Chapter 6: The serpent and the arrow

As the trio descended the staircase into the abyss of the school basement, the temperature of the air began to rise. With each step it seemed to grow a few degrees warmer. Chloe thought for a moment she should remove her jacket, but not knowing what to expect next, she decided against it. They continued down one more flight of steps before reaching a landing. When Chloe had checked the map before, there had been 3 doors listed for the basement level. One led to the boiler room, one led to the electrical room, and the third led to a storage room. However, there was only one door in front of them now. She had the feeling that whatever power had taken hold on the town, it would rearrange things to its own whims and desires. Chloe was in the lead of the group and not wanting to waste time trying to figure things out, she reached for the knob and opened the door. To her surprise, what lie beyond was not a boiler room. Instead the room seemed to be a library of some kind. There were shelves lining all four walls, and each shelf was loaded with books. There were several tables in the room as well and dozens of books littered their surfaces.

"I thought this was supposed to be a boiler room." Lex said as he surveyed their surroundings.

"That's what the map said, but I don't think we can trust it." Chloe said. "We should look around and see if there's another door."

As Clark and Lex searched, Chloe walked around the room and swept her flashlight over the tomes that lay sprawled out on one of the tables. The books seemed to be on a multitude of subjects though Chloe wasn't really trying to read any of them. However there was one book open to a page that caught her eye. It seemed to be a book of fairytales with rich illustrations. The particular page showed a drawing of a young man facing some kind of large lizard creature. The young man was armed with a bow and arrow and the illustration depicted him drawing his weapon against the creature. It looked familiar to her, and Chloe racked her brain to remember where she had seen it before. She picked the book up and read the passage above the illustration.

"Hearing this, the hunter armed with bow and arrow said, "I will kill the Lizard." But upon meeting his opponent, he held back, taunting, " Who's afraid of a Reptile". At this the furious Lizard hissed, "I'll swallow you in a single bite!" then, the huge creature attacked, jaws open wide. This was what the man wanted. Calmly drawing his bow, he shot into the Lizards gaping mouth. Effortlessly the arrow flew, piercing the defenseless maw. And the Lizard fell down dead."

"What are you looking at?" Clark asked as he walked over to where she was standing.

Chloe shook her head and put the book back down. "Nothing." She replied. "I was just something that I read once when I was kid, I think. It's not important."

She was going to continue the searching for the door when Lex motioned to her and Clark. "Guys." He called out. "Look at this." As Clark and Chloe approached him, he held out one of the books he had picked up from one of the tables. Chloe reached out and accepted it from him. She turned it clockwise to read the title. It read; The Crimson Tome.

"What's this supposed to be?" She asked.

Lex shrugged. "I didn't read any of it, but it open it, that symbol in the courtyard is on a dog-eared page."

Chloe did as instructed and found the page that had been marked. Indeed the same symbol that had been drawn on the courtyard stones was contained in the book. The symbol took up the entire page. Chloe looked for a caption or something to explain what the symbol meant but there was none. She wanted to flip through the book for more clues but reading wasn't on her list of priorities at the moment. She closed the book and added it to the contents of her bag. "We'll take it with us." She said. "Maybe it'll come in handy. When she looked back at Lex she noticed he was staring at something, buried under several of the books. "Lex, what is it?" She asked.

Lex didn't answer, he only reached under the pile of open books and pulled what he was looking at out. In his hands he held a hunting rifle. It was the old, but it looked like it was still useable. Lex snapped it open to inspect the barrel. It was loaded. He looked over at Clark. "Clark, I think you should take this." He tossed the rifle so Clark could catch it. Clark caught it and used the strap to sling it over his shoulder. "You've been hunting before right?" He asked.

Clark threw the steel pipe he'd been carrying onto the table. "Yeah every year." He answered.

Chloe found it funny that she wasn't even surprised to find a hunting rifle in a library, but after some of the things she'd witnessed that day she wondered if she'd ever be surprised again. When she looked back to the wall she noticed a door between two of the bookcases. A frown creased her features, had that door been there the whole time? She looked over to Clark and Lex. "Was that there before." She said gesturing toward it.

"I don't think so." Lex answered. "But, chances are it wasn't"

For the first time since their arrival Clark was beginning to get frustrated. "I feel like we're in Hellraiser, or something. Everything keeps changing." He said.

"You might not be wrong." Chloe said still staring at the door. "I don't get it anymore than you two do, but we can't give up." Without another word Chloe walked up to the door and opened it. The trio exited the library and into the boiler room. Though, this was far from a typical boiler room. There was a furnace alright. It stood off to one side of the room near the wall but directly in front of them there were a set of valves and something resembling a gate. The gate was constructed of two iron poles with long sharp spikes protruding from them. The spikes spanned the length of the opening between the two poles, barring any further advancement. The trio stood before the gate unable to continue.

"I take it we have to go through there don't we?" Lex asked.

"I'd assume so." Chloe answered. "The question is how."

If Clark still had his strength he could have simply bent the bars and they could have stepped through. However, because of the changes that had undergone the town, Clark had lost his powers. Chloe would have suggested trying to squeeze through the openings between the spikes but there simply wasn't enough room between them to try without impaling themselves. She glanced over at the valves beside the gate. "Maybe those have something to do with it." She offered.

Clark walked over to the valves and turned the left one experimentally. It turned clockwise a few inches and made metallic whine. A grinding sound echoed through the room as the turnstiles of the gate began to move. They moved simultaneously causing the spikes in the center to shift positions but when they came to a halt the spikes were still blocking the path. Clark turned the valve to the right and the turnstiles returned to their original position. "Must be a combination thing like the piano." Clark said. He turned the right and left valve in a random order. The turnstiles rotated left and right, and back and forth, but when they came to a stop the spikes still blocked the entrance to the room beyond. Lex, who had been watching the pattern closely, spoke up.

"Wait, Clark, I think I might have an idea." He said. "Try this out." He instructed Clark to turn the left valve twice. Clark did as instructed, but the spikes remained in the center. "Okay now turn the right valve." Clark complied and this time the turnstiles rotated away from one another and the spikes no longer blocked the path.

"How did you figure it out?" Chloe asked a little astonished.

"I've always been pretty good at figuring out patterns." Lex replied. "Shall we continue?"

Chloe took the lead again and walked through the now clear doorway. She only made it a few paces before her flashlight suddenly went dark. "Shit!" She cursed as she fiddled with it trying to turn it back on. Lex hadn't been paying attention and bumped right into her knocking her off balance. Then Clark ran into the back of Lex causing a domino effect. As Chloe stepped forward to regain her footing she realized the floor had disappeared beneath her feet. She screamed as she tumbled forward and right off the edge of the grate. The screams of Clark and Lex followed her as they too pitched forward and into the oblivion of the dark below them. With no light Chloe had no idea how far they were falling. The air rushed by her ears as they plummeted through the void. After what seemed like an eternity she connected with the cold hard floor and wind was knocked from her lungs. Her head hit hard and pain exploded behind her eyes. Her lungs desperately tried to draw in air and she gasped several times, trying to breathe normal again. She heard two loud thuds and the sound of groaning. The boys must have hit the bottom too, she thought. She couldn't see a thing in the pitch black all around her.

"Clark….Lex….are you guys alright." She called out in a weakened voice. Before Clark or Lex could answer Chloe became aware of glow in her peripheral vision. She turned to look at it and saw that a single flame had appeared out of the floor several feet to the left of her. The flame started small, but then began to grow in size and intensity of light. It was as if some unseen hand was pouring gasoline on it as it blazed to life. It grew to the intensity of bonfire. The dark in the room began to recede as the light from the fire was cast all around the room. Chloe could now see where Lex and Clark and landed. Lex was on his back and he groaned as he rolled over onto his side. Clark had already pulled himself into a sitting position. He had one hand pressed against his head, and his eyes squinted as they adjusted to the growing light. Chloe pushed herself to her feet, though it was not easy. Her knee was throbbing with pain She had banged it up when she'd hit the floor. She limped over to Lex and offered him a hand. Lex grabbed a hold of her outstretched hand and pulled himself off the floor. Clark stumbled to his feet and shuffled over to Lex and Chloe.

"Lex, Chloe, are you two alright?" He asked as he put one hand to Lex's shoulder and the other to Chloe's.

"I think I'm alright." Lex said. "Although when we get out of here my chiropractor is going to be a busy man."

Clark smiled weakly and looked to Chloe. Chloe nodded and said. "Yeah I'm okay, I banged up my knee but I don't think anything is broken. In the light she noticed that Clark had a few cuts and scrapes on his face, but he seemed to be alright as well. "So where the hell are we now?" She asked. Clark opened his mouth to say something but a deep rumbling growl cut off his words. The trio turned their heads in the direction of the terrifying sound. One by one their eyes widened in horror at the sight before them. Out of the shadows beyond the fire a huge and ghastly shape lumbered into the light. It was gigantic, several times larger than a horse. Its hide was covered in scales that glowed and shimmered in the light of the fire. Its bulbous head rested at the end of a long thick neck, and a black viscous fluid dripped from the slit of its mouth. Though none of the trio could be sure it was the creature's mouth as the slit ran vertical along the head instead of horizontal. It advanced forward toward the light on heavily muscled limbs with razor sharp talons on the end of its reptilian feet. Two huge black eyes adorned the sides of its head. A long prehensile tail whipped behind it as it shuffled closer to them. Chloe tried to suppress a scream but it flew out of her mouth. The trio began to back away from it as it unleashed another terrible growl. Lex instinctively pulled out the revolver and aimed. Before Clark or Chloe could protest Lex fired off two shots directly at the monster. The bullets connected with the creature's head but bounced harmlessly off of it.

The monster flinched at the impact of the bullets and snarled aggressively. The trio stared in utter horror as its head seemed to split open vertically. The two sides of its face opened wide revealing an impossible wide mouth. Rows and rows of needle like teeth lined the sides of its jaw. An ear piercing roar emanated from deep in the monster's gullet. Its jaw snapped shut and the creature began to advance on them in a fleetly manner. The trio split up. Chloe ran off to the left of the creature, putting the fire in between it and her. Clark grabbed a hold of Lex and two of them moved to the right of the monster trying to avoid its mouth. It was big, but it couldn't move very fast due to its size. However, neither Clark nor Lex had counted on its tail. As they tried to move away from it, it swung its tail in a wide arc and caught both of them knocking them back to the ground. It craned its head around and roared again. Lex and Clark quickly scrambled back to their feet and backed away. Clark took the hunting rifle from his shoulder and took aim. But before he could pull the trigger Chloe called out to him.

"No Clark! You've only got one shot with that thing, don't waste it." She cried.

Clark's gaze shifted to Chloe and his brows knit in confusion. Unfortunately Chloe's outburst drew the monster's attention to her. It turned around and locked its gaze on her. She screamed as it moved around the fire to try and reach her. She ran around the parameter of the fire trying to keep it between her and the creature. It snarled and lashed out trying to grab her in its jaws, but Chloe managed to dance out of the way each time. Taking advantage of the fact that it was distracted, Lex ran up alongside the creature and aimed at one of its shiny black eyes. He squeezed the trigger and fired a shot directly into it. The bullet buried deep into the eye of the monster and a splash of tar-like blood exploded from the socket. The monster howled and thrashed its head back and forth. Lex couldn't get out of the way in time and the monsters head connected with his body. He was thrown across the room, landing on his back and dropping the revolver.

"Lex!" Clark screamed as he ran to Lex's side.

Chloe was still standing on the opposite side of the fire between her and the monster. Suddenly a thought popped into her head. She couldn't explain why, but the story of the man and the lizard came back to her. A crazy idea began to form in her head. With a speed she had never known she raced past the creature just barely avoiding another snap of its jaws. She ran to where Clark was helping Lex off the floor. She quickly crouched down grab the revolver up from the floor. She cocked back the hammer and looked at Clark.

"Clark, when I give the word, I want you to shoot, I have an idea." She said.

"Chloe what are you….." But Clark couldn't finish his sentence as Chloe ran directly up to the beast. She fired off several shots right in the monsters face. The bullets defected off its impenetrable hide. But it caused the effect Chloe had been hoping for. The creature's head split wide open displaying the massive maw of its jaws. Just as they seemed as if they could close on Chloe and chomp her in half, she hit the floor. She dropped to her knees and bent far back over on herself. The pain in her knee was almost unbearable but she had to time it just right. Her eyes flew to Clark.

"Clark now!" She screamed.

Clark didn't hesitate for a second. He drew the rifle up, took aim, and fired a single shot straight into the open mouth of the creature. The shot drove deep into the monsters gullet. An agonizing howl of pain escaped the monster. Torrents of black blood spewed from its gaping jaws. Chloe rolled over from her position on the floor to avoid getting spayed with it. The creature slumped forward and cashed to the floor. A few gurgling sounds emanated from it as it died. Finally the monster ceased to move. Chloe picked herself up from the floor and cautiously walked over the prone body of the creature. She kicked one of its legs with her foot. When it didn't react Chloe was certain that it was dead. She sighed, relieved that her idea had worked. Clark and Lex walked over to stand beside her before the corpse of the monster. Clark looked at Chloe in amazement.

"How did you know that would work?" He asked.

"I didn't." She replied. "You know that story in the book I picked up back in the library?"

Clark nodded. "Yeah what about it?" He said, still uncertain how Chloe had known how to kill the beast

"The story was about a young man that killed a giant lizard by shooting an arrow into its mouth." She explained. "It just came to me all of a sudden, and I knew what to do."

"You could have been killed." Lex said taking the revolver back from her.

Chloe shrugged. "It worked didn't it?" She shot back.

Lex sighed and shook his head. Clark smiled and pulled Chloe into a hug. Chloe cracked the first real smile she'd had in days as she hugged Clark back. "Leave it you." He said as he released her from the hug. Chloe was about to thank him when the sound of the siren filled the room. This time it was louder than it had been before. It reverberated off the walls of the room and vibrated right through the bones of the trio. All three of them put their hands to their ears and the sound crashed against their ear drums. Chloe's head pounded with intense pain as she began to lose equilibrium. She would have given anything for the sound to stop but it continued. It washed over her in waves, and darkness began to crowd her vision. Lex had already fallen to the floor seemingly unconscious. Clark was struggling to hold on but he too succumbed to the intense pain in his head. The last thing Chloe saw was Clark hitting the floor before everything went black.