I followed Ben along the corridor that connected our offices. A young student I vaguely recognized passed us, and Ben waited until she was out of sight before he opened the door and led me into his office.
‘Can’t be too careful,’ he muttered, adding to my growing concern for his state of mind.
The room was plunged into darkness when he closed the door, and I realized he’d stuck sheets of card over all the windows, blocking out the world and giving him complete privacy.
‘Ben?’ I said hesitantly, feeling that discomfort many experience in the presence of someone who’s in the grip of acute mental illness.
What was this? Had Beth’s death been too much? Did he need help?
‘Wait, wait,’ he replied hurriedly.
He fumbled around his desk and switched on a lamp, but it really didn’t make things any better.
There were piles of paper everywhere and stacks and stacks of books. Used fast food cartons and empty cans and bottles littered the place, which had changed drastically since I’d last seen it.
‘Ben, what is this?’ I asked. ‘What’s happened?’
He hurried round the desk and opened the small cupboard beneath it.
‘Were you serious?’ he asked. ‘Would you do anything?’
There was a mania in his eyes that frightened me, and I didn’t reply. I was too busy thinking about who I could call for help. Security? Dr Abiola?
He lifted a flight case onto the desk. It was a perfect cube made of brushed aluminium. He unhooked two clasps that sealed it.
‘I need to be sure,’ he said. ‘Were you serious?’
I felt I had to humour him. ‘You know how much I loved Beth.’
He nodded and opened the lid. Inside, black laser-cut foam protected three spheres. Each of them was approximately two inches in diameter and they were filled with sparkles of light that reminded me of stars. They swirled, moving like constellations in the night sky.
‘What are they?’
Ben pocketed two and grabbed the third, before approaching me.
‘Whatever happens, you must do exactly as I say,’ he told me.
‘Ben, I don’t want—’ I began, but shock knocked the breath from my lungs.
Ben squeezed the sphere until it shattered. The stars spread over his hand, covering it, before multiplying and sweeping down his arm. The first stars unfolded to form hexagons of light that connected to create a mesh. I tried to back away, but he grabbed my wrist and held me tight.
‘Ben,’ I cried. ‘Please.’
‘Exactly what I say,’ he repeated as the stars spread across his torso.
I tried to free myself but he held me like a vice and I watched in horror as the stars travelled up my arm, covering me. The process accelerated, and I knew I didn’t have long. When Ben was covered, there was a surge of energy that illuminated the mesh, and he vanished. What was this? Why was he doing this? Was it murder? Was he killing us? I looked at the wisps of ethereal smoke that were all that was left of Ben, and felt nothing but hatred for him.
And then I, too, was gone.