Hey, guys!
Sorry it took so long for an update. Thanks to my silly arm doing silly things, I've basically been forced to rest it since the beginning of the year. I was having a good day though, so I decided it was time to try to post a new chapter. Hopefully the next update won't have such a big gap between chapters.
I hope you guys enjoy!
Chapter Twenty Six.
Jonathan and Martha were just sitting down to dinner when the phone rang.
Jonathan glanced up at her for a second, then walked over to the phone with a sigh. He wasn't a fan of phone calls that happened during dinner, but there was always a chance that it was something important.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Jonathan?" Lex said. His voice was shaky and his breathing was too quick. Something was wrong. Jonathan could feel it.
"Lex, what's wrong?" Jonathan asked.
Lex sniffled. "It's Clark," he told him, then let out a small and shaky sob. "We… We got into a fight.. And now… He ran off. I can't find him anywhere."
"Calm down, Lex," Jonathan tried to soothe. From what Martha had been telling him, Clark definitely had some sort of separation anxiety, but he wondered if Lex had it too. "Did you check under his bed or in a closet or something?"
"You don't understand," Lex said. "The window was open… He got out."
Jonathan's heart sank into his stomach. That made this a whole lot worse… "And you have no idea where he is?"
"No…" He told him. "I was hoping that maybe he had made it to the farm."
Jonathan shook his head subconsciously. "No, he isn't here," he said, then added. "There's no way he would have made it here anyway. You're too far away."
There was a small silence from the other end, and Jonathan frowned.
"Lex?" He asked. His tone demanded answers in the most gentle way possible. If Lex knew something that could help them find Clark, then he had to get the information.
"Jonathan, he has superspeed."
Jonathan swore. Clark could be anywhere.
They split up into two groups. Lex would check the area around his house and that side of Smallville, while Martha and Jonathan checked their farm and the surrounding areas.
Jonathan rubbed his hands together in an attempt to warm them. It was getting so cold. There was a snowstorm coming in and the temperatures were supposed to drop below zero. The snow had already started to fall.
They had to find Clark soon.
"Clark!" He shouted. He had to find Clark.
Jonathan thought about Clark sitting at his table at Thanksgiving and how he had taken care of the child the whole time Lex was gone. Clark was so small, so young… He couldn't be out there all by himself. He needed someone to take care of him.
"Jonathan!" Martha called, and Jonathan turned back to look at her.
"Did you find something?" He asked, though he had to yell over the wind.
Martha ran up to him. "I just got off the phone with Lex," she said. "Clark isn't in town and nobody has seen him. He's going back to look around the cornfields and woods near his house."
Jonathan nodded. "Martha, what if he isn't even in Kansas anymore?"
The words were out before Jonathan could stop them, but it was something he had been thinking for awhile. If Clark had superspeed, and felt like he had to get away from Lex, then what would stop him from going so far away that they would never be able to find him?
Martha swallowed and stayed quiet for a moment. "We're going to find him," she said. "We're not going to stop until we do."
Jonathan nodded. "Did Lex ever mention if he was resistant to the cold?" He asked.
"I have no idea," she said, then looked at the falling snow. "We should hurry."
Jonthan nodded and then started walking again. "Clark!"
Nightfall came quicker than it should have, so did dawn.
Jonathan yawned as he trudged through the snow, then called out again. "Clark!" He shouted.
He had been out all night, so had Lex. By 3am, Jonathan sent Martha home to get blankets, warm drinks, and the truck. It didn't matter if Clark was weather resistant or not at this point, they would all need some warmth.
Jonathan felt like he was walking in circles though. At this point, he felt like he had been through all of Smallville and the surrounding countryside.
Maybe Clark had left Kansas. Maybe he would never see him again…
It was weird to Jonathan, the way that the small child had taken a hold on his heart. It was the closest thing he had to a son, and yet… He wasn't even his. He never would be. He was Lex's son.
"Clark!" He shouted again. His voice was horse and his throat was raw and sore, but he wasn't going to give up. He was going to find Clark.
Jonathan turned towards his wife. He had an idea. "Martha!" He called.
Martha looked up. "Yes?" She shouted back as she pointed the flashlight at him. It was bright and burned his eyes, even though the sun was starting to come up.
"The foundry!" He shouted. "We haven't checked there yet!"
The foundry had been shut down after it was destroyed in the meteor shower. It wasn't all that far from the farm either. Jonathan wondered if maybe, just maybe…
Jonathan began to run as quickly as he could through the snow. He had to check. He had this almost gut feeling about that place. Something in his mind screamed at him to check.
He was out of breath when he got there, but that didn't stop him for long. He took a look at the worn and decaying building, then stepped inside.
It was covered in snow, thanks to the missing wall and roof pieces. The whole place made Jonathan nervous, like it was going to fall down on him at any moment and that he shouldn't be in there.
"Clark?" He called as he looked around. Luckily, in a building like this, he didn't have to shout.
Jonathan reached down and grabbed one of the meteor rocks off of the ground. They were everywhere. It had been so bad here at the foundry that the owners just shut the place down.
He looked around again, then frowned when he saw the soft glow coming from one of the corners. "Hello?" He called as he walked towards it.
His heart stopped when he reached the corner. The meteor rock glowed green in a way that Jonathan had never seen, and wedged into the corner of the building… Was Clark.
"Clark!" Jonathan cried as he fell to his knees beside the boy.
The child was curled in on himself, but when Jonathan reached out to touch him, he was as cold as ice.
Jonathan swallowed, then reached out and picked up Clark's tiny body. His head fell back and lulled to the side. His lips were blue. He was barely breathing.
He didn't have much time.
Jonathan ran outside. "Martha!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "Martha! I found him!"
He unzipped his coat and wrapped the little boy in it. He was so small, and so cold. "Stay with me, Clark," he said, and he could feel the hot tears start to fall down his cheeks. "Don't you leave us now."
Lex was driving down the road when he got the call.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Lex, we found him," Martha's voice told him from over the phone.
Lex sat up straighter. "Really?" He asked excitedly. They had found Clark. Everything would be okay.
"We're driving him back to the farm right now, but Lex…" She stopped.
He frowned. "Martha? What's going on?"
"It's bad, Lex," she told him. "Just… Come to the farm as fast as you can."
So, they found Clark! But like... Not exactly the way they wanted to. I hope you enjoyed this admittedly short chapter! Please follow, fave, and review! I would love to know what you thought!
Thanks for reading! Love y'all!