The Return of the Titans (7 page)

“Almost looks like the
room was carved out of the rock to look like this, doesn't it?”
Aaron asked. Justin just nodded. He glanced around the room again,
then headed back out to the main living room. Aaron
followed.

They both sat down heavily on the two
couches. Justin put his feet up on the table and sighed.

“What's wrong,
Justin?”

Justin looked around the room and back at
Aaron. “It's this...place. Everything. Hours ago, I don't even know
how many, I was attacked by some people. My mother and my friend
could be,” he hesitated, “could be hurt or locked up. I'm whisked
away to this place, run by people I don't know. I don't know how I
got here, where here is, or what they plan to do with me.” He
looked at Aaron again. “I mean, with us. I'm just, I dunno, totally
confused.”

Aaron nodded then smiled slightly. “I feel
the same way. But I'm not going to think the worst, Justin.
Seriously. I think these Guardians are on our side. And I think my
family is alive and okay.” Then his smile faded. “Because if I
think any other way, I may start screaming. You know?”

“Yeah, Aaron. I know.”
Justin jumped a bit as a quiet, metallic chime rang out. He looked
at Aaron who shrugged.

“Wonder what that is?”
Aaron asked, glancing around the room. The chime rang again and
then they heard a pounding on the door.

Justin grinned. “It must have been the
doorbell,” he said to Aaron. The other boy nodded, then stood and
walked to the door. He touched the button on the wall and the door
slid open.

Mrs. Mallon was standing there along with
another older man. Both of them were carrying bundles. “You really
must learn to open the door on the first ring, gentlemen,” she said
rather breathlessly as she walked into the room and dumped her load
on to a couch. The man did the same. He smiled at the boys and
left.

“Sorry, Mrs. Mallon,”
Justin said, slightly embarrassed. “We didn't know there was a
doorbell.”

The woman didn't look too annoyed and just
chuckled. “That's all right, Mr. McLeod. Just so you know, when the
outside button is pressed, and someone is inside, the chime will
ring. Courtesy, you understand.”

Aaron looked puzzled. “But how does the door
know that someone is inside the room?”

Mrs. Mallon waved her hand absently. “I
haven't the foggiest, my dear. Not my department, so to speak. And
you needn't get up to open the door when the chime rings. Just say
come in and the door will open. Now.” she indicated the two
bundles, “we have clothes for both of you. Not a lot at the moment,
but if you decide to stay, we'll get you more.” She opened one of
the bundles and looked at a tag inside. “Ah yes, these are yours,
Mr. McLeod. Two shirts, one pair of pants, underwear, socks and
pajamas. If you hadn't already noticed, your bathing things are
under your beds.” She looked at them. “Now, if you need anything
tonight, there will be someone on duty at the intersection just up
the hall. Just ask for whatever you need. Anything else?”

Justin was wondering something. “Um, Mrs.
Mallon? How exactly do we know what time it is? I don't have a
watch and I'm guessing that my time wouldn't be the same as
Sanctuary's time anyway.”

The woman looked surprised. “Didn't anyone
explain that to you?” Both boys shook their head. “Oh for heaven's
sake! That Jonathon. Honestly, I'm going to have to give him a list
for the next group that comes in, to remind him of what you all
need to know.” She shook her head. “Anyway, that can wait.” Mrs
Mallon pointed to the space above the archway leading into the
bedroom. “There's your clock, Mr. McLeod.”

Justin and Aaron looked at the carvings
above the arch. There was a picture of the sun, with twelve rays
emanating from it. Outside of the rays was a small carving of a
planet, Justin thought it was the Earth. Just inside that carving
was a smaller one of the moon. He stared at it then looked at Mrs.
Mallon. “I don't understand,” he said.

“Oh Justin,” she said,
forgetting to be formal, “just watch it for a moment.”

The boys watched the carving. Aaron moved
closer and looked up at it intently.

“Whoa! The moon is moving!
How's it doing that? It's made of stone.” He looked at Mrs. Mallon.
“Isn't it?” he asked.

Once again she shrugged. “Again, not my
department, dear. But however it works, it's easy enough to
understand.” She pointed. “The Earth is the hour hand. The moon is
the minute hand. So, you can see that it is now ten minutes after
eleven, Sanctuary time. Which means it's high time you two were in
bed.”

Justin ignored the rather pointed command
and watch the clock. It sure looked like stone but Aaron was right.
It was moving. He just watched in amazement.

Mrs. Mallon cleared her throat loudly and
the two boys jumped. “You've both had a busy day, and while it may
be early by your time, it will be easier to adjust to our time if
you get to sleep soon.” She shook her finger at them. “Get to bed.
Tomorrow will be very busy, I have no doubt.” She turned and headed
for the door. “And brush your teeth before you go to sleep,” she
said over her shoulder as she left. The door slid shut behind
her.

“Sounds just like my
grandmother,” Aaron muttered.

Justin laughed. “Yeah. But I kind of like
it.” He gave the clock one last glance then headed for the bedroom.
“You have a preference on beds?” he called out to Aaron.

“Nope, just pick one and
I'll take the other,” Aaron answered.

Justin picked the bed on the right and
looked under it. There was a canvas bag there. Justin opened it,
found a toothbrush and toothpaste and headed for the bathroom.

When he was done, he came out and Aaron
headed in. Justin changed, got into bed and lay back, staring at
the ceiling. The bed was very comfortable and the comforter had a
pleasant, woodsy smell. He tried to focus on the incredible day he
had had but he fell asleep before Aaron even came out of the
bathroom.

Chapter 4

The next morning, Justin and Aaron woke up
to the sound of the door chime. Justin sat up blearily and looked
over at Aaron, who stuck his head under his pillow and grunted with
irritation.

“Come in,” Justin called
out as he got out of bed. The outer door slid open and Mrs. Mallon
walked in.

“Good morning, gentlemen.
Time to rise and shine.” She glanced into the bedroom and saw Aaron
tucked under the pillow. “Well, time to rise anyway. You can shine
later, I suppose.” She set a tray down on the table in the living
room. “Get up, Aaron! The Commander will be dropping by to talk to
you soon, so eat breakfast and get cleaned up,
double-time!”

Aaron groaned but stuck his head out.
“Breakfast? Coming!”

Justin chuckled as he sat down on a couch
and took the lid off the tray. Mrs. Mallon had already left and the
door closed behind. The smell of bacon and eggs wafted from the
tray and Justin's mouth watered.

“I still don't get how
that door knows to close after someone leaves,” Aaron said as he
stumbled into the room and sat down with a thud. “Hey, that smells
great!”

After breakfast, the two grabbed their
bathing things and headed for the baths. Several other boys were
doing the same. Justin noticed that they all looked as unfocused as
he felt.

In the bathing room, Aaron and Justin
quickly determined that the pool that Jonathon had called 'warmer'
was just the right temperature. Three other boys agreed while
others preferred either the 'warm' or 'hot' pools. No one seemed
inclined to jump into the 'cool' pool.

Justin was fascinated to see that the clouds
of soap that appeared as he bathed quickly vanished into a wide
slot along the wall of the pool. The water was constantly moving
but stayed at exactly the same temperature for the entire bath.

After they dried off, Justin and Aaron and
several others that they had chatted with during the bath went back
to their rooms to get dressed and wait.

The two new friends sat on the couches and
talked. Aaron wondered who this 'Commander' was that Mrs. Mallon
had mentioned.

“I assume it's Mr.
Fitzgerald. The head guy we saw yesterday,” Justin said.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Aaron
looked at Justin. “So, do you have a list of questions you want to
ask him?”

Justin just shrugged. “A few. You?”

“Loads. But I'm not sure
where to start. Or which ones are the most important. He didn't
look like a guy to ask dumb questions to, did he?”

Justin felt nervous suddenly. “No he didn't.
But he said we were to ask anything we wanted. And, after all, they
are here because of us, aren't they?”

“Are they?” Aaron stared
intently at Justin. “Do you really believe this Titan stuff? I
mean, come on. So we're a little different from a lot of people. So
what? I don't look like a Titan, at least not what I would call a
Titan. And you,” he grinned at Justin, “aren't exactly a giant
either, are you?”

Justin returned the grin. Aaron's teasing
him about his height didn't bother him, since the other boy wasn't
much bigger than he was.

“You're right there. But
these people aren't stupid. They must know what they are doing.
Besides...”

The door chime rang out and Justin stopped
talking. He stared at the door for a moment and swallowed noisily.
Aaron took a deep breath. “Come in,” he said loudly.

The door slid back. Mr. Fitzgerald was
standing there, looking even taller and more intimidating close up
than he had when Justin had seen him from a distance.

“Good morning, Mr. McLeod,
Mr. Dalton. May I come in?”

Both Justin and Aaron had stood up when they
saw Mr. Fitzgerald. Now Justin nodded and moved to sit beside
Aaron. The man smiled slightly and entered the room.

Mr. Fitzgerald was carrying several large
notebooks under his arm. He sat down on the vacant couch and put
them on the table. Then he sat back and glanced around the
room.

“How are you finding your
accommodations?” he asked.

“Very nice, sir.
Comfortable,” Justin spoke up. Aaron nodded vigorously.

“Excellent. I'm glad you
approve. Now,” Mr. Fitzgerald leaned forward, “I'm here to answer
any and all questions you might have regarding Sanctuary, the
Guardians, yourselves or anything else that I can. If I can't
answer something, rest assured that I will find out about it and
get back to you.” He sat back and smiled slightly again. “After
all, you can't make an informed decision on whether to stay or go
unless you have all the facts, can you?”

Both boys nodded. “So, who wants to go
first?”
Justin and Aaron looked at each other.

“Well sir.” Justin spoke
up hesitantly, “I'd like to know what happened to my Mom. Is she
okay? Is Wilson, the janitor in my building, okay?”

“Yeah, me too. All I can
think about is my family,” Aaron added.

Mr. Fitzgerald nodded. “Of course, perfectly
natural. Let me see here...” He went through the notebooks and
chose one near the bottom of the stack. He opened it and scanned
through it while the boys watched anxiously. Then he frowned and
looked at them.

“Well, the news isn't all
good, I'm afraid.” Justin felt his stomach clench and he clasped
his hands together. “But it isn't all bad either.” The man sighed.
“Please remember that these are preliminary reports. Our agents are
still gathering data and will know more in a few days.”

He sat back and looked down at the notebook.
“Now, Mr. Dalton...” Aaron gave a small yelp and Mr. Fitzgerald
smiled at him gently. “Easy, young man. I'm pleased to report that
your father is all right.” Aaron stared at him for a moment and
then let out a huge sigh. Justin reached over and patted his
shoulder as he saw tears standing in Aaron's eyes.

Aaron looked down so that his long blonde
hair covered his face. “Thank you, sir,” he said in a small
voice.

“You're welcome. Now, as
for the details. We have a few.” He glanced at the notes. “Your
father has been relocated, for his own protection. We hope this is
only a temporary measure, but we won't take any chances with his
safety.” Aaron looked up at the man and listened intently. Mr.
Fitzgerald's smile widened. “Your father was...less than happy
about having to leave your home. He wanted to stay and face your
enemies.”

Aaron rolled his eyes and laughed shakily.
“Yeah, that's Dad all right. Never backs down from a fight.”

“Apparently not. But we
persuaded him that your safety was at stake, so he reluctantly
agreed.” He glanced at the notes again. “It was your cousin who
pushed you into the fountain, wasn't it?”

The boy frowned. “Yes sir. When those guys
closed in, he just gave me a shove and, bang, I was here.” Then
Aaron looked concerned. “Is he okay?”

“Happily yes, although he
will be in the hospital for several days.” Aaron sat up abruptly
but Mr. Fitzgerald continued on quickly. “He's fine. Nothing that
bed rest won't cure. He took a few lumps but once they were sure
that you were gone, the enemy withdrew.” He turned a few pages in
the notebook then looked at Justin. “Now, Mr. McLeod.”

Justin suddenly felt like he couldn't
breathe. He watched the man scan through his notes again. Mr.
Fitzgerald sighed and shook his head. He suddenly looked sad and
Justin almost felt like screaming when the man continued to stare
at the notebook. Then he tossed the book on to the table and stared
into Justin's eyes.

“Your mother is safe, Mr.
McLeod.” Justin felt his jaw drop.