Chapter One
A chill wind blew through the cemetery. September had turned cold fast. It was as if that was the only way nature had acknowledged his death. Not a single drop of rain had fallen. Not a single cloud wandered across the sky. Only wind. A cold harsh wind.
The casket was lowered in the grave. Throughout the whole ceremony it was closed. The body inside was too scarred to look at. No one would want to remember Clark Kent the way he was now. Not even his parents had seen him. The only one who would truly remember Clark the way he was now, was the one who could have saved him.
Chloe wished that day would just end. She wished that the images of Clark's death could just go away. She was the only one, besides the unnamed killer, than knew the exact details of Clark's death. She hadn't even told his parents everything. But, no one could blame her. She had witnessed her best friend, maybe even possible lover, die in front of her very eyes. Just when they had started getting close. They even had a date the following day. Than of course, there was what had happened at the Talon…
Don't think like that. It will only make you feel worse. Chloe thought, as the ceremony started to end. Remembering something like that, it would only bring more pain. Only bring more suffering. At this point good memories were just as bad or worse, as bad memories. They would only make her feel guilty. Only make her feel responsible.
If she had just…
Chloe watched in horror as the figure moved closer and closer to Clark. She had to do something. She looked at the unconscious form of Clark on the hard concrete floor. If she could just stop the maniac from lighting the fuse.
"No!" Chloe sprang up from her bed. It was now 2:30 AM. The funeral was hours behind her. As was Clark's death. Yet, it haunted her. In the five days since than, she hadn't had one good minute of sleep. The second she closed her eyes, she saw Clark. Not the tanned face, smiling farm boy. But, the cold dead, lifeless body of that farm boy. She knew that image would never leave her. Not until the day she died herself.
She got up, and put on her robe. She walked outside into the cold moon light. It was the only thing she welcomed these days. It numbed her mind, so she couldn't think of that hour. That moment…
Stop it! Just stop it.
Chloe hadn't even been able to write a story on Clark for the Torch. It may have been good therapy, but she wasn't ready. She knew that she wouldn't be able to write a piece on the funeral either. Hopefully she could get someone to do it. It wasn't like the school didn't know who Clark Kent was. The new star of the football team. The guy that could save the day on the field. The guy that could save the day in real life. But, he wouldn't be able to ever again.
Chloe finally decided to go back inside. She knew she wouldn't be getting any sleep, but she shouldn't freeze to death. She headed for the door, and turned around to look at the moon for just a moment. It was full, and bright. Even at night the sky mocked her. There wasn't a cloud. Nothing. Just the vast emptiness of space. Maybe it didn't mock her so much, she decided. The sky was as empty as she felt.
Once again, she turned for the door, but something caught her eye. She whipped around, and for a moment, she could have sworn that Clark Kent's face was staring at her.