Clark POV

"You still haven't gotten in yet Chloe?" I asked her impatiently.

Chloe gave me a look of frustration before turning her attention back to the computer in front of her without answering me. We were sitting in the Torch offices trying to hack into the hospital database in hopes to uncover Alexa's files.

Well…..Chloe was trying to hack. Pete was sitting next to her trying to figure out what all those computer key combinations led to and I……..I was trying not to lose my mind while I practically created a hole in the floor with all of my pacing.

God, if anything happens to her, I don't know what I'll do. You might as well take me with her.

I ran my hand through my hair in frustration and tried my best not to scream outloud. I couldn't deal with all this waiting. Time was running out. Not even Lex could help out right away. He himself had to get his men to "work on it". Maybe that was just wrong of me to assume Lex would automatically be able to solve all of my problems in the blink of an eye. But I was getting nowhere fast.

"A-HA!" Chloe exclaimed.

I ran to Chloe's Side and bent my head next to hers. "What! What do you have?"

"Look. Here it is. Alexa's file. She…..escaped…" Chloe turned her head to look at me, curiosity shining in her eyes. "How did you know Clark?"

I opened and closed my mouth once before answering her. "Chloe, it wasn't rocket science. Alexa just tried to attack us and we JUST put her away. I mean it was the most logical solution."

Chloe stared at me for a couple of seconds more, her eyes searching mine trying to deem any answers from them. Eventually she just nodded her head. "Right. Makes sense. But now what? I mean we don't know where she is or where she might have………."

CLARK! HELP ME!…………..Please………………

My head whipped around at the sound of the voice and I looked behind me expecting to see Lana standing right next to me.

"Lana!" I gasped out.

Chloe stopped in mid-sentence and gave me a bewildered look. "Clark? Are you okay? Maybe you should sit down." Chloe reached for my arm but I quickly pulled it away. My whole body turned in a circle looking around me.

"No! I just heard…..I mean……I could've sworn……." Chloe's expression turned from one of bewilderment to concern. Pete was looking at me with an unreadable look trying to understand what was happening without voicing anything that might reveal too much.

Pete stood up and successfully grabbed my arm. "Come on Clark lets go get some air."

Nooooo! CLARK!

There it was again! Lana's unmistakable voice cutting through the air. "Don't you guys hear that?" My eyes were roving all over the room as I brushed off Pete's hand and made my way around as if looking for something. I must have looked absolutely insane. But I know what I heard.

"Clark, what are you talking about? Hear what?" Chloe stood up and followed me without trying to touch me. "Clark why don't you sit down?" She repeated.

I shook my head violently and backed away from her. "I'll…..i'll be back. Pete's right. I need some fresh air."

"Clark wait!" Chloe yelled out but I was already out the door super speeding down the hallway.


Somehow I had found my way to the field that Lana and I had occupied earlier when we had our little, um, tryst. I don't know what possessed me to go there but here I was. I plopped down against the oak tree and lay my head in my hands.

So many questions and no answers……………

I know I heard Lana. I know I heard her scream. I also knew that every time I thought about it my heart plummeted to my ankles and I thought I was going to sob like a baby right there out of pure frustration.

I took a deep breath and tried to get a hold of myself. I thought back to the events that had occurred yesterday and today and tried to make sense of why I had heard Lana scream. Lana and I had a link. I know that much. There were times while we were making love that I could hear her thoughts and vice versa. All this time I thought it was only during sex that it could happen. My mother didn't give us much information about our mind reading capabilities, only that it may or may not remain. What if it came out during anything dealing with extreme emotion? Which meant Lana was probably terrified. That thought alone was enough to make me see red. I stood up and ran my hands threw my hair in frustration and anger.

Lana was in trouble and I didn't know what the hell to do about it. With all my powers I couldn't even save her. All these gifts I had were nothing but a curse! What good were they if I couldn't use them to save the one person in the world whom I wanted to spend the rest of my days with?

White hot anger poured through me and I whirled around and punched the nearest branch right off that damn oak tree sending it flying through the field. Almost immediately a vision of Lana lying on a floor with her hands, feet and mouth duct taped assaulted my senses. Immediately my anger died down and I caught a glimpse of some sort of worktable with what looked to be locks next to her before it faded away.

Dammit! NO! I grabbed the air in front of me as if trying to stop the image from fading away.

I paced in front of the oak tree trying to gain back some sense of sanity. If I did it before, I could do it again. Slowly, taking deep breaths, I slid back onto the grass and leaned against the oak tree once again. I let my eyes slide close and focused all of my anger and all of the emotions that were swimming inside of me while repeating Lana's name over and over again in my head.

A fuzzy image started to appear and I felt my heart leap but continued to hold the emotion in check. Slowly, the image began to come into focus and I could see her more clearly. God, she looked scared. All alone……..

Lana.

All of a sudden her head snapped up and around, looking for something.

I think she heard me.

Lana's eyes were furrowed in confusion. And I heard an unmistakable i "What the-." /i Only, her mouth wasn't moving due to the duct tape. It was in her mind. I could her hear her thoughts.

My heart pounded in my chest.

Lana? Lana can you hear me?

Lana's head whipped around once again. "Clark?"

Lana. Lana listen to me. Close your eyes. Concentrate.

Lana shook her head and tipped it slightly to the side as if trying to hear me. I clenched my fists in frustration and took a deep breath before trying again. Practically yelling at her.

CLOSE YOUR EYES. CONCENTRATE.

Lana jumped as if slapped. She had heard me loud and clear. Her eyes quickly slid shut and squeezed as she tried her best to follow my directions. As her breathing deepened slightly I felt something, a strange kind of connection, almost like a tether line on two small boats attached together in a storm trying their hardest not to get separated. The image of Lana began to get clearer and I could see every last detail of her face down to every last eyelash.

Lana, can you hear me?


End of Chapter Thirty-Two