PART SIX


Author's Note: For you SENTINEL fans out there, assume that this story takes place before "The Sentinel, By Blair Sandburg". Or, if you prefer, just assume that that particular episode never happened.

For those who haven't seen the SENTINEL, you can check it out weekdays at 8 am on the Sci-Fi Channel.

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"Here we are," Chloe said as she walked into the living room. "Hot popcorn, fresh from the microwave. Extra salt. Extra butter." As she sat down on the sofa, she placed the bowl on the coffee table.

Pete leaned forward in his seat and eyed the popcorn suspiciously. "Is that real butter, or that butter-like substance they use at movie theaters?"

"It's the real deal," Chloe promised. "Melted it myself."

"Cool." He reached into the bowl and grabbed a fistful of popcorn. "I'm ready. Start her up."

Chloe pointed the remote at the VCR and pushed PLAY. As the movie whirred to life, she turned towards the third member of their party. "Clark, I still can't believe you haven't seen Jeepers Creepers."

"Seriously, man," Pete said, his mouth half full. "I mean, they already made the sequal, and you haven't even seen the original, yet. What's up with that?"

"So sue me." Clark sounded a little peeved. Then again, they'd been teasing him for the past hour. "I neglected to see a movie the minute it came out. Lock me up and throw away the key."

Suppressing a grin, Chloe gave him a look of mock concern. "Geez, Clark. Touchy much."

As Pete snickered, Clark rolled his eyes and turned to watch the sneak previews. Which weren't really sneak previews since all of the movies had come out already.

With a happy sigh, Chloe sank back into the sofa cushions. This was fun. She and the guys used to spend Friday nights like this all of the time; watching movies, pigging out on junk food. But such movie fests had gotten fewer and farther between.

It just proved that complaining could be a good thing. This afternoon, she'd told the guys how lonely the house would be with Lana in Metropolis, and her dad working late again. Next thing you know, Pete had suggested renting a movie and coming over to keep her company, and Clark was making a list of the snacks they'd need to enjoy the movie to its fullest.

"So," Pete began. He took a can of soda from the end table and popped the top. "How's the ghost hunting going?"

Chloe sighed. "Fine, I guess. I did the background research, interviewed the witnesses. I suppose I'll go out to the lake tomorrow. Who knows? I might just get a picture of our friendly neighborhood Casper."

Clark frowned. "You don't sound very enthusiastic about it."

"I guess not," Chloe admitted. When she first heard the story, she'd been pretty interested. In fact, she got so caught up in researching it, she forgot all about meeting Clark at the Talon. Not that she definitely believed the lake was haunted. The 'witnesses' were probably the victims of a few rumors, weird noises, and their own overactive imaginations. Still, the chance that there was something to the story was enough to excite her, to want to check things out to see what was what.

Until she found Lex in that hallway. After that, chasing a ghost that probably didn't exist didn't seem quite as exciting.

And she didn't know any more about what was going on with Lex now than she did before. She'd gotten him to admit that something strange had, in fact, happened to him yesterday, which was a start. But, besides that, what did she know? That he didn't think it would happen again? That he had a headache which might, or might not, be connected to his blackout? So, not much.

Maybe she could have learned more if Lex hadn't gone off to talk with Lana in her office. But Chloe doubted it.

"I don't know whether the lake is haunted or not," Pete saud, "but I wouldn't count it out. After all, this is Smallville. Which is just a few miles down the road from the Twilight Zone."

Conversation ceased as the movie started. But, as much as Chloe liked the horror flick, she found her mind wandering. For some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about what Pete said. The Twilight Zone. Not the show itself, but the title. Twilight Zone. Twilight Zone.

When fifteen minutes passed, and those two words were all she could think about, Chloe frowned. Maybe her brain was playing a game of word association, trying to remind her of something. Only, she had no clue what that might be.

When another fifteen minutes passed, and those words were still nagging at her, Chloe's eyes narrowed. It was getting a little frustating. Like she had a word on the tip of your tongue, but just couldn't spit it out.

Twilight Zone. Twilight Zone.

Twilight. Midnight. Nightmare.

No, that wasn't it.

Zone. Endzone. Ozone. Zoning. Zoning out.

Zone out!

Chloe gasped as the memory clicked into place.

"Oh, my God!" she exclaimed, eyes doubling in size.

Fortunatley, they'd reached a particularly gruesome scene in the movie, and the guys were too busy making exclamations of their own to notice hers.

"Whoa!" Clark looked away from the TV screen. "That's just…"

"Nasty!" Pete agreed, a look of happy disgust on his face.

Chloe barely heard them. Her mind raced, jumping from one amazing possibility to the next. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible. Was it?

The young reporter wondered if the guys would notice if she abandonded them and the movie for her laptop. Probably.

Crossing her arms and legs, Chloe wondered if she could really sit here, doing nothing with the information she'd just remembered, for another hour. As happy as she'd been for the guys to come over, she was now impatient for them to leave. Because she had an article to find!

*****

"I'm sorry, Clark," Lex said. Cell phone pressed to his ear, he paced his study. "But I'm swamped. I'll probably be working on these reports all day."

"That's too bad, Lex," Clark said. He sounded sincerely disappointed. "Well, maybe I can come over tomorrow."

"We'll see," Lex said, noncommittly. The way his head was pounding, he doubted he'd be any more in the mood for company tomorrow than he was today. Lex ran his free hand across the back of his neck, trying to alleviate some of the in the tight muscles. "I'll call if I have some free time."

"Okay," Clark sighed. "And be careful, Lex. You know what they say about all work and no play."

"It's one of the pathways to success." For the first time that morning, Lex quirked a smile.

The teen-ager groaned. "I knew you were going to say something like that."

After hanging up, Lex tossed the phone onto his desk. Hands in his pockets, too on edge to sit down, he continued to pace. And his mind went over yesterdays events once more.

Again, he told himself there was no way he'd heard Chloe Sullivan's heart beating. That was something a normal person just couldn't do without the aid of a stethoscope.

Then again, normal people didn't see imaginary wild animals in the middle of their bedrooms, either.

Lex tried to think of the problem logically, to look at the facts. And he couldn't ignore the fact that the only times he'd heard the sound was when Chloe was nearby. Or that the tempo of the pounding had changed, had gotten faster, when Chloe was startled by the cup breaking.

Lex pressed his fingers to his temple, which had become a familiar gesture over the past few days. Either he'd heard Chloe's heart beating, or he'd imagine hearing it. And he didn't know which possibility worried him more.

"Mr. Luthor."

Startled, Lex swung around to face the door. He'd been so lost in thought, he hadn't heard it open.

Lex stood straight, wiped all expression off of his face. "Yes?"

"There's a Chloe Sullivan here to see you, sir," his employee said.

Speak of the devil.

Lex frowned. He wasn't in the mood to answer questions today. He certainly didn't intend to tell Chloe Sullivan the true extent of his problems. Still, he couldn't avoid her forever. Maybe there was more he could do to satisfy her curiosity. Perhaps tell her he'd made an appointment to see a doctor in Metropolis. Then, after his imaginary examination, he'd tell her he'd been given a clean bill of health.

"Send her in."

As the man left, leaving the door open, Lex rounded his desk. Dropping into the chair, he tried to assume an easy, relaxed pose. Hands folded in front of his chest, he closed his eyes and waited.

Prompted by some spark of scientific curiosity, Lex wondered if he'd be able to hear her approach. He listened, tried to pick up the sound of a heartbeat. But he heard nothing. Which could be good or bad, depending on how you looked at it.

"Mr. Luthor."

Opening his eyes, Lex stood. "Chloe," he said, his smile polite but distant. "Please, come in."

"Thanks." Closing the door, Chloe walked into the room. As she sat down, Lex studied her, tried to gauge her mood. He'd expected her to seem determined, resolute. Instead, she simply looked…happy? Excited? She was smiling, and there was a sparkle in her eyes.

Lex re-took his seat. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"Probably not what you think," Chloe said. "I bet you think I'm here to badger you some more about what's going on with you, right?"

"The thought had occurred to me."

"Well, I don't have to." And she grinned. "Because I already know."

Lex's brows arched in surprise. "I beg your pardon."

"Let me see." Eyes narrowed, she looked him over. "You've been having trouble lately. Food's too spicy. Lights too bright. Sounds too loud. Smells you usually don't even notice are so strong, they make you naseuous. I bet your sense of touch is off the charts too. Am I right?"

Lex sat completely still, trying to keep the astonishment off of his face. He hadn't told anyone about his condition. Yet, somehow, Chloe Sullivan had just given him a pretty accurate run-down of his 'symptoms'.

His expression guarded, eyes wary, Lex leaned back in his chair. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, this is where it gets interesting. You see, a few months ago, I was doing research for a story when I came across this article by an anthropologist named Blair Sandburg. Apparantly, he's been studying something most of the academic community—at least, the few people who've heard of it—think is a myth. But he thinks it's true."

"Fascinating." Lex's voice was bone dry. "What does this have to do with me?"

"I'm getting to that." The young reporter leaned forward in her seat. "See, I pretty much forgot about the article. Then, yesterday, it all clicked into place. You could smell my perfume, even though I'm sure it had faded. You heard the really embarrassing thing I mumbled over the music. And you read the expiration date on the Tylonol bottle, in dim lighting, from across the table. When you think about it, it all makes since."

Lex frowned, displeased at how much he'd revealed without even realizing. He had to be more careful. Couldn't let something like that happen in front of his father.

"Let me get this straight." Lex put just the right amount of disbelief in his voice. "You think I have heightened senses?"

Chloe's smile was serene, certain. "I don't have proof, but it all fits." Standing, she pulled several sheets of paper out of her purse. "See, Blair Sandburg's study is based on a monograph by Richard Burton."

"I take it you don't mean the actor."

"Nope. I'm talkin' the 19th century explorer." With a flourish, she laid the print out on his desk. "Burton claimed that several of the pre-civilized tribes he visited had a guardian or watchman. A Sentinel. And what made Sentinels so special was that"—she paused, giving him a significant look—"all five of their senses were heightened."

Lex blinked once, the only sign of his surprise. "Sounds interesting."

"Oh, it is. See, a tribe with a Sentinel had a much better chance of survival than one without." Her focus on her findings, Chloe seemed not to realize when she sat on the edge of his desk. "He could use his senses to help them hunt for food, to hear enemies approaching from a distance. They could even sniff the air and tell a really bad storm was coming."

Lex's agile mind considered all of the possibilies. It seemed fantastic, impossible. A myth with about as much substance as the Easter Bunny. But, if this was true, it would mean he wasn't losing his mind. Wouldn't it?

Lex shook his head. He didn't believe in fairytales. And he wasn't about to use one to try to explain away his problems.

"You think I'm the genetic throw-back to some pre-civilized…super hero." This time, the disbelief in his voice was real.

"Well, sort of," Chloe said. "According to Blair Sandburg, a Sentinel is born with their abilities but, sometimes, they're dormant. If a tribe believed they had a dormant Sentinel on their hands, they'd send him off on his own for weeks, even months. They thought his struggle to survive on his own, to hunt, find shelter, avoid wild animals or nearby enemies, or just to deal with not having anyone else to talk to for who knew how long, would bring his abilities online. Now, I don't know what your time on that island was like, but…"

And Lex's thoughts went back to the island. Months of isolation…not counting the figment of his imagination that tried to kill him. Half starved, most of his day spent searching for food. Being boiled alive under the relentless sun. Battered by the wrath of tropical storms.

"That doesn't prove anything," Lex insisted. He laid the papers on the desk. "It doesn't mean…"

"And there's one more thing." Chloe reached across the desk and turned to page 3 of the article. Several paragraphs were highlighted in yellow. "It's something Sandburg calls the 'zone-out factor'. When a Sentinel focuses on one sense, he can completely lose track of the outside world. I mean, all the other senses shut down. I'm betting that's what happened to you with that painting. All of your focus was on your sense of sight. That's why you didn't hear me yelling right in your ear."

Lex remembered. Falling into the painting. Getting lost in the swirls of color, the shapes, the brushstrokes. Losing control. Someone could have snuck up behind them and…Hell, they wouldn't have had to sneak. A gang of kidnappers could have approached him, made as much noise as a marching band, and he would've been none the wiser.

"Sounds dangerous," he mumbled.

"Which was why Sentinels didn't work alone. They had a partner. Sort of a guide. It was the Guide's job to keep the Sentinel from zoning out, and to help him develop his abilities." Chloe frowned. "Burton didn't talk much about Guides. I guess some tribal elder picked any old Joe Shmo to watch the Sentinel's back. But Sandburg put it this way. The Sentinel protected the tribe, and the Guide protected the Sentinel."

As Lex stared at the article, a flood of emotions washed over him. Relief. Shock. Fascination. Chloe was right. It did make sense. Or was he just grasping at straws?

"Have you told anyone about this, have you?" Lex asked.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "No, I haven't told anyone. And, in case you're wondering, I'm not even going to write about it for the Torch." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Well, unless you…"

"No."

"I thought so." She sighed. "Anyway, unless I get some kind of public confirmation from you, how can I prove any of this? It would be like me telling everyone I think you're Santa Claus."

Lex smirked. "I actually look very good in red."

Chloe let out a startled laugh. "I'll bet." She reached over to turn the article to the first page. "Anyway, that's pretty much it. The rest is just some mumbo jumbo about spirit animals."

Lex glanced up at her, his gaze sharp. "Spirit animals?"

"Yeah. Lots of cultures believed in them and, according to Burton, most of the Sentinels he met thought they had one. Some even claimed to see their spirit animals on occasion. Of course, they were probably using various substances now considered illegal to help them have visions and talk to dearly departed relatives. So I'm guessing that part of the myth is a myth."

Absently, Lex nodded. But his mind was on the cougar in his bedroom. The fox in his dream.

"Still," Chloe continued, "I'll probably look into this spirit animal thing a little more once I get back from the lake."

Despite being distracted by his own thoughts, Lex was listening closely enough to ask, "The lake?"

"Yeah." Suddenly, she looked embarrassed. "I'm going ghost hunting this afternoon. It seems some of my fellow students are convinced the place is haunted."

"You don't believe in ghosts?" he asked, mildly surprise. After all, she'd have to have an open mind to come up with some of her meteor rock theories.

"Let's just say, I haven't come across enough proof to convince me ghosts are real. Then again, I didn't have any proof Sentinels were real, either. Until now."

"Yes," Lex said, mind wandering once again. "Until now."


(TO BE CONTINUED)


Another Author's Note: Blair wrote the article Chloe found before the SENTINEL series began. But the article has a little more information than Blair actually knew pre-SENTINEL. (For example, while Blair knew about the zone outs, he didn't find out about the spirit animals until after he'd met Jim, his Sentinel.) So, consider it me taking some dramatic license.