Powerless (Book 1): Powerless (4 page)

This
is
a
world
that
knows
only
peace.
There
are
no
crimes
of
any
significance other than basic crimes any good beat cop could handle;
no
wars
at
all.
This
is
a
world
where
good
and
evil
co-exist
and
have
found
equilibrium
for
survival,
but
this
was
not
always
the
case.
Crime
tried
to
take
over,
with
evil
trying
to
take
advantage
of
new
found
strengths.
People
could
simply
walk
into
banks
and
take
money,
should
they
choose
to.

People
who
choose
to
murder
and
rape
can
never
be
seen
committing
crimes.
Power-hungry
leaders
waged
wars
against
weaker
countries
to
steal
natural
resources
and
enslave
the
people
as
victims
of
war.
Good
people
had
to
rise
up
against
tyranny
and
a
world
war
was
fought.

A young boy stood back from the table behind Lee, scraping his chair noisily along the floor as he did so, waking Lee from his reverie. He licked his lips and rolled his shoulders back, once more taking note of his surroundings. People going about their business in the normal way and yet none of them were normal. You could never tell what any one individual’s strength or weakness would be, although that did work to Lee’s advantage. He considered each person in the little café he sat in, imagining what their strength could be and how it might affect their day-to-day life. Did anyone else long for a different life as he did? He sighed; looking down at his hands clenched together so tightly the whites of his knuckles glared at him. Slowly he released them, letting the frustration out through his nose. He needed to pull himself together and get on with his day. Yet something stopped him. The desire to carry on and pretend that he didn’t want something more, something that his parents always had, just wasn’t there. A flicker of shame settled in his stomach as he admitted to himself that just this once he wanted to wallow a little longer, his mind taking him back to a point where his father began to realise Lee was different.

Being
a
single
father
with
a
full-time
job
didn’t
make
things
easy.
His
two
sons
were
both
regular
boys,
they
were
fanatical
about
sports
and
would
sit
together
and
watch
football
and
wrestling
on
the
TV,
often
acting
out
the
moves
of
their
favourite
wrestlers.
Philip would take the boys out for food on the nights where his long hours got the better of him, leaving him reluctant to face the arduous task of cleaning up after dinner, although he actually enjoyed cooking for the boys.

To Lee and Tom this was a welcome treat as Philip only ever had healthy food in the house and the idea of getting a burger and milkshake always seemed like such an exciting prospect. Philip would always allow Lee to order first, turning to him and asking, “What looks good Lee?” But no matter where they went for food, Lee would always look to his brother for guidance saying, “I don’t really know, Dad. What you think Tom?” and nearly always Lee would ask for the same as Tom, unless there were mushrooms in it. Lee hated mushrooms and Tom loved them, often ordering extra mushrooms to goad a reaction from Lee.

They
fought
like
normal
boys
do
and
had
a
textbook
relationship. When
Lee
turned
ten,
his
father
became
aware
that
he
didn’t
seem
to
have
developed
any
of
his
hidden
abilities
yet.
By is
twelfth
birthday
he
had
still
shown
no
heightened
ability
and
his
father
grew
concerned. He kept a close eye on him and subtly tested him by asking him to do things he couldn’t. Testing his strength, he would ask him to lift a box that he had deliberately weighted down. Or when he cut his leg he observed the wound, noticing that he had no accelerated healing. These were the most likely powers for him to have, as they were the powers his parents had. Philip began to see powers in everything he did, hoping to himself that each time he saw something it would be his power.

Philip took Lee and Tom to the local fair and as they strolled along the stalls looking at all the various games and rides, Lee freed his hand from his father’s. Philip did not notice this as his eyes were gazing up to the big wheel. Excited at the prospect of taking his kids on the ride he turned and said, “What do you think boys? Are you game?” But when he looked down only Tom was standing there looking at him. Philip exclaimed, “Where’s Lee!”

Tom quickly looked around, not seeing his brother he simply shrugged his shoulders. Philip grabbed Tom’s hand and ran back the way they came. If Tom hadn’t had the same ability as Philip he may have broken his arm, but with Tom’s strength it just felt like Philip was gripping him a little firmer than usual.

Philip didn’t have to go too far to find Lee; he came upon a dark stall with the small solitary figure of Lee standing in front of it; the only person giving it any attention. Philip was relieved to see his son safe and became aware of the pressure he was putting on Tom’s hand. He loosened his grip and fell to his knee to make sure he hadn’t hurt Tom. After a quick examination he knew Tom was fine.

Philip approached Lee, saying sternly “Lee!” 

But Lee did not turn.

Philip said again “Lee?” this time placing his hand on the young boy’s shoulder. The boy moved his head but did not break his eyes away from what his gaze was fixated upon.

Lee simply said, “Ten thousand, one hundred and eighty seven.” Philip did not understand what his son was saying until he looked into the stand and saw a giant glass container full of jellybeans with a sign over it saying ‘Guess the amount, Win the Prize’.

“Ten thousand, one hundred and eighty seven,” Lee repeated again.

Philip’s heart skipped as he reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out some money so Lee could register his guess and handed it to the woman in the stall.

“How much do you think is in it?” the woman asked Lee.

Once again Lee said, “Ten thousand, one hundred and eighty seven.”

The woman’s face was overcome with surprise. “Aren’t you a clever boy!” She reached for a giant teddy and she handed it to Lee.

Philip took the boys up the big wheel and while the landscape stretched before him, captivating his boys, he could not enjoy the view. He didn’t gaze at the stars as his wide-eyed sons did. Instead he was fixated on
ten thousand, one hundred and eighty seven
and hoped to himself that he had finally discovered his son’s ability.

Packing the boys into the car, he watched in amazement as his little son dragged the teddy bear that was twice his size into the back seat with him and carefully fastened the spare seatbelt around the bear, while Tom hopped into the front.

They were heading home when Philip pulled the car into a gas station to buy some things. The boys thought they were in for a treat when their Dad arrived back with seven large boxes of cereal, something he would never ordinarily allow them to have. When they arrived home Philip sent the boys into the house. Staying behind in the garage, they could hear him tearing the boxes open and pouring the cereal out.

The boys waited by the door and their curiosity spiked. Philip called out, “Lee,” and the two boys entered. Philip looked up at them coming in the door.

“Now Lee, have a look at this…” revealing a large glass vase full to the top with a mixture of the different cereals. “Lee, how much is in the vase?” 

He automatically looked to Tom for his input, but before his eyes met Tom’s, Philip interrupted him.

“Lee, take your time and tell me what you think.”

He stared at the container and after a moment he stated, “Eight thousand, six hundred and twelve.”

Philip’s mouth curved with a smile. “Right, now boys, time for bed.” They did as their father asked and they left the room. Philip waited for them to go and then set about counting the contents of the container.

Lee and Tom lay in their beds chatting about what had happened. Lee was hopeful, asking Tom, “What do you think? Do you think I was right?”

“I don’t know, Lee,” Tom replied. “I suppose we will find out tomorrow.”

After all the excitement of the day the boys soon fell asleep. When they awoke they both ran downstairs to find a very tired Philip at the kitchen table sitting over a coffee. Looking at their father without saying anything he could read the question in Lee’s eyes and all he said was, “Not even close.” He laughed to himself at the ludicrousness of the test he had just performed.

Lee’s heart broke as he felt pulled back out of a world he wanted to be accepted into. Sadness set in as he sat thinking he would never have an answer to the question. Philip was surprised by this, seeing the sadness in his little son and decided enough was enough. He could not subtly test him anymore, as his son was becoming aware that he was different. He could no longer waste time taking
him
to
the
hospital
where
he
worked
and
running
a
barrage
of
tests
to
determine
if
there
was
anything
wrong
with
his
son. All
the
tests
had
come
back
normal.
He
was
a
normal
happy
twelve
year
old
boy,
but
with
one
big
difference. In a world where the norm is to be different, being less than normal was too hard for a boy of his age to comprehend and deal with.

Philip
determined
that
it
would
be
best
for
Lee
and
Tom
if
no
one
found
out
that
Lee
was
different,
all
the
while
hoping
that
Lee
was
just
a
late
developer.
Philip was afraid that if anyone found out that Lee had no ability he would be taken away from him and barbaric experiments would be performed on him. The same experiments that the governments of the past were guilty of. Afraid that his son would be hailed as a missing link from this time to a world that had long passed, he decided
to
protect
his
boys. He
would
have
to
put
a
plan
into
action.