Powerless (Book 1): Powerless (31 page)

Passing
under
the
first
fence
and
crawling
his
way
across
the
gap
to
the
second
, he
slowly
ejected
himself
under
the
second
fence
and
into
relative
safety,
putting
a
little
distance
between
himself
and
the
fence
before
giving
the
signal.
Making
himself
small
to
the
ground
and
using
the
fog
once
again
to
hide
his
position,
he
turned,
faced
the
compound
and
gave
the
signal.
From
where
the
two
men
were
positioned
the
signal
shone
like
a
red
hew
against
the
fog.

Waiting
anxiously
for
his
brother
to
make
his
escape,
Lee
knew
that
given
his
background
he
would
make
it
out
okay,
but
was
unsure
of
McKay’s
ability
to
go
undetected.
Sitting
on
the
damp
ground
, he
tentatively
waited
to
see
who
emerged
out
of
the
fog.
While
waiting,
Lee
heard
a
loud
hissing
noise
come
from
his
pocket
and
quickly
scrambled
to
grab
the
radio
he
had
taken
from
Ericson.
Struggling
to
get
the
radio
from
his
pocket and
turn
it
down,
he
heard
command
looking
for
Ericson
to
check
in
again.

“God
damn
it,
Ericson
you
were
supposed
to
check
in
ten
minutes
ago,
over.”
followed
by
a
brief
silence.
“Ericson
respond,
over.”

Lee
debated
in
his
head
whether
he
would
answer
in
the
place
of
Ericson.
Lee
struggled
as
to
what
to
do,
weighed
up
his
options
quickly
in
his
head,
recognising
he
had
to
cover
up
what
happened
to
make
sure
his
brother
and
McKay
had
time
to
escape.
Placing
his
finger
over
the
radio
button
,
as
he
went
to
push
down
on
the
button
a
voice
came
through
the
radio
before
he
had
delivered
his
message.

“Right,
Ericson.
I
am
coming
down,
you
better
have
a
good
excuse
for
that,
over.”
Lee
turned
his
eyes
back
to
the
fence
where
his
brother
was
coming
from
and
began
frantically
willing
his
brother
to
move
with
a
heightened
urgency.

Tom
and
McKay
both
converged
where
Lee
was
and
dropped
to
the
ground
beside
him
to
keep
cover.
Lee
turned
to
Tom
.

“It's
only
a
matter
of
time.”
No
sooner
than
he
had
said
those
words
a
loud
alarm
sounded
from
behind
them
and
all
the
spotlights
illuminated
the area.
There
was
enough
light
to
render
the
fog
cover
meaningless.

As
the
spotlights
were
scanning
the
area,
the
men
found
themselves
pinned
down
by
fast
moving
beams.
Lee
had
run
out
of
ideas.
At
a
loss
as
to
what
to
do
next,
he
turned
to
his
brother
for
guidance,
“What
do
we
do
now?”

Tom
grabbed
the
radio
from
Lee’s
hands
,
seeking
the
North
Star
to
see
where
they
were
positioned
in
relation
to
the
compound.
Quickly
deducing
that
they
were
to
the
north-east
of
the
compound
,
he
radioed,
“Prisoners
spotted
on
foot
to
the
west
of
the
compound.”
As
soon
as
the
words
played
across
the
radio
the
spotlights
turned
to
the
west
of
the
compound.

Tom turned to Lee and McKay and spoke hastily, “This will buy us a little time. When they realise we are not heading west they will turn to the east, and we won't be there either, come on we need to put a lot of distance between here and there.” As Tom stood up on his feet he put the radio in his pocket. “Let’s go while we still have fog and the cover of night to hide our tracks. Come morning we will be easily tracked in these conditions.” With that the three men rose and disappeared into the night.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Leading
them
back
up
the
ridge
Lee had
maneuvered
around
only
hours
before
,
they
made
their
way
back
to
the
ledge
that
he
had
originally
used
as
a
vantage
point
over
the
compound.
Lee
started
to
gather
all
his
equipment
that
he
had
left
before
making
his
descent
down
the
hill
to
liberate
his
brother.

Lee
and
Tom
quickly
began
to
hide
any
evidence
that
there
had
been
a
camp
set
up
on
the
site
and
made
sure
to
cover
up
anything
that
would
link
Lee
to
the
escape.
They
covered
up
all
his
tracks
so
even
though
the
guards
would
certainly
send
out
a
search
party
they
would
be
tricked
into
thinking
there
was
only
the
two
prisoners
and
no
co-
conspirators
involved.

As
the
two
men
cleared
the
area
McKay
kept
watch. Noting
how
proficient
Lee
was
in
covering
his
tracks,
he
quizzed him. “Have
you
ever
been
in
the
service?”

Before
Lee
had
a
chance
to
answer,
the
sound
of
a
twig
breaking
off
in
the
distance
could
be
heard.

Even
though
it
wasn’t
loud,
it
echoed
through
Lee
and
Tom,
reminding
them
of
the
imminent
danger
that
a
snapping
twig
can
bring;
a
memory
of
all
those
years
ago
when
they
confronted
the
bear
in
the
woods
filling
their
minds.
Despite
being
faint
and
off
in
the
distance
the
sound
penetrated
the
three
men
and
caused
them
to
instantly
look
at
each
other.

“There
is
no
way
they
could
find
us
that
quick…”
and
in
a
deafening
silence
the
three
men
waited
to
see
what
was
to
emerge
from
the
darkness.

The
men
stood
with
their
backs
to
the
ridge
and
faced
into
the
wooded
area.
They
scanned
the
tree
line
for
any
signs
of
movement.
Something
caught
Lee’s
attention
away
from
the
tree
line.
Glancing
on
the
ground
at
where
his
equipment
was
he
saw
that
all
the
schematics
were
sitting
beside
his
bag
, which
had
been
moved.
He
turned
his
attention
to
alert
Tom
and
let
out
a
whisper
in
his
direction.
“Tom…”
Getting
no
acknowledgment
that
Tom
had
heard
what
he
said
he
again
tried with
more
urgency
in
his
call,
“Psst,
Tom…”

Tom
then
broke
his
attention
away
from
scanning
the
horizon
where
he
was
trying
to
figure
out
who
or
what
was
there,
and turned
to
Lee
with
a
questioning
expression
on
his
face.
Lee
pointed
to
the
ground
where
his
bag
had
been
opened
and
stated,
“They
are
already
here…”

Tom
glanced
at
McKay
and
saw
his
attention
was
firmly
fixed
on
the
tree
line
. He
ran
up
to
Lee,
gripped
him
firmly,
dragged
him
a
few
paces
over
to
the
base
of
a
tall
tree
and
without
hesitation
he
whispered
in
his
ear,
“Remember
the
bear…”
and
he
launched
his
younger
brother
vertically
into
the
tree
over
his
head.
Managing
to
grab
a
branch
and
pull
himself
onto
it,
Lee
found
himself
half
way
up
the
tree
looking
down
on
his
brother.

Hearing
a
commotion
from
behind
him
McKay
turned
around
to
see
Lee
wasn't
there.
He
grilled
Tom,
“Where's
your
brother?”

Tom
hastening
himself
replied,
“Don't
worry
about
him,
and
just
get
ready…”
Tom
knew
that
the
noise
that
came
from
the
woods
was
too
subtle
to
be
more
than
one
man
and
he
was
anxious
that
the
figure
that
would
appear
from the
cover
of
darkness
would
be
the
sinister
form
of
Project
K.
He looked
to
McKay.
“We
have
to
get
him
before
he
gets
us.
We
won't
get
a
second
chance
to
do
this…”
he
fervently
acknowledged.

Tom’s
worst
fears
were
becoming
a
reality,
as
a
figure
emerged
out
of
the
darkness
and
began
to
move
with
the
same
sinister
stealth
that
he
had
seen
before.
The
shadows
he
cast
seemed
to
come
from
three
different
places
at
once.
The
two
men
waited
in
the
clearing
with
baited
breath
to
see
who
would
show
themselves
from
behind
the
shadows.

A
dark
figure
began
to
form
and
manifest.
It
moved
out
towards
the
two
men.
Even
the
fog
parted
to
allow
the
man
through
for
fear
of
the
effect
he
would
have.
As
the
fog
parted
it
was
replaced
with
an
ominous
downpour
of
rain.
The
moon
shone
through
and
illuminated
from
the
back
of
the
man’s
head.
The
rain
bounced
off
his
body
as
if
it
was
trying
to
escape
his
touch.