The Return of the Titans

by James Thompson

  “Specifically I'm going to show you the Atrium and the Arboretum. I think you will be impressed. However,” he held up a warning finger, “these areas are only open to you while you are accompanied by a Guardian. At least for now. Consider these excursions as a reward for your hard work. Continue to do well and you will not only be allowed to return there but we will open up other areas of Sanctuary as time goes on.” He folded his arms and looked sternly at them all. “Those of you who slack off, on the other hand, will find yourselves restricted to this level only. So I hope that will motivate you all to do your best. Now” he stood up straight and clapped his hands together once, “if you are all ready, follow me.”

  The teens stood up en mass and waited until Mr. Fitzgerald had reached the door. Then they began to trail along behind him.

  “I was wondering if they'd figure out a way to get the slackers to work harder,” Norm said to them with a smile.

  “Slackers?” Gerry looked at Norm. “What slackers?”

  “Oh there may not be any right now, Ger,” Norm replied with a superior tone. “But you know what happens once things become routine in school. People get lazy. And I'm sure the same thing will happen here in a few weeks.”

  Gerry looked thoughtful and didn't reply.

  Justin stared at Norm. He really was smart, Justin thought. And he's probably right too. Justin knew that he himself had a tendency to coast along at school unless he was pushed a bit. But he just couldn't see this place becoming routine.

  The group followed Mr. Fitzgerald along the now familiar route to the courtyard. They moved along at a brisk pace directly across the yard, past the fountain and approached the cyclops Sentinel blocking the stairs. Justin remembered Mr. Denofrio pulling out a pendant and ordering the Sentinel to move and he watched Mr. Fitzgerald to see if he would do the same thing. To Justin's surprise, he did not.

  As they approached the Sentinel, it turned slightly to look at them, almost seemed to jump a bit then hastily moved aside. Mr. Fitzgerald didn't even glance at it, but swept past and walked down the stairs. The teens hurried to follow him.

  “Wow, did you see that?” Aaron said excitedly. “It almost hurt itself jumping out of the way!”

  Justin chuckled. “Well, it obviously knows who the boss is, doesn't it?”

  They all laughed and hastened downward, Aaron and Justin hopping a bit to navigate the steep steps.

  At the bottom, instead of turning left toward the Ocular room, Mr. Fitzgerald led them straight ahead down the wide corridor. It was featureless and went on a long way. Only the lighted baskets hanging from the ceiling broke the monotony as they trooped along behind him.

  Finally in the distance they saw a glowing doorway. As they approached, Justin realized that they weren't walking toward a doorway. Instead, a sheet of water was falling from the ceiling, across the entire width of the corridor. It was pouring from a slit in the ceiling and fell through a similar slit in the floor. Mr. Fitzgerald waited for them all to catch up and then smiled at their puzzled faces.

  “As you must remember, the Titans used water as a means of transportation and communication. Because Sanctuary is so large, they set up these portals throughout to speed up travel from one section to the next. Only a Guardian can activate a portal. So if you happen to run into one somewhere in the complex, don't bother trying to use it. All that will happen is that you will get soaked.”

  Some of the teens laughed, as did Mr. Fitzgerald.

  “Now, this portal will take us to the entrance of the Arboretum. Please wait until I join you before entering.” He reached out and put his hand into the stream of water. They all gasped as the clear liquid turned opaque and became a milky white. “All right then, in you go.”

  The teens at the front of the group hesitated and Mr. Fitzgerald smiled gently. “It's quite safe, I assure you,” he said and waved them on with his free hand.

  Finally the first teen, a tall blonde girl, plucked up her courage and walked forward into the falls. There was a momentary sparkle and she vanished. The others followed slowly.

  When it was Justin's turn, he looked at Aaron who appeared nervous but gave a shrug and nodded toward the portal. Both of them walked forward and into the milky liquid. Justin held his breath, just in case.

  There was a quick sensation of vertigo but before he could become truly dizzy, Justin found himself standing in a rough stone corridor with the other teens around him.

  The corridor looked more like a natural cave passage rather than the smooth stone hallways that Justin had seen in the upper level of Sanctuary. It was wide and high but instead of glowing baskets, the walls were lined with brackets holding flickering torches. The air felt damp and Justin could smell a sweet scent of growing things. He breathed deeply and saw Aaron doing the same. It was a nice change from the almost sterile air he'd been breathing for over a week.

  There were several popping noises behind him and Justin turned just in time to see Mr. Fitzgerald and the rest of the group appear out of thin air surrounded by small sparkles of light that quickly faded. The man looked around as though making sure that everyone was present then he smiled and motioned for them to follow him.

  Only a few steps from where they had appeared was a large arch cut into one of the stone walls. Mr. Fitzgerald walked through it and the group followed.

  They entered an amazing area. They were standing at the top of a long set of rough stone steps leading downward. For a moment, Justin thought that they were outside. A warm, damp breeze sighed past his face and ruffled his hair and the light was as bright and warm as sunlight. But when he looked up, he saw a ceiling hundreds of feet above them. Attached to the ceiling were huge round lights that must have been dozens of feet across. They shone as bright as the sun and Justin had to look away quickly and blinked his eyes several times to clear away the after-images.

  He looked out over what was the largest room he had ever seen. It was bigger than a football stadium and from one end to the other was packed with plants and trees. The ground was covered with grass and flowers were scattered all over, growing in bunches and adding color and scent to the air.

  Several of the girls sighed loudly and Justin saw that Aaron, Norm and Gerry were all smiling with pleasure. He knew he was too.

  “This is the Arboretum,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “Here we grow our own fruits and vegetables. It is also a favorite spot for many of the Guardians to spend time when the weight of our life underground becomes too much of a strain.” He smiled gently at all of them. “Please feel free to wander around. If you wish to pick any of the fruits, you may. Just choose the ones that are ripe.” He waved them down toward the plant-filled room. “Off you go. I'll return later to collect you and take you back.”

  The group hurried down the steps and onto the deep, grassy lawn. The feeling of the ground, the smell of the earth and the grass, was almost intoxicating. Justin had not realized just how much he had missed these simple pleasures. Judging by the remarks from the others in the group, he wasn't the only one who felt this way.

  The teens broke up into groups and scattered, wandering off deeper into the Arboretum. Justin and Aaron stuck with Gerry and Norm and the four of them walked slowly toward the center of the room.

  They didn't talk much at first. Each was enjoying the experience of walking among growing things again. Norm kept sucking in great breathes and grinning at the scents around him. Gerry was humming tunelessly, looking around at the trees and bushes they wandered past. Aaron and Justin hung back a bit and let the other two lead the way.

  “Is this amazing or what?” Aaron said dreamily. He stopped and quickly took off his shoes and socks. He stuffed the socks into a shoe, tied the laces together and hung them over a shoulder. As he began walking again, his smile widened. “Ah, I've missed the feeling of grass on my feet.”

  It seemed like a great idea and Justin was soon walking barefoot as well. “I'm not surprised the Guardians like to come here,” he said to Aaron. “It really is rel
axing, isn't it?:

  Aaron just nodded. He began looking closely at the fruit trees they were passing. “Wow, good variety,” he said. “Apples, pears, plums. They must have fresh fruit all year round.”

  He stopped and reached up, picking a bright red apple from a low-hanging branch and tossing it to Justin. He took another one for himself and they began walking again, happily eating the crisp fruit.

  “Ah, this is nice,” Justin said, as juice ran down his chin. “Has to be organic. It just tastes too good to be covered with chemicals.”

  “Probably is,” Aaron replied. “I mean, they wouldn't have problems with bugs and stuff underground, would they?”

  “Good point.”

  Norm and Gerry were soon out of sight as Justin and Aaron stopped to look at some of the other trees and bushes. Aaron shared a story about going berry picking with his folks when he was little and insisted that they were passing blueberry bushes. Justin shrugged.

  “If you say so,” he said with a grin.

  Suddenly from up ahead, they heard Gerry shouting loudly. They looked at each other with surprise then hurried through the brush that their two friends had passed through a few minutes earlier.

  Gerry kept shouting and Justin realized that he was also laughing. He looked at Aaron who seemed puzzled.

  “Doesn't sound like he's in trouble, does it?” he asked Justin as they tried not to stub their toes on protruding roots and fallen branches.

  “Nope. I wonder what he's yelling about?” Then Justin gasped as they emerged into a clearing that must have been close to the middle of the Arboretum.

  Spread out before them was a large grassy field leading to a small lake. Norm was standing near them watching Gerry and some of the other boys running across the field kicking a soccer ball.

  “Where the heck did they get a ball?” Aaron wondered aloud. Norm heard him and turned back toward them.

  “Hey guys! One of the Guardians was here. Some guy I haven't seen before. He just threw the ball into the field, waved and left.” He looked back at the guys chasing across the grass. “Gerry the Jock is thrilled, as you can see.” He chuckled quietly.

  Justin and Aaron walked over to stand next to Norm. “Aren't you joining them, Norm?” Aaron asked.

  Norm shook his head. “Told you, I'm not a sports guy. I prefer watching from the sidelines.” He looked at them. “What about you two?”

  Justin sat down on the thick grass and stretched out his legs. “I don't do soccer. Now if they had a few hockey sticks and a tennis ball, I'd jump in but I think I'll just watch with you, Norm.”

  Norm sat down next to Justin. Aaron tossed his shoes onto the ground. “Well, I'm no jock either, but I'm willing to jump in!” He waved at them and jogged toward the players.

  Justin and Norm watched as the boys organized themselves into teams, put a couple of branches into the ground at either side of the field as goal posts and began to play.

  “Actually, Aaron's pretty good,” Norm said as the game progressed.

  “Yeah, I guess so,” Justin answered. He wasn't much of a soccer fan and eventually lay back and stared at the far-off ceiling with his eyes half-closed.

  “Hey Just. Justin!”

  He sat up with a jerk and looked around wildly. Aaron and Gerry were standing close by, grinning down at him.

  “You dozed off, bud,” Aaron said. “Mr. Fitzgerald is here. He says it's time to head back.”

  Justin blinked his eyes several times and rubbed his face. “Yeah, right, okay,” he mumbled as he tried to wake up. He looked around and grabbed his shoes and socks. As he began putting them on, he could see Mr. Fitzgerald out on the field with a group of the teens around him, talking and laughing. It sounded like everyone had a good time.

  “Hey Just, did you see that last goal I got in?” Aaron asked eagerly as Justin scrambled to his feet.

  “Nope, sorry Aaron. I must have fallen asleep right after you guys started playing.”

  Aaron looked a bit disappointed, so Justin nudged him and grinned. “Did you have fun?” he asked.

  Aaron smiled back. “For sure! Gerry's an amazing player.” He frowned slightly and lowered his voice as they approached the group. “So is that Benson guy. In fact, he took over his team right away. I'm glad I stuck with Gerry's side. Benson's a pain.”

  Justin nodded. “Yeah, I've noticed,” he said dryly.

  They rejoined the other teens and Mr. Fitzgerald looked over the group.

  “Is everyone here?” he asked.

  They glanced around. No one seemed to be missing.

  “Good,” the man said. “I'm glad you had a good morning. Tomorrow we will visit the Atrium. I think you will find it as interesting as the Arboretum. Now, let's head back.”

  After dinner that night, Norm and Gerry stopped by Justin's room. Gerry smiled at Aaron. “Good game today, Aaron. You may not be big, but you're quick! And a great shot too.”

  Aaron reddened. “Thanks Ger. It was fun.” He looked across the living room table at Justin. “Maybe next time we can talk Just into playing.”

  “Don't think so, Aaron,” Justin said. He was trying different combinations of finishing moves in the arena using his favorite avatar, the minotaur. He heard Aaron sigh and glanced up at him. “Aaron, I'm just not that into sports, except hockey. But you can play with Gerry, right?”

  “Yeah, right. I suppose I can,” Aaron said with an irritable tone to his voice.

  “Gee, don't sound so enthusiastic, Aaron,” Gerry said, but he was grinning. Aaron looked at him a moment then smiled in return.

  “Nothing personal, Ger. I guess Justin can hang out with Norm when we play.”

  Aaron had slid over to make room for Norm when they had arrived and Norm was now going through several avatars in the arena.

  “For sure, guys. I'm really starting to get into Arena, so Justin and I can play whenever you two are off doing soccer or whatever. Is that okay with you, Justin?”

  Justin smiled at Norm. “Anytime, Norm. If we can't use our brawn, then we can use our brains.”

  They all laughed except Aaron who, Justin thought, had a rather strained look on his face. Justin decided to ask him what the problem was after the others had left.

  When it was time to turn in, Gerry and Norm said good night and Justin began to get ready for bed. Aaron stayed in the living room, absently cycling through each avatar in turn. When he was done in the bathroom, Justin walked into the living room.

  “Bathroom's all yours, Aaron,” he said.

  Aaron didn't look up from the board. Justin wondered if he had nodded off. “Did you hear me? I said...”

  “Yeah, I heard you.” Aaron turned and looked at him. Justin was startled to see that he looked angry.

  “Um, what's wrong?” Justin asked.

  Aaron stood up abruptly. “There's nothing wrong. Why should there be?”

  Justin shrugged. “I have no idea. I thought we had a great day today. Didn't you?”

  Aaron brushed past him and walked into the bedroom. “Yeah, I had a great day. Great day. And now I'd like some sleep. Is that okay with you?”

  Justin was confused. Why was his friend angry? Had he said or done something wrong? He slipped into bed and tried not to look at Aaron, in case he got even more upset. He ran through the day in his head. What could have set Aaron off? But try as he might, he couldn't think of anything he had done wrong. Maybe someone else had angered Aaron. Justin remembered that Aaron had mentioned Benson. Well, he thought, that jerk could irritate anyone. Maybe that was it.

  He finally gave up. Whatever the problem was, unless Aaron told him straight out, Justin doubted that he'd be able to guess. He rolled over facing away from Aaron's side of the room and eventually slipped into a troubled sleep.

  The next morning, Justin woke up earlier than usual. He hadn't slept well and had woken up several times with vague, troubling dreams. He finally decided to get up after lying awake for a long time staring at the ceiling.

 
He looked over at Aaron, who was sprawled across his bed. His hair covered his face and Justin could hear quiet snoring coming from underneath. He grinned at the sight and headed for the bathroom.

  A half-hour later, bathed and dressed, Justin was sitting in the living room absently playing Arena. He had learned how to start a solo game, with the board somehow playing the other avatar. How it did that with no computer controlling it, he had no idea, but it was a challenging opponent.

  He finally heard Aaron wake up and move around. He suddenly felt nervous. One thing he wasn't good at was confrontation, but he had no intention of living with someone who played head games, even someone like Aaron. When his friend finally walked in carrying a towel, Justin sat back and looked at him.

  “Good morning,” he said.

  “Morning,” Aaron muttered as he walked by, not looking at Justin. “I'm going to the baths.”

  “No problem,” Justin said. “I'll ask Jonathon to reassign me to another room. I should be gone before you get back.”

  Aaron stopped abruptly and spun around to stare at Justin. “What?”

  “You heard me, Aaron.” He leaned forward. “Look, I don't know what the problem is or why you're acting this way. But I don't play head games and I don't like the whole silent treatment thing. So if that's how you operate, I think you might be better off sharing a place with someone who's more into that stuff.”

  Aaron walked to the opposite sofa and sat down with a thud. “But, but, I thought we were friends,” he said. His hair had fallen across his face and Justin could barely see his eyes.

  Justin swallowed but plowed on. “We are, Aaron. But we've known each other what? Eight, nine days? If we can't get along after that short a time, what will we be like in eight weeks? Or eight months?”

  Aaron shook his head so hard, the hair flew back over his shoulder. Justin was surprised to see that his eyes were red before his face was obscured again. He didn't say anything.

  Justin sighed heavily. “Aaron, you're a great guy. I think we could be best friends, once we get to know each other. But friends, good friends, don't play games. If they are having problems, they work it out.” He turned away from Aaron and looked at the far wall. “If my friend Chris had just told me what had changed over the summer, maybe I wouldn't have turned into his favorite punching bag.” Then a thought occurred to him and he looked at Aaron again. “Maybe that's it! Maybe it's just me. I've never been real good with people, never had a lot of friends. I could be one of those people who just can't make friends.” The thought burned inside of him. What a horrible life it would be, not to have friends.