Powerless (Book 1): Powerless (3 page)

A moment of clarity hit him and he bolted to his feet, ignoring the pain that seared through his body like a hot poker on cold flesh. Dashing towards the rear of the car, he rounded the trunk, not noticing a loose piece of metal. Treading on it, it offered him no grip to the ground. Once again he collapsed as the smooth wet metal slid from under foot.

As
he
hit
the
ground,
he
could
see
round
the
side
of
the
car to the passenger side. There she was, struggling to breathe, only managing to take short sharp breaths and struggling to cling onto consciousness. For a moment all he could do was stare at her, terrified of the reality of the situation. Labouring back to his feet,
he
went
to
tend
to
her. As he moved
closer,
the
full
extent of her injuries were hidden as she lay holding her open jacket across her chest.

“Are you okay, Joey?”

No words left her mouth and she simply pulled open her jacket. Philip’s eyes widened, rising his hand to his mouth at the horror of what he was presented with. Sticking through her blood soaked blouse was a large piece of jagged metal puncturing her chest.

There
was
a
large
bend
in
the
metal
that
Philip
put
straight
with ease
. Holding her gaze steady with his, he pulled the metal from her chest to free her from the wreckage.  Josephine howled out in pain. Pulling the metal he could feel the jagged edges rubbing, tearing against his wife’s insides. The sound of Josephine shrieking and the feeling of his wife’s bones on the metal were unbearable to him. Instead he tried to focus on the task at hand, saving the life of his wife and child. Biting back tears he looked down at her chest. The jagged metal left an open wound, but her
ability
to
heal was drained by the later stages of pregnancy. There
would
be
no
way
back
from
this. But he couldn’t think of that. He couldn’t face it. Putting pressure on the laceration he tried to stem the bleeding, all the while knowing in his heart that there was little hope for his beloved.
 
Philip
looked
into
the
eyes
of
his
wife
and did something he had never done in all the years they were together. He lied. She looked up
at
him
and
struggled
to
speak.

Philip
reassuringly
spoke to
her in hushed tones.
“It’s
ok,
you
are
going
to
be
fine,
you
need
to
save
your
strength.”

Knowing
she
was
hearing
lies
and
choosing
to
ignore
the
comfort
Philip
was
offering,
she
continued
to
struggle
painfully
for
speech.
Words
she
searched
for
would
not
come
easily
given
the
extent
of
her
trauma;
she
kept
trying
and
eventually
forced
out
the
words,
“Save
my
baby.”

Looking
into
the
back
seat
of
the
car,
Philip
reached for
his
medical
bag.
 
Right
there
in
the
middle
of
all
that
devastation,
disarray
and
through
immeasurable
heartache
, he
performed
a
procedure
that
had
not
been
done
for
an
age. Taking
his
scalpel
, he cut
into
his
wife.
As he cut her open a combination of amniotic fluid and blood poured out. Reaching his
hand into her open womb he removed their child. Quickly he pulled off his coat and wrapped it around the newborn child. Teary eyed, devastated and completely numb from shock, he placed the child in his dying
wife’s
arms. Through
his pain
he
struggled
to
say,
“Look
Joey,
it’s
our
little
boy.”

Unable to lift her arms to offer her son a cuddle,
Josephine simply lay with her son propped up on her dying body, unable to move an inch. Looking
at
her
son
for
the
first
time
with
fading
eyes,
she pushed
out
one
more
word.

“Lee.”

Breaking
down,
Philip kissed
her
softly
on
the
lips.
As a tear rolled down her cheek s
he
gave
one
last
breath
and
with
that,
she
died
on
the
side
of
the
road
amid
all
that
chaos. Philip
was left
to
deal
with
the
devastation
that
followed
this
tragic
event. Every morning he woke up to the
heartache
of
knowing
the
loss
of
the
one
person
who
filled
his
heart;
the
only
woman
he
truly
loved,
the
person
he
expected
to
grow
old
with.
And as much as he wanted to lie in bed all day, going through photo albums and thinking over moments long since passed with his beloved Joey,
he was not able to wallow in this pain,
having
two
young
boys
to
raise
and
provide
for.

Over
the
coming
years
he
did
just
that,
moving past his own pain and focusing on the two people most important in the entire world to him.
He
was
a
caring
father
who
taught
his
boys
the
importance
of
being
good
and
just.
At
times
he
was
a
little
hard
and
strict
with
his
boys,
but
he
always
had
their
best
interests
at
heart.

*

Tom returned from the car with the bag in hand. Seeing his father sitting at the table appearing to be uncharacteristically emotional, he entered and took the knife from his hand. He sat in the chair beside him and began to chop. Philip stood up and went to the oven, lifting the wooden spoon once again and plunging it into the pot. After a couple of stirs he began to laugh.

“What’s up?” Tom asked quizzically from the table.

“I guess there’s a first for everything,” Philip proclaimed. The sauce is sticking!” Once again both men laughed.

Tom gathered up all the onions and carrots and dropping them into the pot, told his father, “Don’t worry, you know Lee. He’ll never notice and if he does he won’t say anything.”

CHAPTER THREE

The inevitable wailing of sirens he had expected hadn’t come and he was unsure if they would. Were he in Jimmy’s position he knew without doubt that he would have reported it. But he wasn’t Jimmy.

Beginning to relax, Lee turned his eyes downward to the coffee cup clasped tightly in his hand. What remained of the heat that emanated out from the drink was fading fast, but this didn’t seem to bother him, as he slowly sipped on the now lukewarm cappuccino, enjoying the cool froth as he got closer to the bottom of the cup. He contemplated going to the counter to order another, but the option to just sit and reflect won out.

Today was always bittersweet. Well, more bitter than sweet. Every year this day would roll by and he would face an internal rift that weighed heavily on him. Mostly he spent it thinking about his family and hiding the fact that it was meant to be a joyous occasion rather than a sombre one, but for him every year brought with it a small feeling of guilt, a feeling that if today was not his birthday his life might have been very different.

Lee thought back on the life his parents had; it was a life that he could barely imagine, in comparison to his own. But no, it wasn’t so much the life that he envied, but the love they shared. Philip
and
Josephine
had been
high
school
sweethearts
and
had
only
known
love
for
each
other.
Josephine
was
free-spirited with a kind heart and a soft soul that
reflected
in
her
outlook
on
life.
She
would
often
be
seen
tending
her
garden
or
painting
outside,
if
the
mood
took
her.
She
had
no
illusions
of
grandeur;
she
was
humble,
loving
and
lived
for
her
family.
Philip,
in
contrast,
had
quite
a
regimental
upbringing.
His
father
had
been
a
soldier
in
the
war
whose
special
skill
was
covert
sabotage
missions,
often
finding
himself
behind
enemy
lines
for
most
of
the
duration
of
the
war.
These
skills
he
imparted
onto
his
son,
taking
him
hunting
high
in
the
woods
for
days
at
a
time,
teaching
him
how
to
remain
concealed
amongst
the
natural
environment
and
how
to
conceal
his
scent
using
the
wind
and
read
the
land
around
him.

Lee spent his younger years listening to his father talk about his grandfather, a man Lee never met but one who would shape his life through the teachings he bestowed upon Philip. Lee listened to his father with a respect that shone through his eyes.

“When
I wasn’t
out
hunting
with
your granddad
,
I
was
learning
mechanical
skills
in the old shed behind the main house
. Now it’s a broken down old building, but then it was magnificent. Everything was shiny and all his tools were kept in such order that he could always lay his hand on the tool he was looking for. We spent summer after summer
mostly
by
taking
apart
pre-war
vehicles
and
restoring
them
to
their
former
glory.” He paused as his eyes stared ahead, reliving those moments of simplistic joy.
“
After
your granddad
died,
and
I
set
about
working
on
an
engine,
I could then - and still can -
hear
his
voice
guiding
my
hand
and
telling
me
what
to
do.”

Philip’s
father
had
seen
the
horrors
of
war
and
although
he didn’t want
that
life
for
his
son,
he appreciated
that
the
balance
of
power
was
on
such
a
knife-edge
that
if
a
war
were
to
flare
again,
he
would
want
him
to
be
as
prepared
as
possible.

Even
though
his
father
was
stern
towards
him
and
expected
a
lot from
him,
he always
knew
h
e
loved
him,
even
if he had
difficulty
showing
it.
Philip
chose
a
selfless
life,
helping
others
by
becoming
a
doctor
and
it
was
this
choice
that showed his father
he
had
raised
a
good
man.

His parents
seemed
polar
opposites
in
many
respects,
but
as a couple
they
just
seemed
to
work. Their
contrasting
personalities
appeared
to
balance,
shaping
the
perfect
relationship.
They
had
their
ups
and
downs
as
many
young
couples
did,
but
both
knew
that
love
wasn't
about
perfection,
but
rather
it
was
about
compromise. The mutual respect that they had for each other was unwavering and while the heady romance of their youth had settled down to a simmering glow, their mutual respect and admiration meant that they each would happily compromise for the other. They
were
a
sensible
couple,
who
worked
hard
in
their
youth
to
be
in
a
position
to
start
a
family
and
be
able
to
provide
a
good
life
for
their
future.

Lee paused his thoughts and looked down at his hands. His unfinished coffee sat between them and now leant a pale stain to the inside of his cup. He stared down at it as he swirled the inch of liquid around the cup, a heavy sense of melancholy sitting on his shoulders. He thought back further, to a time before his parents were born and even before his granddad was born. Reminiscing on a time where he would have fitted into the world quite normally; a time where evolution wouldn’t have been so cruel as to make him feel alone in the world; the only ordinary man in a world of power.

Today’s
world
was very different to the one that Lee dreamt off. And dream he often did. Although practical and hard working by nature, there was something hollow inside him; a feeling that he didn’t belong, and try as he might, he couldn’t escape this weighty feeling. So he consoled himself with his own thoughts of a world long since gone and the opposite of everything he now lived with. But those dreams always ended too quickly, leaving him with the reality of this life,
where
everyone
is
special,
where
the
ability
to
do
incredible
things
is
an
everyday
occurrence
and
each
person
is
gifted
with
an
ability
beyond
the
realm
of
what
is
comparable.
In
this
world
a
child
might
have
the
ability
to
throw
a
car
through
the
air;
a
person
does
not
necessarily
need
a
plane
for
the
ability
to
fly;
the
most
difficult
mathematical
problems
can
be
solved
in
a
matter
of
seconds
by
high
school
students.

In
this
world,
evolution
took
a
major
leap
forward
,
unlocking
the
full
potential
of
the
human
mind.
This
potential
manifests
itself
differently
in
every
being
on
this
planet,
gifting
people
with
powers,
an
inherent
concealed
ability
that manifests
itself
either
through
a
physical
capability
or
a
mental
ability.
With
these
abilities
there
are
a
few
effects
on
the
human
body,
like
physical
exhaustion.
It
is
easy
to
exhaust
one’s
power;
the
veiled
capability
of
an
individual
tends
to
last
about
an
hour
or
so.
After
a
prolonged
splurge
of
hidden
virtue,
an
individual
is
left
weakened,
drained
and
in
need
of
rest;
thus
for
every
person’s
strength
there
is
a
corresponding
weakness
as
unique
to
the
individual
as
their
abilities.