Chloe Sullivan leaned against the window of the police cruiser that she had been riding in for the past hour. She used one hand to hold the printout of directions from Martha Kent's frantic e-mail, and the other to twist the handle of her purse around, a nervous habit she had picked up years ago.

"Are you sure we didn't pass it?" Chloe asked in a nervous tone of voice.

The bulky black police officer in the passenger seat of the car then looked back at her and scowled. "Ms. Sullivan, if you ask us that one more time, I might have to force you to walk there!"

Startled, Chloe leaned back in her seat and tried to hide the red rushing to her cheeks.

"No, we didn't pass it." The officer said in a surrendering tone. "I've been keeping my eyes open and I haven't seen a church."

"Okay, thanks Chuck," Chloe said softly as she clutched her purse tight and buried her body in the seat. The girl was very embarrassed that she let herself get yelled at like that without at least defending herself, but once easily found words seemed to leave her whenever she was in an anxious sate. Her journalistic instincts always seemed to fizzle when it came to Clark. Deep in thought, she continued to look out the window at the corn stalks rushing by in a blur.

All of a sudden the car stopped, lurching Chloe's small purse onto the floor her stomach to her feet.

"What the hell…" Chuck was about to cuss his partner out when he realized what the sudden stop had been about. It was a bloody blanket.

"Griff," Chuck said to the driver. "Check it out."

The small white man who had been driving then got out of the car and trotted over to the site.

"Oh jeeze," Chloe uttered when she finally saw what all of the excitement was all about. It was a white blanket that had a crimson stain covering most of it. The girl could feel her lungs begin to tighten as she watched her driver trudge back to the vehicle.

"It was nothing," Griff sighed as he stuck his head through the open door.

"Nothing!" Chloe shouted in a near squeal. "There is a bloody blanket on the side of the road while we're on our way to a possible fatal incident involving my best friend! How can anyone say that this is nothing!"

"Calm down, Chloe," Chuck croaked as he watched his partner slide into the car. "This could be a farming accident or it could involve a homicide. We don't know. However, what we are headed toward is our priority since it's from our jurisdiction. As Smallville cops, we can only focus on the Kent family at the moment, who we should be continuing our pursuit of right now."

The officer's firm tone once again caused Chloe to blush and sit back in her seat. "I guess when times get this stressful we don't really use our heads do we?"

"Happens to the best of us Ms. Sullivan," Griff said as he started the car back up and continued to drive.

Chloe was not comforted at all by that site. She was also not comforted by the fact that her escorts seemed unconcerned about the foreboding nature of the abandoned sheet. Up until this point, she had hope for a quick resolution to this incident. Martha was not detailed about the situation in her e-mail, so Chloe was confident that it was not as serious as the week-long absence had suggested. The girl now knew that she was wrong. She was not even looking for the church anymore. It was now like the only thing in her line of vision was a picture of Clark's blood-soaked corpse being wrapped in a blanket and thrown into a field to be eaten by crows. The image caused her to miss the brooding steeple that was appearing in the distance.

oOoOo

The cruiser pulled along side the hill causing the seats to jerk. This awakened Chloe along with the sirens from several other police cars that were pulling up behind them. It seemed like there pit stop had allowed the rest of the police force to catch up to them.

The blonde girl's eyes scanned the hill that the church rested on before stopping on a site made her worst fears seem plausible.

"Oh my god," Chloe uttered as she threw the door open, slipped out of the cruiser, and looked over at Martha crying in the embrace of a strange girl.

"Martha!" Chloe shouted as she started running over to her. Martha looked up from her lament and immediately leapt to her feet before meeting Chloe and hugging her tight.

"Thank God you came," Martha shouted through her hysteria. She gripped the girl so tight that Chloe was beginning to feel constricted. She wasn't used to seeing the woman so frightened.

"Where's Clark?" Chloe asked as she comforted the woman. Startled by Martha's frightening demeanor, she feared the worst, but she also tried to hope for the best.

"Dear God in heaven," uttered Chuck as he focused his gaze on a sight behind the hill.

The girl looked up at Chuck and Griff jogging around the hill to the other side where something was obviously going on. Chloe broke away from Martha and put her in the hands of another officer before following the two.

Every crunch of grass under her sandals seemed like the beat of a war drum as she the horizon came closer and closer. The music created by her steps and beating heart illuminated the journey she was traveling better than any movie score.

What she saw was one of the worst things she had ever seen in her life. Once it entered her line of vision, she was forced to approach slowly because her trembling body wouldn't let anything else happen. As she neared, she took in the site of her best friend lying nearly motionless in the grass immersed in blood. His shirt was missing and his pants were very dirty and torn up. His body was covered with dirty cuts and his hands almost looked like a can of red paint had been poured on them. Once the girl was about ten feet away, she couldn't come any closer. The images of Clark covered with multiple bruises and swollen body parts were too much for her to handle. He looked like he was breathing, but barely. This wasn't supposed to happen to Clark. He couldn't die. He never did anything to anybody. How could anyone think of doing this to him?

Chloe couldn't help but shun her journalistic title of emotionless spectator and collapse on the ground crying. Her tears kept her from seeing the shaken Jonathan being taken away from his son's side by a police officer, and Clark's pulse being checked by the other.

"Holy crap," the female officer uttered as she jerked her finger away from the boy's neck. "His pulse is going a mile a minute. We have to get him to a hospital."

"Griff," the Chuck said in a shaky tone to his partner from behind him. "Radio the others and tell them to check out the inside of that church. Get the parents some blankets and get the kid into an ambulance. I want to get the injured back to Smallville and the guilty in jail before it gets dark. Got it?"

Griff nodded while he put his hand on Jonathan's shoulder. He then started to lead him toward the growing group of emergency vehicles on the dirt road in front of the church.

"I…I have…to be with…my boy," Jonathan said softly through a clogged nose. His head was caught in another dizzy fog from his crying spell and intense emotional stress. The farmer could barely even walk straight without the officer's aid.

"It's okay Mr. Kent," Griff said. "We have to help Clark now, but it will be okay. You can ride with him in the ambulance."

The only acknowledgement Jonathan gave was the shivering that accompanied his nearly asleep state. It finally hit him that they were saved when he was brought away from his son, but he didn't even have the energy to rejoice in the fact. He didn't even notice that there were a whole group of congregation members being led away in handcuffs very peacefully as well as a white body bag being brought to an ambulance.

In the meantime, Chloe was finally able to get control of herself and courageously crawl over to the side of her injured friend. A myriad of paramedics were checking Clark's vitals and preparing him to go on a stretcher. Despite the busy rush, the blonde reporter was able to get close to the boy and talk to him a little bit.

"Clark," Chloe uttered with a small voice. Tears were still lingering in her eyes as she looked at the bleeding farm boy she knew and loved so well. "Clark…I…I don't know why or how this happened…but you're going to be fine, okay. You're…gonna be fine. At least you better be. You're so dead if you don't fly back to me."

Chloe's tears began to return as her bulky friend was slid onto a stretcher and his wrists were wrapped in thick bandages. She stood up as the bed was raised onto legs and slowly rolled down the hill toward the busy dirt road.

"Lana wanted to be here, too," Chloe said with her broken voice as she followed the paramedics. "I told her that they only wanted me to come. Heh. It was kind of a lie. I don't think more emotional girls would help the situation, but I also wanted to be the one here for you when you came out of this. I know it was selfish, but…"

"Ms. Sullivan," one of the paramedics said, startling Chloe into seeing that they had already reached the ambulance. "This is where you have to let the parents take over."

The girl looked up at a visibly shaken Martha Kent wrapped in a grey blanket, trying to clear her stuffy nose. She was helped into the back of the ambulance and placed on a bench next to her equally shaken husband who had been there already. She gulped and wiped her eyes as she watched her invincible best friend enter through the doors she never expected him to go through. Once they closed, Griff put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

"C'mon, Chloe," he said to her softly. "It's over now. He's gonna be fine."

oOoOo

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Marduk's war cry startled the waiting Clark so that he could use his muscular wolf-like legs to leap toward the boy in a growling rage.

Clark lifted his sword in the air so that he would be able to stab the monster right in the heart when he came close. However, Marduk alluded the trap and dove down, thereby grabbing Clark by the stomach and dragging him through the air. In a frantic rush, Aelora seemed to immediately sprout wings that gave off a light brighter than Clark had ever seen. She then took off into the air to chase after the quick demon.

While in Marduk's clutches, Clark tried to swing his sword into the monster's arm. However, the position he was held in made any body part impossible for the blade to touch. Clark was tempted to try and change hands or simply javelin the sword at Marduk's chest. He hesitated, though, because both of these moves would involve throwing his sword which brought the possibility of dropping it. He would definitely be done for then.

Clark could feel Marduk's large claws begin to pierce him as his mind raced as to what to do about his predicament. He looked behind the demon at Aelora who was trying to catch up to them, but she seemed too far away to change his predicament.

"See, Clark," Marduk said very slowly as if to relish in the moment. "You were very foolish to reject me. Now you will face your ultimate destruction so that your powerful body can finally be mine! I will rule both the spiritual and the physical world! Ha!"

His self-absorbed cackling reminded Clark of those insane criminals that he saw Batman apprehend on the news. However, it didn't make Clark any less frightened about losing at the hands of this beast.

Clark.

What? Who? Who's there?

Remember, my son. This is your soul, not his. You are in control here, even though he will try and make you think you have no choice but to surrender. No demon, no angel, no desire of the flesh, nothing can shape your destiny but you. Even though it can sometimes be painful for me, that is the truth, and you must remember that.

Clark couldn't hear the voice anymore as he began to feel Marduk's sharp and burning talons dig into him further. This was insane. Who was that? Jor-el never talked like that, even though his dad did sometimes. What was he supposed to do? For all he knew it was just another demon trying to…no. It wasn't another demon. He knew it. The voice was warm, kind, and loving. He trusted it. Now he had to follow it, but what was it talking about? Could it…wait. He said that he was in control, not Marduk. Maybe, just maybe, the physics of this place could also be in his hands, or who knows what else.

The boy had a plan. Even through his pain filled mind he thought of it quickly. This was his one chance to destroy this demon who had made his life a living hell for these past days

Without any more hesitation, Clark fought through the pain and threw the sword toward Marduk's exposed chest. Once it was in the air, time seemed to go very slowly, as if he was in super-speed. He then started to use his will to drive it further toward his enemy's chest, almost like telekinesis.

The high-pitched scream that followed almost made everything stand still, even though Clark thought he felt his physical body shake a little bit. There was also a great change in the surrounding light. It suddenly gained brightness almost two-fold, and made Marduk continue his screaming rampage. His claws finally let the boy go as he felt himself falling. However, Clark knew better and floated gracefully toward the ground so he could land on his feet. Aelora, who seemed to come out of nowhere again, landed beside him and put her arm around his shoulder.

"I can't believe it," Clark uttered as he watched his sword fall back down by his side. "I did it."

"I can," Aelora sighed as she pulled the boy into a tight embrace. She then kissed him on the cheek and ruffled his hair before Clark returned her gestures with a bright grin.

Before they knew it, a thump was heard. Their adversary had fallen from the sky and was writhing on the floor in extreme pain.

The hole in the demon's chest seemed to get bigger as Clark picked up the crystal sword that was covered in black mist. The blackness around the blade reminded the boy of food coloring in water, only instead of spreading, the color was decreasing.

Clark looked up from his weapon and saw that the same mist was coming out of his enemy's bleeding wound. He also seemed to be coughing up that mist before it completely dissipated.

"I told you that he was strong, Marduk," Aelora said, finally breaking the tortured silence.

The monster made a horrible face that showed the sheer amount of pain his was in. The light that surrounded them seemed to be burning his skin and the slice in his torso began to enlarge and continue to pour mist. He groaned and began to lose his footing before collapsing on the ground with his wings covering him like broken kites.

Clark threw down his sword and began to walk toward the ailing creature, but Aelora once again touched his shoulder for him to stop.

"I'll…show you…real power, boy," Marduk moaned. "I'll show you. Destruction!"

Suddenly, another demon that resembled Marduk appeared from the sky. Once he landed, he tried to shield his eyes from the light with his wings and put his muscular arm around the ailing demon in order to help him to his feet. The second monster stole an angry glance at Clark and Aelora before he took flight and drew his curved sword that reminded Clark of the Soviet flag.

"Oh no," Aelora uttered as she ripped her own sword out of its hold and soared into the air. Clark looked on with confusion as he saw the two demons disappear and his friend try to chase them.

"What's happen…" Clark couldn't finish before he felt a horrible pain in his head. It was like his skull was exploding into a million pieces.

"No!" Aelora shouted as she darted back to Clark's side. By now he had fallen on his knees with his palms vigorously rubbing his temples.

oOoOo

As Clark was being rolled into the hospital, something happened to him that made the doctors frantic. They didn't know what it was, but it made him be rushed into the ICU. In the hours since, Jonathan and Martha's wounds were dressed and they were told that they could leave if they wanted. However, they chose to spend their time in the waiting room sitting opposite from each other and not meeting the other's gaze. The parents' mouths never even made a peep as they let the breeze from the air conditioning keep them from collapsing in pure exhaustion. They needed to stay awake for the sake of their son.

As the hours ticked by, Jonathan's head hung low as he tried to fight back the urge to cry. The blood in his face seemed to drain away and go straight to his numbing hands. There were sharp pains in his chest as he put a hand to his breastbone and started rubbing. Half of his mind prayed that this was the heart attack that would take him out of this horrible nightmare that his life had become. However, they seemed to be normal pains that accompanied a lost soul, pains that he knew his wife was experiencing right now.

Martha was simply leaning against a wall across from him, tapping the wall to keep her hands occupied. In about the third hour, she started a random burst of sobbing, letting her tears flow as free as a waterfall. Jonathan took a deep breath and slowly walked over to put a hand on her shoulder, but she jerked it away. Jonathan immediately felt a pang in his heart that he was not used to. It was the pain of rejection. He remembered getting dumped by girls as a teenager and turned down for loans at the bank, but this was different. This was the person he loved more than anything in the world. He knew that she was mad at her, but this was the first time he realized that she was not going to let him be her comfort like he was in the past. The worst part about this was that he didn't blame her.

The farmer backed away and trudged toward one of the plastic, blue chairs that were waiting in the emergency room. He watched Martha slide her body down to the floor in pure anguish and hopelessness, and started to feel the true weight of things never being the same again. Jonathan simply laid himself down across the row of chairs before putting his face in his hands and weeping.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kent?"

The couple was awakened from their tears to the voice of the young male doctor with a large stack of papers in his arms. His soft gaze indicated no horrible news, but news nonetheless.

"What is it, doctor?" Jonathan croaked before clearing his throat.

"I have news," he said in monotone as the couple began to come nearer.

"How is Clark?" Martha asked frantically.

"We don't know yet," he said in a frustrated tone. He didn't even let the parents act out their own frustration before he said, "The reason I came here was to talk about you."