Thanatos

Chapter Eight

When Lois and Clark arrived at the Luthor mansion, they found that the sheriff and her men were still there, but appeared to be getting ready to leave. As Lex sees his friend and someone new to town with him, he quickly finishes speaking with the sheriff, then walks over to Clark and asks calmly, "Clark, it's getting a little late for you, isn't it? I would have thought you'd be at home right now with your father, you know, after him waking up from a three month coma and all. How is he doing?"

Clark shrugged as he answered, "He's about as well as can be expected. Thanks. It's good to see you made it back from your own little misadventure."

Lois was about to say something, but Clark quickly cut in again before the reporter could stick her nose in as he continued, "I just wanted to come by to see that you're alright as well and to introduce you to Chloe's cousin from Metropolis, Lois Lane, although I see that maybe I came by at a bad time. What's going on?"

"An old friend of my family came into town tonight to see how me and my father have been getting along and unfortunately, he had a heart attack," Lex responded as he looked over at the reporter to shake her hand and introduce himself. "It's good to meet you, Miss. Lane; Lex Luthor. And I'm sorry for your loss."

"Yeah, thanks," she replied skeptically. "A heart attack, that's it?"

Lex looked at the woman in confusion, turned to look at his friend, then back a Lois and asked, "Excuse me?"

Clark stopped Lois from talking again as he answered, "What Lois means is, your friend was in an accident last night, when he arrived here in Smallville. My dad was on his way back from Metropolis when he drove by where your friend went off the road and he picked him up. He stayed with us for the night and mentioned that he was in town to see you. My dad offered to take him to the hospital to be checked out. He refused, but maybe if he had…"

"Are you kidding me right now?" Lois asked in frustration as she glared at the farm boy she was quickly getting to know, then turned back to Lex. "Look, it's strange that this friend of yours would nearly die in a car accident one night and then die of a heart attack the next."

"Look Lois, it's possible that Tom may have died later due to complications from the accident," Clark responded as he glared at her, hoping that she would take the hint and stop her inquisition.

She didn't at first as she retorted, "But what about…? Oh, I… Look, I'm sorry too, Mr. Luthor. I mean about your friend."

Lex nodded and replied, "Thank you. It was good to meet you, Miss. Lane. I hope next time we see each other, the circumstances are a little better."

"Good night," Lois answered and then turned and walked back to the pickup truck she and Clark drove there in and waited inside for Clark to join her.

"You'll have to forgive Lois," Clark spoke again as he looked back at his friend. "She's a little bit too suspicious and extremely curious about, well about everything. She's a reporter."

Lex responded, "That explains a lot. She blames my father, and therefore me, for Chloe's death, doesn't she? I don't blame her."

Clark thought about mentioning that he and Lois knew Chloe's grave was empty and that they suspected she might actually still be alive, but thought better about it and finally he simply replied, "She just needs some time. Eventually she'll come to realize where the real blame lies."

"Yeah, in my father," the older man stated a bit more curtly than he meant.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean that like it sounded," Clark quickly apologized.

Lex patted his shoulder and answered, "Don't sweat it. Get back home and be with your parents. I'm sure after your long excursion to wherever it is you went, that they want to spend as much time with you as possible. And tell your mom and dad that if they need anything, I want to help."

Clark smiled as he replied, "Thanks, Lex. Good luck with everything."

"So, what was that about?" Lois asked coldly as Clark got back into the truck, then started driving. "I thought you were just as curious as I am about what happened to this guy?"

"I am, but it's obvious Lex is hiding something and coming right out with accusations against a man like Lex or Lionel, is a bad idea," he answered in frustration. "Believe me, I know, my family knows, that better than anyone. We've had a lot of problems over the years because of Lionel Luthor and though Lex is my friend, I realize that he's done some things are aren't good too. We can talk to him about Chloe later and as for Tom, I'm going to have to find out the truth another way."

Lois looked at him skeptically as she spoke again saying, "You? Don't you mean we, farm boy? We're going to find out the truth about this together."

Clark pulled over and scoffed as he shook his head, then responded, "Look, if it's all the same to you, Lois, a killer's zombie wife didn't come and attack your father and nearly kill him. He's been through a lot in the last year and it's mostly been because of me. If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to find the truth myself. Besides, you don't really know what the wild things Chloe told you about are like. It can be dangerous here in Smallville."

"I don't scare easy," Lois replied angrily. "And no offense pal, but you're not the only one who's worried about someone here. You said it yourself, there's a possibility that Chloe could still be alive. If that's true, then she's in real trouble. I will find out the truth, but in the meantime, if you'll let me, I'd like to help you find out the truth about Tom and his zombie wife. Not for you, but for your mom and dad. They're good people and they are allowing me to stay with you rent free for as long as I need. It's the least I can do."

"Thank you, Lois," Clark said sincerely as he looked at the woman sitting beside him in a new light. "I really do appreciate that. And don't worry, we'll find Chloe too. I have a strong intuition that she's going to be alright."