The Last Thirteen - 1 Read online

  This one is for Leo, the little legend—JP.

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Our Battle Ends Now

  Previously

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Collage

  About the Author

  Copyright

  PREVIOUSLY

  Sam dreams of the next of the last 13, realizing it is none other than Alex. Sam wakes up trapped in a Melbourne hotel but is quickly reunited with Eva and Jabari. They travel to Antarctica to find Alex.

  Alex manages to survive the harsh climate in Antarctica and is rescued by Hans and Dr. Kader. They continue their journey in Hans’ mini-sub, leading them to an amazing underwater discovery.

  Xavier, Phoebe and the other members of the last 13 fly to Cairo to meet Xavier’s father, Dr. Dark. But Dr. Dark seems strangely altered since they last saw him, raving about a map and an underground maze.

  Sam and Lora, assisted by the Crawley base boss, Dr. Roberts, and his crew, set off in search of Alex. With a super storm forecast to hit in a few hours, their mission could not be more urgent. But out on the ice, Dr. Roberts is revealed as Stella in disguise. Sam barely escapes while Lora is taken prisoner.

  Back at the base, Eva realizes the remaining crew are actually Stella’s men and bravely fights them off to rescue the real crew. Banding together, they flee in snow cats, heading for another base and safety.

  With the storm approaching fast, Sam finds a hut to shelter in, befriending two news reporters there. Refusing to wait, Sam makes for the Chilean base with an improvised ice sailer. But when he arrives, there’s no one there.

  Alex, Hans and Dr. Kader explore an astonishing cavern under the ice. There, in a pyramid, Alex finds his Gear. Stella tries to ambush them, but Hans blocks her path, while Sam joins them from the base above. Jabari appears and reveals he is still determined to prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy at all costs. The Professor makes an unexpected appearance and shoots Jabari. Hans’ greed costs him his life, but the others escape to the world above.

  Xavier becomes increasingly worried about his father’s erratic behaviour as they cautiously follow him into a hidden subterranean world. But Dr. Dark succeeds in disovering the maze. However, once inside, they get a nasty shock when Solaris reveals himself to be right there with them …

  01

  SAM’S NIGHTMARE

  “I snap my fingers,” Solaris says, getting to his feet, “and all your friends die.”

  His black body armour is dull, no longer shimmering, as though seen through a heat haze. But the menace in his voice remains as frightening as ever.

  I gasp for breath, doubled over in agony. His shadow looms over me as he stands, prepared to resume the fight. I take a step back, struggling to get upright, and almost slide over the edge of the dusty stone surface. I glance backwards over my shoulder, trying to see another way out. We are so high up, it seems as though thousands of rough stone steps cascade away beneath us.

  I look down, searching for my friends. I can see them, standing in a circle at the base of this impossibly high pyramid. They look up, watching us.

  Why aren’t they climbing up? Why don’t they help me?

  But I catch sight of something else down there, shock coursing through me. It’s a body, lying sprawled on the ground. I can’t make out who it is.

  Are they unconscious or … dead?

  “See, Sam?” Solaris says, his sick humour evident in his voice. “Don’t think I won’t do it … again.”

  I turn to stare at the soulless black mask. “I’m not afraid of you,” I whisper, my voice hoarse.

  “Your Gears,” Solaris says, with another, different edge to his voice now. “Give them to me. Don’t play games with me, boy. Be thankful that I am giving you this chance.”

  I touch the straps of my backpack, feeling the weight of the precious Gears inside.

  “And then what?” I ask, still defiant. “Then what will you do with us?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Solaris says, walking around the top of the pyramid. I mirror his movements, keeping as much distance between us as I can. “Cold desert night like this, I could give you all a little … heat.”

  He shoots a stream of fire at the stone at my feet. I feel the unwelcome warmth running up my body. I force myself not to react, but I’m tense, frozen to the spot. I am overwhelmed by visions of all the fire that has ever scared me. I clench my fists and grit my teeth.

  “Sam, Sam, Sam …” Solaris says. “Still frightened of a little fire?” He laughs.

  Another jet shoots out, this time rushing by my head. I turn and duck. The heat flushes my neck. I open my eyes and in the early evening sky, I see the moon. It’s full, its glow both beautiful and haunting.

  “Are you really going to keep me waiting, boy?” he says.

  I say nothing.

  A kaleidoscope of images flashes through my mind—from another time, another place.

  I’m dreaming, but is this really my dream? Is he manipulating the dream, manipulating me?

  Solaris lunges at me and I move quickly, more easily now, keeping out of his way. I close my eyes and blink out the gritty sand that’s been kicked up.

  “You are dreaming, Sam,” Solaris says. “You’ve managed to figure that out. But ask yourself—whose dream is this? Hmm? Maybe you should have stayed in school at the Academy a little longer … oh, that’s right, you couldn’t, could you?”

  Again, I look down at my friends, clustered around, barely visible in the dim light. I look at Solaris, standing there, his arm raised. The realization hits me suddenly, like a blow to the head.

  I can’t run anymore. The race is ending.

  “Maybe I did need to spend more time at the Academy,” I say to him. “Or maybe I already know how to find out whose dream this is.”

  “Don’t even try it!” Solaris says. “I’m in your head, boy, you don’t stand a—”

  I run hard, fast, right at his towering black form. I charge with my shoulder down low, just like my high school football coach taught me. Before he can react, I plough into Solaris’ stomach and we go flying through the air—off the edge of the pyramid, out into darkness, falling through an empty sky.

  I close my eyes and concentrate.

  We hit the water hard.

  I plunge down into the inky depths, my arms pushing out in front of me, my legs kicking fiercely to propel myself upward. When I reach the surface, my screaming lungs suck in air and I spit out the cool water as I look around.

  It’s night now. The moon is high and a handful of stars are sprinkled across the sky. I catch sight of a black shadow close to me in the water and I strike out for the shore, eager to put distance between us. I have caught Solaris by surprise with t
he sudden change in my dream but the advantage won’t last long.

  We’re in a city—I can see buildings and streetlights surrounding us from above. I smile as I catch sight of the Eiffel Tower looming high over me, lit up against the night. To the right is the bridge where I’d landed on top of a tourist bus after Zara and I made our crazy BASE jump from the Tower.

  This is my dream. I brought us here—to Paris.

  “Argh!” I shout out as Solaris grabs hold, reaching out to me with impossibly long arms. His hand grips my backpack, dragging me to shore with long, powerful swim strokes. “Get off me!”

  He’s silent as he swims. I twist and turn, trying to pull against him, to swim in the opposite direction, but he’s too strong for me. The backpack straps tighten as I struggle, I cannot get free.

  Think … it’s my dream, so I can control it.

  Go somewhere else …

  “Don’t do it!” Solaris snarls, stopping to drag me around to face him, his voice still rasping and metallic through his mask.

  I blink hard against the blinding daylight. I’m momentarily stunned by the heat in the air. Water pours off me as I scramble to my feet.

  I’ve been here before, too—it’s the Grand Canyon.

  My last 13 tour, huh.

  “You can’t escape me,” Solaris says. He’s standing, facing me. He’s still and menacing, yet I can tell he is impatient, all humour gone now as he chases me through my dream.

  “Give me the Gears, Sam!” His voice is piercing, ripping into the very centre of my mind. “You know that I will follow you, wherever you go. Paris, New York, Cairo, Arizona, Sydney—it doesn’t matter. I’ll be right there. And when you wake up? I’ll be there, too. You have nowhere to go. There’s nothing you can dream that I won’t see. You’ve lost, Sam. It’s time to give up.”

  He holds up something in his hand. It is a small, shiny silver disc—it glints in the sun as it spins gently on the end of a linked chain. It looks like an old pocket watch. Solaris is looking at it meaningfully. “It was made a long time ago. Now, it’s mine.”

  “Nice story,” I say. I scan the desolate scene around us.

  If I can get away, lose him in my dream … then I can find the last Dreamer.

  “You still don’t understand what’s going on here, do you Sam?” Solaris says. He takes a step forward, the antique timepiece in his hand. “Your destiny is my destiny, one way or the other, until this is finished.”

  Solaris turns to stare out at the expansive sky. Suddenly, everything changes. We are not in the desert anymore.

  What the …? I didn’t do that.

  But this is my dream.

  Isn’t it?

  I stare, bewildered, at the rolling green hills around us, snow-capped mountains in the distance. I shiver and my breath swirls in front of me in the cold mountain air. We’re standing at the top of a long valley, with a small, picturesque village nestled at the bottom of it, ringed by a dense forest.

  “Maybe you don’t know everything after all,” Solaris sneers under the mask.

  I gasp, the full realization of what’s happening dawning on me. “But, if we’re sharing a dream, like I did with the others …?” My mind reels, grappling with an unthinkable possibility.

  “That’s right, Sam,” Solaris whispers. “Do you understand now? The last 13 is complete.”

  No! It can’t be.

  But it is.

  There is nothing now but the inescapable truth that our worst enemy is one of us. There can be no way to win this.

  We are all going to—

  Die.

  02

  SAM

  Sam woke with a start, bathed in sweat, his heart beating like a drum. He looked across at his alarm clock—it was four in the morning. He’d been asleep for just a few hours but was wide awake now. The long flight back from Antarctica the night before had both worn him out and messed with his body clock.

  Sam climbed out of bed and opened the window, leaning against the old wooden frame. The chill pre-dawn air washed over him, helping to calm his racing mind.

  Outside, the London campus of the Academy was quiet. The grassy playing fields were deserted and an eerie fog was rolling in. Most of the buildings were cloaked in darkness.

  Sam was briefly distracted by spotlights flickering in the small wood past the lake. The UN soldiers remained at their camp, still guarding the Academy walls, protecting them not only from Solaris, but also from the intense interest of the world. Beyond this protective barrier, though, nothing else had changed. The leaders of the UN remained unsure and undecided about what to do with Sam and the other Dreamers, or about the race.

  Don’t they realize that they’ve nearly run out of time?

  Sam took a deep breath in and tried to steady himself against the replay of his dream still running uncontrollably through his head.

  The green hills, the mountains …

  Solaris. He was in my dream—just him. No other Dreamer.

  He is the last one.

  Sam shook his head and pushed himself upright and away from the window. He paced the room with frantic, hurried steps. He wanted to pass it off as “just a dream,” but he knew that it didn’t work like that anymore. He’d known since the start that his destiny was inseparable from Solaris’.

  But this … how could he possibly be one of the last 13?

  What about the prophecy?

  Sam shivered at the thought of what might be coming. Unable to process what was going through his head, he put on his Stealth Suit and boots and crept from his dorm room toward the staff wing, with one person in mind.

  Lora.

  As he passed paintings of great Dreamers—da Vinci, Tesla, Aristotle, Newton—he thought back to the first time he’d seen paintings like these, mosaic images made up of tiny portraits depicting the world’s greatest Dreamers. He had been at the Swiss Academy then, seeing the pictures hanging impressively in the portrait gallery. At the end of the room were blank canvasses, waiting, ready for future great Dreamers.

  It was only for a second, but I saw myself, and Solaris, on a blank canvas. No one else could see it.

  He climbed the stairs and walked by the teachers’ rooms to the end of the hall framed by a large stained-glass window catching the light of the moon. It was not quite full—not yet.

  Light spilled out from under the last door in the corridor.

  Lora’s awake.

  Sam knocked gently. He heard shuffling on the other side, then the door cracked open a little.

  “Sam?” Lora said, opening the door further. She looked down the corridor behind Sam. Her face was weary. It was the look of someone who had lost so much—her boyfriend Sebastian, Tobias, students and countless Guardians—but underneath it all, Sam could see Lora’s face was still resolute, she still held out hope.

  Hope, in me.

  “I … I think I just had my dream,” Sam said. “My final dream, I mean. Number thirteen. But it’s … confusing.”

  Lora nodded seriously. “OK, OK. Give me a minute, we’ll go straight to the Professor.”

  Sam waited outside the door. There was a statue by the staircase that led up to the Professor’s room on the next floor. It was a replica of Ramses the Great, copied from a temple in Egypt, Lora had told him.

  All this—the Dream Gate, the Bakhu machine, the race—all started with him over three thousand years ago.

  Sam sighed. They were so close to the end. So close to finishing what Ramses had started, on the brink of fulfilling the prophecy.

  But how can my dream of Solaris be right? How are we supposed to find the last Gear now?

  “Ready?” Lora said, reappearing next to Sam and making him jump.

  “Sure, yes. But, I was just thinking,” Sam said, “do you think this guy was the first, like us, I mean?” He pointed at the statue of Ramses the Great.

  “Yes and no,” Lora said, following his gaze. They started to walk together down the corridor to the stairs. “He’s certainly the first that
we know about who spoke of the Dream Gate, and we know he was the one who hid it.”

  “And he created the prophecy?”

  “That’s right. But as for him being the first Dreamer, I wouldn’t have thought so. I believe true Dreamers have existed for as long as there have been people.”

  Sam nodded slowly in agreement.

  “History is like that, isn’t it?” Lora mused. “We only know what we know from what we can put together in the jigsaw. But just because we can’t find a few missing pieces, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”

  “Yeah, you’re right,” Sam said, walking up the stairs next to her and then down the small hall to the Professor’s sleeping quarters. “Lora, maybe I’m wrong,” he said, stopping suddenly, “about having my last 13 dream, I mean. I thought it might be the Gear—it seemed like it was. But it doesn’t make sense. It can’t fit. It has to be wrong.”

  “Wrong?” Lora said with a smile. “Sam, you know better than that. Trust your instincts.”

  “But maybe it was a trick …”

  “A trick?”

  Sam nodded.

  Lora put an arm around him. “Come on, we’ll soon find out.”

  As they approached the Professor’s door, it creaked open. A tall figure stood there in the gloom.

  “Sam,” the Professor said, a dark red robe swathed around him. “I had a feeling I’d be getting a visit from you.”

  “Professor,” Sam said, “I think I had my next dream, well, my last dream.”

  The Professor looked to Lora. “We will need a dream machine, Lora.”

  “But—Professor, is that safe?” Lora said, pointing toward the window. “The UN is listening in on every electronic device in the Academy. Whatever we see, they’ll see too.”

  “Jedi and Shiva have come up with a way to jam their frequencies,” the Professor said. “And Jedi suggested we use an older device. Because the earlier models weren’t wireless, it will be even safer from prying eyes. Besides, this is a risk we must now take, I’m afraid.” He paused. “We don’t have any time to waste.”

  “The moon,” Sam said, looking out the window and suddenly understanding. “It’s almost full. Just a day off, maybe.” He turned to the others. “In my dream, it was full.”