Chapter Four:

'They left them here to tell a story'. Clark's words echoed around her brain as she slowly walked around the cave interiors. He sounded so sure of that. Cave paintings like these ones usually did tell a story of civilizations gone by, but she didn't know where to start with this one. She stopped at one illustration. One man holding ten or so other men in his grasp. Okay, they were basically stick figures but the meaning was plain. The one man on his own had the strength of all of the men that he carried combined. There was no such man in history with strength like that. But then she remembered how Clark had caught that car, caught it like it was a football, straightened it and placed it carefully on the ground. Her breath caught in her throat. She shook her head and walked on.

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He had control. It was something he rarely possessed with red kryptonite. He dropped the necklace back into the drawer and braced himself as the influence of the stones roared out of him. His knees trembled slightly and he sighed deeply, his eyes still closed. He straightened and turned and saw Chloe standing on the staircase watching him. For a second they just stared at each other until he turned away, walked towards the sofa.

"What the hell just happened there?" she demanded, her strident tone like a whip crack in the silence.

"It's none of your business" he retorted, wondering how much of it she'd witnessed.

"You're falling apart and I'm worried, that makes it totally my business" he turned as he saw her storm towards his desk. At the same time he lunged towards them both. In an instance Chloe had ripped the drawer open and pulled the necklace out. She turned to him, holding it up for him to see and he skidded to a halt. It dangled from her fingertips, the red jewels sparkling in the late afternoon sun.

"What is this?" she enquired. Clark just stared at it.

"It was a gift from Alicia," he admitted. Chloe looked at it and scooped it into her palm.

"It looks like it's made with that red meteor rock from those class rings a couple of years back" she looked back at him.

"I don't recall Alicia owning a class ring. And the only ones that are left are those who missed the recall, andthey came from my office where they were firmly locked away" Clark stared at the necklace. In the dying light the stones glittered invitingly.

"You'd have to ask her where she got them from. Oh wait, you can't. She's dead!" he spat and glared at her. He turned and walked to his sofa. For a second Chloe stared at his back, a little stunned that he would speak to her that way before she took a deep breath and followed. In for a penny as the old saying went. Clark lowered himself down onto his sofa and looked up at her.

"You really don't know when to give up, do you?"

"Not where my friends are concerned. You know, there was something you said to me at the caves…" she sat down opposite him. He glanced at her and then looked away but she knew that she had his undivided attention.

"You said that the paintings were left to tell a story. Which got me thinking… and I saw those cave drawings through an entirely different perspective"

"Yeah, like how?" she looked into his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I think they're telling your story. The hero of the Kawatche people… Naman is it? I think that's you" She stared at him, waiting for his reaction. A few seconds ticked by. He sighed loudly, rudely.

"I think you've been reading too many of those green meteor rock tales Chloe…" he replied and stood up. She watched him, never moving from her seat.

"You think so?" he paused and turned to look at her. He looked big, angry.

"I know so. They are stories Chloe, nothing else!" his voice rose. Slowly she got to her feet.

"I saw you Clark. The night before Alicia died. She called you on your cell phone; she told you that she couldn't stop the car…" something flickered in his eyes.

"You're wondering how I knew that… there is only one way I could know that Clark… if I were in the car with her myself. She teleported us out of the car and I saw you. I saw you catch that car with your bare hands!" her eyes widened dramatically as she mentally relived those amazing few seconds. A short period of time that had altered her life forever.