"This is gorgeous," Clark breathed, looking at the vast expanse stretching around them. Already, a blowing wind was effacing their tracks, as if nature was reminding them of just how insignificant she considered them.
"It's *cold*," Lex grumbled.
"But just look at it...it was never like this when we went skiing, all those people around, you never saw the mountains, or the snow all clean, you just saw people and buildings...Man, it'd be great to live some place like this."
"Are you *sure* you don't want to try Antarctica? There's even more snow there, and if you're lucky, it might be even colder."
"C'mon, Lex, stop grumbling."
"It's the only thing that's keeping my lips from turning blue." Clark absently took his sweatshirt off and draped it over Lex's shoulders, still looking around.
"I never thought there could be so many shades of white." Clark decided that he was coming back, here, or someplace like it, and soon. The cold wasn't bothering him at all, he was aware of it, but the rush of blood to warm his skin was a tingle, as though he were being lightly massaged from the inside of his skin to the outside. Okay, they'd better get going.
They'd argued for a while about driving or using Clark's speed to run, finally agreeing drive partway so they could keep the car, and then run. They'd also tried to figure out directions, but since it was so hard to judge distance, and even Clark's sight couldn't keep up with landmarks on the way, the final decision had been, "When we reach the Rockies, then head up until we're near the top."
Clark fished the ring out of his pocket. He felt some undefined regret as he put it on the ground at their feet, in the middle of the ledge. It had just been a lie, but it was a lie he could have been happy with. And now it was going to be part of another lie. He grimaced and got up again.
"Ready?"
Lex nodded. Clark picked him up again and ran to the point halfway between them and an abandoned fire-watcher's station. The snow was soft, but he moved so quickly that his footsteps sank only a few inches into the ground, and the wind quickly swirled around those. As Lex watched, in a few flashes of motion, Clark pushed a huge mass of snow downwards, starting just the avalanche they'd planned. With luck, it would look as though they'd found out they were being followed and run, trying to find a secure place to hide. With still more luck, Lionel wouldn't think it worthwhile moving tons of snow to make sure that there were two bodies with the transmitter. Even if he did, it would buy them time. And Clark promised himself that he'd never be caught again.
The avalanche's roar was painful to hear, even from above. Clark wondered what it would be like for somebody to be caught in that, to hear and see it coming. Ugh. Of course, he'd be able to withstand it and climb out, but just an ordinary person...supersize that "ugh." Damn it all. Sometimes people just seemed so, well, breakable. The world was just full of things that hurt and killed them physically, the same way that sometimes it seemed like everything around him was able to hurt him emotionally. Wow. That'd be bad, to go around life with both sets of vulnerabilities.
"Let's go," he said, very quietly, to Lex.
"It's *cold*," Lex grumbled.
"But just look at it...it was never like this when we went skiing, all those people around, you never saw the mountains, or the snow all clean, you just saw people and buildings...Man, it'd be great to live some place like this."
"Are you *sure* you don't want to try Antarctica? There's even more snow there, and if you're lucky, it might be even colder."
"C'mon, Lex, stop grumbling."
"It's the only thing that's keeping my lips from turning blue." Clark absently took his sweatshirt off and draped it over Lex's shoulders, still looking around.
"I never thought there could be so many shades of white." Clark decided that he was coming back, here, or someplace like it, and soon. The cold wasn't bothering him at all, he was aware of it, but the rush of blood to warm his skin was a tingle, as though he were being lightly massaged from the inside of his skin to the outside. Okay, they'd better get going.
They'd argued for a while about driving or using Clark's speed to run, finally agreeing drive partway so they could keep the car, and then run. They'd also tried to figure out directions, but since it was so hard to judge distance, and even Clark's sight couldn't keep up with landmarks on the way, the final decision had been, "When we reach the Rockies, then head up until we're near the top."
Clark fished the ring out of his pocket. He felt some undefined regret as he put it on the ground at their feet, in the middle of the ledge. It had just been a lie, but it was a lie he could have been happy with. And now it was going to be part of another lie. He grimaced and got up again.
"Ready?"
Lex nodded. Clark picked him up again and ran to the point halfway between them and an abandoned fire-watcher's station. The snow was soft, but he moved so quickly that his footsteps sank only a few inches into the ground, and the wind quickly swirled around those. As Lex watched, in a few flashes of motion, Clark pushed a huge mass of snow downwards, starting just the avalanche they'd planned. With luck, it would look as though they'd found out they were being followed and run, trying to find a secure place to hide. With still more luck, Lionel wouldn't think it worthwhile moving tons of snow to make sure that there were two bodies with the transmitter. Even if he did, it would buy them time. And Clark promised himself that he'd never be caught again.
The avalanche's roar was painful to hear, even from above. Clark wondered what it would be like for somebody to be caught in that, to hear and see it coming. Ugh. Of course, he'd be able to withstand it and climb out, but just an ordinary person...supersize that "ugh." Damn it all. Sometimes people just seemed so, well, breakable. The world was just full of things that hurt and killed them physically, the same way that sometimes it seemed like everything around him was able to hurt him emotionally. Wow. That'd be bad, to go around life with both sets of vulnerabilities.
"Let's go," he said, very quietly, to Lex.