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.
“She...she's safe?” He couldn't believe it.
“Yes, she is. Safe at home. She refuses to leave and with her health the way it is, we decided it was best to agree. However,” he held up a hand as Justin was about to protest, “she is being guarded now. The entire building is. No one is going in or out of that place unless we wish them to.” Justin relaxed slightly.
She's safe, he thought. She's safe. It just kept running through his mind. Aaron patted his back and Justin looked at him with a shaky smile. Then he turned back to Mr. Fitzgerald.
“Thank you, sir,” he said. “But what about...”
The man was shaking his head before Justin could finish his sentence. “I'm sorry, Justin.” He felt a small jolt as Mr. Fitzgerald used his first name. “Wilson fought off the attackers long enough for you to get away. But in the process, he received a fatal wound.”
Justin's mind went blank. He couldn't seem to think at all. Wilson dead? It wasn't possible. He felt Aaron gripping his shoulder so hard that it would have been painful if he could have felt it. He stared mutely at Mr. Fitzgerald. He didn't think that a man so intimidating could look so compassionate. But there was real regret in his eyes.
“He lived long enough to know that you were safe, Justin. I think,” he hesitated then said, “I think he would have been proud to know that.”
Justin sat there. He could almost see Wilson standing at the door of his apartment, swinging that ridiculous old mop at his attackers, yelling at the top of his lungs. And then he had a flash of memories from the time he was a little boy. Wilson helping him put together his first model airplane, giving him advice on a million different things that Justin couldn't ask his mother about. He had always been there, a presence in Justin's life for as long as he could remember. And now he was gone. Just like that.
He looked at Mr. Fitzgerald again. “Thank you for telling me, sir,” he said quietly. “He was a great guy. I'll miss him a lot.”
The man nodded. “We all will, Justin.”
Justin stared. “You knew him, sir?” he asked.
“Yes, of course I knew him.” He looked over at Aaron. “As I know your cousin, Mr. Dalton. As I know dozens of others who have guarded you all since you were children.”
“They work for you? Wilson and the others?”
“In a manner of speaking, Mr. McLeod. They are Guardians, like us. And like us they have sworn to protect you no matter what the cost. That is why I'm sure that Wilson was happy that you escaped.” He smiled again. “And that he cared for you a great deal.”
Maybe it was because he'd had so many shocks in a short time, but Justin wasn't really surprised that Wilson was a Guardian. In fact, he felt more than flattered that the man had spent most of Justin's life watching over him.
“Now, I know that you both have a lot to absorb. If you'd like to wait before asking any more questions or voicing your concerns, please tell me now. Perhaps I can come by again tomorrow.”
Justin and Aaron looked at each other, then back at Mr. Fitzgerald.
“No sir,” Justin answered for both of them. “I think we'd like to continue, if you don't mind.”
“Excellent. I don't mind at all. And we should get this cleared up as soon as we can.” He looked a little anxious for a moment. “You see, we really can't continue to teach you what you need to know until we know who's staying and who's leaving. So,” he clasped his hands in front of him, “what do you want to ask?”
Justin looked at Aaron who nodded for him to go first. “Well sir, I have a lot of questions but I think two of them stand out.” Mr. Fitzgerald just waited. “The first one is...why do you think we're Titans? I mean, they got wiped out five thousand years ago, weren't they? And the second is, where the heck are we?”
“Good questions, Mr. McLeod and the first is one that all of you have asked me. So let me give you a little background.” He looked over their shoulders to the opposite wall, as though examining the carvings. “The Titans were very advanced, as I indicated yesterday. One of their greatest achievements was in the field of genetic research. They were much more knowledgeable than we are even now.” He looked at Justin and Aaron. “You've done some checking on the legends, I believe?” They both nodded. “Well, then you remember the stories of creatures such as harpies, the Medusa, Cyclopes and others. These things actually existed once, created by genetic manipulation.” He sighed and shook his head. “I'm not going to go into the ethics of what they did, but I'm telling you this so you realize that for the Titans, nothing was really beyond their reach when it came to biology. You understand?”
“I think so, sir,” Justin answered. Aaron agreed as well.
“Good. Now, the battle for control of Atlantis was not decided overnight. Both sides fought for months, slowly decimating the entire island. And during that time, fearing the worst, a group of scientists decided to give their race some insurance.” He chuckled. “I'm not very knowledgeable in these matters, so I don't know how it was done. All I know is that Titan DNA was planted in some of the human population; volunteers who had worked with the Titans before the human race turned on them. These genes were...instructed I guess you could say, to lie dormant in the human gene pool for a specific amount of time. When that time arrived, a mutation would be triggered that would allow Titans to be born again.” He sat back and looked at the boys intently. “And you are the result.”
Justin glanced at Aaron who was staring at Mr. Fitzgerald, his mouth hanging open. Justin felt the same way himself. “But how did you know it was us? Or when exactly the um, mutation would occur?”
Mr. Fitzgerald leaned forward, took a notebook off of the stack and handed it to Justin. He opened it and Aaron looked over his shoulder. But Justin couldn't read what was inside. It was like he was trying to read ancient Egyptian or some sort of cuneiform language. There were lines and lines of fine writing. Justin flipped through the pages of the notebook. Every page was covered with the strange writing. He looked at Mr. Fitzgerald, puzzled.
“I don't understand, sir,” he said.
“I know, Mr. McLeod. But the answer to your question is there, in your hands. You see, those lines were copied word for word from scrolls that are kept here in Sanctuary, in the Archives room. They are written in Titanian, the Titan language. You can't read it, yet, but all the Guardians can. And in there, a specific time line exists that tells us when you all were going to be born.” He smiled and took back the book. He scanned through it until he found a certain page. “Obviously they did not use the same year count and calendars that we do today, so the time was tied to specific planetary and cosmic alignments.” He tossed the notebook back on the table and smiled broadly. “We have been waiting for five thousand years for you to arrive.”
Justin's mind felt overloaded. Too much information, too soon, he thought. As Mr. Fitzgerald sat there waiting expectantly, Justin couldn't think of anything to say. He looked at Aaron and just nodded for him to go ahead.
The other boy cleared his throat. “Mr. Fitzgerald...” he began hesitantly. “I was wondering, like Justin, where exactly are we? I mean, I haven't seen any windows or daylight. Are we underground or what?”
The man frowned slightly and Justin wondered what was wrong. “I'm afraid I can't tell you that just yet, gentlemen. You see, if any of you decide to leave and are captured, our enemies might discover this location. And we can't allow that.” Then he smiled. “But if you decide to stay, let me assure you that all will be revealed. And that's all I can say for now.”
“Makes sense,” Aaron said. Justin nodded. “But sir, how do you know that someone won't leave after you te
ll us where Sanctuary is? It would be just as bad, wouldn't it?”
Now Mr. Fitzgerald's expression became serious. “Because, Mr. Dalton, if you agree to stay, you will not be able to leave until we are satisfied that the secret is safe. That will take time and training.”
“How much time?” Justin spoke up.
The man shrugged. “There's no way to know. It could be several months, a year or more. I can't say.”
“A year!” Aaron sounded shocked. “You expect us to stay here, away from our family, our friends, for a year?”
“Or longer, Mr. Dalton. Which is why you had better be sure you want to stay before telling us of your decision.” Mr. Fitzgerald picked up his notebooks and stood up. Justin and Aaron just sat there, trying to digest what they had been told.
“I think that's enough for now,” the man said. “You both have a lot of thinking to do, and I have many more stops to make.” He walked to the door and tapped the button. As the door slid open he looked back at the boys. “Think about it all, gentlemen and don't be hasty. We will give you two days to decide. After that, we'll have to have an answer.” He nodded to them both and left.
“Holy crap,” Aaron said as the door slid shut. Justin looked at him and Aaron stared back. “This is nuts.”
Justin moved to the other couch and sat down again, hard.
“This is impossible,” he said to Aaron. “I mean, if we leave, there's a good chance that they, whoever they are that are after us, will grab us.” He slapped a hand to his forehead and Aaron leaned forward, looking concerned.
“You okay, Justin?”
“Damn! I forgot to ask him who those guys were! Gees, where's my head?”
Aaron groaned. “Oh crap, me too! All this stuff about genetics and history totally threw me off. Who knows when we'll be able to talk to him again.”
“Anyway,” Justin continued, “they might grab us. But if we stay, we may not see our families for a year or more.” He looked around the room. “I don't know how big Sanctuary is, but I'm not sure I like the idea of being here, wherever here is, for that long.”
“So what do we do?” Aaron asked.
Justin shrugged. “I don't know about you, Aaron, but I'm going to find out more. About us, this place, those strange men and anything else I can.” He ran his eyes over the wall carvings. “And then I'll decide.” He gave Aaron a weak grin. “I hope.”
Chapter 5
“Okay Justin, if you want to learn more about Sanctuary, where should we start?” Aaron asked. He had begun to fidget as Justin sat and thought about what they had learned from the Commander.
“I think...” Justin hesitated. “I think I need to get out and walk around, explore a bit. If I sit here staring at the walls, I'm going to go nuts.”
“Same here. But are we allowed?”
“Well, we aren't prisoners. I think. Let's go and see what we can see.”
Justin got up and headed for the door, with Aaron following closely behind. As they entered the hallway, they noticed one of the younger adults standing up the corridor at the four-way intersection. He was tall and skinny with thin black hair. They walked toward him and he turned and smiled as they approached.
“Good morning, gentlemen. How can I help you?'
“Um, well sir,” Justin began hesitantly, “we were wondering if we could look around a bit? Is it allowed?”
The man chuckled. “Allowed? Of course it's allowed!” His smiled broadened. “You aren't permitted in the young women s quarters, but feel free to wander wherever you like.” He pointed down the corridor that the boys hadn't used before. “That way you will find the bulk of Sanctuary, leading off of the courtyard. Back there, as you know, is the Court and the Entrances. Those you've seen of course.” They nodded. Then Aaron spoke up.
“Sir, just how big is this place anyway?”
“Well now, that's a very good question,” the man answered. “I don't think I've seen it all myself, and I've been here for months.” Justin and Aaron looked at each other in surprise. “This is only the first level, of course. There are floors beneath us that go on for miles.” He shook his head. “You aren't permitted down there at the moment, but don't worry. One of the Sentries will turn you back if you try to enter an area that's off-limits. And if you try a door and it doesn't open, just move on to another.”
“The Sentries?” Aaron swallowed noisily. “What will they do to stop us?” he asked in a small voice.
The man chuckled again. “Don't worry, lad. They won't hurt you. They usually just block a door with their bodies. And good luck getting by about a ton of metal!”
“Well, thank you, Mister...?”
“Donald is the name,” the man said merrily. “No 'mister' for me, thank you very much. Oh and if you get lost, just find one of these on a wall. They are all over Sanctuary.”
Donald walked down the corridor a few feet and indicated a circular carving with what looked like ivy knotted around the edges. “They are somewhere in every picture and carving in the place. We call them communication nodes, or comm nodes for short. Just put your hand on it, and someone will come on to speak to you. Okay?”
The boys nodded and thanked him. Then they headed off down the corridor toward what Donald had called the bulk of Sanctuary.
“Well, he's a lot less formal than Mr. Fitzgerald or Mrs. Mallon, isn't he?” Aaron said.
“Definitely. Different generation, I guess. Like Jonathon last night.”
They walked for several minutes, glancing around them. The corridor had no doors or turns of any kind but the carvings remained, intricate and interesting, at least to Justin. He noticed that Aaron seem to have no interest in them at all, except to point out the round carvings that they could use if they got lost.
Finally, they saw an end to the hallway ahead of them and moved faster. Justin was intensely curious about what this place was really like. What would they find, he thought, in a place that was five thousand years old?
As they left the corridor, both boys stopped and stared around them, stunned by the sight.
The corridor had opened into some sort of courtyard. It was massive, larger than the Court had been by far, several hundred feet across. The ceiling was hidden in shadows, but they could see huge supports leading up from the edges of the walls. The floor was not plain stone any longer, but something like cobblestones, made of different colors and laid out in bright patterns. And all along the walls were irons doors, dozens of them.
But what caught their immediate attention was the sight of figures moving around the area, some hurrying as if on important errands, others ambling along more slowly. Some were walking by themselves, others were in pairs or small groups. And none of them were human.
“Wow, Justin!” Aaron whispered. “Look at all the Servitors.”
Justin nodded silently and stared. The metallic people looked and acted just like any group of humans. They were chatting, laughing or talking seriously together. There were obvious differences between those meant to look male and those that were female. It was amazing.
Finally, Justin looked away from the Servitors. He could see a distant something in the middle of the courtyard. He walked toward it and Aaron followed. As they got closer, they noticed several of the teens from the night before, boys and girls, standing or sitting on the edge of the object.
“Hey, it's a fountain!” Aaron exclaimed.
Justin could see that his friend was right, but it was like no fountain he had ever seen before.
Instead of plain stone, the fountain was made of marble, inlaid with brass. Rising tier upon tier, it was many times Justin's height, so tall that it looked like a waterfall when he stood below it. In the base was a deep clear pool, with scenes of sea battles and sea monsters laid out on the bottom in intricate tile work.
The two boys just stood there for several moments and stared at the fantastic sight. Aaron was the first one to tear his eyes away from the fountain and then he jabbed Justin with an elbow.
“Justin, look there! Across the courtyard.”
Justin looked to see what Aaron was pointing at. And for the second time in a few minutes, he was stunned.
It was a Sentinel. It had to be, he thought. It was made of bronze, like the minotaur he had seen when he arrived but this was no man-bull statue. He gaped as he tried to remember the different mythical beasts he had seen online recently. Yes, it was, it had to be a...
“It's a gryphon!” Aaron exclaimed.
“Yeah,” Justin agreed faintly. “That's a gryphon all right. A walking, feathered, bronze statue of a gryphon.” He looked at Aaron. “I think I'm losing my mind.”
Aaron shook his head so hard that his long hair whipped over his face. “Join the club,” he said in amazement.
As they watched, they heard the sound of metal scraping on stone. They turned around to see another Sentinel sliding slowly by the fountain. This one looked like a huge snake, but with several sets of wings, each pair evenly spaced down the length of its body. Justin felt like he was still asleep. He was gratified to see Aaron actually pinching his own arm, as if feeling the same way.
“Ouch! Yep, I'm definitely awake.”
Justin had to laugh. “I know exactly how you feel, Aaron.” He looked at the other teens scattered around the fountain. Two boys, who Justin thought looked a bit younger than himself and Aaron, saw him looking around and walked over.
“Hey guys,” one of the boys, whose black hair was cut so short it was just a shadow on his head, grinned as he greeted them. His friend, a skinny black teen with long braids hanging down his back, also smiled and nodded at them.
“Hey,” Justin replied. “How you guys doing?”
The first boy shook his head. “We're kind of...numb, I guess is the word. Don't you think so, Gerald?”
“Yeah, that's the word for it. And it's Gerry, Normand, thank you very much.”
Normand giggled. “Just teasing, Gerry. But if you call me Normand again, it'll stay Gerald!”
The Return of the Titans Page 6
