Powerless (Book 1): Powerless (35 page)

Looking
up
in
disbelief
at
Lee,
he
echoed
the
sentiments
of
Jennifer
all
that
time
ago
when
she
first
touched
him,
“What
are
you?”

Lee
was
offering
no
explanation,
but
from
what
he
had
heard
while
taking
cover
in
the
tree
he
knew
that
the
reason
McKay
was
unable
to
use
Lee's
power
against
him
was
simply
because
he
didn’t
have
a
power.
He
didn’t
have
a
weakness
either,
so
in
facing
McKay
his
power
counted
for
nothing.
McKay
found
his
feet
and
engaged
him
in
a
fight. Every
time
Lee
landed
a
punch
on
McKay
his
face
was
a
mixture
of
disbelief
and
pain.
But
for
every
blow
that
Lee
landed
McKay
returned
with
one
of
his
own.
The
two
men
fought
a
bloody
fight,
neither
one
of
them
wanting
nor
willing
to
give
any
ground
to
the
other.
The
y
fought
and
fought
for
what
seemed
like
an
age,
each
equal
to
the
other.
Both
men,
bloodied
and
bruised,
began
to
tire.

As the two men battled it out, Lee’s mind was moving at a thousand miles an hour, trying to get to grips with this feeling of strength. To be the one with the power over this monster was an overwhelming feeling that he just hadn’t expected. He’d spent his entire life feeling like a failure, like somehow he deserved to live an unfulfilling life because he didn’t have the one thing that really defined you in this world; a power. After spending years with this belief firmly etched into his personality like a tattoo, now he was overcome with a feeling of pride as he came to accept that he was not powerless. He was the only one who stood a chance of defeating this monster.

Walking
over and
grabbing
McKay,
who
was
hunched
over
and
sucking
in
air,
Lee
pulled
him
up
straight
and
was
about
to
deliver
a
knockout
blow.
McKay in desperation
extended
his
hand
out
and
grabbed
the
knife
that
Lee
had
sitting
on
his
hip,
pulling
it
out
and
slicing
Lee
deep
in
the
face.
He fell
back
clutching
his
face
as
blood
began
to
pour
out.
This
seemed
like
it
would
be
the
end
of
the
fight
as
Lee
could
not
see
or
think
of
a
way
out.

Lee looked to where his brother lay unconscious and felt alone and unprotected. Bleeding heavily from his face and knowing that McKay had his knife in his hands and would delivery his final strike, it was only a matter of time until his light was extinguished permanently.

Battered,
bloody,
bruised
and
exhausted
Lee
found
his
way
to
his
knees.
He seemed
to
just
lie
there
as
if
to
accept
that
there
was
no
way
back
for
him,
resigned
to
the
inevitable.
McKay
looked
at
Lee,
certain
he
was
defeated.

“It’s
a
pity
really.
I'd
love
to
know
what
you
are…”
He
raised
Lee's
knife
up
over
his
shoulder,
pointed
it
down
at
him
while continuing
to
talk.
“Well
I
suppose
it
doesn’t
really
matter
now
any
way.
The
better
man
won…”

Lee
looked
up
at
him
through
pain
and
anguish
with
rainwater
diluting
the
blood
that
ran
from
him,
and
simply
laughed
at
McKay.
Laughing
in
his
face
like
he
had
no
regard
for
anything
McKay
could
say
or
do.

Faced
with
Lee’s
repugnance,
he
faltered
in
his
delivery
of
the
fatal
blow
and
roared,
“Am
I
missing
something?”

Lee
replied
while
opening
his
jacket.
“I'm
pretty
sure
you
did…”
Lee's
jacket
opened
and
revealed
he
too
was
wearing
a
small
GPS
device.

McKay
looked
though
rain
soaked
eyes
and
with
a
look
of
contempt
on
his
face
said,
“Yeah…
and?”

Lee
smirked.
“Look
down…”

On
McKay’s
chest
was
a
small
red
dot
from
a
hunting
rifle.
McKay
took
one
look
at
this
and
tried
to
land
a
fatal
knife
blow
to
Lee. As
he
raised
up
the
knife
a
shot
rang
out
across
the
night
and
the
bullet
struck
McKay
on
his
chest
close
to
his
shoulder.

McKay,
clutching
his
shoulder,
turned
and
ran
for
the
ridge
edge.
He
seemed
to
throw
himself
off
and
disappear
into
the
darkness
below.
Lee
sprinted
after
him
to
the
edge,
gazing down,
but
there
was
no
trace
or
sign
of
him
in
the
misty
night
below.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Lee
heard
a
noise
from
behind
him and
turned
to
be
greeted
with
a
familiar
embrace.
It
was
Philip,
tracking
his
two
boys
once
more
like
he
did
all
those
years
ago.
As
Philip
threw
his
hands
around
Lee,
Lee
fell
under
his
own
weight
from
a
mixture
of
exhaustion
and
pain,
caused
by
the
battle
he
just
fought.
Lee
whispered
softly
in
his
father’s
ear,
“You
took
your
time…”

Philip
was
concerned,
asking
his
badly
beaten
son,
“Are
you
okay
to
walk?”

Lee
pulled
himself
together,
composed
himself
and
judging
himself
fit
enough
to
walk said,
“I
think
I'm
okay
dad,
go
help
Tom…”

Philip
let
Lee
go
and
turned
his
attention
to
Tom.
He quickly
ran
over
to
him
and
threw
the
bag
off
his
back
to
the
ground
beside
where
Tom
was
laying.
Wiping
his
son’s
face
, he
shone
a
light
into
his
eyes
and
then
turned
to
look
at
Lee
and
with
subdued
reverence
voiced
his
fears.
“This
isn’t
good…”

With
white
knuckles,
Philip
seized
the
bag
again,
tossed
it
over
his
shoulder
and
took
a
firm
hold
of
Tom.
He lifted
him
up
from
the
ground
and
threw
him
onto
his
shoulder
with
ease,
telling
Lee,
“If
we
are
to
save
him
we
need
to
move
fast.
We
need
to
get
him
to
the
cabin
where
he
will
be
safe…”

The
three
men
made
their
way
back
to
where
Philip
had
left
his
car. It
was
much
closer
than
where
Lee
had
left
his
so
the
two
men
ran
all
the
way
back.
Philip
carried
Tom
and
Lee
struggled
to
carry
himself.
After
what
seemed
like
a
marathon
distance
run
the
two
men
made
it
back
to
the
car.
Philip
secured
Tom
in
the
back;
Lee
climbed
into
the
back
with
his
brother
and
rested
his
head
on
his
lap.

Philip
jumped
into
the
front
and
started
the
engine,
before
pulling
out
he
turned
to
Lee
handing
him
a
phone.

“Call
Jennifer
and
tell
her
to
get
my
big
medical
bag
and
bring
it
to
the
cabin. Tell
her
to
hurry
and
to
be
wary,
she
might
not
be
safe…”

Lee
did
as
his
father
instructed,
taking
the
phone
and
keyed
in
Jennifer’s
number
,
listening
for
it
to
ring.

The
phone
began
to
ring,
but
before
it
was
able
to
ring
a
second
time
Lee
heard
the
soft
voice
of
his
love
on
the
other
end.
Lee
told
Jennifer
what
his
father
had
said.
“Jennifer,
I
need
you
to
listen
very
carefully,”
he
instructed.
“I
got
Tom,
but
he's
in
a
bad
way.
We
are
taking
him
up
to
the
cabin;
you
remember
how
to
get
there?”

“Yeah,
I
know…”

“Well,
I
need
you
to
go
to
Dad's
house
and
get
his
big
medical
bag
from
his
office,
and
Jennifer
I
need
you
to
be
mindful
. We
don’t
know
who
is
watching…”

“I’ll
be
careful,
you
be
careful
too
and
I
love
you
and
I’ll
see
you
shortly…”

Lee
told
Jennifer
that
he
loved
her
too
and
hung
up
the
phone.

His
attention
then
turned
to
his
brother,
whose
head
was
still
resting
on
his
lap.
Lee
looking
down
at
Tom
who
just
lay
there
completely
still,
with
signs
of
life
ebbing
from
his
face.

Bloodied,
bruised
and
unrecognisable
to
Lee,
this
gave
him
a
numbing
feeling
of
pain
right
down
to
his
core,
deeper
than
he
had
ever
endured
anything
in
his
life.
It
was
strange
for
him
,
knowing
his
own
body
was
full
of
pain
and
numbness,watching
his
brother
laying
there
fighting
to
live,
he felt
useless
, unable
to
help
him.
Given half the chance he would have willingly taken his place.

Lee
sought
some
comfort
that
the
expressionless
man
that
laid
there
was
in
fact
his
brother,
as
the
reality
of
what
he
was
looking
at
was
completely
alien
to
him.
How
could
the
strongest
man
in
the
world
to
him
be
so
close
to
death?
Lee
ran
his
hand
through
Tom’s
hair,
feeling
that
familiar
texture
of
his
hair
passing
through
his
fingers.
It brought the
realisation
of
what
was
happening,
that
this
was
in
fact
his
brother,
his
best
friend,
his
hero
and
he
was
dying
right
in
front
of
him.