Reposted. Guess that means everyone will have to comment again.
Some of those were really sweet. Thanks again to all reading this one. It means a lot.
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Clark was about to lift his book into his lap again, when his cell door opened. Several guards entered and stood at attention. Another man, one clearly of importance in the outside world, entered and looked around in disgust. His eyes lighted on Clark. Both could only stare at the other. What the hell was going on now? This was the first time Clark had seen another person face to face since he’d been here. He was actually shocked… and afraid.
The man turned and said a few words to one of the guards before he approached Clark. He stopped a few steps beside him, then kneeled to get a better look.
“What is your name?” the man demanded.
“Do…“ Clark’s dry mouth had trouble forming the words. It had been sometime since he’d last talked to himself; he’d given up in favor of just writing. With difficulty, he swallowed and tried again. “Does it matter?” Clark answered, barely above a whisper. It had been so long since he’d been known as anyone, what did this man want to know his name for? And there was something about this man he didn’t like. He wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“It matters considerably to you,” the man told him. “I was told that a once famous reporter from the Daily Planet was here in Purgatory. You’re not native, so I take it you might be the one.”
“What if I am?”
“Then my trip has not been wasted.” The man’s eyes strayed to the books lying beside Clark.
Clark followed his gaze to the pile of notebooks. “Don’t even think about it,” he told the man fiercely. They had taken everything from him. He’d be damned if they’d take his thoughts as well.
The man’s brows rose at the boldness he heard coming from the young man before him. “If you’d confirm my suspicions, it will not be necessary for me to look at those.”
Clark stared down his opponent for several moments before he spoke. “My name was Clark at one time.”
The man nodded his head once in apparent approval. He’d heard what he came to hear. He stood and faced the guards. “Get him cleaned up and put some clothes on him. I want him on the boat this afternoon.”
Clark pushed up off the floor in obvious shock. “What?”
The man turned back to look at his captive. “No one has ever left Purgatory alive, but you have earned a reprieve.” He gave Clark a smile and turned to go.
“Come on,” the guard ordered Clark. He grabbed roughly at one of his arms.
“My books,” Clark protested.
“Put the books in a bag,” the guard told his comrade. Clark was hustled out of his cell and down the corridor. After nine long years, he was leaving his tomb. But what lay ahead for him? Was he to go from one death to another? He was sure he’d find out soon enough.
~^~^~^~^~^~^~
Clark sighed deeply and leaned back to rest a bit against a crate. Actually standing outside and breathing fresh, clean air was overwhelming. This was his first chance to enjoy his freedom since leaving his cell. Although cloudy, Clark was basking in the sight of the sky above him. The feel of the wind on his face, the sounds drifting around him, and even the sight of other people threatened to send his system into sensory overload.
He stood on a pier, beside one of the guards from the prison, waiting on some ship that man had said he should be on. They’d graciously stripped him of his rags earlier and gave him an icy shower, straight out of a hose. He didn’t feel much cleaner, even in the newer clothes, but he had been grateful to feel the water on his body. It was the first time he’d felt that much water in nine long years. And why him? Why was he waiting to board a ship? Where was he bound now? Maybe he’d find all the answers he sought before long.
What seemed like days later, a small cargo ship could be seen coming into the docking area. Clark watched as the ship came in to dock. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a black car pull up. The man who had ordered him from his cell earlier emerged and waved a hand to Clark’s guard.
“Come on,” the guard ordered. Clark followed slowly down the old wooden platform, until they were standing directly in front of the other man.
The man looked Clark over a moment before he spoke. “I should introduce myself. I am Warren.”
Clark gave a slight nod and readjusted the bag he held over his shoulder that contained his only possessions in the world.
The man noticed his struggle. “Take that bag for him,” he ordered another man beside him. “Can’t you see this man is weak? We were given specific orders to take care of him.”
The man shuffled to do as he was told and took the bag from a reluctant Clark.
“It’s okay. He’ll simply take it to your quarters on board. They won’t be harmed,” Warren assured Clark.
Clark eyed the bag warily as the man who took it swung it over his own shoulder. By now, a man from aboard the ship had approached the group.
“I am First Mate of the ‘Countess’.”
Warren extended his hand. “Warren,” he stated simply. “I was told you are the best.”
“I am. You will be carried to your destination post haste.”
“Very good.” Warren turned to Clark. “Come aboard and we’ll get you a hot bath and some clothes.”
Clark nodded and made his way up the plank and onto the ship. Within minutes they had put out to sea again and were heading south west.
The first mate approached Clark where he stood watching the land where he’d been a prisoner for so long disappear.
“Sir?” Clark faced the man. “I am Edward. I will make sure you are taken care of until we reach the ‘Countess’.”
“Countess? I thought this was…”
“No, no. This is just an old cargo ship. The ‘Countess’ is the yacht that will take you back to the states.”
“I’m going to the states?”
“Yes. Warren has instructions to take you back there. I was hired to make sure you get there and are taken care of along the way. Now come. Your bath is being drawn.”
Clark almost pushed Edward along. It had been so long since he’d bathed. He was definitely not passing this up.
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The ‘Countess’ turned out to be a massive and very elegant vessel. Clark couldn’t ever remember being somewhere so luxurious. He’d been cleaned and provided with new clothes and shoes. He also couldn’t remember when food and water had ever tasted so good. He’d been given some of the most wonderful food to eat. He’d eaten so much that he’d spent two days with a stomachache.
He’d recovered fairly quickly and was now enjoying the warm sun on the deck as the yacht raced across the ocean. Clark refused to go below deck until he soaked up the wonderful rays shining down on him. Being locked away so long had given him an appreciation for such mundane things. The first few days he’d been out of that horrible cell, the sun had been hidden by a thick blanket of clouds. It had rained endlessly that first night on the cargo ship. Though he’d enjoyed the rain, when the sun peaked through the clouds this morning, Clark nearly cried.
He titled his head back and let his mind take him to places he hadn’t been in such a long time.
It was well over a week into his trip when Clark revisited his bag full of notebooks. Years of thoughts were on those pages. And all the misery he’d endured. He thought briefly of throwing them overboard, but that just seemed too painful to do. So he took his precious books back to his room and read for a while before he decided to write.
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‘A man named Warren came and release me from that hellish dungeon. As I write this I am aboard a yacht bound for the states. I have yet to understand this all, but I refuse to look at this as a bad thing. For the first time in years I am clean, warm, and full of good food. Whoever gave the orders for this, I thank him.’
Clark paused in his writing to think about his parents and Lois for the first time in days. How had he actually let them drift from his mind?
‘Mom, Dad… Thoughts of you have gotten me through the hell I was thrown into. I can’t even imagine what my life would have been like if you hadn’t found me. I owe the man I once was to you both. Please know I will always love you. But now you have to understand… Time has changed me. Being locked away in that dark, cold cell has robbed me of all feeling except that of revenge for whoever it was that put me there. Because of the lack of spirit or even the will to live as Clark Kent, your son, again, I have to build another life. I will make inquiries to check on you. And I will never cease to make sure you both are well. Forgive me this. I love you both.
‘Lois, my dearest Lois… I can’t imagine how breathtakingly beautiful you must be now. I would bet time has only matured you into a stunning woman.
‘What are you doing with your life now? Are you married? Did you finally trust another with your fragile heart? I only hope he’s worthy.
‘Do you still work for the Planet? How about Perry and Jimmy? Are they still the only friends you have? I hope not.
‘Oh, Lois. I wish you all the best. I will love you forever, but I must finally say good-bye. I am no longer the man you once knew. I would sooner die than to hurt you. Seeing me as I am now would surely do that. Please know you were in my thoughts every day and will be until the last day. I love you, Lois. I will always love you. I will always look out for you as well.
‘Today I say good-bye to Clark Kent… forever.’
Clark shut his notebook and tucked it back into his bag. He stretched out on the small bed and closed his eyes. Maybe tomorrow would bring more answers along with a new life.
tbc...
