Upbeats

  Chapter Five

  We all jumped out of our skin.

  "Who’s there?" I called, worried it may have been some staff member. I was running through what I was going to say in my apology. Would they have known about the bees?

  My eyes shifted to different directions. It’s hard to address someone when you can’t see them.

  "Who’s there?" I called again.

  "It’s just me," a kid said as he stepped out of the shadows. He was our age. He had hair in between brown and blonde, a frame in between tall and normal and eyes in between brown and green. Hazel.

  Ned let out a breath of relief. "Dude, don’t scare us like that again."

  "I’m sorry, I did not mean to startle you," the kid raised his eyebrows. He had no particular accent. It was neutral. "I only wished to get your attention."

  "Well, you’ve succeeded," Brooke quipped.

  "It’s okay," I said, reasonably. "We’re just a bit skittish, that’s all. Um . . . I’m Luke, this is Ned, Brooke, Smithy and Robyn." I gestured to each one as I introduced them.

  "My name is Kevin."

  "How did you get rid of the bees?"

  Trust Robyn to ask the question everyone is thinking but has lost track of.

  Kevin grinned. "These bees seem to be interested in nectar. So . . . another bee comes along and tells them where they may find the sweetest flowers in the vicinity. They followed, no questions asked."

  Brooke put her hands to her hips. Even dripping wet, she still managed to look intense and fierce. "And how would you know if another bee told them that?"

  Kevin sighed and lost his grin. He looked as though he was remembering the very thing he was struggling to forget. Like he realized he would have to let go of a fantasy and live in the real world. He wandered over to a patch of bright red flowers.

  "I have a long story to tell you . . ." Kevin started. "You won’t believe me if I tell you exactly how I got rid of the bees. I need to explain . . ."

  "We’re all ears," I said, kindly.

  Kevin blinked at me. I took it as a look of gratitude. "Earth is a beautiful planet," Kevin started. "The most spectacular in the whole universe, with designs and creations that not many planets possess."

  "Well, yeah, I guess so," Brooke said, crossing her arms. "But what has that got to do with all this?"

  Kevin turned his hazel eyes on Brooke. "You’re brave to talk to a stranger," he said, fascinated. Then, in a split second, he got serious again. "My point is this: Earth is in danger."

  The words had so much weight, even then, I felt it. I may not have understood it at all but I felt it.

  "What do you mean?" I asked. "How would you know?"

  Kevin stood up straight, preparing himself for what he had to say. "I am not from this world," he said in the tone that meant he was not kidding.

  Ned smirked. "Of course you’re not. Well, let me tell you about an Earth traditional dress called a strait jacket. You may end up in one . . ."

  I elbowed Ned in the ribs to keep him quiet. He didn’t even flinch, and yet I had done it quite hard, by accident.

  "What I say is true," Kevin insisted. He sighed. "Allow me to demonstrate."

  And with that, Kevin changed. He wasn’t Kevin for much longer. He changed, smoothly, gradually, into a skunk. Yes, a skunk, I’m not joking. His face turned black and furry, his nose pointed and he shrank and stood on all fours.

  He was a skunk: small, little furry black body with a white stripe running from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail. He was kind of cute, with his beady black eyes and his little head turning to look at each of us.

  I saw the others go green and could feel myself pale too.

  "That’s seriously weird," Ned said, lamely.

  "It’s not that weird," Kevin-the-skunk replied. "I am a shape-shifter. This is my natural form. I changed into a bee and communicated with the other bees to get them away from you. It’s not that strange."

  "Um, yeah, it is," Ned persisted. "It just shouldn’t happen. How is it possible?"

  "Simple, you see . . ." System started but Ned cut him off. He shook his head, like he was waking up from a bad dream. "Wait, no, this is crazy. I’m talking to a skunk, and it’s talking back."

  "Can we just hear Kevin out?" Brooke said. She had been the first to recover.

  "Actually, my name is Joncelrin System. I prefer to go by System. Kevin is just a cover. I am a Systematic, not a skunk, though I can see the confusion. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you another time, gladly. But right now, I ask for your full, undivided attention."

  "Oh, goody, story-time," Ned muttered.

  System waddled over to the flowers, sniffed them, happily, and then turned back to us. "I come from a planet far, far away, in another galaxy. And, yes, everyone on my planet, looks like a skunk. When I was young and in school, I was very interested in this planet. Because, you see, our planet has very dull colouring and Earth . . . it’s unparalleled.

  "Not too long ago, I heard your planet was in trouble. So, I set about coming here, to warn and to help. I tried to convince my people that you were in peril. They did not listen. So I took it upon myself to inform you. I’m here now and I need your help."

  Aliens, like from a movie. This was probably a dream. I tended to get weird dreams when I had hot chocolate before bed. But, I decided to go with it. If it was only a dream, what did it matter? "What kind of trouble is Earth in?" I interrupted. I looked at my group. "We have a right to know, don’t we?"

  System nodded his tiny skunk head. "Of course, of course. You see, Earth is one of the few inhabited planets that remain unaware of the rest of the universe. Most planets teach their young about Earth in school. It’s such a beautiful, complex and creative planet. The inhabitants of these planets want to travel, explore, and see Earth for themselves.

  "But not all are friendly adventurers," System’s tone jumped from admiration to darkness. "Many want to take over this planet. Rule it, get rid of the dominant species, maybe keep the squids . . . either way, they won’t do it the nice way. You people have . . . movies . . . about this, don’t you?"

  System was an alien, but he understood a lot of our common speech and culture on Earth. That confirmed it was dream.

  "Um . . . yes?" I replied, accidently making it sound like a question. "Yes, we do," I said, firmly.

  "Well . . . while those are works of fiction, this is real. There are races out there that would jump at opportunities to destroy you. And . . . it’s happening soon. I can’t do anything without assistance . . ." he trailed off.

  We all exchanged looks of amazement, shock and terror. Ned, though, just kept shaking his head and repeatedly saying how crazy this all was.

  The silence set in as we took in what System told us. I couldn’t exactly see what was going on. But System had just changed from a kid to a skunk. I had visual evidence. It was mad, as Ned kept saying. But, somehow, I couldn’t walk away.

  "You said you needed help," Brooke said, thoughtfully, as she tapped her chin.

  "That is correct," System answered.

  Suddenly, Brooke slammed her fist into the palm of her other hand. "Then, System, my friend, we’re in. Tell us what we have to do . . ."