The Battle for Sanctuary: The Titan's Legacy: Vol: 2 (Volume 2) (32 page)

After
glancing at Justin, Maria shook her head. “I don't think so,
Dom. Maybe the snakes didn't alert the gorgons to your presence.
Maybe they did. We have no way of knowing. But there could very well
be a trap waiting for you if you head back in there alone.”

“
I
disagree, Maria,” he said vehemently. “Those snake-people
would have been crawling the corridors looking for me already. But
except for the snakes that followed me back, and then lost interest
and left, we've seen and heard nothing for hours. I'm sure it would
be safe. Well, relatively safe anyway.”

“
Oh,
you're sure, are you?” she snapped at him. Dominic looked
startled by her tone. “Well, unless you can suddenly read
minds, you most certainly are not sure. You're hoping you're right,
but you don't know. And I refuse to risk your life on a guess.”
She turned and looked around. “But what do you guys think?
Should he go or not?”

There
was a momentary embarrassed silence as everyone looked away from
Maria's fierce glare and then Aaron spoke up first.

“
Sorry
Dominic, but I have to side with Maria. You've been through enough
already. Why risk your life on a theory?”

Dominic
didn't reply. He seemed to be waiting for everyone to voice their
opinion.

“
I
agree with Maria as well, Dom,” Richard said. “You made
it back once, barely, and that was with only one bite. What would
happen if you were bitten by dozens of those snakes? Even a Titan has
his limits.”

Julia
and Yolanda also agreed with Maria, but they blushed and refused to
look at Dominic, whose face was becoming darker and angrier looking
as each teen spoke out.

“
I'm
sorry, but I have to side with Dominic on this one, Maria.” She
looked startled, as did Dominic. They both stared at Jason who looked
uncomfortable but shrugged. “It makes sense. Dom is the only
one who can hide in the shadows. If the rest of us blunder in there,
how long will it be before we're spotted? And I'm sure that once that
happens, all hell is going to break loose.”

And then
the entire group looked over at Justin. Maria's expression suggested
that she knew he was going to side with her, while Dominic just
scowled and looked past Justin. With a sigh, Justin got to his feet.

“
I
think Dominic should scout one more time,” he said quietly.

“
What?”
Maria stared at him in disbelief. “Justin, he could get himself
killed!”

“
Wow,
thanks for the vote of confidence, Justin,” Dominic said over
Maria's continued arguments. “I was sure you'd vote no.”

Everyone
else was speaking at once. Justin simply stood there staring at them
until they had settled down. Then he continued.

“
I
haven't finished yet,” he said calmly. “Maria, you're
right. Dominic could get killed.” She looked surprised at his
admission and seemed to forget her anger for a moment. “And
Dom's right. He's the only one who can find out for sure if that ramp
gets us out of here or not.”

Now
everyone just looked confused.

“
But
if they're both right, Just, why do you think that Dominic should go
back in there alone?” Aaron asked, mystified.

“
I
don't. I think he should go back in there with us at his back.”

Maria's
stared at him in surprise. But then she nodded her understanding.
“Yes, of course. Sorry, Justin. I should have known better than
to jump to conclusions.”

“
Wait.
You want me to scout the place out with the whole group behind me?”
Dominic asked. Justin nodded emphatically. “But I'm the only
one who can hide in plain sight. You guys will be spotted right
away.”

“
I
didn't say we'd be right on your heels, Dominic. We'll hang back,
inside the corridor that leads to the main area. You can go ahead in,
scout up the ramp and come back. But this way, if it is a trap, or
you're spotted, we'll be right there to back you up.”

Dominic's
eyes widened as he finally understood Justin's plan. “Ah, of
course, Justin. Sorry, I don't know why I didn't think of that. But,”
Dominic looked at the rest of the teens, “are you guys okay
with this? Don't feel you have to come just to keep me safe.”

After
their initial surprise at Justin's comments, Julia and Yolanda both
stood up and went to stand beside him.

“
Of
course we have to come and keep you safe, Dom. You're one of us!
Titans stick together.” Julia looked at Justin enquiringly.
“Don't they?”

“
They
do indeed, Julia. We're a team. All of us.”

The
others quickly agreed and, for all of his brave talk, Justin could
see that Dominic looked somewhat relieved at their decision.

“
Okay,”
Justin said briskly. “Now that that is settled, let's decide on
a plan of attack. Just in case things don't go the way we hope they
will.”

The
group all sat down again in a circle and planned out their strategy.

Several
hours later, they all agreed that they had done the best they could
to anticipate all eventualities. But, as Maria had reminded them, you
couldn't plan for everything and surprises happened all the time.
However, what else could they do?

Everyone
settled down and tried to get some sleep. Maria and Justin both
agreed that they should be as rested and ready as possible before
taking on the gorgons. Justin slept fitfully.

Once
they had all slept, the group had breakfast and prepared to leave.
Maria reminded them all to fill their water bottles.

Since
they didn't plan to return, they all gathered their things, got their
packs adjusted on their backs as comfortably as they could, took one
last look around and set out.

Dominic
led the way, fading into shadow and scouting ahead, in case there
were any surprises on their way to the main living area of the
gorgons.

Everyone
was nervous and Julia was especially afraid; her fear of snakes was
starting to weigh on her and it took Yolanda's encouragement to keep
her moving forward with the rest of the teens.

They
passed the entry room with a quick glance inside and kept going. No
one spoke above a whisper and they walked slowly and cautiously.

At the
end of the hallway Dominic met them and told the group that the way
was clear from there all the way to the open area that housed the
gorgons.

“
I'll
wait for you inside the corridor that leads into the living area,”
he whispered. “Don't rush, take your time and if there's any
change, I'll come back and let you know.”

“
Okay
Dom,” Maria told him. “Be careful!”

He
smiled, nodded and vanished again. The group collected itself,
everyone taking a moment to reassure Julia, who seemed to be finding
a way to stay calm, and they set off again.

The
blank walls, dim lighting and ever-present taste of dust in the air
all combined to create an oppressive atmosphere. It was as if the
place itself was trying to wear them down.

The rest
of the journey took about fifteen minutes. They heard and saw nothing
but each other. Justin was beginning to find the silence worrying.

Do none
of those creatures ever use this hallway, he wondered. Or was it
actually a trap? He firmly put that thought away. He was nervous
enough without becoming totally paranoid.

Maria
was leading the way again and Justin was bringing up the rear. He
finally heard her quiet call that they had arrived and everyone bunch
together, staring apprehensively at the doorway about ten yards
ahead.

Julia
stifled a shriek as Dominic popped out of the darkness ahead.

“
Hey,
relax Jules,” he said with a grin. She gave him a tight smile
but said nothing. Dominic looked around.

“
No
problems? Everyone okay?” They all answered in the affirmative.
“Good. Okay, I have a clear path from the entrance ahead to the
ramp on the left. It's only twenty yards or so away. No sign of
snakes,” he gave Richard a wink, “and the gorgons seem to
be resting or something. I haven't seen any of them anyway, so let's
take advantage of that while we can.”

“
Okay
Dominic, it's up to you,” Maria said cautiously. “Don't
take any risks and come back if you see anything, and I mean
anything, suspicious.”

Dominic
gave her a mock salute. “Yes, ma'am,” he said. He gave a
little wave to the rest of the group, stepped back into shadows and
vanished.

“
So,
what do we do now?” Julia asked in a querulous voice.

Yolanda
gave her a one-arm hug. “We wait, Julia. As patiently and
quietly as we can. We wait.”

Everyone
stood against the walls, leaning on them and listening intently.
Justin watched his fellow teens. He was actually proud at how
collected and ready they all seemed. Even Julia was managing her
fears and had a rather determined look on her small features.

He
looked off toward the doorway. There was no sound except for his
friends. They occasionally shuffled their feet, stretched or
whispered a comment or two to each other. Aaron was leaning against
the wall opposite to Justin and gave him a tight smile when he looked
over.

There
was something about this whole situation that was gnawing on Justin.
It didn't add up. Dominic had said that there were snakes slithering
around the open area on his last visit and that the gorgons were
moving around, talking, tending the gardens. And now that they had
come back, everything was quiet. He nodded to himself. It was too
quiet.

He
walked over to Maria, who was staring off toward the doorway.

“
Maria,”
he whispered. She jumped a bit and turned to look at him. “Sorry,
didn't mean to scare you. I'm going to go and take a look through the
doorway, see what's going on.”

“
Wait,
Justin,” she murmured. “Dom wanted us to stay here until
he got back, remember? If we're spotted, we'll be in big trouble.”

“
Yeah,
I know,” he replied. “But I've got a bad feeling. There's
something that's just not right here.” He gave her arm a
reassuring squeeze. “I'll just be a second. Don't worry.”

Justin
could tell that Maria wasn't happy with what he was going to do, but
she nodded and told him to be careful.

He kept
close to the wall and crept forward. Justin could feel everyone's
eyes on him as he approached the doorway. He hugged the wall and
carefully took a peek into the main chamber.

Justin
gaped at what he saw. It was exactly as Dominic had described
it...the first time. He saw gorgons slithering up and down paths,
examining plants, talking to each other and generally going about
their business. Snakes crawled around them and over them, twining in
their hairs, riding on their shoulders and slipping in and out of
their clothes. Justin shuddered as he watched them. There was no sign
of Dominic and Justin cursed under his breath.

He took
a chance and looked over to the left of the doorway. There was indeed
a ramp some distance away that sloped up from the floor to follow the
wall higher and higher. And although there were no lights attached to
the rough stone ceiling, the lights from below were more than
adequate for Justin to see that the path reached an archway directly
across from where he was standing, although a hundred feet higher or
so. That was probably the exit, he thought. Dominic, you lying,
traitorous scumbag!

Justin
turned back and carefully returned to the group. It was only when he
rejoined them that he realized that he was shaking with suppressed
rage.

Seeing
his face, Maria raised her hand to her mouth nervously. “Justin,
what is it? You're white as a sheet.”

“
Yeah,
Just, what's happening?” Aaron asked with concern.

“
Dominic
has betrayed us,” he replied tightly. “The place is
teeming with gorgons and snakes. We won't stand a chance if we just
barge in there now.”

“
What?”
Maria looked shocked. They all did. “But, but it must be a
mistake, Justin. Maybe they all just showed up after he gave us his
report?” By her expression, Justin could tell that Maria wasn't
convinced by her own argument.

“
Yeah,
they all just popped in as soon as he went by,” Justin said
sarcastically. “Sorry but I'm not buying it. He's only been
gone about ten minutes or so; not enough time for the amount of
snakes and gorgons to be spread out the way they are in there.”

“
But
why, Justin?” Richard said. He sounded both shocked and
betrayed. “Why would he do that?” Everyone was looking at
Justin, obviously needing a good reason to believe his accusation.

“
Maybe
he thought that his chances of escape would be better on his own,
which of course they would be. Or maybe he's been working for our
enemies all along. I don't know. I only know what I saw.”

“
That
can't be, Justin,” Jason said firmly. “Dom was with us
when we were locked up by those government guys. He suffered along
with us, remember?”

“
Did
he, Jason? Or was he a plant? Do I need to remind you how devious and
evil those renegade Titans can be? Have you forgotten that servitor
that took the place of my own mother?”

Justin
realized that he had raised his voice. With a look of concern, he
glanced back at the open doorway. There were no sounds or indications
that he had been heard.

“
Look,
do you think I want to believe this?” he asked in a lower tone
of voice. “I like Dom. Or at least I did. But Prometheus warned
me to watch him, back in his quarters. And someone tipped off the
renegades when we were crossing that desert level.” He closed
his eyes a moment and then looked at everyone and shrugged. “Please,
if any of you have a better answer, I really would love to hear it.”