Chapter 5
Chloe reached up to snap a twig off of a tree. She bent down to use it to scrape some of the ice off of her shoes.
"It's no use," she sighed sadly. "I'm so tired."
Chloe leaned against the tree, shutting her eyes briefly. It felt good to rest.
"No," she told herself, standing abruptly. "I can't sleep. I have to keep going. I have to."
Chloe shook the blanket to dislodge some of the snow. When she was satisfied she wrapped it back around her shoulders. "Old MacDonald had a farm. E-i-e-i-o," she sang to keep her mind off of the snow. "And on that farm he had a dense farmboy. E-i-e-i-o. With some flannel here and some flannel there. Here some flannel, there some flannel, everywhere some flannel, flannel. Old MacDonald had a farm. E-i-e-i-o."
Amazing enough, it was helping.
* * *
"Jonathan, look. That's her car," Martha said, pointing at a red blur.
Jonathan pulled the truck over to the side of the road slowly. "Stay here. I'll get her."
"I hope she's okay," Martha said as Jonathan climbed from the truck.
Jonathan slammed the door shut, making his way to Chloe's car. He knocked on the window, but no response. Opening the door he looked inside. It was empty. Jonathan took a deep breath. That meant she could be anywhere.
With a sigh he got back into the truck.
"Jonathan, no," Martha said, anticipating his words.
Jonathan looked to his wife. "She's not in the car."
Martha looked close to tears. "Where could she be?"
Jonathan pushed the gas, reaching over to take Martha's hand. "We'll find her, Martha."
* * *
Lana sat next to Clark, reaching over to cover his hand with hers. He didn't even seem aware that she was there.
Clark was close to tears. He couldn't get a hold of his parents. He didn't know where Chloe was. For all he knew she could be dead by now.
"Chloe," he said quietly.
He had never felt this helpless. Never been so unable to do anything. Clark had always saved Chloe when she was in trouble. Now all he could do was sit around hoping she wouldn't freeze to death before he got to her.
"Where's Chloe?" he asked to no one in particular.
Lana removed her hand as if it had been burnt. She quickly stood, walking into the back storage room.
"Lana?" Pete asked, watching her go.
Lana put up a hand to stop his questions and retreated to the back room. As soon as she shut the door her tears broke free. She was trapped in the Talon with Clark Kent. The same Clark Kent that was madly in love with her, and he wouldn't so much as look at her.
She knew she was being selfish. Chloe was in danger. She might be hurt. But right now all Lana could think about was the way Clark's eyes looked every time someone mentioned Chloe's name. Like someone had told him it was Christmas morning.