The Return of the Titans (6 page)

“Ah yes, I thought we'd
get to that point fairly soon.” Mr. Fitzgerald pushed off from the
desk and walked around it to the blackboard at the rear of the
dais. He reached up and pulled down on the board, flipping it over.
On the back were two very precise drawing of humanoid figures,
showing their outlines as well as their skeletal structures. He
tapped the first figure on the left.

“This is a drawing of
modern man, Homo sapien. Beside it we have a drawing of a Titan,
homo titanus. Can you see a difference between the two?”

Justin leaned forward and stared at the
figures. Aaron did the same. Suddenly he spoke up. “Hey, the
skeletons are different. The Titan's bones look a lot...um,
thicker?”

As Aaron spoke, Mr. Fitzgerald had again
glanced at his desk. “Very good, Mr. Dalton. That's exactly right.
Outwardly, humans and Titans looked about the same, although Titans
were much taller and heavier than humans. But inside was where the
differences became obvious.” He tapped the drawing of the Titan.
“The bones are much thicker, including the bones of the skull. As
well, Titans were...denser, at a molecular level.” He glanced at
the room and saw some puzzled expressions. “What I mean is that the
molecules that made up a Titan's body were closer packed. This made
them even heavier than their size would indicate. It also made them
incredibly tough and resilient. A blow that would kill a normal
human would not even leave a bruise on a Titan.”

Justin suddenly felt as if a bell had gone
off in his head. He looked around at the others. While many still
seemed mystified, and several looked bored as if they were sitting
in class, he could see comprehension dawning on the faces of many,
including Benson and, when he looked over, Aaron.

“Is he saying what I think
he's saying?” Aaron whispered.

Justin shook his head in disbelief. “I'm not
sure,” he replied.

“I can see that some of
you are putting the pieces together,” Mr. Fitzgerald continued.
“But for the rest, allow me to say it aloud. You, every one of you,
is a Titan.”

Mr. Fitzgerald then leaned back on the desk
again, folded his arms and waited.

The room erupted in loud exclamations and
bewildered questions. Justin glanced over at Benson and saw him
whispering to his friend. He was scowling fiercely. He noticed
Justin looking at him and turned away with a haughty sneer.

As the noise diminished, Mr. Fitzgerald
unfolded his arms and stood straight up again. The teens quieted
down. “I know this is hard to believe, as I said it would be. Over
the next few days, I will happily show you proofs as to why we
believe you are what we think you are. But for now, let me offer
these facts.” He ticked them off on his fingers. “First, all of you
have noticed by now that ordinary blows can't hurt you. In fact,
you barely feel them. Second, each of you arrived here via the
water gate. Only someone of true Titan blood can do so.”

Benson spoke up again. “So you all are
Titans too?” His tone was sarcastic.

Mr. Fitzgerald smiled slightly. “No, none of
us are, Mr. Benson. You are the first generation of Titans born for
five thousand years.”

“But you said that only
Titans can use the water gate. And yet here you all are.” Justin
was beginning to get tired of Benson's sneering tone. But it didn't
seem to faze the leader.

“Obviously there is more
than one way in or out of Sanctuary, Mr. Benson.” The teen opened
his mouth but Mr. Fitzgerald interrupted him. “And no, I am not
going to tell you what they are or where. At least not yet.” He
leaned back against the desk again. “And finally, the last test
that you truly are Titans. Each of you were passed by a
Sentinel.”

Sentinel? Justin thought. What Sentinel?

“I'm sure you all remember
the large bronze statues that blocked your exit from the entry
rooms. Each room has a Sentinel and they allow none to pass that
are not of true Titan blood.” He tapped his chest and glanced at
his fellow adults. “They would stop any of us from gaining access
to Sanctuary that way, if we were not recognized as Guardians. And
yet, they let you pass.” He walked around the desk and sat down
again.

“Now, I think that is
enough for today. You are all tired and need to rest. And you have
a great deal to think about. Over the next day or two, I will be
speaking to each of you individually and answering your questions
as best I can. After that, you can decide whether you wish to stay
or leave.”

“What?” Benson again. “You
mean, you're actually going to allow us to leave?”

“We are not jailers, Mr.
Benson, nor kidnappers. If you decide to leave, you may. But only
after we've discussed it more fully.” He beckoned to Mrs. Mallon
who walked forward.

“All right, my dears. If
you will follow me, please?” she said with a smile. The girls stood
up to follow her, some moving very slowly. As Justin watched, one
of the smallest girls reached out to the older woman, who put her
arm around the girl and led her and the others from the
room.

“Jonathon, if you will?”
Mr. Fitzgerald said to a younger man standing near the
dais.

“Of course, sir.” He
looked at the boys. Justin thought that he didn't look much older
than Benson. “Gentlemen, come with me please.” He waited until they
all stood and then walked toward the door.

Justin looked back as he approached the exit
and saw that several adults were now standing around the desk and
talking quietly to Mr. Fitzgerald. A couple of them seemed very
agitated, but Justin couldn't hear what they were saying.

Then he and Aaron and the rest were in the
corridor, following Jonathon.

Chapter 3

They passed many doors and several
intersections. Justin wondered just how big this place was and
exactly where it was. He hadn't seen any windows and all the light
was created with the glowing stones. He began to think that they
were deep underground. But where in the world they were, he had no
idea.

As they walked, they passed many adults
heading back toward the Court. Then, around a corner came another
figure, also moving quickly. Justin stopped and stared at it. So
did the other boys.

It was the same bronze color as the minotaur
Justin had seen when he arrived. But it was not much taller than
Justin and looked like a human, except for apparently being made of
metal. It wore old-fashioned clothes and its' face was that of an
old man. It looked worried. As it hurried past, it nodded at
Jonathon and kept walking. Jonathon nodded back and walked several
steps before realizing that the boys were not behind him. He turned
and looked at them.

“Is there a problem,
gentlemen?” he asked.

“What was that?” one of
the boys asked breathlessly.

“That? That was a
servitor.” Jonathon sounded amused. “You'll see a lot of them here.
They are quite useful. They maintain Sanctuary and help in its
day-to-day operation. It's thanks to them that the place has
survived for all these years. Now, let's continue.”

He turned away and the boys began to follow
him again. They walked for several more minutes and Justin's mind
wandered as he looked at the wall carvings and thought about the
Servitors.

“Here we are,” Jonathon
said, startling Justin out of his deep thoughts. He looked
around.

They were standing at a four-way
intersection. To the right and left, Justin saw long corridors with
doors evenly spaced, facing each other. They extended such a long
way that he couldn't count how many there were. Jonathon
pointed.

“The young women are down
that corridor and you will be staying down this one.” He indicated
a mark on the wall of the corridor. “That is the symbol for
female.” It looked like three vertical wavy lines. “And the symbol
for you gentlemen is there.” He pointed at the wall of the opposite
corridor; a symbol with two vertical wavy lines were carved there.
“Please don't get them confused. Boys are not allowed in the girls
sleeping quarters and vice-versa.”

Justin noticed Benson rolling his eyes but
the young man didn't say anything.

“Now, straight down the
hall from your quarters are the baths. Follow me and I'll give you
a quick tour.” Jonathon turned into the hallway leading to the boys
quarters. He stopped at the first set of doors and touched a round
button on the wall beside the right hand door. Justin was startled
to see the door slide into the wall to the left. There was no
noise.

“Go ahead in and take a
look around,” Jonathon said.

The boys crowded into the room. It looked
like a living room, with two leather sofas facing each other,
several comfortable chairs scattered around and a unit with shelves
standing against the wall. There were many scrolls piled neatly on
each shelf. A wide archway led into another room, where Justin
could see two large beds covered with bright comforters, with a low
table in between them.

He walked back and ducked his head into the
room. He noticed a small doorway to the left.

“The washroom is off of
the bedroom. As you can see, each suite is big enough for two, so
those who wish to pair up are free to do so.” Jonathon looked at
each of the boys. “Those of you who haven't gotten to know anyone
well enough yet to share with, or those who wish to have their own
rooms can choose to do that as well. We have plenty of suites to go
around, at least for now. Okay then,” he clapped his hands twice,
“let's show you to the baths and then you will be free to settle
in.”

They all followed him back into the hallway.
Justin counted twenty sets of doors before he just shrugged to
himself and gave up. Finally they reached the end of the corridor.
A very large iron door faced them. Jonathon tapped another round
button on the wall, and this time the door split in the middle and
each half slid into the wall on either side.

As the doors opened, a puff of warm, damp
air wafted into the hall. Jonathon motioned for them to follow him
in and they all walked into a large, open area and stopped.

Two steps went down to the floor and Justin
could see four big round pools spaced evenly in the large square
room. Jonathon pointed to each pool, starting from the closest one
on the left and going counter-clockwise to the farthest on the
left. “Cool, warm, warmer, hot. Each bathing pool is kept at the
same temperature at all times. I'm sure you will each find one that
suits you best. The water is constantly being circulated and
replenished so the pools are always clean.” He glanced over the
group. “We encourage good hygiene for all of you. Those who choose
not to use the baths, every day, may find the consequences
unpleasant.”

“Really?” One of the older
boys, not Benson for a change, sounded belligerent. “Like
what?”

Jonathon just smiled, rather grimly. “Try it
and see, Mr. Santos. Now, you will find towels, soap, toothbrushes,
and everything else you need in your suites. Also, in the next
little while, someone will be by to bring you a change of clothes.
Okay, let's go back.”

As they were walking back up the hallway,
Aaron moved closer to Justin. “Want to share?” he asked hesitantly.
Justin smiled with relief. “Absolutely,” he answered.

Aaron sighed. “Cool,” he said with a
grin.

They got back to the four-way intersection
and Jonathon turned to face them. “Now, go ahead and pick a room.
We'd like to fill them from here down.”

The boys shuffled a bit in confusion until
Benson and one of the older boys broke away and strode to the first
doorway on the left. After that, in pairs or singly, the rest of
the boys chose a room. Aaron and Justin ended up in the fourth room
on the left. Before they entered, Justin glanced back to see
Jonathon making notes. He assumed the young man was writing down
which room each of them were in.

As they entered their new quarters, the two
teens noticed that it was exactly the same as the one they had seen
earlier, with a few additions. There was a table between the two
couches, made of wood with a square metal plate in the middle.
Justin bent down to touch it. It seemed to be made of bronze, just
like the moving statues he had seen.

Around the edges of the metal were engraved
tiny symbols. They looked like the marks Justin had noticed here
and there in Sanctuary. Other than that, the metal was blank.
Justin glanced at Aaron. “Wonder what this is for?” he said and
gave it a tap.

Aaron shrugged, after looking at the table.
“Beats me,” he said and walked past it into the bedroom. Justin
looked around the main room. He again saw images carved into the
rock walls. These were simple scenes of mountains, lakes and
forests without any people or animals. Very peaceful, he thought.
Which is probably the point. Aaron called to him from the
bedroom.

“You have got to see this
bathroom, Justin. It's crazy.”

Justin got up and went into the next room.
Aaron was standing in the doorway to the bathroom. “What do you
mean crazy?” Justin asked him.

“Well, take a look and see
what you think,” Aaron answered and stepped out of the
way.

Justin slipped through the bathroom doorway
and stopped abruptly. Everything in the room was carved out of
stone. Everything! The sink seemed to grow out of the floor as did
the toilet. Instead of taps, there was a small opening in the back
of the sink and a stream of water swirled around and around and
then disappeared into the drain. Justin walked over to the toilet
and saw almost the same thing. A constant swirl of water circulated
in the stone bowl and vanished into a hole in the middle.
Strangely, the water made very little noise as it swirled.