Chapter 4
Chloe and Pete were being curious and were outside the scene of the latest attack. The victim was put on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance.
"That's the third guy this week," Pete said.
"And they're all former jocks." Chloe added.
Pete then noticed a bunch of people looking with confusion at skinny kid who looked to be about their age. He was standing near the ambulance watching them load the victim in. He didn't seem quite as concerned as everyone else that was gathered.
"Who the weirdo?" Pete asked.
"I dunno," Chloe replied looking herself. "Let's check him out."
Chloe raised her camera and quickly took a picture of the guy.
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Not long afterwards they were gathered in the Torch, the school newspaper, office along with Lana looking over some yearbooks.
"His name is Jeremy Creek," Chloe said pointing to a picture in an ten year old year book. "This is a picture of him twelve years ago. This is a picture of him that I took four hours ago."
Chloe indicated the digital picture on the computer that she had taken earlier and uploaded. The person in the two pictures looked identical.
"That's impossible," Lana said. "He'd be like twenty-six today. It must be a kid that looks like him."
"My money was on the evil twin theory," Pete said. "Till we checked his missing persons."
"Jeremy disappeared from the state infirmary a few days ago where he'd been in a coma for twelve years. They say he suffered from massive electrolyte imbalance," Chloe explained.
"That's why he hasn't aged a day," Pete added.
"So you're telling me that he just woke up?" Lana asked.
"Well there was a huge electrical storm and the hospital's generator went down. When it came back on, Jeremy was gone." Chloe replied.
"The electricity must have charged him up like a Duracell," Pete said.
"And now he's back in Smallville putting former jocks into comas," Lana finished. "Why?"
"Because twelve years ago today they chose Jeremy Creek, as the scarecrow," Pete replied ominously.
Lana picked up a newspaper clipping off of Chloe's desk, "Comatose boys found in field twenty yards from Meteor Strike," she said reading the title of the article aloud.
"The exposure to the blast must have done something to his body," Chloe hypothesised.
"No this can't be right," Lana said.
"I think you oughta show her," Pete said to Chloe.
"Show me what?" Lana asked.
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Pete and Chloe led Lana to a room that Lana thought was a photo lab.
"It started out as a scrap book," Chloe tried to explain. "And well it just kind of mutated."
"What is it?" Lana asked.
"I call it the Wall of Weird," Chloe said as she stepped up to the wall that was completely covered in different clippings and pictures. "It's every strange, bizarre and unexplained event that's happened in Smallville since the meteor shower. That's when it all began. The town went schizo. So what do you think?"
"Why didn't you tell about this?" Lana asked as she stepped forward to look at some of the clippings more closely.
"Do you tell me everything that happens in your life?" Chloe retorted. "We all keep secrets Lana."
Lana wasn't paying attention. Her eyes fell on a time magazine cover. The title read, Heartbreak in the Heartland. Lana looked closely at the little boy on the cover. He seemed so familiar.
"Clark?" Lana muttered. "My fault. It's all my fault."
Lana suddenly turned and walked out of the room leaving Pete and Chloe standing there rather dumbfounded. They looked at each other in confusion.
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As Lana was leaving the school she felt an arm grab her from behind.
"Chloe just leave me alone," Lana began.
However when the arm had turned her around; Lana found herself looking straight into the eyes of Whitney.
"Congratulations Lana," Whitney said, "You're this year's scarecrow."
"I thought only guys could be the scarecrow." Lana said.
"After I heard you talking to Clark last night I had a bit of a change of heart," Whitney said.
Whitney shoved Lana to the ground roughly. Lana stared up at the chain hanging around Whitney's neck. It was Clark's chain which was adorned with a piece of meteor rock. Lana felt ill suddenly and was unable to struggle against Whitney. She just stared blankly at the odd green rock. Whitney noticed her staring at it.
"You want this? Huh?" He asked.
He pulled it off from around his neck, "Good. Because I don't think there's anything lucky about this stupid piece of rock."
He tied the chain around Lana's neck. A truck then pulled up quickly and Whitney and two other football team members picked Lana up and put her roughly in the back of the truck. None of them noticed Jeremy Creek watching from nearby.
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Lana was strung up out in Riley's field. She didn't really know how long she'd been out there but the sun had set and it was now dark. The football players had been kind enough to leave her clothes on the ground. They left her in nothing but her bra, panties and Clark's meteor rock chain. They had painted a big red 'S' across her chest. It had been temperate weather earlier but it was cold now. Lana was shivering and she was feeling sick.
"It never changes," someone said from nearby.
Lana looked to see Jeremy Creek standing there. At this point in time Lana didn't care what had happened to Jeremy or if he involved with putting those former jocks into comas.
"Help me," Lana asked weakly.
"Hurts doesn't it?" Jeremy asked.
"You're Jeremy," Lana said struggling to breath.
"I thought if I punished them it would stop," Jeremy said. "But it never stops."
Jeremy began to walk away.
"Wait," Lana called. "Where are you going?"
"Homecoming dance," Jeremy replied. "I never made it to mine."
"Get me down," Lana demanded. "Please?"
"You're safer here," Jeremy said as he walked away into the seemingly endless rows of cornstalks.
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Lex Luthor was leaving one of his Luthor Corp fertilizer plants when his headlights caught a figure jumping over the fence into one of the corn fields. Lex stopped his car and stuck his head out the window to get a better look. He immediately recognized the kid who had just jumped the fence. It was the same kid who had been tied up like a scarecrow on the day of the meteor shower. The day Lex had lost all his hair. Lex quickly got out of his car but by the time he had the kid was gone.
Lex was about to get back into his car when a voice called out, "Help me."
Lex grabbed a flashlight from his car and hopped the fence into the cornfield trying to find the source of the voice. He stumbled across Lana strung up like a scarecrow.
"Lana?" he asked.
Lana looked up at him, squinting at the flashlight beam that was directed at her face. Lex began to untie Lana from her predicament.
"Who did this to you?" Lex asked.
"Doesn't matter," Lana replied as her arms were set free.
She fell to the ground as her bonds were released and managed to get rid of the necklace around her neck. Immediately she began to feel better. Lana grabbed her clothes.
"Lana, you need to see a doctor," Lex said.
"I'll be okay," Lana replied as she ran off into the cornfield.
"At least let me give you a ride," Lex called after her but to no avail.
Lex looked at the ground where Lana had been. He noticed the necklace she had dropped. He bent down to pick it up and examine it. He didn't know why but for some reason he had a hunch that this little rock would be important.
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Just another reminder if you wanna talk to me about the story or Smallville in general. Go on IRC to the otherside servers, irc. (Port 7000) or irc. (Port 7000), channel #smallville. Hope to see some people there.