A/N For all those fans that noticed, yes I did skip an episode. I saw no way to fit the little sister in. Sorry.
"Okay, here we go. Whoa! I thought learning to drive my dad's Volvo was difficult. But at least the car came with windshield wipers." Chloe said as Lana, Clark, Chloe and I rode on our horses through the forest.
"Chloe, you're doing fine for your first time… So, how's Whitney holding up?" Clark asked Lana.
"His dad's still in the hospital, so he's been working shifts at the store." She answered.
"It's tough running a family business." Clark noted.
"I think he secretly wants his dad to sell it. He doesn't want to be saddled with it when he graduates." Lana told us.
"I don't blame him. I don't see myself being a farmer when I grow up." Clark said.
"What do you want to do?" Lana asked curiously.
"I'm not sure. Just as long as it doesn't involve putting on a suit and doing a lot of flying..." He told her.
"Where's my - oh - I dropped my camera." Chloe complained. We all pulled our horses to a stop.
"Chloe, what did you bring that thing for, anyway?" Clark asked.
"I'm not out here doing this butt-bashing thing for fun. These woods are like the Bermuda triangle of Smallville. No, I'm serious, you guys, people come in here, and when they leave they can't remember a thing. There've been dozens of incidences in the past ten years." She said. She sounded more excited than she should have been.
"I'll go get your camera." Lana offered. She turned her horse around and headed back down the path.
"Thank you!" Chloe called after her.
"The stories in these woods go back to the civil war." Clark said.
"No, Clark, what I'm talking about happened like a week ago. Some surveyors from Rickman Industries came screaming out of the woods and they couldn't even remember what happened."
"I'm sure you have a theory about this."
"Kyle Tippet."
"The guy who sells weird sculptures in town?" I asked.
"Yeah, don't you think it's odd he lives out here all alone in the woods?" Chloe asked us.
"Thoreau did." Clark said.
"So did the Unabomber." Chloe reminded him. Suddenly there was a scream from behind us.
"Lana! Stay with the horses." Clark yelled before running off.
"What do you think happened, son?" Dad asked Clark as we all sat in the kitchen later that day.
"I don't know, but...it just doesn't look like he's trying to hurt her." Clark said.
"Okay, Nell. Thanks. Bye." Mom said into the phone. She hung up the phone and turned back to us.
"How's Lana?" Clark asked.
"She has a mild concussion. Other than that, she's fine."
"And Nell?" Dad asked.
"That's a different story. She wants Clark to go to the police and say that he saw Kyle spook Lana's horse and attack her."
"That's not what I saw." Clark reminded us.
"From Nell's tone, I don't think we've heard the end of this." Mom told us.
"Did Kyle seem at all dangerous to you?" Dad asked.
"He seemed...scared. Chloe mentioned that some surveyors were spooked last week in the woods, and now us. I wonder if there's a connection?" Clark asked.
"Jonathan, you should go talk to Kyle, get this cleared up." Mom told dad. He nodded in agreement.
"Yep."
"No, I'll go." Clark said.
"Clark, I don' think that's a good idea." Dad told him.
"It's not like he can hurt me."
"That is not the point."
"Dad, I understand what it's like to be hidden from the world. Give me a shot." Clark begged.
"All right. Do you know where Kyle lives?"
"I just follow the trail of bad sculptures."
"They're booking Kyle for assault. All right, what happened, guys?" Dad asked as Clark, Whitney, mom and I sat at the police station.
"I saw Kyle in town. He blew me off, so I came out here to talk." Whitney said.
"So you drove all the way out here in the middle of the night?"
"Yeah... I had a feeling he was going to attack Lana again. Next thing I know, he attacks me with a bat."
"Is that what happened?" Dad asked, turning to Clark.
"I did see Kyle swing at Whitney, but..."
"But what?"
"Kyle says Whitney swung at him first." Clark finished.
"That's crazy. Why would I do that?" Whitney asked.
"I don't know. None of this makes any sense." Clark said.
"Yes it does! First he attacks Lana, then he comes after me. The guy's dangerous and needs to be locked up -."
"Whitney, we've all had a rough night, why don't you just calm down, alright?" Dad suggested.
"You saw it with your own eyes. That freak tried to kill me! Now you're saying it's my fault?"
"How could you do this without telling me? What happened to "this land is our legacy', Jonathan?" Mom asked. Clark and I inched our way into the kitchen, wondering if this was something we should get into.
"What's going on, guys?" Clark asked.
"Your father sold the farm to Bob Rickman." Mom told us. Both Clark and I stared at dad.
"What? How?" We asked.
"I don't know. One minute I'm telling him he doesn't stand a chance and the next thing I know I've got a signed contract in my hand."
"I called our lawyer. He said he can't do anything until he sees the contract but "the devil made me do it" argument wouldn't hold up in court." Mom said.
"I just don't believe I did this."
"What did Rickman do?" Clark asked.
"Nothing. He made his case, he shook my hand, that was it."
"It can't be that easy." Clark said.
"Well, then, how else do you explain my signature on this contract?" Dad asked, waving the piece of paper in his hand.
"I think I know someone who can help." Clark said.
"No. I will not owe Lex Luthor anything. Thank you."
"Right now you don't have anything to owe." Mom reminded him.
"I can't believe that each one of these bruises was a bullet..." Mom said the next day as Clark stood shirtless in the kitchen.
"It's weird...I get shot at and the bullets are fired by my best friend." Clark said, referring to Lex.
"What do you think happened to Kyle?" Dad asked.
"I don't know, but I think he's out in the world making a difference now." Clark said as he pulled his shirt back on.
"Hi, I, uh, hope I'm not interrupting." Lana said from the doorway.
"No. Come on in."
"We'll, uh, we'll be outside." Dad said. Mom, dad and I headed out as Lana walked into the house.