Chapter 10: What Darkness Seeks to Hide
He cried into the leaves. He was laying in a small opening between two large rocks that stuck out of the ground within a small copse of trees, old leaves scattering the rocky floor, it was the darkest place that he could find. The light of the sun had driven him into the woods and under the rocks when it came up. The piercing rays had burned his eyes so badly he could't even look into the daylight, the unfiltered rays had even started to burn his skin. He had run to this place because it was familiar. Somewhere in his mind he had known that he would find safety here, safety from the light. But now he didn't know what to do.
It had come upon him so fast. He could still feel it inside him. The thirst had abated somewhat when he had killed James. 'God not James!' He thought. He could still see it happening. The sound of the blood beating in his heart. The smell of it pulling him forward, the desire inside raging for it. The taste as it covered his lips. It felt like he was pushed to the back of his mind, like someone else had taken control and forced his body to do those horrible things to poor James. He cried even harder now, now because he knew that it was not sated, that when the sun went down it would happen again and there would be nothing he could do about it.
Later
Clark sat in the Talon waiting, the cup of hot chocolate going cold and un-drunk on the table in front of him. He checked his watch again: 8:40. He had been sitting at their usual table since 8:15. He wanted to make sure that he got there earlier then Chloe. It was probably nerves, if he had thought about it he would have realized that Chloe was almost never early for anything, on time yes, early no. He had been going over in his head what he wanted to say all day. 'Listen Chloe this is how I feel...' and 'Chloe I know that you think being friends is best...' nothing he had come up with though sounded good enough. He wanted to put both his feelings and the sincerity behind them into what he said but nothing came together right. Maybe he should just go with what came to him at the moment, that was probably best. He looked at his watch again, 8:42. The door to the Talon opened and Clark wiped his head around, but it wasn't her.
Chloe sat in her car about a block away from the Talon. The clock on the dash read 8:41. She was late. She had left her house at 8:10 for the 15 minute drive to the Talon, or at least what should have been a 15 minute drive. Her mind was a jumble with so many different emotions that she only ever had the car up to about half the speed limit. She never even noticed the drivers honking and passing her. She knew what this was going to be about but she was still undecided as to whether or not to let Clark even start. Her heart and her mind were raging a spiritual battle inside her the likes of which had not been seen outside many romance novels, but of course that was the idea. The car had been getting colder for the 10 minutes she had been sitting there, her small hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. 'This is nonsense. I know what to do.' She looked at the clock again, 8:43. The door to the car came open quickly and she stepped out into the brisk night air. Walking slowly up the street to the Talon, her light red jacket pulled tightly around her, she stared into the night. Looking around into the darkness a thought came to her, this was right near where James at the hardware store was murdered. Anyone but Chloe Sullivan may have been worried about that. But Chloe was not the kind of girl to play the scared girl in the horror movie role so she pushed the threads of fear to the back of her mind and forced herself to walk normally, of course if she knew what was in the darkness she may have run all the way there.
It listened to the Click, Click, Click as its prey walked down the street. It had been watching ever since it had stopped. It was patient, passing up other prey in favor of this one. The smell of this one foremost in its mind. Click, Click, Click, it followed in the darkness waiting, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and sate its desire.
She could see the light from the Talon's front windows and smell the heady aroma of the coffee brewing within. God she loved that smell. She stopped before the windows and took a deep breath, the aroma giving her strength. She wanted to steel herself for what the next few minutes would bring. Exhaling she started forward. She never noticed the hand reaching out of the darkness behind her. It clamped itself over her jaw like a steel vice, pulling her backwards. She was so stunned by what was happening she did not even start screaming until she was already into the black.
Clark looked down at his watch again, 8:47. Maybe he should call her? He patted his jacket pockets, 'Damn' he thought 'I must have left my phone at home. Maybe Lana will let me use the phone here.' He got up and walked over to the counter. The crowd at the Talon had thinned out as the night went by and the staff was cleaning up getting ready to close for the night. He saw Lana come around the corner carrying two large trash bags. Clark Kent ever the gentleman hurried up to her to help.
"Here let me take those." He said pulling the heavy bags from her hands.
"Thanks Clark, I almost dropped them twice. You've been here for awhile now are you waiting for someone?" Wiping her hands on her apron she looked into his eyes. She could see the uneasiness in them.
"I've been waiting for Chloe. I was hoping she was going to meet me here at 8:30 but I guess she isn't going to show. I was wondering if maybe you would let me use the Talon's phone to give her a call." They walked into the backroom.
"Well I think taking out the garbage more then pays for a phone call, just make sure it's local." She said with a grin.
"No problem there." He said smiling back.
DING! "Oh thats the customer bell, the door to the alley is right over there and the phone is on the desk. Make sure you pull the door closed when you come back inside, it tends to stick." She turned around and headed to the front counter.
"Thanks Lana." Clark pushed the handle to the door open and light flooded the alleyway. He threw the two bags into the large garbage can and turned to walk back inside but something made him stop. A sound came from the alley behind him, he looked back. What he saw would haunt his dreams for years to come. Something had Chloe pushed up against the alley wall its face buried in her neck. He could tell she was unconscious, her eyes were closed and she made no sound, no motion to stop what was happening to her. In a blur of speed he was down the alley, whoever, whatever it was turned at the sound. As it did Clark came back to normal speed, he could see green eyes on the face of Chloe's attacker and blood dripping from its mouth. He didn't take the time to register anymore details, the blood causing him to react. He backhanded the attacker across the face, it flew 30ft down the alleyway and slammed into a large garbage bin with so much force that it imprinted the outline of its body into the metal. He tore off his jacket balling it up and placing it tightly at Chloe's neck, trying to stop the blood from flowing. He barely felt the numbing pain in his hand. Scooping her up with no effort what so ever he speed to the Talon's door in a fraction of a second. Pulling the door open it slammed into the brick on the other side, cracking it up and down the length of the door.
"LANA!' Clark screamed into the light of the Talon's back room.
Lana came rushing back "Clark whats all the yelling...OH MY GOD CHLOE!"
"Call 911, Call 911!" The panic was building in him. He didn't know what to do.
"Ok,Ok,Ok!" Lana said in a rush, running over to the phone and dialing 911.
He sat there on the floor of the Talon, pressing the coat to her neck, rocking her slowly.
"It'll be ok. Just hold on Chloe. Just hold on." He said the words over and over.
"They're on their way Clark. They'll be here soon. I'm going to get some more towels to help." She ran back through the door.
Trying to comprehend what she meant he looked down, blood was soaking through the coat. It wasn't fast enough, they wouldn't get here in time. With that thought ringing in his mind Clark acted. In a heartbeat they were gone.
Lana rushed back into the Talon's stockroom only to see a pool of blood on the floor and the back door slamming shut.