The wind had begun to pick up speed. It flowed over the earth with the
sound of a thousand angry hornets seeking an enemy. The soft flow of
snowflakes from above had given way to falling clouds of white powder. The
sky above had turned an angry shade of red as the last trace of sun light
disappeared from behind the all-encompassing clouds. The red sky made the
entire landscape look as if it were tinged with blood. Clark shivered as
he noticed the strange way the land looked.
The blue Chevy pressed on valiantly against the elements. Its frame groaning as it slowly pushed against the insurmountable force of the wind coming right at it. Even with four-wheel drive, the usual ten-minute trip to Chloe's house had turned into forty-five. The trucks light's were completely useless against the white curtain of snow in front of them. Clark scoffed irritably and turned on the truck's windshield wipers. The frost-ridden blades only succeeded in making a horrid screeching sound as they moved slowly over the windshield. Focusing his eyes carefully, his X- ray ability began to manifest itself. The white snow turned into a grainy black as all objects around his viewpoint became transparent. Smiling, Clark pushed a little harder on the gas pedal.
He blew a sigh of relief when he pulled into the familiar area surrounding the Sullivan home. One strong floodlight was all that could be seen of the house because of the fast moving snow. Clark pulled up as close to the awning of the house as he could and blew the horn. A terrible feeling was beginning to well in the pit of his stomach.
Inside the house, Chloe twirled around happily. In a few minutes she'd be in close contact with her best friend and secret love Clark Kent. She loved being around him. His smell, his looks, his personality. Everything about him set Chloe's body on fire, especially his body. Intellect was important to her, but so were good looks. Clark was lacking in neither.
She laughed softly and went to get her laptop. People had accused her of being surgically attached to the 'Dell Inspiron 8200', the pride and joy of the 'Smallville' faculty. They'd all saved for months to purchase the sleek notebook for Chloe as a token of their appreciation for all of her hard work.
Her career at the 'Torch' had taken a sudden turn for the better. Chloe couldn't figure out why, but all of a sudden the teachers and students were all annoyingly nice to her. The vice-principal, Mrs. Adams, would bring Chloe a cup of coffee every morning and take a few minutes to discuss what would go into the paper and see how Chloe was doing in general. It was strange, but this was Smallville. Everything was strange here.
The blonde-haired reporter ran to her front door and peeked out the side window hoping to catch a glimpse of the blue truck Clark was driving. She smiled when she saw the truck idling in the driveway. Chloe ran and gathered her laptop, thermos of coffee, and bags of Twizzlers, M&MS and Pop Tarts.
After stuffing everything into her shoulder bag, she walked into a hall- closet and put on as many coats as she could find. She found a pair of her favorite earmuffs in one of the winter boxes and pushed them over her ears before leaving the house. Her dad was still asleep upstairs, enjoying his day off from the Chemical Plant. Lex Luthor was being very sympathetic with his employees.
After taking one last puff of warm air, Chloe shut her door and hurried to the warmth of the truck. Bitterly cold winds flew directly into her face, stinging her soft blue eyes and making them water. She ducked her head low and kept running for the safety of the large truck. She instantly regretted the idea of only wearing slacks as the cold bit into her thighs. Her knee-high boots crunched loudly against the frozen driveway as she ran for the truck. Suddenly, her feet flew out from under her and she fell painfully on her rear end. "SHIT!"
"You know I don't like that kind of talk!" Chloe looked up, startled to see Clark standing right above her. "Are you okay? Come on, before the wind gets us!" Yelling to be heard over the moaning winds he quickly picked up her bag and escorted her to the passenger's seat. As they walked, Chloe tried to remember if Clark had been in the truck when she'd looked up before falling. She was sure, he had been. How did he get to her to quickly?
All thoughts of Clark's sudden appearance were forgotten when the first jets of hot air hit Chloe's freezing body. She moaned happily and put her face close to the air vents, inhaling the warm air deep into her freezing lungs. She looked up and noticed that her best friend was staring at her strangely. "Earth to Clark! Close the door, I'm freezing." She shook her head as Clark slammed the door and ran around the truck quickly. 'Dork,' she thought.
Once inside, he quickly pulled out of the driveway and began the journey into town. "How're you doing Chloe? I mean besides falling back-asswards on the ice." Clark smiled widely when Chloe gave him a shocked expression. "What, I'm allowed to swear too, you know?"
Chloe laughed and gave him a warm smile. "Yeah, I just didn't think you had it in you. So Clark, you never gave me your mystery girl's name. Come on, out with it." She struggled to pull her seatbelt over all of the coats she had put on.
"Chloe, look, I'm not going to tell you or anyone else. Okay? It's my secret." Clark smiled when Chloe stuck her nose up at him and looked out the passenger window. "Does she go to our school?" Chloe asked it so nonchalantly that he almost answered. "Y- Chloe! I told you I'm not telling."
The blonde bombshell next to him gave a shout of victory. "AHA! I knew it; she does go to our school. Come on Clark, spill. Who is it?" She gave him her best puppy-dog expression. Clark felt his resolve evaporate at the sight of his best friend's face. All he could do was shake his head and keep his eyes on the road. The snow came down faster.
The trucks voyage across the frozen city of 'Smallville' was proving to be more trouble then it was worth. Chloe frowned bitterly as Clark checked the map he always kept in the glove compartment. She shivered again. Even with the heater blowing out air at full blast, the truck's cab felt like a meat locker. Trying to lighten the mood, Chloe pretended that she was smoking a cigarette and kept blowing puffs of freezing breath at Clark.
"Hey, cut it out. What are you, five?" Clark smiled as Chloe leaned over and smacked his arm mock-angrily. He looked over at her for a second and marveled at how amazingly beautiful she could be, even with three coats and the ugliest pair of 'Alf' earmuffs he'd ever seen. Cute little blotches of pink had appeared on both of her cheeks and her nose because of the cold. She shivered again and held her mitten-clad hands up to the air vents.
"How long does it take to get to Gina's Pizza anyway? If I didn't know any better, farm boy, I'd say that you've gotten us lost. Please tell me I don't know better." Chloe's voice held a hint of annoyance. Clark was such a ditz sometimes. A cute ditz, though.
Clark leaned over the steering wheel and tried to make out which part of the countryside they were currently in. Now the snow was coming down so fast that he couldn't even see the hood of the truck anymore. "I'm not lost. And don't even tell me to ask for directions. I'm a guy, we don't do that." Clark smiled and hoped that little joke would elevate Chloe's rapidly souring mood.
It didn't. She looked exasperated. "Dammit Clark, I should have known better then to let you drive. Stupid Chloe, stupid. Clark, if my hands weren't blocks of ice right now I'd slap you upside that head of yours. You've lived in Smallville all of your life, how could you get lost in its backyard?" Chloe saw the hurt look on Clark's face and regretted her harsh words. Her inner bitch was at work again. "Sorry, I'm just really cold right now. All cold and no Pizza make Chloe a mean girl."
Clark looked over at her and smiled. One of the things he loved so much about Chloe was her sometimes-annoying sense of honesty. She always told it like it was. If she screwed up, she'd tell you. If you screwed up, she'd rub your face in it. It was lucky for her that Clark worshipped the ground she walked on, otherwise he wouldn't have hung out with her half as much as he did. The cold farm boy returned his attention to his driving. He kept telling himself that they weren't lost. They were not lost. Not Lost. He lied.
Chloe knew from Clark's sudden silent treatment and the way his eyes were intently looking at every passing detail that they were lost. She smiled to herself. 'Let's see here. I'm going to be lost in the countryside, freezing, but with the guy I really love who is needless to say, amazingly handsome. It could be worse.' She sighed and took her eyes off of the windshield.
A small white-tailed Jackrabbit hopped slowly across the rising hills of freezing snow. Strong winter wind whipped across the cold creature's back and haunches as it tried to find the burrow it called home. The rabbit whipped its head around quickly, looking nervously for any predators in the area. Even with it's white pelt, the rabbit was still wary of any dangers.
Feeling it's legs beginning to cramp up, the rabbit quickly took off in one direction hoping that it could fine shelter from the elements. It darted straight across Milner's Road and paused to look at a strange blue creature coming towards it. Suffering from snow-blindness, the half frozen creature could only stare at the approaching beast. To the rabbit, the truck's grill looked like a grisly set of teeth belonging to some horrible creature. Shaking, the rabbit hunched low to the ground, hoping the creature wouldn't see it.
Clark's X-ray vision was paying off yet again. The snow was falling so fast now that no human eye would be able to make out the boundaries of the road. To Clark, though, the path was clear. He smiled triumphantly when the full affect of his X-ray vision came into play. The road in front of him was clear and in a few minutes, they'd meet the city limits in a few minutes. The horrible feeling he had in his stomach suddenly flared and Clark took his eyes off of the road. Chloe yelped at him.
"DAMMIT CLARK. WATCH THE ROAD!!!"
Clark looked back just in time to make out the tiny skeleton of something on the road. His senses still reeling from Chloe's sudden scream, Clark yanked the steering wheel sharply to the right, driving the truck right off of the road down a steep hill littered with trees.
"SHIT CLARK! LOOK OUT!"
Clark cursed under his breath as he desperately tried to keep the truck from hitting a tree. The Chevy rocketed down the hill going at over sixty miles an hour when it suddenly slammed into a hard snow-bank. Clark had just enough time to unhook his seat belt and dive onto Chloe before the full impact of the collision rocked the truck. The front of the truck disappeared completely as the snow went up and over the windshield.
Clark's skull slammed horribly against the dashboard. The blow would have crushed anyone human's brain into oblivion. His last thought was that Chloe was unhurt. He blacked out.
Chloe was so shocked by what had just happened that all she could do was whimper under the completely motionless body of her best friend. Tears of anguish rolled from her eyes as reality struck her. She'd seen Clark's head hit the dash; she'd heard the sound it had made. She screamed in agony when she realized the painful truth. No one could have survived that.
Clark was dead.
A/N: I'd like to thank the talented and amply chested Deanz for beta-ing for me.
The blue Chevy pressed on valiantly against the elements. Its frame groaning as it slowly pushed against the insurmountable force of the wind coming right at it. Even with four-wheel drive, the usual ten-minute trip to Chloe's house had turned into forty-five. The trucks light's were completely useless against the white curtain of snow in front of them. Clark scoffed irritably and turned on the truck's windshield wipers. The frost-ridden blades only succeeded in making a horrid screeching sound as they moved slowly over the windshield. Focusing his eyes carefully, his X- ray ability began to manifest itself. The white snow turned into a grainy black as all objects around his viewpoint became transparent. Smiling, Clark pushed a little harder on the gas pedal.
He blew a sigh of relief when he pulled into the familiar area surrounding the Sullivan home. One strong floodlight was all that could be seen of the house because of the fast moving snow. Clark pulled up as close to the awning of the house as he could and blew the horn. A terrible feeling was beginning to well in the pit of his stomach.
Inside the house, Chloe twirled around happily. In a few minutes she'd be in close contact with her best friend and secret love Clark Kent. She loved being around him. His smell, his looks, his personality. Everything about him set Chloe's body on fire, especially his body. Intellect was important to her, but so were good looks. Clark was lacking in neither.
She laughed softly and went to get her laptop. People had accused her of being surgically attached to the 'Dell Inspiron 8200', the pride and joy of the 'Smallville' faculty. They'd all saved for months to purchase the sleek notebook for Chloe as a token of their appreciation for all of her hard work.
Her career at the 'Torch' had taken a sudden turn for the better. Chloe couldn't figure out why, but all of a sudden the teachers and students were all annoyingly nice to her. The vice-principal, Mrs. Adams, would bring Chloe a cup of coffee every morning and take a few minutes to discuss what would go into the paper and see how Chloe was doing in general. It was strange, but this was Smallville. Everything was strange here.
The blonde-haired reporter ran to her front door and peeked out the side window hoping to catch a glimpse of the blue truck Clark was driving. She smiled when she saw the truck idling in the driveway. Chloe ran and gathered her laptop, thermos of coffee, and bags of Twizzlers, M&MS and Pop Tarts.
After stuffing everything into her shoulder bag, she walked into a hall- closet and put on as many coats as she could find. She found a pair of her favorite earmuffs in one of the winter boxes and pushed them over her ears before leaving the house. Her dad was still asleep upstairs, enjoying his day off from the Chemical Plant. Lex Luthor was being very sympathetic with his employees.
After taking one last puff of warm air, Chloe shut her door and hurried to the warmth of the truck. Bitterly cold winds flew directly into her face, stinging her soft blue eyes and making them water. She ducked her head low and kept running for the safety of the large truck. She instantly regretted the idea of only wearing slacks as the cold bit into her thighs. Her knee-high boots crunched loudly against the frozen driveway as she ran for the truck. Suddenly, her feet flew out from under her and she fell painfully on her rear end. "SHIT!"
"You know I don't like that kind of talk!" Chloe looked up, startled to see Clark standing right above her. "Are you okay? Come on, before the wind gets us!" Yelling to be heard over the moaning winds he quickly picked up her bag and escorted her to the passenger's seat. As they walked, Chloe tried to remember if Clark had been in the truck when she'd looked up before falling. She was sure, he had been. How did he get to her to quickly?
All thoughts of Clark's sudden appearance were forgotten when the first jets of hot air hit Chloe's freezing body. She moaned happily and put her face close to the air vents, inhaling the warm air deep into her freezing lungs. She looked up and noticed that her best friend was staring at her strangely. "Earth to Clark! Close the door, I'm freezing." She shook her head as Clark slammed the door and ran around the truck quickly. 'Dork,' she thought.
Once inside, he quickly pulled out of the driveway and began the journey into town. "How're you doing Chloe? I mean besides falling back-asswards on the ice." Clark smiled widely when Chloe gave him a shocked expression. "What, I'm allowed to swear too, you know?"
Chloe laughed and gave him a warm smile. "Yeah, I just didn't think you had it in you. So Clark, you never gave me your mystery girl's name. Come on, out with it." She struggled to pull her seatbelt over all of the coats she had put on.
"Chloe, look, I'm not going to tell you or anyone else. Okay? It's my secret." Clark smiled when Chloe stuck her nose up at him and looked out the passenger window. "Does she go to our school?" Chloe asked it so nonchalantly that he almost answered. "Y- Chloe! I told you I'm not telling."
The blonde bombshell next to him gave a shout of victory. "AHA! I knew it; she does go to our school. Come on Clark, spill. Who is it?" She gave him her best puppy-dog expression. Clark felt his resolve evaporate at the sight of his best friend's face. All he could do was shake his head and keep his eyes on the road. The snow came down faster.
The trucks voyage across the frozen city of 'Smallville' was proving to be more trouble then it was worth. Chloe frowned bitterly as Clark checked the map he always kept in the glove compartment. She shivered again. Even with the heater blowing out air at full blast, the truck's cab felt like a meat locker. Trying to lighten the mood, Chloe pretended that she was smoking a cigarette and kept blowing puffs of freezing breath at Clark.
"Hey, cut it out. What are you, five?" Clark smiled as Chloe leaned over and smacked his arm mock-angrily. He looked over at her for a second and marveled at how amazingly beautiful she could be, even with three coats and the ugliest pair of 'Alf' earmuffs he'd ever seen. Cute little blotches of pink had appeared on both of her cheeks and her nose because of the cold. She shivered again and held her mitten-clad hands up to the air vents.
"How long does it take to get to Gina's Pizza anyway? If I didn't know any better, farm boy, I'd say that you've gotten us lost. Please tell me I don't know better." Chloe's voice held a hint of annoyance. Clark was such a ditz sometimes. A cute ditz, though.
Clark leaned over the steering wheel and tried to make out which part of the countryside they were currently in. Now the snow was coming down so fast that he couldn't even see the hood of the truck anymore. "I'm not lost. And don't even tell me to ask for directions. I'm a guy, we don't do that." Clark smiled and hoped that little joke would elevate Chloe's rapidly souring mood.
It didn't. She looked exasperated. "Dammit Clark, I should have known better then to let you drive. Stupid Chloe, stupid. Clark, if my hands weren't blocks of ice right now I'd slap you upside that head of yours. You've lived in Smallville all of your life, how could you get lost in its backyard?" Chloe saw the hurt look on Clark's face and regretted her harsh words. Her inner bitch was at work again. "Sorry, I'm just really cold right now. All cold and no Pizza make Chloe a mean girl."
Clark looked over at her and smiled. One of the things he loved so much about Chloe was her sometimes-annoying sense of honesty. She always told it like it was. If she screwed up, she'd tell you. If you screwed up, she'd rub your face in it. It was lucky for her that Clark worshipped the ground she walked on, otherwise he wouldn't have hung out with her half as much as he did. The cold farm boy returned his attention to his driving. He kept telling himself that they weren't lost. They were not lost. Not Lost. He lied.
Chloe knew from Clark's sudden silent treatment and the way his eyes were intently looking at every passing detail that they were lost. She smiled to herself. 'Let's see here. I'm going to be lost in the countryside, freezing, but with the guy I really love who is needless to say, amazingly handsome. It could be worse.' She sighed and took her eyes off of the windshield.
A small white-tailed Jackrabbit hopped slowly across the rising hills of freezing snow. Strong winter wind whipped across the cold creature's back and haunches as it tried to find the burrow it called home. The rabbit whipped its head around quickly, looking nervously for any predators in the area. Even with it's white pelt, the rabbit was still wary of any dangers.
Feeling it's legs beginning to cramp up, the rabbit quickly took off in one direction hoping that it could fine shelter from the elements. It darted straight across Milner's Road and paused to look at a strange blue creature coming towards it. Suffering from snow-blindness, the half frozen creature could only stare at the approaching beast. To the rabbit, the truck's grill looked like a grisly set of teeth belonging to some horrible creature. Shaking, the rabbit hunched low to the ground, hoping the creature wouldn't see it.
Clark's X-ray vision was paying off yet again. The snow was falling so fast now that no human eye would be able to make out the boundaries of the road. To Clark, though, the path was clear. He smiled triumphantly when the full affect of his X-ray vision came into play. The road in front of him was clear and in a few minutes, they'd meet the city limits in a few minutes. The horrible feeling he had in his stomach suddenly flared and Clark took his eyes off of the road. Chloe yelped at him.
"DAMMIT CLARK. WATCH THE ROAD!!!"
Clark looked back just in time to make out the tiny skeleton of something on the road. His senses still reeling from Chloe's sudden scream, Clark yanked the steering wheel sharply to the right, driving the truck right off of the road down a steep hill littered with trees.
"SHIT CLARK! LOOK OUT!"
Clark cursed under his breath as he desperately tried to keep the truck from hitting a tree. The Chevy rocketed down the hill going at over sixty miles an hour when it suddenly slammed into a hard snow-bank. Clark had just enough time to unhook his seat belt and dive onto Chloe before the full impact of the collision rocked the truck. The front of the truck disappeared completely as the snow went up and over the windshield.
Clark's skull slammed horribly against the dashboard. The blow would have crushed anyone human's brain into oblivion. His last thought was that Chloe was unhurt. He blacked out.
Chloe was so shocked by what had just happened that all she could do was whimper under the completely motionless body of her best friend. Tears of anguish rolled from her eyes as reality struck her. She'd seen Clark's head hit the dash; she'd heard the sound it had made. She screamed in agony when she realized the painful truth. No one could have survived that.
Clark was dead.
A/N: I'd like to thank the talented and amply chested Deanz for beta-ing for me.