Four.
He awoke in a rush. With a gasp, he shoved upward, back pressed against the wall. His head was pounding, his eyes felt hot. He was in that room. Stark white, big mirror, bright lights. An intravenous line ran into the back of his left hand draining a medley of colored liquids into his blood stream. A quadrilogy of wires lead out of the neck of his shirt into a bank of monitoring equipment. He shivered, leaned his head against the wall.
Sounds echoed through his mind. BANG! His eyes shot wide. Gunshots! 'No!' His mother was screaming. 'Mom, Dad. I have to get to them.'
Clark staggered to his feet, frantically ripping the electrodes and IV from his body. He threw himself against the door. "Let me out!" he shouted, pounding his fists against it. He shouted and punched and kicked the door until his strength let out and he slid down the door.
He was dozing on the floor when the door unlocked and opened. Dr Kimball and two orderlies came in. The orderlies got the unresponsive boy back into his bed, reattaching the equipment.
Dr Kimball turned to address his patient. "Clark, what happened? You need to stay in bed or I will have to restrain you," the doctor scolded.
Clark blinked out of his reverie, whispering, "Where are my parents?" deep shaky breath "Please, I need to see them," he begged.
"Now, Clark, we have spoken about this many times. What has brought on this mood? " Dr Kimball began scribbling notes in his file.
Clark heaved a whimpering breath. He knew he wasn't going to get anything out of this man. "Oh, god, go away. I don't want to be here anymore. I am tired of this."
"You said before, that you didn't want to sleep. What is happening when you dream, Clark?" Dr Kimball injected a clear liquid into the new IV line.
Clark's eyes glassed over but he stayed conscious, his vacant stare fixed on the ceiling. "My mom…" his voice caught in a sob "and my dad." heavy sigh "They are in trouble…I can't help them…" blink "…can't trust Lex…" confused frown "Lionel has meteor rock…makes me sick."
"Meteor rock, Clark. You mentioned that before. What about the meteor rocks? Why do they effect you?" At Clark's blank stare, Dr Kimball snapped his fingers in front of Clark's face. He blinked at the doctor.
"I…no." Clark pressed his lips together, shaking his head. "My father told me never to tell."
Dr Kimball clenched his jaw. "This is getting old, Clark. So many secrets." He turned and walked out the door, the orderlies following close behind.
Clark blinked at the closed door. Lost in the fog, he blinked at the bright lights. Slowly, sluggishly, he scooted off the cot onto the floor. Trailing wires and the IV line, he curled under the cot to get out of the direct path of the light. He didn't want to sleep but the continuous-feed drug accomplished it's purpose and pulled him into listless unconsciousness.