Chapter 9
Nightmares
Lex shot up in bed with a loud gasp, shaking and gasping desperately for air.
"Alexander! Are you alright?" Elise asked, sitting up and reaching out for him.
He just brushed her hand away, ripping off the blanket and staggering to his feet. He stood there a moment, getting his bearings, then lurched over, grabbing up his discarded trousers. He yanked out his phone and dropped down onto the ground, keying desperately through the contact list until he found the right number. He hit send, then waited, trembling and still gasping a bit as it rang.
The answering machine was all that picked up. He hung up without leaving a message. He put his hand on his forehead, thinking desperately, then he remembered.
"Is everything ok?" Elise asked worriedly, crouching down beside him and draping his robe around him.
"God, I hope so." He said, his heart hammering in his chest as he skimmed through his contact list again.
- 0 – 0 – 0 -
Chloe felt her heart flutter in her chest as Tommy leaned slowly closer. Her eyes slid closed as his lips caressed hers. They were warm and soft, yet firm. He didn't dive in with the tongue like some guys did, he just kept it almost chaste. The kiss was sweet and absolutely amazing!
When the kiss ended, he stayed close. "God, you're beautiful." He whispered.
Her heart skipped a beat. He seemed content to just stay like that for a while, their skin lightly brushing here and there... but she wanted another taste of those wonderful lips. She closed the little gap between them, feeling his lips warm against hers once more.
Her phone buzzed rudely in her pocket. He broke the kiss, but she shifted forward, resting her forehead against his for a moment before giving in to the inevitable and shifting back. "Sorry." She murmured as she dug the phone out of her pocket. She might only be a school reporter so far, but she still couldn't risk missing an important bit of information or even a whole story just because her hormones were blazing. She looked at her caller id and scowled. "Just a minute." She said in an irritable tone, getting up and walking a few paces away before answering.
"You have a lot of nerve calling me." She grumbled.
"Clark! Is Clark there? I need to talk to Clark." Lex blurted before he could reign himself in.
She blinked in surprise. "What's so urgent?"
"Is he there?" Lex practically yelled.
"Sure, if he hasn't left yet." She said, looking through the gap in the trees to where the bonfire was. "I don't see him. He must have left. He didn't really seem in a partying mood. Well... wait... there's Pete. He said he was going to catch a ride home with him... but maybe he caught a ride with someone else."
"Are you near water?" Lex asked urgently.
"We're at Crater Lake. Well, I am at least." She said, starting to really wonder. He sounded really freaked out. Lex never sounded freaked out.
"Find him!"
"Seriously, what the Hell is going on?"
"I'm sorry." Lex said with obviously forced calm, "I just... I just had a really bad dream, and I wanted to make sure he was alright. I'm sure it's nothing, but I need to know! Call me if you find him. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"You're coming here? Aren't you over reacting a little? It was a dream, Lex. Calm down." Chloe said, though she was starting to get nervous, her eyes darting around worriedly, searching for Clark.
"Check the water." Lex said evenly, then the line went dead.
Chloe stared at the phone for a moment, a very scary feeling going through her. It was just a stupid dream. She kept telling herself that... but there was another little voice in her head telling her to take one look at the wall of weird and try to rule the possibility out in Smallville.
"You ok?" Tommy asked, getting up and coming over to her, looking concerned.
"I'm sorry, I have to do something."
"What?" Tommy asked, hurrying after her as she started her search.
"I have to find Clark." She said quickly, not slowing.
"Um... Clark...?" He asked uncertainly.
She glanced over at him, seeing his hesitance. "It's kind of a family emergency. He doesn't have a cell on him, so I got the call."
"Oh. Ya, ok, I'll start asking around." He said quickly.
She hurried over to Pete. "Hey, Pete! Have you seen Clark?"
Pete looked over at her in surprise, then looked around, "Not in a while." He said, "Maybe he went home."
"He told Tommy he was catching a ride home with you."
Pete furrowed his brow. "He never said anything to me. Maybe he just walked home. What's up?"
Chloe took a deep breath, then let it out, "It's probably nothing, but I really want to find him."
"Alright... fair enough..." He said, though he obviously suspected there was more to it. "Let's ask around."
She nodded and they went around, asking anyone who was still sober enough to be coherent, but no one had see him in a while. One girl told Chloe she thought she saw him walking down towards the lake.
That sent a shot of fear through Chloe. No, this was stupid. It was just a stupid dream.
"Well?" Pete asked as he came back over, "No one I talked to has seen him since he was hanging around the keg. You find out anything?"
"A girl said she thought she saw him heading down towards the lake." Chloe said.
"Oh, trust me," Pete said confidently, "Clark wouldn't go down by that lake."
"Why not?" Chloe asked, looking back at him.
Pete's smile faltered, then hitched back into place, "Do I really have to remind you about Sean Kelvin? Ever since he fell in that lake and went all meteor freak, smart people figured out that lake isn't a safe place to be. Even these drunken idiots won't get that close to it anymore! Clark's not stupid. He wouldn't go near that water. He's probably at home as we speak."
"I've been calling his number. No one's answering." Chloe replied.
"Well then he's on the way home. He's probably walking. He likes walking. Or maybe he's just in the loft. He said something about sleeping out there a lot lately, and there's no phone out there. I tell you what... I'll drive to his place. I'm sure I'll find him."
"Ok. Sure. Fine. That'd be great. I'll stay here and check out the lake. Call me if you find him." Chloe said quickly, starting to feel a bit antsy. She couldn't help but feel she had to find him fast or something terrible would happen to him. They parted ways, Pete heading off towards his car while Chloe headed towards the lake.
She knew it was ridiculous to get all worked up over a silly dream... so why was she finding herself hurrying? She slowed once she was away from the fire. She hadn't realized how dark the night had gotten.
"Chloe! Hold up!"
She spun around, seeing a light bobbing towards her. She held up her hand to block the glare and saw it was Tommy. He reached her and came to a stop.
"He probably just took a walk around the lake." He said reasonably, "I've got three flashlights. You want the big one? It's a little heavy and not always reliable, but it's the brightest by far."
"Yes!" She said, seizing the big, boxy flashlight.
"Ok, then here, take this one too." He said, handing her the smallest flashlight as well. "It's kinda dim, but if the big one gives out it'll help you find your way back through the dark at least. Why don't you go around that way and I'll go this way?" He said, pointing.
She stepped suddenly up to him and gave him a kiss. He was surprised, but eagerly returned it. She flashed him a smile when she backed up.
He was grinning, his cheeks looking a bit flush in the indirect light of the flashlight. "We'll definitely have to continue that conversation later!" He said, darting in and giving her another peck on the lips before turning on his flashlight and hurrying off.
Oh, man! If she wasn't borderline freaked out right now, she'd have been floating!
She hurried along the lake, fanning her large flashlight back and forth, searching. "Clark?" She called out, "Clark, you out there?"
The further around the lake she got, the more freaked out she got. She was getting a sick feeling in her stomach, and everything was starting to get that unreal, nightmare-like feel to it. She kept calling his name and swinging the flashlight back and forth, but there was no sign of him. She just wished she could find him already so she could laugh it off and chide herself for taking a silly dream so seriously. She spun around suddenly as she heard something. There were two bright lights approaching. It took her a moment to realize it was headlights. The car was fishtailing a bit, making its way down the access road that was little more than an oversized gravel path running past the lake. It was going far too fast for such a driving surface. Obviously it must be Lex, though he had to have been doing over a hundred on the highway to have made it there so quick. Chloe couldn't help but cringe a bit at the sound as it approached. The engine purred, though it was revving, but what made her cringe was the sound of the loose gravel hitting the sides of the car. That had to be absolutely destroying the paint job!
He obviously spotted her, veering off the 'road' and doing a bit of a hockey stop, shooting a considerable amount of gravel out like a small wave (though luckily not aimed at Chloe!). When the driver's door sprang open a split second later, Chloe was surprised to see Lex pop out dressed in nothing but what looked like pajama bottoms, slip-on shoes and a robe. Elise got out of the other side of the car a bit slower, then stood there uncertainly. She didn't appear to be much better dressed.
"Have you found him?" Lex called as he actually ran over to her.
"No." She said, a bit startled. "Someone said they saw him heading towards the lake a bit ago, but no one else has seen him. Pete is driving out to the farm in case he's walking home or just not answering the phone. I've been checking around the lake. A... uh... friend went the other way so we wouldn't miss him," She said, glancing across the lake, seeing Tommy's flashlight still moving along, sweeping back and forth methodically. "It doesn't look like he's found anything either."
"I said check the water, not the shore." He snapped, grabbing the flashlight from her hand. "Where's the pier?"
"Um... there's one just ahead I think." Chloe said, getting a bit frightened by his intensity.
Lex ran off in that direction and Chloe had to quickly take out the backup flashlight and hurry after him. Clouds had moved in, obscuring what little moonlight there was, so it was almost black as pitch. She could see the light bobbing ahead of her. It was fanning the surface of the lake, though how he managed to move forward so quickly without pointing the light at the ground before him was beyond her. She had to keep looking down to keep from snapping an ankle on the rough terrain. Even with the light she found herself stumbling every few yards or so.
"Clark!"
The sudden fear and urgency in Lex's voice sent a shot of ice through Chloe's veins. That wasn't the sound of someone searching. That was the sound of someone finding something. Something bad. The light ahead disappeared. She ran towards where she'd last seen it. She tripped and fell, but her desperation to get to Clark drove her to clamber back up. She probably got hurt, but if she did, she couldn't even feel it. As she got closer she saw that the flashlight hadn't gone out, it had been dropped. When she reached it, she paused to snatch it up, then looked around in confusion. No one was there. She saw something up ahead and hurried towards it. Her eyes widened as she shone the light on it and found herself staring at Lex's robe laying discarded on the ground. Why would he...?
Suddenly there was the sound up ahead of bare feet pounding across aged wood, then a loud splash.
Forgetting about the robe, Chloe ran towards the sound. Her flashlight briefly illuminated one of Lex's shoes, then the beginning of a pier. She swept the flashlight down the pier, then sprinted to the end of it so fast she nearly skidded over the edge into the water. She snatched up the little pile of plaid material laying at the end of the pier, praying it wouldn't be what she thought it was... but it was. It was Clark's plaid shirt. The one he'd been wearing when she last saw him. She heard some splashing and quickly fanned the light over the water. She knew it was too cold and dark for any sane person to be taking a leisurely dip in the lake, but she prayed.
She located the source of the splashing in short order. A pale, bald head slipping through the water towards her... with someone in tow. Jet black hair and skin that looked almost paler than Lex's. "Clark!" Chloe sobbed desperately.
Lex didn't go to the pier, but instead headed straight for shore. Once he hit shallow enough water to get his footing, he shifted Clark's limp form around from a lifeguard towing hold to the front of him, getting his arms under him and lifting him out of the water, carrying him. Perhaps it was adrenaline, but Lex didn't seem to have any trouble carrying Clark, though Clark was easily bigger than him.
Chloe ran over to meet them as they reached the shore. Lex hurried to where the ground was still firm, despite the recent rains, then lay Clark down quickly but gently and started checking him.
Chloe knelt beside Clark, reaching out and touching him. He was cold to the touch, and she could find no heartbeat, his chest utterly still. His skin almost looked grey with darker lines spiderwebbing across it for some bizarre reason, but by far the most terrifying thing was his eyes. They were open, the pupils fixed and dilated. She shone the light into them, but there was no change at all.
Lex ignored that. He stubbornly started CPR, despite how futile it obviously was.
Chloe couldn't help it. She broke down and sobbed. This couldn't possibly really be happening! Clark could NOT be dead! Nothing hurt Clark. She'd seen him escape certain death so many times there is no possibly way he could die like this... falling into a fucking lake and drowning! That's how little kids and old people died... not Clark! This was all just a horrible nightmare! That had to be it! That was the only possible explanation.
Chloe watched Clark's eyes, so dark and empty, the only movement caused by Lex's continued attempts to revive him. Lex just kept going. Chloe finally pulled her eyes from Clark's lifeless body and looked at Lex. What she saw broke her heart all over again. Tears were streaming down Lex's cheeks, and there was a burning agony in his eyes far beyond what she could even imagine. She could see the desperation in him, the need even stronger than her own to make this not be real.
It had been at least five minutes, and still Lex pounded away at Clark's chest, blew air into his cold, lifeless lips... and nothing.
"Lex..." She said achingly when she couldn't stand watching it anymore.
He ignored her.
"Lex..." She said louder, reaching out and touching his arm.
He just batted her hand away and kept right on going.
"Lex, he's gone." Chloe said, her voice little more than a sob.
"No." Lex said stubbornly.
She put her hands on top of his.
Lex let out a pained breath that was the closest thing to a sob she'd ever heard him make. His movements slowed, then stopped as he hung his head. She slipped her hands away, not sure what to do as he sat there, his shoulders shaking as he cried in absolute silence. He slowly reached down and slipped his arms around Clark, then lifted him up and held him to him. After a moment he shifted Clark back, then gently closed his eyes.
Chloe was crying so hard she had to keep blinking to try to clear her blurry eyes. She looked away as Lex leaned down and kissed Clark's lips. She just stared at the little patch of dirt her flashlight illuminated, feeling completely disconnected... like nothing was real anymore.
She was vaguely aware of Lex gently setting Clark back down... of the sound of someone approaching... of someone's voice... Pete. Lex was shoved aside, but he allowed it. He just moved aside as Pete grabbed Clark, shaking him, trying to wake him up. Chloe closed her eyes, willing herself to wake up from this nightmare, but it didn't seem to be working. She felt someone take hold of the flannel shirt she hadn't even realized she was still holding. She let it go automatically.
Her eyes opened and she blinked away the tears. She shifted her gaze pointedly away from Pete and Clark, and saw Lex walking away, back towards the lake. It made her brain start moving again, though it was still painfully sluggish. She should call someone. She knew there was nothing even trained paramedics could do for Clark, but the police had to be called. She fumbled around, searching for her phone.
Lex walked over to the shore and looked out over the water. The sparse light of the moon peeked through and glimmered here and there on the black surface. He looked down, using the pale moonlight to look around. He walked over and spread the flannel out onto the rocky shore, then took a large chunk of rock and placed it in the middle.
Pete let go of Clark and got up, going over to Lex. "This is your fault!" Pete spat tearfully, "I don't know how yet, but I know it was your fault!"
"Yes." Lex just replied calmly, "I know it is." He drew the edges of the shirt in and buttoned it up around the rock.
"You're the worst thing that ever happened to him!" Pete said, venting his pain and anger.
Lex just nodded as he roughly tied the bottom of the shirt to keep it in. He stood, carefully lifting the shirt by the sleeves, making sure the knots would hold the weight, then started for the pier, tying the ends of the sleeves together.
Pete blinked away his tears, "What are you doing?"
"Just go back to Clark." Lex said evenly, "Take care of him." He said as he slipped the makeshift strap over his head, slipping his arm through as well so it fit snugly to make sure it wouldn't slip off as he stepped up onto the weathered wood.
As Lex stepped up onto the old pier, Pete suddenly realized what he was doing. "Shit!" He said, running over and grabbing Lex's arm and jerking him around. "What the Hell you think you're doing?"
"Just walk away." Lex hissed, jerking his arm out of Pete's grasp. "Just turn around and walk away and you'll finally get what you've wanted since the day you met me. That'll be nice, won't it? Something good will come out of this nightmare!" He said, his voice laced with pain and dark sarcasm.
"I... I never wanted you dead, man." Pete whispered. "This is crazy! I didn't mean it..."
"Whether you did or not, it was true." Lex said, his voice tight.
"You can't do this! Listen, I cared about him just as much as you did." Pete said placatingly.
"No, you didn't!" Lex hissed. He grabbed a hold of Pete's shirt and jerked him closer, "Did you ever look into those innocent blue eyes and feel like nothing would ever be the same? Did you see him smile and realize that you loved him more than you should be capable of loving another human being? Ever kissed his lips and known without a doubt that a life without him in it wasn't worth living?"
Pete just stared at him, completely thunderstruck by the raw pain and honesty in Lex's eyes.
Lex looked away, trying to hide his pain, "Tell Elise I already changed my will." He whispered hoarsely, "She'll be taken care of." he let go of Pete's shirt and turned towards the end of the pier once more.
Pete stood there, frozen. He knew he should stop him, knew Clark would never want Lex to take his own life... but the raw, burning pain that radiated off Lex... how could he make someone live with that inside them?
"Tell her..." Lex said softly, obviously having a hard time deciding what he could possibly say that would justify this.
"Tell me what?" A soft, quaver voice called.
His head darted around as he noticed the thin, pale shadow drawing closer.
"Elise!" Lex said achingly, "I told you to wait in the car!"
"Like Hell!" She said stubbornly, hurrying up to him, "Just what do you think you're doing?" She asked, planting herself firmly in his way.
"Nothing. Just go back to the car!" Lex said, trying to avert his gaze, but she was so close she was pretty much unavoidable.
"What did you want him to tell me?" She persisted.
He took a deep breath, then sighed it out. "That I'm sorry. Now go."
"I'm not going to let you walk off that pier!" She said, her voice getting a bit tearful.
He blinked in surprise, then he pulled his gaze away from hers. "You wouldn't understand."
"Yes, I would. I was watching. I know what happened, and I know how much he meant to you... but you can't do this, Lex. Please!" She pleaded, "I don't want your damn money! I want you! I'm sorry your best friend died... but please don't kill mine!" She said tearfully, wrapping her arms around his chest and clinging to him with an air of desperation.
Elise winced slightly when he tried to move away from her, but didn't let up. Lex shifted the shirt clad rock away from her arm. Even in the very dim light he spotted the dark lines on the thin, white cloth of her robe. When the darkness started quickly spreading and dripping down her arm it became apparent the rock had cut her. He put his hand under the rock to keep the obviously sharp edge from cutting her again, then tensed. He pulled the shirt back off and pushed Elise back. Since he'd taken off the rock she let him, but watched him warily. Lex quickly pulled the shirt open, popping off a button or two in his haste. He pulled the rock out and looked it over quickly. He found the sharp points, and with a few strokes of his fingers managed to dislodge enough of the caked dirt on it to reveal a small crystal cluster.
"Do any of you have your cellphones with you?" Chloe called over in a quavering voice, still staring and poking at her phone, obviously having missed the whole conversation. "Mine can never get a signal this close to the lake."
Lex just stood there for a moment, his eyes going wide, then he let out a sharp breath and dropped the rock. It landed with a loud thunk on the pier.
Pete suddenly found Lex right in front of him. The man grabbed the front of his shirt and jerked him forward a bit, "What does green do?" He snapped, his expression frighteningly focused and intense.
"What?" Pete sputtered.
"Answer the fucking question, Ross! I know meteor rocks effect him. I've seen what red does. He told me you knew, so don't play stupid! Not now! What does green do?" Lex snapped.
"It... it hurt him, drained his strength." Pete sputtered. It's not like the secret mattered now that Clark was dead.
"We've got to get him away from the lake!" Lex said hurriedly, releasing Pete and dashing back over to Clark.
"He's gone, man." Pete said sadly, "He's dead."
Lex ignored him. He skidded to a stop beside Clark and scooped him up, then without another word, started running away from the lake.
"What's he doing?" Chloe asked a bit dazedly.
"Being an idiot." Pete said grimly, grabbing up the flashlight and running after him. "You guys stay here!" He called back, then he focused on finding Lex. He was running through the little patch of wooded area between the lake and the access road like a mad man. Pete couldn't believe he could even lift Clark, let alone outdistance him so easily while carrying him and running pretty much blind.
"You're gonna break your neck, Luthor. This is crazy!" Pete called after him.
"Just shut up and light the way!" Lex yelled back.
Pete shifted the light up, trying to aim it so he could see, though the light bobbed around like a cork on a storm tossed sea despite his best efforts. They had gotten nearly to the access road when the light suddenly flickered out. Pete stumbled to a halt, coming up hard against a tree to keep from stumbling and falling. He shook the light, then smacked it a couple of times. It flickered dimly. He smacked it again, then heard something up ahead that was unmistakably to sound of Lex tripping and crashing to the ground.
He whacked the flashlight hard against the tree in desperation... and it turned back on! He hurried in the direction of the sound. He could see them both sprawled out on the ground ahead, just past a thick, fallen branch that Lex had obviously tripped over in the dark.
He ran up to Lex. The man seemed a bit stunned, but got up onto his knees shakily. The light of the flashlight picked up the little gash on the side of his head that was bleeding, but he just shook it off, crawling quickly over to Clark, who was sprawled face down on the gravel.
Lex reached for him, then froze as he heard a soft sound. He reached out blindly behind him until he managed to grab hold of the flashlight. Pete let him take it. He pointed it down at Clark's face. There was a little patch of gravel that looked a bit darker near his mouth. As he watched incredulously, a little trickle of water dribbled from Clark's lips, accompanied by a ever so soft gurgling sound.
With a shaking hand, he quickly reached over, pressing and rubbing at Clark's back. There was a weak coughing sound, followed by a sudden gush of water, then a shallow gasp.
Lex let out a sudden incredulous, almost unhinged sounding laugh, then quickly set aside the flashlight and started massaging Clark's back. Clark got out another couple of little spurts of water, but then seemed to be done. Lex gently turned him over, pulling him into his arms and staring down at him.
Clark's eyes fluttered a bit, then slowly slid open. Pete stared down at him, in utter shock as his pupils slowly contracted from the light. He dropped to his knees beside him, just staring incredulously. "Clark?" He asked in a soft, stunned voice.
Clark's eyes tracked slowly over to him, then seemed to focus. "Pete..." Clark breathed.
"That was some serious Lazarus kinda shit! You totally freaked us out, man!" Pete laughed, close to crying with relief.
"You're alive..." Lex said achingly, sounding once again like he was on the verge of sobbing, though for a very different reason this time.
Clark's eyes tracked over to him a bit faster. "Lex..." He said, still whisper soft, his voice catching a bit in his throat. His hand twitched. He managed to shift it over a few inches, his fingers curling weakly around Lex's arm.
Lex shifted him closer, hugging him desperately to him. Clark pressed into him as best he could, then gave a little shudder.
"Cold..." He muttered, almost too softly for Lex to hear.
Lex looked up quickly. "Go find my robe! I dropped it near the pier. We need to get him warmed up!"
Pete quickly nodded, then got up. He didn't want to take their only source of light, so he took the crappy little pin-light he'd brought from his car back out. It barely cast any light, but it was all he had, and it worked well enough to make it back. Chloe was still sitting there, staring down at her useless phone. Elise was crouched in front of her, her hand on Chloe's shoulder.
"He's alive!" Pete blurted breathlessly as he came to a stop in front of them.
Chloe looked up at him, blinking slowly. "What?" She asked, sounding lost.
"Clark! He's alive! He started breathing again. He even woke up! He's with Lex on the other side of those trees there! I need to find a robe or something Lex said he left back here." He said, trying to scan around with his little pin light.
"Oh, thank God!" Elise sighed with immense relief, "Here." she said, taking the spare flashlight from where Chloe had stuck it in her pocket and handing it to him. "I think I saw his robe just over there." She said, pointing.
"Thanks!" Pete said, flicking on the flashlight. It wasn't great, but it was better than the one he had. He hurried over and found it. It looked like a thick terry cloth bathrobe. He just shrugged and hurried back with it. Chloe was still just sitting there.
"Yo, Chloe! What are you waiting for?" Pete said, furrowing his brow, "I'm not lying. I promise. He's alive."
Chloe just blinked, looking like she wasn't sure what she should be doing.
"This girl is drugged." Elise said, passing Pete's pen light in a slow, sweeping motion in front of Chloe's eyes. Chloe's eyes tracked the light a bit jerkily.
"What?" Pete asked, shocked, "No way!"
"Did you take something?" Elise asked Chloe gently as she handed Pete his little light back.
Chloe shook her head, though the motion was slow and jerky.
"Did you eat or drink anything someone else gave you at that party?" She prodded softly.
"Just... just a beer..." Chloe said a bit dazedly. "And I only drank a drink or two. It tasted bad. Tommy traded me beers. He didn't like it either. I didn't try his. Beer sucks." she concluded thoughtfully.
Elise glanced worriedly at Pete, then back to Chloe. "Where is Tommy?"
Chloe shifted her gaze slowly over to the lake, "He's helping me look around the lake. Clark's missing." She dragged her eyes back over to Elise, "Have you seen Clark?"
"Yes. We found him. He's ok now." Elise said, making sure Chloe seemed to understand her.
Chloe smiled, then went back to poking at her phone, looking as if she was trying to remember what she was supposed to be doing with it.
"Man!" Pete breathed incredulously, "And I thought my brother was just being paranoid when he always insisted I bring my own drinks to parties like this and never let them out of my sight. Who would do that?"
Elise shook her head as she got up. "I don't know. I can't believe people would do something like this here of all places! You'd think you would be safe in such a small town." She shook her head again, then brushed it off, hurrying over to the pier, then out on to it, turning slowly as she scanned around the shore. Suddenly she stopped. "I think I see him. There's a light about a hundred meters down the shore. It's not moving." She hurried back to the shore. "I'll try to find her friend. You go get that robe to Clark before he gets hypothermia, then go get a car. Lex's will only seat two, but I think Chloe has one. She probably has the keys on her."
"Her car's tiny. I'll get mine. It's not pretty, but at least it's got a full sized back seat." Pete said, flipping the flashlight around and holding it out to her.
"Thanks." She said, accepting it.
"What about her?" Pete asked, looking down at Chloe worriedly.
"I really doubt she's going anywhere unless we take her there." Elise assured him.
"Ok..." Pete conceded grudgingly. He headed for Clark, but cast one more worried glance back at Chloe as he reached the tree line. She was still sitting there, motionless, staring down at the little screen of her phone as if it were fascinating. He sighed. One crises at a time. He just hoped Clark wasn't going to be pissed at him for telling Lex what green meteor rock did to him. Then again, if he hadn't told Lex, Clark might really be dead now. Maybe he'd somehow managed to survive that long of being 'dead', but he might not have come back if he'd been near that lake much longer. Pete had known what green did, and that the lake was full of it... but never in his wildest dreams had he imagined Clark could come back to life after something like that! He'd been cold! Clark seemed to come up with new ways to amaze him every day!
He looked up as he stepped over the fallen tree branch. The sight illuminated by the flashlight hit him, but he managed not to stop. Lex was sitting cross legged, Clark in his lap and half wrapped around him, his face nuzzled contentedly into the hollow of Lex's neck. For his part, Lex was just holding him... looking for all the world as if he was clinging to the most precious thing in existence. Clark looked unconscious once again, but Pete could see that he was breathing deep, even breaths.
Pete came over, putting the robe over Clark and half wrapping it around Lex as well. Lex was sitting there in the chill night air in nothing but a soaking wet pair of pajama bottoms, after all. Lex opened his eyes while Pete was tucking it into place, but then looked away. It was obvious he was worried about what Pete must think about what he'd said. It hadn't mattered to him at the time, since he hadn't planned on being alive for any kind of repercussions, but now the admission was obviously making him uneasy.
When he was done, Pete just crouched there for a moment, staring at them.
Lex steeled himself and gazed back evenly.
"Man..." Pete sighed as he stood back up, "I can't believe he lied to me."
"About what?" Lex asked in surprise.
"He said he didn't write that damn article." Pete said, shaking his head.
"What article?" Lex asked, confused.
"That stupid article everyone's talking about... the one someone 'anonymously' wrote in the school newspaper last week about falling for his best friend. I knew it. I didn't want to believe it, so I let him deny it... but I knew. Damn it! I knew when he would never say the words. He denied it in his round about way, but he'd never come out and say 'no, I didn't write it'. He's never bold faced about it. Round about. Letting you assume things by implying. That's how he lies. I felt it, but I ignored it... because I really wanted to be wrong." Pete shook his head, "It was after that market, wasn't it? Ya..." he sighed, not bothering to wait for Lex's answer, knowing the man probably wouldn't admit to it anyway, "He went all quiet and distracted after that day... then that article gets turned in last wednesday and the next day, coincidentally the day you ran off to God knows where, he's suddenly an emotional train wreck. He's been fighting with his dad and starving himself, not paying attention at school, won't talk about it, even with me... I've even caught him crying a couple of times. Clark! Crying! Once right in the middle of class! Then he went and took a walk by Crater lake! A lake that he knew full well could kill him, and somehow he managed to fall in. You really messed him up, Luthor."
Lex closed his eyes, ducking his head down and pressing his cheek against Clark's wet hair. "I never meant to." He said in a soft, pained voice.
"Ya, well, you did." Pete said shortly. "And I don't know how, but you better put this right! Because if something like this happens again, I'll tie the rock around your neck for you!"
"He didn't try to kill himself!" Lex said, picking up on the implication, "Someone did this to him!"
"What makes you think that?" Pete asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Because he has a bruise on his cheek. You couldn't really see it when his skin was all ashen near the lake, but now that he's away from it and his normal color has returned you can see it plain as day. It looks like a fist hit him hard. You can even see what looks like the impression of a class ring..." Lex said, brushing the wet hair away from Clark's cheek. He furrowed his brow, reaching over and grabbing the flashlight and shining it on Clark. There was only a little smudge of fading bruise on his cheek. As they watched, it disappeared. Lex let out an incredulous breath, setting the flashlight down, then running his fingers over the once more pristine flesh. His eyes darted up to Pete.
Pete shifted uncomfortably. "Well, whatever man. I'm sure he'll tell us what happened when he wakes up."
Lex's eyes narrowed suspiciously at Pete's lack of surprise and averted gaze, but then he just pulled the robe back up. "Let's just get him out of here before he freezes to death please."
"I'll go get my car." Pete muttered, hurrying off.
- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 -
Jenkins tossed in his sleep. He sighed and opened his eyes, staring up at the darkened ceiling above. He couldn't help but wonder if they'd found Clark's body yet. No... they probably wouldn't find it until morning at least. With luck, perhaps not until he had already left for military school Saturday morning so they wouldn't even question him. He knew no one had seen him slip away from the party to follow Clark.
So he'd arranged the party and bought the keg. That didn't mean anything. It was a going away party. He hadn't even directly invited Clark. And the kid he had handing out drinks wouldn't know he had anything to do with tampering with those drinks. He'd been having him welcome each newcomer with a full glass of beer from the beginning of the party. He hadn't been sure which cup would've been handed to Clark, so he'd drugged both, but it's not like he'd done anything to Sullivan. Sure it would have been fun to give the know-it-all bitch a good hard screw to make up for embarrassing him, but Clark had drunk his beer faster. Well, if he had any sense that Fischer boy she'd gone off with took advantage of the opportunity when the drugs finally hit her and she got what was coming to her anyway. Would have been more fun if he'd been able to do it, though.
He took a deep breath and sighed it out. All that planning and he hadn't even gotten laid. At least Kent got what he deserved. He hadn't planned on doing anything quite so permanent, and he did feel kind guilty, but more than anything he was just worried about what was going to happen to him now. Both legally and serious worries about his poor damaged penis. It's not like he could go see a doctor! It better not get infected! An ache went through him at the thought and he couldn't help but think Kent deserved what he got. Who the hell bites someone's junk? What an asshole!
He started, his eyes darting over as there was a sudden sound, but then he silently chastised himself, realizing it had just been the curtains snapping in the brisk wind. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, willing himself to go back to sleep.
"You seem jumpy tonight." A calm, very familiar voice said from the darkness.
Jenkins let out a surprised cry and scrambled up in his bed, fumbling around frantically for the light switch. When he finally got the lights on he looked over.
Lex was sitting in his desk chair wearing a long black coat, leaning back casually, his black gloved fingers steepled before him.
"What the Hell are you doing here, Luthor?" Jenkins demanded, trying to sound forceful... though it came out more like a frightened squeak. He kept darting his eyes around, but for some reason the baseball bat he kept by his bed was gone. His eyes glanced back warily at Lex, then caught on the baseball bat... leaning against the wall behind Lex. SHIT! He knew he hadn't put it there! "Get out! You're breaking and entering!" He sputtered desperately, "I'm calling the cops!" he said, grabbing the phone off the nightstand.
"Don't bother." Lex said, giving him a cold smile, "I already called them with an anonymous tip. They'll be here shortly."
"Wha... what?" Jenkins asked, his eyes wide and terrified. He quickly tried to hide his fear, "Well, good! They can throw your ass in jail!"
Lex let out a little humorless breath, "Oh, they're not coming for me, but I suspect you already knew that. Tell me, because I'm really curious, did you really think you could murder my best friend and get away with it?" He asked, his expression hardening just a bit more.
"I... I don't know what the Hell you're talking about!" Jenkins forced out, trying not to look guilty.
"Clark Kent never did anything to you... and yet you had no qualms about drugging him and attempting to rape him, and then killing him when he fought back?"
"I did not! You're insane!" Jenkins insisted.
"You've been planning it for about a week. You set up the party, got the drugs... quite illegal drugs at that." Lex said evenly, his tone deceptively casual. "A week. That's quite clearly premeditated. That won't even be a question in court. I bet you were even stupid enough to plan it all out on paper. Probably even have extras of the drugs you used. Since they were probably mostly 'home made' the chemical composition should be as distinctive as a fingerprint. That will be a direct link admissible, and quite damning, in court. You probably even have them right here in your house. Not even bright enough to dispose of them properly, are you?"
Jenkins' eyes darted over to the backpack on his desk and he yanked off the covers, darting up.
Suddenly there was a sleek silver gun in Lex's hand trained on him. "Sit down, Mr. Jenkins." Lex said in that maddeningly calm voice.
Jenkins sat down, his eyes glued to the shiny barrel pointed at him. "Are... are you going to kill me?" He asked in a terrified whisper.
Lex gave him a little cold smile. "Now why would I do that? That would deprive you of the very long life behind bars that you so richly deserve. Given your crimes, I quite imagine your ride to the prison will be one way. Don't you worry, though. You'll be far from lonely in there. By the time you get there I will have taken the liberty of lining up your cellmates for you. Never fear, they'll all be very friendly and will make sure you're quite popular with your fellow inmates." He glanced at his watch, "Well, while we're waiting, why don't you tell me something I haven't been able to figure out yet. I know in your sick little mind you probably thought killing Clark would hurt me... but why would you want to kill Chloe Sullivan and Tommy Fischer? What did they ever do to you?"
"WHAT?" Jenkins gasped, his eyes trying valiantly to open wider than his eye sockets would allow.
"Don't tell me you're really too stupid to realize that by mixing a full dose of each of three or four different, already potentially lethal, drugs it would induce a rather severe overdose? They probably also interacted badly... either that or they were just very poorly made. Chloe shared her beer with Tommy. There was more than enough in that one glass to kill both of them and leave plenty over for the police to analyze. So... triple homicide. I would say impressive for a first crime, but I guess technically the attempted vehicular homicide was the first."
"This is crazy!" Jenkins sputtered. "You can't prove any of this! Now get out of here before I yell and bring my parents in here! Threatening someone with a gun is illegal! Especially when you're threatening a minor!" He said, trying to force some bravado into his voice.
Lex gave him another slow, cold smile. "Oh please! You're just barely a minor... and don't worry, I'm sure they'll try you as an adult. As for your parents... you forget to whom you are speaking. I happen to know that your father is working nights, and your mother is working over as well, trying to meet the deadline for her project. It's just you, me... and soon the cops."
"You know, if they find any evidence, it'll be obvious you planted it!" Jenkins said, his eyes narrowing calculatingly.
Lex tilted his head thoughtfully, "How will you ever prove I was even here? Surely you don't think I'm going to leave a hair behind? Perhaps a fingerprint?" He said, wriggling his gloved fingers at him. "It's true that much of the evidence could probably be seen as circumstantial... or your lawyer could argue it was planted and perhaps create a shadow of a doubt in the jury's minds if he's good enough... but there was blood on that flannel you left on the dock. I really doubt it was Clark's. How will you explain that?"
His eyes widened a bit as he thought furiously. "I... maybe... we argued earlier. Ya... and he hit me. That's how my blood might have gotten on his shirt... if it even did!"
Lex nodded thoughtfully. "If that's the story you're going with, you'd better hope there isn't any of your blood on the pier they are undoubtedly scouring for evidence by now. Of course I know where the blood really came from." He said, his eyes darting over to him and hardening. "Any rapist will tell you it's sheer idiocy to stick your dick in your victim's mouth if there's any chance there's still some fight in them!"
"How... how could you possibly..." Jenkins sputtered before he could stop himself.
"I saw it in a dream, actually. I'm guessing the peculiar properties of the meteor rocks in the lake are what caused it. I saw what you did to him, heard your words... I saw you kill him. That's how I knew... that's how I was able to find him... only I was too late." Lex stood up, his expression growing colder as he started to lose the calm facade, his hand gripping the gun as if he was having to fight to keep himself from emptying the clip into the boy before him, "I had to pull the best friend I've ever had out of a lake. His body was already cold by the time I could reach him. You know what it's like to try to breath life back into the person you care about the most... the whole time knowing deep down that there's no point... no real hope... that he's slipped away and I can never get him back? Clark Kent was the last shred of conscience I had. Knowing he wouldn't want me to do bad things is the only thing that's kept me from doing so very much... without him..." He let out a little darkly amused breath, shaking his head with a slightly deranged glint in his eye. "My dream may not be admissible in court... but believe me, I will have a whole team of the best lawyers in the world making sure you spend the rest of your life in prison, with hundreds of big, scary men doing to you what you tried to do to him every single night for the rest of your life! You might be able to explain away everything else... but you want to know what the one irrefutable piece of evidence will be? The one piece of evidence that is guaranteed to put you in jail for life? That pathetic little pecker of yours. Tell me, did you know that each person's teeth leave a completely unique pattern? A pattern that can be, and has been, used successfully to convict murderers like you?" He flicked his eyes out the window. "Well, looks like your ride's here." He said, smiling at Jenkins maliciously, "I was sure to tell them to do a strip search. I'm leaving now... but if you try to run before they collect you... well..." He said, holding up the gun and showing it to him, "You won't run far. I'd stay put and take what's coming to you if I were you. Have fun in Hell, Jenkins."
Jenkins whipped his head around to the window that looked out towards the highway. There was a car pulling into the winding drive leading to the house... one with lights on top of it. They might not be on, but he'd seen enough cop shows to know they went in silent when trying to nab someone they think might make a break for it if they knew the cops were on the way. His eyes darted warily back over to Lex... only Lex wasn't there. The curtains flapped in the breeze, but the room was empty except for him.
He ran over and grabbed up his backpack, then darted out of his room into the kitchen. He grabbed the baggy of left over drugs out of the side pocket, dumping them down the garbage disposal, quickly turning on the water and the switch that made the disposal growl to life. Then in the other half of the double sink he ripped the incriminating pages out of his notebook, as well as some of the surrounding pages just in case his pencil left an imprint or something, wadded them up and set them on fire.
Ok... ok, that's most of it... but how could he possibly hide the last, most damning piece of evidence?
There was a sudden, very loud knocking on the door. Jenkins panicked, his heart racing wildly. His eyes darted out the window as he saw the deputy out by the garage, shining his flashlight on the little bit of damage hitting that chick in town had left on his front fender. "Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Jenkins said. Well, they might be able to get him for that, but they sure as Hell weren't going to get him on a triple homicide! He clenched his eyes shut, terrified tears streaming from his eyes as he realized the only thing he could possibly do to save himself from a life in prison...
- 0 – 0 – 0 –
Lex peered out from beneath the shadow of his hood, watching as the paramedics pulled quickly away from the house, lights flashing as the siren started up. They left a perplexed looking Sheriff standing on the porch, hands on hips and shaking her head. Lex then turned, making his way slowly back into the shadows of the trees, a small, tight smile on his lips.
- 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 -
A/N – a little short, but you guys had been left hanging for a bit there, and I knew it would have been quite a bit more of a wait if I tried to add another scene, besides which it broke nicely here. I would prefer to start the next day on a new chapter. I know, I know, letting Clark live means Lex hasn't learned any lessons and vowed to be a good boy from now on (obviously), but did you really think that would happen? Besides, it's not like he would just sit back and let Jenkins get away with it. I mean seriously, in what universe would a Luthor let something like that slide?
So... what now? What about his relationship with Clark? Lex is obviously convinced he is nothing but bad for Clark... so what do you think? A "you're better off without me" speech followed by a tactical retreat? Perhaps leave Smallville entirely so Clark doesn't have to see him with the 'other woman'? I need feedback. Even if you don't have an opinion either way (in which case you would be a very rare person indeed!) I would still like to hear from you. If nothing else, I want to know there's really people out there reading this that like it enough to take two minutes and send me a review. It really does wonders for the motivation of writers.