Chapter 2 [Kent Farm—An Hour and a Half After That]

[A/N: References are made to a couple of literary characters. Britomart runs around in Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene. Christiana rescues her guy in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Guess we know what Lana and Chloe were reading in AP English. Right?]

As if following a storm, Silence and Shock constricted Smallville. Shockwave's onslaught knocked out power across Lowell County. New patients overwhelmed the medical center. Employees scrambled to preserve frozen foods and meat from freezers' failures. Ruined buildings dotted the landscape.

And that wasn't counting the disaster's epicenter either….

Lana stumbled about the farm. Shock cut off higher thought or rationalization. Her brain spun faster and harder than a demented top. Memoria and Reality pulled at her in an insane tug of war. Prayers went out to Martha at the medical center. Condolences passed along for the lost baby. Hope for Clark to turn around and come back to her.

Clark….

She leaned up against one of the corral's posts. Her eyes stared out at the dirt driveway disappearing toward the state road beyond. Motorcycle's engine revved in her ears. Exhaust stank in her nose. His shutting her out chilled her heart. Her mind flashed back….

He wheeled the cycle out of the barn. She saw that he wore the white t-shirt and jeans from his previous crazed incident. He bows his head. Deep seeded guilt wracks him over whatever blew the storm cellar to Hell and back. His mind still reeled from their previous conversation. He shook his head. "The Clark Kent you know is a lie."

She shook off that observation. "I'm not giving up on you!" She grabbed onto him. Her eyes pleaded with his on Reason's behalf.

A deep sigh came from his mouth. "No one can save me! Not even you!"

Once more, she heard his insistence from earlier. His self-loathing and shame beat on him. "Your parents need you! I NEED YOU!"

He looked away. Her entreaties stabbed at his heart. Her pleading sapped his resolve. He hesitated for a heartbeat and then another.

"I LOVE YOU!" She grabbed onto his arm.

He pulled his head up to look at her. "I love you too more than you'll ever know. That's why I have to leave." He sat down on the bike. His hand reached into his pocket.

Once more, an accursed class ring showed in his hand.

She shook her head. Much as Pete had at the school, her eyes begged him not to put it on.

He averted his eyes and turned his back to her. His finger slid the ring onto his right hand. His voice deepened to that accursed tone….

…the one from the Jessie incident and the Wild Coyote…

He turned to her. "Come with me!" He motioned toward the seat behind himself.

She stiffened. Realization dawned on her that she was losing that fight. She shook her head. "This is my home! This is your home too!"

Kal sniffed. He slid those stupid shades over his eyes. "Not anymore." He revved the cycle up. Then, he rode away down the driveway and out of sight. He ignored her tears behind his own pain…

Clark, whatever happened to facing things together? Tears welled up in (yet another) round from Bloodshot Eyes. Streams ran anew over salty trails. Pain stabbed at her heart. She limped toward the barn. Her eyes drifted toward the Loft…

…his place and hers…the place where (other than the Talon), they'd talk over things. Advice flowed back and forth. Support marshalled Strength for them both. Crises proved no match for that place and its magic over the previous two years. She'd brought issues. He'd have answers at some points. At others, his eyes would sparkle. The Kent Grin and Earnestness warmed her heart. His secrets bugged her. Still, as per Dr. Bryce's advice, she put Love ahead of Discovery. She could live with them as long as she had him.

Irony, however, paralleled the previous flashback with an earlier one….

She turned her back to him. Her feet walked away from him across the Loft's careworn floorboards. Insecurity nagged at her. Now, the roles switched. She looked toward the upper door. "I'm afraid you paint a perfect picture of me, Clark. I'm afraid you'll get a good look at me and I'll disappoint you."

He shook that notion off. "Nothing could ever do that." He took her hands in his.

She took a deep breath. She looked into his eyes. "Maybe I need to start believing in you…."

Memoria swept her along happier times. She recalled him letting her watch Dusk's colorful display from the Loft. Three days before, Birthday Cake and its mutual wish lit Amor's waybrighter than any of Nocturne's stars overhead. Rehearsal dinner toast affirmed their special bond. Then, once back there, Shared Dream turned to Bliss. Love glittered in eyes and energized through kisses. Her heart felt light and free. For a minute, she swore they floated. Ambiance seemed right….

…until it wasn't….

They lounged against a sizable tree in mid-meadow. She reclined against him. She felt safe. Still, she sensed his turmoil. "I can always tell when you're being less than truthful."

He rolled his eyes. "It's just that I've waited for this for so long…for us. I just don't want it to go away."

She smiled. "It's not going anywhere…."

Just an hour before the ceremony, she found him in the Loft. "Why aren't you dressed?"

He looked her over. Obviously, her appearance grabbed his attention. "Wow!" He looks at her again. Then, he slipped something into his jacket and out of sight.

She handed him his suit.

He shook his head. "There's something I have to do first."

She looked at him in surprise. "What?"

"I can't tell you now. It's for us. It's for our future." Again, his face went all serious.

Once more, Instinct nagged at her. She knew he was holding back. Still, the ceremony loomed. She knew Lex and Helen counted on them. Yet, his countenance reminded her of Whitney's. For some reason, Clark had taken on a similar expression and tone. "You sound like you're going off to war."

He descended the stairs toward her. His eyes lingered in hers. His fingers ran through her silken chocolate locks. "You should go. I'll meet you there."

She turned and walked down the stairs. Her inner sense blared at her that something seemed wrong. *Really wrong*. She turned one more time. "Sure you're all right?"

He nodded keeping up the front. "Yeah." His eyes never left her. "I just want to remember this moment…."

I couldn't skip the wedding. Still, I should've known that something was really wrong! She rubbed the back of her neck. Her eyes bobbed around her surroundings. The storm cellar's remains tugged at her. Determination pushed her up the rise and toward the bombed-out area. She almost stumbled down the stairs. Still, she had to see for herself.

Wreckage and Debris littered the crater. Wooden and Metal Shards lay everywhere. Broken goods, shattered jars and ruined possessions sat half-covered under ruins. What did he do? She shook her head. Clark's rantings came to mind again….

She stared at him in the crater's center. "Where are your parents?"

He told her they were at the hospital. "This is all my fault. I did this! This is all I do! I bring pain and suffering to people's lives!" Tears ran down his face.

She shook that assessment off. "That's not true!"

Still, he didn't hear her. He couldn't hear anyone. All he knew…all he could discern…his shame blinded him to reason. "I took so much from you! If you knew the truth, you'd never talk to me again. I tried to cover up my past and push it away. I…I couldn't. He said if I didn't go, everyone would be hurt. He was right."

She wouldn't allow him to wallow like that without a fight. "Clark, you're in shock."

"NO! Stay away from me before I hurt you too!" He ran up the stairs and down the rise. Before she could turn, he'd somehow disappeared from view….

She kneeled amongst the wreckage. Her mind struggled to digest the day's events. Then again, she couldn't fathom what blew up down there. Clark, who is that 'he' you talked about? What did he do? What would that guy have done? She stiffened. Oh, Clark! You weren't just in shock. You were scared for all of our sakes! Why didn't you say anything to your parents? To me? WHY? Static buzzed in her ears. Her hair seemed to stand on end. Chill dimpled her skin. Now what? She took another look around. Then, as quickly as it surfaced, Paranoia evaporated.

Alas! Emerald glow attracted her attention at that point.

Akin to proverbial Moth, she stumbled toward that flame of sorts. PTSD wracked her once more. Sweat dampened her brow. Robotic motions cleared a pile to find Kryptonite Key lying there with metallic shrapnel. She sifted through the scrap. This doesn't match anything else here. She shook her head. Mindset, however, dampened rational thought. Frustration boiled over in her. Green Key reminded her of the last disaster. The meteor shower stole her parents from her. This explosion aimed to do the same to Clark.

"No…No…." She trembled. Anger frothed and then exploded within her. "NO!" She flung the offending key out of sight amidst the meadow's grasses. "Was…was that under your coat, Clark?" She sucked in a deep breath. Clark loves me. He cares. She took one step at a time up Staircase's rickety ascent. She looked neither left, right or over her shoulder. Pursuit remained the only option. If he's scared, then this has got to be serious. Damn it, Clark, when are you going to realize that I'm not afraid of you. That I can stand on my own two feet. This relationship is worth fighting for. You're worth fighting for. "I'm going to find you, Clark. No matter what, I'll find you!" She clenched her fists. Patience finally frayed. Akin to Britomart and Christiana, her man needed rescue. It isn't every day that Lana Lang gets to save Clark Kent. Her eyes rolled. She slapped at the crater's top lip. "WHOEVER YOU ARE, YOU'D BETTER STAY OUT OF MY WAY! WE LOVE CLARK! WE WON'T GIVE UP ON HIM!" She stepped onto the meadow. Then, she stumbled back toward the waiting Blazer.

Challenge's gauntlet rested on the ground. Whatever would be the response? Now that would be telling….