Chapter Three
Clark staggered as the bullet pierced his lung. The pain was like nothing he'd ever felt before. He looked down at the wound and back up at the hysterical Chloe, who was screaming at the top of her lungs. Gabriel was hauling her onto his motorcycle despite her efforts to get to Clark.
Clark grabbed his side and collapsed onto his knees, gasping. He knelt on the ground, coughing up blood, and he slowly collapsed onto his back. He lay on the pavement as darkness came over him. Within two seconds, he was unconscious.
After about five minutes, a car drove up and slammed on the brakes. Lana jumped out of the car and ran around to Clark.
"Are you okay?" she asked. She stopped when she saw who it was. "Oh, my gosh. No…"
Lana ran over to Clark and knelt beside him.
"No…Clark!" she exclaimed, tears running down her face. "Oh, no, please!"
Lana flipped her cell phone open and dialed a number.
"Yes, I need an ambulance at Route 87 near the Old Mill," she said. "Someone's been shot!"
She hung up and tried to rouse Clark.
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Jonathan and Martha Kent came out of the examination room at the Smallville Medical Center.
"All we have to do now is pick up the prescription and I'm home free," said Jonathan. They had just come from Jonathan's latest heart exam. They headed down the hall, but heard rattling behind them. Jonathan could hear what the doctors were saying.
"I've got a gunshot found on Route 87," said an EMT. "Male, eighteen, gunshot wound to the chest, Got massive bleeding, vitals aren't stable."
"We need to enterbate," said a doctor. "Prep him to the OR immediately."
"That sounds serious," said Jonathan. He and Martha jumped out of the way to let the doctors wheel a gurney down the hall. There was a boy with dark hair on it. He was unconscious, and there was blood coming from his side. After they turned the corner, Jonathan turned to Martha.
"Did he just look like…" started Martha. Their eyes went wide as they dashed after the doctors.
"Clark?!" Martha exclaimed.
"How serious is it, Doc?" Jonathan asked.
"I can't tell until I open him up, but it looks like the bullet pierced his lung."
"Bullet?" asked Jonathan, shocked to realize his son had been shot.
"Sorry, I'm going to have to ask you to stay in the waiting area."
Jonathan held Martha against his chest as they stood in the hall.
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Inside the control room, the computer that Gabriel was at flashed "Defcon One." Chloe was tied up at the door, and she looked up at Gabriel.
"Gabriel, Clark could die out there."
Gabriel turned to Chloe. "In twenty minutes, none of it will matter, Chloe." Gabriel turned back to the computers as the computer digital voice rang out: "Missile trajectory locked."
"You're going to kill everyone in Smallville!" Chloe exclaimed. "How could you do that?"
Gabriel stood up and fixed some controls on the wall. "It's not that difficult. They fail-safed the program back in 1979. It only takes a moderate genius to bypass it. You don't watch your dad do the same drill for ten years and not pick up a thing or two." Gabriel turned to see Chloe looking at him like he was a lunatic. "Don't look at me like that, Chloe. You're safe here, okay? Besides, you're getting what you always wanted. It's the story of a lifetime."
"You really think I care about that right now?"
"You should care! Last meteor shower left ten times as much rock to infect people as the last one did. Pretty soon, there's going to be more psychos running around this town. This is the only way to end it. It's my one chance to be a hero."
"So, you're exterminating a few meteor freaks by sacrificing the lives of innocent people?!"
"Innocent? Every single one of those mutants was innocent before the meteor showers, but Dad always warned me to stay away from the rocks, because they turn people into mutants."
"Your dad? Were those his articles on the wall?"
"He tried to warn people. He said the meteors were destroying the town. No one would listen and during the last one…he became one."
"You know, a lot of people think special abilities are a gift. You didn't have to kill him just because he wasn't normal anymore."
Gabriel paused, recalling memories. "He asked me to…No one wants to live like that, Chloe. Pretty soon, no one will have to."
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Lana opened the door to Clark's room and entered. Clark was lying on a hospital bed in the middle of the room. Around him were machines: a heart monitor, a defibrillator, and various others. He was unconscious as the heart monitor beeped away. Lana sat down next to the bed, and stroked his head.
"I don't even know if you can hear me," she said, "but I need you to know that from the first moment that I saw you, I knew…no one could make me happier than you. But I also knew that you would never change. You would always be running around, trying to save the day. All those times I pulled away was because I knew this day would come."
Clark stirred, and turned his head to look at Lana. He smiled serenely at Lana as she smiled back. Clark slowly closed his eyes as the heart monitor started beeping louder and faster, then flat-lined. Lana looked up in horror at the heart monitor to confirm her worst fears.
The doctor and nurses rushed into the room.
"You're not supposed to be in here," one of the nurses told Lana as they escorted her to the door. "Please, you need to clear the room."
Meanwhile, the nurses rushed around, gathering equipment. They got two pads out and laid them in two places on Clark's chest. The beeping heart monitor was turned off as they got the defibrillator out.
The doctor placed the paddles above Clark's chest and yelled, "Clear!"
Electricity shot through Clark, causing his body to jump off the bed.
"Clear!"
They shocked him again, but there was still no reaction. The nurse pumped air into Clark's lungs as Lana watched, terrified and helpless. They shocked him again and his body jumped off the bed. Lana looked down at the floor, shocked. The nurses shocked Clark again. After he landed back on the bed, Clark took a deep breath. Lana's head whipped back up to stare at the now living Clark. The nurses stopped and rushed to Clark's aide.
"We got a live one!" yelled the doctor. "Someone get me a respirator and a morphine drip!"
Clark's eyes darted from side to side as he panicked. Lana ran into the waiting room.
"Mr. and Mrs. Kent!" yelled Lana. At the urgency of her voice, they jumped up and followed her. They ran to the emergency room and watched.
"Oh, my gosh," said Jonathan.
"Did he…" started Martha.
"Yeah," answered Lana. "He died."
Clark started to really panic, and tried to get off of the gurney. The nurses held onto his arms, pinning him down.
"Clark, you need to relax," the doctor told him. Clark didn't pay attention to her words; he seemed to not even have heard her. Jonathan ran over and grasped his son's hand. Clark's head whipped around to face his father's.
"Clark, calm down, son," said Jonathan. Clark was comforted by his father's presence, and lay still on the bed. Clark's head fell to the side, and he looked at Lana. She was smiling at him. Clark drifted off and the heart monitor flat-lined again.
"Move!" yelled the doctor. She started pumping Clark's chest, then used the respirator. Clark sucked in a deep breath as the monitor started beeping again.
"Someone please get me a morphine drip!" repeated the doctor.
Clark gazed at Lana, who had come over to his bed. She stroked his head and smiled.
"Clark…" Lana said.
"Lana…" Clark whispered, his voice hoarse. "Thank you. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you, Lana."
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Lana snapped out of her daydream as the nurses still worked frantically. Clark wasn't alive, the Kents weren't in the room, and she wasn't celebrating Clark's resurrection. It had all been a dream. Lana watched helplessly as the nurses made a last ditch effort to save Clark's life. After several more attempts, they finally stopped. The nurse took the oxygen mask off of Clark and his head dropped to the side.
"We're calling it," said the doctor. "Time of death…7:18 A.M."
Lana burst into sobs when she heard this. She ran into the room, holding Clark's face close to hers. She broke down into tears as the nurses ushered her out of the room. A nurse pulled the white sheet over Clark's head as everyone left the room.
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Martha and Jonathan sat in the waiting room, holding hands. Martha looked up at the hall to see Lana slowly making her way down it. She nudged Jonathan as she stood up. Lana stopped and sobbed. Martha connected the dots as she came to the horrifying conclusion.
"Oh, no!" said Martha. The doctor came over to them.
"Mr. and Mrs. Kent, we did everything we could."
"No!" said Martha.
"But, we lost him," said the doctor.
Martha broke down into sobs as Jonathan held Martha.
"I'm afraid I have to ask you some stuff about the arrangements if you're up for it," said the doctor.
"Sure, doctor," said Jonathan. The doctor escorted them to her office.
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Jonathan ushered Martha through the door as they entered their house.
"Do you want to lie down?" asked Jonathan.
"I couldn't sleep," said Martha.
"Well, I'm gonna go do some chores," said Jonathan. He exited as Martha sat down. She took several deep breaths, then got up and grabbed the phone.
"Hey, Pete," said Martha as she held the phone tightly to her ear.
"Hey, Mrs. Kent," said Pete Ross. "I've missed you guys. How's Clark?"
"Actually, that's what I was calling you about. A while ago, Jor-El took Clark's abilities away. He was…human. This morning he was shot…He didn't make it."
"What?" Pete's voice sounded shaken.
"Clark's gone, Pete. We thought you might want to come to the visitation tomorrow."
"Sure, I'll be right down."
"See you, Pete."
Martha hung up and dialed Lex's number.
"How are the Kents today?" he asked after they made the connection.
"Not so good. I wanted to let you know that…Clark passed away this morning."
There was silence at the other end.
"What happened?" asked Lex.
"He was shot."
"By who?"
"His name was Gabriel. He kidnapped Chloe…Maybe you can track down the signal of her phone to find them. He's at some missile silo; he's gonna destroy Smallville. Clark couldn't find him, and—"
"You want to fulfill his last wish."
"Well…yeah."
"It will be an honor, Mrs. Kent."
"Bye, Lex."
She hung up and called the Talon, knowing Lois would be there.
"The Talon. Lois Lane speaking."
"Lois, it's Martha. I wanted to let you know what happened."
"Lana filled me in. I want you to know that if there's anything I can do…"
"We'll let you know."
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"Two minutes to launch."
The computerized voice rang out as Gabriel continued typing. Chloe looked around, desperate to find a way to stop Gabriel. Little did she know that her answer was just about to fall into her lap…literally. The door of the silo burst open and debris fell onto Chloe. Lex ran into the room, toting a raised gun. Gabriel turned around with his gun and pointed it at Lex, but he was too late. Lex knocked Gabriel on the side of the head, and Gabriel slumped unconscious to the floor.
"Chloe, are you alright?" asked Lex.
"Forget about me," exclaimed Chloe. "Stop the missile launch!"
Lex turned to the control panel and hit a master switch. The silo powered down, becoming dark.
"It was that simple?" asked Chloe.
"You'd be surprised," said Lex. He came over and untied Chloe. She struggled out of her bonds and jumped up.
"Chloe, I think you should know—"
"Not now, Lex. I have to get to Clark."
"But, Chloe—"
Before Lex could tell her, Chloe ran out of the silo and up the stairs. Chloe pulled the cell phone out of her pocket, dialed the Kent hose, and Martha answered.
"This is Chloe."
"Chloe, thank God you're alright," said Martha. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, Mrs. Kent. By the way, how did Clark find Gabriel?"
"He didn't. Lex did."
"Oh…Well, how's Clark doing? Is he still in recovery?"
"He's, um…he's not doing so well."
"Oh, my gosh. Is he alright?"
The silence on the other line confirmed Chloe's worst fears, but nothing could have prepared her for what Martha said next.
"He's dead."
Chloe felt as if she had been sucker punched in the gut. She couldn't breathe…She refused to believe what was definitely not a joke.
"What?" Chloe asked, stunned.
"He passed away this morning a little after seven. His visitation is tomorrow night."
"I'll be there."
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Pete drove down the country road in Smallville, thinking about Clark. He wondered what everyone must be going through concerning Clark. Pete remembered when he first met Clark. Clark had emerged from Palmer woods, tears rolling down his face. He and Pete were only about three or four then, and Pete's parents had brought Clark into the house. Pete's parents had called the Sheriff Ethan to tell him that they had found a little lost boy. Sheriff Ethan had come out to claim the boy until they found the parents. Sheriff Ethan had come in and took one look at the boy.
"Oh, that's the Kents' boy," said Sheriff Ethan. "They've been looking for him for a couple of hours."
"The Kents?" asked Pete's mom. "They have a son?"
"They adopted him a couple days ago," answered Sheriff Ethan. When Mr. and Mrs. Kent arrived, Martha ran forward to hug her son.
"Thank you so much," said Jonathan.
"You're welcome," said Pete's mom. Pete turned to look at Clark and his mom.
"Mom, I was running so fast," said Clark. "There's something wrong with me."
"No, there isn't honey," said Martha. "You're just special. You're my special boy."
Pete now remembered when he had found out that Clark really was a special boy. Pete had found Clark's spaceship in a field about three years ago. During the night, someone had stolen it from Pete's shed, and Pete suspected Clark and his father. The next day, Pete went over to Clark's house and waited for him to come out. He confronted Clark about it, just to have Clark reveal his powers and lineage to him. Looking back now, Pete realized how lucky he was to have an incredible friend like Clark. Pete looked back up at an approaching farm and recognized it as the Kent farm.
Jonathan came out the door as Pete hopped out of the car. Jonathan could see what the past two years had done to him. Pete was taller and looked older.
"Hey, Pete," said Jonathan. They came together and embraced each other for a second.
"I'm sorry about Clark, Mr. Kent," said Pete.
"Thanks, Pete. Your room is gonna be the living room. Lois is staying in Clark's room."
"Lois?"
"Oh, you haven't met her yet."
"Chloe's cousin, right?"
"Yeah."
"This should be fun."