Chapter 6
It was a strange sight, Clark grinning like that. That grin said, I kill things and eat their hearts because I can, because I like it. "What the Hell are you? Why are you doing this? Clark is just a kid," Lex said.
"wAs a kiD. hE's NOthinG noW. I fiNaLLy dEvOUrED hiM."
The thing wearing Clark stretched his arms out as if adjusting the fit of his new body. Lex flinched but didn't look away. He could almost see a rippled of something black and dead under Clark's cheek. He could almost see maggot-face.
Clark's shadow shimmered, and a new being stepped out. It was a little girl with long black hair and pale ghost skin. She touched Clark's hand briefly and made a disgusted face. She started wiping her hand on the trail of her little white dress as though something truly nasty were clinging to it.
"i will return in the morning. be ready to settle things then, yes?" the girl said. Her voice was like a whisper of wind that only hinted at sound. She walked away a step and waited.
"i wiLL bE rEAdy. thiS veSSel Is eXcePTional." Lex couldn't tell how he did it, but the thing inside Clark looked at the other light fixtures and shattered them. "huRRy baCk deaR liTTle oNe. hurrY."
The little girl nodded. She spun on her heel and walked right up to Lex. "well sir, i don't think you'll do," she said.
Lex stepped back trying to keep an eye on both the girl and Clark. "What do you mean I won't do?"
The girl's expression registered shock, and she stepped from side to side, all the while watching Lex's gaze follow her. "i mean you won't do as my vessel, but more importantly, you can see me? how is that possible? i know for a fact you could see the other, my brother." The girl cocked her head to the side and examined Lex speculatively. "what an odd creature you must be."
"What are you? What's going on here?" Lex asked. He dropped down to one knee and stared into this little girl's eyes. The illusion of youth didn't extend to those eyes. They were deep and fathomless like bottomless pools of inky blackness. "You aren't the same as him, as maggot-face. Will you help me help Clark?"
"of course i'm not the same. i am the light, the life, the bliss, the question you're born asking. my brother is the opposite, the dark, the pain, the answer to my question." The little girl smiled thinly. "enough explanation?"
"You call that an explanation. It sounds like you think you're a God," Lex said. "You don't look like a God to me."
"and you sound as though you would really know a god if you saw one. neither i nor my brother is a god, just living beings, going through the motions that make up our lives. this is the fiftieth confrontation with my brother. the planet was chosen randomly, the first vessel is chosen by the winner of the last confrontation. the details are actually quite tiresome. pardon my curiosity, but out of fifty planets and hundreds of thousands of sentient beings you are the first to not only see me, but you saw my brother as well. i guess it just goes to show you, the distance between a saint and a madman might only be a knife's edge."
"What the Hell is that supposed to mean? Me seeing you is strange and unusual? Why? Why the fighting? What is this happening?" Lex grabbed the little girl by the shoulder, half expecting his hand to pass through her. But she was solid, real. Her skin felt soft and supple like an infant's.
"most beings live in a field of gray. they never see the extremes, the light where i live or the dark where my brother plays. your friend, clark, never saw his tormentor because he couldn't see the dark spectrum from his place in that field of gray. it took months of work before he even heard my brother. i suspect your friend strays closer to my side of the field of gray than most. it makes it doubly sad that he was taken by my brother, doesn't it."
Lex wasn't sure whether his ability to see the light and the dark damned him or saved him. Was he the saint or the madman? This wasn't a moment to contemplate his own soul. Clark was being destroyed by the darkness while he pondered his own salvation. "If you're the light and he's the dark, you can save Clark, can't you? When you win, Clark will be okay?"
"an interesting theory, especially considering the trouble my brother had with him. your friend isn't gone you know. my brother likes to obliterate the soul before he takes control. a soul is light and it weakens him, but he couldn't stamp clark's out. i hope to use that weakness to my advantage."
"And if you win, he'll be okay," Lex prompted.
"i'm not sure. you see, i have never won."
A literature book, open to Julius Caesar served as a makeshift pillow for Chloe. Gentle, barely audible snores were rising from her lips. Lana smiled sympathetically and cleared her throat in the bedroom doorway. Almost immediately, Chloe lifted her head and groggily blinked the sleep out of her eyes. "I was just resting my eyes for a second," she yawned.
"I can see that. My only question, does the osmosis method really work, because reading Shakespeare isn't doing it for me," Lana said. "Mrs. Simmons is kind of brutal about it all."
"Tell me about it. I have to recite Anthony's monologue tomorrow. I expect you to keep a straight face and if Pete looks like he's going to laugh, kick him for me, okay?" Chloe snapped the book shut. "I'm going to guess a literature discussion didn't bring you around, so what's up?"
"Actually, that was Mrs. Kent on the phone for the third time tonight. She's trying to find Clark. Apparently he's AWOL, and I promised to wake you up and ask if you'd seen him," Lana said. It was odd how close she felt to Chloe at times, but one mention of Clark and there was a distance between them, a distrust. "So, I told her you hadn't been anywhere all night, but she sounded worried."
Chloe shrugged and shook her head. "I figured Clark was sick today since he didn't make it to school. I haven't seen him. I hope everything is okay." Internally she sighed. Clark never let her in on things. They were supposed to be friends, but he thought it was okay to do his thing, use her for a reference library, and ignore everything else. This was just another instance of Chloe exclusion.
"That's what I figured. I'm sure Clark's fine. He's probably off rescuing a kitten or something. Riding to the rescue seems to be the only thing he does consistently well," Lana said. "Sorry for disturbing the osmosis."
Chloe nodded. It was hard to ignore the bitterness in Lana's voice, especially when she understood it so well. "Goodnight."
"Fifty tries and you've never won?" Lex hissed. "What will happen if he wins?"
"a bit of death, a bit of destruction, occasionally he has completely destroyed a planet, not often though. The vessel usually gives out first," the girl said. She shrugged Lex's hand off her shoulder and waved. "i must choose a vessel with which to face my brother. worry not, I have a plan."
With that the girl vanished. Lex rocked back and came to his feet. "Not good." Even if he chose to believe what that thing was spouting, she apparently wasn't very good at this confrontation scenario. He had promised Clark that he wouldn't let this thing win. Maggot-face was sitting with his head resting against one of the walls and he was staring vacantly up. "Clark, are you in there? Can you hear me? I need you to look alive, fight this."
Jerkily like a puppet on a string, Clark's head lolled forward and the hungry grin was back. This time Lex couldn't help himself, he looked away. "DoN't woRRy, LEX. I wOn't Kill yoU wHen thE tiMe cOmes. I like you, brother."
"Clark," Lex whispered. "I didn't just imagine that. You're really still there. Don't let this son of a bitch use you like this. You're stronger than him. I heard you."
"YoU heaRd a shAdoW, a fLicKer. stOp wAstinG mY tiMe aNd yOurs. i nEEd tO reSt, aCCusTom mYself witH this veSSel. It woULd be emBarrassiNg tO noT compLETELY destrOy mY littlE sIster."
Lex wrapped his hand around the little piece of meteor rock in his pocket. Maggot-face was bullet-proof before possessing Clark. Maybe if he got creative, and Maggot-face had gained Clark's allergy, the bullet-proof problem could be solved. If worse came to worse, he could fight this thing, but there were still so many maybes. "Your little sister might surprise you this time, and if she doesn't, you'll have to deal with me."
Lex backed slowly toward the door. Leaving that thing alone wasn't a terribly appealing option, but he couldn't exactly get anything done while standing over it. Stepping into the soft light of the hallway, Lex closed the double doors behind him. He snapped open his cell phone and dialed as best he could with a shaking hand. "Andre, I need a guard on the ballroom five minutes ago. I want to know if there's a peep from inside, but tell your men not to go in under any circumstances, understand?"
Lex tapped the phone on his hand nervously. What should he do first? Clark's parents were probably climbing the walls by now. He'd have to do something to put them off. Inviting them over to help didn't seem like a good idea. Maggot-face might like him, but it would probably enjoy eating a nice wholesome Kent alive.
"Twenty-four hours, Jon," Martha said. She was sitting too straight in her kitchen chair, and her arms were crossed over her chest defensively. "Clark walked out of that door twenty-four hours ago. I don't care if he called this morning, something is wrong. Something happened to him."
Jonathan set his coffee cup down none too gently and spun at Martha. "Do you see me arguing with you? I agree. What do you want me to do? The police are investigating whatever attacked the cows."
"They're investigating it while Clark fights it," Martha snapped. "I hate this. What was he thinking, Jonathan? Does he have to keep putting his neck out like this?"
The kitchen phone cut Martha off mid tirade. Jonathan internally thanked whoever was calling (hopefully Clark). This was close to turning into an unpleasant fight. Martha had been snapping at him since he walked through the door with the tattered little notebook cover. It was a stressful situation, but it wasn't like her to be so challenging and abrasive. "I've got it," Jonathan said. "Hello."
At the other end of the line, Lex hesitated. What the Hell was he supposed to say? Hi, your son isn't really missing. He's possessed and hanging out in my ballroom. So don't worry. I'm taking care of things. "Mr. Kent, I apologize for calling so late. Could I speak with Clark by any chance?"
Jonathan shook his head at Martha. It wasn't Clark. "Sorry Lex, Clark isn't available at the moment. Have you seen him today by any chance?"
Lex sighed at the half-truth bit of omission on Jonathan's part. It was just as well considering the amount of omission he was planning. "Actually, I saw him right around sunset, why?"
Jonathan perked up at that. So Clark was fine an hour ago? He'd probably be home soon. "Was he on his way home?"
"I don't really know. He didn't say goodbye, just left. Have him give me a call when he gets home." Lex snapped his phone shut. That should be enough to keep the Kent's from panicking too much for a little while. Lex threw his neat little phone at the wall, but it's pitiful shattering did nothing to assuage the frustration building in him.
Author's Note:
Nothing much coming to mind that I need to say this week. Hope the chapter doesn't disappoint. All comments and criticisms are welcome as always. :)
I hope everybody had a great Valentines Day. Peace!
