The Return of the Titans by James Thompson Read Free Book Online

whose powers he could scarcely imagine.
Powerful enough to destroy an entire island? It must have been a
terrible battle.
    “This place,” Mr.
Fitzgerald waved a hand at the room around them, “was constructed
by the Titans long before their internal conflict. It was meant as
a place to store knowledge and artifacts but it was also built as a
last refuge in case the Titans had to retreat from the human
threat. When the threat instead became that of other Titans,
Sanctuary was sealed. Knowledge of it's location and secrets was
passed down, not to other Titans, who all perished in the civil
war, but to a handful of humans, humans who were allies to the
Titans, not enemies. And those few who survived passed on that
knowledge to their descendants.” He looked at the other adults in
the room. “We are those descendants.”
    One of the girls held up her hand, as if she
was at school. Justin smiled to himself at how easily they fell
back into old patterns of behavior.
    Barely glancing at his notes, Mr. Fitzgerald
nodded at the girl. “Yes, Miss Shapiro?”
    “Sir, this is all very
interesting,” she said. Justin could see her hands were clasped so
tightly that her knuckles showed white beneath her skin. “But what
does it have to do with us. What's it got to do with my...my
brother being hurt when he tried to protect me?”
    “Ah yes, I thought we'd
get to that point fairly soon.” Mr. Fitzgerald pushed off from the
desk and walked around it to the blackboard at the rear of the
dais. He reached up and pulled down on the board, flipping it over.
On the back were two very precise drawing of humanoid figures,
showing their outlines as well as their skeletal structures. He
tapped the first figure on the left.
    “This is a drawing of
modern man, Homo sapien. Beside it we have a drawing of a Titan,
homo titanus. Can you see a difference between the two?”
    Justin leaned forward and stared at the
figures. Aaron did the same. Suddenly he spoke up. “Hey, the
skeletons are different. The Titan's bones look a lot...um,
thicker?”
    As Aaron spoke, Mr. Fitzgerald had again
glanced at his desk. “Very good, Mr. Dalton. That's exactly right.
Outwardly, humans and Titans looked about the same, although Titans
were much taller and heavier than humans. But inside was where the
differences became obvious.” He tapped the drawing of the Titan.
“The bones are much thicker, including the bones of the skull. As
well, Titans were...denser, at a molecular level.” He glanced at
the room and saw some puzzled expressions. “What I mean is that the
molecules that made up a Titan's body were closer packed. This made
them even heavier than their size would indicate. It also made them
incredibly tough and resilient. A blow that would kill a normal
human would not even leave a bruise on a Titan.”
    Justin suddenly felt as if a bell had gone
off in his head. He looked around at the others. While many still
seemed mystified, and several looked bored as if they were sitting
in class, he could see comprehension dawning on the faces of many,
including Benson and, when he looked over, Aaron.
    “Is he saying what I think
he's saying?” Aaron whispered.
    Justin shook his head in disbelief. “I'm not
sure,” he replied.
    “I can see that some of
you are putting the pieces together,” Mr. Fitzgerald continued.
“But for the rest, allow me to say it aloud. You, every one of you,
is a Titan.”
    Mr. Fitzgerald then leaned back on the desk
again, folded his arms and waited.
    The room erupted in loud exclamations and
bewildered questions. Justin glanced over at Benson and saw him
whispering to his friend. He was scowling fiercely. He noticed
Justin looking at him and turned away with a haughty sneer.
    As the noise diminished, Mr. Fitzgerald
unfolded his arms and stood straight up again. The teens quieted
down. “I know this is hard to believe, as I said it would be. Over
the next few days, I will happily show you proofs as to why we
believe you are