Second Choice: 13/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
Clark heard the words as if from a far distance. He braced one hand against the wall, trying to keep his balance. The room seemed to be swaying alarmingly around him and every individual cell in his body was on fire.
"Wayne --" he gasped.
Irig looked up, surprise apparent on his features. "What's the matter?"
"Something wrong --" Clark got the words out through lips that suddenly didn't seem to be able to form them. "Hurts --"
"You think it's this thing?" Irig shut the box at once but Clark was barely aware of it. The last thing he was aware of was the sensation of falling and of blackness rolling up to meet him.
**********
And now, Part 13:
"Clark? Clark, please wake up!" It was Lois's anguished voice calling him that dragged him out of the blackness. Slowly, Clark became aware of his body, and the fact that it hurt, but the urgent need to reassure her made him try to open his eyes.
"He's waking up!" Lois's voice was suddenly breathless. "Clark, can you hear me?"
"Lois --" he whispered.
His head was in her lap, he realized. Her hand stroked his forehead, cool against his burning skin. "It's all right," Lois's voice said. "Don't try to move yet."
In the background, he heard the rumble of a deeper, male voice and Lois's voice said, "Tell them I'll be back in a while. I don't want to have to explain to Lucy and her friend why we can't call the paramedics."
Another, shorter sentence and then silence. Clark struggled to open his eyes. His eyelids seemed to weigh a ton but at last he made the reluctant muscles obey him. The room was dim and above him a blur of colors swam, slowly resolving itself into Lois's face.
"Clark?" her voice said.
He made a tremendous effort. "You're upside down."
She gave an odd-sounding laugh and a warm drop of liquid fell onto his cheek. He raised a shaking hand to wipe it away but Lois performed the service for him. Another drop fell on his face as she was wiping the first one away and he realized she was crying.
"Don't cry," he told her in a slightly stronger voice. "What happened?"
"Don't try to talk," Lois said in a half-whisper. "Mr. Irig has gone to tell Nettie to keep the girls busy. He says he showed you a weird green crystal and you passed out."
The memory was beginning to come back. The green-glowing crystal, the overwhelming nausea and blinding pain. It had diminished now to an ache in his muscles and joints and a comparatively mild sensation of queasiness. He grimaced faintly. If this was anything like the morning sickness that Lois had been experiencing for the last several weeks, he wondered how she ever managed to get out of bed.
"I remember," he said, surprised at how hoarse and weak his voice sounded. "It hurt. I've never felt anything like it before, even before I got my powers."
"What was it?" she asked.
He shook his head slightly, grimacing as his senses swam in response. "I don't know. I've never seen it before. It's not like anything I've ever seen on Earth."
"You mean it might not be from Earth?"
"I don't think it is," he said. Slowly, he got an elbow under him and pushed himself shakily to a semi-reclining position. "Help me sit up."
She hesitated and obeyed but she was still frowning. "You mean it came from outer space? Like a meteor?"
"Maybe. I can't think of anything else it could be," Clark said. "I'm sure we'd have heard of it if something like this stuff had been found before. I've read some books about geology and there wasn't anything in what I read about these green crystals. Wayne's never seen anything like them before either. Besides," he added, "if anyone had found anything like them, they'd probably make jewelry or something out of them."
"That's true," Lois agreed. "And it didn't hurt Mr. Irig, but it hurt you. It seems pretty strange that this stuff that nobody's ever seen before should show up here, so close to where your ship came down, and that it can hurt you. Do you suppose it somehow came *with* you?"
"I don't know," he told her honestly. "I guess it could have."
"How do you feel?" she asked anxiously.
"Not too good," Clark told her. "Shaky -- but a lot better than a while ago. How long was I out?"
"Almost ten minutes," Lois said. "Mr. Irig called me and told me what happened. He was afraid to call the paramedics. Did you know he'd guessed?"
"Yeah, he told me, more or less," Clark said. "He found the ship right after my parents died and fixed the floor in the storm cellar so nobody else would find it."
"You mean he's kept it secret for eight years?" Lois said. "Wow."
"Yeah," Clark said.
The storeroom door scraped open again and Wayne Irig entered, closing it carefully behind him. He surveyed Clark anxiously. "How're you feelin'?"
"Better," Clark said.
Lois rested a hand on his forehead and pulled it back after a few seconds. "You're awfully hot," she said. "You've got a fever. Whatever that stuff is, we're not going to let it get close to you again."
Wayne Irig nodded. "That's sure," he said.
"That box seems to keep it from hurting you, though," Lois said. She glanced at the object, where it sat on the bench.
"It's made out of lead," Clark said. "They use lead to block radiation. It must block whatever it is that this stuff puts out, too."
"If it glows by itself, could it be radioactive?" Lois asked.
"Maybe. It sure had an effect on me," Clark said. "I think we should keep it closed."
"I'm gonna," Irig said, grimly. "I'm gonna throw it in the incinerator and melt it down into a lump of lead and then bury it in the town landfill. Nobody'll ever find it there."
Clark looked up at the older man's determined face. "Thanks."
"I just wish I'd never found it," Wayne said. "It hit you like a ton o' bricks and you still don't look so good."
"It's probably just as well you did," Lois said. "What if Clark had come too close to the place you found it when nobody was around? He could have died if you hadn't been there to help him!"
Irig considered that. "Yeah," he said slowly. "You're probably right. Whatever that stuff is, I'm gonna keep an eye out for any more. If'n I find any, I'll tell you -- and get rid of it. 'Sides, we don't want nobody else to find any."
Clark nodded. He was feeling somewhat better but still far from normal. After a moment, he made an effort to hoist himself to his feet and would have fallen if Lois and Irig hadn't grabbed him.
"Come on," Lois said. "Let's get you in the car. You should be home in bed." She hesitated. "Would it be all right if Lucy stays here for a little while, Mr. Irig? She and Celia are having a good time, and I don't want her to know what happened."
"Sure," Irig said. "Celia comes over here every Saturday, just about. She's havin' more fun with your sis than she usually does."
"Thanks," Lois said. "I'll come back and pick her up when Celia's ready to go home."
Wayne Irig nodded. Together he and Lois helped Clark out to the car.
Clark leaned back in the passenger seat as Lois started the vehicle and pulled out onto the dirt track that led out onto the paved road. She didn't speak and he felt himself drifting slightly. Before he knew it, they were stopping in front of the Kent farmhouse and Lois was setting the brake. He lifted his head.
"That was fast."
Lois cut the engine. "I want you to go back to bed," she told him. "Do you think you can make it into the house if I help you?"
He eyed the short distance doubtfully. "I think so."
"Okay," she said, pushing her door open, "don't you *dare* move until I get around there to help you!"
"Yes ma'am," he said meekly. Lois eyed him suspiciously but he smiled back innocently at her.
In spite of the fact that his knees seemed to have developed a consistency similar to rubber, they made it in the door. Ellen Lane was still settled on the sofa with a rag over her eyes but she removed it as the screen door swung shut with a slam. She winced.
"You know better than to slam the door when I have a headache," she complained.
"Sorry," Lois panted, letting Clark slide into the nearest chair. "I didn't have an extra hand."
"What's wrong with him?" Ellen demanded, turning her head to look at the two of them. She sat slowly up, dropping the rag to the carpet.
"Clark had an accident over at the Irig farm," Lois said.
"He doesn't look hurt," Ellen said doubtfully.
"A branch fell and hit him on the head," Lois improvised. "He's dizzy and his head hurts." She turned to Clark. "Do you want to rest before you try to make it up the steps?"
He shook his head. "If I need to sit down, I can," he told her. "Let's get it over with."
"Don't you think you should take him to the doctor?" Ellen asked sharply. "If he has a head injury, it could be serious."
"He's already seen Clark," Lois answered. "He said Clark should rest for a while and I'm supposed to check on him a lot, just in case." She turned to help him as he hauled himself out of the chair. "Hang on to the banister," she directed, putting her arm around him. "And if you need to, you sit down right away. Understand?"
Clark couldn't help smiling at her determination. She was so adamant that he wasn't going to push himself too hard. Whether she loved him or not, it was very obvious that she cared a good deal about him. He could settle for that, he thought, and it might turn into love eventually. It had happened before.
Her mother saw it too, and scowled. "For heaven's sake, Lois," she said, "leave the man alone. He can manage without you telling him what to do."
Clark felt Lois stiffen and gave her shoulders a slight squeeze. She glanced at him, a scowl on her face but he felt her take a deep breath and then she smiled a little. "Come on Clark. Let's get you where you can lie down," she said.
When they finally made it to the master bedroom, Clark was shaking in every limb and was more than grateful to sink down onto the bed with a slight gasp of relief.
"Lie down," Lois directed. "I'll help you get your clothes off."
"I can manage," he protested.
She kicked the door shut behind her, not even wincing when it slammed sharply. "Maybe, but you don't have to and you can't tell me you don't feel terrible," she retorted. "Besides, I thought you liked to have me undress you."
"Well, yes, but that's a little different," he said.
She began to untie his shoes. "No it isn't. I'm your wife and I've already seen you naked," she pointed out practically. "I'll leave your underwear on, at least this time."
He couldn't help laughing weakly. "All right. But I'll get even; see if I don't."
"I'll take that as a promise." She removed the shoes, dropped them to the floor and proceeded to peel off his socks.
She had gotten him down to his briefs when a faint humming began and rapidly grew louder. Clark pushed himself up on one elbow, trying to ignore the throbbing in his skull as he sought out the footlocker that he had returned to its spot at the foot of their bed after the storm last night. In the dimness of the bedroom, with the curtains pulled to exclude the noon sun, the glow of the sphere leaking through the tiny crack where the lid of the chest met the body was unmistakable. He began to drag himself up from the mattress but Lois moved to where she had dropped his slacks to the floor and removed the key ring. A moment later, she had opened the chest and stood back as the globe floated out, glowing brightly enough to make Clark squint.
Absently, Lois moved to the door to turn the lock, never removing her eyes from the blazing globe. Clark held out his hand, and it floated directly to him. The entire sphere had definitely taken on a deeper reddish hue now.
The instant he touched it, he and Lois were standing in the laboratory again, watching Jor-El and Lara at their work. Jor-El's voice spoke again.
"There is no longer any doubt. The chain reaction has begun. As panic spreads, the population awakens, too late, to its fate. Our future is inevitable."
Again the room began to shake violently. Jor-El and Lara clutched various heavy objects until the tremor again subsided.
Then, as the room steadied, a different noise broke the unnatural silence that followed the quake. A low beeping sound came from the console where he had been working and the sound seemed to have an electric effect on both Jor-El and Lara.
Jor-El stumbled to his feet and did something to the controls before him. The beeping noise went off, but he was staring intently at something before him on the viewscreen. Lara came to join him as another tone chimed from the device and he put his arm around her. Unfamiliar symbols began to scroll rapidly across the screen.
Clark was so intent on the scene that the sound of Jor-El's voice almost made him jump out of his skin.
"At last the computers have located a suitable destination," the deep voice said. "A planet physically and biologically compatible with Krypton, whose inhabitants resemble ours and whose society is based on ethical standards which we, too, embrace in concept, if not always in deed."
As he spoke, the symbols, colors and lights on the screen dissolved and began to take on a familiar shape. A blue, green and brown globe with a very familiar pattern of continents floated in space before them.
"The inhabitants," Jor-El's voice said, "call it simply, Earth."
**********
The scene faded and Clark slowly became aware of his pounding head again. He lay back on the pillows, closing his eyes, and felt Lois take the globe from his hand, then heard the sound of her closing the footlocker.
"I'm going to keep the keys for now," her voice said. "I guess aspirin doesn't work on you, does it?"
"I doubt it," Clark said.
"Besides," Lois said, "for all we know, it might be poisonous to you, at least right now."
Clark hadn't thought of that. "My powers are gone," he whispered.
"I figured that," she said. "Until they come back, you need to be a little careful. Still -- did you hear what Jor-El said?"
"Sure."
"He said Earth is physically and biologically compatible with you -- or you are with us. What do you suppose that means exactly?"
"I don't know," he said. "Probably that I can eat the same things humans do, and breathe the air. I did when I was a child and never had any trouble."
"I guess." He felt the mattress give slightly as she sat down next to him. "I think it means you're enough like us that it doesn't matter." Her hand slid into his. "I'm pretty sure I love you," she said suddenly. "Did you know that?"
He opened his eyes to look up at her. "I hoped you might, at least someday."
"Not someday," Lois said quietly. "Now. I don't think I've ever been so scared as when I saw you lying on the ground there in the barn. I was afraid I was going to lose you." She leaned down and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Go to sleep. Maybe after you've had some rest you'll feel better."
He didn't tell her that hearing her say that she loved him had been a better tonic than all the sleep in the world. She got up and went into the small bathroom. There was the sound of water running and she reappeared with a wet washcloth that she laid carefully across his forehead. "Go to sleep," she repeated.
Obediently, he closed his eyes.
**********
tbc
