Ben Archer and the Cosmic Fall

by Rae Knightly

  Then, before they could do anything, Mesmo plunged his whole hand into the boiling water! “No!” Laura yelled in horror. Ben stood up in haste.

  But Mesmo did not flinch. Before their very eyes the water bulged out of the can until it formed a perfectly flat, elliptical shape, quite like a mirror, except that you could see through it. Ben and Laura stared at it with their mouths open.

  “How did you do that?” Laura asked in awe.

  “My Skill is Water.” Mesmo said simply, as if that explained everything. “Come.” He said to Ben, who went to sit behind the floating mirror. “Touch the water gently with the tips of your fingers.” Mesmo instructed, before reassuring him: “It will not hurt.”

  Ben did as he was told, half expecting to be burnt, but all he felt was the cool liquid under his fingertips.

  “Close your eyes and go back as far as you can to the night of The Cosmic Fall.” Mesmo continued. “Try to picture it in your mind.”

  Ben shifted uneasily, trying to remember something from before, but as usual everything from that time was a dark haze in his mind. Tike, with his tail wagging slowly, placed his paw on Ben’s leg. Immediately an image of a baby dog yapping away excitedly appeared behind Ben’s eyelids. He heard his mother gasp. He snapped his eyes open to see the same image of a barking Tike emerging like a reflection on the water mirror, as though it was a strange TV screen reflecting his thoughts. The image wavered. Mesmo urged him to keep concentrating.

  Ben focused on baby Tike, remembering when Grampa had let him into his room one summer, when he was six years old. It was a beautiful memory, one that made him smile, but then the image wavered as his grandfather’s face lingered in his mind. He opened his eyes again, noticing that his mother’s lips were trembling. He shifted uneasily. Mesmo had to encourage him to continue. But Ben could not get passed that one memory, as it played over and over in his mind. He looked at Mesmo helplessly.

  Mesmo reached out to the transparent screen, touching it gently. It came to life immediately.

  The alien man was sitting in a strange vehicle with soft lights and smooth walls. Outside, everything was dark, until the craft glided to the right. The Earth appeared, huge and majestic. He was following another identical craft with which he was exchanging strange words. The soft, disciplined voice that came back belonged to a girl. They gently navigated their spaceships ever closer to the Blue Planet. Then a sharp flash of light zoomed from behind them, almost hitting the first craft.

  The girl’s voice came loudly, warningly. Mesmo exchanged urgent words with her as he steered the craft around to see where the shot had come from. No sooner had he done that, when two more shots were fired from a dark craft behind them. One shot flew passed them, crashing into the communication satellite, which exploded. The other hit Mesmo’s ship with full force, making it shudder as it spun out of control. Mesmo heard the girl call his name frantically as he sped towards the Earth. Everything went black until Mesmo recovered his senses. He saw city lights speeding towards him. He did what he could to veer the ship slightly to the right, only to face a dangerous slope that he could not escape.

  On the watery screen, Ben and Laura watched as Grampa’s house whizzed by, the neon lights from the kitchen, Victor Hayward’s house, the fields and dark island of trees... Then they saw the explosion as Mesmo’s ship hit the ground….

  The screen became transparent again. Mesmo let out a gasp of breath, as if he had been holding it in the whole time. Ben and Laura stared at the alien, speechless.

  Ben was shivering all over as Mesmo held his gaze. “Go on.” The alien urged.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The Cosmic Fall

  RELUCTANTLY, BEN TOUCHED THE LIQUID

  mirror again with a trembling hand. In his mind’s eye, he was immediately taken back to the field near his grandfather’s house.

  “There’s the Big Dipper.” Grampa said, making Ben jump.

  Ryan Archer was squinting through the eyepiece of an old telescope, which was directed across the Chilliwack valley and its distant mountains. Grampa and Ben had placed the telescope on top of a blanket in the middle of a nearby field on this starlit August night. A warm breeze brought scents of corn and earth to their nostrils. Both sides of the field were bordered by trees and shrubs, though to their right they could still glimpse the ugly neon light which Grampa had forgotten to switch off when they had set off on their stargazing expedition.

  “This was your mother’s once, you know?” Grampa said slowly, while he concentrated on getting the image focused. “I made it for her when she was little, but it ended up forgotten in the attic after the lens broke. I’m so glad you found it again!”

  He stood up to stretch his back, then shook his head: “I still can’t believe how easy it was to get a new lens delivered to my doorstep! Great job, kiddo!” He patted Ben on the back. “There’s a pretty smart brain hiding behind that potatoehead of yours!” He chuckled, inviting him to check out the stars through the telescope. “I look forward to some more internet surfing classes during your next vacation, eh?”

  Ben stuffed the remainder of a biscuit in his mouth, then wiped his hand on his jeans before glancing through the eyepiece. Tike scampered around his feet, bumping into the legs of the telescope.

  “Tike!” Ben scolded, his mouth full. But his dog kept on running around them, barking excitedly.

  They followed the dog with their eyes, then noticed what had caught his attention. On the road at the end of the field behind them, Thomas Nombeko, the friendly town mailman, was cycling by on his way home. Thomas waved at them in the dark, shouting something they didn’t quite catch.

  “’Night, Thomas!” Grampa bellowed, waving back, as the cyclist disappeared into the night. Grampa frowned as he observed his neighbour’s house. “Strange…” He said half to himself. “There’s a light on in Mr. Hayward’s living-room. I thought he was away on business?”

  “Grampa! What's that?” Ben shouted, interrupting his thoughts.

  Grampa straightened again, following Ben's pointed finger.

  There was a very brief, horizontal streak, way up in space. It was followed by an expanding light, as if something had exploded, then a long, white line descended towards the Earth. It kept on falling for what seemed like a long time, its trajectory taking it straight to the lights of Chilliwack.

  Meteor!

  “Whoa!” Ben gasped in wonder.

  But then the falling object did something it wasn't supposed to do: it changed course! What had been a perfectly elliptical line across the black sky, now became a soft 90 degree angle, so that without warning, the object was suddenly heading straight towards them.

  Shooting stars don’t change trajectory! What the heck is going on?

  Ben broke into a cold sweat. “Grampa?” His voice wavered.

  Grampa gripped the boy’s shoulder with the intention of pulling him away, but they both found themselves frozen to the spot. There was nowhere to run, no protection anywhere.

  Now they could actually hear the burning object whistling through the air as it raced towards them at frightening speed.

  There was no time to hide, no time to think.

  This is the end!

  “Grampa!” Ben screamed, just before chaos descended upon them. A blinding light, a deafening explosion, a wave of heat, the ground heaving beneath them. Immediately, a horrible, screeching noise that went on and on, as the object fought its last battle with gravity.

  We’re dead!

  A heavy silence followed. The screeching ended, Ben stopped screaming, Grampa coughed up dust. Ben’s ears rang. His brain was rattled. The boy extracted his hand from Grampa’s tight grip. They were both lying on the ground, their bodies pelted by dirt bullets.

  The ball of fire had missed them, and had landed in the woods nearby. Fire was emerging behind the dark trees where the object had dragged itself to its terrible end.

  Grampa managed to stand, though his legs were shaking. He picked Ben up and put hi
m on his feet. Ben was holding a silent, shivering Tike in his arms. “Ben, are you all right?” he asked, his ears ringing. He scanned the boy from head to foot, looking for injuries. He brushed off some of the dirt on the boy's face and coat. There wasn't a scratch.

  Ben stared at him with dazed eyes, then nodded slowly.

  An object at the edge of the patch of forest caught their eye. They walked towards it slowly, Ben clinging tightly to Grampa’s arm. A broken piece had been blown sky-high and had landed on the ground not far from them. It was about the size of a car door and it had the smooth, silver colour of metal.

  “An airplane!” Ben breathed.

  That’s why it changed course in the middle of the sky!

  The poor pilot had managed to veer the ailing aircraft away from a direct crash with the town of Chilliwack in the hopes of finding a place to land. But instead he had only found a wall of trees in his path.

  Grampa took Ben firmly by the arm, pulling him away. They both half-ran, half-trotted across the field in the direction of Grampa’s house. They ignored the blanket and telescope. They crossed through the few shrubs and trees separating the two fields and viewed Grampa's house with relief. Ben didn't think the neon kitchen lights could ever have looked so welcoming. Ben tugged at his grandfather to get going. But Grampa held him back.

  “Listen to me very carefully, Benjamin.” he said sternly.

  Ben listened.

  You never call me Benjamin…

  “I have to go and help the people who crashed back there. There is no one else here.”

  Ben’s mouth opened in a terrified objection.

  Grampa held up his hand.

  “Boy, time is crucial! I need you to run to the house, pick up the phone and dial 911. Tell the police a plane fell next to my house. We need the fire department and ambulances. Do you understand?”

  “No way, Grampa! You’re not going back there!” Ben gasped.

  “There’s no time to argue!” Grampa urged. “Do it, Now!” he ordered, his eyes ablaze.

  Ben hesitated only a fraction of a second. But his Grampa’s words worked like a trigger. Ben ran, Tike close at his heels. His shoes thumped on the dry ground. His eyes fixed on the kitchen light. It was beckoning him. The field stretched away from his small frame as he gasped for air. He was almost across the field when the lights inside the house went out.

  Ben froze. Darkness crashed around him. He could barely make out Grampa’s house, now a black, empty giant. Ben turned around but his grandfather had already gone. He couldn’t tell what was worse: the huge, dark mass or the wide, open field where he would feel forever vulnerable. He picked up Tike in his arms for comfort. The dog was still shivering uncontrollably. The fire in the woods was illuminating the sky.

  At least it’s not dark there.

  Ben hesitated only an instant, with his grandfather's order ringing in his ears. But he couldn't bear to go into the dark house.

  If I hurry, I’ll catch up with him.

  The boy bolted away from the house, back across the field, a stitch nagging at his side.

  He was too set on finding his grandfather to notice a small burst of light in the night sky, followed by an elliptical line streaking towards the Earth.

  Ben was sobbing by the time he reached the blanket and telescope in the middle of the second field. It was a comforting island at the center of a danger zone. Yet, once there, it was still as cold and lonely, offering no protection. The tears made it impossible to search for Grampa. Everything was a blur, so he sagged down onto the blanket, exhausted and frightened. He wiped away his tears and sniffled. He blinked several times to clear his eyesight and started paying more attention to the wall of dark trees.

  The boy picked up his dog again, reluctantly leaving the blanket and telescope.

  I wish Mom were here…

  The familiar thought triggered a pang of emptiness in the pit of his stomach. He quickly swallowed to stop a sob from rising in his throat again. His legs felt stiff and his whole body ached. The air felt cold and humid now, in spite of the crackling fire coming from within the woods.

  Ben was about to reach the edge of the trees when he heard the familiar whistling in the air and caught sight of the fireball out of the corner of his eye. He turned to face it, but he might as well have been a lonely tree about to be swallowed by a tornado. The fiery bullet was already almost on top of him. He barely had time to shut his eyes and brace himself for the impact.

  For a second time that night, there was a deafening crash, which knocked Ben to the ground. It was followed by a heat wave, then a grinding hiss that came nearer and nearer. Chunks of earth and metal whizzed by Ben's head, narrowly missing him. He covered his head with his arms to protect himself. Heat from the object warmed his face as it came to a stop right before him. When he opened his eyes, by some impossible miracle, he and Tike were unharmed.

  The field was unrecognizable. It was a war zone. Huge, twisted pieces of metal surrounded him, burning. A long fiery runway indicated the distance the object had traveled since its impact. And before him was the craft, or rather what remained of it, for it was almost completely buried in the ground.

  Ben stayed rooted to the spot, his voice stuck in his throat.

  The flames licked away quietly at the wreckage, minding their own business. Ben stood there, shaking like a leaf before the billowing black smoke. He didn’t think the smooth, black wreckage that jutted out of the ground looked like an airplane at all, though he noticed that there was a hole near the front, indicating that it was hollow. Carefully, he took a few steps closer to the opening and stared inside. He came face to face with a girl, who was staring at him with big eyes from deep inside the wreckage. They both froze, staring at each other fearfully.

  The girl had a pale, delicate face and long, white hair. He noticed her eyes were a deep brown before she shut them tightly. She was like a delicate fawn in great pain. Ben kneeled on the ground and bent down over the opening in the wreckage, so he could get a better look through the hole. It was dark inside, but the nearby firelight illuminated her face. The rest of her body was stuck under debris.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked shakily.

  It took a while for her to open her eyes again; when she did, they reflected an immense weariness. Her skin had turned slightly gray.

  Ben reached out a hand to her, feeling an urgent need to help her. She stared at it suspiciously, showing no intention of taking it. Ben frowned, then suddenly realized that his hand was bleeding. He wiped it hastily on his trouser leg, before holding it out to her again. She stared at his hand again, seeming hesitant. At that moment Tike peeked over the edge. As soon as she saw the dog, her expression softened. She turned her face away and he heard her gasp in pain. Now she looked at him again, but with determination this time, as she held out her long, pale hand to him.

  Ben was puzzled to see her palm was bleeding, too. But before he could say anything, her hand had clamped onto his, and instead of bracing herself to get pulled out, she mumbled some unintelligible words while staring at him with an intensity so frightening Ben's heart almost stopped. He tried to pull away, but she had him in an iron grasp. Their eyes locked, their blood smears mingled, and a sudden, powerful surge of energy flowed into Ben's body. He thought he was being hit by another explosion, except this one came from within! His mind was bombarded with a myriad of sensations, as if every stem cell in his brain had been activated.

  Then as suddenly as it had begun, it was over, and she let him go. Ben's arm hung limply over the side of the craft, as he stared down at her in shock. His whole body was tingling. Slowly he retrieved his numb arm and found his hand balled into a tight fist. He carefully unwound the fingers of his hand, only to discover a tiny, sparkling gem in its center.

  The diamond in the watch!

  Another part of his mind was nudging at him, but all he could think of was the girl who was gazing at him with a worried look on her face. There was a brief silence, as if an electrical s
torm had passed between them. She let herself sink back into the wreckage, her face becoming a deeper gray, her eyes reflecting an inner peace.

  “Mesmo.” She said quietly.

  He thought he saw her smile before she closed her eyes.

  “No!” Ben shouted, reaching for her, but her body had slipped out of reach.

  Ben’s eyes fluttered open. He was back on the beach, sitting before the fire, surrounded by Laura and Mesmo. His whole body was tense. Before him the liquid screen had lost its consistency and had splashed to the ground. The embers sizzled. A wind had picked up, while a couple of rain drops fell unnoticed onto the thick sand.

  Mesmo breathed heavily, his hand still raised, as if he did not yet realize that the watery mirror had disappeared. Ben stared at him.

  Laura was the first one to come out of her trance. She approached Ben on her knees, then took her son in her arms. “Now I know.” She said softly, hugging him.

  He squeezed her back, feeling tired and empty, yet also strangely lightheaded, for a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Something that had burdened him for so long had suddenly been extracted and was no longer only his to carry. He felt strangely relieved.

  Mesmo stood up and walked over to the edge of the water. Tiny waves lapped the shore peacefully, though raindrops were starting to fall more insistently.

  Ben let go of his mother, then walked over to him.

  After staring out at the dark waters for a long, silent moment, Mesmo gazed down at Ben quizzically. In a startled voice, he said: “She gave you her skill!”

  “What do you mean?” Ben asked, as rain splattered down his face.

  Mesmo ignored him. He spoke into the night with a broken voice: “Then my daughter truly is dead…”

  Laura came up behind them and gently led Ben away from Mesmo, as the alien continued to stare, motionless, at the black sea. “That’s enough for now.” She said gently, when Ben wanted to object.

  Reluctantly, Ben followed her, sneezing hard. They picked up the blankets and empty cans before heading up the steep slope next to the lighthouse. By the time they reached the car, they were worn out. Laura switched on the car heater for a while as they snuggled up as best they could in the car seats, Laura in front and Ben at the back, then covered themselves with their damp jackets. Laura barely recollected switching off the car before she fell into a deep sleep.