by James Phelan
Now, here he sat, waiting for daybreak and fighting off fatigue, dreading returning to the dream world that beckoned if he placed his head back down upon the pillow. He checked his watch—nearly 5 am.
Sam put on his Stealth Suit. It was comfortable, the memory fabric forming around his body and perfectly regulating his temperature. That wasn’t even its best feature—it was able to change its appearance and composition at the will of the user. In just the last few weeks, it had been everything from a dinner suit, to a cop’s uniform to a flying wing-suit. As he caught sight of himself in the mirror, it resembled black wet-weather gear, perfect for what he wanted to do.
Pausing at the small hallway table, he wrote a note for his friends, telling them he needed some fresh air, and slipped out into the corridor.
08
EVA
Tap, tap, tap … tap, tap, tap …
Eva stood up and put her ear to the wall. The sound disappeared. Maybe it was something out in the water bumping against the yacht, a piece of the floating garbage that seemed to clog the waterways everywhere. She tried her door again but it was locked tight. She wanted to learn more from Mac, hoping to find some weakness to exploit, but one of his underlings had come in with an urgent call and she’d been taken back into her locked room.
Tap, tap, tap.
It’s coming from the wall?
Eva tapped back, then the other tapping became a little more frantic.
‘It must be Lora,’ Eva said to herself.
Is her room next door or further down?
Eva knew her door was locked tight. It was a small room with a double bunk—obviously part of the crew quarters and a stark contrast to the luxuries she’d seen above deck. On the other side of the room was a little porthole, barely big enough for her to put her head through.
Eva ran over, pushed the porthole open and popped her head out.
‘Eva!’ Lora said. Her head was sticking out the open porthole of the room next door.
‘Lora!’
‘Are you OK?’
‘Fine. You?’
‘Yes. Did they take you from your room before?’
‘They did, I had a little chat with Mac.’ Eva squinted against the sea spray that washed over her. The portholes were close to the waterline, the green water lapping just below them. ‘He thinks it might be a good idea if I joined him.’
‘Yeah, right. Did you see Solaris?’
‘No. I think he must have left last night.’
Lora nodded.
‘So, how do we get out of here?’ Eva asked.
‘We wait,’ Lora replied, ‘for an opportunity.’
They looked around. There was land visible from their side of the ship but no towns or buildings of any kind.
‘Where do you think we are?’ Eva asked.
‘Still in the lakes,’ Lora replied. ‘And we’re headed west. He’s keeping us moving so we’re harder to track.’
Eva spied a few other boats, but none of them close. She wondered if perhaps they could flag one down if it neared, somehow get word out on where they were.
‘What do you think he’ll do with us?’
‘I think he’ll do exactly what he said last night,’ Lora replied.
Eva thought back. They’d gone to Chicago to meet with Mac and see about his motives and, as Lora had said, to see if he can be reasoned with.
They’d gone to see if Mac would join them, and instead he’d asked them to join him. And Solaris.
‘Do you think the Professor will do a trade?’ Eva asked.
‘No.’
Eva was a little shocked.
‘Not for what Mac is asking—trading Sam for us. But there’s more to bargain with.’
‘More?’ Eva asked.
‘Perhaps a Gear would be enough,’ Lora said, staring off to the water that slipped by.
‘But we’ve worked so hard to get those that we have …’
‘I know,’ Lora said. ‘But we can get them back, so long as there’s time. What’s more important right now is you—I shouldn’t have put you in danger like this. I’m so sorry.’
‘Please, don’t. I wanted to come. If I’m not part of this fight, the race, then I don’t have anything in my life anymore,’ Eva said. ‘I don’t want to be sitting around while the fate of the world is decided. Besides,’ she smiled, ‘at least I’m not on my own. Don’t forget that you’re stuck here too.’
Lora smiled. ‘I can take care of myself. Meantime, it’s time to rest and be prepared, as soon as the slightest opportunity arises, we move—and we move fast.’
09
SAM
The streets had been washed clean by the storm, and the air was cooler than it had been the day before. Sam guessed the heat would return after sunrise, the wet ground and dense air turning this place into a greenhouse of humidity.
As he walked the streets, he watched and listened to the town slowly waking up. Lights came on in the windows of the tiny pastel-coloured houses. He heard the rattle of morning dishes as breakfasts were prepared. They were in Cienfuegos, a small city on the southern coast of Cuba, their hotel near a white sandy beach where waves slowly met the shore.
The marina must be along there somewhere.
Sam scanned the skyline and found a high point—a tall bell-tower in the centre of the old part of town.
That’s the view I need.
He slipped from the street into the shadows of the buildings, hiding in the darkness that had yet to catch the morning light. He paused and looked around. Sam couldn’t shake off the thought of Solaris. He felt as though he was being watched as he made for the bell tower.
There was a man standing next to a horse and cart on the cobbled street, delivering milk. Further away, a couple of fishermen walked up an empty alleyway and a few guys in the back of an old diesel truck drove past, heading to work.
‘Papers.’
The deep voice made Sam jump. Next to him, a tall, lean man stepped out from the shadows.
Sam was relieved.
A police officer.
‘Papers,’ the officer repeated. His hand was outstretched to Sam.
‘Ah, I left them back at my hotel,’ Sam replied, thinking of his passport in the backpack in his room.
The policeman eyed Sam suspiciously. ‘Which hotel?’
‘Hotel La Union,’ Sam replied.
The policeman rested his hands on his hips, looking at Sam as if deciding whether to take him to the hotel to look at his papers or to just let him go.
‘How old are you?’
‘Fifteen,’ Sam replied.
‘What are you doing in the streets so early?’
‘Just walking.’
‘Walking?’
‘Si,’ Sam said, using one of the few Spanish words he knew.
‘It is dangerous to walk alone when still dark,’ the policeman said, looking around. ‘You have family here?’
‘Ah, my uncle,’ Sam said quickly, thinking of Tobias. ‘I should get back to my hotel, right?’
The policeman looked at him, his face impassive.
Sam felt even more uneasy. The street around them was still and quiet.
The policeman’s gaze became cloudy, his eyes fixed in a distant stare.
‘Sir?’ Sam said, now worried.
Am I in trouble? Do I run?
The man suddenly slumped forward and Sam stumbled to catch him just in time, lowering him to the ground awkwardly. A dart protruded from the middle of his back.
Sam looked up.
A few paces away stood four men armed with dart guns.
Run!
10
ALEX
The room had been full of a tense silence since the Director had explained that the Vancouver facility was the central location of the original Dreamer DNA research. Phoebe was refusing to look Alex in the eye. For his part, he tapped away at his phone, sending details of the site to Shiva. Gabriella and Zara, neither of them Enterprise-created Dreamers, sat quietly, not full
y comprehending the implications of what had been said.
‘I’ve got a security team en route, two hours out,’ the Director said abruptly. ‘If they find Stella there, they’ll apprehend her immediately.’
Alex stood up to walk over to the large projected image and studied the diagram of the abandoned complex.
‘So why do you think Stella is going there?’ Alex asked.
‘There’s a lot of stored data within the complex, especially in the vault,’ the Director said. ‘But I can’t really believe that’s what she’s after.’
The Professor came around his desk and stood next to Alex, gazing at the projection. ‘There are many parts to the puzzle, to this race. We need to piece them together, use all the information and knowledge we have.’ He turned to the Director. ‘Jack, can you really think of nothing else there that might be useful in the race? Anything related to the Bakhu machine, the Dreamscape or da Vinci’s work?’
The Director paced the room as he thought out loud. ‘Apart from the data, there was a collection of Dreamer artefacts. Dreamer inventions and machines …’ He gazed into space, lost for a moment.
‘Jack?’
‘Sir?’
‘I’ve just realised—the code book is there. Surely that can’t be it?’
‘What was the book for?’ the Professor asked.
‘It was a guide, theoretical of course, to using Tesla’s towers. We discounted it as outdated technology, focused on our genetics work. But it’s possible Stella believes she and Solaris will be able to manipulate the Dreamscape with the towers, which would give them a huge advantage.’
The Professor looked grave. ‘We found a sketch of a Tesla tower in the journal Dr Kader sent to Sam in Brazil.’
‘We gotta get out there!’ Alex said.
‘Agreed. We must leave immediately to meet them there. Who knows, maybe there is even a Gear … it’s possible that one could have been unknowingly gathered up in the Dreamer collection.’
‘If there’s a chance that a Gear is at the site,’ Phoebe said, ‘we should have one of the last 13 on hand in case that helps us find it.’
‘I don’t understand, why would we need one of the last 13 to go?’ Alex asked his mother.
She looked to the Director and Professor, both of them hesitating. Finally the Professor nodded and the Director turned to Alex. ‘These Gears,’ he said, ‘each needs one of the last 13 Dreamers to find it.’
‘Right …’ Alex said.
‘We also know the last 13 are somehow “activated” by having a dream of their Gear, the Gear only they can find. I think you know that much already too.’
Alex nodded. Zara and Gabriella listened with eager faces.
‘Since you have been here, and in your time at the Enterprise, we have been monitoring your dreams each night,’ the Professor said, ‘as we do for all of you. And we have found a change in your sleep rhythms.’
‘Huh?’ Alex said.
‘When Gabriella, Xavier and Zara came to the Academy, we spotted the same dramatic change in their dream waves. We realised it was a distinct pattern. At first we thought it was due to the last 13 Dreamers being linked to each other,’ the Professor added. ‘But then we went back and saw that it had happened when Sam returned with the Star of Egypt.’
‘Right …’ Alex said. ‘I’m with you so far, I think.’
‘Put simply, when one of the last 13 are physically near a Gear, their dream waves become altered,’ the Professor went on. ‘The connection is via the Dreamscape. The Dreamer must be aware, on a subconscious level, that the Gear is close by.’
‘So you’re saying they’re affected by being close to Sam’s key and Gabriella’s Gear?’ Alex said.
‘Indeed. We have also noticed that each of the Gears bears a specific number. Gabriella’s Gear is marked with the Roman numerals for the number twelve and from the recording of Xavier’s Gear dream, we were able to see the numerals for eleven.’ A close-up of Xavier’s Gear flashed onto the screen.
‘Wow,’ Alex said. ‘So how does that relate to Dreamers and the Gear proximity thing?’
‘We know that da Vinci’s Bakhu machine has thirteen Gears, and that they need to be put together in a specific order. But we now think that not only are the last 13 connected to their own Gear, but they also remain connected, in some lesser way, to the machine as a whole—to all of the Gears,’ the Director said.
‘But how?’ Gabriella asked.
‘Through your dream waves,’ the Professor answered. ‘Since we’ve had a Gear on-site, we have noticed a change in the dream patterns of all of the last 13 Dreamers.’
‘So you need Zara or Gabriella to go to Vancouver? Just in case they make it easier to find the exact location if a Gear is there?’ Alex asked, finally understanding where this was going.
‘Or you,’ the Professor replied, watching Alex carefully.
‘M … me?’ Alex looked from the Professor to Phoebe and back again.
‘Your dream rhythms, Alex,’ the Director said, ‘have all the hallmarks of one of the last 13.’
‘So—so I’m one of them?’
Gabriella and Zara began to smile.
‘It’s certainly looking that way,’ the Professor said.
‘How do you feel about that? I know it’s a big thing to take in,’ the Director added carefully.
‘I—I don’t know,’ Alex stammered. ‘All this time I wanted to be part of the race, hoped I would be.’ He looked back to his mother and saw her face creased with worry. ‘I know it’s dangerous but it feels like it was always meant to be this way.’
Now I know where I fit in.
‘What about—is anyone else here also one of the last 13?’ he asked, with one particular person very much in mind.
‘Not conclusively. We’d prefer not to stretch the theory too far at this stage,’ the Director said. ‘For now we need to focus on the mission ahead of us,’ he added, quickly changing the subject.
‘I’m happy to go to Vancouver, if that’s what you’re asking,’ Alex said, his face resolute. His mother was silent, her face unreadable. He avoided her eyes.
‘You’re very perceptive, Alex,’ the Professor said. ‘Jack was hoping that you might agree to that. I have to admit that Gabriella is not yet fully recovered from her injuries and we would prefer to let Zara spend time acclimatising to her new life here before going back out in the field.’
Both Gabriella and Zara looked like they were going to protest, but a look from the Professor silenced them. Gabriella muttered something under her breath but nodded.
‘I understand, it makes sense,’ Alex said. ‘Plus, I know Stella better—well, know better what she’s capable of.’
‘I think Alex is right,’ the Director said to Phoebe. ‘He’s our best option.’
Alex could see that the Professor still looked a little concerned. ‘My worry,’ he said, ‘is that if our theory about being connected to all the Gears proves false, if it does turn out there is another explanation, then we will have placed Alex in peril unnecessarily.’
‘I understand your concern,’ Phoebe said, finally rejoining the conversation, ‘but where is safe these days? Both the Academy and the Enterprise have suffered direct attacks, and even you personally, Professor.’
‘And what if I can locate a Gear?’ Alex said, and he went over to the glass-fronted case, looking in at the brass-toothed Gear. ‘Think what an advantage that would be in the race.’
‘I have to say that I agree with Alex this time …’ Phoebe said.
‘Thanks, Mum,’ Alex said, turning around, surprised, and smiling at her.
‘I wonder,’ Phoebe added, ‘if I might join my son on the mission to Vancouver, just for extra protection? It could also serve as an added cover. If others see Alex is there, they may well assume it’s because he’s travelling with me.’
‘Certainly,’ the Professor said, sounding reassured.
‘We’ll have our best Agents protecting you both,’ the Director
added. ‘I’ve learned my lesson the hard way—never again will we underestimate our enemies.’
11
SAM
Sam hurdled over a fruit stall being set up for the day’s trade and skidded over the cobbled paving and down an alley. Behind, the four men were in hot pursuit.
Are they Agents? Where are their suits?
At the sound of a loud commotion, he turned and glanced behind him, turning in time to see one of the men slide and fall, clipping the side of the fruit display while attempting to make the sharp turn. The man clutched his ankle in pain as fruit and vegetables cascaded over the footpath and onto the street.
Ha! One down, three to go …
Sam turned back in time to see an approaching delivery truck with an oversized load of timber coming way too fast down the narrow alley. He ducked into a gap between two tall apartment blocks that was so narrow he had to squeeze through sideways. He was just in time to avoid being hit as the truck squeezed by.
BEEP! BEEEEP!
Sam kept running and smiled at the sound of the truck’s horn blaring and the brakes squealing. The men yelled in anger at the truck driver in the alley—they had obviously been forced to back up to let the truck past.
That will buy me some time.
Sam ran on, weaving through the maze-like cobbled streets of the old part of town until he burst into the central square of a large plaza. Running to the edges and ducking into the shadows of a colonnade, he paused to catch his breath for a moment, doubled over and panting. The men were still after him, but luckily Sam was able to keep a good distance and they remained behind.
A week ago I could have run all morning, Sam thought, sucking for air. I’m fast—but I’ve spent too much time on the run without resting.
Sam knew he didn’t have the energy to run these guys all over town. He decided to change tactics and find someplace to hide. Sam turned as he heard his pursuers emerge onto the far side of the plaza.
They might be slower, but they’re armed and well trained. I won’t get rid of them that easily.