Clarky sat back, staring at the campfire that Jonathan had just set. The small 7-year-old was sitting on the ground, beside Pete, talking with him about school and about just how evil Mr. Column was. "Daaaaaad can we go for a hike?"
"Clark, no, it's dark." replied Jonathan. "It's too dangerous."
"But dad..."
"Clark, I said no. Now once your mother gets back from Smallville with the marshmellows we can eat. You like marshmellows, don't you?"
Clark shook his head. "No. They taste icky and when they melt they can stick to the back of my throat and then I can choke and then I'll fall down."
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "What on Earth have you been watching?"
"I like them, Mr. Clark's Dad." Pete said. "My dad took me camping last summer."
Jonathan smiled. "Well, I'll be in the tent setting up the inflatable beds for you guys. Stay near the fire, but not to close, holler if you need anything."
"Okay dad." said Clark, turning to Pete. "I don't like camping. It's dirty."
Pete smiled. "Let's go for a hike."
Clark frowned. "But dad said I couldn't. I have to listen to him."
"Come onnnnnnn Clark. I went hiking down this path before, I know everything about it. It'll be fun."
"I don't know..."
"Come on, Clark." said Pete. "I promise it will be fun!"
"Okay. But fast because I don't want dad to see."
Clark and Pete stood up, tiptoeing from the campsite clearing into the forest along an almost unseeable dirt path. "It's cold." complained Clark.
"No it's not." said Pete. "I'm not cold." he said, continuing along the path.
Clark grumbled. "There's bug on my face." he said, trying to swat them away. "And they're big."
"Clark! Pete!"
Both of the boys froze at Jonathan yelling for them. He had come out of the tent and they weren't there. "We have to go back!" said Clark, turning around.
"Okay..." said Pete, his voice getting worried. Mr. Clark's Dad would be mad at them. Pete started running for the campsite, ahead of Clark.
Kent, trying too hard, ran off of the path and into a group of trees. For an instant they seemed to go by really quickly, as if he was running really fast. Where was he? Clark stopped looked around but he couldn't see the campsite. Everything was so dark he couldn't see anything except the outlines of trees from the faint moonlight. He couldn't hear his dad anymore.
Clark started calling out for 'daddy'. Where was he? Was he lost? What if there were animals around? The boy started crying. Clark wouldn't see daddy again because he didn't listen to them. He started running around in circles, until he triped on a root sticking out of the ground.
Kent fell face-forward into a bunch of muck. He raised his face out of the mud, trying to wipe his eyes clean of it. Clark opened his eyes, looking at the ground. Something moved. A snake!
Clark jumped back, landing on his behind. There was another snake, that Clark saw slithering beside his hand. He jumped to his feet. There was snakes everywhere!
"So, this is your fear."
Clark turned to see a strange women standing there. No, she wasn't strange, it was Alex! Suddenly Clark wasn't seven years old anymore, he was back to himself. He still stoof there in that place with the snakes, but Clark knew none of that was real. "Yeah." Clark said, seeing Alex with a tear forming. "What's wrong?"
"Clark, I need to explain something to you. Then I need to tell you something after."
Suddenly Clark wasn't Clark anymore. She was seeing through the eyes of a twelve-year-old girl, in a house. S/he was standing in the doorframe along with her older brother. "Justin, stop it!"
Justin looked at her younger sister. "You don't like mom either, sis."
Clark/Alex just kept on staring at the bedroom, with her mom sleeping on the bed, stirring and crying out for help. "Stop it! you're going to hurt her!" s/he screamed, looking at Justin. Why were his eyes glowing like that? S/he looked back at mom. She wasn't moving anymore. "No!" she said, breaking out in more tears.
"Be quiet!" yelled Justin. "You'll wake up the neighbors."
"Make her wake up!"
"I can't. She's never going to wake up again. She's always so mean to us, now she got what she deserved. Nobody tells me what to do."
S/he looked back and forth between Justin and mom. Justin was bad. Clark/Alex had to get the police! S/he ran through the hallway towards the phone, but suddenly there was a new wall that s/he almost ran into. "Let me go!" she cried. "You can't do that to mommy." she said, wailing.
"I'll do whatever I damned well want." said Justin, outstretching his arm.
Clark/Alex felt themself flying backward, gently being hovered in midair above Justin who had those glowing eyes. He was the strongest, even now stronger than him/her and mom and dad and even grandpa. Those eyes were a sign of it. "I said let me go! HELP!"
"Nobody tells me what to do... especially not you!"
Suddenly Clark was back in the forest with Alex. "Oh my god... I had no idea..." stammered Clark.
Alex gulped. "He started saying that he was older and stronger, he owned me. Dad started saying that too. They wouldn't let me leave the house. At night they would..." she started, but broke out in more tears. Clark realized that was a common theme the past week. "At night they would start... touching me. They kept on saying that I belonged to them."
Clark embraced Alex, trying to comfort her.
"But I ran away from edge city, I went where they wouldn't expect. I came to live with grandpa. They knew I was scared of him, so they would never look here. But I'm not afraid of him anymore."
"But Justin found you."
Alex nodded. "Yes. He's going to drag me back to edge city to that house. Him and dad are going to start doing it again."
"No they won't." said Clark. "We'll tell the police."
"No! He'll just kill them. Clark, he can kill any human with just one thought. It's too dangerous. Even you can't stop just one of them, let alone two. Clark... he wants to hurt you. And... I've... I've been lying to you."
"What?" asked Clark, concerned. "Whatever it is, I'll understand. I love you. I'm not going to let anybody hurt you again."
Alex shook her head. "No you don't love me. Your dad was right, I'm nothing but a monster. At the Talon I put it in your head to take me on the tour, and to take me to the dance. I planted attraction in your mind Clark, to benefit myself." she confessed. "And somehow that changed into love for you. But in any case it's not real."
"You're not a monster, and what I'm feeling iis/i real." Clark said, still trying to absorb what was happening. "You said you put attraction in my head. Alex, that may have opened the door, but I ilove/i you."
Alex closed her eyes. "I really don't know. Maybe what I gave you grew out of control. Or maybe you really do love me. That doesn't matter though."
"What do you mean?"
"My brother is trying to get me again, Clark, and he's going to kill everyone I like and everyone who likes me. Maybe if I give myself willingly to him without a fight and if you don't love me anymore then he'll let you and everyone else go."
"Alex, you're not going to give yourself up. I am going to stop your brother from doing any harm, I promise. We can be together. And no matter what you say I can't stop loving you." he said, holding onto her tighter.
"Clark, you don't love me. Who could? I'm a freak, just like everyone says. I'm arrogant, I'm too aggressive. I'm dangerous to everyone I'm around."
Clark shook his head. "No, none of those things are true. I love you, Alex, please don't give yourself to him..."
"I'm sorry, Clark. I have to go with him, it's the only way. And you have to stop loving me." she explained.
"I'm not going to do that." responded Clark. "I can't."
"I can." she said. "Clark, I'm sorry."
With that Alex closed her eyes, raiding Clark's memories. She would destroy what she had planted there. If she was right Clark wouldn't love her anymore, and wouldn't remember anything about Justin. She found all of them. Alex concentrated... harder... there. She had irradicated those fake feelings. The only way they could ipossibly/i re-emerge is if they were real, and even then Clark would never find her. Not without what she had just told him. He would still remember her... the time he spent with her... but he wouldn't find any feelings with them. He wouldn't miss her.
Clark would be safe, so would Smallville. The only casualty would be Alex.
To her, that was a small price to pay.
Clark awoke. What was he doing in the caves? He looked at his watch. 3:30 in the morning. Clark shrugged. He must have fallen asleep after studying the pictographs. Kent stood up, walking out of the cave. But before he left, he turned around. Something was wrong... he could feel it. Something was very wrong.
Alex stood in the woods, Justin in front of her. "Do we have a deal?"
Justin smiled. "You come with me, and I let all of your friends go... agreed. Now, let's get going. Dad is feeling lonely."
Alex dared not cry at this. Crying was blood in the water to Justin and her dad. "Allright." she stammered, looking back towards the direction of Smallville. "Goodbye Clark." she whispered, not that he would hear. He would never hear her words again.
"Clark, no, it's dark." replied Jonathan. "It's too dangerous."
"But dad..."
"Clark, I said no. Now once your mother gets back from Smallville with the marshmellows we can eat. You like marshmellows, don't you?"
Clark shook his head. "No. They taste icky and when they melt they can stick to the back of my throat and then I can choke and then I'll fall down."
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "What on Earth have you been watching?"
"I like them, Mr. Clark's Dad." Pete said. "My dad took me camping last summer."
Jonathan smiled. "Well, I'll be in the tent setting up the inflatable beds for you guys. Stay near the fire, but not to close, holler if you need anything."
"Okay dad." said Clark, turning to Pete. "I don't like camping. It's dirty."
Pete smiled. "Let's go for a hike."
Clark frowned. "But dad said I couldn't. I have to listen to him."
"Come onnnnnnn Clark. I went hiking down this path before, I know everything about it. It'll be fun."
"I don't know..."
"Come on, Clark." said Pete. "I promise it will be fun!"
"Okay. But fast because I don't want dad to see."
Clark and Pete stood up, tiptoeing from the campsite clearing into the forest along an almost unseeable dirt path. "It's cold." complained Clark.
"No it's not." said Pete. "I'm not cold." he said, continuing along the path.
Clark grumbled. "There's bug on my face." he said, trying to swat them away. "And they're big."
"Clark! Pete!"
Both of the boys froze at Jonathan yelling for them. He had come out of the tent and they weren't there. "We have to go back!" said Clark, turning around.
"Okay..." said Pete, his voice getting worried. Mr. Clark's Dad would be mad at them. Pete started running for the campsite, ahead of Clark.
Kent, trying too hard, ran off of the path and into a group of trees. For an instant they seemed to go by really quickly, as if he was running really fast. Where was he? Clark stopped looked around but he couldn't see the campsite. Everything was so dark he couldn't see anything except the outlines of trees from the faint moonlight. He couldn't hear his dad anymore.
Clark started calling out for 'daddy'. Where was he? Was he lost? What if there were animals around? The boy started crying. Clark wouldn't see daddy again because he didn't listen to them. He started running around in circles, until he triped on a root sticking out of the ground.
Kent fell face-forward into a bunch of muck. He raised his face out of the mud, trying to wipe his eyes clean of it. Clark opened his eyes, looking at the ground. Something moved. A snake!
Clark jumped back, landing on his behind. There was another snake, that Clark saw slithering beside his hand. He jumped to his feet. There was snakes everywhere!
"So, this is your fear."
Clark turned to see a strange women standing there. No, she wasn't strange, it was Alex! Suddenly Clark wasn't seven years old anymore, he was back to himself. He still stoof there in that place with the snakes, but Clark knew none of that was real. "Yeah." Clark said, seeing Alex with a tear forming. "What's wrong?"
"Clark, I need to explain something to you. Then I need to tell you something after."
Suddenly Clark wasn't Clark anymore. She was seeing through the eyes of a twelve-year-old girl, in a house. S/he was standing in the doorframe along with her older brother. "Justin, stop it!"
Justin looked at her younger sister. "You don't like mom either, sis."
Clark/Alex just kept on staring at the bedroom, with her mom sleeping on the bed, stirring and crying out for help. "Stop it! you're going to hurt her!" s/he screamed, looking at Justin. Why were his eyes glowing like that? S/he looked back at mom. She wasn't moving anymore. "No!" she said, breaking out in more tears.
"Be quiet!" yelled Justin. "You'll wake up the neighbors."
"Make her wake up!"
"I can't. She's never going to wake up again. She's always so mean to us, now she got what she deserved. Nobody tells me what to do."
S/he looked back and forth between Justin and mom. Justin was bad. Clark/Alex had to get the police! S/he ran through the hallway towards the phone, but suddenly there was a new wall that s/he almost ran into. "Let me go!" she cried. "You can't do that to mommy." she said, wailing.
"I'll do whatever I damned well want." said Justin, outstretching his arm.
Clark/Alex felt themself flying backward, gently being hovered in midair above Justin who had those glowing eyes. He was the strongest, even now stronger than him/her and mom and dad and even grandpa. Those eyes were a sign of it. "I said let me go! HELP!"
"Nobody tells me what to do... especially not you!"
Suddenly Clark was back in the forest with Alex. "Oh my god... I had no idea..." stammered Clark.
Alex gulped. "He started saying that he was older and stronger, he owned me. Dad started saying that too. They wouldn't let me leave the house. At night they would..." she started, but broke out in more tears. Clark realized that was a common theme the past week. "At night they would start... touching me. They kept on saying that I belonged to them."
Clark embraced Alex, trying to comfort her.
"But I ran away from edge city, I went where they wouldn't expect. I came to live with grandpa. They knew I was scared of him, so they would never look here. But I'm not afraid of him anymore."
"But Justin found you."
Alex nodded. "Yes. He's going to drag me back to edge city to that house. Him and dad are going to start doing it again."
"No they won't." said Clark. "We'll tell the police."
"No! He'll just kill them. Clark, he can kill any human with just one thought. It's too dangerous. Even you can't stop just one of them, let alone two. Clark... he wants to hurt you. And... I've... I've been lying to you."
"What?" asked Clark, concerned. "Whatever it is, I'll understand. I love you. I'm not going to let anybody hurt you again."
Alex shook her head. "No you don't love me. Your dad was right, I'm nothing but a monster. At the Talon I put it in your head to take me on the tour, and to take me to the dance. I planted attraction in your mind Clark, to benefit myself." she confessed. "And somehow that changed into love for you. But in any case it's not real."
"You're not a monster, and what I'm feeling iis/i real." Clark said, still trying to absorb what was happening. "You said you put attraction in my head. Alex, that may have opened the door, but I ilove/i you."
Alex closed her eyes. "I really don't know. Maybe what I gave you grew out of control. Or maybe you really do love me. That doesn't matter though."
"What do you mean?"
"My brother is trying to get me again, Clark, and he's going to kill everyone I like and everyone who likes me. Maybe if I give myself willingly to him without a fight and if you don't love me anymore then he'll let you and everyone else go."
"Alex, you're not going to give yourself up. I am going to stop your brother from doing any harm, I promise. We can be together. And no matter what you say I can't stop loving you." he said, holding onto her tighter.
"Clark, you don't love me. Who could? I'm a freak, just like everyone says. I'm arrogant, I'm too aggressive. I'm dangerous to everyone I'm around."
Clark shook his head. "No, none of those things are true. I love you, Alex, please don't give yourself to him..."
"I'm sorry, Clark. I have to go with him, it's the only way. And you have to stop loving me." she explained.
"I'm not going to do that." responded Clark. "I can't."
"I can." she said. "Clark, I'm sorry."
With that Alex closed her eyes, raiding Clark's memories. She would destroy what she had planted there. If she was right Clark wouldn't love her anymore, and wouldn't remember anything about Justin. She found all of them. Alex concentrated... harder... there. She had irradicated those fake feelings. The only way they could ipossibly/i re-emerge is if they were real, and even then Clark would never find her. Not without what she had just told him. He would still remember her... the time he spent with her... but he wouldn't find any feelings with them. He wouldn't miss her.
Clark would be safe, so would Smallville. The only casualty would be Alex.
To her, that was a small price to pay.
Clark awoke. What was he doing in the caves? He looked at his watch. 3:30 in the morning. Clark shrugged. He must have fallen asleep after studying the pictographs. Kent stood up, walking out of the cave. But before he left, he turned around. Something was wrong... he could feel it. Something was very wrong.
Alex stood in the woods, Justin in front of her. "Do we have a deal?"
Justin smiled. "You come with me, and I let all of your friends go... agreed. Now, let's get going. Dad is feeling lonely."
Alex dared not cry at this. Crying was blood in the water to Justin and her dad. "Allright." she stammered, looking back towards the direction of Smallville. "Goodbye Clark." she whispered, not that he would hear. He would never hear her words again.