by James Phelan
‘Great,’ Eva said to Lora as they followed Mac and his men towards the trees. ‘Now we’re going in there against our own. Can’t you warn them?’
‘Communications are down,’ Lora said, having gotten her phone back from Julia. ‘Just stay close to me.’
‘OK, I guess we just have to get this done quickly,’ Eva replied.
Mac chuckled. Eva looked at him, puzzled and agitated.
‘Just like your mother,’ Mac said by way of explanation.
‘You know her?’ Eva asked.
‘Yes, a wonderful woman,’ he said. ‘One of my best researchers.’
‘She worked for you too?’
‘Oh yes,’ he replied, ‘alongside Julia. In her capacity as an Enterprise Agent, she was charged with raising you. But in her own right she is one of the greatest analytical minds I’ve ever come across. And her own dreaming genes were a perfect fit for our DNA manipulation.’
‘Sounds like I was a lab rat,’ Eva said.
‘No, my dear,’ Mac said. ‘Like I said yesterday, you are enhanced, nothing more. I just gave you a little extra oomph with your dreams is all. The rest is your parents and what they passed onto you and taught you.’
‘This is it,’ the security leader said, and they stopped at a concrete box the size of a dumpster with steel vents built into it.
‘We’re going into that?’ Eva asked.
‘It would seem so,’ Mac said. ‘I need to see the supercomputer and data banks for myself and you may prove helpful down there.’
‘Me?’
Mac looked to Lora. Sparks began to fly and the ear-splitting noise of grinding rang out as the security team cut away at the vents with power tools.
‘Really,’ he shouted to Lora over the din, ‘what do you teach them there at the Academy?’
‘What’s he talking about?’ Eva said.
‘The Gears,’ Lora said, and Mac nodded. ‘When near one, it is possible, just possible, that it may prompt a sense of deja vu in the last 13. Mac, this theory isn’t—’
‘Really?’ Eva said. ‘But I haven’t felt anything with the gears at the Academy. I’m not one of the last 13 …’
‘It’s more likely to be a subconscious connection, Eva,’ Lora explained sympathetically. She leaned in to whisper, ‘We noticed a change in your dream patterns which might be related to being close to the Gears.’
Then she turned to Mac. ‘So you think there is a Gear here, inside this complex?’
‘I doubt it,’ Mac replied. ‘But there is a vault containing some relics from past Dreamers and it would prove useful to have Eva on hand in case we get lucky.’
‘OK, then,’ Eva said to them both. ‘In we go.’
‘I guess I’m not that surprised,’ Mac said, standing in the ransacked vault. ‘Someone else was bound to have the same idea.’
‘Who?’ Eva asked.
‘Possibly Stella,’ Mac replied. ‘Or maybe that swine, Hans.’
‘But the data you’re looking for is right here, sir,’ the security chief said, pointing to an ordinary-looking grey box in the corner. ‘We can still retrieve it.’
‘Excellent! Pack it up, take everything you can get your hands on. I want to examine it all.’ Mac turned to Eva and Lora. ‘Though that does rather beg the question—what were the others looking for? What else was in this vault?’
‘We don’t have the time to consider that now,’ Julia said. ‘There may still be other interested parties down here. We should take the data and go.’
Eva and Lora followed the team out, guards quickly stepping in behind them. Suddenly the lights came back on, blinding everyone in their flickering glare.
While it was good to be able to see, Eva couldn’t help thinking, how come I still feel so in the dark about this place?
30
SAM
‘We’ll have to swim back the way we came and make for the next island. There’s no other way,’ Tobias said.
‘Maria?’ Sam asked. ‘What do you think?’
‘That could work,’ she said, sitting on the edge of the captain’s desk, her father’s note in her hands. ‘We have enough air in the tanks, I think.’
‘That way we could remain hidden underwater,’ Sam said. ‘We could get to the next island undetected. We can’t go back to our boat. Chris’ raft is the only way we can leave.’
‘Hmm,’ Tobias said. ‘If they haven’t already, whoever has paid off the coastguards will likely have divers in the water soon, which means that they’ll be hot on our tail. And even if they don’t, they’ll run us down in their boats, track us via our air bubbles …’
‘What about the way my father got out of here?’ Maria said, smiling.
They turned to look at her.
‘I don’t think he swam out,’ she said. ‘I think he climbed out onto the island beyond.’
‘Sounds good. But what we need,’ Tobias said, a plan forming in his mind, ‘is a distraction.’
‘Distraction?’
Tobias broke into a huge smile. ‘Yeah, a distraction!’
Tobias’ idea of a distraction was nothing short of crazy.
So crazy that it might just work.
‘Yep,’ Tobias said, setting alight a tiny test-pile of gunpowder in a brass bowl. ‘This powder is still good.’
‘But the cannons …’ Sam said. ‘They might not work.’
Tobias loaded one of the small ones, propped it up towards the cave’s ceiling, and lit the fuse.
BOOM!
The cannon belched the shot and blasted a small hole through the ceiling, creating a shaft of bright sunlight. The sound reverberated through the cave and pieces of rock rained down on the water around them.
‘That answers that question, then,’ Sam grinned.
The three of them immediately set to work moving one of the small cannons facing the front of the cave, replacing it with one of the larger ones, its bigger barrel barely fitting through the hole.
‘That wall they built to hide this ship,’ Tobias said, studying the walled-off area before them, ‘it’s made up of the timber from the masts and is netted together with the rigging ropes. They must have then piled the ballast stones up to make the wall, and mixed up a sandy mortar to pack it all together. I’ll blast through it with this cannon like a sneeze through a tissue.’
‘Lovely,’ Sam said. ‘But it does sound great in theory.’
‘You blast away at the wall, and you manage to shoot through it—then what?’ Maria asked. ‘What about the Cuban gunboat guarding your friends—you’ll go to war against them with sixteenth century cannons?’
Tobias looked about the room.
‘I’ve got plenty of ammunition,’ he said. ‘And I’m in a fortified position. I reckon I can hold them out there for a while—long enough for you two to get out and swim to the next island,’ Tobias said. ‘Find Chris and get the Gear away from here on his raft. Or flag down a passing boat and contact the Academy. Lay low until backup arrives, OK?’
Sam and Maria nodded.
‘Good luck,’ Tobias said.
‘You too,’ Sam replied, then he and Maria went back to the captain’s quarters. They slid out the window and shimmied down the knotted rope. They took their dive equipment to the bow of the ship, where the rocky walls of the cave started up a steep incline towards the small hole of daylight created by Tobias’ test fire.
‘We’ll pull our dive gear through the hole with ropes,’ Maria said.
‘Got it,’ Sam said.
He watched as she climbed the rocks, agile as a mountain goat, wriggled through a crevasse, then reappeared above, dropping down a rope. Sam tied on the first set of dive gear and Maria hauled it up. They repeated the process with the second. Finally, Sam tied off the two prop units, then ran to the rock wall to climb. He pushed through the small hole made by the cannon, squinting against the bright daylight outside the cave. As he came to stand next to Maria, Sam realised they were exposed in an open expanse of short grass.
&
nbsp; ‘Let’s go!’ he said, pointing to a clump of trees and shrubs ahead, heaving the equipment across his shoulders.
As they ran for cover, the first cannon shot rang out behind them.
31
Sam swam next to Maria, gliding effortlessly through the water—a pair of human submarines powering through the water.
And no-one knows we’re here … thanks, Tobias.
Now about a couple of metres down, Sam was completely settled, breathing through the regulator, his arms outstretched like Superman in flight as he let the propulsion unit do all the work, dragging him forward.
They passed over corals and saw modern wrecks, most likely small fishing vessels. Sam marvelled again at the abundance of life in the water. It was like the New York City of underwater worlds—all manner of creatures, living in their own city, the corals their skyscrapers and the wrecks and sandbars their own distinctive neighbourhoods.
The seabed eventually gave way to open sand, rippled by the powerful currents. It slowly began to angle upwards. Sam followed Maria’s lead as she switched off her propulsion unit and they let the gentle surf wash them ashore.
‘We’ll probably have to ditch our dive gear here, won’t we?’ Sam asked, dragging off his tank and seeing that his air was almost gone.
Maria didn’t answer. She already had her dive gear off and was searching along the sandy beach.
‘Papa?’ she called out. ‘Papa!’
No answer came from the tiny island. It was shaped like a boomerang with a total area no more than three tennis courts. She ran on, weaving through the sprinkling of palm trees, Sam following close behind.
‘I don’t think he’s here,’ Sam said, catching up with her at the highest point. She was staring down at the base of a tree. Sam followed her gaze and saw the charcoal remains of a fire.
‘No,’ Maria replied, crouched down. ‘But someone was.’
‘You think this fire was him?’ Sam said.
‘I hope so.’
‘Look!’ Sam pointed at the base of the palm trunk.
Sam looked to Maria. ‘What does it say?’
‘My father has gone onto the next island. Let’s go!’ Maria said with a broad grin.
They ran back to the beach. In the distance Sam could see several boats just off the coast of the original island and heard the deep cough-bang sound of cannon shots echoing across the water.
Time to blow the wall and make a getaway while they wait for the dust to clear. Come on, Tobias, get out of there.
Keeping low, they darted across the island. Maria pointed to the next spot they were headed—a barely discernible speck against the horizon.
‘We’ll stay at the surface of the water,’ Sam said. ‘The waves will hide us.’
‘You can swim this?’ Maria said, picking up her flippers.
‘Still got a bit of power in this,’ Sam replied, hefting the propulsion unit.
‘Follow me. And keep your eyes open and stay alert,’ Maria said, flushing out her face mask before putting it on.
‘Tough reef around the island?’ Sam said, adjusting his flippers.
‘Yes,’ Maria replied. ‘But this is also Scarface’s territory.’
32
EVA
‘We’re not alone down here!’ Julia said.
‘Hurry,’ Lora said. ‘Whether it’s Solaris or Stella, we don’t want to be caught in a tight space like this with only one way out!’
They ran through the labs, Eva hesitating as she saw canisters and cabinets full of all manner of experiment specimens gone wrong, in all their stark reality under the bright lights.
‘Quick!’ Julia said, pulling Eva along.
At the bottom of the air ventilation shaft, Eva and Lora were clipped into the harnesses they’d used to descend.
‘Now’s your chance to get out of here,’ Julia whispered into Eva’s ear. ‘I’ll keep them distracted, you and Lora run for it. Don’t stop for anything.’
Eva grasped her aunt’s arm, words sticking in her throat.
‘I know,’ Julia said. ‘Me too. Don’t worry, I’ll see you soon.’
And before Eva could say a word, she was whisked away, the ropes pulling her straight up through the shaft towards the distant light above.
Eva ran through the woods, Lora close behind her. They didn’t stop running until they came to two fences topped with sharp wire and a red sign warning that they were electrified.
‘Over there!’ Lora said, pointing off to one side where a tree had come down and had fallen across both fences.
Eva ran for it.
WHACK! WHACK!
Darts hit Lora’s Stealth Suit but they were only glancing blows.
Two of Mac’s security guys were hot on their heels. Another two lay unconscious near the top of the shaft, taken out by Lora’s swift combat skills.
‘Here!’ Lora said, touching Eva’s arm. In that instant, both their Stealth Suits disappeared. They disappeared.
‘Optical camouflage,’ Lora said. ‘A Shiva add-on. Go, keep running!’
Eva ran over the fallen tree like the balance beam she used to train on as a gymnast in school. Once over the fence they ran down the hill, quickly coming to a road that wound through the woods.
‘Listen!’ Eva said.
A truck was coming, its engine loud and near. It appeared around the corner. It was a logging truck, straining with a full load, driving slowly down the hill.
‘Come on, we’re hitching a ride,’ Lora said. ‘Quietly!’
Eva readied next to Lora and as the truck came closer they saw that the two security guys were emerging from the woods and nearing the road.
‘Start running!’ Lora said. Eva followed her, sprinting behind, the optical camouflage lost as they ran.
Lora latched onto the truck’s load tray and reached back. Eva grabbed onto her in a wrist lock and felt herself being lifted from the road. She reached out with her other hand and seized a chain wrapped around the logs.
Looking back, the guards stood in the middle of the road, watching in defeat as the truck picked up speed.
The two of them climbed up onto the logs, gasping for breath.
‘We made it,’ Lora said.
‘Where do we go now?’ Eva asked.
‘Wherever this truck stops next,’ Lora replied. ‘And we call home.’
Eva ate her salad roll and Lora had a third refill on her coffee. The diner was busy, full of truckers mostly.
‘So we wait here?’ Eva asked.
‘We’re only a few hours from Vancouver,’ Lora said, ‘and a team of Guardians should be here before long.’
Eva nodded.
‘You did good back there,’ Lora said with a smile.
‘You’re the one who knocked out those other guards,’ Eva said.
‘True.’
‘You’ll have to teach me some of those killer moves.’
‘Anytime,’ Lora laughed.
33
SAM
Sam’s prop unit died out after a couple of minutes motoring along on the surface of the water, headed for the next island. Maria’s was still running and she powered onwards, not knowing Sam was floating behind her, unassisted, in the middle of the sea.
In Scarface territory.
No propulsion, no air tank. No-one else around. Great.
Sam looked down into the water. These two islands were much further apart than their first swim, and the water was deeper in this midsection of the stretch—so deep, he could not see the bottom here at all. Everything below just disappeared into a deep blue haze.
Who knows what’s lurking down there?
Despite himself, Sam began to panic. He let go of the prop unit, which floated away. His arms and legs thrashed in the water as he readjusted to his new weight without the prop unit.
‘Calm down,’ Sam said to himself, spluttering out water and lying on his back to float, looking up at the sky. ‘Keep cool …’
When he felt still and calm again, he turned
in the water and saw Maria, now just a little dot in the water ahead, still being pulled along towards the next island. Sam rolled over onto his back again and set off after her in a leisurely backstroke.
If Scarface wants to chomp on me, better I don’t see it coming.
Settled into his rhythm, Sam turned and adjusted his direction every thirty strokes. Then something bumped into him—
‘Argh!’
Sam spun frantically in the water.
‘It’s me!’ Maria said, her hand on his arm.
Sam nodded, coughing out the water that he’d swallowed in a panic.
‘Sorry,’ Maria said, treading water next to him. ‘I didn’t notice you weren’t with me. Your prop unit is dead?’
‘Yeah, a while ago.’
‘Mine too. We’re nearly there, though.’
Sam looked around. The island was close, maybe sixty metres away. The closer they were to the sandy beach, the more surf they encountered. The swell of the waves lifted them high in the water.
‘The reef comes up below us,’ Maria said. ‘And closer in, it’s near the surface, see the breaks?’
Sam looked to where she was motioning and could see there was foaming white water as the waves hit the surface of the reef at low tide.
‘That’s sharper than you imagine,’ Maria said. ‘The coral will cut right through your wetsuit—and you. Can you make it around the far side, if we go to the right?’
Sam looked at the view ahead and nodded, but Maria was lost as another large swell raised him up and down into the water.
‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Sooner we’re on land, the better.’
‘Come in next to me,’ Maria said, and she swam slowly, watching behind, and Sam did the same. ‘Here it comes—ride it and steer to the right.’
Sam didn’t have time to reply, he had to move fast, swimming as quickly as he could to keep abreast of Maria as the wave rose up, taking them both bodysurfing.
Sam let out a whoop as the water powered him along. He kept his arms outstretched in front of him as the wave grew higher and gained more and more momentum, pushing them onwards, towards the reef.