"He's a jerk!" Camille yells from the other end. As my best friend, Camille takes sides and asks questions later. "Not professional? You weren't at the Met Gala, for Christ's sake, you were in bum-fuck nowhere. Who's gonna see you?"
"I don't know, Camille. But now I'm fucked, aren't I? I'm too embarrassed to even show my face around him anymore."
"Then fuck him, find a new job." But she doesn't mean it. Because she knows there's no better place to start my career. Because we both know that I got way too lucky to give up now. "Sarah, baby, take a few breaths. When you breathe in, I want you to soak up all the good vibes I'm sending you from Wisconsin, and when you breathe out, I want you to expel all the bullshit." I obey, sucking in the love I feel radiating off of the phone line and breathing out all the memories I've made since I got to Smallville. I'm about to breathe again when I hear a scream.
"Babes, did you hear that?"
"Yeah, is everything ok there?"
"I don't know, I'm gonna check it out."
"Sarah, of all the dumbass things…"
"Right, this is the dumbassiest. I'll bring my mace."
"And you'll call the police?"
"Right. Love you, Camille." I hang up when I hear her say it back and dial the police, quickly telling them my address and name. I reach for my bag, pulling out a canister which, despite my protestations when my mother gave it to me as a pseudo-graduation gift (fearing the one she gave me at 18 had 'gone bad'), I carry around with me whenever I go out.
I slink out of my apartment building, wrapping my cardigan tighter around my midsection. I say apartment building, what I mean is an office space above the paper supply store which was converted to garner more revenue. The street is so quiet. No loud mouthed kids screaming about how drunk they got at the kegger last weekend. No raucous honking as two drivers try to assert blame on one another for something that was clearly both of their faults. Everything feels dead.
Until I hear the scream again, coming from an alley to my right.
I hide behind the corner of the store and poke my head into the alley to assess the situation. I see a flash of red and someone in dark leather crashes into a wall. At the end of the alley is an overgrowth of ivy. Ivy? In the middle of an alley? I blink to make sure I saw correctly. But it's still there, even when I shake my head, as if I can shake my head so violently, I can fling off the crazy. When I squint to better get a look, I see a woman entangled in the vines. She seems to be thrashing, but everytime she kicks out her leg or pushes forward with her wrists, the ivy snakes around her and tightens, holding her in place. The flash of red solidifies into a boy for a moment. He speaks to the crumpled piece of leather cowering in front of him.
The man in leather moves to stand, but the boy in red stops him. Until there's a shining green light, and the boy in red drops to the ground. That's when I hear police sirens. The man in leather looks towards me and I freeze. I can't see his eyes or make out his face, but I see the way his shoulders tense.
He sees me.
But the street is lighting up blue and red. There's nowhere he can run. I look behind me to see two police vehicles pulling into view. I wade into the street, waving the cops over to me. But when I turn back, there's a wall of ivy covering my sight. "No!" I smash my fingers into the vines, trying to pull them apart, but the cords lock around my fingers, keeping me from entering. I thrash until I feel the vines cutting through my skin. And then, all at once, they drop, receding into the earth and leaving nothing but a bare alley. The man in leather, the boy in red, and the girl are all gone. And I have to explain this all to the police.
"Miss?" A sheriff is standing next to me, a sheriff that I called. And she's calling me miss, which I always hated since it's only one letter away from missy, and missy always meant something bad. "Miss, are you Sarah Vanderhaul?" I nod my head yes. "Where's the disturbance?"
Lie, something in me says. But I can't, not when a girl's life is at stake, no matter how crazy I sound.
"It was here, there were two men and a woman who was… tied up." Close enough to the truth, right?
"Can you describe these men?"
"Both were over six feet. One wore a red jacket, the other wore leather. They appeared to be fighting."
"Fighting. You mean like arguing?"
"No, I mean," I punch my fist into my hand for emphasis, "fighting." She nods and eyes me suspiciously.
"Did you see where they went?" I shake my head no. "Can you identify any of these people with any definitive traits other than their height?" I shake my head no again.
"It's dark out." She scoffs.
"Yeah, I noticed. But still, this isn't much to go on." She sighs and scribbles something onto her notepad. She rips out the paper and hands it to me. "If you think of anything else, this is my work extension. Don't be afraid to call." I nod and smile. She gives me a weary smile as well. She then whips her and into the air in a "wrap-it-up" gesture. I hear groaning as sleepy cops bramble back into their cars and head back to a silent precinct.
The next day involves paperwork. Lots of paperwork. Lex dropped it on my desk and smiled, his new form of greeting. He starts to turn but sees my hands. "What happened?"
"Went to pick a flower, ended up cutting my hand on some brambles." He nods slowly, not completely buying my story. "Don't worry, if there's a photo shoot, I'll wear gloves." He bristles. I didn't mean for it to sound as snide as it came out.
"Ms. Vanderhaul, if I…"
"Lex!" A boy in flannel busts into the room, barrelling towards Lex. If he weren't so frazzled, I would be struck by how much he looks like a male Snow White. "Someone's taken Lana."
Lex goes deathly pale. "What?"
"Lex, I think it has something to do with the man who was studying the fertilizing properties of the meteor rock." Lex's body goes rigid and his eyes become as hard as stone. "Lex, if you know anything, you have to tell me."
"Why do you think this has anything to do with Dr. Hendrickson?" The boy seems to heave.
"His name is Dr. Hendrickson? Lex, Lana was complaining about a man at the Talon who wouldn't stop asking her about you. She said he called himself Dr. H." I quickly type the name Hendrickson into a database of LutherCorp's employee list, fishing around for an address until I find one. Lex's lip begins to tremble slightly and I launch up from my desk.
"Mr. Luthor? Are you alright?" The boy seems startled as he turns to face me. He studies me and looks back to Lex, who clears his throat.
"Clark Kent, meet Sarcxxah Vanderhaul, my new assistant." Clark nods at me and manages a weak smile, though he's clearly not in the mindset to dole out pleasantries.
"Mr. Luthor, allow me to help you. A girl's life is at stake!" I grab the coat from the back of my chair and scramble to his side. "I have an address." I look at him expectantly.
"What's the address?" Clark steps forward, as if trying to assert some kind of dominance with his 6 foot however many inches. I look to Lex for instruction and when he nods, I repeat the address for Clark.
"I can drive." Lex offers, already reaching in his desk for his keys to that pathetically simplistic car of his.
"No, I'm fine. I'll meet you guys there." Clark moves to leave and is stopped by Lex Luthor's hand.
"Clark, be careful, it could be dangerous." Clark nods with a hint of a smile gracing his lips. Once he's gone from the room I turn back to Lex.
"So, are we going?" He looks down at me in surprise.
"No, you stay here. I'll go."
"What?!" He steps back, only for me to close the distance with a step forward. "I'm going, and that's final. But first, I'll call the police."
"The police?" Now it's Lex's turn to take a step forward. His green eyes flash with something intense and almost monstrous. "Ms. Vanderhaul, this matter could become extremely delicate. I don't think involving the police will be the greatest idea."
"Mr. Luthor, I hate to sound like a broken record, but Lana could be in serious danger."
"Do you think I don't know that?" He barks as his body becomes absolutely feral. I begin to retreat until he takes me by the shoulders, eyes softening in the wake of my fear. "Listen, Sarah, the people I've got on my payroll can do more than the police could ever do. The police will only get in the way. Promise me you'll let me handle it." His head dips so he can look me in the eye.
I nod, knowing that further argument will only waste precious moments which could be used to save Lana.
I wait a half an hour until I get a call from Lex. "Lana's alright," I feel a breath that seems to stem from my shoulders finally release, my hands shaking with pure relief, "but we couldn't find the scientist. I want you to cancel any meetings for the rest of the day, I'm gonna see if I can track down Dr. Hendrickson." I'm about to respond "Yes, Mr. Luther when a hand wraps around my mouth and nose. I know I shouldn't inhale, but my body does it naturally so I can better scream. As soon as the sound reaches my lips, the hand tightens, muffling my cries for help. Everything begins to slowly darken, my body sagging under its own weight. Then everything goes black.