Chapter 10 [Later that Night]
A gentle breeze wafted through the upper floor and bedrooms. Unlike the heat descending down upon the house's occupants, the weather provided some comfort and suitable sleeping conditions.
Lana, however, stared at the ceiling in a bout of insomnia. Her mind struggled to comprehend Clark's great mysteries. He's really an alien. He has a psychotic ghost for a Dad. He really has a spaceship? Worse Chloe's about to expose the whole thing? She bit her lip nervously. What can I do? How can I stand by him? That ghost guy said I was the one to help him but how? She rubbed her forehead. "What a headache," she muttered low.
A wave of drowsiness swamped her in response and then another.
Do not fight it, Lana Lang. Relax and all will be revealed to you. No harm will come to you, Jor-El urged.
She looked around skittishly like a frightened deer in the darkness. "You're the ghost, right? Clark's father?"
His real father. I am Jor-El. You have valid questions. I have answers about why Kal-El is the way he is. You need to trust me though.
She gulped and took a deep breath. "I should get the Kents…"
NO! Only you.
She felt another wave of sleepies overwhelm her. She dropped onto the bed and closed her eyes.
Within seconds, she floated above her body again. She phased through the wall to find Clark snoring away blissfully. She brushed his brow with her spectral lips. "I'll be back, Clark. I'm doing this for us."
Kal-El will be fine. Come with me, Jor-El urged.
She floated out of the house and headed southeast through town and into the forest beyond. She navigated her way through the woods until she reached the mouth of an old cave. "Where is this?"
The site of Kryptonian knowledge. I await you in here, he informed her.
She felt the tug once more and knew better than to try and resist it. She floated into the stone passage and descended through the labyrinth. She felt awestruck by the native pictographs and colors. The lights from earlier that night soothed her mind a bit. She headed further down the passages until she reached a central chamber. The light there was much brighter than it should have been. "What is this?"
The center of this place. Once more, Jor-El appeared in full view. I appreciate you coming like this. Forgive me. It is not my intention to startle you.
"You're doing a pretty good job of it though," she retorted with an edge to her voice. "What's going on with Clark? Why are you appearing now? What's going on with the spaceship?"
All good questions. Relax. Jor-El pointed at a section of the rocky wall.
An octagonal slot slid open, shooting a red, orange, green and yellow rainbow spectrum at her.
As the lights bathed her, she felt her mind burning and ready to explode. She screamed in agony.
Do not fight the mind meld. It is necessary for us to communicate. It will not harm you as I have promised, he urged.
She made herself relax. The light flashed and formed into a vision of a futuristic society. "What is this?"
You are seeing Krypton as it was.
"Krypton?" She looked curiously at her guide. "Your home world?"
And Kal-El's. Follow me. He led her down a main thoroughfare. Around them, obsidian towers and granite structures reached for space beyond. People rushed toward them in some sort of panic.
"What's with them? I…." Despite her intangible state, she felt the massive quake beneath herself. She saw the granite shaking around them. She could almost feel the panic. "What's going on?"
He looked back at her pointedly. The end of our world and the beginning of your disaster. Come please. Time is short.
She gulped again. The end of his world? What happened? She followed as quickly as she could. She could see the inside of a white structure. The room had varnished oak tables and chairs. A computer screen dominated a desk to the side.
Looking out the window, a striking brunette woman held a squalling bundle in her arms. Sadness wore creases in her movie starletesque features. Her white robes were rumpled but she didn't care. Her heart was breaking.
A man strikingly similar in appearance to Clark came out of a side room. His eyes while sad held a purpose. "It's time, Lara. We must send him if Kal-El is to survive."
"Must we?" Lara protested. "I don' t want to give him up!"
"My Dear, we must do our duty by him and our world. If Kal-El dies, there will be no other recourse for our culture. Through him, Krypton and we will survive. It must survive," the man noted.
"I wish I could go too, Jor-El," Lara lamented.
"I wish so too but the Ship will only fit him," Jor-El pointed out.
Lana turned to her spiritual guide in surprise.
Yes, Lana Lang. That was me, Jor-El's ghost admitted. Watch.
Lana nodded and saw the parents walking deliberately toward a side lift of some sort. Even as the shaking intensified around them and the car shook, she saw the duo comforting each other.
Just above its destination, the cable snapped sending the car falling—fortunately though it was only about five feet leaving the couple and baby disoriented but all right.
"That was close," Jor-El told his wife. He led her across the room to where a metallic triangular ship awaited them. "This will be our son's salvation." He opened the clear plastic-appearing dome revealing a small recess inside.
"That's so cramped," Lara complained.
"It will serve him well." Another hard quake rocked the facility cracking the walls. "One more impact will destroy the building." He motioned to the rectangular piece of metal and an octagonal disk inside of the craft. "These will trigger the knowledge others and I have left on Earth."
"Where will you send him?" Lara wondered fearfully.
"To a place that was good to me. It is called Smallville. You have seen the family I picked out for him. The Kents will raise him well," Jor-El indicated. "Now it is time."
Lara fought the urge to keep her son with her. She gently set him in the recess. "Good bye, my sweet boy. May you survive our fate to be a hero to all." She kissed his brow and then stepped back. She watched as the dome closed back over; tears blurring her vision.
"It will be all right. Have faith," Jor-El urged while pulling a lever.
A panel opened in the cracked wall revealing the shaking city outside. Already towers around them crumbled and fell to the limestone sidewalk. Screams echoed up to their ears. In the distance, one could hear what sounded like volcanic eruptions. Soot and smoke reeked through the air stinging eyes and offending noses.
Another massive shock was building.
"It is now. Good bye and gods' speed your journey, my Son," Jor-El directed to the Ship.
"We love you, Kal-El," Lara called. She quivered and leaned against the wall. She needed to be strong for them all. She forced a nod to her husband.
He set his jaw and pushed the button on the console.
In response, the Ship lifted off of its platform. It floated in midair while doing a complete 360 manuever. Then it streaked away from the site just as the last great quake hit.
The city and its Kandorian counterpart exploded and fell apart as the planet's crust twisted away underneath it. Lava spewed from Krypton's core eliciting further screams and horror.
The two parents watched as long as they could before the equipment exploded sending them to their reward.
Then the planet exploded propelling a hail of the now familiar glowing emerald rocks toward distant places.
And with that, all was finished…..
Lana's mind cleared. She was now back in the caves. She stared incredulously at Jor-El. "That was how you died?"
It was. I love my son but I have a duty to preserve my culture as well. Jor-El floated about the chamber. Which is why this place was selected. Which is why you are vital to those plans.
"Me? Why me?" she wondered.
Because you are not the first of your family line to be close to us. There was another of your line, Louise MacCallum, that was close to me on my last journey here. I do not wish another tragedy.
Lana nodded. "I've heard of her. I'll admit I don't know much about her. I'm glad you trust me."
Kal-El loves you. You remind me of Louise. If you are even half of the woman she was, you will do well. Jor-El looked back up the passageway. It is almost dawn. You must return and assist Kal-El in recovering his vessel. Others search for it as well.
"Lex and Dr. Hamilton. I know. How can I help?" she asked him.
Do what comes instinctually and follow Kal-El's lead. That is all. We will meet again. With that, the spirit vanished.
She felt herself being pushed back out of the cave and retracing the path she'd taken there. She felt the hard jerking as her astral and physical selves remerged. She sat up and took a hard breath. "I'm back!"
The early morning light greeted her eyes.
The roosters' crowing clearly told her it was morning.
She grabbed her sweats and threw them on. It was already going to be some day…..