Powerless (Book 1): Powerless (36 page)

Lee
kissed
his
brother
softly
on
the
forehead
and
felt
a
chill
in
his
body
as
no
warmth
emanated
from
it.
Lee
feared
he
was
already
gone.

Through
an
empty
stare
he tried
to
catch
his
father’s
eye
in
the
mirror
and
tell
him
that
his
son
had
gone.
He looked
up,
but
was
unable
speak;
no
words
would
form
on
any
breath
leaving
his mouth.
Each
time
he
drank
down
air
to
tell
Philip
what
was happening
and
nothing
would
come
out.
So
Lee
once
again
ran his
fingers
though
his
brother’s
hair
and
whispered
in
his
ear.

“Come
back,
please
come
back,
I
need
you!
You’re
my
hero
and
my
best
friend
and
I
just
can't
go
on
without
you
in
the
world…”

Gazing
up
to
the
heavens,
with
tears
flooding
from
his
eyes
he
saw
the
boy
that
had
helped
to
bring
him
up
and
look
after
him
in
school;
the
young
man
that
told
him
how
to
speak
to
girls;
the
man
that
laid
down
his
own
life
to
protect
his
brother
and
was now
unable
to
hold
his
breath
,
imploring
to
the
heavens
above,
“Please
take
me!
I
will
willingly
take
his
place
if
you
let
him
stay…”

Suddenly
Tom
coughed
as
if
choking
on
something
and
a
large
amount
of
blood
exited
both
from
his
mouth
and
nose.

Lee
roared
to
his
father,
“Hurry
up
dad,
we
don’t
have
long…”
Philip
accelerated
hard
and
drove
with
no
caution
or
consideration
to
anyone
or
anything
that
was
on
the
road.
The
one
concern
and
one
concern
only
was
to
the
wellbeing
of
his
son
who
was
in
the
back
of
his
car,
struggling
to
live.
Making
it
to
the
cabin
and
abandoning
the
car
where
it
stopped;
he
could
see
that
Jennifer
was
already
there
as
her
car
was
in
the
drive. Philip
jumped
out
from
the
driver’s
seat
and
lifted
Tom
from
the
back
of
the
car
and
headed
for
the
house.

Going
towards
the
house,
Jennifer
came
out
to
meet
them.
She
carried
a
look
of
intense
concern
on
her
face
as
Philip
heaved
Tom
up
the
steps
onto
the
porch
where
she
stood.
Philip
looked
at
her
and
urged,
“Help
Lee
inside…”
Jennifer
ran
down
to
the
car
to
look
for
Lee,
peering
into
the
car
she
saw
Lee
struggling
to
move
with
his
injuries
and
exhaustion.

She
threw
his
arm
over
her
shoulder,
helping
him
find
his
feet
and
aiding
him
up
the
stairs
and
into
the
cabin.
They
entered
the
cabin
just
as
Philip
threw
everything
off
the
table
onto
the
floor
to
clear
somewhere
to
place
Tom.
Philip
laid
Tom
down
and
began
to
examine
his
son.
Calling
for
Jennifer
to
help
him;
she
did
as
best
she
could.

All
Lee
could
do
was
sit
and
watch
as
his
body
would
no
longer
respond
to
his
will.
Sitting,
he
watched
his
father
and
his
partner
fight
to
save
Tom.
After
an
hour
Jennifer
came
to
check
on
Lee
.

“Lee,
are
you
okay?”

Lee
broke
down
and
tears
began
to
flow
from
his
face
and
through
the
numbing
pain
and
anguish
he
was
suffering
he
turned
to
her
and
begged,
“This
can't
be
happening,
there
can't
be
a
reality
where
I
have
to
live
without
him.
He
is
my
best
friend,
my
hero
and
my
big
brother. Without
him
I
am
not
whole,
I
am
empty
and
lost,
he’s
the
guiding
star
by
which
I
live
my
life.
I
would
willingly
take
his
place
if
it
only
gave
me
a
minute
more
with
him,
just
to
talk,
just
to
chat
about
something…
nothing…
anything…
I
need
to
hear
his
voice.
I
need
his
advice.
He
is
my
best
man
and
if
he's
not
here,
nothing
will
make
sense
anymore…”

Hanging
his
head
to
his
hands
and
with
tearful
sorrow
he sobbed.
“I
just…
I
just
need
my
big
brother…”

Jennifer
listened
to
Lee’s
barely coherent
desperation and saw
the
pain
in
his
face
and
leaned
in
to
kiss
him
softly.
She
placed
the
palm
of
her
soft
hand
on
his
face
to
comfort
him,
and
then
brought
his
eyes
to
meet
hers.
She
softly
wiped
away
the
tears
from
his
face
with
a
loving
caress
and
began
to
cry
herself. This man that she loved more than herself, more than anyone before him, was in so much pain she could see him cracking before her eyes. She knew that he had already lived with so much pain inside him and although she might not know the full story yet, from this intense evening unfolding around her, she knew it was serious and she had to give him everything that she had to give.