The Battle for Sanctuary: The Titan's Legacy: Vol: 2 (Volume 2) (27 page)

“
Yeah,
bud. We'll make that one of our first questions when he gets back.”
Aaron passed his water bottle to Justin. He took a drink and returned
it with a smile of thanks. “Anyone else have any more ideas?”
No one else offered anything more, so he suggested that they relax
and wait until Dominic returned from his scouting mission. Then
Justin stood up and walked over to Jason at the doorway.

“
Anything?”
he asked quietly. Jason shook his head.

“
All
quiet so far,” he replied.

Justin nodded and stepped into the hallway. The corridor
was several hundred yards long and featureless. Every dozen yards or
so, a ceiling fixture shone down a pale, milky light. Their doorway
was located directly midpoint in the hallway and at both ends there
was a t-junction heading to the left and right. Jason was right. Not
a sound could be heard except the muffled conversations of the other
teens. He stepped back into the room.

They had to wait for Dominic, and Justin decided to
spend the time getting to know his fellow Titans. He realized that he
really didn't know much about any of them except Aaron. So he
wandered from one to the other, often talking to two at a time and
learned a bit about their parents, where they were from and what
their lives had been like before they had been kidnapped by the
government agents.

By the time he had finished speaking to all of them, the
group had gathered together in a circle and were talking, laughing
and telling stories about their childhood and families. Richard had
just finished telling them a story about being trapped up a tree when
he was five by a neighbor's dog, and they were all laughing and
giggling, when Aaron called over and asked Justin to join him at the
door. Aaron had taken over the watchman duty.

Justin went over and stood in the doorway. “What's
up, Aaron?” he asked curiously. “If you want me to take
over so you can have a rest, no problem.”

Aaron shook his head, looking both a bit concerned and
confused.

“
It's
not that, Just. But a minute ago, while you guys were talking, I was
sure I heard footsteps.”

Justin was instantly on alert. He turned to look at the
others.

“
Guys!
Quiet down for a moment please.” Maria looked startled at his
abrupt tone, but hushed the others up.

“
What's
going on, Justin?” she asked in a low voice.

“
Aaron
thinks he heard something. Hang on a sec.” He turned to Aaron.
“Which direction, bud?” he whispered.

“
Left
out of the door,” Aaron answered under his breath. He nodded
toward that end of the hallway.

Both of them stood there, nerves straining and listened
intently. Nothing. A minute went by, then Aaron shrugged. “Maybe
I was just...”

“
Quiet,
Aaron!” Justin hissed. “I heard it too.” There it
was; a footfall. Then another. Two more in quick succession. Someone
was walking unsteadily, staggering in their direction. But they
couldn't see anything. Justin wondered if the layout of the level was
playing tricks on their hearing when, suddenly, Dominic was standing
in a patch of shadow not five feet from him.

“
Hey,”
Dominic said, slurring his words. “I made it!” And he
collapsed in a heap. After a momentary hesitation, Justin and Aaron
both leaped forward and knelt down beside him. Justin put his hand
under Dominic's arm to help lift him up and felt a warm wetness.
Pulling his hand out, he saw that it was covered in blood.

“
Damn
it!” he muttered. Aaron was looking on, wide-eyed. “Help
me carry him inside, bud,” he said urgently as he moved to
stand by Dominic's head and grabbed him under his shoulders. Aaron
nodded and, with him lifting Dominic's feet, they staggered back into
the room.

“
Dom
must have had a growth spurt,” Justin said with a grunt as they
found an empty space to lay him down. “He weighs a frigging
ton.” He looked around. “Jason, watch the door.”

Jason looked pale but nodded and hurried over to stand
in the doorway.

Julia had let out a little scream and Yolanda had gasped
loudly when they saw Dominic. Maria hurried over and laid her hand
his forehead. “He's burning up. Justin, what happened?”

“
No
idea. Richard,” he looked over at the other teen. “We
need you to check him out, Titan style.”

Richard got up and slowly walked over. “Um, okay,”
he said nervously. He seemed very unsure of himself. “But this
is new to me, Justin. All I've healed so far is a plant.”

“
Same
thing, Rich,” Aaron spoke up as he stood and signaled for
Richard to take his place beside Dominic. “Like Justin and me,
you just need to tell the power what you want to do and let it find
its own way.”

Richard knelt down next to Dominic. As Justin watched, a
change came over Richard's face. The uncertainty was gone; replaced
by a look of determination.

He laid his right hand on Dominic's chest and closed his
eyes. Justin looked at Dom's face. He had gone very white and he was
shiny with sweat. He seemed to be whispering something. With one eye
on Richard, Justin bent over and put his ear near Dom's mouth.

“
Snakes.
So many snakes.” He kept repeating that.

Snakes? Justin wondered. Of course there are snakes!
That's what gorgons were, except for the arms and heads. He figured
that Dominic was delirious and leaned back.

Richard opened his eyes. “Roll him over, please.
And someone get a pack or something under his head for support.”

Yolanda raced over with Dom's pack and waited while
Justin and Aaron rolled him over before sliding it gently under his
head; turning his face to the side.

Lifting Dominic's left arm, Richard pushed back his
sleeve. On the back of the bicep was a mass of blood. Richard looked
around for something to use to wipe off the blood and Maria thrust a
rag, torn from the bottom of her shirt, into his hands. He gently
blotted the blood from the arm.

“
Look
here,” Richard said, nodding at the arm. Everyone leaned in to
look. The were two large holes oozing blood on the arm. Both were
very swollen and inflamed.

“
There's
our problem. He's been bitten. Poisoned obviously. But how it's
affecting him when Titans are immune to poison and disease is beyond
me.”

“
The
gorgons were created by the Titans, Richard,” Aaron said while
keeping his eyes on Dominic. “It possible that their venom was
tailored to work on us.”

Richard nodded. “Good point, Aaron.” He took
a deep breath. “Okay, let's turn him over again on to his back.
Good. Now, I have to try to neutralize the poison. It may or may not
work. This is all new to me.” He looked intently at Justin.
“While I'm doing this, I cannot be disturbed, Justin. At all.
If I am distracted while my powers are working deep within Dominic,
it may kill us both.”

Justin stared at Richard in shock. “Are you sure
about that, Rich?”

“
Oh
yes. Prometheus and I discussed it. It was the most serious I ever
saw him and he made sure that I knew exactly how dangerous healing
was for a Titan.”

Richard looked around at all of the teens. “So
please, no interruptions, no jostling, shaking or anything else. You
all understand?”

Everyone told him that they did. “Okay. Talk to
you in a bit.” And Richard closed his eyes again, placed both
hands on Dominic's chest and settled into a statue-like pose.

Maria signaled for everyone to follow her away from
Richard and Dominic. They walked over to the door next to Jason and
began to speak in hushed voices.

“
What
happened to him?” Maria wondered aloud. “Do
those...things actually bite like a snake? And how did they find him
when he was camouflaged in shadows?”

“
Don't
know, Maria,” Justin said as he stared down the hallway. “Dom
just kept saying 'snakes'. Well, we know they're snakes. I'm guessing
he meant that they actually attack like snakes. How they saw him is
something we'll have to find out.” He continued staring down
the corridor. “I'm more worried about the possibility that he
was followed.”

Julia gasped and took a quick step back from the
doorway.

“
Followed?”
Jason said anxiously. “Is that likely?”

“
No
idea. But what if they just wounded him so that they could find out
where he came from? He seemed pretty out of it when he got here, so I
doubt he would have noticed if they'd followed him. He may not have
even thought of it. Maybe he just wanted to get back to safety.”
Justin sighed. “Not that I blame him for that.”

“
So
what should we do?” Aaron asked as he looked from Justin to
Maria and back again.

“
Personally,
I want to head down the corridor to the end and take a look. It
should be safe enough but even if it isn't, maybe we can get some
advanced warning; you know, see if someone is coming.”

Maria began shaking her head before he finished
speaking.

“
I
think that's a very bad idea, Justin,” she said gravely. “We
can't risk losing you. What if you run into one of those things? Or
more than one? You're too valuable to us.”

He frowned a bit. “I'm no more valuable than any
of you. Aaron knows everything I do about Sanctuary and if something
were to happen to me, whether here or later on, he can help guide you
as well as I can.”

“
Yeah,
not so much, Just,” Aaron said with a disparaging snort.
“You're the descendant of Cronus, not me. If anyone is
indispensable, it's you.”

Justin rolled his eyes. “Look guys, it's only a
hundred yards or so. I promise I won't go out of your sight and I'll
come right back, okay?” The others hesitated and Justin decided
to be a little assertive.

“
Look,
I'm going anyway, with or without your approval. So just say yes so I
don't feel too guilty.” Then he gave them a big smile.

Maria chuckled in spite of herself. “Okay, fine.
But to the end of the hall and no further. If you leave my sight,
I'll follow you. So keep that in mind before you become too heroic.”

“
Yes
Mom,” Justin said meekly. They all chuckled but it sounded a
bit strained.

“
Okay,
I'm off. This should just take a minute.”

He nodded at Maria, punched Aaron lightly on the arm and
gave a small wave to the others. Then, after a quick glance to see
that Richard hadn't moved, he headed down the hallway, walking slowly
and listening intently for any sounds.

After about twenty yards, Justin glanced over his
shoulder. The others were gathered together just outside of the
doorway. Some of them gave him an encouraging wave and he returned it
and kept on walking.

The air wasn't stale and a slight breeze was coming from
the room behind him; up from the level below, of course. He could see
several scuff marks in the dust on the floor which were probably made
by Dominic as he staggered back to the group. There was no sound and
his footsteps were muffled by the dusty ground.

It only took a few minutes to reach the end of the
hallway. Justin flattened himself against the wall and realized at
that moment that he had no idea if Dominic had turned left or right
when he had gone off to scout. The marks on the floor were light and
didn't give him an indication one way or another. He still heard
nothing though, which he considered a good sign. But he had to look
around the corners, just to be sure.

He was flattened against the left side of the hallway,
so as he edged closer to the t-junction, he could finally see down
the right hand corridor. Like the hallway he was already in, the
corridor was long and featureless. No doors could be seen, no
decorations on the walls and the same lighting fixtures on the
ceiling illuminated the hall every dozen feet for a few hundred
yards. It was totally empty and Justin let out the breath he hadn't
realized he'd been holding. Now for the left hand hallway.

He listened first. He didn't hear anything except the
soft hiss of the breeze sliding by him. Then he slowly peeked around
the corner.

Just like the opposite corridor. Plain, no doorways and
stretching a long way. Near the far end, he thought the hallway
turned sharply to the right, but Justin couldn't see very clearly
because the floor at that end was darkened by shadows. Shadows? But
the light at that end of the hallway was working and fairly bright.
Why was there a shadow on the floor?