PART ELEVEN

For one moment, Chloe froze. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. Couldn't see anything but his eyes, glinting like silver in his expressionless face.

Then, Merrick's hands wrapped around her throat.

"No!" she gasped. Body filled with panic, she grabbed his wrists, tried in vane to pry his hands away from her neck. As it got harder to breathe, her panic grew.

"It'll be easier this way," he said. He sounded so calm as his grip tightened. "If you're already gone, you won't feel the sword."

And she could feel the weapon, hidden within the folds of his coat, pressed against her leg.

Chloe gagged, struggling for the smallest breath. As dots of light and dark flashed before her eyes, her panic grew.

Frantic, helpless, Chloe flung her right arm to the side. Her hand thrashed through the debris that littered the floor. Through papers and pencils, and…

Suddenly, her fingers brushed against something. Something hard, and solid, and heavy.

Chloe fumbled for the object, her clumsy hands almost pushing it away before she managed to grab onto it. Lungs screaming for oxygen, she lifted the weight, swung with the last of her strength.

The object slammed into Merrick's head.

Her mentor cried out in startled pain, his hold loosening just a touch.

Chloe swung again, the second blow landing close to the first.

With a grunt, Merrick fell to the side, his body slumping to the floor.

For an instant, Chloe was too dazed to move. She coughed as air flooded her lungs, seeming to scrape against her raw throat.

Finally, she pushed herself up, dizziness making her head spin. As she gathered her feet beneath her, her subconscious recognized the object she held. It was a crystal paperweight she won for one of her articles. She'd never liked it, and only kept it because it was a prize, proof that she was a good writer.

Now, the cut glass was covered with blood.

Shakily, Chloe rose to her feet. And a hand wrapped around her ankle.

One hard yank sent her crashing back to the floor. The paperweight flew out of her hands, skittering across the floor until it disappeared under the sofa.

She was trying to catch her breath when Merrick grabbed her. One hand wrapped in her hair, the other clutching her right arm, he pulled her to her feet.

Chloe struggled against his hold. "No!" she cried. "Let me…go!" She threw her left arm back….and her elbow connected with his right temple.

Merrick grunted with pain. "Dammit!" he hissed, and violently pushed her away from him.

Chloe flew through the door. Feeling like she didn't have the energy to stop, she stumbled across the hallway, finally crashing into the lockers.

Chloe moaned. Her right arm throbbed from hitting the metal doors. Taking a deep breath, she turned …just in time to see Merrick lunge towards her.

Heart leaping in her chest, Chloe joined her hands together, the clapping sound filling the deserted hallway. She raised her hands up over her shoulder, like a batter about to swing at a baseball. And, when Merrick was close enough, she swung.

Her joined fists slammed into his head, against the bloody wound she'd already.

It was like her teacher said. Find where you're opponent is hurt the most…and make it hurt more.

Merrick veered to the side, slamming into the same locker doors she had.

Chloe didn't wait to see if he'd be able to stay on his feet or not. She just ran.

She'd been lucky so far. Merrick was off guard, disoriented. He hadn't expected to have to fight her for so long. Or to get hit in the head with a crystal paper weight.

All of that, plus a few lucky shots on her part, were the only reasons she was still alive. But he'd recover. He was the one who taught her to push past the pain. To keep fighting, keep thinking, no matter what was broken, or slashed, or burned.

He'd recover. And, when he did, she'd be way out of her league.

So she ran. If she could get to an entrance that wasn't locked, make it to her car…

Dammit! she thought. My keys are in my purse, which is still in the office!

But that didn't matter. She just had to get out of this building. Find a business that was still open and, hopefully, busy. Then, she'd be safe. Merrick wouldn't kill her in front of witnesses. He couldn't.

Suddenly, she heard feet pounding up behind her. Seconds later, she was tackled to the ground. As her knees banged against the floor, Merrick's body fell on top of her, driving the air from her lungs…again.

Still, she fought as he dragged her to her feet. "No!" One hand slapped against his face, making her palm sting. "Let me go!"

"Stop it!" he finally barked. Fingers digging into her forearms, he gave her one hard, violent shake.

Chloe's teeth snapped together so hard, it sent a shockwave through her skull. Startled into silence, her body went still.

"That's better," Merrick said, and almost sounded like the man she first met four weeks ago. For a moment, he just stared at her, blood trickling from his head wound and down the left side of his face. His eyes sparkled with anger. And that same, eerie regret.

Chloe's body shook. Her knees trembled. "Merrick," she heard herself say, her voice little more than a squeak. "Don't…"

"It was a nice try," he interrupted. "But, now, it's over." With enough strength to lift her off of her feet, he pulled her through a doorway, and into the dimly lit school gym.

Merrick dragged her across the basketball court. About halfway, he tossed her down onto the floor.

When Chloe hit the hardtop, she barely felt it. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, making her body feel numb.

Her mentor stared down at her. "I always knew how good you could be," he said. "So eager to learn. Such an acute instinct for survival." He opened his overcoat, withdrawing the sword hidden within it's folds. "I think you would have lasted far into the Game."

Eyes glued to the lethal weapon. Chloe rose shakily to her feet. "Just what I always wanted," she panted. "Praise from a homicidal maniac."

Merrick's smile was rueful. "Funny. My praise always mattered to you before."

"Yeah. Before." Eyeing him warily, she took up a defensive stance.

Merrick seemed strangely pleased by her actions. "That's it. Never go down without a fight." He gracefully slipped out of his coat and tossed it aside. "Now, let's see what the student managed to learn from the teacher."

And he swung, the sword whispering as it cut through the air.

Chloe jumped back, but not fast enough. The tip slid through her skin, inches below her collarbone. A thin, red line appeared in her white t-shirt.

Chloe cried out, tears filling her eyes. Almost distracted by the pain. When Merrick swung again, she barely managed to duck. As the blade passed harmlessly over her head, her mind flashed back to yesterday's training session. And the way it had ended.

Merrick turned with the momentum of the swing. At the end of his spin, he lashed out, his right foot aiming at her left shoulder.

Chloe dropped to one knee. Grabbing his foot, she pushed up and away, a scream of fear and rage giving her added power.

Merrick flew back, crashing to the floor. The sword flew out of his hands, spinning as it slid towards the bleachers.

As Chloe got to her feet, Merrick got to his. Eyes on his fallen sword, he took a step in that direction.

"No!" she cried, knowing that was one advantage she couldn't let him have. She ran at him, her small body slamming into his larger one, the impact rattling her to the bones.

The two slammed into the hardtop, both grunting as the hit the floor. They'd barely touched the ground before they were rolling away from each other. Both rose—Merrick gracefully, Chloe a little less so—to their feet.

Merrick stared at her, surprise in his eyes. "Very good," he said. And, before she could even think, he attacked.

The first blow was like a brick being slammed into her face.

Head whipping to one side, Chloe staggered back several steps. Her vision exploded into a haze of starbursts, some white and sparkly, some black and splotchy. As her head spun, her body tipped one way, then the other. And, for a second, she had no idea where she was.

Taking a deep breath, harsh breath, Chloe gave her head a hard shake. She forced her brain to push through the cotton that had surrounded it. To focus.

Just in time. The next blow seemed to come at her from out of the shadows, materializing into a fist inches from her face.

"Whoa!" she cried. But her body knew what to do even if her fuzzy mind didn't. Again, she ducked. As his arm passed harmlessly over his head, Chloe slammed her fists into his ribs. Lift, right, left, each punch making him grunt a little harder.

Then the arm that had so harmlessly passed over her head came back, and the side of his fist slammed into her temple.

The force of the blow made her stumble, almost fall. But, even as her head spun, she caught herself, pressing her hands against the ground to keep her feet on the floor.

"Taking the offensive comes with a price," she heard Merrick say. "When you move in to attack, you make yourself vulnerable."

"Shut up!" Chloe gasped, his 'advice' adding fuel to her anger. "Class is over!" Ignoring the throb in her temple, she staggered to her feet. Hands raised in a defensive position, she took a deep breath. As adrenaline, endorphins, and oxygen combined to clear her head, a familiar voice—his voice—began to whisper in her mind.

Use your size. Your quickness. Don't try to overpower me. Use your own strengths. 

Chloe nodded without even realizing it.

Merrick swung with his left, and Chloe blocked,  her forearm knocking into his wrist, causing his fist to pass inches from her face. An instant later, her left uppercut slammed into the bottom of his chin. As his head snapped back, she heard her knuckles crack. Pain exploded up her left arm.

"Dammit!" Chloe cried. Grabbing her wrist, she squeezed, as if that would stop the pain from traveling.

Distracted, she didn't see Merrick's fist coming at her. But she felt the right cross. It spun her completely around, making her forget all about her hand.

As blood filled her mouth, coated her tongue, Merrick delivered a roundhouse kick straight to her ribs. And Chloe felt something snap inside.

Grabbing her middle, the girl crumpled to the ground. As pain clawed at her from the inside, her legs drew up until she was almost in a fetal position.

On the edge of her pain-filled awareness, she sensed Merrick kneeling down next to her. As he flipped her over onto her back, Chloe cried out in agony.

"Excellent," Merrick said, sounding almost…proud. "You're even better than I realized."

Gasping for breath, Chloe stared at him, her blue eyes wide with fear.

"I'm truly going to miss you, Chloe," Merrick said. And, again, his hands reached for her throat.

_________________________

"Hey, Mr. Sullivan."

"Clark!" With a friendly smile, Gabe Sullivan opened the front door a little wider. "What can I do you for?"

"Well, Chloe stayed at school to work on the paper, and I decided to go keep her company. I just wanted to see if she had made it home first."

"Nope, she's still there, working on The Torch. It must be a big issue."

"Yeah," Clark muttered. Although, if something big or unusual was going into The Torch this week, Chloe would have told him all about it. "I guess I'll go over there and help her out."

"That's a good idea." Gabe nodded. "And could you tell her to take a break and check in with her old man?"

"Sure, Mr. Sullivan. 'Bye."

As Chloe's father closed the front door, Clark ambled down the porch steps. True, he probably wouldn't be much help "putting the paper to bed". But he'd done all of his chores at the farm, did the little bit of homework he had over the weekend, spent an hour at the Talon. And he figured that, by now, Chloe wouldn't mind some company.

And maybe they could talk over a few things. Like Merrick, and her training.

The problem was, he didn't know anything about being an Immortal. So, when he brought up his doubts to Chloe, and she dismissed them because 'Merrick knows what's best,' he couldn't mount much of a counter-argument. Because maybe it was true. Maybe this was the way all Immortals were trained, and Chloe was learning exactly what she needed to learn in the best way there was to learn it.

Still, he couldn't believe there wasn't some other way for her to be trained. Some way that didn't look quite so much like punishment.

Sighing, Clark got into the truck. Starting the engine, he drove towards the school.

_________________________

As Merrick's hands reached for her throat, Chloe swung, punching him in the throat, her knuckles bashing against his Adam's apple.

Merrick reared back, hands clutching at his neck Reaching up, Chloe gave him a shove, pushing him over onto his side.

Chloe struggled into a sitting position. It was excruciating, the pain sliding through her ribcage like ice. But it wasn't as bad as before. Maybe it was her Immortality kicking in. That, or shock.

Holding her breath, which seemed to help, she pushed up onto her knees.

And that's when her eyes fell on the sword. Somehow, in the midst of the fight, she'd ended up close to it. Only a few yards away.

A burst of hopeful energy flowing through her, Chloe climbed drunkenly to her feet. One arm wrapped around her ribcage, she half ran, half staggered towards the sword.

She was only a few feet away when she heard Merrick behind her, the sound of his harsh breathing echoing through her ears. Filled with new panic, she quickened her pace.

It was more than her battered body could take. As her legs collapsed, she crashed to the floor.

Which is what saved her. Merrick reached for her at the same moment, only to find she wasn't there anymore. As he grabbed at the empty air, he lost his balance, falling forward.

Chloe's frantic hands wrapped around the hilt of the sword. In one smooth move, she turned and, eyes squeezed tight, swung the sword with all of her might.

She felt pressure as the blade met resistance. But it kept moving, kept slicing. And, suddenly, the resistance was gone.

There was a thump, as something landed on the floor beside her.

Then, Merrick's body fell on top of her.

Panting for air, Chloe opened her eyes. And, when she saw the empty space where his head was supposed to be, she started to scream.

_________________________

Clark was halfway to The Torch office when he heard a familiar scream.

"Chloe!" he exclaimed. The next instant he was a blur, moving at super speed through the hallway, crashing into the gym with such force, he almost took the doors off of there hinges.

Stopping abruptly enough to leave skid marks on the floor, he took in the situation.

Chloe was standing there, sort of half bent over. One arm was wrapped around her ribcage, her other hand pressed over her mouth. Her wide, horrified eyes were glued to something on the floor.

Frowning, Clark followed her gaze. When he saw what she was looking at, his breath hitched in his throat. There was a body there, lying next to a sword.

A body without a head.

"Oh, my God," Clark whispered. Suddenly nauseous, he swallowed. "Chloe?"

Startled, Chloe turned to stare at him. Her eyes were dazed and vacant. "Clark?" she said, voice shaking. "Clark, I…" Her mouth opened and closed, as if she wanted to say more, but couldn't get the words out.

Wanting to help her, somehow, Clark took a step towards her…only to freeze again. A luminous, bluish haze had begun to form around the body. As the haze thickened, became brighter, sparks of electricity danced across the corpse. And a breeze began to swirl through the room.

Mesmerized, Clark stared, squinting against the ever-brightening light. He jumped when a bolt of energy shot by him. It struck the basketball hoop behind him, electric blue sparks circling the rim.

That energy started to arc out from the haze. And, suddenly, the room was alive with it. It crawled, like a living thing, across anything metallic. Up the walls. Across the ceiling. And that breeze began to churn, whipping into a gale. Tearing at the victory banners that hung from the rafters.

"No!" Chloe screamed, the wind snatching the words from her mouth. She staggered away from the body. "No!"

And as the first bolt of energy slammed into her body, the windows exploded.

_________________________

Lex Luthor was driving by Smallville High when the windows exploded.

Startled, he slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a halt with a squeal of tires.

Swearing softly, he looked towards the school…and was immediately entranced by the spectacle he saw before him.

Opening the door, Lex stepped out of his car.

Bolts of sapphire lightening shot from the windows of the school gymnasium. It was like they were alive, electric blue fingers reaching up towards the sky.

And he could hear noises coming from inside. It was like…like a storm had gotten trapped inside the building, and was trying to break out.

A stray bolt hit the flag pole, showering the ground below with sparks. The metal screeched as shocks of energy skittered down the pole, disappearing into the ground.

Unable to believe his eyes, Lex shook his head. "What the hell…"

____________________

Chloe screamed as the Quickening flowed into her, bolt after bolt of energy crashing into her body.

From a distance, she heard Clark call her name. But she couldn't see him. The light of the Quickening blinded her. Cut her off from everything but the pain. And the power.

It was like a million needles stabbing at her skin. A thousand tiny teeth tearing her flesh from her bones.

Her face was frozen in a grimace of pain. A phantom breeze whipped her golden hair around her head, made it slap against her cheeks. Even as her legs tried to collapse beneath her, the Quickening held her up, lifting her onto her toes. The energy pulled her arms out to her sides, until it felt like she was being ripped apart.

It seemed to go on forever. The energy bolts kept hitting her, crawling up her arms and down her legs.

And she just kept screaming.

_________________________

Nearly blinded by the light, Clark tried to get to her. But even he wasn't strong enough to fight against the wind that was holding him back. For every step he took forward, he seemed to lose two.

"Chloe!" he called, knowing she couldn't hear him over the gale. Over her own screams.

Then, as suddenly as it began, the storm ended.

Like a marionette whose strings had been cut, Chloe fell to her knees. As a few final sparks danced across her skin, she sank to the floor.

"Chloe!" Clark cried, his voice too loud in the suddenly quiet room. Running to her side.

he dropped to his knees and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Chloe?"

But she couldn't answer. She was, perhaps mercifully, unconscious.

(TO BE CONTINUED)