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The Last Thirteen - 1

Page 7

by James Phelan


  “You will do this, Sam,” Solaris said, standing, pointing his weapon over the side of the pyramid—pointing it at the Professor. “I don’t need him like I need you, remember?”

  I’m so sick of his threats.

  Sam silently got to his feet and went to the Gears. He sorted through the inscriptions on each, placing them in order on top of the Great Pyramid.

  When will he realize that he’s only got twelve here, including his Gear … that there’s one missing?

  The one that hangs around my neck.

  “Put them into the box, do it!” Solaris said to him.

  Sam started to place the Gears into the box in the order that they had found them. Each on a small crank shaft, connecting to the next.

  After the third Gear, they didn’t fit.

  Wrong order.

  “Why are you stopping?” Solaris jeered. “I thought you were the one, the key to the prophecy. Ha!”

  “This isn’t right,” Sam said. He held out his hand to Solaris. “Let me try the last Gear first.”

  Solaris passed the astrolabe to Sam. He looked at it carefully, admiring the intricate craftsmanship.

  So, how do I take it apart? How do I know which piece to use?

  He turned it over in his hands, spotting a small but distinct “I” at the base of the back cover. Not immediately seeing any obvious way to open it, Sam turned his attention back to the Bakhu itself.

  Maybe if I see where it’s supposed to go, that will help.

  He pored over the inside of the box with his flashlight, but there was no obvious position for the mechanism. Then he stopped. Looking at the outside of the box, he hesitated. He looked closer at the brass rings, holding the astrolabe next to them.

  If this is how we read the location, maybe it goes on the outside?

  Maybe the astrolabe itself is the final Gear?

  Again he turned the astrolabe slowly in one hand, using the other to sweep across the face of the box, feeling the grooves with his fingertips. Moving it slowly, he very gently nudged the astrolabe across the surface of the Bakhu until it slotted quietly into place, in the middle of the rings.

  Knew it!

  “And the rest,” Solaris mocked. “Don’t feel too clever, you haven’t finished it yet.”

  Sam scowled and tried to ignore Solaris’ heavy stare as he turned his attention again to the Gears.

  He took a deep breath and picked up Alex’s Gear, the one they’d so recently found in Antarctica. Looking at the marked numeral “II,” he knew he was right.

  It’s the reverse order, following the numerals.

  Carefully, Sam put his hands inside the box, feeling around for where each Gear could fit into place. Long minutes ticked by as he fumbled with Alex’s Gear. He heard the Professor arrive at the top of the pyramid, his breathing raspy, sitting down heavily to rest. Sam heard the Professor’s sharp intake of breath as he watched Sam working on the Bakhu.

  I bet he can’t believe he’s witnessing this.

  Alex’s Gear finally slipped into its position. Sam could tell it was right as he moved onto Eva’s small double Gears from Australia, searching out their place within da Vinci’s mythical machine. They fit like they were made with modern precision engineering. On and on he went, back through the Gears found by Poh, Issey, Arianna and Cody. The inside of the machine began to take shape as each Gear’s teeth clicked against one another in a perfect fit.

  As he found the spot for Maria’s Gear, Sam could see that once together, the crank handle could slot in the side of the box and set all the Gears, the machine itself, into motion. With every Gear he added, it became clearer how the machine might work—the toothed Gears would move as one, turning the astrolabe that would provide a reading on where they had to go. Set by the stars and the moon.

  A full moon.

  A thirteenth moon in the constellation of Ophiuchus.

  Solaris came closer, overseeing the assembly and watching closely, ready to attack at any sign that Sam was stalling.

  “That’s it, boy,” Solaris said.

  Sam got to the eighth Gear, the one he’d found in Brazil with Rapha, when Solaris said, “Wait.”

  He crouched down close next to Sam. He looked at the machine, then the pieces laid out next to Sam’s backpack.

  He’s counting them. He’s about to realize that they’re not all there—that we’re one short.

  What then?

  Tell him a story? Tell him that the Gear is somewhere else—with Lora, or Alex or Eva?

  Solaris looked at Sam. “Where is it?” he growled. He was still, waiting.

  Sam swallowed hard. “Where’s what?” he said.

  Solaris said nothing. He stood, swiftly striding over to the Professor. He picked him up by his jacket and forced him backwards until his feet were dangling off the edge of the pyramid.

  “It’s a long, painful fall from up here, boy!” Solaris said. “So what’s it going to be?”

  Sam hesitated. He never thought he’d be given a choice such as this, not so close to the end of things.

  Do I lie, and hope to stall and save us all? Or tell the truth, and save the Professor now?

  The Professor’s hands grasped at Solaris’ wrists while his legs were dangling and spinning in midair.

  “The first Gear, Sam,” Solaris said. “Where is it? I will not ask again!”

  “It’s here!” Sam said, standing, showing Solaris the key that was hidden away under his Suit. Sam slid the leather strap over his head and held out the key. “It’s here. OK? This is the first Gear. The one I found in the Star of Egypt. The one that Sebastian died for!”

  “No more stupid games …” Solaris said. He dumped the Professor roughly onto the stone. “Now, finish the machine!”

  Sam looked to the Professor, who looked defeated, devastated by the knowledge that it was his very own son who was fighting against them. With each passing minute, the moon was getting higher in the sky. It had taken them a long time to climb up here, and the climb down would take nearly as long.

  “Finish it!” Solaris commanded.

  Sam crouched down again. He slotted the remaining Gears into each other, putting them in place so that the teeth of one would match up to the teeth of the next with a little metallic click.

  All at once, Sam could see how the machine would line up the markings of the thirteenth zodiac to calculate where they needed to go from the points in the night sky.

  All good, in theory. But will it really work?

  And even if it does point to the Dream Gate—will it still be there, thousands of years on?

  Can it really have been so well hidden that no one has discovered it?

  Sam manoeuvred Gabriella’s Gear from the Pantheon in Rome, gingerly fitting it into the remaining space.

  CLICK!

  “That’s it,” Sam said. He stood, the machine at his feet between him and Solaris.

  Solaris picked up the machine like it was light as air. Sam noticed more detail of his suit now that he had time to take it in at close range. It was an exoskeleton, with black tubes that carried either air or hydraulic oil to black steel rods, levers and tiny motors. An exoskeleton, not just armour. It made him stronger, like he was half robot.

  That’s what makes him so strong and fast—it’s not just a Stealth Suit, it’s a mechanical suit. Is this the dreamflage suit that Mac said had been stolen?

  “The key,” Solaris said, effortlessly holding the machine in one hand and putting out his other to receive the first Gear in his open palm.

  Reluctantly, Sam handed over the key and waited to see what would happen next.

  24

  ALEX

  Everything was a blur as everyone moved at once. Alex felt the rope around his wrist fall away. He turned to see Rapha smiling at him, a small knife in his hands. Now free, Alex threw himself into the fight. But it was Eva who was winning it for them. In among the others, Eva was kicking butt. All her weeks of training were paying off in a flurry of movement
—a kick here, a flip there, a block, a spin, a blow.

  She moved like a whirlwind through the rogue Agents. Alex’s mother and the others all hurled themselves at the Agents, catching them off guard and at close quarters. Alex saw Eva give a fierce kick to the one who had grabbed Xavier around the throat. Letting Xavier go, the Agent turned on her, but she was ready for him, jumping back as he swung at her.

  Quickly overpowering the Agents with their greater numbers, Lora forced a dart gun from an Agent’s hand and methodically darted the Agents, one by one.

  “Thanks,” Xavier gasped to Eva. “I started to go blue just then.” He rubbed his neck gratefully.

  “No problem,” Eva said, looking at Stella’s four unconscious rogue Agents on the floor.

  “Nice work, Lora,” Alex said, just as his mother rushed over to grab him in a tight hug. “I’m happy to see you too,” he grinned, waving at Maria, Cody and the others he hadn’t seen for so long. He pulled his mother away to see everyone now staring in one direction.

  Stella had her back against the far wall, a dangerous look on her face, like a wild animal cornered.

  Lora raised the dart gun to aim it at Stella. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

  “Coward!” Stella screamed, an ugly sneer on her face. “Just going to let it end like that? After everything … and I thought you were the great fighter.” She spat on the floor in front of Lora, emphasizing her disgust.

  Alex saw several people make to move forward, but Lora held up her hand. “Fine, let’s do this, then.” She handed the gun to a shocked Dr. Dark and squared up to Stella.

  “I’ve been looking forward to this,” Stella said, wiping blood from her nose.

  “Lora,” Alex said, coming up behind her, “you don’t have anything to prove. Don’t let her drag you down to her level.”

  “I’m not doing it for her sake,” Lora said slowly, “I’m doing it for all the Guardians, loyal Agents, innocent bystanders and our students that she’s hurt and killed.”

  “Oh, and don’t forget your boyfriend,” Stella sneered, “turns out he wasn’t such a good guy after all, huh?”

  Lora was silent, her face like thunder. She was in a fighting stance, ready to spring into action, ready to attack or defend in a split second. Stella circled around slowly to her left. Poh, Maria and Arianna moved out of the strike zone, everyone keeping tight together so she couldn’t escape. All the while, Lora followed her moves and kept the distance between them.

  She’s waiting for Stella to make the first move. “Use your opponent’s force against them.”

  Smart.

  Stella broke first, charging toward Lora with brutal abandon.

  Lora held her ground. She let Stella connect with a raised arm, and there was a brief grapple then Lora leaned back, pulling Stella off balance, flipping her onto her back.

  Stella rolled away and got to her feet.

  Now Lora had a bloodied nose too.

  “How does that feel?” Stella said.

  “Not as good as this is going to,” Lora replied. She took three steps forward and feigned a kick, misdirecting Stella so she could throw her arm around Stella’s neck from behind, dragging her in close. She kept the hold tight, squeezing. Stella tried to break free as they edged around the room.

  “Lora!” Gabriella shouted out, but it was too late. Stella pushed Lora hard against an open crate, forcing Lora to let her go. Alex started to move forward as he saw Stella grab a crowbar from within the crate, swinging it menacingly at Lora.

  “Here, take this!” Jedi tossed a wrench to Lora, the two women facing each other once more.

  This is nuts, we have to stop it …

  But it was too late. Stella threw herself at Lora, brandishing the metal bar. As the others scattered, Lora ducked under Stella’s blow, bringing up the wrench to slam it into Stella’s stomach. Stella stumbled backwards, tripping on the uneven ground, banging her head on the corner of a crate with a sickening thud.

  Stella fell instantly, crumpled on the floor in a heap.

  Lora dropped to her knees, the wrench clattering to the ground.

  Phoebe approached Stella cautiously with a dart gun in her hand, Shiva backing her up. “Everyone else stay back!” she ordered. She knelt down, searching for a pulse at Stella’s neck.

  In the silence, Phoebe turned to them and shook her head.

  “Argh!” Lora sighed, partly in anger, partly in relief.

  Stella’s gone.

  She’s finally out of our lives—forever.

  Alex tried to find some pity for her but after everything she had done, it was hard.

  “You OK?” Eva asked Lora, bending down to help her to her feet.

  Lora nodded. “I didn’t mean to … I wasn’t, but she kept coming at me,” she said.

  “She wouldn’t give up any other way,” Phoebe said. “It’s done now. And my guess is that she would have captured you all, assembled the Bakhu and left us for dead down here.”

  “That’s right,” Alex said. He looked around, seeing the faces of the last 13 and their friends. “We should get topside, wait for Sam,” he said. “It’s time for us all to be together.”

  25

  EVA

  Eva hoped Sam would be waiting for them outside, but she was disappointed. Outside the pyramid, the cold night air had a bite to it. Smoke hung heavily all around but there was no sign of Sam. There was no sign of anyone but the jet and its crew, who had refuelled and returned to the landing site.

  “What do we do?” Eva asked Lora.

  “We wait,” she replied.

  “No word from them?” Alex asked.

  “Communications in Cairo are rather sporadic right now,” Phoebe said. “Jedi and Shiva are working on it.” She turned to look at them, they were a little way off, fiddling with their equipment. “But Sam and the Professor know that this is the rendezvous, so we wait here.”

  Dr. Dark came over with Xavier. The rest of the last 13 sat with Phoebe, setting up a small camp fire. News of Ahmed and the Director had filtered through the group and Xavier had taken the death of his godfather very hard. Eva could see Phoebe was struggling with the loss of the Director but was determined to keep the focus on the race to the Dream Gate.

  Eva looked up at the stars.

  There’s not much time left to put together the Bakhu.

  Where are you, Sam?

  “We’re so close,” Alex said out loud. “It seems impossible. I mean—it’s hard to imagine such an awesome machine being created so long ago. And that when it’s put together, it’s gonna reveal something of even greater … awesomeness?”

  Despite herself, Eva chuckled.

  “We all must go to the Gate with an open mind,” Dr. Dark said, his arm still around Xavier. “It will truly be an important discovery—or rediscovery, as it were. We really won’t know what it can do until we open it.”

  “But, with Solaris as the last Dreamer, will we be able to open it?” Eva said. “And how can we—”

  “Wait, what did you say?” Phoebe interrupted.

  “Oh man,” Alex said.

  “Sam had his last dream in London,” Lora said.

  “Are you kidding?” Cody said. “Solaris is one of us?”

  There was an uneasy silence as those who knew of Sam’s dream nodded slowly. They were greeted by grim faces all around. Phoebe pulled Lora aside and began a whispered conversation with her, Dr. Dark joining them.

  “But there’s still twelve of us and only one of him,” Rapha said.

  “Yeah, but now there’s no way to avoid having him at the Gate with us,” Xavier said.

  “Not if we want to fulfill the prophecy, correct?” Poh added.

  “Look, there’s no point getting worked up about it now,” Jedi said. “Our first priority is meeting up with Sam and the Professor. Then we can worry about Solaris.”

  Lora and the others came back, Dr. Dark moving to Xavier’s side. “How are you holding up, son?” he asked.

  “Pr
etty good, considering,” Xavier joked. “But you can imagine we’re all a bit freaked out about what’s going to happen at the Gate. We still don’t really know what the Dream Gate does.”

  “Maybe it allows people to enter the Dreamscape while awake?” Eva said. “Could that be the power of the Gate?”

  “Perhaps, Eva,” Dr. Dark said. “But it’s crucial to think of the Gate in the context of its creation, back in Ancient Egypt, in the time of Ramses.”

  “OK,” Cody said, “go on …”

  “Think of it like this—what are the biggest structures we build today?” Dr. Dark said.

  “Sports stadiums,” Alex said. “Airports?”

  “Roads, bridges, tunnels,” Eva added, “and skyscrapers.”

  “They’re big, sure, but are they the biggest?” Dr. Dark said, letting the thought linger for a while. “How about hydroelectric dams? The ones that create energy from water moving through turbines.”

  “I don’t get how any of this has anything to do with the Dream Gate,” Alex said. “I mean, dams, power, big deal.”

  “Electrical charges have been registered at the top of the pyramids. And other places have similar properties.”

  Issey, Arianna and Poh moved closer, listening intently.

  “And as we’ve just seen,” Dr. Dark said, “deep under the Giza Plateau,” he gave a sweep of his hand, “there are man-made labyrinths of water tunnels that zigzag from the Nile, that combined with the sun’s rays and the appropriate pressure could, well, could create power.”

  “Power?” Xavier asked.

  “Absolutely,” Dr. Dark said. “In only the last few years, scientists discovered a new way of generating electricity using water, the first new method for centuries. Imagine having access to clean, non-polluting power.”

  “But if they had power back then, why haven’t we seen evidence of it?” Alex said. “I mean, I don’t think the ancient peoples of the world had electric lights and TVs.”

 

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