Chapter 1: The Island
He had come to the beach many times since his dad died, drinking in the tranquillity of the island. It was located off the east coast about 300 km out, a tiny island, unpopulated, with some abandoned houses. The tides of the ocean soothed his ears and out here he had to strain to hear the noises of traffic from the east coast.
Sitting in his deck chair he relaxed on the sands until sleep took him. When he woke the island was covered in long shadows and a grey twilight from the setting sun. Looking at his watch he saw that it was 6:52 and he had 8 minutes to get from a Caribbean island to Kansas. No Problem.
As he shifted into speed mode he stood for a hundredth of a second to admire the beauty of the island one last time today. Standing there for what seemed like minutes to him he watched a bird seemingly standing still in the air and a deer slowly rolling its eye toward a branch. Sighing deeply with contentment he turned and ran over the surf onto the water heading for home.
Dropping into normal speed he climbed up the steps on his porch he pushed open the doors saw mom serving up dinner and sat down just as his watch started to beep annoyingly.
"Right on time" He said grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Luckily for you, not me" She joked, Reaching across she gave her self a spoonful of peas. "So where have you been today? I haven't seen you since lunch. I hope you haven't been to the caves nothing good comes of those visits"
Clark knew very well which visits she spoke off, she was referring to his biological father who always seemed one step ahead of Clark pulling all the strings.
"You have, haven't you Clark?" His mother snapped, stopping her fork half way to her mouth.
"No, No, I'm not going there anytime soon mom. I was at an island out on the east coast I found, its unpopulated, peaceful like. I think you'd like it" Clark covered. Martha however was not to be deterred.
"Don't lie to me Clark, I know when your lying"
"I'm not lying Mom!" He moaned pulling a face.
"You know Clark, I may not be around as much as was due to my new senatorial duties but…"
"Mom I AM NOT Lying to you!" Clark screamed his voice impossibly loud. Shifting into speed mode he ran to his barn before Martha could even blink.
Next morning Clark rolled over in bed and groaned. He felt guilty, but he didn't want to face his mother. Last night he had heard her crying and trying to talk to his dad.
It was all too much for him. The atmosphere at the farm felt heavy and he felt crowded, he had to get out of there.
Getting changed quickly into a blue top and some jeans he jogged down the steps and into his van. A quick trip into town he could go to the talon get a latte, have a jab at Lois. It was all he needed.
Parking up, he put a quarter in the meter and strolled into the café. Looking at the line he sucked a breathe in through his teeth. Who would be desperate to get a coffee at 10 in the morning? This wasn't metropolis last time he looked.
Looking around he went and put his coat on his favourite seat, then went and stood in the line.
"Erm smallville, don't mean to intrude on your Lana related daydream but could you order please, your holding queue." Lois barked.
"Maybe I'm just wondering whether this is worth the food poisoning" He replied amiably
"No merchandise comments in front of the real customers, Smallville, thanks. Latte then?" Said Lois with a mug already half filled up
"Guess I'll say yes then" He laughed. "It's 2.95 isnt it?" She nodded and he put 3 dollars on the counter. Taking the scalding mug from Lois grunted.
"How can you hold that Clark, it must be a hundred degrees!"
"It's a macho thing, man of steel" he laughed.
"Macho hey?" She remarked a sly look creeping onto her face "Well I was going to ask you a favour but as man you must be way to busy on the farm to go collect a couple of crates for me from the depot up road." She sighed dramatically, "Never mind, I'll get someone else to do it, they were probably too heavy for you anyways."
Clark raised an eyebrow "Sure I'll go get 'em Lois but you could have spared me the monologue."
"Thanks Clark I owe you one, The depot opens at two but I don't need the boxes till about four so I figure that gives you plenty of time to get them loaded up. Hello. What can I get you?" this last remark was to the man behind him who was impatiently tapping his foot with his arms folded.
Climbing back into the cab of his car he put the keys in the ignition but didn't twist. Where could he go today? What could he do? Chloe was busy on a big essay for college and was stressing out along with her planet work, who else was there to visit?
Pete? Clark didn't even know where he lived, since he'd left it was like he'd been cut out of his life, he got the occasional email saying all was ok, but heck, he hadn't even turned up to his Dad's funeral.
Bart was out, who knew where he was right now, not Clark, he could be in Alaska or Australia for all he knew.
For a second Clark even thought of Lois, and then he knew he was lonely.
It was alright, Clark had got used to the solitude, its was a way of relaxing. Clark looked at his watch, almost 5 hours until he could get those boxes. Relaxing on a beach on your own private island for 3 or 4 hours is an excellent way to while away your time he decided.
Jogging across to metropolis he stopped by the local walmart he bought a packet of sausages and a 2 litre bottle of spring water. Paying at the till he walked out on the sidewalk before running over to the island.
He loved running over water, the feel of it as he ran before gravity pulled him down, circling the island once he came to rest at a beach he had never been before, it was pretty small covered in fine golden sand. It was about 20 feet across and on either side of it a steep rocky wall rose up cutting it off from the rest of the island.
At the back of the island was a narrow gorge covered in lush green vegetation.
After setting up a fire (with a little help from his heat vision) he speared his sausages on some steel spikes he'd brought from his truck. Clark decided that the sausages would cook as well without him as with him, and turned and looked at the narrow gorge path behind him.
He felt and overpowering urge to go and explore this island gorge, the path that seemed so full of life seemed to call to him as if all this plant life was hiding something hidden and wonderful.
So he went. This far from smallville and kryptonite it wasn't like anything bad could happen to him, was it?
As soon as he was a few feet he knew that this was no natural path. The plants were so thick and rigid as he grew in he knew that it would take an extreme struggle for a normal man to make his way through.
But even feeling this path was not naturally made Clark continued to wade through the sea of foliage. His curiosity was in complete control of him now and he wasn't sure he could stop if he wanted to. Starting to walk faster he pushed harder until after a minute or two he emerged into a clearing. Light was shining down like something from sword in the stone between the tree leaves above and in the middle was a door frame.
Walking forward he looked at the timbers. They were thick and tall loosely bound by the rotting remains of a rope. The wood look damp and as if it had been their for a while. Clark poked it roughly and it didn't even shudder. It was sturdy
Looking up at the top beam Clark jumped in shock. There was a Kryptonian symbol on this wood which meant Lion. Well not just kryptonian there was English and French, Japanese and pictures, every space had been filled with some language or picture, and Clark guessed that they all meant lion. There were more words then there was room on the wood, but they were all there. Trying to see the wood and the words at the same time was like trying to look at those alternating pictures where you could see one or the other but not both. Just trying made his head hurt.
He ran his hyper-sensitive fingers over the kryptonian symbol and shuddered, even on this desert island long since deserted by man, he could not escape from the grasp of Jor-el. He sighed, and slumped, weary of a life of lies and restraint, of not being able to do what he wanted, to fit in, he sighed once more and just wished he could get away from it all.
"Arrrgh!" Clark screamed, light and sound scouring his eyes and rupturing his ears. He couldn't move, couldn't see, and all around him he felt the earth itself heave and buck in fear of this terrible power. He stumbled and fell, confused, fearful for his life, however irrational it was. Clark tried to press himself up from the quivering earth, only to be thrown to his feet again.
Slowly, very, very, slowly the earth realising its fear calmed itself until nothing remained but the smallest tremors quivering up through the soles of Clark's heavyset boots. Clark however noticed none of this entranced as he was with the doorway. Since the moment he had stood Clark had been in awe of the now magical door (for he now realised what it was). Golden light spilled from the pictures and words on the timbers and harmonious music purred powerfully throughout the clearing. Clark's soul itself seemed to thrum to the song of the door.
However as if to contrast the awesome power and fullness of the doorframe, the picture beyond the door itself was empty, blacker then the deepest dark, more empty then the vacuum of space, the world beyond the door was empty, not a canvas waiting to be painted, but more like the base on which the base on which the canvas would be placed. This was absolute and total nothing, and yet…..
At the rough edge of Clarks powerful eyes, it almost, just about, if he strained, seemed that far, far, faaar away there was something, something getting bigger every millisecond. How could Clark have not seen it, it was so easily observed, a Landmass, an incalculably large landmass, a Landmass larger then a world, a Universe, and without doubt now fast approaching him.
Clark flinched as the Mountains, coming into view as taller then the top of the doorframe and deeper then the foot of his world, showed no sign of stopping, closer, closer they came until he thought they must shatter him, a second fro impact, he closed his eyes, and tensed.
Clark opened his eyes, to everything as before, the mountains were still on the other side of the door, the golden light was still engulfing him and the music surrounding him, calming him. He looked once more into the heart of the door, and watched as he sped through the mountains to a tiny spur, with a world attached. Speeding past them the door (for he now again determined that it was the door moving, not the mountains) slowed quickly covering oceans and lush lands, to stop in a desert in midday.
Clark pressed his nose as close to the door as he could without going through and tried to get a better inspection to no avail. As deeply in thought as he was Clark did not notice the slow dimming of the golden light, the gentle withdrawal of the magical music.
A few minutes later Clark returned to himself with a shock noticing, eventually, the absence of the enthralling music, and its replacement with a deep drawing in of breath and a loud exhaling.
Fear gripped him irrationally once more and he slowly forced himself to turn to face the source. Before even completing an eighth of his gentle swivel a roar sounded, a roar so catastrophically loud that Clark thought that the Heavens themselves must be shattering from the blow. Helpless to the awesome sound, Clark was taken by shock as something huge and heavy pelted him in the chest and catapulted him backwards. Backwards through the doorway! Clark screamed, the noise whipped away by the power of the Roar, and just as suddenly as it had begun the noise cut off, and Clark found himself face down in the sand.
Standing up he saw no doorway, no mountains, no island, and no trees. Clark was stranded and to be sure, he wasn't in Kansas anymore.
TBC….
A/n Hope you enjoy, as always R&R will work on hp soon, just had this idea and set to work, it was harder to write, but i have hopes for it , Dont know how long till next hp chap, so to reviwer D anonymous, thanks for the tip, i would look for a beta reader, but unfortuantly due to the way i fidn the time to write, (sporadically to say teh best), i think i will just have to try my best without one
