When Clark burst into the Talon late last night claiming Lana had called him in a panic, none of the girls studying for their history exam believed him.

However, since the call had been made to the Teen Crisis Hotline where he and Pete had been volunteering, the call had been recorded. Sure enough, Lana's voice came across the recording. After a gunshot, the call ended. Sheriff Adams had taken some notes of the situation, trying to figure out why she had been called last night when no one was in danger, but she just passed it all off as a prank though she did promise to take a look at it when she had the time.

Everyone gathered in the Torch office, and Chloe uploaded the recording from the tape recorder onto her computer and put it in one of her sound programs.

She listened through one side of her headphones, attempting to make sense of the call. "This connection's bad. We're missing pieces of the conversation. But the background noise is constant throughout. This recording wasn't piecemealed together." She unplugged her headphones and adjusted some of the levels in the program. "Here, I'll play it again with the static as low as I can get it."

The recording played again, and they all listened as soft tapping occurred throughout the whole thing.

"That sounds like rain," Lana remarked.

"We haven't had a storm in months," Clark said.

"Clark, it's happening!" Lana cried from the computer.

"Why would I say that?" the girl asked.

"It's almost like you were expecting something," Clark answered.

They looked back at the screen as the recording continued. "Clark! Please help me!"

"Hey, Chloe, can I…?" Clark started.

Chloe hopped up from her seat. "Yeah."

"I think I heard something."

Clark highlighted a small portion of the audio and then adjusted some of the levels in the program so that they could hear something in the background.

"You lied to me!" a man's voice shouted.

"That's Adam," Lana said shakily. "But I haven't spoken to him since he left."

Chloe furrowed her eyebrows. "Clark, how did you hear that?"

Clark hesitated for a moment before quickly answering, "I guess I missed too many Linkin Park concerts." He adjusted more levels in the program. "Look, there's someone else here."

He played the recording again and they could hear an announcer yell, "That makes the score 61 to 60 Vipers! Gunnerson now needs to miss the second shot to keep the Vipers home for an undefeated season—"

"Gunnerson?" Chloe asked in surprise. "He was benched in the preseason. This-this has got to be a recording of an old game."

"No, that can't be," Clark told her as he rolled around to look at the other computer in the office. "This is the first year the Vipers have been undefeated." He pulled up the Sports page online. "They're not even scheduled to play the Metros until tonight." He then pulled up the latest weather report. "And according to the weather service, a storm's on the way."

"Well, if none of this has happened yet, maybe the phone call hasn't either."

Lana looked at her skeptically. "You're saying the call came from the future?"

"It wouldn't be the strangest thing we've ever come across," Emmeline added. "Do you think it's possible?"

No one answered her, afraid that if the call really did come from the future, Lana was going to be in serious trouble in a few hours.


Chloe and Emmeline worked in the Talon for a few hours, trying to track down any kind of evidence that would help them figure out what was going on with the call Clark had received.

"I have to be in court tomorrow and I have to spend my time worrying about this," Emmeline groaned. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind doing anything to help Lana, but I really wish I didn't have to worry about this custody case in the middle of it."

"Have you spoken with Hannah recently?" Chloe asked.

"She came to see me a couple days ago at the Talon, but we didn't get anywhere. She truly believes that moving to New York is what's best for me. And Chloe…I think she might win this."

Chloe went back to her computer, not wanting to think about what her life would be like if Emmeline was forced to move to New York for the next year. Who would be there to listen to her rant about Clark? Who would she go to when everyone else let her down? Who would be her shoulder to cry on and let her watch chick flicks and eat chocolate when she had a bad day?

"Hey," Chloe said a couple hours later. "I managed to track down the call the phone was made from. I've called Clark and told him we're going to meet him at the Talon. Are you about finished with your work?"

"Yeah," Emmeline said as she shut off the computer. "I tried to listen to that recording a bit more and see if I could pull off anything else that might give us a clue to what's going to happen, but no luck. I think we've pulled as much as we can."

The two girls headed over to the Talon where Clark and Lana were by the counter with Lana looking especially terrified.

"Hey, guys," Chloe sighed as she and Emmeline came up to them. "So after I promised to switch my long distance service, I finally got my guy at the phone company to track down the blocked number you called from."

"Whose was it?" Clark asked.

"It's from a cell phone belonging to Gwen Burton. Does that ring a bell?"

Lana looked at the small piece of paper Chloe handed her. "No, I have no idea who that is. Why would I make a call from her phone?"

"I don't know. But it looks like we can rack up another one from our 'Can you hear me 24 hours from now?' theory. I looked into Mrs. Burton's phone records, and there were no outgoing calls made from last night. It's like the call you received just came out of thin air."

"Or a really different time zone," Clark added. "Look, at least this gives us an advantage." The three girls looked at him in confusion. "We know what's supposed to happen. All we have to do is keep Adam away from Lana, and make sure you don't get that cell phone."

"But Adam could be anywhere," Lana responded.

"Yeah, maybe it's safer if we get you out to the farm."

"Clark, what if we can't stop this from happening?"

Emmeline put an encouraging hand on her arm. "We will."


The four of them went down to the Kent farm in the hopes that Lana would be safe from Adam there. The sky was filled with extremely ominous looking clouds and it was clear that the storm that they were about to get was going to be huge. It seemed to reflect the mood of everyone gathered at the farm.

Jonathon came into the dining room and put a blue and white snowflake sweater around Lana's shoulders. "Here you go, Lana. I know this old house can get drafty, and I'm sure Mrs. Kent won't mind."

"Thanks, Mr. Kent," Lana said. "I really appreciate it."

Chloe hung up the phone and turned around to the face the others.

"What did Clark say?"

"He-he missed Adam by a few minutes, and Adam has the cell phone," Chloe told her.

Lana flinched slightly as lightning lit up the room and a clap of thunder shook the house. She turned to the window and saw that it had started to rain. "It's all starting to come true. The storm, the phone."

"Don't you worry, Lana," Jonathon said adamantly. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

He went over to the staircase and took down a rifle hanging on the wall before walking back over to the girls.

Emmeline had to smile a little. She rather liked living in the country.

"You know, I'm not doing any good just standing here," Chloe said as she put on her scarf. "The police are looking for the stolen vehicle and for him, so if any leads come through, they're gonna come through the police scanner at the Torch."

Jonathon opened a drawer and handed her a set of keys. "Here, Chloe, I want you to take my truck. The last thing we need tonight is you getting stuck crossing the creek in that little car of yours."

"Thank you." She quickly turned to Lana and put a hand on her arm. "Lana, it's gonna be okay. We've got lots of time. The game hasn't even started yet."

"I'm gonna stay here for moral support," Emmeline said. "But call if you hear anything."

"Don't worry, I will."

"And be careful!"

Chloe quickly went outside to the Kent truck and drove back to the school. Jonathon put a comforting arm around Lana's shoulders while Emmeline gently rubbed her arm.

After several moments, Lana leaned against the counter, nervously rubbing her hands on her arms.

"Um…how are your classes going?" Emmeline asked.

"What?"

"I'm just trying to distract you."

Lana gave her a small smile. "As much as I appreciate that, that technique never really worked on me."

"Well, it was worth a shot." Emmeline noticed Lana beginning to tremble. "Hey. It's gonna be okay. We're going to get through this."

"How do you know that…?"

"Because I know Clark. And he would never let anything happen to you."

Lana smiled a little at the thought of Clark's incredible willingness to protect her.

Jonathon poured some coffee into a mug from the coffeepot. "I'm sure when Mrs. Kent gets home, she'd be happy to whip you both up one of her specialties, but until then, I'm afraid it's just black coffee."

Lana smiled as she took the mug from him. "Thanks."

"I have some honey."

"No, I'm good."

"Would you like some, Emmeline?"

"I'll pass, thank you," she answered.

Their heads turned as a car horn honked repeatedly outside.

"Sounds like my truck," Jonathon murmured. He went over to the kitchen window and looked out towards the driveway. "Yeah, it's Chloe."

"Why isn't she coming inside?" Lana asked nervously.

"I don't know. Um, why don't you lock the door behind me?"

He moved towards the door, but Emmeline stopped him. "Wait, Mr. Kent! Something doesn't feel right…"

"I agree, but if there's a chance Chloe could be in trouble, I don't want to just sit here and do nothing."

He headed out into the rain towards his truck. The two girls went to the kitchen window to watch. Just as Jonathon got the gate, Adam appeared out of nowhere and knocked him unconscious. Lana gasped and jumped next to Emmeline. They watched in horror as Adam went to the truck and yanked Chloe out of it. She hit the ground hard and did not move. Lana put her hand to her mouth.

"Lana!" Adam screamed up to the house. "I know you're in there! If you don't come out, I'll kill your boyfriend's father! Then I'll move on to Chloe!"

Lana ran towards the door.

"Lana, don't!" Emmeline cried as she took her arm. "You can't do this."

"I don't have a choice," Lana told her shakily. "If I don't, he'll kill them. And then he'll just come in here and he might kill you. I can't let that happen." She wrenched herself out of Emmeline's grasp and ran out of the door to face Adam. "Adam! Whatever you want, just don't hurt them anymore!"

She quickly walked over to the gate, and Adam forcefully grabbed her and pushed her inside the truck. Emmeline could only watch helplessly as Adam drove off with her friend into the stormy night.

As soon as the truck was gone, Emmeline raced out into the rain towards Chloe and undid the restraints on her hands. "Chloe! Chloe!"

Chloe's eyes slowly opened. "Where's Adam and Lana?"

"They're gone. Adam took her and drove off. I don't know where they went."

Emmeline helped Chloe up and went over to Mr. Kent. "Mr. Kent! Are you okay? Mr. Kent!"

Jonathon quickly came to and shook his head. "Did Adam…?"

"Yes."

The three of them quickly entered the house, all of them drenched from the rain. Martha came in not minutes behind them.

"What happened?" she asked frantically.

"Adam took Lana after taking us down," Chloe said, a large red bump forming on her forehead.

"I'll grab the first-aid kit," Jonathon said.

Martha grabbed an icepack from the kitchen and gently put it to the growing bump.

Clark ran into the house and panicked at the sight of Chloe. "What happened?"

"I came home, and I found your father, Chloe, and Emmeline drenched from the rain with a couple injuries," Martha told him.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Chloe answered. "Adam has Lana, and he has your dad's gun."

Jonathon entered the kitchen with the first-aid kit in tow. "The police are looking for him now."

"Do you know which way they headed?" Clark asked.

"I don't know," Chloe told him. "Adam keeps saying that Lana has something of his."

"The serum."

"I don't know. I mean, he already went to the Talon and the house. I don't know where they were headed next."

Emmeline put her hand to her head. "I never should've let her leave."

"There was nothing you could've done," Clark assured her. "I'm going to the youth center. The only thing we know for sure is that Lana is gonna make that call to the Crisis Hotline."

"Clark, what good is that gonna do?" Jonathon asked. "You've already heard the call."

"It was cutting in and out. I could barely hear half of it. If I can figure out why that call was placed to the past, then maybe I can stop that from happening."

"If you get a clear connection, you think Lana will be able to tell you where she is?" Martha asked him.

Jonathon quieted them and turned up the radio so they could hear the game.

"Porter passes off to Johnson again," the announcer said. "Johnson goes for the three-pointer and he sinks it!"

"What's the score?" Clark demanded.

"Vipers up by 2, 61 to 59. There are 3 seconds left in the game!"

Jonathon looked up at him. "61 to 59. Vipers."


Thankfully, Clark was able to stop Adam and save Lana. Adam, however, was not lucky. Since he never got the serum he needed, he died just as Clark arrived.

Emmeline headed into the Talon after school to see Lana happy and healthy…and still trying to figure out why they had received a call from the past.

"Hey!" she smiled as she approached the counter.

Lana smiled as she placed a vanilla bean frappucino in front of her.

"You know me so well."

"On the house."

"How come?"

"For being so encouraging yesterday."

"Oh, come on, I didn't do anything. I wasn't even able to stop Adam from taking you."

"Maybe not, but you were there for me to help me calm down. That's something in itself."

"If you say so."

"Em, can I ask you something?"

"Sure!"

Lana folded her hands together and leaned onto the counter. "How were you so sure that the what we heard at the end of the phone call wouldn't happen? Never once did you believe that I was going to die."

"Well, after Adam took you, I started losing that surety. But…I don't know, I guess I just knew that Clark would be able to do something in the end."

"How can you place so much faith in him after all the times he's fallen through?"

Emmeline smiled a little. "I don't doubt him. He may not be the best at keeping his promises, but at the end of the day, I know that he's going to come through in his own way. This whole incident was no exception. When it comes down it, I will gladly trust Clark Kent with my life."