5

by James Phelan

  “What?” Sam asked, his anxiety immediately back.

  “We’ve got a new tail,” Issey replied, motioning to his side mirror.

  Sam turned around again for another look. It was the car from the tournament, the prize car, closing in fast. Before Issey could react, it rammed their back bumper, and in that moment, Sam could make out the driver—Stella!

  “Oh man …”

  “Who is it?” Issey asked as he sped up, but the car behind was gaining.

  “She’s called Stella. And she’s bad news, the worst. Can you lose her?”

  “My foot’s flat to the floor whenever I have the chance,” Issey said, weaving in and out of the other cars on the road.

  “We need another plan,” Sam said, watching as Stella mirrored their every move.

  “I may have one,” Issey replied.

  Sam looked ahead. There was a roadwork sign at an exit ramp, and then another.

  “Oh no, you’re not!” Sam said, holding onto the dashboard as Issey steered toward the exit.

  “She’d be crazy to follow us!” Issey replied, smashing through the signs. Both front airbags deployed but Issey didn’t miss a beat.

  Sam frantically tried to deflate them as he looked over the back of his seat. Stella was still coming hard behind them.

  “Forgot to mention,” Sam said, winding his window down to let out the white powdery dust from the airbags, “she’s crazy!”

  “Well, hang on to your … something!”

  Sam looked ahead. There was no road ahead. The sports car’s big engine was roaring. They were getting ahead of Stella now there were no other cars on the road.

  “What the …?” Sam looked out his side window. He could see a grassed park below, with a pond and maple trees that swept their branches down to the water.

  And no more road.

  Out in front he saw—a whole section was yet to be built.

  “Oh, no!” Issey said.

  “Are you joking?” Sam yelled.

  “I thought we’d make it!”

  “Issey! Stop!!” Sam closed his eyes.

  “Brace!”

  17

  EVA

  As Eva finished watching the replay from the previous year’s Dreamer Doors final, she eased off the 3-D viewing visor. It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the light of the Professor’s office. The Professor was pouring a cup of coffee and sitting behind his desk, papers scattered everywhere around him.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “It … it was strange,” Eva replied.

  “It always is, watching the dream from the point of view of the Dreamer,” he said. “Unlike those you have seen replayed before on screens, where it is as if we are observing the action, in this case, you are a participant—you see what those Dreamers saw.”

  “And I’m not sure what they saw,” Eva sighed.

  The Professor leaned back, the coffee cup in his hands, steam rising before his face.

  “When you watch the dream from the Dreamer’s point of view,” he said, “you see the world as they do, and that includes details that, to the untrained, only make sense to the Dreamer.”

  “Such as the flying house?” Eva said.

  “Exactly. Surely there is no actual flying house, but that is what that student saw—he and his team, in a house, flying through the sky. To him it was as real as us sitting here now.”

  “So things that couldn’t possibly be in the real world, can feel real in the competition?”

  “Yes, these things manifest as if they are real. So, more than ever, knowing the difference between reality and what is dreamed, is crucial when competing in the Dreamer Doors.”

  “Right—so where our true dreams are grounded in reality, in this competition, the dream could really be anything and anywhere?”

  “Correct. It’s really up to the individual Dreamer whose dream the competition will be held in.”

  “But there was something else—I saw blood on his hands,” Eva said.

  “Yes, but after that we see that he and his teammates are OK, so it was not theirs.”

  Eva nodded. “And the ending …” she said. “They found what they needed?”

  “Yes. They won.”

  “Because they worked together,” Eva said. “They dreamed in the same dream, right?”

  “Exactly. They were compatible, able to understand each other in the Dreamscape,” the Professor explained.

  “Who’s compatible this time around?”

  “We are working on that,” the Professor replied. “We will announce the team by tomorrow.”

  “I … I dreamed of Sam again last night.”

  “Oh?”

  “He was near an island,” Eva said. “He was in the water—I saw him swimming toward a boat and then Tobias reached down to him to pull him aboard. Then everything flashed and blinded me. I couldn’t see any more.”

  “A blinding flash?” the Professor asked, concerned.

  “Like fire swept over them, in a wave.”

  “I’ll have Jedi analyze the dream now, if that’s OK?” the Professor said, and then his phone rang. “Ah, the Dreamer Council about the competition details, I must take this.”

  Eva nodded and stood. “Thank you for showing me that dream.”

  She left the office and walked toward her dorm, deep in thought. Try as she might, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Sam needed her help.

  18

  SAM

  Time seemed to slow as the seconds to hitting the ground stretched out before Sam’s eyes. He threw his arms out onto the airbag and tucked his head down just as the ground sprang up to meet them.

  Oh man!

  They hit the park’s grass nose-first, a colossal shudder running through the car and making Sam’s teeth rattle. There was a moment when the car seemed to stand on its end, before slowly tipping over onto its roof.

  Sam had to force his body to relax from its tensed position, the blood rushing to his head as he hung upside down.

  I’m alive! I don’t believe it!

  Sam reached out and unbuckled the seatbelt, crashing to the upturned roof of the car and banging his head on the sunroof. Issey was groaning above in his seat, then the next moment he had landed next to Sam.

  “Itai!” he groaned.

  “Issey? Issey! Are you hurt?” Sam scrambled over as Issey’s groaning intensified. Issey rolled over and gave Sam a broad smile.

  He isn’t hurt, he’s laughing!

  “Woo-hoo!”

  “Come on, you maniac, let’s get out of here!” Sam sighed, kicking his door and rolling out onto the lawn. They emerged from the upside-down car and dusted themselves off.

  “That was awesome!” Issey said, staggering away from the wreckage.

  “Yeah,” Sam replied, his hands on his knees as he looked around and tried to regain his breath. “That’s, ah, one way to put it.”

  Sam looked across to the pond—Stella’s car was in there, way out in the centre, bubbling away as it sank.

  “Yeah!” Issey jumped into the air at the sight. “Take that, bad guy—or lady! Take that, bad lady!”

  “We should keep moving,” Sam said, watching Stella’s car disappear.

  “Yes, yes, good,” Issey said. “Keep moving. OK.”

  “Issey, look at me,” Sam said. The Japanese Dreamer looked at him, and Sam could see that he was shaking with all the adrenalin. “You need to calm down and get it together, you hear me? Because we won’t always get away like that. Breathe, OK?”

  Issey nodded.

  “In a few minutes,” Sam said, “there’ll be cops here to arrest us. Or worse, Stella’s guys will get to us first.”

  “They’re worse than cops, right?”

  “Yes—far worse. Stealing a car and crashing it will be the least of our problems.”

  “What would they do to us?” Issey asked.

  “Nothing good,” Sam replied. “Do you know anywhere safe we can get to from here?”

  “Home.�
��

  “Not your place, it’ll be compromised, they’ll know where you live. Somewhere they won’t be waiting for us.”

  “I … ah …”

  “Issey, it’s alright. Calm down and think, this is your town. I’m sure you know somewhere safe. We have to find somewhere to hide, to rest, and so that you can dream.”

  “Yes. OK, I know a place near here,” Issey replied, looking around the park. “We can hide with him.”

  “Nice. Come on, lead the way.” Sam took a last look at the top of Stella’s car as it sank under the pond’s surface.

  Did she get out?

  “Near here” turned out to be twenty minutes at a steady jog. Sam stopped outside the house with his hands on his knees and sucked in deep breaths.

  “Too much American food, tomodachi,” Issey said.

  Canadian … ah, whatever.

  Issey rang the doorbell on an ancient-looking house in a tree-lined street among other traditional Japanese three-storey houses that looked as if they could have come out of a picture book.

  Sam looked around. It was nighttime and no one was on the streets.

  He’s managed to find a quiet neighbourhood in one of the world’s busiest cities.

  “My parents aren’t like yours,” Sam said. “As soon as they found out that I’d dreamed of Solaris, they called it in and had me picked up from school by a team of Agents with guns.”

  “That sounds pretty amazing.”

  “It might now, but at the time, I was pretty freaked out—nearly died, actually. The helicopter I was in crashed.”

  Issey looked shocked.

  “Tell you another time,” Sam said. “So, who’s this friend?” he asked, looking at the house.

  “Oh, he’s just the wisest guy in the universe.”

  “The universe, you say?”

  “Yes. And maybe the oldest, too. He’s my grandfather.”

  “Well, let’s just hope he’s home,” Sam said.

  They waited a few minutes, then Issey pressed the bell for the fifth time.

  “I think we should accept he’s not in,” Sam said. “Maybe he’s so smart he saw this coming and decided to have no part in it.”

  “He’s in,” Issey said. “He’s always in.”

  “Can you try calling him on a phone?”

  “He has no phone,” Issey replied.

  “No phones at all?”

  “Nope.”

  “You know, I always wanted to meet that guy,” Sam said.

  “What guy?”

  “The one person in the developed world with no phone.”

  “Oh.” Issey looked confused.

  They both jumped when the ancient door finally creaked opened as they stood there.

  The oldest and smartest guy in the world stood before them. The oldest part certainly seemed right—with wisps of grey hair at his temples and creased lines across his weathered face.

  “Ojiisama,” Issey said as he bowed deeply, Sam followed suit as Issey spoke to him in hushed Japanese for a moment. The old man’s face lit up and he welcomed them in like they were the most cherished guests he had ever received.

  “Kaga is much more than just my grandfather,” Issey explained. “He coached me on my dreams and about fulfilling my destiny—he always thought that I would be one of the 13, even though my parents were unsure.”

  “Cool—intense, though,” Sam said, and after removing their shoes they walked through to a tea room by an inner courtyard. A glorious blossoming tree stood majestically amid the carefully raked sandy ground. They sat on the floor at a low table, and Kaga poured them tea as Issey recounted what had happened.

  “So, it is true,” Kaga said in lilting English. “You are of the 13.”

  “Yes,” Issey replied.

  “And Sam-san, it is you that dreamed of Issey?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you are the one who dreams of the others,” Kaga said.

  “Yes, that’s me,” Sam replied, and sipped his tea.

  “I can see that you are very wise, Sam-san, wise far beyond your years,” Kaga said.

  “Thanks. Many have said so.” Sam grinned.

  “Humble, you are not.”

  “I was just joking,” Sam said, embarrassed.

  “That is good,” Kaga smiled. “You will need to be wise, and a wise man has a sense of humour. You need to be complete to defeat the evil one.”

  “Solaris?” Issey said.

  Kaga nodded.

  “You have met him?” Kaga asked Sam.

  Sam nodded.

  “And the fire …” Kaga said. “Is it true—that he can make and send out fire?”

  “Yes,” Sam said. “I’ve seen it, up close. It’s some sort of system built into his armoured suit.”

  “And yet you survived,” Kaga said.

  “I was lucky.”

  Kaga shook his head. “There is no luck, only destiny. You, Sam, must believe that you are destined to be there at the end, the final one. One of 13, yes, but also the one.”

  “Yes,” Sam said. “I believe it.”

  Kaga smiled, and turned to Issey. “And what number are you?”

  “I—Sam?”

  “Nine,” Sam answered for him. “We have already found eight, Issey is the ninth to be found. But the numbers on the Gears count down so his Gear will be number five.”

  “Then you are close to the end,” Kaga said, “to your destiny.” He looked to Issey. “And your dream, your part of the puzzle, you have seen it?”

  “No,” Issey said, and he looked to the floor. “Not yet.”

  Kaga nodded. “Yes. I see it in your sleepy eyes. Tonight the two of you will sleep here, where it is safe. Sleep, Issey. You will dream soon enough.”

  19

  ALEX

  Alex landed flat on his back on the cab’s hood. He gazed up at the sky spinning above him, listening to the howl of sirens and the blaring of horns.

  “Ow,” Alex groaned quietly as he tried to move his aching body. Then reality came crashing back.

  The bomb!

  He looked at his wrist—

  The bomb wristband was gone.

  As he struggled to get up, he spotted it on the ground in between the cars.

  KLAP-BOOM!

  Just then the wristband exploded, the force of it lifting the cab from the ground, throwing Alex back across the hood and rolling off the side and onto the road.

  The car in front, a black limo, had its trunk lid ripped off. As it flew high through the air, a fire erupted. The limo’s gas tank was punctured, fire slowly spreading across the road. People began screaming and running from the scene.

  “Alex, here!” Shiva said. He got the motorcycle upright again and kick-started, revving the engine.

  Alex jumped on the back. “Look, my wristband!” he said. “It’s gone!”

  “I know!” Shiva replied, taking off, driving the bike through the wall of gas flames. They were weaving through the traffic ahead and a block later the way cleared for Shiva to shift up gears, hitting fifty kilometres per hour, sixty, sixty-five …

  “Somehow that crash severed it from my wrist!” Alex yelled into Shiva’s ear. “That was amazing!”

  “I know!” Shiva replied over his shoulder.

  “Then what’s the rush?” Alex asked.

  “This!” Shiva showed his left wrist.

  We must be out of range of the apartment now. It’s triggered the timer on his wristband.

  It read:

  4:04

  4:03

  4:02

  Shiva threw down the bike in the side alley as he and Alex leaped off in one bound.

  Shiva’s wristband screen read:

  1:13

  1:12

  1:11

  “We made good time,” Alex said, looking around for any rogue Agents. “You sure this is the place?”

  “Pretty sure. Now we just have to hope Matrix’s still here,” Shiva said while running, opening the fire door to the building and mo
ving in fast. “He could have popped out for sushi for all we know.”

  “And we haven’t got a minute to spare.”

  “Dude, don’t joke.”

  They ran down the stairs to the heavy steel doors.

  “Wait—what if there’re goons in there?” Alex asked.

  “There won’t be, because we’re the only ones who know this place is here. And they think we’re trapped in the apartment, so they won’t be expecting any trouble.”

  “OK, let’s do this,” Alex said.

  “Shh, quiet as you can.” Shiva entered the combination and the doors clinked open.

  Hacking really does come in handy.

  They went through the doorway and down a steel staircase. The interior was a cavernous room, dark except for the far corner, where the glow of big computer screens showed the outline of a figure with his back to them.

  Matrix.

  Creeping silently, Shiva picked up a wrench and gave Alex a screwdriver.

  What on earth will I do with a screwdriver?

  0:49

  Shiva covered the final few paces across the dusty concrete floor and swung the wrench.

  There was a dull thud as Matrix slumped forward, unconscious.

  “The code!” Alex said. “You need him for the code!”

  Alex stole a glance at the timer:

  0:44

  “It’s in his phone, that’s how he set the devices,” Shiva said, grabbing Matrix’s phone and scrolling through screens.

  0:39

  “Was it a numerical code?” Alex asked.

  “No, an audible tone,” Shiva said. “Aha!”

  He pressed play on a file.

  A tone sounded.

  0:36

  0:35

  0:34

  “There must be another!”

  “I can’t see it!” Shiva said, feverishly searching files, his hands shaking. It was the first time Alex had seen his friend truly panicked. “I can’t find it!”

  0:31

  0:30

  0:29

  20

  SAM

  “I don’t think I can sleep,” Issey said.

  Sam sighed. “Probably not—not when you keep talking every other minute,” he muttered.

  Issey was quiet for a moment. “Can you sleep?” he asked.

  Sam opened his eyes in the darkened room of Kaga’s house. “Why don’t you just try being still and quiet for a while?” he said. “Like, five minutes or so.”