Chapter Three

Another flash of lightning illuminated the flooding cellar again, and Martha searched it as fast as her eyes would let her before the light disappeared. The water level was an a ridiculous level and she saw all of her canned foods being submerged under the mucky water. It was no use looking into the water for Clark , it was so muddy that she couldn't even see her foot under the water on the steps.

The light faded and she found herself in darkness once again. A big gust of wind blew through the cellar, finally ripping the sad wooden planks that used to be called doors off of the entrance. She jerked her head upwards and watched them fly up and away, disappearing from view. Another gust of wind blew and knocked her into the cellar, sending her arms flailing and landing with a splash in the disgusting, murky water.

Her head went under and she frantically tried to find the ground. Placing two feet firmly of the soft floor, she pushed up and felt her forehead find the surface. The water level had risen above her head! Using the skills she learned as a little girl, she moved her legs and arms at the same time, and found her head rising above the surface. She gasped for breath and realized she didn't have to breathe through the rain, she was deep to the side of the large underground room where, even when the wind blew, the rain would not get to her.

Finding that if she stood on her tiptoes she was able to see over the top of the water, she did so, trying not to think about the water she was floating in. Another flash of lightning fully illuminated the cellar and she gasped as she saw Clark floating on his back, caught in between the shelf layers. His body had somehow landed on the fourth shelf and as the water level rose, he remained in a seated position and his head was floating on the surface of the water. His eyes were shut.

“ Clark !” Martha screamed. This time no lightning flashed, but there was a low rumble off in the distance. Clark didn't flinch, and Martha grunted as she used every ounce of her strength to swim through the wood chips and floating debris to Clark . She banged into something with her knee and almost cried out, but she kept a firm face, biting her bottom lip to keep it all in.

She reached him and placed a foot firmly on the strong wooden shelves a few feet below her, then slipped a hand behind Clark's back, pulling him away from the wall. His head almost slipped below the surface, but she kept a firm grip on him. The water made it so much easier for her to manage Clark 's big body, but she had to be extra careful either way. She had no idea what was wrong with him.

But then she saw and remembered. A thin line of bright green water snaked towards Clark, it swerved through the subtle waves that were created from Martha's movements, and once it was only inches away from Clark 's head, it made a bee line towards him. It radiated a green glow that could only be emitted by a meteor rock, and then as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

As soon as it disappeared, Clark began to convulse. His body shook, with tremendous power, knocking Martha away from him. He remained floating, and his eyes remained shut, but his head shook back and forth violently, his arms quivered at his sides and his legs kicked up to the surface. He couldn't seem to control anything, and before long he was making enormous, nerve racking waves that hit the sides of the cellar and bounced off, sending Martha on a roller coaster ride, and gripping for air.

She tried to tread water through the waves and shaking, but she couldn't seem to keep her head above water. She went under water and swam towards the stairs. Coming back to the surface, she sensed the convulsion had stopped and quickly looked back at Clark . “ Clark !” she yelled. “ Clark !” he was laying motionless in the water again, and she quickly swam to him. It took longer than she expected, the waves were not seeming to settle quickly. But she reached him and grabbed him before he sank under water. “ Clark ?” she asked, just loud enough to be heard.

His eyes flickered open and he squinted through his mud soaked face. “Mom…” he mumbled. “The key…”

She brought her hand to his face, “No, sweetie, the key doesn't matter, we need to get you out of here.” She wrapped one of his arms around her neck and caught one of his legs with her hand, laying it over an arm. “ Clark , sweetie, I need you to help! I can't do this on my own!” She saw Clark 's head bob up and down, letting her know he understood.

Wincing through the pain, he felt his feet hit the floor. He looked through the stars he saw, as he became dizzy, and leaned on his mother for both support and guidance. She would lead him to safety. Together, well, mostly Martha, they made their way to the stairs. Clark took steps when absolutely necessary and Martha hopped on her toes to drag him along.

She saw lightning flash in the distance and lights appeared from around the house as she reached the foot of the cellar. Bright red and blue lights illuminated around the contour of the house. What were they? The ship hadn't started up, had it?

Clark was out again, and relied on Martha to get him up the rest of the way. She sighed, but yelled into her own head THIS IS ALL ON YOUR SHOULDERS! GET HIM UP THE STAIRS! She nodded, as if someone told it to her, and heaved Clark up into her arms. A massive amount of strength overwhelmed her, something she never experienced before, and let her grip Clark just enough to get him up, one stair at a time.

As she approached the ground level, she was incredibly surprised to see the lights still there. And as she watched, four men in fire suits ran around the corner of the house, followed shortly by three more and a man in a black suit whom she didn't recognize. Two men dropped by her husbands side and three others spotted her and ran to lend her a hand.

Not knowing whether to be terrified or overjoyed, Martha just stood numb, still holding Clark in her arms as the men jumped down the steps and took him from her. “Ma'am, are you okay?” one of the men asked. She nodded slightly and allowed the other two men to take Clark from her arms. Feeling as though a huge weight had been off her shoulders, she shook out her arms, realizing she had lost most of the feeling in her nerves. She touched her forehead and looked at her fingers. Blood dripped from them and she glanced horrified up at the fireman.

“We're going to get you to a hospital!” the firefighter yelled. “There's a fire truck and ambulance around front!” She nodded numbly and suddenly felt dizzy. The fireman grabbed her, and she blinked her eyes a couple of times. “Ma'am, I need you to hold on. I'm going to carry you to the ambulance!”