Powerless (Book 1): Powerless (11 page)

The
only
thing
he
didn’t
know
was
which
of
his
two
sons
killed
the
bear
and
which
of
his
sons
was
nearly
killed
by
it
.
Removing
both
the
large
and
sharp
incisor
teeth
from
the
bear’s
mouth,
he
placed
them
in
a
handkerchief
and
put
it
carefully
into
his
bag.

Philip
assumed
that
it
would
have
been
Lee
that
got
into
trouble,
him
being
younger
and
more
vulnerable
to
attack, which was
the
case
until
he
was
sorting
their
gear
out
after
their
return.
Both
of
the
boys’
blades
had
small traces of
blood
and
animal
hair
on
them
so
he
was
unsure, but
when
taking
Lee's
shirt
and
seeing
where
he
had
cleaned
the
blade
on
his
sleeve
it
became
clear
that
it
was
Lee
who
saved
the
life
of
his
older
stronger
brother.

Philip
did
not
expect
that
Lee
had
strength
in
him
to
undergo
such
a
feat
and
come
away
both
unhurt
and
stronger
for
it.
He was proud
that
he
knew
the
boys
were
looking
out
for
each
other
and
would
work
as
a
team
to
protect
each
other
even
from
him,
but he was
also
fearful
that
Lee
would
risk
everything
for
his
brother.

Lee took the knife and wrapped it in a cloth and slipped it into his bag. Once again sniggering to Tom that his gift was something he already owned, but really knowing that it was a lot more.

CHAPTER SIX

The
two
boys
were
close
their
entire
life.
Tom
would
often
take
Lee
to
sporting
events
and
take
him
out
while
playing
golf.
He
liked
golf
as
his
strength
allowed him to
hit
the
ball
further
than
most,
but
he
struggled
with
his
putting
game,
as
he
didn’t
have
the
delicate
touch
needed.
This
frustrated
him
at
times,
but
it
wasn't
so
much
about
the
game
to
Tom
as
it
was
about
spending
time
with
his
brother. They got along as strong friends and although the typical sibling relationship was never far from erupting into an old-school style scuffle, their underlying respect for each other kept these scuffles friendly and as they grew up their friendship only became stronger.

One Saturday the boys were playing a morning round and midway
around
the
course Lee was struggling to carry Tom’s bag, so he took it from Lee and led the way over to a big tree in the middle of the fairway.
Tom sat down under the tree, unzipping the pouch on the side of the bag. He reached his hand in and pulled out a brown bag of fries that he had bought the night before. Tom opened the bag, reached inside, pulled a hand full of fries for himself and offered the rest of the bag to Lee. “Here Lee, have a couple of these!”

Lee reached his hand out, taking the bag from his brother.  Lee pulled a handful out for himself and ate the first few, e
ven
though
they
were
cold
and
didn’t
taste
very
appealing. Happily
Lee
ate
away
,
never
complaining
as
they
were
something
shared
with
his
brother,
something
special
for
the
two
to
share
with
no
one
around
as
the
world
would
pass
by.
And this was how it always was between them. Somehow, losing their mother at such young ages had created an unbreakable bond between them, leaving them happy in one another’s company, against the world together.

After a while other golfers would play while the two boys sat watching them try to perfect their swings. Tom watched the technique of the different players in order to further his own game. Lee watched more bewildered than anything with the style of clothes and all the audacious colours. Palette combinations that he would have never seen before brought an expression of amusement to his face.

“I think that would look good on you,” Tom said, observing his brother.

Lee looked back befuddled, “I don’t think so.”

Tom packed away what remained of the fries into the golf bag, pulling out a bottle of flat cola offering some to Lee. Each quenched their thirst and continued to finish the round of golf.

This
memory
lived
with
Lee,
comforting
him
for
the
rest
of
his
days,
secure
in
the knowledge
that
his
big
brother
was
there
for
him
and
would
remain
there. The time they spent together was precious, each knowing the lifelong cost of losing those important to you, making them respect each other and their father in a way that most teenagers wouldn’t learn until later life.

By
the
time Lee turned
sixteen he
was
attending
school
like
any
normal
kid
his
age and was on track to becoming a great man. The principles that his father had taken great time and effort to instil in him were evident in the way he treated his friends and teachers. To all around he seemed to be a hard working boy, with an understanding of the world that you would expect from a much older man. But when it came down to it, he was still a teenager, trying to find his place in the world and struggling without the presence of his loving mother. Over time he
developed a major passion for music, finding that the sentiment of songwriting often mirrored his own feelings. He
listened
to
the
bands
of
the
day
and
was
partial
to
the
older
music
that
his
father
was
interested
in
, finding it easy to relax and shut off from his constant inner monologue about his shortcomings from not having an ability. Philip would often watch as Lee sat staring into space with headphones on, oblivious to the world around him but with a look on his face that spoke volumes. He worried for his son, so much more introverted than Tom.

Together the boys played
on
the
football
team
in
his
school
and
like
most
sixteen
-
year-old
boys,
t
hey
had
an
eye
for
the
ladies.
The
two
boys
passed
their
weekends
watching
sports and
movies. They spent
hours
debating
over
them,
arguing
about
team
tactics
and
the
plot
line
in
their
preferred
films.

Whilst
always
shying
away
from
the
topic
of
his
powers,
in
general
this
was
seen
as
a
personal
one,
like
a
person’s
sexuality
or
age.
No
one
really
discussed
it
as
for
every
power
that
a
person
had
there
was
also
a
corresponding
weakness;
as
unique
to
the
individual
as
the
ability
itself.

Most
people
didn’t
know
about
their
own
weakness
unless
they
were
exposed
to
it
and
in
general
if
they
were
exposed
to
it
they
would
not
live
to
talk
about
it,
unless
intervention
from
an
outside
source
came
to
help.
Sometimes
within
the
bravado of
the
schoolyard
people
challenged
each
other. On
these
occasions
his
brother
helping
him
conceal
the
fact
that
Lee
lacked
any
hidden
ability.

He took joy in setting
up
elaborate
feats,
where
Tom
would use
his
strength
and
make
it
look
like
Lee
was
doing
it.
It
would
be
something
as
simple
as
Tom
lifting
a
small
car
off
the
ground
then
challenging
any
of
his
class
mates
to
an
arm
wrestle,
beating
them
easily
then
challenging
his
brother
and
always
letting
Lee
win
after
what
seemed
a
titanic
struggle
between
the
two.
This
was
a
regular
sight
in
the
schoolyard.

On
other
occasions
the
pair
would
appear
to
fight
over
things
that
were
irrelevant. Sometimes
Lee
would
wi
n,
sometimes
Tom,
forgetting
to
let
Lee
win.
They
were
a
team
and
they
protected
each
other
and
most
importantly
they
protected
Lee’s
secret.
Seeing
Lee’s
feats
of
strength,
no
other
student
would
dare
challenge
him
and
on
the
rare
occasion
that
they
did,
either
Tom
would
have
Lee’s
back
or
Lee
depended
on
his
heightened
awareness
and
intellect
to
get
him
through
whatever
obstacle
was
thrown
in
his
path.
As
a
team
they
worked
very
well
together,
but
when
Tom
went
off
to
college things
were
a
little
harder
for
Lee.