FOUR

The night passed uneventfully and when the sun came up the next morning Rokk was watching the house where Garth had been the night before. Rokk watched as Clark went about his chores before heading off into town. Only Clark was moving so fast that Rokk couldn't see him most of the time. Rokk just smiled to himself. If the rest of the world knew about Clark's special abilities he wouldn't have to hide them all the time. But then he'd probably end up being the subject of some very uncomfortable experiments as well.

According to what he and Garth had found in the library there was no school that week. Apparently the Spring Formal was held at the end of Spring Break so the students had plenty of time to get things ready for the formal. It explained why there were so many students around town instead of in school.

When his chores were finished Clark went into the house for breakfast. Rokk wished he had brought something with him to eat. Sitting there all night had left him famished. After breakfast Clark and Jonathan got into the truck and headed into town. Rokk followed at a discrete distance; close enough to keep them in sight but far enough away so that they wouldn't see him. Once in town he joined up with Imra and Garth who were at the Talon getting something to eat.

"How did it go?" Garth asked as Rokk ordered something to eat.

"Boring," said Rokk. "This place is nothing like home. Once it gets dark there's literally nothing to do. I don't know why we had to watch him during the night. Nothing is going to happen while it's dark."

"We don't know that for sure," said Imra. "Remember what Querl said? We have to be here to act when the major event occurs but there could be other events that we may have to handle. And we really have no idea when some of those minor events might happen."

"Okay, fine," said Rokk. "Any idea when the major event will occur? Once we handle that we can go home and believe me I'm more than ready to go home. This place is positively primitive."

"Not yet," said Imra. "Dr. Becker wasn't sure exactly when it was going to happen. But he thought it would be within a couple of days. Only I think we got here a few days earlier than we had planned so we'll just have to wait."

"We do know it will happen within the next three days," said Garth. "Dr. Becker and Querl were pretty sure it happened before the Spring Formal but they aren't sure how long before it. We'll just have to wait and keep our eyes open. Where's Clark now?"

Imra looked out the window to the street beyond.

"He and his father are at one of the stores buying some supplies for the farm," said Imra. "I think they're going to be there for a while. They seem to have quite a list."

"You'll be sure to let us know when the move," said Garth. It wasn't a question more than a statement of fact.

"Of course," said Imra.

Clark and Jonathan spent nearly the next thirty minutes at the store. When they came out they loaded the items into the truck. Afterwards Clark told his father he had to go to the school to hang the decorations for the Spring Formal. When his dad asked how he would get home, Clark joked that he would run home. At a stern look from Jonathan, Clark said he would get Lana or Chloe to give him a ride home. Then he headed for the Talon to meet up with Lana.

Besides Clark, Lana, and Chloe, six other students had showed up to help with the decorations. They spent nearly the entire afternoon working on the decorations for the formal. It was late in the afternoon when they decided to call it a day. By that time they had prepared nearly half the decorations for the formal. Chloe agreed to give Clark a ride home.

As they left the school and headed for Chloe's car, Clark noticed three figures across the street from the school. They looked to be in their early twenties and Clark found it odd that they would be hanging around the school when school was currently out. As he watched them, they turned and began to walk up the street toward the center of town.

"Chloe, Lana, do either of you recognize any of those people?" Clark asked.

"Can't say I do," said Chloe. "Why?"

"They don't look familiar to me either," said Lana.

"They were in the Talon yesterday," replied Clark. "I've never seen them in town before and I just find it strange that we'd have tourists here."

"You have a good memory," said Chloe. "Maybe they're just passing through town."

"Maybe," said Clark. "I just wondering what they're doing here, that's all."

"They don't look like they're hurting anything," said Lana. "Maybe they've never been in a small town before and they're just looking around."

"Maybe," said Clark. "Well, we'd better get going. My parents will be concerned if I'm late."

As Clark and Chloe got into her car and drive away Imra glanced back at them.

"I told you it would be dangerous to hang around in plain sight," said Imra. "He saw us and he was questioning Chloe and Lana if they had seen us before. He's suspicious of us now."

"We'll have to be more careful in the future," said Garth. "I think the time is nearly here. There are only two more days until the formal. It could happen any time."

"Agreed," said Rokk. "We'll need to lay low for the time being. You know how suspicious he can be. And once he gets suspicious of someone he's not about to let it go. Does he suspect us?"

"Nothing specific," said Imra. "He's just curious about who we are and what we're doing here. Lana has suggested we're just looking around a small town. She thinks we're from the big city and have never been in a small town before."

"We'd better get going," said Garth. "We don't want to loose him. We'll just have to make sure he doesn't see us again so he doesn't get suspicious of us any further."

Together the three turned and began to head for the Kent farm knowing that's where Clark was heading.