Chapter XVII
Who Needs a Parachute?
Andy's unconscious body was limp against Clark's left side. Lex was holding on for dear life, face pressed tight against Clark's shoulder. Clark could hear him muttering, "Oh man oh man oh man," over and over again, but he promised himself that he'd never bring it up. Bailing out of an airplane, no matter how flaming, had to be hard on his friend, especially on nothing more than Clark's say-so. Clark figured he owed Lex for this one -- even Jonathan Kent would see that he had to tell Lex the truth now. Wouldn't he?
They weren't really plummeting much. It was almost more like gliding, and Clark could steer better now than he'd been able to during the big Spring Formal Tornado. For one thing, the wind was all going in one direction.
It sure was a lucky thing that he got calmer in an emergency instead of more panicky. Clark wondered if that was an alien thing, or a Kent thing. Maybe it was a Clark thing -- his mom was usually pretty levelheaded during a crisis, whereas his dad had more of a tendency to just grab for his shotgun.
Clark adjusted their path again, so that they'd come down in the same little canyon where he thought he'd seen a wrecked plane from the air. He watched uneasily as the fiery Cessna 172 crashed into a mountain and disintegrated into a random drift of parts. It wouldn't be long now.
As the hard, rocky ground rushed up to meet him, Clark *lifted* up on Lex and Andy so their feet would be sure to not hit before his did. He *pulled* the force of the landing up through his feet into his knees, and let it dissipate into the muscles of his legs. By the time Lex's feet touched the dirt, they'd already landed. Nobody even fell over.
Lex looked up at him, blinking. His blue-gray eyes were startlingly close, and bright with wind. "We're alive," Lex breathed.
Clark beamed at him. "That's right."
"How did you...." Lex clamped his mouth shut. Clark could see his jaw working. Then he said, "Never mind." Lex pried his shaking hands from around Clark's body and tried putting his weight on his own feet. They held.
Clark watched Lex pull himself together. Once it seemed that Lex would be okay, he turned his attention to Andy, who was still unconscious and held in Clark's arms.
Andy wasn't in that great of shape. X-ray vision quickly revealed that his skull and spine weren't cracked, but his right shinbone was. The pilot's hands were covered in blisters, too, although Clark had been quick enough to shield the rest of him from any burns. Clark adjusted his grip on the college boy's body to a more secure over-the-threshold style, making sure to cushion the head against any sudden movements. Living in Smallville, Clark had a lot of experience with his friends getting concussions.
"How is he?" Lex asked.
"He has a broken leg and some burns, but I think that's all. Well, concussion probably."
Lex deliberately didn't ask how Clark could tell. "We should probably go look at that crashed plane -- that *other* crashed plane. Stay behind me, all right, Clark?"
"Right." Clark was grateful to Lex for taking the lead on the approaching-meteor-rocks part of this doomed expedition, and for not making him acknowledge that out loud. "Look out for rattlesnakes," he added, surreptitiously enjoying Lex's little start at the reminder.
"Yes. Snakes. Of course. You be careful to not drop the pilot."
"I will."
They cautiously approached the wreckage of Hakes' Air Transport Company's Cessna 180. Mrs. Hakes had done a good job of putting the old tail-dragger down in one piece. Scorch marks all over the nose of the plane showed that it had suffered from the same sort of trouble that the 172 had.
Clark stopped short and took a step back when they were still about twenty feet away from the aircraft. Lex looked back at him and said, "Okay, then. You and Andy stay here." Lex went on towards the old plane alone.
Who Needs a Parachute?
Andy's unconscious body was limp against Clark's left side. Lex was holding on for dear life, face pressed tight against Clark's shoulder. Clark could hear him muttering, "Oh man oh man oh man," over and over again, but he promised himself that he'd never bring it up. Bailing out of an airplane, no matter how flaming, had to be hard on his friend, especially on nothing more than Clark's say-so. Clark figured he owed Lex for this one -- even Jonathan Kent would see that he had to tell Lex the truth now. Wouldn't he?
They weren't really plummeting much. It was almost more like gliding, and Clark could steer better now than he'd been able to during the big Spring Formal Tornado. For one thing, the wind was all going in one direction.
It sure was a lucky thing that he got calmer in an emergency instead of more panicky. Clark wondered if that was an alien thing, or a Kent thing. Maybe it was a Clark thing -- his mom was usually pretty levelheaded during a crisis, whereas his dad had more of a tendency to just grab for his shotgun.
Clark adjusted their path again, so that they'd come down in the same little canyon where he thought he'd seen a wrecked plane from the air. He watched uneasily as the fiery Cessna 172 crashed into a mountain and disintegrated into a random drift of parts. It wouldn't be long now.
As the hard, rocky ground rushed up to meet him, Clark *lifted* up on Lex and Andy so their feet would be sure to not hit before his did. He *pulled* the force of the landing up through his feet into his knees, and let it dissipate into the muscles of his legs. By the time Lex's feet touched the dirt, they'd already landed. Nobody even fell over.
Lex looked up at him, blinking. His blue-gray eyes were startlingly close, and bright with wind. "We're alive," Lex breathed.
Clark beamed at him. "That's right."
"How did you...." Lex clamped his mouth shut. Clark could see his jaw working. Then he said, "Never mind." Lex pried his shaking hands from around Clark's body and tried putting his weight on his own feet. They held.
Clark watched Lex pull himself together. Once it seemed that Lex would be okay, he turned his attention to Andy, who was still unconscious and held in Clark's arms.
Andy wasn't in that great of shape. X-ray vision quickly revealed that his skull and spine weren't cracked, but his right shinbone was. The pilot's hands were covered in blisters, too, although Clark had been quick enough to shield the rest of him from any burns. Clark adjusted his grip on the college boy's body to a more secure over-the-threshold style, making sure to cushion the head against any sudden movements. Living in Smallville, Clark had a lot of experience with his friends getting concussions.
"How is he?" Lex asked.
"He has a broken leg and some burns, but I think that's all. Well, concussion probably."
Lex deliberately didn't ask how Clark could tell. "We should probably go look at that crashed plane -- that *other* crashed plane. Stay behind me, all right, Clark?"
"Right." Clark was grateful to Lex for taking the lead on the approaching-meteor-rocks part of this doomed expedition, and for not making him acknowledge that out loud. "Look out for rattlesnakes," he added, surreptitiously enjoying Lex's little start at the reminder.
"Yes. Snakes. Of course. You be careful to not drop the pilot."
"I will."
They cautiously approached the wreckage of Hakes' Air Transport Company's Cessna 180. Mrs. Hakes had done a good job of putting the old tail-dragger down in one piece. Scorch marks all over the nose of the plane showed that it had suffered from the same sort of trouble that the 172 had.
Clark stopped short and took a step back when they were still about twenty feet away from the aircraft. Lex looked back at him and said, "Okay, then. You and Andy stay here." Lex went on towards the old plane alone.