Free The Return of the Titans by James Thompson

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 tell 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