Clark's POV
I was walking with Lois, trying to find where Chloe was held captive.
"Do you mind not pointing that thing at me?" I said towards Lois. It was more of a command than it was a question.
"God, Clark, I'm not aiming it at you." She replied in her sharp tone. I looked at her sarcastically.
"What? I'm not. Besides, it's only your kneecap."
"Well, that makes me feel a lot better." I said, mocking her sarcasm. I wasn't in the mood for Lois's attitude. I just wanted to rescue Chloe, grab Oliver, and get out of here. I heard Lois exhale sharply.
"Look, I know that you're nervous, Smallville, but you've got to remember something. I grew up around green berets and navy seals. Not corn stalks and jersey couches. You stick with me, I'll protect you and you'll be fine."
As she spoke, I saw Chloe strapped down in a chair in the room beside me. Metal cuffs were locked around her wrists like she was some kind of lab rat.
"Chloe." I said soflty to myself. I tried rattling the door to try to get in there and save her.
"Outta the way, Smallville." Lois's voice was right behind me. I turned to see Lois with her gun ready to fire at the key hole.
Bang!
A perfect aim right where she wanted it. I'll have to hand it to her. Even for an Army brat like her, you could tell she knew how to fire a gun. She pushed the door open and marched in there to get Chloe.
"Chloe!" I heard Lois say loudly, in alert.
"Lois." Chloe's voice replied matching her tone of voice.
"Lois! Look behind you! Watch out!" I could hear the panic in her voice. I ran in the room, and saw Lois slump to the ground. In rage, I punched the man in the head, who had done this to Lois, and knocked him out. Turning my attention towards Lois's still body on the ground, I checked to see if she was alright.
"Clark!" I heard Chloe cry out my name. I snapped my head in her direction.
"Where have you been? I've been waiting for you." I got up and rushed towards her.
"Sorry." I said unbuckling the shackles on her wrists carefully. "I got held up in a Russian work camp." Pushing a computer screen out of the way, I embraced her in my arms relieved that she was alright. "I'm so glad you're okay." We shared an intimate moment before she pulled away sharply.
"What happened to you?" Chloe asked me apprehensively, her hands still lingering at the nape of my neck.
"You're..."
"...human." I finished. I looked down at my feet, disappointed in myself.
"Turns out when Jor-El said, there was a way to control me..." I looked up, shaking my head. Her eyes were wide staring back at me.
"...he meant taking away you're powers." She sighed.
"How are we gonna get out of here?" She asked, her green eyes staring intensely at me.
"Don't worry, Oliver's with me." I answered proudly. I could feel a smile creep up on the corners of my mouth, but it disappeared when Chloe shook her head at me, doubtfully.
"Security's closing in on him. They already have Dine and AC." She assured me reluctantly.
I'm going to be in this place longer than I expected.
"Watch Lois." I commanded Chloe. I had no time to waste.
"Clark, you have no way of defending yourself." Chloe snapped back, panic clouding her face again.
"I'll be fine."
I gave her one last look before running out the doors. Fleating down the stairs, cautiously, I saw Oliver.
"Oliver, there you are." I stated, relieved to see him alright.
"I knew they couldn't touch you." I complemented Oliver with pride.
"Where's Lex." Oliver asked sternly in his deep, disguised voice. His face was serious, and he wasn't joking.
"Lex?" I questioned him, pulling my eyebrows together. I was confused.
"I told you, I have no idea."
He stared at me intensely, his lips turning in a hard line before raising his bow and arrow straight at me. I started to get worried. Oliver pulled the arrow tight and launched it. It pierced my now vulnerable skin and lodged itself directly above my heart. The pain wasn't as bad as the shock.
How could Oliver do this to me? Something must be wrong.
I managed to pull the arrow out, but the deep wound was still bleeding profusely.
"That's was a warning, Clark, the next one goes straight through your heart. Answer me!" Oliver threatened.
The next one? I don't even want to think about the next shot. I have to stop him.
"WHERE IS HE?" He shouted, his voice booming throughout the room.
"I don't know." I gasped. It was getting hard for me to breathe. The pain was increasing, and I could feel my arm starting to grow numb.
"Start talking, or the biography of Clark Kent comes to a sudden tragic end."
Does Oliver have no mercy? Was he really going to kill me without remorse? Leave me here bloody and dying?
So many questions fluttered my mind. I had to save him, not only for my sake, but for Chloe and his own sake.
"Oliver, you're not yourself." I tried to convince him, attempting to break his controlled-like state of mind the best I could, but the pain took hold once again.
"I'll do whatever it takes to find Lex." He already had his arrow prepared to seal my fate. Oliver hated Lex with every fiber of his being, but this wasn't Oliver. It was some sort of sadistic fiend trying to torture me to find someone no one knew his whereabouts. Without a second thought, he released the arrow aiming directly at my heart.
"I DON"T KNOW!" I grunted, but the pain creeped through and choked my voice. I raised my hand, praying I could block it from further agony.
There was no use. The momentum of the arrow went speeding through the air, cutting through my chest like butter, shattering the window behind me. The pain was excruciating, like nothing I've ever felt before. I clutched my chest, but the blood came seeping between my fingers.
Is this what my dad felt while having a heart attack before death took him away?
I collapsed to my back. If it was hard for me to breathe before, it was nearly impossible now. Every breath I took was like needles puncturing every inch of my body. My heartbeats were at super-speed. Trying to work through the pain, I tried to get up, but everytime I pushed upwards, it felt like someone was was forcing me down even harder. Every time I tried to fight back, the force got stronger. I could hear footsteps running up to me. It was Oliver.
"Oh, God." Oliver mumbled under his breath. He knelt down and put his hands on my blood stained chest. It was like he was trying to force the blood back into my weakening body.
"Clark." He uttered my name in a panic. This was the Oliver I wanted to hear.
"C'mon. I'm so sorry." He stuttered. Now he was apologizing. I was in too much pain to get mad at him.
"Sorry, Clark...please. Clark. His voice cracking when he repeated my name. I could hear the tears choking his voice.
"Clark, can you hear me?
I didn't want to answer him. I couldn't answer him. My breathes came like dotted lines. My left arm had gone completely numb.
"Oh, no." I heard a breathless familiar female voice come closer to me.
"I can save him." Chloe hushed softly. In control, she tucked her tiny hands beneath my head and pulled up into her embrace.
"I couldn't stop myself." Oliver wretched to himself. The remorse started to sink in.
"Oliver, move back. I can save him." She snapped back at Oliver. The feeling was getting worse. With this pain came agony. The agony of thinking that Chloe was going to sacrifice herself in order to save me. That was unendurable. I had to fight stronger. I couldn't let her do this.
"No...Chloe." I struggled to say. My voice was almost inaudible, even to my ears.
"No, Chloe." I repeated louder, my breaths even more labored than before. I was fighting so hard not to surrender.
"It's going to be okay." She soothed, brushing her hand lightly over my forehead.
"No...no, don't heal me." I choked out, but the agony was too much. I swallowed more air in. I was beginning to get a tingley sensation. I knew this was it. The numbness was slowly pulling me in, like a warm blanket wrapping itself around me carefully. I could no longer see Oliver. My sight was becoming more blurry with every blink, and Chloe's soft face was becoming fuzzy. I didn't want to lose this image. My eyes locked with hers.
I felt Chloe slowly lower her hand and place it on my crimson chest. This was it. One of us was going to die. I tried to hold a mental picture of her beautiful face, staring back at me before it was too late. But, every second, her face became more disfigured.
"It's not working." Chloe stammered, fear in her voice. Relief coursed through me. I couldn't stand the thought of losing Chloe once again. My sight was getting so foggy, that I could hardly make her face out anymore. The blanket continued to wrap itself around me.
I could still feel her touch, one of the few senses I still maintained. I could feel her pull my head closer against her chest.
"Clark?" She muttered my name delicately once more.
Memories started to flash through my mind. Pleasant memories. The first one was of Lana, looking sweetly at me on my bed, smiling.
"Hi." She breathed soflty in her angel voice. I didn't want that image to leave. In return, a better memory took it's place. It was Lana again, walking up to her porch after prom looking beautiful as always in her pink dress looking around. I remember thinking she could hear me up in my barn loft. That memory slowly faded out also. I saw my mom and dad waving goodbye at me as I drove away in my new truck. They looked so happy. My mom blew me a kiss. The mood shifted. This was a memory I never wanted to see again. My mom dressed in black, mourning at my father's funeral. I hated seeing her in so much sorrow. The memories dissolved, and I saw John Jones above me.
"I'm here, Kal-El." He assured me. I felt the blanket wrap the last bit of itself around me. I let my eyes flutter shut.
As I relaxed, one last memory drifted into my mind. The memory of Chloe and I on our first day of freshman year, standing outside the school with Pete. I had missed the bus and ran through the corn stalks with my superspeed to get to school on time. I remember Chloe asking how I got there so fast, and I told her I took a short cut. Then, before the memory could continue, I started to feel stronger. I could feel warmth and light, like flying. I felt the pain fade away, and the blanket unwrap itself from around me. I was beginning to feel myself return once again.