1st 5 Page March Workshop - Knightly

Name: Rae Knightly

Genre: Middle Grade Science Fiction and Adventure

Title: Ben Archer and the World Beyond

Ben Archer swung his feet over the edge of the spaceship and dipped his toes into the crystalline waters of French Polynesia. The transparent sea allowed him to admire every detail of the pure white sand five feet below the surface. A tiny island curved out of the water to his right and he gazed at the surreal sugar-coated beach, tropical bushes and coconut palms, suddenly feeling like a model posing for one of those five star tropical cruise pamphlets that would come in the mail.

His own cruise ship, however, outshone any exotic transport offered by exclusive tourism offices. He had just travelled to the island of Muto Oné in an extraterrestrial vessel–captained by a man who came from another planet–and it now hovered a few inches from the calm waters, its dark grey surface unreflecting of the scattered clouds in the bright blue sky.

“Mesmo, are we going, or what?” Ben said, throwing an annoyed look at his alien friend. He’d been waiting to make this trip for weeks: one among many amazing destinations he and Mesmo had planned to visit over the weekends, yet this one had felt special. The thirteen-year-old couldn’t wait to discover the coral reefs off Motu Oné, one of a string of islands in the remote South Pacific Ocean, of which the largest was Tahiti.

Yet, now that he was finally here, Ben had to admit he had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. He turned, slightly irritated that Mesmo hadn’t replied, and found the alien man moving his fingers swiftly over a handful of hovering screens.

“Give me a moment,” Mesmo said without taking his eyes off the flowing information.

Ben knew Mesmo was reviewing the data given to him by one of the Wise Ones, who had last studied the area five years ago. “I thought you’d done that already?” he said, as he picked up one of his fins and fought to pull the sticky rubber over his foot, deciding he needed to get active in order to stop paying attention to his grumpy mood.

The tall alien didn’t answer–clearly too absorbed with his task.

Ben didn’t insist. Instead, he grimaced as he struggled to put on the second fin.

Mesmo clapped his hands together. “Right!” he said. “Let’s do this.” He tossed his flip-flops aside and removed his Hawaiian t-shirt, revealing his perfectly tanned torso.

Ben watched him from the corner of his eye, as he became seriously offended with the uncooperative fin. He noticed that the roots of Mesmo’s hair had turned white.

Mom’s gonna need to dye his hair brown again.

Ben always pointed out when this happened, because Mesmo’s otherwise bleach-white hair and exceptional height could make the alien stand out like a beacon in a crowd.

Mesmo stood beside him. He placed his hands on his hips and admired the stunning Polynesian scenery. “I don’t get it,” he said.

“Get what?” Ben grunted, then whooped inwardly as his foot slid into the stupid fin.

“I don’t get why humans have forgotten how to live under the ocean.”

That caught Ben’s attention. “Huh?” He looked up, briefly noting that the tropical imprint on Mesmo’s swim trunks resembled the island outside the spaceship.

“The A’hmun… you know, your ancestors? Well, if my people’s history records are correct, the A’hmun built many cities under the vast oceans of their planet, Taranis.”

“What happened? To Taranis, I mean?” Ben asked, as he adjusted the straps holding his air tank in place.

Mesmo shrugged. “Oh, from what I’ve heard, the planet has been uninhabitable for centuries, ever since the end of the Great War of the Kins.” He looked down at Ben and added apologetically, “I guess my people didn’t give it much of a chance of survival.”

Ben felt a ripple course down his spine at the idea that an alien civilization had the power to wipe out life from an entire planet.

“Anyway,” Mesmo said. “Are you ready? There’s a big coral colony that way”–he pointed straight ahead–“and a five thousand foot drop to the left–the entrance to the Pacific Ocean. Might be interesting…”

“No, thanks,” Ben cut in, slipping his mask over his head and eyes. “I’m not going there. I’m not trained for the deep yet. And besides, it would take me hours to decompress.” He tapped his pressure gauge with his fingers.

Mesmo flicked a hand at him. “Come on, Benjamin, get rid of that cumbersome old diving stuff. You know my power to manipulate water is strong enough to let us both breathe under the sea. You’d feel much lighter.”

Ben sighed, annoyed, “We’ve been over this already; I have to learn to do this on my own. It’s not like you’re going to be around every time I need your water skill. And this old diving stuff–as you say–is the best my backward little civilization has got for now, so deal with it.”

Mesmo grinned. “Suit yourself,” he said, then executed a perfect dive into the transparent sea, his body hardly making a splash when it sliced through the water.

“Show off,” Ben muttered, before shoving the snorkel in his mouth. He placed his hands at the edge of the door and lifted his weight to get closer to the opening. But his right hand slipped on the wet surface, causing him to lose his balance. Before he could help himself, Ben’s weight dragged him sideways, straight out of the spaceship. The side of his head hit the water and shoved liquid into his mask, while he somehow ended up upside-down with his head in the sand and his left flipper sticking out of the sea in the most embarrassing way. Stinging salt water entered his nose, sending tears to his eyes. He flailed, desperately searching for a decorous way to straighten himself. He pushed at the sand and broke the surface, tearing at the mask and snorkel. 

Mesmo stared at him quizzically, raising an eyebrow. “Are you ok?”

“Don’t you dare laugh,” Ben snapped, wiping the water from his face.

“I’m not,” Mesmo said innocently, the corner of his mouth curling.

Ben wanted to say something snarky, but just then a familiar rushing sound filled his ears. He raised his hands, already expecting them to shine a clear blue. Trying to ignore the horrible aftertaste of sea water in his mouth, he took a slow deep breath, closed his eyes and felt his alien translation skill take hold of his senses. Searching left and right, Ben frowned when he couldn’t find any other sign of life. Yet, unmistakably, a tiny voice whispered in his mind.

Wading through the water, he reached the front of the hovering spaceship and found the source that had activated his skill. A small animal, shiny black in colour, flopped around the surface of the water, clearly in distress. He reached out to it with his thoughts.

Hello? Are you in trouble?