Chapter Six: On Their Tail

Pete and Clark were speeding down Highway 91, in attempt to get completely out of Kansas. Still in that black Ferrari, they heard the whir of sirens in the background.

"Shoot," said Pete. "Now what do we do?"

"We speed up," said Clark.

"Good thinking," said Pete.

So they sped up.

Lex would have offered Jonathan a helicopter ride to Metropolis, except two hoodlums on red kryptonite had crashed his helicopter. So Jonathan drove his pickup, with a lead box sitting in the passenger seat.

Lex, who didn't go with Jonathan, gave him his cell phone in case he needed it. It rang.

Guess we forgot to turn it off now, didn't we Jonathan? Jonathan scolded himself. He then turned off the cell phone.

At the Torch office, Chloe and Lana were trying to figure out just what the stuff that was making Mrs. Kent and Pete act weird really was.

"Hey, Lana," said Chloe. "Come here, look at this."

Chloe was holding a piece of paper out to Lana, who came over to read it. They read it in silence.

"So," said Lana, after they were finished reading, "what this means is that it's made from some sort of red meteor rock?"

"Yeah, our class rings are made out of them, too," said Chloe.

"They are?" asked Lana, in question.

"Yeah, but anyway, Lionel Luthor has been using it to make people turn bad."

"I wonder if Clark was on that stuff last summer," Lana said, in a joking manner.

"Probably not," said Chloe, not getting that it was a joke. "Eventually the stuff causes damage to your body, and it can be deadly."

"So, how come Mrs. Kent didn't die?" Lana asked.

"Good point. But maybe they the removed the substance from her body, because she was already in the hospital because of the explosion in the lab," said Chloe.

Lana and Chloe knew what was going to happen next, and they had to tell Lex.

"So, we're ditching the night club?" asked Pete, a little disappointed.

"Yeah, sorry Pete, maybe some other time. I just don't want anyone finding me, like Chloe did last time."

"Understandable," said Pete, still clearly disappointed.

They passed the state line into Colorado.

As Jonathan Kent entered the city limits of Metropolis, he got the feeling that Clark and Pete weren't there anymore. He drove up and down streets, and then called his wife. At that point it was almost midnight.

"Martha?"

"Jonathan?" Martha's voice came over the phone.

"Look, I have this strange feeling that Clark and Pete aren't even in Kansas anymore," said Jonathan.

"Why's that?" Martha said, hesitantly, afraid of the answer.

"Because, I've looked everywhere for him, and I just have this hunch. I won't be back tonight, okay?"

"Okay, and I'm glad you called, I was starting to get worried about you. I love you," said Martha.

"I love you too," said Jonathan.

They hung up.

Lex, Chloe, and Lana were in Lex's study. Lana and Chloe had just finished telling Lex what they knew.

"I know it's deadly," said Lex. "That's why it's so important that we find him."

"Oh," said Chloe, to Lana. "Guess Lex is just a little ahead of us."

"Now what do we do?" asked Lana.

"We try to find him. And here's something to add to our irony: Clark's with him, and he's got it too."

Chloe and Lana exchanged glances.

Clark and Pete decided to stay at a hotel for the night. Pete was now sort of mad at Clark because they didn't go to any nightclubs, even though Clark promised they would when they got thirty miles into Colorado.

Mr. Kent was frustrated. He had no idea if Clark and Pete were east or west; north or south, just where the heck they were. He didn't even know for sure they were out of Metropolis, but as he was driving west, still not out of Metropolis, he ran into a police line.

Lex, Chloe, and Lana were searching nightclubs for any sign of Pete and Clark. None of them were sure what they were going to do if they found them. Lana then remembered about Atlantis, the nightclub Clark had taken her to a few months ago.

Mrs. Kent was sitting at home, waiting for either the phone to ring or the front door to open. She picked up a book, and tried to read it, but she couldn't keep her mind on it. So she got up and made herself some coffee. But then, the phone rang.

Clark had thrown Pete out of the hotel room. Pete had gotten to angry with him for the nightclub-less evening. So Clark literally threw him out.

Pete had been sleeping in the car they had stolen. He was so out of it, he didn't hear the sirens going off right next to him.

The police were using flashlights, shining them into the car, when they found a body, breathing steadily.

"Young man," said one of the officers, "please, come out with your hands up."

Though the officer had used a bullhorn that they had pressed against the car window, Pete did not stir.

Lana's cell phone rang. "Hello?" she said. They were still in Atlantis, so she couldn't hear. She stepped outside.

Martha's voice was on the other line. "Lana, is Lex with you? I need to talk to him." She sounded really worried.

"Yeah, sure," said Lana. She went inside and got Lex.

"Lex, Mrs. Kent's on the other line. She says she needs to talk to you, and she sounds really worried."

Lex took the phone. "Mrs. Kent?"

"Do you have any idea how I can reach Jonathan?"

"Yeah, he has my phone."

"I called it to see how I could reach him, but he must have turned it off," said Martha.

"Oh, that's a problem. What's going on?" asked Lex, almost wanting to laugh at the irony of this situation.

"They arrested Pete for stealing a car."

To Be Continued . . . . .

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW! I'M BEGGING YOU! okay I'm better now