Pilot – Chapter 5
Chloe and Pete were standing in a crowd around a store looking on as an apparently dead man was wheeled out on a stretcher.
"That's the third guy this week," Pete said.
"And they're all former jocks," said Chloe.
Pete tapped Chloe on the shoulder and pointed to a strange guy. "Who's he? I thought I knew everyone in town."
"I don't know," said Chloe. She took a picture of him and said, "Let's check him out."
The Torch
Clark looked at the yearbook from 12 years ago and Rory looked over his shoulder.
"His name's Jeremy Creek," Chloe told them. "This," she pointed to his picture, "is a picture of him 12 years ago. And this," she showed them the picture she had taken of him, "is one I took of him 4 hours ago."
"That's impossible," said Clark disbelievingly. "He'd be like, 26 today. It must be a kid who looks like him."
"My money was on the evil twin theory, til we checked this missing persons," said Pete.
Chloe handed the report to Rory who looked at it and frowned.
"Jeremy disappeared from the state infirmary a few days ago where he'd been in a coma for 12 years. They say he suffered from massive electrolyte imbalance," Chloe told Clark.
"And that's why he hasn't aged a day," said Rory.
"So you're saying he only just woke up?" Clark asked.
Chloe hesitated and said to him, "Well, no, there was a huge electrical storm, and the hospital's generator went down, and when it came back on, Jeremy was gone."
"The electricity must have charged him up like a battery," Rory said.
"And now he's back in Smallville, putting former jocks in comas. But... why?" Clark said, puzzled.
"Because twelve years ago, Jeremy Creek became the first ever homecoming scarecrow," Pete said to Clark.
Chloe handed him a newspaper clipping. Clark read the headline from it aloud. "Comatose boy found in field, twenty yards from meteor strike." He looked at them all and said, "So he wants revenge."
Chloe nodded and said, "The exposure to the blast must have done something to his body."
"That can't be right," Clark said disbelievingly.
Pete looked at Chloe and said, "I think you better show them."
"Show us what?" Rory inquired.
Pete walked over to a door and Chloe followed. Clark and Rory glanced at each other then followed them.
Pete turned on a light in the room and Rory stared in amazement at the wall. Chloe said, "It started out as a scrapbook and just kind of... mutated."
"What is it?" Rory and Clark asked in unison.
"I call it the Wall of Weird," Chloe said proudly as she stepped in front of it and spread her arms out. "It's every strange, bizarre and unexplained event that's happened in Smallville since the meteor shower. That's when it all began – when the town went schitzo." She looked at them apprehensively. "So what did you think?"
Clark looked at her then walked towards the Wall and examined it. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"
Chloe said annoyed, "Do you tell me everything that happens in your life?" She paused and continued, "We all keep secrets Clark."
"Some more than others," murmured Rory quietly. Pete heard her and looked at her puzzled, then decided he must have imagined it.
Clark continued to look at the Wall until he saw the cover of a Time magazine with a little girl in a fairy princess costume crying on it and the words 'HEARTBREAK IN THE HEARTLAND' emblazoned on it. He thought there was something familiar about her and suddenly realized what it was. "Lana?" he asked himself incredulously. He stared at the photo. "My fault. It's all my fault," he repeated dully. He ran out and Pete went to go after him but Rory put her hand on his shoulder."I think he wants to be alone right now Pete," she said to him. He nodded.
Clark walked out of the school with his head down. Suddenly he felt someone grab his shoulder. As he turned around he said, "Chloe just leave me alone."
He finished turning and saw that it was Whitney who had him by the shoulder. "Congratulations Clark," said Whitney coldly. "You're this year's scarecrow."
Clark shoved Whitney away and said angrily, "Don't mess with me right now."
"Come on then," Whitney said belligerently. "Bring it." He was just about to pull of his jacket when Jared came out of the school building.
"Whitney, what the hell are you doing?" Jared hissed at him.
"Preparing this year's scarecrow," Whitney replied.
"Dude, no. He's Rory's twin brother Whitney! Do you want me to be dumped? Do you want to be dumped?" Jared asked him furiously.
"Fine. Stay out of it then Jared. Tell your precious girlfriend you tried to stop me," Whitney said angrily. Turning his attention back to Clark, he asked, "What's going on between you and Lana?"
"Nothing," said Clark, who was starting to feel a little sick. Then he remembered what he'd seen the other night... and that Lana had given Whitney her necklace.Whitney pulled off his jacket and the necklace swung out away from his neck. He punched Clark and Jared yelled, "Whitney, STOP IT!"Clark stared at the necklace around Whitney's neck. Noticing this, Whitney said angrily, "So you like her necklace, do you?" Jared ran forward and tried to pull Whitney off Clark but Whitney turned around and knocked him out with a punch to the side of his head. Jared fell to the ground and Whitney turned back to Clark. He pulled the necklace off of his neck and hissed quietly to Clark, "Enjoy it, cause that's as close as you're ever going to get to her."
He dragged Clark over to his truck and with the help of some other jocks, he lifted him into the back. Someone got in the front and drove off.
5 minutes later at Smallville High
Rory grabbed the stuff she needed for tonight out of her locker and smiled. Tonight was the night of the homecoming dance – apparently the night that some poor kid was gonna get tied up in a field – Chloe had neglected to mention which one.
She walked out towards the front doors of the school. Jared had offered to give her a ride home. She opened the door and walked out, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw him lying on the pavement in front of her. "Jared!" she cried out, running forward and bending over him. "Jared, are you all right?"
He stirred and opened his eyes. "Rory?" he asked. He remembered what had happened and sat bolt upright and asked, "Where did Whitney go?"
Rory was only interested in how Jared was feeling. "Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.
A wave of dizziness hit him and he groaned. "I don't think I'll be able to go to the dance," he groaned.
"Oh well," said Rory hiding her disappointment. "But you'll be all right, won't you?"
"Yeah. Listen, did you see Whitney?"
"No. Why?"
"Crap," he muttered. I just have to remember where they put the scarecrow.
"Jason? Why..." Rory trailed off as she realized why Whitney wasn't there. "He's doing that stupid scarecrow thing, isn't he." It was not a question.
Jared stared at her. "How do you know about that?"
"Chloe told me. Who is it this year? I would've thought you'd've stopped them," she replied.
"I tried. That's how I got this," he said touching the side of his head gingerly and wincing.
"Tell me where it is, Jared. Then I'll be able to get them out."
Jared hesitated. "No, I'll do it."
"Oh, so you can't go to the dance, but you can go out to some random cornfield at night and find the scarecrow?" Rory asked angrily.
"That's not what I meant."
"Tell me where they put the scarecrow, Jared! Or I'll go ask Clark. He'll tell me," she said confidently.
Jared hesitated and she realized what had happened. "He didn't."
"Um... yeah, he kinda did."
Rory stared at him with a cold look in her eye. "And he punched you out when you tried to stop him."
Jared winced. "It sounds really bad when you say it like that but he's a good guy he just... he thought Lana was going out with Clark behind his back."
"I don't care." Suddenly a thought struck Rory – Clark's invulnerable. How did Whitney manage to get him out there? Clark was really upset when he left. "Jared, did Lana give Whitney anything? You know, for luck in the game."
"Yeah, she did. Her necklace, the one made from meteor rock. That one," Jared said in puzzlement. "But Rory, why does that matter?"
"Don't worry. Listen, if you don't tell me which field they're taking Clark to, I'll call an ambulance and tell them you have a concussion, then I'll go and ask Pete," she threatened.
"I can't remember!" Jared said desperately. "I know where, I just..." He shook his head and said, "I think maybe I do have a concussion."
"Dammit!" Rory swore. "Come on, think," she urged her boyfriend.
He shook his head and said, "Listen, I think maybe I should go home and so should you."
"But… I'm not leaving my brother out there!"
"Exactly. Do you have a cell phone? Cause I left mine at home. Right now, you should go home and call Pete and Chloe, see if they know."
Rory threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. "You are the most amazing person in the entire world and I love you."
Jared smiled. "Come on, I'll take you home."
"No. You've got concussion remember? How bout I walk to your place and ask your sister to drive me."
"Okay."
Reilly's Field
If anyone had have gone to check on the crops in that field on the night of the homecoming dance, they would've been met with an unpleasant surprise. Clark was attached to the stakes, wearing nothing but a pair of blue boxers and Lana's necklace which was glowing faintly. Oh, and the red "S" painted onto his chest.
Clark hung from the stakes, feeling even worse now than he had when he'd first been strung up. He was shaking, and he'd learned something new about the meteor rocks – the longer you were around one, the more it hurt. He could hardly think straight anymore, the only thing he could think about was the pain.
"It never ends, does it."
Clark tried to look at the voice, but he was so weak he could barely lift his head. He finally managed to get a look at the face that belonged to the voice. "You're Jeremy Creek," he gasped out.
Jeremy didn't answer his question, instead saying, "I thought if I punished them it would stop. But evidently not." He stared at the boy strapped to the scarecrow stakes the same way he had been 12 years earlier. He turned to leave and the boy groaned out, "Where are you going?"
He turned back and smiled sinisterly. "To the homecoming dance," he replied. "I never made it to mine." He left, leaving Clark to shiver on the pole.
Kent Farm
"Hi, Gabe. It's Rory here, could I please talk to Chloe? It's urgent. Thank you so much," Rory said into the phone, her heart pounding. "Chloe? Thank God I managed to get onto you. I need to know which field the jocks put the scarecrow in."
She listened for a moment, then said, "No – no, see Jared has concussion, so I'm not going to the dance. Please Chloe, I – Reilly's Field? You're sure? Okay. Thanks Chloe, you are totally awesome. I love you. Bye." She hung up the phone and supersped out the door.
Just outside LuthorCorp
Lex drove out the gates of LuthorCorp, lost in his thoughts. His headlights suddenly found a person and he screeched to a halt. He stared at the guy and realized that he knew him. That was the kid who'd been tied up like a scarecrow the day of the meteor shower!
He climbed out of the car as fast as he could but the kid was gone. He walked forward curiously and looked around. Then he heard something."Help me…"
Somewhere near Reilly's Field
Rory supersped through more cornfields, barely registering that it was night. She finally reached the field and supersped up to the scarecrow stakes, instinctively slowing down as she got closer. She burst into the small clearing a split second before Lex did. "Clark!" she cried. "Don't worry, I'm gonna get you down."
"Rory," he whispered. He tried to motion towards Lex but was too weak.
"Clark? Rory?"
Rory turned around quickly and saw Lex. "Lex, help me get him down?" she asked. Of course, if he hadn't been there, she could have just taken the necklace off, but she didn't dare now. Lex was a very perceptive man; he'd notice for sure if Clark was shaking and looking as though he would pass out any second one minute, and then perfectly fine the next.
Lex came up beside Clark and started to tug at the ropes. "Who did this?" he asked, more to Rory than Clark.
"It doesn't matter," Clark gasped.
Rory meanwhile had pulled out a knife and was cutting the ropes. "Of course it matters Clark," she said angrily. "But don't worry, I'll take care of them."
"Them?" Lex inquired. "Was this some kind of gang thing?"
"Gangs in Smallville? I don't think so," said Rory. She managed to get the rope off the arm she was working on and started on his legs.
Lex said, "Then who did do this?" He managed to undo the other arm seconds after Rory finished the ropes on Clark's legs.
Clark fell off the stakes, Rory only just ducking out of the way in time. As Clark fell, the necklace came off his neck and fell to the ground where it stopped glowing. Clark sat up and Rory noticed the change immediately. Clark grabbed his clothes and said, "Thanks Lex, but we," he emphasised this for Rory, "have to go now."
"Are you sure? I mean, I think you should see a doctor."
"No, no, Clark will be fine, Lex. I'll take him straight home in the truck," Rory lied.
"Well now that that's settled, we gotta go Rors. Now," Clark said urgently. He grabbed her arm and pulled her away.
"Bye Lex," she called back to him.
Lex watched them go, frowning. He glanced down and noticed a necklace with a beautiful green rock in it lying on the ground. Strange, he thought. It must be Rory's. He bent down to pick it up and looked at it carefully. If nothing else, I should get some points for giving this back. He smiled and left the field.
Okay, Rory opened the connection as Clark put his clothes back on at superspeed. Where are we going?
In less than a second Clark had shown her his conversation with Jeremy. She absorbed this for a second, then said, "Right. Let's get to school then."
"Wait. Weren't you going to the dance with Jared?"
"Well, it's kinda hard when your boyfriend has concussion."
"Right." Clark's mouth dropped open. "What?!"
"Oh, Whitney punched him and he ended up with concussion. I thought you were there," said Rory confused.
"I was, but I didn't think Whitney hit him hard enough to knock him out, let alone give him concussion."
Rory frowned. "That's really weird. I wonder why?" Coming back to Earth she realized, "Clark! The dance!"
"Crap!" They both supersped off to Smallville High.
Smallville High School
Jeremy opened the fire sprinkler box.
"It's not the answer Jeremy," came the voice of a girl.
He frowned and turned around. When he saw the girl his frown became a scowl and he snarled, "How would you know? You're obviously popular," he looked at her scathingly, "you're far too pretty to be anything but."
"You think I want some poor guy to be the 'scarecrow' every year on the night of the homecoming dance?"
"You're probably going out with one of the guys that tied him up!" he yelled at her nodding towards this year's scarecrow.
Scarecrow Kid spoke up. "Jeremy, you can't do this. I know that some of the people in there are cruel, but most of them are innocent!" Jeremy didn't even flinch, and Scarecrow Kid said desperately, "They're my friends! And I'm not gonna let you hurt them."
"Those people in there are not your friends," he spat. His voice changed, becoming smoother. "The sprinklers will get them all nice and wet. I'll handle the rest."
"They never did anything to you!" the girl yelled.
"I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing this for him and all the other kids like us!"
"What happened to you," the boy hesitated then went on, "was my fault."
"What? No it wasn't Clark!"
Scarecrow Kid – Clark – continued ignoring the girl, "I can understand your pain."
Jeremy couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I'm not in pain! I have a gift, and a purpose, and a destiny!" He turned away from them and stopped when he realized that Clark was standing in front of him."So do I," he replied calmly.
Jeremy growled at him and grabbed his arms, attempting to electrocute him. Clark held on, thanks to his invulnerability. He shoved Jeremy into a car behind him and said, "Give it up, Jeremy."
Jeremy glared at him. Those rude interfering little bastards! He started the car and got into the driver's seat. He was first intending to run over Clark, but then he remembered how his electricity hadn't worked on him at all, whereas the girl had stayed back and not come near him. He smiled and pushed the accelerator down, speeding towards her until all of sudden she wasn't there anymore.
Rory watched in horror as Jeremy sped towards the wall. Sure, he wanted to kill her friends, but he didn't deserve to die. He hit the wall – which had an emergency hydrant attached to it – and smashed open the hydrant. Water began to rush into the car.Electricity ran all over Jeremy's body. Clark supersped over and tried to open the car, but it was so crushed from its impact with the wall that he couldn't. Jeremy spasmed and the electricity shorted out. Clark finally managed to rip the door off because Rory had used her powers to stretch the car out, making it easier for him.
Jeremy's eyes fluttered and he looked up at Clark and Rory, confused. "Are you okay?" Rory asked.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Jeremy asked woozily.
Clark and Rory smiled. "I'm Clark Kent, and this is my sister Rory, and you're in Smallville."
"I want to go home," Jeremy whispered sadly. Clark nodded.
At the dance
Clark watched Lana and Whitney dancing with the homecoming crowns on their heads – Rory had gone straight home. Lana laughed at something Whitney said and then they kissed. Clark sighed and left.
He walked into the parking lot and stopped for a second. All of a sudden his eyes fell on to several trucks parked side by side nearby. He smiled and checked behind him for witnesses. No one there: good.
About 2 minutes later
Lana walked into the parking lot, Whitney's arm secure around her waist. She had noticed that Rory wasn't there, but she figured that she would have an explanation tomorrow. She was interrupted from her musings when she heard someone yell.
"Who did this to my truck?"
Coming back down to Earth, she realized that it was Whitney. She looked up and saw the impossible: three trucks perched on top of one another, with Whitney's right at the top. People all around them were laughing and pointing. Lana however frowned. How was she gonna get home now?
She looked off into the distance and saw Clark watching the scene. She watched as he smirked at some inside joke, then turned and walked away. That's weird. Why is Clark here if Rory isn't?
In the barn loft
Clark looked through his telescope at the sky: when he'd come home, he had found out that Rory was asleep. He refocused on a star, wondering if it belonged to his planet.
"Your grandfather gave me that telescope when I was-was about your age," he was interrupted by the voice of his father. "I came downstairs for breakfast one morning and there it was."
Clark moved away from the telescope and sat down on the couch. Jonathan sighed. "Are you okay?"
Clark looked up at him and said wryly, "Can I answer that in about 5 years?"
Jonathan smiled at him and replied, "Yeah." He turned and walked down the stairs.
"Dad?" Jonathan looked up at Clark. Clark hesitated then said to him, "I'm glad that you and Mom were the ones that found us."
Jonathan smiled at the memory of that day and replied, "We didn't find you, Clark. You found us."
They smiled at each other, and Jonathan left.
Clark turned and put the radio on. It was playing one of Rory's favourite songs, Everything by Lifehouse. He walked over to the telescope.
"I didn't see you at the dance Clark."
Clark jumped in surprise and turned to see who it was, although he already knew. Lana was standing there, still in her homecoming dress and crown. She took his breath away, as always.
"Lana," he said, slightly uncomfortable. "What are you doing here?"
"I saved you that dance," she said softly and walked over to him, putting her hands on his shoulders and starting to sway.
Clark couldn't believe it. This, by textbook definition, was a more then perfect moment. It was simply indescribable – just like Lana.
"Is everything okay Clark?" he was interrupted.
"Yeah," he replied. He smiled at her beautiful face and said, "Everything's perfect."
Suddenly a horn honked and Clark jumped again. Lana was gone, and he realized it had just been a daydream. He walked over to the window and looked out. There was Lana, waving to the cars as they drove away with a smile on her face.
"Thanks for the dance Lana," he said quietly.
Lana turned, almost as if she had heard him. She smiled and ducked her head quickly before walking up the porch steps and into her house.
Clark continued to watch her with a smile on his face as the song drew to an end.
'Cause you're all I want, you're all I need
You're everything, everything.
You're all I want, you're all I need,
You're everything, everything.
And how can I, stand here with you,
And not be moved by you?
Would you tell me, how could it be,
Any better, any better than...
Would you tell me, how could it be,
Any better than this?
A/N Awww... that's one of my favourite songs too! Anyway, this is the longest chapter so far, cause I promised myself I would finish the first episode in this chapter but it turned out to be much longer then I thought. I also discovered that I like Jared much more than I thought I did so I'm going to make him nice. But Whitney will still be bad. Please review!
Xx.maddy-sparx.xX