TITLE: Save Me – chapter 3

RATING: PG13
AUTHOR: suprdreemz
E-MAIL: jjadedone@yahoo.com



 ~S~

She'd been dangled from a ridiculous height just one too many times. This time, it looked as if it were finally about to break her resolve. Ian had easily caught up to Lana and given her an express ticket to the 10th floor via whatever strange powers he now possessed. The effects of this on Lana, left her extremely dizzy, but still she struggled to fight him off. Vindictiveness being his motivation, Ian waited until she was backed against an open window to threaten her with his gun. He pointed it at her and laughed at how ironic it was that her only choices were to make a high dive or to hand him the disk.

Lana chose the high dive.

Clark found them just as Ian followed her out the window. "Lana!" Clark panicked as he super-sped to the window. He was relieved to see that five to six feet below was an attached sloped roof from the adjacent building; something Ian failed to realize when he threatened Lana.

Lana, now only a couple of feet away from Ian, was trying her best to make her way to the next set of buildings attached with out slipping on the slanted metal roof.

Ian had landed awkwardly and was scrambling for some footing. As soon as he stood, he dove towards Lana, knocking her down. It was obvious that he didn't care what happened to either of them, as he held tightly on to Lana instead of grabbing something to stop his fall. They slid all the way down the roof until Lana managed to grab onto a ten inch round exhaust vent with her forearms and hugged it for all she was worth. Ian was left dangling half way over the edge as he held on to her legs.

"Lana!" Clark yelled. He carefully made his way towards her and Ian, realizing that no amount of super-speed could help him if he too lost his footing.

"Clark! I can't…he's too heavy," The aluminum vent creaked. "I'm slipping!"

"Hold on! I'm coming!" Clark slid towards her and put his foot at the base of the vent to brace himself.

Just as Clark reached for Lana's arm Ian warned, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."  Ian now pointed his gun in the direction of Lana, as he'd now managed to hang on to her with only an arm wrapped around one of her legs. "Not until you find that disk on her and hand it over."

Again the pipe creaked; this time, with a quick jerk, it bent slightly as it threatened to buckle.  When it did, Lana screamed and her arms gave out as she slipped and was now only holding on with her hands.

"Ian…you're both going to fall! Let me help you!" Clark pleaded loudly.

"The disk first," Ian insisted. "And don't you dare touch her hands or I have no problem pulling this trigger."

Clark looked at Lana, and she knew he was telling her he was sorry. "It's in… the front of my….jeans." She told Clark in between her gasps for strength.

As he slowly and carefully stretched towards her, the vent suddenly jerked again and gave way even more. This caused Ian to loose grip and slide down Lana's leg where he ended up holding on only to her tennis shoe clad foot. His gun dropped as he quickly tried to grab on to Lana with his other hand, but it was too late; Lana's shoe came off.

Ian still held on to the lavender and white shoe as he fell and hit the cement paved walkway below.

~s~

A few minutes later

~

Clark sat crouched on the floor with Lana as he pretended to catch his breath. They had managed to climb back up the steep roof and were now sitting just inside the window.  He swore with each inhale and each exhale that he was going to find the right time to tell the girls. If they had known his secret, he wouldn't have had to waste precious time pretending he couldn't do anything about their situation. He and Chloe' wouldn't have even been in the mess they were in by the time Lana and Pete got there and most importantly, Lana would not have had to run for her life.

Lana curled up tightly into herself in order to gain control. An amazing adrenaline rush was attempting to show itself in the shape of tears and she was not about to let it happen. Her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, she fought to ward off the emotional convulsions threatening to take over. Blind with an uncontrollable mix of panic and rage, only one thing was clear…Clark was there. He was always there and so her body succumbed and she fell into his welcoming embrace.

Instinctively, Clark put his arms around her, wanting to tell her it was okay to be upset; she didn't have to prove anything. He wanted to tell her to go ahead and cry, in fact please cry…crying was normal, and to see someone react normal for once would be a sign that this world hadn't completely changed them. He knew however, if he did, she would realize she'd given in and break away from the comfort he desperately needed to offer; comfort she desperately needed to receive. Instead, he remained quiet and continued to gently rub her back, relishing in the excuse to be close.

He hoped the moment would last a little longer, however, not seconds later Lana broke the embrace and preceded to go off on what bastard that guy was; the whole time wiping away tears she pretended not to have.

"Are Pete and Chloe' okay?" She asked, finally calming down.

"Yeah their fine," Clark answered as his face scanned hers searching for signs that she really was okay. For a moment they looked at each other and said nothing until Lana was the first to break away.

"Well, I left my cell phone in the car," She said quickly and stood up on shaky but determined legs. "I'll call the police; you go get Pete and Chloe." She didn't wait for Clark to agree, but turned and quickly made her way towards the doorway.

"Wait a minute, Lana, you were just held hostage by another mutant freak…you don't have to go back down there by yourself." Clark reasoned. He could never get used her tough act, and it especially pained him when he knew it had a lot to do with her feelings for him.

Lana stopped and turned around, "The guy is as flat as a pancake down there Clark…what's he gonna do to me now?"

Clark winced at her casual attitude over the situation. "Chloe already called the police; they should be here any minute. She and Pete had control of Ian's partners too, but I can't be sure they still do."

"There's the 'I' word again," Lana grumbled. "You're not a one man show Clark."

"I'm sorry," Clark corrected him self, knowing that bugged the heck out her. "WE can't be sure, but we're sticking together," The insistence in Clark's voice was clear. "So let's go find Pete and Chloe'."

It wasn't about being right, or winning an argument for Lana. It was more about being tired. Tired of loving someone who loved you back by saying you needed to stay apart, yet was always there for you. Tired of being upset at her self for not either being satisfied with the way things were or having the willpower to just leave and start some semblance of a life somewhere else. So she would cope in the only way she knew how; accepting what little her and Clark had together, because even though it wasn't exactly what she'd wished for, it must have been enough. Chloe called her crazy, but she didn't understand. There was a secret Clark had kept for years, and Lana had a feeling she knew what it was; a secret she wanted to desperately keep buried too. And so she didn't argue with him any further, but wore an emotionless expression as she waited for Clark to reach her. Then with his hand at the small of her back, together they went to find Pete and Chloe.

End Chapter 1