Powerless (Book 1): Powerless (28 page)

Tentatively
Lee
backed
away
from
where
he
was
standing. Walking
in
the
direction
of
the
third
cell
, he
was
careful
to
stay
low,
so
as
to
not
cast
too
long
of
a
shadow
ahead
of
him towards
the
guard,
who
was
still
engrossed
in
watching
his inaudible,
small
and
fuzzy
TV.
Every
so
often
the
guard
would
let
out
a
chuckle
at
the
programme
he
was
watching.

Again
he made
very
deliberate
movements,
being
careful
to
focus
his
breathing
so
he
didn’t
make
a
noise
over
that
of
the
TV,
reaching
the
final
cell
undetected.
Every ounce of his being was focused on finding his brother and getting out of that place. He didn’t want to be in there for a second longer than he had to be, but he knew that he had to do it right. As these thoughts past through his mind, his head instinctively twitched a fraction, as if to expel them from his head through motion alone, for he couldn’t handle the reality of a world without his brother and thinking about it wasn’t going to get any of them anywhere.

Breathing in and trying to remember the relaxation techniques that his father had taught him, he forced his mind back to the task at hand. 
He
was
still
bent
down
to avoid
casting
a
shadow.
Extending
his
legs
and
straightening
his
back
, he looked
through
the
window
to
see
if
anyone
was
inside.

The
light
from
behind
Lee
shone
in
through
the
window
onto
the
floor
inside
and
the
first
thing
he
saw
was
a
pair
of
boots
on
the
ground.
So
he had
at
least
discovered
that
there
was
someone
inside.
The
silhouette
cast
by
the
shadow
of
Lee’s
head
obstructed
his
view
of
the
person
who
lay
inside.

Angling
his
body
so
the
light
passed
over
his
shoulder
revealed
the
person
that
lay
therein,
as
the
light
passed
over
him
he
was
able
to
see
the
features
of
a
man
that
he
had
loved
his
entire
life,
a
man
he
would
risk
all
to
save.
Lee
had finally
found
Tom.

He
raised
his
hand
and
waved
it
in
front
of
the
light
to
wake
his
brother
from
his
sleep,
the
breaking
light
got
Tom’s
attention
and
slowly
he began
to
wake.
Tom,
confused
as
to
what
was
going
on,
was
fighting
off
the
symptoms
of
a
deep sleep.
Seeing
the
shadow
cast
by
his
brother
trying
to
get
his
attention,
he
slowly
got
up
from
the
bed
and
walked
towards
the
door.

With
every
small
half-awake
half-asleep
movement
he
made
he
woke
a
little
more.
Through
the
light
he
saw
the
silhouette
of
a
person
beckoning
him
begin
to
fade
and
the
features
of
the
man
in
the
door
began
to
come
clear.

Firstly
he saw
eyes
that
he
had
known
for
what
seemed
to
him
to
be
forever,
then
a
furrowed
look
of
fear
that
he
had
only
seen
a
few
times.
In
fact
the
last
time
he saw
that
look
of
apparent
fear
and
relief
was
not
since
they
came
face
to
face
with
the
bear,
all
those
many
years
before.
The
face
gawking
out
at
Lee
was
that
of
a
man
confused,
scared
and
excited.

Before
any
explanation
was
given
to
Tom
or
before
he
had
a
chance
to
seek
one,
Lee
raised
his
hand
to
his
face
and
placed
his
finger
in
front
of
his
lips,
signalling
Tom
to
remain
quiet.

No
sooner
had
he
made
this
gesture
to
his
brother
than
a
high
-pitched
screech
rang
out
from
between
Lee
and
the
guard, who
sat
only
a
few
paces
away.
Lee’s
eyes
opened
wide
as
he
looked
in
at
his
brother
and
any
relief
that
he
had
held
instantly
drained
to
terror.

Tom’s
expression
reflected
that
of
his
younger
brother who
was
risking
everything
to
find
him.
Lee
dropped
to
the
ground
and
using
his
entire
body
he
pushed
off
the
wall
and
slid
along
the
polished
ground
in
the
direction
of
the
guard.
He
pushed
his
body
tight
up
against
the
security
desk,
which
hid
him
from
the
guard’s
line
of
sight.

The
screech
sounded
again,
this
time
followed
by
a
voice,
“Ericson
come
in,
over.”
The
security
guard
remained
motionless,
before
there
was
time
for
any
reaction
from
the
guard
the
radio
sounded
again,
“Ericson
do
you
copy,
over...”
the
guard
swung
round
on
his
chair
and
lifted
the
radio
that
sat
on
the
desk
just
over
Lee’s
head.

Lee
listened
for
a
response.

“Yea
this
is
Ericson,
what
you
want?!”
a
voice
declared
back
to
him
in
a
disapproving
tone.

“Ericson
this
is
command,
you
never
checked
in,
over…”
Before
replying
Ericson
murmured
to
himself,
“What
is
there
to
check
in…”
But his
reporting
came out clearly.
“Prisoners
secured,
all
clear…” turning
his
back
away
from
Lee
,
once
again
he
looked
at
his
programme.
As
he
turned,
the
voice
on
the
radio
barked.