by James Phelan
And a gun.
A big, mean-looking assault rifle. He picked it up and felt the heavy weight of it. With a bit of fiddling he managed to eject the magazine. It was full of bullets—real, live bullets.
Stella’s goons? Maybe Mac? Or someone else completely. That Hans dude? Man, either way, they’re the enemy.
He emptied the bullets out of the magazine, dropping them down the void near the wires, and put the rifle back how he’d found it. Then he went through an open door, marked:
RESTRICTED ACCESS
OFFICIAL PERSONNEL ONLY.
Looking up into the space between the inner and outer stone layers, Alex saw that it was light in there—lit up by lamps and blowing a gale—they definitely had the maintenance hatch open, and with luck they were both already outside.
Soon to be trapped out there …
Alex took the steel ladder up and waited on the gangway that led out to the hatch near the very top of the pyramid. The hatch opened inward.
Great, I can just lock them out there.
But as he reached up to the hatch, he heard one of them call out. “That’s it, we’re done. Let’s get out of here.”
Time to act fast!
There was a lot less time than he thought.
One of the guys came through the hatch, legs first, and when he landed on his feet, he turned to look straight at Alex, eyes wide—
PFFT! PFFT!
The first dart hit him in the leg. The second, as Alex took careful aim, hit him point blank in the neck. The man slumped forward and landed heavily on the walkway, out cold.
“Don’t move!” Alex shouted as the next guy went to make the same entry, seemingly oblivious to his comrade’s fate. “I’m armed! Come through, slowly!”
The guy shuffled through and jumped down in front of Alex. He looked down and saw his friend knocked out cold.
“Put your hands on your head!” Alex commanded.
The man did so. He was still roped in to his climbing harness and anchored to the metal rails on the walkway. The guy was twice Alex’s age and at least twice his bulk. And he was wearing the uniform of a US Marine.
“Who do you work for?” Alex asked.
At first, it seemed like the guy wasn’t going to answer but then Alex gave an indication with his pistol and it was enough to get the man talking.
“Isn’t it obvious?” the man replied, then reeled off his name, rank and serial number.
“OK,” Alex said. “But something tells me you’re not on official business. Who’s your ‘commanding officer’ now?”
The Marine didn’t answer.
Alex said, “Let’s assume that his name is Mac.” There was a reaction in the guy’s face and Alex could tell that he was on the money. “OK, you’re a Marine, so you’re used to following orders. Now you’re going to do exactly as I say …”
34
SAM
The rain was starting to fall hard. Sam couldn’t see exactly where they were, but he did have the familiar déjà vu feeling that came with living out a dream.
The airport … is this the place where Solaris shows up?
The aircraft had touched down and taxied to the hangar. Everything from that point had happened so fast that Sam felt as though he really was inside a dream—watching it skip by in playback—detached, like a spectator.
“This way,” Vern said, and the five of them piled into the back of a passenger van. They began a drive along the fringe of the massive airport, headed for the main terminals.
Sam had butterflies in his stomach as they drove. He could tell that Cody did too. Dr. Kader sat silently, avoiding eye contact with everyone.
“There’s a storm coming,” Sam said, looking at the black clouds rolling across the mountain tops. “Big one.” As he spoke, a flash of lightning crackled above them.
“We’re not going to wait around out here to experience it,” Kate snapped.
Cody sat next to Sam in the back row of the van. He was looking increasingly uneasy—not at all like the carefree adventurer that Sam had met just the day before. Sam knew that it wasn’t the weather that was making him look so uncomfortable.
Welcome to the real adventure, Cody.
“Did you tell your mom and dad about this part of your dream?” Sam asked Cody quietly as they drove across the tarmac. “It’s funny, you don’t look so sure of things now.”
Cody didn’t respond, he just stared wide-eyed out the window.
“Why are we here?” Sam asked.
“It’s our base,” Kate replied.
Sam looked around—the huge terminal buildings, the flashing lights of dozens of aircraft coming and going. “At an airport?”
“Under it.” The look she gave indicated that she was not going to provide any more information.
“This site is known as Central Ark,” Dr. Kader turned around from the middle row of seats to face Sam. “A place where the country’s leaders can flee to in the event of a catastrophe. There are other refuges on the East and West coasts too.”
“And why are we here?”
“It has another purpose,” Dr. Kader said. “It’s one of the country’s most secret sites.”
“Oh yeah?” Sam tried hard to sound uninterested but the chance to discover information that could help them in the race was tempting.
“There’s another part of the site, known as Bureau 13. And I’m told that it’s Mac’s operations centre for his own Dreamer research. Once this was linked to the government program, but as you have discovered, it’s now run more … privately. Off the record, so to speak.”
Cody’s phone bleeped.
Sam, we r all headed 2 denver airport. Reply if received.
“It’s for you,” Cody said, showing Sam.
Sam smiled. “Lora knows where we are.”
“She’s too late,” Vern said. “Sam, care to tell her that you’re OK and need to lay low for 24 hours?”
“How about no?”
“Very well,” Vern said.
As they drove on, something caught Sam’s eye through the sheets of rain. He turned to Cody who had noticed it too. A huge statue of a black stallion, rearing up, loomed ahead, its glowing eyes burning bright red through the dreary light.
“Whoa …” Cody was transfixed, and he met Sam’s gaze once they’d passed by. “My dream—it’s happening.”
Sam said, “I know.”
“Which means—”
“We’re not alone.”
“Right.” Cody seemed to turn a paler shade of white. “Solaris comes here.”
Sam nodded.
“Is that true?” Dr. Kader asked.
Both Sam and Cody nodded.
“Fascinating,” Dr. Kader’s voice trailed off in wonder.
“Well, I think we’ll be able to deal with him,” Vern said smugly from the front of the passenger van. They drove through a guarded checkpoint and then down a ramp which wound in a wide circle to where a roller door opened. Beyond the door they followed a couple of twists and turns, ending in a military roadblock. “This is one of the most secure places in the world. Solaris would need quite an army to trouble these guys.”
Sam saw two tanks sitting imposingly on either side of the entrance, the road continuing through to a parking lot full of black vehicles, all with tinted windows. Uniformed soldiers patrolled the area.
“This is it,” their driver said, and all the occupants of the van poured out and walked to a steel blast door that opened as they neared. Sam and Cody were at the end of the line. They had their photographs taken and identification passes were handed across the desk almost immediately.
“Don’t suppose I can have my Gears back now?” Sam asked Dr. Kader as they stood in an elevator that gathered speed as it took them far underground.
“I’m sorry, Sam,” Dr. Kader replied as the elevator doors finally opened. “We need them for a while yet for further study of the good Mr. da Vinci.”
“You’re still going on about the da Vinci theory?�
� Kate said as she waited for them all to alight and then fell to the back of the group as they were ushered down a corridor.
“What do you mean theory?” Sam asked, but she didn’t answer him.
They walked past heavy-set doors labelled with various warnings—Hazardous material level V: Shanti Virus; DHARMA-cleared persons only beyond this point; Warning: high concentrations of tachyons present; Theterium processing room.
The group stopped at a door simply labelled: Danger—Authorized Personnel Only. The Last Thirteen.
Their two army escorts stayed put at the door and Vern led the way, holding the door open for the others to enter.
“Greetings! Welcome, everyone.” Among the screens and lab equipment, standing in the middle of all the technicians and analysts scurrying about, was Mac.
35
EVA
Eva said, “Sam’s being held at Denver International Airport?”
“Under it,” Lora replied from her seat in the back of the chopper. “The government has a secret site underneath the airport.”
“What is it with all this Dreamer stuff being underground?” Eva asked.
“It’s safe, secure—secret,” Lora replied. “It allows people to operate in their own little world.”
“Kinda like dreaming, huh?” Eva looked out the window. “OK, tell me about this secret place.”
“Well, to start with, I spent a lot of my life in Colorado,” Lora said. “Couple of small towns, then did my first three years of college in Denver. I could have gone anywhere, but I was drawn there.”
“As a Dreamer?”
“Yes. I had recurring dreams that I had to go there, to live there. It was the weirdest three years of my life.”
“Well, it is Denver …”
They laughed.
“Not just that,” Lora said. “You ever passed through Denver International Airport?”
“No.”
“Well, try this for size,” Lora said. “An apocalyptic horse with glowing red eyes welcoming visitors? Check. Nightmarish murals? Check. Strange words and symbols embedded in the floor? Check. Full of occult symbolism and references to secret societies. Check. The truth is, the whole place is one big cover for what’s underneath.”
“Which is?” Eva was starting to feel freaked out.
“Two things. First came Bureau 13. That was then expanded to include the Central Ark.”
“The what?”
“One of three places in the country where people in the know can hide in the event of a full-scale disaster—a kind of gigantic storm shelter.”
“How gigantic?”
“Denver is the largest airport in America. Underneath, its Ark is the newest of the three in this country. I’ve heard it can house 500,000 people for up to ten years. We only know of it through the Professor’s contacts on the Dreamer Council.”
“Wow.”
“And it’s also where Mac could be trying to control the prophecy of the last 13.”
36
SAM
“Sam,” Mac said. “So nice to see you again.”
“Why am I even surprised to see you here?” Sam asked.
“Well, I do run this show,” Mac said with a smile appearing under his thick moustache. “And, I assure you, it’s the greatest show on earth!”
Sam noticed one of the big screens behind Mac showed overhead footage of the Academy’s campus outside London. He glanced at another which showed—my parents!
Sam struggled to control his emotions and make his face impassive as he watched footage of the two of them and his little brother eating at a family restaurant, oblivious to the long-lens camera trained on them at that very moment.
Are they in danger? Why is Mac watching them? Why aren’t they looking for me?
Too many thoughts crowded into Sam’s mind at once. He shook his head, trying to regain his focus.
“I will go and analyze the Gears,” Dr. Kader said, and excused himself from the room.
Mac gave a wave and a couple of guards shadowed the archaeologist out.
Sam stole a glance at his “family,” trying to remind himself who they really were.
Where are they now? Are they working with Mac? Against me? Do they miss me? Do they care—really care?
All those nights his dad had driven him to jujitsu practice. All those times they’d gone on family adventures, all the dinners, all the fun times.
Wherever they are, I’m going to find them. Find them and see for myself.
“You’re no soldier, you’ve got no code of conduct, do you?” Sam said to Mac. He looked to Cody’s parents, who looked unfazed by the comment. “Do you two know this guy, I mean, really know him? Do you trust him?”
“Sam, why don’t you go lie down?” Mac said. “You look tired. We have some comfortable rooms here, and I’m sure you’ll have wonderful dreams.”
Dreams that he’ll mine for every detail.
“Cody,” Sam said, “this guy, he may be their boss as the head of Bureau 13, but he has no intention of using the true dreams for the good of the country or the world. He wants it for himself. He just wants the power at the end of it all, that ultimate power from the prophecy—”
“Enough!” Mac shouted suddenly.
“You’re double agents, right?” Sam said to Cody’s parents, ignoring Mac’s interjection. “You’re here because you think you’re doing the right thing for your country—but you don’t know this guy!”
Vern and Kate looked to one another, the slightest bit of doubt creeping into their minds.
“Cody,” Sam said quickly before Mac could cut him off. “How’d your parents know that you were having your dreams?”
Cody looked from Sam to his parents, and his expression slowly changed, as did theirs. The truth was coming out.
“How did you know?” Cody asked them.
“Your journal.” Vern looked to the floor after admitting that.
“You read my dream journal?” Cody said, surprised. “That was private!”
“Son, the stakes are too high—”
“Be quiet!” Mac shouted.
“No!” Sam shouted back. He turned to Cody’s parents desperately. “You guys don’t know the real Mac! What he’s capable of!”
“Enough!” Mac stormed, striding across the room.
“Cody,” Kate said, “the Enterprise took over the government’s work in the genetic development of Dreamers when those in Washington got too squeamish. But they’ve always had a hand in things. They’ve always watched, waited.”
“Why?” Cody asked.
“Because they want the Dream Gate for themselves,” Sam replied.
“True,” Kate said. “It cannot fall into anyone else’s hands.”
“America must have this power to control,” Vern added.
“It’s for the whole world. We should share this,” Sam said. “But not with this man involved. He wants it for himself—not the country.”
Vern looked at Mac suspiciously.
“That’s not for you or us to decide,” Kate said. “I mean, we’re just following orders—”
“The orders of a madman!” Sam said, then Mac snapped altogether.
“Take him away! Get him out of here!” he shouted, and two huge Marines came forward and grabbed Sam by the arms.
“What are you going to do with me?” Sam asked.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Mac sneered.
“And Cody?”
Mac looked from Sam to Cody’s parents, who both appeared for the first time to be truly questioning this man.
“What happens with Cody?” Vern asked Mac.
“Oh, you believe him now?” Mac said, a crooked finger pointed at Sam. “Look at your own parents, Sam, look at that screen.”
Sam looked, the Marines still holding him.
“We’ve been watching them,” Mac said, “thinking that you might turn up there for a little reunion.”
Sam watched as older footage of his surrogate parents played o
ut on other screens.
It’s almost as if they don’t miss me.
But then he saw that they did. His mother’s face looked …
“I can bring them in, or take you to them, if you like,” Mac said, interrupting Sam’s thoughts. “Whatever you want. But you have to come around to my way of thinking. You have to see that what I’m doing is the right thing. Join me, Sam. Before it’s too late.”
Sam shook his head.
“Mac, maybe we need to talk about all this,” Vern said. “Away from the boys—”
“Take them all away!” Mac said, and Marines rushed at Cody and his parents.
“You fools!” Mac said as Vern tried to fight his way out but was quickly overpowered. “What’s happening here is bigger than all of you—it’s bigger than anything you could ever imagine!”
“Look at Mac’s eyes,” Sam said. “See that wild look? Does he look like a guy that’s gonna say one thing and do another?”
“That’s right, Sam!” Mac admitted. “I answer to no one, not my government, and certainly not your Dreamer Council. No one understands the power of the Dream Gate. Only one gets to enter, don’t you see? That’s always been understood about the prophecy. And you think I’m going to let that person be you? Or the President? Or the Professor? Or—or Solaris?” Mac laughed. “It’s going to be me!” he said, his eyes maniacal. “I alone will wield the power beyond the Gate!”
Sam looked to Cody’s parents, willing them, now that they too were captive, to come around and see things for what they really were.
“Wait!” Vern said, looking directly at Mac as two Marines held his arms. “What are you going to do with Sam, with Cody?”
“These two?” Mac said. “We’re going to unlock Sam’s genetic code, see where it all went right. First to discover all that he knows and will dream in the coming days, and then to make more Dreamers like him.”
“And Cody?”
Mac smiled. “He’s served his purpose and is now US government property,” Mac said. “I’d say they’ll be studying him for a while to come. Studying him, while I continue on to the Dream Gate, ha!”
Cody’s parents struggled against their Marine captors, his mother now yelling and pushing to break free. But it was no use.