The Return of the Titans (18 page)

The room had become deadly quiet. When Mr.
Fitzgerald was done speaking, the teens began whispering with each
other. Justin was stunned. He looked at Aaron and then at Gerry and
Norm. Each of them looked at shocked as he felt.

Finally, Aaron spoke up. “This...is
unbelievable. They expect us to fight these rebels? We're a bunch
of kids!”

Justin shook his head in disbelief, but
Gerry began to look excited.

“Well, I don't know how we
can do it, but don't you think it's a cool idea, Norm?”

Norm stared at his friend with his mouth
open. “A cool idea? Gerry, are you nuts? It's a crazy idea! Aaron's
right. And Justin was right too. They did save us for something
more than we thought. That's what's in it for them. They want
someone to fight a battle that they can't or won't fight.” Norm
looked angry. “Well, I'm not going to play their game. I'm, I'm no
fighter. I'm a computer freak. A geek. I'm the guy picked last for
football. Even if I wanted to help, I couldn't.” He was glaring at
Gerry.

Gerry pulled back from Norm. He looked
surprised at his friend's attitude. Then he turned to Justin.

“What do you think,
Justin? I mean now that we do know what they really
want.”

Hesitantly, Justin tried to frame his
thoughts out loud. “We already knew about the danger. Now we know
who is after us, and why.” He paused to think it through. “Norm,
you're wrong.” Norm looked surprised. He started to speak but
Justin cut him off. “No, you are wrong. You may be a geek, you may
not be a star athlete. But you are something more. You are a
Titan.” He looked around at the others. “We all are. And if we are,
how can we not fight?”

“But Justin, why should
we?” Aaron asked. He sounded skeptical.

“Because it's our world,
Aaron. It's our friends and families who will suffer. Our
countries. I have a feeling that we've barely scratched the surface
when it comes to realizing the kind of destruction that might be
unleashed by these rebel Titans. At least I think it's worth
staying and learning all we can.” He grinned suddenly. “After all,
they can't force us to fight if we decide in the end not to, can
they?”

Aaron was still watching him closely but
Justin noticed that he looked a little bit relieved. “So you don't
know whether you will join this fight or not, Just?” Aaron
asked.

“Well, let's just say that
I want to know more but that I'm willing to trust these Guardians
for the time being.”

“Okay Justin, I'm in then.
If you're staying, I'm staying.” Aaron looked at Norm and Gerry.
“What about you guys?”

“I'm definitely staying,”
Gerry said. “And I'm betting Norm will too. After all,” he gave
Norm a sly look, “he knows that I need his freaky geekiness just to
tie my shoes in the morning. Right Norm?”

Norm looked at his friend for a long moment.
Then he burst out laughing. “Fine, you idiot. I'm in. For now. But
like Justin, I'm reserving judgment.”

“Fair enough, bud,” Gerry
said and slapped Norm on the back.

A short time later, Mr. Fitzgerald spoke up
again.

“Now that I've explained
the main reasons why you are here, it is time to choose. Do you
stay or do you go? Would you please all come up to the front of the
dais?”

Everyone stood up and began walking around
the tables to the front of the platform. Justin noticed that
several more adults had entered the room and were standing against
the walls, watching them.

Once everyone had moved up, Mr. Fitzgerald
stepped down from the dais, moved through the small crowd and moved
to stand in the center of the room. Several of the men came forward
and carried the tables to the sides of the room. The area around
Mr. Fitzgerald was now empty.

“All right,” he said as he
faced them. “Those of you who are staying, please remain where you
are. Those who wish to leave, please come and stand here with
me.”

There was much shuffling of feet and glances
between people but finally one person, a little blonde girl that
Justin had not noticed before, pushed forward and walked up to Mr.
Fitzgerald.

“I want to go home,” she
said in a small voice, not looking at the man. Mr. Fitzgerald just
nodded. “Anyone else?” he asked.

There was more foot shuffling then two boys
separated themselves from the crowd and went to join the first
girl. Another girl stepped forward. Soon, seven teens stood in
front of Mr. Fitzgerald. Justin was surprised to see that Benson
wasn't one of them.

“Is this everyone?” Mr.
Fitzgerald asked. No one else stepped forward. “Very well then.
Jonathon?”

The young man walked over to the group. “Yes
sir,” he said.

“Please escort these
people to the Egress. Walter will meet you there with the traveling
stones.” Jonathon nodded and Mr. Fitzgerald looked at those who had
decided to leave. “You will be given money and will be sent to the
city or large town closest to your homes. I'm sure that you can
easily contact your families from there and arrange transportation.
We feel it is safest for you to arrive in a public area rather than
be sent back close to your homes, which are probably being
watched.” Justin saw that several members of the group were now
looking very frightened.

“You have made your
choice,” Mr Fitzgerald smiled at them rather grimly. “I wish you
well.” He stepped back and Jonathon motioned for the group to
follow him.

Some of them looked back and a couple waved
toward friends they had made over the previous few days. Some of
the group that were staying waved back and Justin heard several
crying quietly. Then he watched the teens leave the room.

Mr. Fitzgerald turned to look at the
remaining teenagers. Before he could say anything, one of the older
girls spoke up.

“Sir, what will happen to
them?”

The man looked at her gravely. “You heard
what I said earlier, didn't you? About the dangers out there?” She
nodded silently. “I was not lying. When they return, they will be
targeted. If their families are clever, they may escape capture for
some time. But eventually they will be taken.” He shook his head
and Justin could see the regret on his face.

The girl looked shocked. “But...but aren't
you going to protect them?”

Mr. Fitzgerald looked a bit puzzled. “Why
would we do that?”

“Because, you said that we
are the new Titans. That we have to be protected.” She looked at
the others around her as if for support. “You said you'd protect
our families.”

“Yes, and so we will. We will
protect
your
families.” He pointed at the girl. “You and the rest here
chose to stay. You chose to learn and, we hope, you will eventually
choose to fight. But those others chose a different path. And if
they are not willing to help us, if they don't believe in what we
told them, then obviously they feel that they don't need
protection.”

The girl looked totally confused. “I don't
understand.”

Mr. Fitzgerald spoke slowly and clearly. “If
you believe us, then you are in danger, yes?”

The girl nodded.

“So then, it follows that
if you don't believe us, then you are not in danger. It is that
simple.”

The girl didn't say anything more. She just
stood there looking thoughtful.

“Why, sir? Why did they
leave?” It was Gerry who asked.

Mr. Fitzgerald looked at him keenly.
“Because, Mr. Smithson, they did not believe us.”

The teens were dismissed and told to spend
the day relaxing and settling in for a long stay. Justin and his
friends went back to their quarters and the four of them talked for
several hours about the kids who had left. In the end, all they
could do was hope that those who had left would be okay. Justin
could tell by looking at the gloomy faces around him that no one
believed that they would be, including him.

The rest of the day was spent playing Arena.
None of them were really in the mood for more exploring and once
Aaron had challenged Norm to a game, Gerry and Justin dived right
in as well, Gerry playing the winner of the first game, who was
Aaron and then Justin playing the next winner, Gerry.

As the day passed, interrupted only by lunch
served by Mrs. Mallon, they began to realize that Justin and Norm
were the ones who had a real knack for Arena. Aaron was good but
Gerry seemed to have no real grasp for fighting with the avatars.
In fact, several actually gave up when he was playing and sunk back
into the game floor. Justin suspected the cyclops that Gerry played
with gave him the finger before it disappeared.

“Told you so,” Gerry said
with exasperation after he lost yet again. “I'm a jock. What do I
know about computer games? Besides, I enjoy watching you guys play
way more than I like playing anyway.”

Norm patted his buddy on the shoulder. “Not
to worry, Gerry. We all have our own talents.” He glanced at the
arena. “Besides, it's just a game. Not much real use anyway, is
it?”

Gerry nodded and glanced at the clock.
“Almost supper time. Think we'll be eating back in the Court?” They
all shrugged and he volunteered to try to find out.

Gerry came back in quickly. “Jonathon was at
the intersection,” he said. “And yeah, we're supposed to meet in
the Court again.”

“Okay,” Justin said as he
took his hands off the runes and watched his minotaur sink back
into the arena floor. “Let's go.”

When the group had arrived in the Court and
had served themselves, Mr. Fitzgerald entered the room from the
direction of his office and walked to the dais. He stepped up and
turned to face the room.

“Well, ladies and
gentlemen, starting tomorrow we will begin classes.” Aaron groaned
loudly and Mr. Fitzgerald smiled. He looked over at Aaron. “Don't
worry, Mr. Dalton. I think you will find these subjects a bit more
interesting than those in your usual school classes. For the first
little while, we will be evaluating your strengths and weaknesses
and we'll then update your classes appropriately. Classes start at
nine in the morning and go on until noon. Then after an hour for
lunch, classes will continue until three.”

Mr. Fitzgerald glanced at a sheet of paper
in his hand. “Runic studies, titan history and the titan language
will be among your areas of theoretical study. You will also
receive practical studies in self defense and other disciplines
which you will learn about as we go. Self defense classes will be
separate for boys and girls until you have all achieved a certain
proficiency and then co-ed classes will be allowed. Thank you and
good luck.”

He smiled briefly then stepped down from the
dais and left. There was an immediate babble of conversation from
around the room.

“I like the idea of self
defense,” Gerry said with enthusiasm. “We'll definitely need that
some day.”

Norm looked depressed. “I told you guys, I
suck at physical stuff. This is going to be a disaster.”

Aaron laughed. “I doubt if I'm much better
than you, Norm. I was never into sports and I hated gym, so don't
think you're alone.”

Norm seemed to perk up. “Really? Cool. I'm
sure I'll stink but at least I know someone who will understand
what I'm going through.”

Justin also grinned. “More than one, Norm.
I'm no more athletic than you or Aaron, so we can all stumble along
together.”

Gerry gave a loud, dramatic sigh. “Great,”
he said. “The only jock in a group of wimps.”

The others looked at each other then back at
Gerry.

“We'll get you for that,”
Norm hissed. “Better sleep with one eye open tonight!”

Gerry sat back, looking alarmed. Then the
others burst out laughing and Gerry finally joined in.

“Don't do that, Norm! You
scared the crap out of me!”

Still laughing, Norm slapped Gerry on the
back. “One thing I am good at, Ger, is acting. I always got an A in
drama class.”

Still laughing, the four left the Court and
headed back to their rooms.

Chapter 13

The next day, washed, dressed and fed,
Justin and his friends were gathered up by Jonathon along with the
rest of the boys and led to their first class, self defense. Justin
heard Benson bragging to his friends.

“This should be easy,” he
said with a superior tone in his voice. “I've studied karate since
I was six. Father always said that you can never quite depend on
bodyguards and that my brother and I should be able to handle
ourselves.”

He continued to talk about awards he had
won. Justin and Aaron looked at each other and Aaron rolled his
eyes. Justin nodded, not saying anything.

They were led through the courtyard and down
a corridor carved with scenes of battles, both on land and sea.
Most of the boys would have stopped to examine the fascinating
images if Jonathon hadn't hurried them along.

“Your teacher shouldn't be
kept waiting on your first day,” he said seriously and walked
quickly down the corridor.

Finally, he stopped at a set of double
doors. He touched the button on the wall and the doors slid back
silently.

“Well, good luck to all of
you. If you need any medical attention after the class, your
teacher will direct you to Doctor Smythe's office. Take
care.”

He smiled, turned and walked off. Justin
looked around at the others. Benson had stopped bragging and looked
a little pale after Jonathon's comment.

The boys slowly entered the room and stood
near the doors. They stared around a large square room. Justin
forgot his nervousness at Jonathon's words as he looked at walls
covered with dozens of weapons.