Thanatos

Chapter Fifteen

When Lois finally arrived back at the Kent's, she walked inside the farmhouse without knocking and after doing so, she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the large hole in one of the walls, then noticed the rest of the broken furniture and things that had crashed to the floor in the attack.

It was then that she finally saw Clark as he walked into the kitchen to throw away some smaller pieces of the wooden table from the living room and quickly asked, "Clark, what on earth happened here? Are you, are your parents okay? How did you…?"

In hope to make her forget that he had somehow gotten back home before she did, as she hadn't left him alone that long ago, Clark cut her off as he replied angrily, "My parents were attacked. My dad was taken."

"Oh God Clark, I am so sorry," she quickly responded as she stepped forward and put her hands gently on his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. "I don't understand. Who would do this? Was it… was it that woman? Tom's wife, whatever her name is?"

"Theresa and yes, we believe so," he answered in frustration as he walked back into the living room to continue to pick up the pieces alongside his mother, who was trying to pick things up as well, though much more slowly as she was still struggling to fight against the fear of losing the man she loved.

Lois knelt down on the floor beside the woman who had so graciously taken her in as she carefully pulled her into her arms, then spoke again sincerely, "Mrs. Kent, I'm so so… I am sure that he's going to be alright. I mean, I don't know either of you all that well yet, but I have a feeling that you three are all too tough to let some power crazed woman defeat you."

Martha patted her arm gently as she replied, "Thank you, Lois."

"We've called Sheriff Adams to let her know about Dad being taken, but there is nothing that I can think of that will help any of us to find where Theresa's taken him," Clark said, having lied about calling and talking to the sheriff, not wanting to draw any attention to himself if he mentioned that he planned to go after this woman alone, in order to keep Lois from becoming suspicious. "She could be anywhere."

"I'm sure there's a way to find out where she is, Clark," she responded as she helped his mom to stand again, then led her over to the couch where they both sat down. "I mean, the sheriff did mention that this woman has killed at least four other people, right? Maybe that's how we're going to have to find her, by following the bodies."

Clark looked at the new woman in their home as it donned on him what she meant, then he smiled as he answered, "Lois, you're a genius. I need to go back to talk with Sheriff Adams to see if I can find out who the others are that Theresa killed, to see if I can figure out where they might have been killed."

Lois quickly stood up as she objected, "Wait a minute, I thought we were going to do this together, remember? Just because this woman's spinning out of control and now has your father, doesn't mean that we can't…"

"Lois, this isn't about that anymore," Clark suddenly interrupted. "I know that you want to help and that me telling you it's dangerous is ridiculous because you would still charge ahead anyway, but right now, I need you to stay here with my mom. I need you to keep assuring her that everything's going to be fine. I have to go. If there's any information that I can possibly find that the sheriff can't, then she'll need someone to inform her and her men."

"And what makes you think that you can find something that they can't?" Lois asked again stubbornly. "No offense, but you're a farmer's son and you're a little bit dense when it comes to investigating."

Clark stood at the door and then replied, "Maybe so, but I helped Chloe find out the truth behind all the mysterious happenstances that go on here, a lot more than even she knew. Thanks again, Lois."

With that, Clark left both his mom and the confused and frustrated reporter behind as he ran to his father's truck, then got in and drove off toward town. What he didn't know was that someone was sitting inside his own car parked alongside the Kent's barn so that no one would see him should they drive in or out as the teenager just had.

The man pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number, then waited for someone to pick up and when he did, he stated coolly, "Lex, I just wanted to let you know that I've found myself a possible lead. I'm sitting outside of the Kent Farm right now. Their kid just took off in their pickup."

"Why?" the younger Luthor asked on the other end of the line. "What makes you think that the Kents will be able to help you find this woman?"

"After I spoke with your coroner friend, I went through Tom's things in order to try to get a feel for where his wife might have gone after she killed him," Anson responded. "His shoes were caked with dirt and mud from when he visited here at the farm and after overhearing the sheriff on the phone that this woman had come here and attacked Jonathan Kent, probably for trying to help her murderous husband… Well, let's just say it's a hunch that she might just come back here to try to finish the job. She is after all, dropping bodies right and left. She appears to have a thirst for vengeance. Since she couldn't finish the job earlier, she may try again."

Lex spoke again saying, "You should follow after Clark, the kid who just left. He has a knack for being in the right place at the right time whenever the crazy things go down. Not to mention the fact that he's an upcoming reporter, always looking for the truth behind the story. He doesn't give up easily. If he's going somewhere, it might be somewhere that will lead you to finding Theresa Callas. Just, whatever happens, I want you to be sure not to get Clark hurt in the process. He's my friend. I also don't want him to discover you capturing the woman, least of all that you're working for me if he does. Is that understood?"

Jerald smiled as he started his car and started after the young man while he answered, "I understand, Mr. Luthor. And thanks for the tip. We'll be in touch soon. Hopefully by then, Mrs. Callas will be in my custody."