Disclaimer – Nothing belongs to me aside from the plot and Ashley. All else is someone else's…
Author's Note – I haven't really set this in any particular season of Smallville. I think it's just a stand-alone piece; possibly AU, I haven't really decided yet! Just enjoy…
Prologue
The weather had remained unchanged for days, the blue cloudless skies and blazing sun were welcomed for a while but now, people were starting to pray for rain. It was a seemingly endless summer but the local land was starting to suffer, burning despite the inbuilt sprinkler systems on most farms. Ashley had escaped her father's farm for the afternoon and driven her art supplies with her out to the empty field along the main road. She loved the view of the town from there and had painted it a million times or more but it was still her favourite scene. She had almost completed her painting when she saw an unusual flash in the sky over the town; she frowned and looked up but saw nothing. A few clouds had started to gather but they were cotton wool white, not the dark grey that usually accompanied lightning, she had assumed that was what the flash was. She shrugged it off as her imagination and began putting the finishing touches to her newest masterpiece. A few minutes later, she saw another flash high above the town and rather than wonder about the weird weather, she started to pack her supplies into her rucksack. She was just about to pick up her painting when she saw the first fork of lightning flash through the pale blue sky.
Heat lightning, her father had told her about it when she was younger but it usually happened on hot, sultry nights. The lightning bolts were silent because of the high temperatures and the distance of the observer from the storm itself. She smiled, she had never thought they would have heat lightning here; it was usually confined to more urban areas. She grabbed her bag and turned to leave but there was a loud crack; the ground before her was smoking and burnt. She instinctively put her hand to her heart, as if checking it was still beating. Had she really just escaped being hit by lightning? Why was there not thunder if the storm was moving closer? She stared at the burnt patch of grass and began to frown, kneeling down she moved aside the browned blades to find glowing grains of what looked like broken rocks. Except that they were green. She picked one up and inspected it more closely; it looked exactly like meteor rock but they didn't glow like this.
Ashley began to walk towards the road where she had left the car, still examining the strange glowing rock. She heard a distant rumble and looked up, expecting another flash of lightning but instead seeing an old red truck trundling up the road. She shook her head, berating herself for believing a storm could appear from nowhere when suddenly, searing pain filled her body, coursing through her veins and into her bones. Her reflexes went into overdrive and her hands formed fists to the pain; her knuckles white with the tension, she crushed the glowing rock she had been holding. She dropped the shattered pieces to the ground and stumbled forward, dropping her bag and painting as she fell flat, releasing a scream of sheer panic and agony.
Clark slammed on the brakes of the truck and jumped out, rushing across the field to where he had seen the blonde girl fall. He was sure he had seen a white flash directly above her but it was impossible, it was too clear for a storm. He stopped at her body; she looked burned and her fingertips were blackened; he rolled her over and took her into his arms. He had to get her to the hospital; she was badly hurt and moaning softly in pain.
"Please," she whispered, the skin around her mouth cracking with the movement and tears flooding her eyes with the sting of it. "Help me," Clark was about to reply when she passed out. Hoping she would stay that way, Clark looked around to check they were alone and began to run…