I watched in total horror as I saw the blade come down in an arc towards Clark, but then, right at the last minute, Clark twisted away.
The move must have been pure agony for him, and I don't know where he drew the energy from, but somehow he did. His Attacker now lunged at empty space and almost over-balanced. I faltered with my weapon, unsure if I dare fire it because Clark was still so close, but I needn't have worried.
Using his last remaining burst of strength, Clark grabbed at the man's feet as he slumped down from the meteor rock's effects, and the pair crumpled to the floor together in a mass of tangled limbs. I didn't wait for the bad guy to regain his composure with his impromptu weapon. I pounced on him like a tigress protecting her cub.
Grabbing his hand and twisting it around in a lock a professional wrestler would have been proud of, I shook the letter opener from his palm and he barked from the pain I was inflicting. I thought I had him under control, but then I remembered I had to remove the meteor lump from his other hand so that Clark could recover.
I cursed and put my attention on his other arm, but the man began to struggle and elbowed me straight in the face. Blood sprayed from my nose where his blow impacted, but I refused to give in to his strikes and twisted his hand around further. He swore at me then, and I expected yet another punch.
Instead, he slumped to the carpet, unconscious. I looked up to see Lois standing over us with her head cocked to one side and some kind of bronze science award in her hand. It appeared to be Schenkel's. "Jeez, can't you two manage anything without me?" she teased.
I smiled cheekily back, but put my effort into prying the green rock from the bad guy's grasp. It wasn't easy, but once it was free I tossed it into the far corner of the room. "Are you alright, Clark?" I could see he was already recovering, but after all we'd been through I felt I needed to ask.
"I think I should be asking you that question." He pointed to my nose and I probed the side of it, panicking because I was sure it felt fractured. "Don't panic, it's not broken," he informed me helpfully as he tugged his battered frame from the floor.
I sighed with relief, but noted the weird look Lois gave my farmboy. He really was pushing his luck letting these little things slip out in front of her, and once we were alone I was going to have to point that out. Right now, though, we needed to get the disc and run. I had a sure-fire feeling that the guy we'd just decked would be the first of many we had to deal with yet.
"I wasn't panicking," I lied as I clambered up; taking the hand Clark offered to steady me. "I passed the panic stage about five hours ago…"
Clark smiled at that, even though I suspect he knew I wasn't joking.
Then, Lois chimed in as usual with her no-nonsense approach. "Guys, can we cut the small talk and get moving? I'm not in any shape to run and I think we'll be getting more company real soon."
I nodded and scurried to Schenkel's desk with my two companions in tow. As I looked down I winced. The drawers were the lockable type, and I guessed Schenkel wasn't the kind of guy to be lax on security.
Clark realized what I was thinking and pushed past me so that he was first to try the drawers. They opened instantly with a metallic screech, and I knew he had used a little extra strength on them to bust the locking mechanism.
Lois appeared oblivious. "These guys need to learn how to use an oil can," she quipped as she watched me fumble under the drawer, searching for the elusive records.
"Bingo!" I pulled out a small envelope and checked inside. There was one solitary computer disk, but I suspected it was all I would need. Wiping congealing blood from under my nose with a tissue from the good doctor's desk, I gestured towards the door. "Let's hit the yellow brick road."
Lois kept hold of her metal club and headed for the corridor. "Yeah, well I can't wait to find out who that disc incriminates as the Wicked Witch of the West…" she didn't look back as she spoke, but continued muttering under her breath about how she would be kicking their butt once she found out.
I noticed Clark squinting at the wall as she neared it, and knew he was x-raying right through to check for more bad guys. When he took my still shaking hand and ushered me forward, I knew we were in the clear- at least for now.
Escaping from the complex proved no more difficult than breaking back in had. Of course, we had Clark on our side, and even at half power he was still unrivalled among humans.
As we jogged from the surrounding grounds of White Summit, I couldn't help but feel we were free from some terrible evil. I knew we were not out of the woods, if you'll pardon my pun, but at least the feeling of impending doom and misery was gone.
Clark wasn't feeling so buoyant, though. "I left Rich behind again…" he said dolefully as we clambered down a shale covered incline. "I should have brought his body out before they dispose of it."
Again, I wanted to whack him. It was pretty darn obvious he hadn't looked in a mirror recently, but surely he realized he looked as awful as I and Lois did? "You're in no fit state to carry anyone," I pointed out, "besides, I think you'll be carrying Lois pretty soon if we don't find help."
Lois had paused and was standing with her head almost to her knees to try and catch her breath. The bad guys had really done a number on us all. So far, I think I'd gotten away lightest with my bloodied nose.
Clark knew I was right. "How much further to the main road?" he asked, worriedly.
To be honest, I really wasn't sure, but I took my best guess, and Lois the navigator amongst us didn't argue. "I think it's about ten more minutes to that ridge, and then maybe ten to the tree line."
Clark looked ahead, weighing up the terrain and then nodded. Whether he realized the car we'd left was not in this area I don't know, but he never asked. He silently walked over to Lois and put an arm around her. "Can you make it?"
On any other day, I think a shirtless Clark wrapping an arm around my cousin would probably have earned him a punch, but right now I saw her expression change. Lois was grateful of his concern and affection, and the warmth he somehow exuded seemed to give her the strength to carry on. She nodded. "Just needed a breather," she lied through gritted teeth.
For now, Clark accepted she could go on, knowing Lois was a pretty proud girl when it came to her stamina. But, he stayed close by her side until we could see the tree line in front of us, just in case.
As the roadway loomed ahead through the veil of the trees, I actually thought we'd made it without being pursued, but that was too much to ask for.
I stumbled forward on a loose unearthed root and only caught myself by grabbing the nearest tree trunk. Two inches from where my hand landed on the rough bark a shower of wood erupted and I was left gawking. My brain couldn't assimilate all the information and work out what was happening.
Clark explained it all for me. "Someone's shooting at us!" he yelled, scooping the flagging Lois up in his already weak arms.
I gawped for a second and then recovered myself just in time. Another bullet skimmed past the tree and came perilously close to my shoulder, but I was now running like mad towards the road. Clark was in front of me, but where we thought we could escape to I didn't know.
I guess what happened next might be called a miracle. I know that's how I felt when I saw the little red truck trundling aimlessly down the back road. The question was, with bullets flying, would the driver stop, or turn tail?
I saw Clark stop dead in the middle of the road with Lois still in his arms. He seemed to stare right into the eyes of the truck driver pleadingly, and the next minute I was seeing black rubber marks right along the tarmac.
The hood of the Dodge juddered as its driver hit the brakes, and the metal grille came to a stop perilously close to where Clark was standing. The next minute the driver hopped out and was most definitely ready for a full blown ruckus.
"Idiot boy! Tryin to git yerself killed are ya?" The more he shouted, the more pronounced his accent became, and the more I gaped.
The driver was Herb Fresner, our eccentric host from the lodge. He continued to cuss at Clark until he realized it was Lois in his arms, and that I was bringing up the rear, closely followed by at least one bad guy.
A bullet clipped the Dodge's right side headlamp, shattering the glass all over the road. Herb flinched then and managed to finally look startled.
"Mr. Fresner, remember what you told us about being careful? You were right, and now we need your help!" I grabbed the old guy's arm and hastily guided him back behind the wheel while Clark placed Lois inside and then hopped in himself.
"You got me mixed up in that!" Fresner didn't seem too happy, but he didn't tell us to get the heck out of his truck either. "I told you girls not to go snoopin if you know what was good fer ya!" He waited rather graciously until I was inside and then rammed the pickup into reverse.
I had no idea why he chose to go back instead of forward, and right at that moment I didn't care. Anyone who just saved my life was allowed to make a few 'kooky' choices.
CRACK. The glass in the rear panel exploded in on us as more slugs, this time from an automatic, poured into the vehicle. I ducked, and noted Fresner was taking the Dodge off road. Maybe the old guy isn't so crazy, after all…
After two intense minutes, the bullets stopped and we all dared to look up. Fresner's eyes were glued to the rough terrain he was steering through, and his hands appeared to be cemented to the steering wheel, he was gripping it so tightly.
"Thank you," I managed to rasp.
Fresner nodded, and then as an afterthought glanced over and asked more softly, "Tell me, girlie, was it worth it? Did you find what you were lookin for?"
I turned to Clark and smiled. Oh yes. "Mr. Fresner, this is Clark Kent, my friend and someone I thought I'd lost forever."
Fresner nodded and eyed Clark warily, sizing him up. I'm guessing the shirtless part was something he didn't approve of. Then, he scrutinized Lois. She had her head lolled on Clark's shoulder and she didn't look too good. In fact, I was starting to worry. "Your friend looks like she needs a hospital. You all do…" He peered at my nose and I suddenly felt self conscious.
"Not a good idea," Lois mumbled before I could open my mouth. "Those guys who were shooting at us would expect that. I'll just have to rough it out." She winced as the truck bounced over a hole in the dirt track.
Fresner shook his head. "Lil Missy, you're in too much of a mess and so are your friends. Don't you worry none, though. I know just the place to take you. My brother will fix you all up in no time. He'll not talk neither!"
All kinds of ideas ran through my mind. If Herb's brother was a doctor he was bound by the law to report treating our injuries. I had a stab would to my forearm for starters. Then, there was the problem of a doctor getting anywhere near Clark. "We appreciate the offer, but if you can just get us back to our car or another car hire center…"
Herb waved me off and I saw Clark start to become alarmed. We were in one fine mess, and I had no clue how to get us out of it. "Doctors have to report things like this. We wouldn't want to get your brother in any kind of trouble," I said lamely.
"Besides, the bad guys might stake out all the medical centers and doctors homes in the area to find us. We'd hate to put him in any danger," Clark butted in helpfully.
Fresner still didn't budge. He grinned a great big toothy grin and then turned on the radio until it was blasting out country music. "Ain't no problem with my bro getting in trouble, or being staked out, because he ain't no doctor!"
Suddenly I had visions of Herb belonging to some whacked out family like the ones you always find in horror movies. Scenes from 'Deliverance' and 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' filtered through my head, and I was forced to rethink if we'd really escaped at all...
TBC...
