6

by James Phelan

‘Can you show me? Teach me, I mean.’

  ‘Hacking skills?’ Shiva raised an eyebrow.

  Alex nodded.

  ‘Sure.’ Shiva got up and stretched out his back. ‘But first we gotta try and get this system online. Come on, let’s rock it. Oh, and mind that snake.’

  ‘Argh!’ Alex jumped.

  ‘Made you look.’

  ‘Ha, funny, just you wait, oh Great Shiva, just you wait.’

  ‘Whatever you say, Thor.’

  Alex tossed two nuts in the air, a second apart, and caught each in unison. Shiva’s mouth dropped open in mock surprise.

  ‘That’s right,’ Alex said. ‘I got skills.’

  ‘You really had no idea that your mother was an Enterprise Agent?’ Shiva said as they shifted one of the huge Tesla Coils on its platform.

  ‘Nope,’ Alex replied.

  ‘Wow,’ Shiva said. ‘Phoebe’s either really, really good at deception, or you’re a little, you know …’

  ‘Slow?’

  ‘I was going to say thick.’

  ‘Fair enough. I’ll take that.’

  ‘Really?’ Shiva was taken aback.

  ‘Sure. I can’t believe it myself. I always thought my mum had the most boring job in the world, working for the Transport Department, planning new roads and analysing traffic patterns.’

  ‘And meanwhile,’ Shiva said, ‘she was the second-in-command of a secret organisation working with people whose dreams come true.’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Super-mum, huh?’ Shiva said.

  ‘If you say so,’ Alex said, standing back and admiring their work. They’d finished sorting cables and equipment that had not been touched in years, clearing enough room to work. ‘OK, what’s next?’

  ‘Next, we check in to the Enterprise and report on what we’ve found.’

  ‘What have we found?’ Alex said, looking around. ‘A mess? Dust? Where all the world’s old power cables went to die?’

  ‘No,’ Shiva said, rapping his knuckles on one of the three Tesla Coils. ‘We’ve found a way to home in on Matrix’s location.’

  11

  SAM

  Sam struggled to hold Arianna’s gaze.

  Is she talking about the race? The fate of the whole world really does depend on this …

  ‘You think I can help bring Dreamers freedom here?’ Sam said. ‘Is that why you rescued me?’

  ‘Yes. These days the Hypnos are everywhere. They are too strong for the Academy and even the Enterprise. They’ve become increasingly bold, operating in the open.’

  ‘But you still don’t know who their leader is?’

  ‘We never even knew they had one, until recently. I heard rumours of one man, but I think he has a boss too. The boss is very good at staying in the background. There are rumours that he is a very rich and powerful man, with connections all over the planet. Somehow able to wield influence over even the senior Hypnos who have always been here running the country.’

  ‘Great, more bad guys in the shadows …’ Sam said, looking out the grimy window of the cab. A flash of a scene from Denver ran through his mind—of Mac lying unconscious, and of Solaris.

  ‘Sometimes,’ Arianna said, ‘those who join the Hypnos just need a little money for their family, they feel they have no choice but to betray their own. That’s why the Nyx exist, why it has always existed—to protect Dreamers.’

  ‘So why do you need me? I’m supposed to get your help.’

  ‘Don’t you see, Sam?’ Arianna said. ‘You, the last 13, the Academy and Enterprise, us. This war is global, and we are all ready and willing to fight together. Right, Boris?’

  ‘Yes! Fight! Win!’ Boris exclaimed loudly in English.

  Sam sensed Boris relaxing a little as they merged onto a road that was fairly clear of traffic. Up ahead were several main turn-offs, with signs for highways out of the city.

  ‘So how’d I get here? In Moscow, I mean, to the Hypnos facility?’

  ‘You were found in a pod that splashed down in the Black Sea. The force of the landing probably knocked you unconscious. The Russian Navy retrieved you. Routine DNA tests would have been done to confirm if you were a powerful Dreamer, and then you were transferred to the Hypnos reading centre for monitoring. That’s where they take everyone at first.’

  ‘And then what?’

  ‘Well, they start by questioning you, getting all your memories and also monitoring your dreams. Then they’d move on to stage two.’

  ‘What’s stage two?’

  ‘Harvesting DNA—mapping it and mining it for information that will increase their hold on power. Of course, since they realised they had Sam, the first of the last 13 … who knows what they had planned for you.’

  ‘Oh man,’ Sam sighed.

  ‘Man?’ Arianna looked confused.

  ‘Yeah, it means, like, yikes, whoa … um, shivers, that kind of thing.’

  ‘Shivers,’ Boris said over his shoulder. ‘You cold? Want heater put on?’

  ‘No,’ Sam said, breaking into a smile. ‘I mean, ah, it doesn’t matter. But you mentioned DNA harvesting—that sounds, geez, I don’t even know …’

  ‘It’s bad, very bad,’ Arianna said. ‘Sometimes, the subject does not survive.’

  Sam looked out his window, watching the Moscow traffic. ‘When was this?’

  ‘When was what?’ Arianna asked.

  ‘When did I land in the Black Sea?’

  ‘Tuesday.’

  ‘What day is it today?’ Sam said.

  ‘Wednesday,’ Arianna replied.

  ‘OK, so only yesterday? They can’t have monitored too many of my dreams in only one day.’

  ‘No … it was Tuesday last week.’

  ‘Last week!’ Sam was genuinely shocked. ‘I was held there for over a week?’

  Arianna nodded. ‘It took us some time to organise the rescue. We tried to move as quickly as we could, especially once we knew who you were. We had to get you out before the Hypnos could use that to their advantage.’

  ‘I’m very grateful—to you and Boris … the Academy and Enterprise would never have found me there in time. Speaking of, I need to let my friends know I’m OK. I’m worried about some of them too, it’d be good to know they’re alright.’

  ‘We will contact them, once we are safe.’

  ‘Hang on!’ Boris yelled as he slammed on the brakes and came to a sudden stop to avoid colliding with the car in front. Directly ahead was a massive truck, jack-knifed at an intersection. No traffic was getting through the accident site at all. Boris threw the taxi into reverse and looked over his shoulder as he made a U-turn. ‘New plan—I will have to go another way.’

  ‘Head for the backstreets,’ Arianna said and he nodded and stepped on the gas. Behind them, the blue flashing lights of black, unmarked police cars were arriving on the scene. ‘And hurry!’

  12

  ‘I think we’re OK,’ Sam said. He looked out the back window and couldn’t see any police cars following them. The sun occasionally broke through the grey clouds. With every passing minute the traffic seemed to increase.

  ‘We’re not OK yet,’ Arianna said. ‘Until we’re off the roads and out of sight, I won’t feel safe.’

  Sam turned to look out the side window.

  ‘Where are we?’

  ‘Still in Moscow.’

  Sam nodded, watching the world out the window. ‘So that “doctor” back at the centre, would he have been high up in the Hypnos?’

  Arianna was silent, then Boris swore in Russian under his breath, too quietly for Sam’s earpiece to work.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Sam asked her.

  ‘That man, Demetri, has something of a brutal reputation,’ she said. ‘Boris would have liked to have met him.’

  Boris’ huge grin in the rear-view mirror suggested to Sam that it would not have been a fun meeting for Demetri. He touched the brakes and swerved sharply to weave through the cars on the congested road. ‘Only one thing worse than the Hypnos�
�Moscow traffic,’ he muttered.

  ‘Where are we going, for help?’ Sam said.

  ‘The Kremlin.’

  ‘Isn’t that where the Russian government and the President are?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘So, from what you said before, I’m guessing there will be Hypnos there too?’

  ‘Yes. Without a doubt.’

  ‘We’re going into the dragon’s den …’ Sam said. He watched as Boris made bold driving manoeuvres through traffic, turning down a narrow alley before merging onto a busy main road again.

  Loud honks and furious gestures followed them but Boris just smiled and waved in response.

  ‘How did you get involved in all this anyway?’ Sam said, tearing his eyes away from the crammed streets.

  ‘My adoptive parents,’ Arianna answered. ‘Their families have been members of the Nyx for generations. They told me everything—that’s how it’s been for centuries.’

  ‘So you’ve known you were a Dreamer for a few years?’

  Arianna nodded.

  ‘And you knew what it meant when you dreamed of me?’

  ‘I didn’t dream of you, Sam. Boris did,’ she replied, ever-watchful of the other vehicles around them.

  ‘Boris? But we need to follow your dream,’ Sam said, ‘to find the Gear.’

  Arianna stared at him, but said nothing.

  ‘I dreamed of you. You are the next of the last 13,’ Sam explained. ‘I thought you knew of the prophecy? It’s the only way—my dream leads me to the others, and your dreams show us where to find the Gears for the Bakhu machine.’

  ‘So it is true,’ Arianna sighed. Somehow I knew but …’ she paused. ‘I’m afraid I have some bad news.’

  ‘What?’ Sam said, suddenly feeling panicked.

  Before she could answer, Boris swore loudly in Russian and the car accelerated so quickly, Arianna and Sam were thrown back into their seats. They looked out the rear-window to see two cop cars, blue flashing lights blazing, a few hundred metres back and closing fast.

  ‘I’m sorry to tell you, Sam,’ Arianna said, ‘but I can’t dream anymore.’

  13

  EVA

  ‘The Four Corners Competition,’ said Xavier, glancing up from reading about the Academy’s history, ‘more commonly known as “the Dreamer Doors”, is held each year to determine which Dreamers are best at steering dreams. To paraphrase what I’ve just read here.’

  ‘You don’t paraphrase in good English,’ Gabriella said.

  ‘Good point, my learned Italian friend …’ Xavier said.

  Eva rolled her eyes.

  ‘So here it says there are preliminary heats, which are dreaming challenges,’ Xavier went on. ‘The result of these challenges decides the team of three that will represent each school in the international competition.’

  Eva sat with Xavier, Zara, Maria, Gabriella and Rapha, in the school cafe, silent, taking it all in. Gabriella, Eva noticed, had been arguing with Xavier ever since they’d met, the pop star never giving in.

  ‘I wonder why they do not cancel it this year,’ Gabriella said, ‘because of what’s happening with us, with the race.’

  Eva had to admit, that made some sense.

  Sam’s missing, Cody betrayed us, the last three Gears are lost. The hunt for the 13 and the Dream Gate, it all seems too hard.

  ‘Why have a silly competition like this at all?’ Eva said. ‘We should be doing everything we can to find Sam.’

  ‘It might be to take the students’ minds from this,’ Zara said. ‘They are sad, no?’

  The group digested this thought for a moment, then Rapha said, ‘Yes, I believe it. They are sad, and worried, angry—about what happened in Switzerland, the Council, the betrayals of your Guardians and …’

  Eva nodded and stared out the window.

  ‘That may all well be true, but I heard Lora say that they were going ahead with this Doors thing to help with the race and Sam,’ Xavier said.

  ‘Really?’ Eva said, surprised. ‘If that’s true, then that’s—that’s awesome!’

  ‘Here, look at this,’ Xavier said, and he held up his tablet. ‘This is a picture of the world as governed by the Dreamer Council.’

  ‘Basically,’ he went on, ‘it’s divided through the zero longitude and latitude lines, with the schools in each quadrant competing first against each other, then in a World Cup-type final.’

  ‘Which quadrant do we fall in?’ Maria asked.

  ‘We’re just west of Greenwich, or the Prime Meridian,’ Xavier said, scrolling through the information, ‘so we’re part of the North-West, which encompasses North America too. North-East has their main Academy in Shanghai. South-West is in Sao Paulo in Brazil—’

  ‘Really?’ Rapha said, the Brazilian Dreamer clearly surprised that he’d had an Academy in his own backyard.

  ‘Says so here,’ Xavier replied. ‘And the South-East is in Johannesburg.’

  ‘Cool,’ Zara said.

  ‘And each quadrant has a Dreamer Academy like this one?’ Eva asked.

  ‘Apparently,’ Xavier said. ‘Some have more than one. You haven’t read about all this yet?’

  Eva pulled a face in response to Xavier’s stupid know-it-all grin.

  ‘So it’s like the World Cup,’ Gabriella said. ‘All the nations get the chance to compete against each other.’

  ‘What, like the soccer World Cup?’ Xavier replied.

  ‘Football,’ Gabriella said. ‘The Football World Cup.’

  ‘Soccer is not football,’ Xavier said, shaking his head. ‘You ever even watched an NFL game? That sucker’s fierce. That’s football. Huge guys running into each other. None of this running around to score what, like one goal per game?’

  ‘Do you watch rugby?’ Zara asked him.

  ‘Never heard of it,’ Xavier replied.

  ‘You’re talking of your silly game where your players run around in tights and helmets?’ Gabriella laughed. ‘Besides, with real football, it is not a game.’

  ‘Neither is this …’ Eva said, preparing to give them a rundown of what she was reading. ‘It says here that each year, thirteen Dreamers compete in the Dreamer Doors, three from each Academy, plus the leader of the previous winning team who is known as the Steerer. It’s that person’s dream that the rest are competing in. It seems as though the North-East Academy currently holds the title and have done for the past six years. Each group of three will have a team challenge, as well as competing for an overall individual award.’

  ‘This list of individual winners includes Tobias and Lora,’ Xavier said, reading in close to Eva. ‘And here,’ he pointed down at another name, ‘Sebastian McPherson—isn’t that the Professor’s name? Was that his son?’

  Eve nodded.

  ‘What was he like?’ Gabriella asked.

  ‘Sebastian?’ Eva said. ‘I barely knew him. I just met him once or twice. But he was … he was cold, a bit mean, but then I guess he was just serious—he knew as well as anyone the importance of the race. Definitely very focused and determined. And it looks like he was smart too—it says here he’s the only student in the comp’s history to have won twice.’

  ‘Sebastian must have been a boss Dreamer,’ Xavier said.

  ‘It wouldn’t surprise me,’ Eva said. ‘He did have that odd air of brilliance about him.’

  ‘But hold on, I thought only seniors could enter it?’ Maria said.

  ‘No,’ Eva replied, ‘it’s based on your dreams, not your age. Selection occurs via a dream challenge before the tournament. Anyone who wants to take part can enter, and whichever students are given the highest scores go on to represent their school in the competition.’

  ‘So not very easy to prepare for it,’ Rapha said.

  ‘If you can dream, then I guess you’re as ready as you are going to be,’ Maria said. ‘Right?’

  A final silence descended upon the group, and Eva couldn’t help think of how things would have been if Sam had been there.

  He’d
have won this for sure.

  14

  SAM

  ‘You can’t dream?’ Sam said, shocked. In the back of the cab, he bumped around as Boris sped through more backstreets to get around the horrendous traffic. ‘But that can’t be … you have to dream.’

  ‘Believe it,’ Arianna replied, watching out her window, sadness in her voice. ‘Not since I was sent to that place in Siberia.’

  ‘You’ve been there?’ Sam said.

  ‘Yes, when I was twelve. It is there that they take away your dreams.’

  ‘They steal your dreams?’

  ‘Yes—and erase them.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘An implant,’ she said as she put a finger to her head. ‘Like a computer chip. And I can’t get it out. They’ve done it to thousands of us over the years. And we’ve tried to get them out, believe me.’

  ‘Why would they do that?’

  ‘To take our dreams. To make it so that we are not a threat to their power.’

  ‘But—but what if maybe you still dream but they are seeing it instead of you?’

  Arianna looked at him thoughtfully. ‘Very well understood, Sam. Yes, we have discovered that they are doing such things, using our dreams for their own gain.’

  ‘Then it could be you’ve had the dream about where the next Gear is,’ Sam said with dread. ‘And maybe someone connected to the Hypnos has watched the dream, or at least recorded it.’

  ‘Perhaps …’ she seemed to think about it. ‘Probably.’

  ‘Then we have to get there—to Siberia, if that’s where their main headquarters are!’

  She nodded, then lurched forwards as their car was rammed from behind.

  A police sedan had smashed into their rear bumper, and Boris reacted by slamming on the brakes.

  Both cars came to a screeching halt.

  He looked over his shoulder and smiled at the cops as they got out of their car, reaching for their pistols—

  ‘Hold on!’ Arianna said as Boris flipped a switch on the dashboard.

  VROOOM!

  Sam was thrown hard into the seat as their taxi surged forward as though under rocket power—which seemed to be the only explanation for the way they shot down the street in a matter of seconds. Boris hit the brakes and took them screeching around a bend, then swung the wheel the other way to make a sharp right turn, crossing several lanes of traffic to honking horns and yells from drivers. Ahead, they were headed towards a massive wall.