-1Chapter Eighteen-Camping
Clark woke to the gentle shaking of his shoulder. It took him a second to remember where he was, The Talon. He had stayed and closed up, before camping out in a booth. He opened his eyes to see Pete hovering over him.
"Look who's finally awake. Now if only Lana would come downstairs." Pete said standing back up.
Clark stretched and sat up, feeling his back pop from the weird position he'd fallen asleep in. Chloe hollered up at the bottom of the stairs for Lana to hurry up. Lana came rushing downstairs, dropping her bag next to Chloe's and Pete's. Clark adjusted his shirt trying to get the wrinkles out from sleeping in the booth.
"Morning guys. Are we all ready to go?" Lana asked.
"Sure, if Clark has his stuff." Chloe said looking over at him.
Clark ran his hands through his hair, and slid out of the booth. He reached down and pulled his duffle bag out from under the table. He swung it over his shoulder and smiled at the group.
"All set." He said.
"You're going with us?" Lana asked.
"Yea, isn't great?" Chloe asked as Pete reached down and picked up his and Chloe's bags.
Lana just stared at Clark wondering what would compel him to go with them when he had to get out of town. Clark reached down and picked up Lana's bag as she reached down as well. He beat her to it and swung it over his other shoulder.
"Don't worry, Lana. We'll have a lot of fun." Clark said.
"I'm sure we will." She said.
"Well, since that is settled. Let's go." Chloe said. For the investigative reporter that she was, she was missing the glances between Clark and Lana. Pete however noticed them and felt the tension in the air.
"So you stayed here last night?" Lana asked as they made their way outside to Pete's car.
"Yea. Are you okay with that?" Clark asked.
"I guess. I'm just wondering why." She said.
"Reasons." Clark said as Pete opened the trunk. The guys placed the bags into the trunk and pushed to make it all fit along with the tent and food.
"Clark!"
Clark froze at the sound of his name being called. It grabbed the attention of Lana, Chloe and Pete who stood by the car doors watching.
"Where you going buddy?"
Clark turned around to see Sam standing on the sidewalk. As far as he could tell, Sam was alone.
"Away from Smallville." Clark replied.
"Why's that? It wouldn't have anything to do with the bounty on your head from a certain bald friend of ours, would it?" Sam asked stalking closer.
"What are you going to do Sam?" Clark asked slamming the trunk shut.
"It's payday." Sam replied.
"You enjoy the hunt. This is hardly hunting." Clark said.
"What are you implying, Clark?" Sam asked smirking.
"Its simple. You walk away, wait for the bounty to increase and come after me." Clark said.
"Any hints on where you're going with the trio?" Sam asked.
"I'm not going anywhere with them. They're dropping me off at the city line. Don't worry, I'm not letting them know where I'm going. So leave them alone." Clark said.
"Alright, I'll make a deal. You make the chase worth my while, I'll leave your friends alone." Sam said.
Clark knew Sam well enough that he would go against his word. Clark walked up to him and smiled.
"I know you better than that." Before Sam could reply Clark hit him as hard as he could. Sam back stepped and reached up to wipe the blood from his lips.
"Listen up, Sam. You leave them out of this. I don't care what you do to me or how you plan to take me out. But if you mess with them, it'll be a hell storm raining down on you." Clark said.
Sam looked scared, truly scared. "I thought you'd gone soft."
"My fists are still hard as a rock." Clark responded bring his fist up again. Before he could swing, Sam was running down the sidewalk. Clark dropped his fist and turned back to the others.
"How about that camping trip?" He asked.
Pete sat behind the wheel, Chloe up front with him. They were making small talk as Clark and Lana were sitting in the back. Clark looked out the window watching the terrain pass from fields to woods.
"So Clark, you have a bounty on your head?" Chloe asked from the front seat.
Clark sighed, "Yea." What else was there to say to that question.
"I'm guessing the bald friend he was referring to was Lex?" Pete asked.
Clark chuckled, "Who else?"
"Why on earth would Lex place a bounty on your head?" Lana asked. It was the first words she'd spoken since they piled into the car.
"I made a deal with Lex for ownership of the Talon. He found out that the sting was a double cross to take him out. Since he can't take the Talon back, I guess he figures he can just kill me then make a offer." Clark said.
"Why would you make a deal like that?" Lana asked.
"Because," Clark stopped looking over at Lana. "The Talon was his only hold." Lana stared at Clark, no emotion evident on her face.
"We had a feeling." Chloe said from the front seat.
"I'm sorry?" Clark asked confused.
"When we heard that your secret name was Kal we did some research. We found out and connected the dots." Chloe said.
Pete pulled the car off onto a dirt road. They bounced around in their seats as Pete took his car down the dirt road and far into the trees. Clark didn't think that it was odd they had figured it out. In fact he had a feeling they would.
"We're here." Pete called turning the car off.
"Alright, lets get hiking." Chloe said.
They all got out of the car. Pete popped the trunk and Clark joined him. They pulled out all the bags and camping gear. The girls tried to help carry anything but the guys refused.
"Show the way." Clark said shifting the bags on his shoulder.
Pete took off with Chloe behind him. Clark waited for Lana to go first then he followed. They hiked for a few miles before finding a spot near the river, which lead up to a waterfall. The area was beautiful, the water crystal clear and the trees tall with brilliant green leaves.
Pete laid down his bags and Clark followed, already feeling the burn from the hike. They unpacked the tent and got to work setting it up. Chloe and Lana gathered some wood to start a fire for lunch. It took about an hour before they had the tent up. They set up their sleeping bags and grabbed some food to cook. Clark set to work starting the fire while Pete and Chloe worked on preparing the food. Lana sat and watched as Clark worked. It wasn't but a few minutes later that Clark had a fire going.
"Wow, look at the boy scout." Lana said.
"Hey, awesome job." Pete said, squatting next to the fire with a pot of beans in his hands.
"Thanks. My dad thought it was best if you knew how to survive if away from mom's good cooking." Clark said with a smile.
Clark sat next to Lana and watched as Pete and Chloe fixed lunch. Lana looked over at Clark and smiled. She hadn't heard him speak of his parents before. So this rare insight into the mystery that was Clark Kent was a treat indeed.
"Always good to know a few survival skills." Chloe said smiling over at them.
"Of course." Clark said. It wasn't too long after that Pete had lunch ready. They ate, telling jokes during the time. After the dishes were cleaned Pete, Chloe, and Lana changed into their swim suits.
"Care to join us Clark?" Chloe asked.
"I would, but I don't own a swim suit." Clark said.
"That's too bad. This is one of the best places to swim." Pete said.
"That's alright. I'll gather wood for tonight. You guys go ahead." Clark said.
"Suit yourself." Chloe said.
Pete smiled and chased after her. Clark heard the splash of water as they dove in, water splashing. Lana smiled at Clark before running after the others. Clark smiled softly before turning and heading deeper into the woods. He found plenty of wood for tonight and the following day. When he got back the others were out of the water and sitting around the fire. Clark dropped the wood and joined the others.
"So who wants dinner duty?" Pete asked. The others looked at each other before looking into the ground. Well everyone but Clark.
"Looks like we have a volunteer." Pete said.
"What?" Clark asked.
"It's a game we play, every time we go camping." Chloe said.
"Then how is it fair, if I don't know about it?" Clark asked.
"You do now. So get cooking, I'm hungry." Lana said, punching Clark lightly on the shoulder.
The group laughed as Clark slumped his shoulders and stood. He quickly got to work cooking dinner for the group. Once he was finished with the roasted hot dogs and beans they ate in laughter. They spent the night cracking jokes around a roaring campfire before turning in for the night.