Free The Return of the Titans by James Thompson Page A

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