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  ‘Only you can use it now,’ Jedi said, handing it gingerly to him. ‘I can handle it, because I’m the creator, but it still bites me sometimes.’

  ‘Bites?’

  ‘Just a playful nip, nothing like what it’d give someone who you perceived as a threat.’

  ‘It—it can tell if an enemy picks it up?’

  ‘Oh yeah, and a whole lot more …’ Jedi ran through its functions, very similar to Sam’s last ultra-modern phone. It was, indeed, an impressive handset, despite only just squeezing into Sam’s backpack.

  ‘So, you’re heading out straightaway?’ Jedi asked.

  ‘To Brazil, first thing in the morning.’

  ‘Ah, Brazil …’ Jedi’s attention turned to his computer screen and he tapped in some commands. ‘Perfect timing! Can you hang around? I’ve got another surprise for you.’

  13

  ALEX

  Shiva walked away when the screen came alive and Alex leaned in closer for a better view. After a moment of fractured vision, the picture righted itself.

  Finally.

  ‘How you doin’, Sam?’ Alex said, fidgeting in his seat.

  ‘Alex!’ Sam said, as Jedi wheeled away to give them privacy to talk. ‘I’m doin’ all right. Wow, it’s good to see you!’

  ‘I know, feels like forever, huh?’ Alex said.

  ‘How’s things with you?’ Sam asked.

  ‘Yeah, I’m OK. It was a bit weird at first, you know, being away from you guys,’ Alex replied, ‘but it’s actually kinda cool here. I got to see my mum again and I’ve been getting into the computer stuff.’

  ‘Right up your street, tech head!’ Sam laughed.

  ‘Totally!’

  Sam cleared his throat. ‘I gotta say, I know what you did back in Berlin, at the zoo. I don’t know how to thank you, saving me from Solaris and everything, I mean …’

  Alex reddened. ‘There’s nothing to say. You’d have done the same thing. And one day you might need to.’

  ‘Very true, Alex. But I just wanted to say thanks.’

  ‘It’s all good. But listen, I was—I was really sorry to hear about the attack at the Academy … I wish we had gotten a warning through sooner.’

  ‘Yeah. I know you guys tried to stop it,’ Sam said. ‘Everyone here is still pretty shook up about it. And then there was Pi …’

  ‘Yeah, I heard. I’m so sorry,’ Alex said. There was a small silence between them. ‘And what about Eva? Is she OK?’

  ‘She’s fine. Took out a helicopter singlehandedly during the attack.’

  ‘All right, Eva! Atta girl … I knew she was one tough cookie,’ Alex grinned.

  ‘She really is. She’ll be mad she didn’t get to talk to you, though.’

  ‘Say hi for me, will ya?’

  ‘I will,’ Sam promised, before adding, ‘So, any ideas about where Stella is now?’

  ‘Nope,’ Alex replied. ‘Believe me, there’s a lot of people here just itching for some payback when we do find her.’

  ‘And don’t forget about Matrix,’ Jedi said, walking back up behind Sam. Adding, ‘Shiva, how’s your set-up going there?’

  ‘A work in progress,’ Shiva replied, his face moving into the screen’s frame next to Alex. ‘You?’

  ‘About the same,’ Jedi said, looking at the mess of computing gear surrounding them. ‘It’s gonna be hard work going up against Matrix in this state. Take us another day or so to get some decent power running, and the better part of a week while we play catch-up.’

  ‘I hear you,’ Shiva replied. ‘But we’re all working around the clock here.’

  ‘I’ve got the programming all sorted,’ Jedi explained. ‘I just need more hardware …’

  ‘We’ve got that in spades,’ Shiva said. ‘It’s the software I’m worried about. Matrix coded it all. I gotta ditch it otherwise he’ll be able to get in and snoop around whenever he wants. At the moment I’m running on off-the-shelf tech. It won’t take him too long to work that out and break in.’

  ‘You wanna link our systems?’ Jedi asked.

  ‘My thoughts exactly,’ Shiva replied.

  ‘Just to find Stella, right?’ Jedi qualified warily.

  ‘Of course,’ Shiva said.

  ‘Together we’d be much more of a match for Matrix,’ Jedi concluded. ‘I like it.’

  ‘Right,’ Sam said, seeing that the two tech heads were in agreement about cooperating. ‘You two can geek it out later. Alex, what are your plans?’

  ‘How do you mean?’ Alex asked.

  ‘I mean, you want to come with me on my next trip?’

  Alex smiled. ‘I’m listening. Where you headed?’

  Alex could see Sam throw a look to Jedi, who nodded.

  ‘The Amazon,’ Sam said. ‘Brazil.’

  ‘That’s a big place,’ Alex said.

  ‘Tell me about it …’ Sam said. ‘We’re still working on the exact location of the next Dreamer.’

  ‘I’d love to come,’ Alex said, smiling. He heard Shiva clear his throat with a little cough. ‘But I just have to talk to my lot first. I’ll get back to you asap … it’s a little complicated.’

  ‘Sure thing,’ Sam said. ‘You’ll need to get on it, though. If you’re coming, we leave tomorrow.’

  14

  SAM

  Sam walked along a gravel path that circled around the school. He could see ordinary students in their dorms, the windows of the 18th century buildings lit up as they studied or talked or played games. He had been ordinary too, until just a few weeks ago.

  And now this … no big deal, Sam, just the fate of the whole WORLD and all that.

  Great.

  He kicked a pebble off the path, watching it arc through the air and sail into a fountain with a gentle plop. He walked over and stopped by the fountain. A tall marble statue draped in robes stood in the centre. The sun had set about half an hour earlier and there was a full moon casting reflected light that danced off the water and onto the stone face, making it seem alive.

  ‘You’re the one, Sam …’ a deep voice said.

  Sam spun around, but there was no-one there.

  ‘Only you can save us … you, and the other amazing students.’

  Sam spoke in a quiet voice, ‘What?’

  ‘You are a greater god than me …’

  ‘What the—?’ Sam said.

  Laughter erupted from the other side of the statue, and Eva emerged, saying in her mock-deep voice, ‘You are the only one who can save the world … no pressure!’

  Sam laughed. ‘Yeah, great, thanks for helping me go even more nuts.’

  Eva stood next to him and they looked at the statue in silence.

  ‘It’s the Greek god Apollo,’ Eva said, ‘in charge of light and the sun, and prophecy …’

  ‘Sounds like me,’ Sam joked.

  Eva laughed.

  ‘I mean, is that all he got, light and the sun?’ Sam went on. ‘He had to be god of more than that, right?’

  ‘Well, Apollo was the son of Zeus. And I think he got some wisdom and knowledge too.’

  ‘I wish I was the son of Zeus,’ Sam murmured.

  ‘Why, so you could have even more to do?’ Eva nudged him.

  ‘Ha. Anyway, looking at this Apollo guy, he looks more like a wrestler.’

  ‘Funny you should mention that—they invented wrestling, the Greeks.’

  ‘Yeah, well, I perfected it, rah!’ Sam said, wrapping an arm around Eva’s shoulders and getting her into a playful headlock. ‘How will you get out of this?’

  They wrestled, Eva twisting and turning to pull herself free. She leaned back and caught Sam off guard. They both tumbled over and landed on their backs, laughing, looking up at the stars above.

  ‘So,’ Eva said, panting for breath. ‘I’m glad that at least you’re still just a big jerk, and that being this Dreamer of the last 13 hasn’t gone to your head.’ She paused. ‘Do you think Alex will be one?’

  ‘I hope so. And you too. Well, kind of … if yo
u know what I mean.’

  I’m the key to it all—it’s my dreams that bring us together. I wish Eva would appear in my dreams, but I also don’t want her to face the danger that comes with being one of the last 13.

  Eva punched Sam playfully in the arm.

  ‘Ouch.’

  ‘Just making sure you’re awake,’ Eva said, ‘sleepyhead.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Sam said, rubbing his arm. ‘But next time, if my eyes are open, there’s a good chance I’m awake.’

  ‘Ha, yeah, right, the amount of running around saving the world stuff you’re doing, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re sleep-talking to me right now.’

  She pinched Sam, hard.

  ‘Ouch!’ Sam said, getting to his feet and helping her to hers.

  ‘OK,’ Eva said, ‘well maybe you really are awake …’

  ‘Or maybe I’m a zombie!’

  Sam chased her and she screamed out loud, running across the lawn, in and out of the shadows.

  Sam sat on the end of Zara’s bed, in the crowded dorm room she shared with Gabriella and Eva. Xavier was there too, reading a tablet as he lay out on the floor. It felt almost normal for Sam, sitting there like that, talking and laughing for over an hour. They talked about dreams—about everything Sam and the others had seen out there, about what they missed, and what they didn’t.

  ‘Sam,’ Xavier said, ‘if you could go anywhere, where would it be?’

  Sam thought about it for a while then said, ‘The moon.’

  ‘Huh?’ Eva said. ‘Why, so you can see if it’s really made of cheese?’

  Sam threw a pillow across the room at her and said, ‘No. It’s just that it’s far away from here.’

  ‘And it’s a place that you don’t have to save?’ Zara asked.

  Sam shrugged.

  ‘Less worry, I guess,’ Sam said.

  ‘You are worried?’ Gabriella piped up.

  ‘I’m always worried,’ Sam sighed. ‘I mean, think of Brazil, tomorrow. What if there’s no way of working out who the next Dreamer is? What if we end up just wandering around the Amazon, wasting time? Or, what if I do find him but we can’t find the Gear? Or if Hans, Mac, or Stella and Solaris—or all of them—show up and crash the party again?’

  ‘They’re not crashing my party,’ Xavier said.

  ‘Sam, you do not need to worry like that,’ Zara said, ignoring Xavier. Gabriella and Eva nodded. ‘You will be fine.’

  ‘It’s a gift, Sam,’ Gabriella said. ‘We, but especially you, have an ability, to see into the future, that other people can only wish for.’

  ‘You just have to trust it,’ Eva added.

  Sam nodded. There was a knock at the door, and Lora entered.

  ‘Hey, lights out was twenty minutes ago,’ Lora said. ‘Guys, back to your rooms. It’s a big day tomorrow, we need to be rested, OK?’

  Well, at least I get my own room …

  Sam’s dorm room looked more like a closet than a bedroom. The bed was buried under a stack of rolled Academy posters, featuring famous Dreamers from years gone by. There were t-shirts, hats, and boxes everywhere. It looked like a storeroom for …

  ‘Is this—Academy merchandise?’ Sam asked.

  ‘Sorry,’ Lora said. ‘The campus is overcrowded, and this was the only room available with something that comes close to dream-recording connectivity.’

  Sam picked up a mug from a box on the floor. It had the Academy’s emblem emblazoned on one side and a slogan on the other—Sweet Dreams. He pulled out a couple more from the box. One read Don’t let the bedbugs bite!, the other, What if all your dreams came true?

  ‘You guys serious with all this stuff?’ Sam asked.

  ‘I know, isn’t it embarrassing?’ Lora said, picking up a board game. ‘It was before my time, trust me. The former head of communications thought she had a flair for marketing—and had a grand plan that she was going to take the Academy public, make rock stars out of all of the Dreamers.’

  ‘Well, I’m sure glad she’s not around anymore.’

  ‘She’s around, but retired,’ Lora said. ‘She’s my mother.’

  ‘Oops. Sorry, I, ah, didn’t mean to be rude,’ Sam stammered.

  ‘Please!’ Lora grinned and rolled her eyes in mock horror. ‘You have no idea. You think this is bad, wait until you see her house. It is so full of this kind of stuff you can’t turn around.’

  ‘And why didn’t it happen?’ Sam said. ‘I mean, going public …’

  ‘Hard to say,’ Lora said, turning the board game over in her hands. ‘Probably because it’s too unbelievable to the rest of the world. But Mum was determined. She never really did things by halves. Which is probably why she had my brother and I enrolled in the archery and shooting clubs as well as cross-country skiing, lacrosse, soccer, underwater polo, karate, gymnastics … the list goes on and on.’

  ‘And I thought I had it tough here,’ Sam said, laughing as he cleared away all the rolled posters from his bed. He unrolled one, and nearly choked on his laugh when he saw the picture. ‘No way!’

  ‘Oh, no!’ Lora groaned, blushing.

  ‘That’s—it’s you!’ Sam said, looking at the picture of Lora in her Stealth Suit, standing side-on with crossed arms in a tough-guy action-pose and a stern expression. ‘Ha!’

  ‘I know! I was about your age. Or a bit younger, maybe about fourteen. Wow, can you believe my hair? I think I decided to go blond for the summer and, well, you can see the results.’

  ‘Yeah, your mother must really be nuts, letting you get that hairdo,’ Sam said, and Lora laughed. ‘Seriously, I think I’m gonna keep this. Show it to some of the students …’

  ‘Don’t you dare,’ Lora said, trying to look serious but not able to contain her smile. ‘Come on, it’s getting late, let’s get your dream recorder set up, just in case.’

  ‘OK,’ Sam said, serious once more. ‘I just hope I have the dream I need.’

  15

  Sam woke and unplugged the dream cap, a much older version of what they’d had at the Swiss campus. Outside his window, the sun poked through clouds. It was just after seven and his stomach rumbled. He pulled on his Stealth Suit and headed downstairs, smiling to students as he passed.

  Lora and Tobias were already waiting for him at a table in the dining hall. When he entered, a hush spread through the room, all conversations stopping simultaneously. Sam felt his face flush red with embarrassment as he sat down at the table.

  ‘Carry on with your breakfast, please,’ Lora announced to the assembled students.

  The murmur of conversation around the room slowly resumed. Many students kept stealing glances Sam’s way.

  Now I know how animals in a zoo feel …

  Gabriella, Zara and Eva joined them with plates of food.

  ‘How’d you sleep?’ Eva asked anxiously, sitting next to Sam and putting her huge plate of fruit salad between them to share.

  ‘I dreamed, but it was just the same as before. There was nothing new,’ Sam said, frustrated with himself. Xavier crashed down opposite him, holding two plates of bacon and eggs on toast.

  ‘You looked like you could do with this,’ Xavier smiled.

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Jedi is decoding your dream now,’ Lora said. ‘He should have the results any minute.’

  ‘I don’t think it will help. My dream was exactly the same, although I did see more of the name of the boat this time,’ Sam said, hopefully. ‘The Roosevelt-something.’

  ‘Ah!’ Tobias said. ‘That’s excellent, Sam. You’re getting better at recalling details from your dreams.’

  Sam nodded as he ate.

  Not good enough, though.

  Sam ate a piece of bacon, thinking over what Tobias had said. He noticed Tobias’ t-shirt—I know a lot of jokes, but none about electricity. It’s shocking. He couldn’t help but smile at the lame science joke.

  ‘Well, I hardly slept at all,’ Xavier said. ‘I was researching with Tobias all night, working with Pablo—’
<
br />   ‘From my dream?’ Sam said.

  ‘Yep,’ Xavier said. ‘He was searching through archives at the University of Brasilia. We worked with him through the night via video conference, trying to pinpoint that map in your dream—the one you found at the Vatican.’

  Sam asked, ‘Did you find anything?’

  Xavier looked to Tobias, a glint of discovery in their eyes that shone through their tiredness.

  ‘Oh, yes,’ Tobias said. ‘Show you after breakfast. We’ve got about three hours before we leave to catch our flight.’

  After breakfast, Sam and the others met in Jedi’s computer lab, along with Lora and Tobias. There was anticipation in the air.

  ‘Anything?’ Sam had asked Jedi as soon as he walked in, hoping the replay of his dream would unearth more details than he could remember.

  ‘Sorry, buddy,’ Jedi said, frustrated. ‘Everything replayed exactly as you had already described. Your level of recall is quite good, actually. Of course, if we had a more advanced machine here …’

  ‘But we do have information on the map in your dream,’ Tobias continued, pointing to a large projection image of the ancient map on the wall. It was a simple diagram, the features of which looked like they were hastily drawn.

  ‘Now, after going through many maps which contained similar features—’

  ‘Thousands,’ Xavier interrupted.

  ‘Tens of thousands,’ Jedi corrected, now brimming with pride. Sam thought it seemed like he was buzzing from drinking too many soft drinks.

  ‘Yes, tens of thousands,’ Tobias said. ‘Working with Pablo, we think we’ve found the location of the map. It even matches up with some of the details from Sam’s dream last night. Jedi?’

  ‘Well,’ Jedi said, leaning back in his chair and enjoying the moment as everyone turned all their attention his way. ‘I’d like to point out that in the several hundred or so years since this map was drawn, the topography of the rivers and forests has changed significantly.’

  He clicked away at his computer and a satellite image was superimposed over the map.