Chapter Seven: Bedtime Stories and Nightmares

"Jason, go get ready to take a shower. I'll be up there soon." I told him.

"Okay." He replied. I watched him disappear up the stairs and I opened the door before the visitor knocked.

"Hey, kiddo," Clark greeted me with a warm smile. I jumped into his arms where he lifted me into a hug. His red cape brushed my legs as a soft breeze gently tossed it. His familiar scent filled my nostrils as I took a deep breath. "Babysitting Jason tonight?" He asked while he put me down.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Lois called me earlier today and said that I could stop by and check on you two."

"You can come in, but you may have to wait a bit because I have to set Jason up with his shower. I won't be long." I led him inside. I walked to the bathroom and turned the shower on to a temperature that suited Jason. I walked to his room and knocked on his door.

"Yeah?" He asked as he opened the door.

"Shower's ready." I told him. He grabbed his and ran to the bathroom. Jason could take a shower by himself, but I stood outside by the door in case he needed me. I tapped the floorboards with my fingers, knowing Clark could hear it. A few minutes later, he stood before me.

"You haven't used that in forever."

"I'm surprised I still remember it." I chuckled, "We haven't used that since I was nine." We sat down on the top stair and I leaned against him. "I discovered something with my water ability today."

"What would that be?" Clark asked with interest.

"I can heal myself."

"You're kidding me." He gapped at me.

"No, I'm not kidding." I began laughing at his reaction, but then grew serious, "I'll prove it to you."

"Sarah, I'm done." Jason called from the bathroom. The two of us reacted by standing up unusually fast.

"You don't mind waiting again do you?" I grimly asked. I hated to have my brother wait for me.

"I'll wait in your room." He replied, "Where's it at?" I pointed him in the direction and he quickly went for cover. When my bedroom door closed, I opened the bathroom door. Jason stood there in his a little pink in the face from the heat of the water.

"Want me to read you a few books before you go to bed?" I asked. He nodded a reply. I picked him up and carried him to his room. "Oh, you're getting so heavy!" I grunted as I pretended to stagger under his light weight, "You're so big!" Jason began giggling and Clark chuckled in his thoughts. I set Jason down once we were in his room. He went to his bookcase and pulled a couple of books out. I sat on his bed and he snuggled next to me. He chose "Skippy John Jones" and "Oh the Things You Can Think". About halfway through one of the books, I heard a soft snore. I looked at Jason and found him fast asleep. I tried to move, but he was pinning me to the bed.

"Clark, a little help here?" I asked quietly. Clark came in and began chuckling. "If you can get him off of me so I can get him under the covers that would be great." He came over and gently lifted Jason off of me. Jason snuggled closer to Clark still asleep. I got up and pulled the covers back and Clark laid him in the bed. He pulled the covers up and we closed the door behind us as we left the bedroom. "Wait here." I said. He nodded and I hurried to my room and pulled a pocket knife from my desk. Don't ask why I have one; in fact, I have no clue where I got it. All I know is that I have one. I ran to the bathroom, but I kept the door open.

"I'm going to prove to you that I can heal myself." I told Clark pulling him behind me. I pulled the knife part and took a deep breath. I dragged the blade across the top of my right arm. Clark gave me a very hard expression as a solid scarlet line appeared on my arm. Yep, he's totally pissed at me for doing this, but I'm going to prove to him that I'm fine. I set the pocket knife aside and turned the water on, only I stuck just my hand in the water.

Just like it did earlier today, the water flowed in a long ribbon up to my cut. It surrounded my cut and the gash closed up, leaving a pink line and disappeared. I turned the sink off and dried my arm. "See?" I lifted my arm to show him.

"How…" He stammered as he traced the area where the cut was.

"I don't know." I replied.

"Do you feel anything?"

"No."

His eyes slightly widen. "That's incredible." He dropped his hand. I cleaned up my mess and went downstairs. The clock chimed ten 'o' clock. Jeeze, time sure does fly around here. I felt my heart increase a little.

"Oh, crap." I said in a small voice. I heard two car doors slam from outside. "They're back." Clark gave me a hug and kissed me on the head.

"I'll stop by tomorrow." He promised. I let go and watched him disappear through the back door. I walked to the front door and opened it for Lois and Richard.

"Hey, Sarah, did everything go alright?" Lois greeted me with a hug.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Jason took a shower, I read him a few books, and he went to bed." I replied, "Oh, and Clark stopped by about a half hour ago to check on us for a bit and he had to take off." I collapsed onto the couch. Richard came by and put a wad of cash in my hand.

"There's fifty dollars plus a ten dollar tip." He explained.

"Really? Wow…um, thank you." I was abashed.

"No, thank you, Sarah you've been so much help." He thanked me with a smile. The two of them went into their bedroom to hit the hay. I pried myself off the couch and dragged myself upstairs to grab my and take a shower. I took a quick one because I was completely exhausted. I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow on my bed.

Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed in my dream. I looked around trying to get an idea of where I was at. Well I knew I was standing on a giant landmass that was in the middle of the ocean. That's a good start at least. I looked up before me and saw a bald man in a white coat standing on a balcony-like piece of the strange land. He wasn't looking directly at me. It was like I wasn't even there! He looked passed me at a group of men dressed in black. I turned slowly and gasped as I felt my stomach dropped to the very possible bottom of the deepest trench in the whole world. The group of men was beating a man dressed in blue with a red cape and boots.

Clark was on the ground and was hardly moving. Just by hearing faint heartbeats from him, he was very weak. They pulled him from a puddle of water and began beating him again.

"NO!" I hollered at them trying to move, but I couldn't. Something was holding me back. There is a reason why you have to see this, Sarah. It's for your own good. A voice whispered in the back of my mind.

How on God's earth is watching my brother suffer for my own good! I screamed at the voice.

Just trust me. I'll tell you when to move. It's no use trying to move now. I'm the one who's holding you back. I'm the five years that your brother left you. The voice cooed in my mind. It wasn't helping me at all.

Shut UP! I roared at it. The man in white stepped down from his throne and walked slowly to my haggard brother. When he was a few feet away, he pulled something long and green from his pocket. I felt so much dread wash away everything. I knew what it was.

"No, no, please, please, PLEASE!" I began sobbing and begging. But I couldn't move. I wanted to run to the man and beat the life out of him. He raised his hand that he held the Kryptonite in and shoved it in Clark's back. I was too late in trying to block out his scream of agony. He slumped to the ground with a hard thud. He didn't move for twenty seconds as the group of men watched him. When Clark stood up, I could hear him wheezing. He faced them and stumbled backwards trying to fly, but he slipped off the edge and fell down into the deep dark waters.

NOW! The voice screamed at me. I took off in a mad dash to the edge. So much anger was fueling me as I watched the man in white trying to grab me. I dodged his and his henchmen's grips as they tried to catch me. I didn't hesitate as I reached the edge. I dove after my brother into the water. Wind whipped my hair as I fell increasingly with great speed. I ignored the pain when I broke the surface of the water. Frantically, I began searching around me for Clark. I began panicking realizing I couldn't find him. One of my greatest nightmares was coming true.

"NO!" I screamed a defeated cry.