Chapter 14
(Clark sits on the edge of the couch, lazily warming his hands in front of the fire. He takes a deep breath and sits back. Lana sits beside him. Her breathing is slow and regular and she rests her head on her uplifted palms. To their right, on the other couch, Roby sits with his legs curled up underneath him peacefully reading a novel. Stacey is asleep; her head resting lightly against his stomach as her chest rhythmically rises and falls with each breath. With one hand holding the book, Roby soothingly runs his hand up and down her back as she snuggles in closer to him. Clark smiles as he watches them.)
Clark (Speaking quietly): "What're you reading?"
Roby (Looking up from his book, keeping his voice soft): "Talismans of Shannara."
Clark: "What genre is that?"
Roby: "Fantasy, by Terry Brooks."
Clark: "I've never heard of him. Is he good?"
Roby: "I think he's the best fantasy writer out there, except for Tolkien."
Clark: "Ah, a name I know!
(Roby smiles at this.)
Roby: "You like to read?"
Clark: "A bit. It's kind of gotten away from me recently, though. I'm sorry; you must want to get back to reading."
Roby: "Na, it's fine, Clark."
(He looks out the window.)
Roby: "It's almost time, anyways."
Clark: "Still won't tell me what we're gonna do?"
Roby: "Nope. But my uncle gave me permission to take my group out for a bit."
Clark: "It's starting to sound like we lucked out getting in your group."
(Roby just smiles and closes his book, sliding the bookmark between the pages before he does. Setting it down on the floor, he gently stirs Stacey. Her eyes flutter open and she looks up at him.)
Roby: "Wake up, sleepyhead. You wanna go to bed or come with us?"
Stacey (Mumbling sleepily): "Where?"
Roby: "We're gonna go out for awhile. You can stay if you want."
Stacey (Sitting up and rubbing her eyes): "No, no, I wanna come!"
Lana (Raising her head, from which she briefly fell asleep): "We gonna go, now?"
(Roby nods.)
Lana: "I'll go wake up Chloe and Lois."
Clark: "I'll get Pete and Aman."
Amandil (Calling from a corner where he was sleeping): "I'm here."
Clark: "Alright. That just leaves Pete, then. Be right back."
(Clark stands and follows Lana to their rooms. Quietly opening the door, Clark tiptoes over to Pete. Above him on the bunk bed, Garret sits up in bed with a small flashlight writing a note. He smiles briefly at Clark before turning back to the note, seemingly putting all of his being into it as he writes several words down before slumping down exasperatedly. Shaking his head, Clark leans down and shakes Pete as Amandil crosses the room to his bag.)
Clark: "Pete, wake up."
(Pete turns away from Clark in his sleep and pulls the covers up over his head. Sighing, Clark shakes him again, more forcefully this time. Pete suddenly sits up, hitting his head against the bed above him.)
Garret: "Hey! Watch it!"
(Pete rubs his head gingerly as they hear Garret, cursing under his breath, crumple up the note and throw it down, beginning anew.)
Pete: "Crap that hurt!"
Clark: "Come on, Pete. Roby's taking us somewhere."
Pete (Swinging his legs off the edge of his bed and pulling on some pants): "As long as it doesn't involve falling on ours heads..."
(Roby breezes into the room and walks over to his bag.)
Roby (Fishing out a bag of facemasks and warm clothing): "You'll want to dress warmly. It's gotten cold outside since the sun set."
(Roby stands at the door, waiting for them as they pull on snow pants, coats, gloves and hats. They turn to him, and he throws each of them a face mask. He forgets to give one to Amandil.)
Roby: "You can keep these. The wind is the biggest factor. Keep yourself covered and you'll be nice and toasty. Come on; let's see if the women are ready."
(They leave the room. Roby walks across the hall and gently raps on their door.)
Chloe: "One sec! We're almost ready!"
Roby: "I'll go get out the snowshoes. Meet me outside when they come. Oh, and make sure they're wearing enough to be warm."
Clark: "Sure."
Roby (As he walks out the door): "Thanks!"
(Clark leans against the wall. Pete stands in the middle of the hall, his head nodding up and down slightly as he struggles to keep himself awake. Amandil stands at the door, looking outside.)
Pete: "This better be worth it..."
Clark: "Roby sounds pretty excited."
Pete: "Yeah? Well I sound pretty tired. Forget it; I'm going back to bed..."
(Pete turns to open his door, but Chloe steps out of her room before he does. He turns to her, smiling.)
Chloe: "You coming, Pete?"
Pete (Sounding a bit more awake): "Of course!"
(Clark grins at him as Lana and Lois come out. Quietly surveying their apparel, Clark nods satisfactorily.)
Clark: "Alright. Everyone warm enough?"
Lois: "Won't we need flashlights?"
Clark: "Roby's probably got them already, outside."
(A collective nod goes through the small party, and they walk down the hall and out the door. They were half asleep before, but the chilling night air instantly raises them out of their dreariness and into full alertness. High above them, the moon shines directly down. The snow glitters softly in its light.)
Clark: "Guess we won't be needing flashlights after all, huh?"
(He is, indeed, correct. The light from the moon, amplified by its reflection on the snow, gives them more than enough to walk by, even enough to see each other's faces.)
(Roby comes from around the side of the cabin, two pairs of snowshoes in his hands. He sets them down beside the others he already brought out.)
Roby: "Alright, everyone, get strapped in!"
(Stacey walks around the corner with seven pairs of poles in her hands. Carefully setting them down, she looks up at Roby.)
Roby (Smiling down at her): "Thanks, Stace."
(Amandil is the first to get his snowshoes on, aside from Roby. Kneeling down, Roby helps Stacey strap her snowshoes on.)
Roby: "Amandil, you can go on and get started. See that small hill over there, the one with a cornice on it?"
(He points uphill, away from them.)
Roby: "We'll meet you up there."
(Nodding, Amandil picks up a pair of poles and starts out.)
Roby: "Oh, Amandil!"
(Amandil turns back to him. Roby throws him a facemask.)
Roby: "You'll want that."
(Smiling, Amandil takes off again. Roby distributes the last of his facemasks to Lana, Chloe, Lois, and Stacey.)
Roby: "They'll probably be a bit big, but they'll work."
Lois (Her voice slightly muffled by the face mask): "Thanks."
Roby (Seeing everyone is ready): "Alright. Let's head out."
(He steps off the wooden porch and begins making his way up to where Amandil now waits with his back to them. Stacey follows closely behind him, taking big steps to try and match his. Chloe, Pete, and Lois follow closely behind them. Clark and Lana take up the rear. Only taking one poll, Lana holds Clark's hand for stability. The soft crunch of the snow under their feet is the only sound echoing throughout the night. They cross over scattered tracks; tiny footprints implanted into the surface of the snow giving evidence of the small animals' not-so-long-ago passing. They talk quietly to one another.)
Lana: "Wow, it's really cold out here!"
Clark (Pretending to shiver): "Yeah."
Lana: "Glad we've got these facemasks. Roby really put a lot of thought into this little expedition, didn't he?"
(Clark doesn't answer her. They reach Amandil, and subsequently their breath is taken away. The upwards slope stops and levels off. Stretching out in front of them is a large meadow, coated in a thick layer of snow. High above them, the moon shines down, making the snow softly sparkle and illuminate any once dark places. Even the trees, lining the meadow, shimmer and sway slightly in the slow breeze crawling across them. Everyone's breath is taken away as they observe the huge mountains just beyond the trees. A burst of wind sweeps the snow off the tip of MountHelen, sending it lazily drifting downward to the valley far below. Clark focuses his hearing, and can perceive no noise save for their breathing. There is no sound of cars, motors, appliances, engines, talking, or anything. Everything is perfectly still. Putting an arm around her shoulders, Roby hugs Stacey closely to himself.)
Roby: "Everyone, this experience is best shared alone or close to alone. I want you to wander off into the meadow, keeping your distance from everyone else. Try and keep as quiet as you can. After twenty minutes, come back to me in the middle."
(Everyone nods silently.)
Roby: "And, don't leave the meadow. This is backcountry; if you go too far, you could start an avalanche."
(Slightly intimidated by these last few words, everyone branches off from one another. Still hand in hand, Clark and Lana head off to the left and make their way along the edge of the trees. Pete and Chloe walk off to the right, following a similar path in the opposite way. Roby and Stacey quietly make their way to the center of the meadow. Alone, Lois sets off in a direction halfway between following Roby and halfway between following Clark. She hangs her head slightly, but holds it high enough with her pride so that no one will notice.)
(Roby and Stacey reach the middle. Kneeling down to be at the same level as her, Roby looks off into the night, smiling slightly. Stacey has her mouth hanging open as she looks out over the radiant landscape. Roby hugs her to himself, letting her stay warm in his embrace.)
(Off to their left, Clark and Lana stop by a grove of trees. Turning to him, Lana wraps her arms around his neck and rests her head against his chest. She listens to his slow rhythmic heart beat. Carefully placing his hands on her lower back, he holds her to himself. He looks up at MountHelen.)
Clark: "No matter how strong I get, I don't think I'll ever be able to compare with that."
Lana (Whispering): "You'll always be my superman, Clark..."
Clark (Trying the name out under his breath): "Superman..."
(Far off to their right on the other side of the meadow, Chloe and Pete walk side by side.)
Pete: "So you're not still... infatuated... with Clark?"
Chloe: "No, Pete. I've already told you that on numerous occasions."
Pete: "I know... It's just so hard to get out from under his shadow..."
Chloe (Stopping): "Pete..."
(He stops as well, turning to face her.)
Pete: "What?"
Chloe: "Don't talk."
(She takes his hands in her own and places them around her waist, then wraps her own around his neck. They draw closer to one another. They rotate their heads slightly in opposite directions as their lips brush. Their tongues meet, gently caressing each other. They do a slow waltz, reminiscent of the past years homecoming dance, as the snow taken from the summit of MountHelen idly settles about them.)
Pete (Drawing back from the kiss, looking directly into her eyes): "Chlo..."
(She looks back at him, smiling warmly.)
Pete: "Will you go to prom with me?"
(Lois silently watches the others around her: Clark and Lana off to her left; Roby and Stacey off to her right; and Chloe and Pete beyond the siblings. She sighs heavily. Looking up into the moon directly above her, she smiles hopefully and pulls her facemask down. The breeze twirls a blanket of snow around her, soothingly comforting her.)
Lois: "Someday..."
