Powerless (Book 1): Powerless (9 page)

By
the
time
night
began
to
fall
on
the
second
night
the
two
boys
were
setting
up
camp
in
what
seemed
like
a
sleepy
wooded
area.
They
found
a
spot
where
they
would
be
sheltered
from
the
wind
and
rain
and
started
to
make
camp.

Setting
a
snare
at
a
rabbit
hole
in the hope
it would
provide
them
with
dinner, Tom waited nearby to see if his endeavour would prove fruitful. Lee sat by the fire, poking life into it when he heard a high-pitched yelp. A flicker of remorse set in, knowing what the screech meant. Waiting for the return of his brother he grew impatient, wondering why he was taking so long to reappear with the food. Lee walked in the direction the noise had come from, and after a few minutes he came across his brother on his knees. Lee, approaching from behind, was able to peer over Tom’s shoulder and saw tangled up in the snare was a beautiful snowy coloured rabbit.  

Tom didn’t turn but could hear his brother behind him. With his eyes fixated on the rabbit all he could muster was, “I can’t do it.”

Lee answered, “It’s suffering, you have to.”

Tom bowed his head a little lower. “I know, but I can’t.”

The rabbit tried to kick its legs to get away but the strain only tightened the snare around its neck, cutting in further. Witnessing this, Lee reached across his brother’s shoulder and took hold of the rabbit. Lifting it, he gripped the rabbit around the neck and squeezed tightly. The rabbit twitched to loosen his grip but it only tightened, until Lee felt the unmistakable snap of the rabbit’s neck in his hand. Neither of the boys wanted to take a life but Lee knew to leave the rabbit to suffer in the clutches of the snare would be worse.

Tom
prepared
the
rabbit;
taking
his
hunting
knife
out
he
removed
the
rabbit
pelt.
Cleaning
out
the
innards,
all
he
was
left
with
was
meat
ready
to
be
cooked.

Lee watched his brother cautiously prepare the meat, being careful to make sure it was clean and ready for cooking. Tom looked across to Lee, whose eyes were transfixed on his hands and the steps being taken to prepare a meal for them both. Tom spoke in an authoritative way that Lee wasn’t really used to.

“Will you get some wood for the fire. I am not preparing the rabbit for decoration. The sooner we get it on, the sooner we can eat!”

Lee knew that the process of killing the rabbit stressed Tom who was not used to seeing something die before him. Neither of them were, but Lee didn’t feel the stress over it as Tom did, knowing that it was only by necessity. Lee stood up, wiped the dry dirt from the leg of his pants and casually strolled away to find some dry firewood.

Tom
awaited
his
return
so
he could add the fresh logs to the fire to make it really roar for
cooking
the
meat
and
bedding
down
for
the
evening.
The longer Lee was gone the more he became anxious for his return.
Taking
his
emergency
beacon
in
hand
to
signal
for
his
father
to
come,
he
heard
a
twig
snap
off
in
the
distance.
Tom
went
to
see
if
it
was
his
brother
who had
stood on
it,
leaving with a degree of urgency and
not
realising
that
he
left
his
knife
beside
the
freshly
prepared
rabbit.

Walking
five
hundred
paces
or
so,
following
the
track
that
his
brother
had
left,
Tom
was
able
to
see
where
Lee
stopped
to
pick
up
firewood.
He took a moment to silently thank his father for preparing him so well. Tracking was now like a second nature, although the signs were subtle.
Lee's
tracks
stopped abruptly
and
Tom found
a
small
pile
of
firewood that Lee had gathered
lying
on
the
ground
at
the
base
of
a
tree.

Looking
around,
but
unable to
see
his
brother, Tom
heard
another
twig
snap
followed
by
the
sound
of
heavy
breathing.
Tom
spun
around,
but
the
chilling
figure
that
greeted
him
was
not
that
of
his
brother.
Instead
his
eyes
met
something
he
had
not
anticipated
for
a
second.

Tom
’s
heart
dropped
in
his
chest. It took a brief moment for his brain to process the unexpected sight before him.
But the
large
black
bear
was
looking
right
back
at
him, challenging him.
The
bear
was
fully
-grown
.
Sheer
terror
gripped
Tom
as he looked down from the bear’s eyes and saw
its
mouth
was
dripping
with
blood
. His brain fought with the reality that this
could be
the
blood
of
his
younger
brother
.
Slowly
and
deliberately
he
reached
for
his
knife, only
to
find
it
wasn't
there. He
then
realised
that
it
was
left
back
with
all
the
equipment.
He held
his
breath
and
waited
to
see
what
the
bear
would
do.
Tom
knew
he
was
strong
enough
to
kill
it,
but
did
not
know
if
his
strength
made
his
skin
impervious
to
an
attack
from
a
beast
such
as
a
bear.
If
the
bear
was
to
make
a
swipe
at
him
it
could
be
the
end
of
him.

He bit down his fears and looked
the
bear
directly
in
the
eye
,
waiting
for
it
to
react
to
his
presence.
Standing
very
still
the
bear
looked
at
him
and
then
reared
up
on
its
hind
legs
in
a
display
of
dominance
before
landing
back
down
on
all
four
legs.

As
the
bear
landed
it
seemed
content
that
Tom
was
no
threat
and
turned
to
walk
away.
Tom
let
out
a
breath
of
relief
and
mindlessly
shifted
his
weight
from
one
leg
to
the
other. But before he could do anything about it
he
heard
a
snap
under
his
foot,
unknowingly
having
stood
on
a
twig.

The
noise
disturbed
the
bear
and
it
turned
to
face
him,
but
this
time
there
was
no
show
of
dominance,
there
was
no
warning,
the
bear
began
to
charge
for
Tom.
There
was
only
one
of
two
things
he
could
do;
the
first
was
to
play
dead;
to
hit
the
ground
and
hope
the
bear
wouldn’t
see
him
as
a
threat.
The
other
option
was
to
hit
the
bear
with
all
his
might
before
the
bear
was
able
to
land
a
blow
to
him.
This was kill or be killed and every nerve in Tom’s body was alert to his instincts.
His
sense
of
invincibility
kicked
in
and
he
decided
very
quickly
that
if
he
was going
to
die
that
day
it
would
be
on
his
terms,
clenching
every
muscle
in
his
body,
standing
tall,
he braced
himself
for
impact
with
the
bear.
The
animal
covered
the
ground
between
himself
and
Tom
in
a
matter
of
seconds
and
as
the
bear
grew
closer
Tom
could
see
no
soul in
its
eyes,
only
a
beast
set
on
ending
his
short
life.