. What do you think?”
The crowd whistled and cheered.
The boy tensed. “What kind of test?”
Charlie laughed. “Oh, nothing serious, I promise.”
As she spoke, a spotlight came on to illuminate another part of the stage, which was separated by a curtain that dropped down from the studio ceiling so the host and guest couldn’t see what was happening behind it. Only the audience could. A man rolled in a small, wheeled table with a cage on it. A furry white rabbit stared out its bars.
“Oooh!” the audience cooed.
Charlie grinned. “Ben, we have a real, live animal behind that curtain…”
“You mean the rabbit?” Ben interrupted, his face slightly flushed.
“Wow!” the audience laughed, with sporadic clapping as some hadn’t quite caught what had just happened.
“Yes, well done!” She turned to the audience and said, “I promise, this is all happening live. Ben didn’t know about this.”
Excitement built up as another animal was brought on stage.
Charlie waved her hand at the crowd. “Don’t say anything! Let’s give Ben a chance.”
Clearly, the boy was no longer enjoying the show, but he had no choice but to go along with it. He guessed the next animals: a tortoise, a goldfish and a snake.
The audience buzzed while Charlie giggled. “How fun!”
“Yes,” the boy said without conviction. “And now I need to tell you how we are endangering the very lives of…”
“Oh, wait a second, Ben. We only have a few more minutes. This is the last one.”
Cheering erupted from the audience as a beautiful, brown horse was brought on stage. Its ears flicked back and forth on its head.
“Come on, Ben, we’re counting on you,” Charlie beamed as if she could see the number of viewers of her show rising off the charts.
This time the boy stood, a look of worry on his face. “You should get that horse off the stage,” he said.
Loud applause.
The horse pawed at the ground and pulled at its bridle, giving its handler a hard time as he tried to keep it in tow.
Charlie clapped her hands in delight.
“No, really,” Ben warned. “The horse is scared. She can smell the presence of the snake.”
He had barely spoken when the horse reared, knocking over its handler. It then crashed through the curtain into the glaring spotlights, neighing in fear.
Charlie shrieked and fell off her sofa.
Ben jumped in front of her, placing himself between the host and the terrified horse. Lifting his hands high, he stood his ground before the animal, which shook its mane to-and-fro and snorted loudly.
The boy didn’t move an inch, while Charlie held her hand to her heart, mouth agape and eyes wide.
The brown mare pawed at the ground, its skin gleaming in sweat as it snuffed through its nostrils.
The audience watched, aghast, as the boy presented his hands to the horse, palms outstretched. The animal backed away, body trembling, ears down. Then it seemed to change its mind. It approached the boy slowly, gave a kind of bow and rested its snout in the boy’s hand until it became fully reassured.
The boy’s tense body relaxed. He reached out to rub its neck…
The man in the white leather chair pressed the pause button, freezing the screen on the boy and the horse. He rubbed his chin for a moment, then glanced at the money-filled briefcase. With the smallest gesture of his hand, the servant sprang into action, locking its lid and hurrying down the hall to a back entrance.
Two heavy-set men in business suits stood waiting in the glaring sunlight.
The servant handed the briefcase to one of them and said in broken English, “You get other half after it is done.”
The one holding the briefcase glanced at the other through black sunglasses.
“You have Master’s instructions,” the servant insisted. “He wants the boy.”
Continue reading:
Ben Archer and the Star Rider
www.amazon.com/dp/B086RK31LT
About the Author
Rae Knightly invites the young reader on a journey into the imagination, where science fiction and fantasy blend into the real world. Young heroes are taken on gripping adventures full of discovery and story twists.
Rae Knightly lives in Vancouver with her husband and two children. The breathtaking landscapes of British Columbia have inspired her to write The Alien Skill Series.
Follow Rae Knightly on social media:
Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Pinterest
E-mail: [email protected]
Acknowledgments
To Ricardo, whose spirit lives on in his model boats.
To Whales and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) for their input on the Pacific Coast killer whale population.
To Bob Bush, Robin Campbell, Giselle Schneider, R. Mark Jones, Ian Ness, D'artagnan Maciel, Paul Hill, Frank Muellersman for catching the literary bugs hiding under the rug. Special thanks to Mystee Pulcine and Cristy Watson.
To you, reader, for taking the time to read
Ben Archer and the World Beyond.
Thank you!
Rae Knightly
* * *
[1] UBC = University of British Columbia
[2] Schatje : Flemish for ‘darling’. Literally: little treasure.
[3] Jongen : Flemish for ‘boy’ or ‘son’.
[4] Amigo = Spanish word meaning ‘friend’.
[5] Mijn jongen : Flemish for ‘My son’ or ‘My boy.’
[6] Da = Russian word meaning ‘yes’.
[7] Adios = Spanish word meaning “Goodbye”.
[8] Muy bien = Spanish for “Very well”.
[9] Amigo = Spanish for “Friend”.
