by Rae Knightly
Ben knew him well enough to realize that they could all be dead in an instant.
But Bob didn’t catch on to the threat. “No, no, Ben has nothing to do with this, I told you already…”
“Get down!” Mesmo yelled.
A blue shockwave lashed out of the shapeshifter, knocking them off their feet. Ben hurled back as if flicked aside by a giant finger. He slammed into the kitchen counter and saw stars before his eyes. Fighting to stay conscious, he found Mesmo sprawled on the floor by the elevator, while Bob lay in a heap beside him. His back throbbing, Ben watched in horror as the shapeshifter’s body swelled from internal tremors. He reached for Bob and shook him frantically by the shoulder.
Bob lifted his head dizzily and gasped at the sight unfolding before them.
The shapeshifter groaned and barred his teeth, unable to control his metamorphosis from Connelly into Bordock. An eerie blue light emanated from him as he hunched over, the gun forgotten in his hand.
Ben cast a glance at Mesmo, but the alien lay unmoving.
Bob’s eyes, on the other hand, bulged in terror. He scrambled on all fours behind the kitchen counter.
Ben wanted to rush after his dad, but instead, he spotted the water bottle that had been knocked to the ground by the blast and had rolled behind a kitchen stool. He reached for it with the tips of his fingers, then shoved it behind his back in a hurry, checking hastily on Bordock.
The shapeshifter straightened his back, his muscles and bones falling into place. His head spun towards the boy, making a ripple of dread scamper up and down his spine.
Bordock tossed the gun aside. “Useless thing,” he said. “Don’t make me do that again. Let’s go.”
Ben cringed and glanced at his dad in a silent plead for help.
But Bob cowered behind the counter, peeking out at the shapeshifter. He waved a trembling hand at Ben, indicating he should obey Bordock at once.
His heart shrinking, Ben stood and carefully side-stepped to where Mesmo lay.
The alien groaned as he regained consciousness. Taking in Ben’s fearful eyes and Bordock’s glowing hands, Mesmo understood they were helpless. He got up with Ben’s help and shoved the boy behind him so he could serve as a buffer.
“Get the elevator,” Bordock ordered, his eyes burning with anger.
While Ben obeyed, the shapeshifter revealed a police walkie-talkie from under his suit jacket. He pressed a button and spoke into it, “Coming down with the suspects.”
Mesmo reacted swifter than lightning.
Ben had placed the water bottle in his hands seconds after helping him up. A rope of water gushed out of the bottle, lashing at Bordock like a whip. It wrapped itself around the shapeshifter, turning into ice instantly.
Caught off guard, Bordock lost his balance and fell heavily.
“Go!” Mesmo yelled to Ben, who was frantically hitting the elevator button. The doors didn’t budge.
Mesmo grabbed him by the arm and reached Bob in two long strides. “Is there another way out of here?”
Bob blinked at him and answered with a trembling voice, “Emergency stairs.”
Mesmo pulled him up roughly. “Take us there N-O-W!”
Bob whimpered but did as he was told.
Ben could already hear the ice rope crackling under Bordock’s effort to free himself. He stumbled fearfully after Bob, who led them to the balcony. Behind them, the shapeshifter roared furiously.
For the second time, Mesmo yelled, “Down!”
He threw himself on Ben and covered his head with his arms, just as a massive shockwave burst from the shapeshifter. The invisible onslaught hurtled above their heads, crashing into the large windows as if they were made of paper. The glass rippled, then shattered into a thousand pieces that were cast into the air like ice splinters.
***
Laura had combed the park in search for Ben and Mesmo and was heading to Bob’s apartment when she heard the explosion.
She watched in terror as the windows in Bob’s apartment blew outward. A sprinkle of flying glass came tumbling into the street, causing havoc among the screeching cars and screaming pedestrians who ran to take cover.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Shame
Mesmo urged Ben and his father to their feet.
Bob hopped on to a ledge which led them across the roof of the building. They sprinted to the other side, then clambered down the fire escape staircase at the back of the building.
“Hurry!” Mesmo pressed as if they needed encouragement.
They had almost reached the bottom when Ben risked a look up and felt a chill run down his spine. Bordock was observing them from the rooftop.
They had barely touched the ground when a police car screeched to a stop at the end of the alley. It backed up and turned to head their way.
The three scrambled the other way.
Ben checked over his shoulder. Bordock was still watching them from the rooftop, giving orders into his walkie-talkie. Ben could tell the outline of the alien was changing; he was shapeshifting into Connelly again.
Mesmo rushed them across a street and into another back alley. They hugged the walls when a helicopter flew overhead.
As soon as it was gone, Ben sprinted on, thinking the others were following. But instead, he heard someone groan behind him. He whirled in time to see Mesmo keel over and crash to the ground.
“Mesmo!” he yelled, rushing to his side.
The alien’s hands flew to his head.
“What’s wrong?” Ben said in anguish, searching frantically for the source of Mesmo’s pain.
The alien’s body went limp for a fraction of a second, then he came to again with a loud gasp of air.
Whirling sirens zipping by at the end of the alley spurted Ben into action. “Help me!” he urged a pale-faced Bob, while he grabbed Mesmo under one armpit.
Bob’s eyes were glazed, but he took Mesmo under the other armpit, and together they dragged the alien into an open warehouse which was filled with piles of boxes.
Although half a dozen men were busy carrying cargo into the back of a store at the end of the warehouse, they found a safe spot in the right corner, behind a wall of boxes and scaffolds covered in plastic.
Ben knelt by Mesmo’s side, calling his name, trying to help him regain full consciousness while the alien fought a mysterious, inward battle. It took him almost fifteen minutes to control whatever was happening to him and by the time he blinked his eyes open, his face was grey from the effort.
Ben helped him sit and lean against the boxes. “Are you ok?” he asked, beside himself with worry.
Mesmo nodded, wincing.
“What happened?”
Mesmo had to calm down his rasping breath before he was able to answer. “Spirit portal,” he managed to utter.
Ben’s eyes fell automatically on his wrist. Then he remembered that the last one to have had the watch with the spirit portal was Mesmo. His mind raced as he realized he hadn’t seen it since Mesmo’s escape from Victor Hayward’s clutches. A sinking feeling filled his stomach. “I don’t have it anymore. Do you?”
Mesmo shook his head. “No, but someone tried to impose its effect on me. They tried to force my spirit out of my body. I have never experienced anything so powerful! I barely resisted.”
Ben and Mesmo’s eyes met. They already knew who it was.
“Bordock!” Ben gasped.
Mesmo nodded. “He is desperate. Not a single Toreq in their right mind would consider doing such a vile thing. Where I come from, forcefully separating a spirit from a physical body is punishable by death. The technology was banned eons ago. Only a handful of Toreq still master that technology.” He gritted his teeth. “It can only mean one thing. Bordock is backed by some powerful adversaries.”
Ben shuddered at the idea that there could be other Bordocks out there pulling strings, giving the shapeshifter orders.
Mesmo must have seen the fear in Ben’s eyes because he placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“You don’t need to worry yourself over that. This is a situation that is taking place on my planet. It does not involve you.”
Ben nodded, feeling only slightly relieved.
“But it also means I need to get home at all costs, to warn my people. Give me a moment to gather my strength,” Mesmo said. “Then we’re out of here.”
Ben nodded again and turned to Bob who was sitting on a box with his face buried in his hands. His pale fingers rubbed at his hair as if the back-and-forth movement kept him from falling into insanity.
“Bob?”
The man stared at the ground. “I didn’t sign up for this,” Ben heard him say.
“Are you ok?” Ben asked.
His father did not respond.
Ben sighed and turned away, but then he heard Bob say in a clear voice, “You were in the car.”
Ben whirled.
Bob hid his eyes in his hands so that Ben could only see his mouth and beard. “Back when you were a baby, and I crashed the car...” He lifted his ruffled head and stared at Ben. “…you were in the car with me,” he admitted.
For a second, Ben felt the earth open under his feet, threatening to engulf him. He had to lean against a wall of boxes and slide down to a crouching position to steady himself.
Bob’s head was in his hands again. “That’s why your mom never forgave me,” he said. “I…um…I was really proud of becoming a father. The rest of my friends were too young to be thinking about such things. One afternoon, they got together and insisted I come. So I took you with me to show you off. But I stayed a bit too long, and by the time we headed out again it was dark, and I wasn’t thinking straight. That’s when I crashed the car.”
He stared at the floor. “I panicked. My adult life was just beginning, and I was about to lose everything. So I fled and…” His shoulders quaked. “…left you in the car.”
Ben listened in disbelief. He considered the man who was sobbing freely before him, trying to process this information. After a while, he reached out and placed a reassuring hand on his dad’s leg.
“I was young and stupid,” Bob whimpered. “I made a mistake.”
Mesmo came up beside Ben. “We have to go,” he said softly but firmly.
Ben forced himself to stand shakily.
His father had his hands to his face again. “I can’t do this,” he said in a defeated voice.
The boy regarded his father who had the same colour hair and eyes as him. A rebellious mesh stuck out at the back of the man’s head, just like Ben, and he knew there was an undeniable blood bond between them.
But Robert Manfield was also numbed by fear, and, although that was a trait Ben knew his mother did not have, he could understand it. How many times had Bordock not had the same effect on him? The difference here was that his dad had a choice to be part of the story or not. And clearly, he wanted no part of it. Because, whereas Bordock had no interest in his dad, Ben could not say the same. Had Ben been in his dad’s position, he didn’t think he would have felt up to the task of facing Bordock, either. Few, if any, would accept such a risk. And so, Ben understood.
“Dad,” Ben said.
Bob lifted his head.
“I forgive you.”
I forgive you for the accident. I forgive you for being too afraid to protect me.
He swallowed a sob.
I forgive you for not wanting to be my dad.
Bob’s eyes lit with an inner acceptance of his own weakness. “Then, you are a better man than I ever will be,” he said.
Mesmo placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Benjamin,” he urged. “We can’t delay any further.”
Ben nodded, reluctant to let go of his father’s eyes. “Goodbye, Dad,” he whispered as he backed away, but the man had retracted into a shell again.
Boy and alien slipped out of the warehouse, leaving Robert Manfield behind. They sprinted to the end of the back alley, then crouched at the corner to inspect the busy street before them, scanning for police cars.
Ben wiped away the tears that rolled down his cheeks, focusing ahead. He realized they were opposite Berczy Park with its Dog Fountain and wondered if they could make it across without being too obvious.
“Benjamin,” Mesmo said, pulling the boy out of his thoughts. Mesmo was observing him curiously.
“What?” he said, sniffing.
“Why did you forgive him?”
Ben stared at the ground, considering the question, trying to ignore a great emptiness inside, but although it hurt, he knew he had done the right thing. He stared at Mesmo and replied, “He made some wrong choices. But at least he tried, and that’s good enough for me.” He leaned forward again, studying their options, but Mesmo continued to stare at the boy.
Realizing this, Ben frowned. “What is it?”
Mesmo seemed lost in an inner conversation as if he were trying to make up his mind about something. Then he sighed and said, “I think I am beginning to understand something about humans that I didn’t understand before.”
Ben waited for him to explain himself, but instead, Mesmo said, “You make things very difficult for me, Benjamin Archer.”
Ben snorted. “Look who’s talking!”
They glanced at each other and grinned.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Resistance
Chaos ensued in front of Bob’s apartment.
Laura rushed to the scene, her heart thumping, her raincoat flowing behind her as she ran. Police cars halted traffic and surrounded the building entrance. Officers scrambled in and out of the lobby, ambulances whirled to a stop, and first aid crew hurried to check on possible injured people who had been unfortunate enough to find themselves under the rain of falling glass.
Laura came to a stop on the other side of the street, desperately trying to figure out what had happened, praying that Ben was not among the wounded.
Then a group of police officers detached themselves from the centre of the commotion and darted down the sidewalk, while a couple of police cars screeched to life, heading the same way. Their sirens wailed down the street.
Laura grasped her handbag tightly. She plunged into the street, oblivious to oncoming traffic, and followed the law enforcement as fast as she could.
***
Ben checked the street one more time. “What do you think?” he said.
“We need to keep moving,” Mesmo replied.
“There’s a bus stop on the other side of the plaza,” Ben noted. “We might get lucky. Or we’ll come across a taxi.”
Mesmo nodded. “Let’s go.”
They emerged from their hiding spot in the alley and sprinted across the street, forcing a couple of cars to hit their brakes.
They were barely across when the sound of a siren made Ben’s blood go cold. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a civilian car bump to a stop on the Berczy Park sidewalk behind him. Two men with bulletproof vests materialized out of the car, one of them barking into a speaker microphone.
“Run!” Mesmo ordered, grabbing him by the back of his shirt collar, almost lifting him up in his hurry to get them going.
Pedestrians froze and looked on in surprise; mothers grabbed their children from the edge of the Dog Fountain and hurried away, while, already, the sound of new sirens approached.
Ben and Mesmo were halfway across the plaza when a helicopter shot over their heads. People shouted and rushed for safety.
“Hold it!” one of the police officers yelled from the civilian car behind them.
“Mesmo!” Ben sobbed, unable to keep up with the alien’s long strides. His vision went blurry, and he wiped at his eyes in a hurry. But the edge of his eyesight kept on darkening.
What’s wrong with me?
“Mesmo!” he called again, his voice sounding far away as if he were crumbling into himself. He couldn’t focus or feel the movement of his legs.
Mesmo turned to face him, and Ben vaguely registered the alien’s eyes widening in shock. “Benjamin!” he yelled. “Resist!”
> Resist what?
That was his last thought before Mesmo’s face turned into the granite mosaic paving below him. He did not feel the pain as he hit the ground, however, because already his spirit was plunging through a tunnel of darkness.
***
From the opposite side of the street, Laura came to a stop as she watched Ben tumble to the ground. “No!” she yelled in anguish.
Half a dozen police cars rushed to the scene, cutting her off. Two army trucks followed, spewing out a frightening amount of soldiers, armed to the teeth.
Mesmo stood between Ben and the fountain, frozen in indecision. The soldiers rushed to take position around him, while terrified civilians scrambled in all directions.
Laura looked on in trepidation as the alien hesitated between Ben and his narrowing chance of escape. “Don’t leave him!” she begged silently.
Mesmo turned his back on Ben and raced away.
“No!” she breathed, fighting a sudden onset of nausea.
There were yells from the soldiers, who took position to shoot.
In a couple of swift strides, Mesmo’s long legs brought him to the fountain. Without pausing, he plunged his glowing hands into the water, and before Laura could open her mouth, a sphere of blue power erupted around the alien, expanding faster than sound towards the soldiers. It was instantly followed by a deafening blast as sound caught up with the expulsed air and an exploding cloud of mist swept across the plaza, knocking over everyone in its path.
Laura toppled as the mixture of air and water shoved her forcefully onto the sidewalk. Shop windows rattled. People lay on the ground, stunned.
Laura picked herself up in a hurry, her head swimming dizzily.
A thick mist emanated from the fountain. The soldiers, who had been hit the hardest, came to their senses and struggled to find their bearings. An eerie silence–only covered by the ringing in Laura’s ears and the muffled sound of a helicopter–maintained everyone in a daze.
Then people began to scream. They scrambled to their feet, knocking each other over in their haste to escape.
