The Return of the Titans by James Thompson Page A

Bellisle, came back to Justin
and Aaron's room to get the trays.
    “So, I'm told that you two
can continue your exploration of Sanctuary today, at least until
dinner time.” She looked up at the clock. “Which means you have
five hours or so. We serve dinner at six.”
    Justin sat back heavily. “Maybe later, Mrs.
Mallon. I have some stuff to think about.” He looked across at
Aaron. “Go ahead if you want to, Aaron.”
    “Naw, I'll wait for you,”
Aaron said. He glanced around the room. “Sure wish we had a TV or
the Net or something though.”
    “Well, you can always play
Arena,” Mr. Bellisle said.
    Mrs. Mallon rolled her eyes. “Al, you are
hooked on that blasted game, do you know that?”
    The man chuckled. “It's good clean fun,
Janet. What's the harm?”
    She just shrugged and picked up a tray. Mr.
Bellisle took the other one.
    “Hey, wait a minute,
please,” Aaron spoke up. “What's, um, Arena?”
    The man put down the tray at the end of the
long table. “That's Arena,” he said and pointed at the square of
metal embedded into the table.
    “'Scuse me?” Justin and
Aaron looked at each other in puzzlement then back at Mr. Bellisle.
The man chuckled.
    “Here, watch,” he said. He
moved to sit beside Aaron. “Scooch over a bit, would
you?”
    Aaron slid over on the couch and Mr.
Bellisle moved until he directly faced the flat metal surface.
    “Now, to start the game,
just run your finger over the runes on your side of the square.” He
rested his index finger on the bottom right corner of the square
and then pulled it along the symbols over to the left corner. The
texture of the metal changed. It became smoother and shinier, and
then an oblong circle formed just inside the edge of the metal. It
rose several inches above the surface, forming a wall.
    Justin and Aaron watched with fascination.
“Lean forward and look inside the Arena,” Mr. Bellisle told
them.
    Both boys looked inside. The walls of the
arena sloped down to the flat surface, which inside had become
rough and pebbly. The floor of the arena was about a foot and a
half wide and a foot long. It almost looks like a miniature
football stadium, Justin thought. But there was nothing inside on
the floor of the arena.
    “That's cool, Mr.
Bellisle, but now what? It's just a small empty arena,” Aaron said,
sounding disappointed.
    “Ah, the impatience of
youth,” the man said smiling. “Now you choose your
avatar.”
    “My what?” Aaron looked
confused.
    “The figure that you will
control when you play the game. Look at the runes again.” Mr.
Bellisle looked up at Justin. “You too, Justin. They are the same
on both sides.”
    “Each rune will summon a
different avatar. You can also touch two or more runes for even
more avatars. There are a lot of combinations. I don't think I've
even seen them all yet.” Mr. Bellisle was talking rapidly. He
seemed to be very enthusiastic about the game. Mrs. Mallon stood by
the door, holding her tray. She snorted slightly with
annoyance.
    “Al, we have to get these
trays back to the kitchen sometime today, you know,” she said
sarcastically.
    “Patience, Janet. It
doesn't take long to explain. Go on ahead. I'll be along in a few
minutes.”
    “Yes, well, don't lose
track of the time. We have a lot to do today.” And with that, Mrs.
Mallon swept from the room.
    Mr. Bellisle ignored her departure. “Now,
guys, once you have chosen an avatar, you need to control it. Here,
let me pick one just to show you how it's done. Justin, come around
and watch. It'll save time.”
    Justin got up, walked around the table and
sat down on Mr. Bellisle's right. Aaron was sitting on his
left.
    The man touched the first symbol on the
right and they watched amazed as a small figure, maybe an inch
tall, rose from the surface.
    “Hey cool!” Aaron said.
“It's a gryphon!”
    “Yep, a gryphon,” Mr.
Bellisle agreed. “Now, once you have your avatar, rest the four
fingers of each hand on the four outer-most