Part 6 – Release
Lana brought her car to a stop. During her drive to the Kent Farm, she had tried to run through possible ways of telling the Kents that she'd found Clark, but nothing she'd come up with made her feel comfortable. She walked up to the front door, took a deep breath, and knocked.
The door opened, and Martha greeted, "Lana, this is a pleasant surprise. Please, come in."
"Thanks, Mrs. Kent," Lana said as she stepped into the house. Being in this place again after so long evoked memories that were both wonderful and painful at the same time, but Lana managed to push them aside and focus on her task. "Is Mr. Kent here?"
"He's out in the south pasture," Martha answered. "Is something wrong?"
Lana sat down in the living room across from Martha. "Mrs. Kent, I know about Clark."
Martha paled. "How did you find out?" she asked nervously.
"Lex told me," Lana said. Seeing Martha's expression shift to one of anger, Lana questioned cautiously, "Did I say something wrong?"
"We had a...bit of a falling out with Lex just before Clark left," she said. "But that's not really important right now." Martha took a breath. "Lana, is there something you want to tell me?"
Lana lowered her eyes for a moment before returning her gaze to Martha. "Mrs. Kent," she said slowly, "I know this is going to be a shock for you to hear, but...I found Clark."
Martha froze. "W-what?" she stammered.
"I found him out by Chloe's grave last night," Lana continued.
"Oh, thank God," Martha said in a choked voice. "We never gave up hoping that somehow, he'd come back to us." Seeing the discomfort on Lana's face, she probed, "Is there something else?"
Lana shifted in her seat before answering, "Clark has amnesia. As it is, he's only just started to get back some of his memory. And for whatever reason, when I tried to bring him back to the farm or asked him to come see you, he got really scared."
"Where is he?" Martha demanded.
"He's staying in the apartment over the Talon," Lana explained.
"I want to go see him," Martha said as she got to her feet.
Lana put a hand on her shoulder and said gently, "Mrs. Kent, I understand how you feel, but Clark is really fragile right now." She shifted uncomfortably once again before she continued, "I don't know what happened to him while he was gone, but he has injuries all over his body."
"That's not possible," Martha stated.
Lana frowned. That definitely was a strange response. "I've seen them myself, Mrs. Kent. His body is...well, it's a mess."
"Oh my God," Martha breathed.
"He's been having nightmares, and he seems scared almost all the time," Lana continued. "I'm doing what I can to help him remember and keep him calm."
Martha took Lana's hands and said, "You have no idea how much it means to me that you're taking care of him right now." She swallowed hoarsely and continued, "When you see him later...please tell him that I love him."
"Of course I will, Mrs. Kent," Lana answered with a slight smile.
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Lex stepped out of his car as soon as he saw Lana rounding the corner. While he was happy to give Lana access to the Talon, he had the distinct impression that she was hiding something from him. Knowing Lana's nature, Lex's curiosity was piqued and he decided to take a look at Lana's "friend".
Lex quietly entered the building and walked upstairs. He heard faint noises coming from the apartment, obviously from Lana's guest. He walked up the stairs to find the door to the apartment partially open. He pushed against the door, and it creaked as it opened farther.
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Clark froze at the sound of the apartment door creaking open. Judging from the amount of time it had taken last night to go from the Kent Farm to the Talon, Clark knew that Lana hadn't come back yet, and someone else was at the door. In a trembling voice, Clark asked, "Who's there?"
Lex froze. 'No, it can't be,' he thought. He pushed the door open wider, and the thought was quashed. "Clark?" he called out in disbelief.
As Clark saw Lex, his head buzzed as another memory flashed through his head.
"Trust me, Clark," Lex said. "Our friendship is going to be the stuff of legends." He and Lex shared a smile before they turned to look at the sunset.
Clark rubbed at his temples for a moment as the buzzing passed. "Lex," he greeted cautiously.
Lex approached Clark with a broad smile as he saw his friend alive. The fact that Clark had greeted him at all gave him some hope that perhaps he had been forgiven. He hid a wince as he saw some of the bruises on Clark's arms. "My God...Clark, what happened?" he asked.
"I...don't remember," Clark answered slowly.
"What don't you remember?" Lex asked curiously.
"Everything," Clark said. "I've only just started to get my memory back. I remember a few things...vaguely. Everything else is a blank."
Lex clenched his fists. Whatever his father had done to Clark, Lex was going to make him pay for it dearly. Shaking himself, Lex asked, "So, what do you remember?"
Clark shrugged and answered, "Not too much. I remember you saying that our friendship was going to be the stuff of legends." Then, with a slight smile, Clark said, "It's good to see you, Lex."
Lex swallowed before replying, "It's good to see you, too, Clark." He had felt the temptation to tell Clark the truth about what had happened between them two and a half months ago, but he couldn't, not yet. He had to make sure his friend was ok first.
"So, how did we meet?" Clark asked curiously.
Lex smiled at the memory. "Well, as I recall," Lex began, "I lost control of my Porsche and almost hit you with it at sixty miles an hour before going off a bridge. From what you told me later, you dove in and pulled me to shore." Lex stopped speaking as he saw Clark putting his hands to his head in obvious pain. "Clark, are you alright?"
Clark dropped his hands from his head and said, "I'm fine. It's just a headache." Giving Lex a reassuring smile, he said, "So, tell me more."
Lex relaxed and continued to relay the story of their first meeting and its aftermath. All the while, Clark was thinking, 'It's impossible...how could I be alive if Lex hit me with his car?'
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Jonathan wiped his forehead with a cloth as he entered the house. The work he'd done over the past few hours had taken his toll on him, and his throat was parched. As he walked into the kitchen to get some soda, he found Martha sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands. "Martha, what's wrong?" he asked anxiously.
Martha turned to look at her husband, and it was immediately evident that she'd been crying. Wiping her eyes, she said hoarsely, "Sweetie, you'd better sit down."
Jonathan instantly knew that something serious had happened. Martha hadn't called him "sweetie" since she'd found about his deal with Jor-El. "What's happened, sweetheart?" he probed gently.
Martha took one of his hands in hers before she continued, "Lana stopped by while you were working." Jonathan nodded, following so far. "She told me...she'd found Clark out in the graveyard last night."
Tears came to Jonathan's eyes. "He's...free?" he whispered. Seeing the despairing look on Martha's face, he asked, "What else?"
"Lana said that he lost his memory, and that he only just started to remember some things," she answered. "She also said...that he was severely injured."
Jonathan blanched. "How can that be possible?" he wondered. Then, his face darkened with anger. "Jor-El must have done something to him...something far worse than we can imagine." Then, something clicked in his mind. "Where is he?"
"He's over at the Talon," she answered. When Jonathan made to stand up, she grabbed his arm and said, "Lana told me that it wouldn't be a good idea to go see him right now. She said that when she tried to bring him back to the farm or said that we should come to him, he became scared. We should wait until Lana says he's ready." Seeing Jonathan slowly nod his acceptance, Martha sighed and said, "I'm going to lie down for a while." She stood, and, to Jonathan's shock, kissed him on the cheek as she left.
When he heard the bedroom door close, Jonathan waited patiently until he was sure that Martha was asleep, then rose from his chair. Despite Martha's warnings, Jonathan couldn't bring himself to abide by them. The longing in him was too strong.
He had to go see his son.
TO BE CONTINUED...