Ben Archer and the World Beyond Read online

  Oh, yay. Just great.

  Someone sat beside him. In no mood for a chat, Ben sank his head back in his chair and pretended to sleep.

  He considered his grumpy mood and had to admit that Mesmo had been right. It wasn’t that he had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed, or that he felt left out of the meeting Mesmo was going to have with the Wise Ones. Rather, it was his unsuccessful trips and lack of communication with the animal world that bothered him. He had imagined himself swooping in to save the day, convincing all that flew, crawled, and swam of his and Mesmo’s great plan. He’d imagined enthusiastic, even welcoming reactions.

  But none of this had happened, and with each failed attempt, he felt more and more drained, more and more useless. He’d thought he’d be the right one for the job. But what if he wasn’t?

  With this lingering thought in mind, Ben stepped off the bus onto the main street of Tofino three hours later. He checked his mom’s instructions on a piece of paper. He was supposed to meet some guy named Wilson Maesschalck. The camp coordinator, he guessed.

  M-a-e-s-s-c-h-a-l-c-k… How’m I even supposed to pronounce that?

  The other travellers drifted off to their separate destinations. The bus took off with a roar of its engine.

  Ben watched tourists line up for a late lunch at a popular-looking restaurant with a large terrace shaded by a tree that sprouted in the middle. Lively music played from loudspeakers. Five teenagers walked by, giggling and sipping on slurpees, wearing flip-flops and shorts. A couple of professional bikers slid down the street behind him. But there was no sign of an assembly of young campers. Nor a Wilson Maesschalck, for that matter.

  Drat, now he’d have to call Mom.

  And tell her about her brilliant camping plan…

  “Ben!”

  He glanced about, wondering who had called his name.

  “Ben!” The voice came from much closer now.

  He whirled, just in time to see a girl run up to him. She flung her arms around him so hard he almost lost his balance. Her long, black hair brushed against his face, smelling of pine needles and ocean air.

  “I’m so glad you’re here!” she squealed, squeezing him.

  He took a step back, staring into the most wonderful pixie eyes. “Kimi?” he gasped in shock.

  “Ta-da!” she cried, thrusting her arms apart as if she had just jumped out of a Christmas present, her flowery dress swirling. “Surprise!”

  “Kimi?” he repeated, unable to believe that his best friend stood before him. “But… how… what…” he stammered. “What are you doing here?”

  She laughed in reaction to his clueless face. “It’s all part of a big scheme…” She gave him a mischievous look, and was about to say more, when someone shouted behind them, “Hey, Kimimela!”

  Ben turned to find a strong-built young man with short, dark hair stride towards them.

  “Did you find your boyfriend?”

  Ben went crimson.

  “He’s not my boyfriend!” Kimi snapped.

  The young man, who looked around twenty-five, crossed his tattooed arms over his chest. “Sure, he is.” His eyes twinkled. “He’s a boy, and he’s your friend. Boy-friend. See?”

  “Arrrgh!” Kimi roared, then said in a gruff voice, “This is Benjamin Archer, my friend.” She turned to Ben and, in a calmer tone, said, “Ben, this is my cousin Wilson…”

  “…Messkalk…, Massk…” Ben blurted.

  The young man’s smile widened. “It’s pronounced Maasgalk, with a soft ‘g’. Finally, I get some long-deserved recognition around here. Nice to meet you, Ben-friend,” he said, stretching out his hand and showing rows of white teeth. Ben couldn’t help staring at the four-masted ship tattooed on the man’s bicep.

  Ben grinned as they shook hands, Wilson’s grasp feeling firm and authentic. Sensing he could take part in the good-natured conversation, Ben asked with fake anger, “So, is somebody going to tell me what’s going on around here?”

  Kimi giggled. “It’s our moms. They called each other to organize something for the summer. That’s when my mom came up with this idea to send us both camping.” She drew invisible quotation marks in the air with her fingers. “Your mom didn’t think it would work out, at first, but last week she changed her mind and said you could come. She said to keep it a surprise.”

  Ben’s eyes widened. “So, there’s no camping group?”

  “Nope. You and I are staying with my mom’s cousin, Auntie Jen and her husband Pieter, by the beach.”

  Wilson cleared his throat. “Hum-hum, and yours truly.”

  Kimi rolled her eyes. “Yes, and cousin Wil, here. He’s visiting from the mainland. He’s starting a Ph.D. in Oceanography at UBC[1] next fall.”

  “Cool!” Ben said, impressed.

  “Yeah, yeah, enough flattery already.” Wilson waved a dismissive hand at him. “Listen, kids, I gotta run some errand for Pa. I’ll meet you back here in an hour, ok?”

  Kimi nodded, then shouted to the receding cousin, “We’ll be at the ice cream parlour!”

  Wilson clicked his tongue and gave them the thumbs up.

  “Come on,” Kimi said, linking her arm with his and leading him across the street. “We can catch up over ice cream. Unless you’d rather get a sandwich?”

  “Oh, no, no,” Ben said hurriedly. “Ice cream will do.” He felt all fuzzy inside and couldn’t stop grinning. This could turn into an amazing summer after all, if he let it.

  * * *

  “You have no idea,” Kimi said, pointing a long ice cream spoon at him. “What a lasting impression you left at the school. I mean, kids have this theory that a flock of crows entered the classroom and carried you away. You’ve become a legend.”

  Ben snorted as he stuffed his mouth with bubble gum flavour. “What about Wes and Tyler?” he asked. He still hadn’t gotten used to seeing Kimi in a dress. He had only known her with black trousers, black shirts and black army boots. Now, she looked light and carefree.

  Kimi nodded as if he had just asked a major question. “Ah, I meant to tell you. They have this impressive YouTube channel. I’ll show you their videos later. They’re quite good, actually.”

  Ben grinned. “And what about your mom? And Thomas?”

  Kimi’s face radiated. “She’s doing great. They’re both doing great. Thomas moved in with us, did you know? Mom’s so happy…” she trailed off, lost in thought.

  Ben stared at her, imagining Kimi’s pretty mother with her long, black hair and high cheekbones. “I’m really glad,” he said earnestly, remembering the family’s struggles.

  “It was really hard for a while, you know?” Kimi said. “But Mom’s healing every day. I’m so proud of her.”

  Ben smiled, realizing he’d been longing for some good news.

  But Kimi’s face faltered. “I’m sorry about Tike, Ben,” she said. “Mom said you lost him. We were so worried about you. We had no idea if you’d made it across the mountain or not. But then your mom called and said you were ok.”

  Ben forgot about his ice cream. The sun warmed his cheeks, the town atmosphere lulled him, and he was still basking in the news of spending the summer with his best friend. He was not ready to think about Tike, lying in an icy coffin under heaps of snow.

  “I’m sorry,” Kimi said quickly as if willing her words away. “I shouldn’t have said anything. We don’t have to talk about it.”

  Ben opened his mouth, struggling to come up with something to say.

  “Hey, guys, where’s mine?” a voice complained. Wilson slid into a chair at their table, staring at his nonexistent dessert.

  “You said you’d be an hour!” Kimi burst. “I’m not leaving ice cream in the sun for an hour. Get one yourself!”

  Wilson turned to look inside the ice cream parlour, then coughed and rubbed his hands on his pants’ legs, as if he suddenly didn’t need ice cream anymore.

  Ben figured he didn’t want to line up but found only a couple of customers waiting for their order.<
br />
  “…or are you afraid of Anna?” Kimi teased.

  “Who?” Wilson said innocently, turning to check the store counter again.

  Kimi rolled her eyes at Ben.

  Squinting inside the parlour, Ben noticed a pretty girl with blond, shoulder-length hair who looked to be about Wilson’s age or a bit younger. She was wearing the parlour t-shirt and cap. Ben glanced at Kimi, who gave him a sideways smile.

  She spoke to Wilson. “Anna. You know? From your high school?” Kimi stressed the words with exaggeration. “She’s going to UBC in September, did you know that? You should talk to her, tell her what it’s like.”

  Wilson stumbled over his words. “Ugh, I don’t have time for that. We still have half an hour’s drive to Craggy Bay. Pa’s waiting for his lumber. And Ma is impatient to meet Ben-friend, here. We’d best be off if you’re done with that.” He pointed at Kimi’s empty ice cream cup and stood without waiting for an answer.

  Kimi pressed her lips together, then got up, hurrying after Wilson with Ben in tow. “Wait a minute, aren’t you going to ask her to Friday’s Summer Dance?”

  Wilson humphed. “Me? At a dance? Don’t be stupid.” He walked away with large strides, forcing Ben and Kimi to trot behind him until they reached a pickup truck with a stack of lumber leaning on the side. Wilson unlocked the tailgate and said, “Here, Ben-friend, help me load. Let’s build some muscles on those flimsy arms of yours.”

  Ben picked up a couple of lumber pieces and passed them on to Wil, then felt a tap on the shoulder.

  “I’ll be right back,” Kimi whispered. She grinned and sprinted off.

  They were done loading five minutes later. Ben tossed his backpack beside the lumber and joined Wilson in the front. He was putting on his seatbelt when Kimi climbed into the pickup beside him, an ice cream cone in her hand.

  “Here you go,” she said cheerfully.

  “For me?” Wilson said, accepting the dessert. “Hey, thanks, cousin!” He took a big bite and started the motor with his other hand.

  “…and she said yes,” Kimi shouted purposefully over the rumble.

  Wilson almost choked. “She… what?”

  Kimi stretched over and clapped a Post-it on Wilson’s lap. “Anna said yes,” Kimi repeated. “She wants to go to the Summer Dance with you. This is her address and phone number. You’re picking her up at six.”

  Ben expected Wilson’s hand to crush the ice-cream cone at any moment.

  “I’m doing what?” the young man turned towards Kimi, eyes bulging.

  Ben stiffened between them, looking straight ahead and willing himself to disappear into the car seat.

  “Bye, Anna,” Kimi shouted, ignoring Wilson and leaning out her window. “Wave,” she growled over her shoulder at the boys.

  Ben and Wilson saw the blond-haired girl wave at them from afar. “Bye, Wil!” they heard her shout.

  Wilson waved mechanically, then sank back in his chair, arms outstretched over the steering wheel, ice cream dripping down his hand. He gobbled up the cone with two huge bites, then pressed the gas pedal, making the truck lurch forward. “You creep, you… How dare you…,” he grumbled all the way out of town.

  Kimi hummed while staring out the open window.

  That’s when Ben noticed Wilson furtively sneaking the Post-it into his shirt pocket.

  * * *

  “Benjamin, dear. Welcome,” the petite woman said, hugging Ben as if she’d known him all his life. She wore a white, short-sleeved buttoned shirt, khaki trousers and sandals. She had simple pearl earrings and just a touch of makeup. Her dark hair was pulled up in a ponytail, giving her a youthful look, even though she must have been over fifty years old.

  “Everybody calls him Ben, Auntie,” Kimi said, hugging the woman. She turned to Ben. “This is my mother’s distant cousin, Aunt Jeniece – or Auntie Jen. She moved to Craggy Bay long before I was born.”

  Auntie Jen smiled. “That’s what happens when you find love,” she said.

  “What would I have done if you had said no?” a man said, appearing from behind the door and placing a hand on her shoulder. “Right, schatje[2]?”

  Auntie Jen patted his hand. “This is Pieter Maesschalck,” she said to Ben. “You can call him Uncle Pete if you like.”

  Uncle Pete’s green eyes twinkled as he clasped Ben’s hand. “Benjamin, jongen[3]! What took you so long? Was my son flirting with all the town girls again?”

  Ben grinned sheepishly as he followed Kimi inside.

  “Ha, ha, very funny, Pa,” Wilson roared through the doorway behind them, though Ben found him smiling. Clearly, this was some kind of household joke, which he took lightly. Wilson dumped shopping bags on the kitchen counter and said, “Here’s the groceries you asked for, Ma.”

  Auntie Jen kissed Wilson on the cheek. “Things are so much easier when you’re around,” she said gratefully.

  Wilson squeezed his mother’s shoulders, then shouted across the room, “Make yourself useful, old man, and help me unload that lumber you ordered. The summer’s not getting any longer, you know.”

  Uncle Pete laughed and clapped Ben on the back. “Welcome, Ben. Stay as long as you like.”

  Ben’s heart bulged. He wasn’t used to being received with such open-heartedness. “Thank you,” he managed, choking a little.

  Kimi must have noticed because she pulled him by the arm. “Come on, I’ll show you your room. It fits two single beds. You’ll have to share it with Wil, though. I hope you don’t mind.”

  He didn’t.

  They passed through a comfortable living-room with antique-looking furniture, an open fireplace and bookshelves everywhere, stacked with leather-bound volumes. Ben had never seen so many books in a living-room before.

  Small, oval paintings of what Ben took to be distant ancestors hung on the walls. Several miniature sailing ships adorned the sideboards, including a stunning replica of a four-masted ship decked an upright piano. Ben recognized it. It was the same one as Wilson’s tattoo.

  “It’s beautiful!” he said, admitting its details.

  “You can say that again! Uncle Pete is one of the best miniature ship modelists in the world.”

  Ben stared wide-eyed at her as they headed up the stairs to the first floor.

  “I’ve got my cousin Lori’s old room,” Kimi said, the steps creaking under her feet. “That’s Auntie Jen’s eldest daughter. She married last year and moved to Quebec.”

  “What did I tell you?” they heard Auntie Jen from the kitchen. “When you find love…”

  Kimi shook her head apologetically. “Teasing is a way of life around here,” she said. “You’ll get used to it.”

  Ben grinned, knowing he would.

  CHAPTER 7 Broken Balance

  Jeremy Michaels pressed the phone to his ear.

  A woman from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service – CSIS for short – spoke on the other end, “High Inspector Hao is unavailable at the moment. Would you like to leave a message?”

  Jeremy seethed through his teeth. “I’ve left six messages already. My name is Jeremy Michaels – that’s M-I-C-H-A-E-L-S. I’m a reporter with the Provincial Times. I’m writing an article about The Cosmic Fall and High Inspector James Hao’s insights on the subject would be greatly appreciated.”

  The woman’s tone remained neutral, making Jeremy feel like he was talking to an answering machine. “I have taken note. Thank you and have a good day.” She hung up.

  Jeremy stared at his smartphone, then thrust it on a pile of papers and photographs on his desk.

  Drat!

  He sighed, then threw his feet on the table next to his computer and bent his arms behind his neck to rest his head in his hands.

  Actually, the more the National Aerial Division of the CSIS rejected him, the more intrigued he became.

  Why were the secret services intent on burying the event that took place in Chilliwack? The Cosmic Fall was approaching its first anniversary – the perfect opportunity to release a
full-fledged first-page recap – yet everybody seemed to have conveniently forgotten that it had ever occurred.

  Only the Parks and Recreation Association had anything to say about the area where the meteors had crashed. They had politely mentioned a vague project to create an educational centre on the premisses. But even they had referred Jeremy back to the CSIS.

  And then there were the mysterious disappearances of the neighbourhood’s inhabitants. Well, not exactly ‘disappearances’, more like ‘unavailability’. Of the four houses neighbouring the field where The Cosmic Fall had occurred, one inhabitant had landed himself in jail and wouldn’t take his calls, one man was deceased, and two others had vanished off the face of the Earth.

  Coincidence?

  Maybe. Maybe not.

  In fact, he had only been able to talk to two people so far: that woman and that kid.

  Jeremy picked up a blurry photograph. It was the last picture he had taken before landing on his backside after the bee attack. He squinted at a cluster of shrubs and trees, an eerie glow (sunlight reflecting on something?), the swarm of bees, and there, in the shadows… Was that the boy’s face?

  “Hey, rookie, are you done yet?”

  The voice pulled Jeremy from his thoughts. He slid his feet off the desk and straightened in his chair just before a colleague popped his head over the office space panel.

  “The boss is waiting for your article, man. Are you almost done?”

  Jeremy poured over his keyboard, looking busy. “Yup, yup, tell him five minutes.”

  The colleague pushed his reading glasses further up his nose and disappeared.

  Jeremy stared at the title on his screen: CHILLIWACK’S ORGANIC BONANZA. The rest of the page was blank.

  * * *

  Ben and Kimi stepped out of the house the next day to find a foggy morning.

  Auntie Jen and Uncle Pete’s spacious home lay nestled among the well-adapted environment of the rugged Pacific Coast. Craggy Bay’s single road led to a dead end on one side, while the other side reached Tofino.