Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic East of the Garden (5,6/20)

Chapter Five

"It's been a little over eight miles. The sign ought to be around here somewhere," said Walter a little anxiously.

"It's just ahead, around the bend."

"Thought you'd never been up here."

"Oops," said Clark. "Sorry, bad habit. I can see it through the trees -- I mean *through* the trees." He grinned apologetically.

Walter grinned back at him. "Yep, I can see how you could get in trouble trying to explain that one away."

"But, you know, Walter, it's nice to just -- sometimes -- be able to let down, be myself. Any more, I can do it only around Lois, and my folks. And Perry. But even then, there's usually someone else around, and I have to watch myself." Clark took a deep breath. "This really *is* going to be a relaxing get-away."

They rounded the bend and came to the sign. Turning down the winding drive, they continued for five more minutes, and then emerged into a spacious meadow; the cabin was just ahead.

"Not a bad place," said Walter. "It's a lot larger than I thought it would be."

"It's got two bedrooms, one of them with two double beds. That's more than enough room for Lois and me, and the kids. It'll also give you and Karen some comfort, and privacy. I guess Perry's feeling bad that he didn't use it more when his family was younger. I can see them having a great time up here."

"He's divorced, then?" asked Walter as they got out and began unloading their gear from the middle and back of the vehicle.

"Alice finally made him choose between The Daily Planet, and her. He's still hoping that one day they can resolve their differences. But it's been quite a few years; he's not holding out much hope anymore."

"After waiting so long for Karen to finish school and come back to Metropolis so we could be married, I can't see how two people who love each other could ever stand to be apart -- especially for the rest of their lives." Walter set his burdens down on the long railed porch.

"I guess it's a matter of juggling priorities. Lois and I are constantly having to adjust and compensate, so that our duties outside the family don't damage the family itself. To us, our careers -- including my Superman duties -- are more than just careers; we hope we're making a difference in the world. But at the same time, what good will that difference do us if we let our family fall apart?"

He placed the last of the boxes on the porch, and unlocked the front door. "Now, you'll need to stand back for a bit. I brought up some cleaning supplies; I'm going to go over the place and clean it up some. Why don't you go down to the shed and try to get the generator started."

Walter blinked as Clark became a blur. As he headed for the shed with the key and can of gasoline Clark had handed him, he could hear the sound of a whistling wind emanating from the house.

* * *

As the light bulb inside the shed fluttered to life, Walter emerged to find a colored blur flashing toward him, which shortly resolved itself into Clark. "Man, that was *really* fast. Now if only the surfaces you just washed down could dry that fast, we could...uh, what's wrong, buddy?" he finished, becoming aware of Clark's expression.

"Um, I don't know, exactly. Sometimes I get these 'feelings' about Lois. Like she's in some kind of trouble. Just a minute ago, it felt like she was having some kind of terrific trauma. But now it's stopped, and everything feels normal."

"Are these feelings...um...are they usually pretty reliable?" Walter asked as they headed back to the cabin.

"Not always; but I've learned not to ignore them."

"Why not just give her a call? Make sure everything's okay?"

"Perry says this place is too isolated for cell phone reception. Still, I guess it couldn't hurt to try."

* * *

Chapter Six

Karen gradually became aware of pain. It seemed to come from two sources. The right side of her head was throbbing with each beat of her heart. The other pain was centered in her left wrist, and it too throbbed, but with a much more irregular beat. She slowly opened her eyes, to find herself staring down at the wrist. Lois had her arm in a tight grip with her right hand, and was intermittently digging her fingernails into Karen's forearm.

She could hear Gracie repeatedly begging for Lois to hold her. Emma was making no sound.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie; I told you that Mommy can't hold you right now. Mommy's *hurt*!" Karen recognized the ragged sound of near-panic in Lois's voice. She reached over with her right hand and gave Lois's hand a gentle squeeze. Lois responded with a deep sigh. "I was beginning to think you'd never wake up."

Karen glanced around. The interior of the Cherokee was dark except for the illumination provided by the map light. The windscreen was a mass of cracked and crazed glass through which could be seen a wall of rock, gravel and dirt. She looked out her passenger-side window to find the same scene, although this window was bowed in slightly toward her. She turned toward Lois, and her breath caught in disbelief. Lois was covered to mid-chest with rubble, which sloped up to her partially-open window. A nearly-deflated airbag was resting atop the pile, still attached to the steering column, which was buried in rubble so that only about half of the steering wheel was visible. Some of the rubble had spilled across the car, and had buried Karen's legs to above her ankles.

"What happened? I remember us heading down the embankment, bouncing over some ground that looked like a rockslide. Then we rolled into the space between two huge boulders, and that's the last I remember."

"That's more than I saw. I had this airbag against my face all the way down. I think it broke my left arm when it deployed. I heard us hit something; then I guess I passed out from the pain. When I came to, we were covered with this stuff. Emma said that the mountain slid down on top of us. Maybe she's right; in any case, we're buried under a landslide."

Karen's triage training kicked in. "How is everyone? How are you faring? You don't sound too good, Lois."

"I'm not. Besides a broken arm, I have no feeling from about the waist down. And I think I must be hemorrhaging inside somewhere. I've been getting weaker and weaker for the past while." From her pallid skin, which was covered with a sheen of perspiration, Karen suspected that this was indeed the case. Lois was obviously going into severe shock.

There was another squeeze on Karen's wrist, as Lois continued speaking. "Karen, the air's giving out. I don't know how much longer we have. I don't know how much longer *I* have." Her nails bit into Karen's arm, and she turned to stare intently into her eyes. "Karen, it's up to you. You have to find a way to save the children."

"But how? I can't..."

"Yes, you *can*. It's up to you," she repeated. She took a deep, labored breath. "Save my babies." The intensity in her eyes began to fade, and the ferocity of her grip on Karen's forearm lessened. "And tell Clark that ... that I lo..." Her eyes glazed over, and she slumped forward against her shoulder restraint, unconscious.

Only Karen's ER training kept her from succumbing to panic at that moment. She slowly took several deep breaths, noticing in passing that there was a strange odor in the air, probably the result of the airbag's deployment. She began attempting to remove her feet from the rubble under which they were buried, but found that they were securely pinned. She reached up and felt the lump on the right side of her temple. It felt bruised and tender; but although she was in pain, she didn't think that she was concussed.

She undid her lap belt and shoulder restraint, and found that she was able to turn around somewhat. She looked toward the rear seat, to find Emma staring quietly back at her. "Did my mama die?"

"No, honey, of course not!" Karen reassured her. "She's just unconscious, from the pain." To reassure herself, she took Lois's hand in hers, and quickly felt for a pulse. It was weak and thready, and a bit fast, but it was there.

"Uncons..."

"It means that she fainted. She passed out."

"You mean like getting knocked out? Like they do to crooks on TV?"

Karen smiled at her in spite of the situation. Things, in her mind, were beginning to return to some level of normalcy. "Yeah, that's about what it means." She gave Emma a wink.

"Is she gonna be all right?"

Karen's smile faded. "I honestly don't know. First we need to get out of this mess, and get her to a doctor. Then we'll see." She looked intently at Emma. "First, though, there are some things we need to do. And I'm going to need some *super* help. Do you know where I can find a guardian angel?" She winked again.

Emma began to smile back. But then she looked around, at the wrinkled roof, the crazed glass of the windows, the dark interior of the back of the Jeep, and she began to feel the weight of what was being asked. She began to panic. "I don't know *how*! I can't..."

Karen recalled Lois's words to her. "Yes, you *can*." She swallowed; everything was riding on this. She took a deep breath. "Honey, I'm not asking *Emma*. I'm asking Lara. I'm asking..." What was that silly name Walter had called her? "I'm asking *Superlady*."

At the sound of the name, Emma blinked and her eyes grew round. Then, after a moment, she nodded, and Karen silently released a breath.

"First of all, are either of you two hurt?"

Emma looked at Gracie, who was still plaintively calling for her mommy, and then back at Karen. "No; Mama made me check us both when she woke up after we crashed. We're okay."

"Good. All right, first order of business is that we have to find a way to get some fresh air in here. Can you tell me how much stuff is on top of us?"

Emma glanced at Gracie. "Gracie doesn't know."

Karen's brow furrowed at this apparent non sequitur. Then it clicked. "About you, you mean?"

"Yeah. And about Daddy."

Gracie's plaintive cries had ceased; and Karen imagined that she was staring at Emma. "Well, she's gonna have to find out now, if we want to get out if this. All right?"

Emma looked doubtful for a moment. Then she glanced around again at their predicament. "Okay."

Karen decided that some good old-fashioned diversion therapy was needed. "Gracie, can you hear me?"

There was a hiccupy sniffle from behind her. "Yeah."

"Okay, I want you to watch your big sister. She's gonna show you some stuff that'll knock your socks off!" She winked again at Emma, who slowly grinned back at her.

Emma unbuckled her seatbelt, and levitated herself into the air. Karen heard a gasp from Gracie. "How'd you *do* that?!"

Emma actually giggled. "Tell you in a minute." She turned to Karen, while still hovering over her seat. "Now what?"

Karen glanced again at the windscreen. "Do you still have x-ray vision?"

Emma sat back down in her seat. "Yeah, I've been lookin' around while we've been stuck here."

"How much rock and rubble is sitting on top of us?"

"Um...I dunno how to tell you."

"Can you show me with your hands? How deep is it? Is it a lot..." she held her hands several feet apart, "...or a little bit?" She demonstrated by holding a finger and thumb an inch apart.

"It's not all the same. Right above us, there's about this much." Emma held her hands about ten inches apart.

Karen exhaled; maybe there was some hope. "Is there any place where the roof is torn open, where we might make a hole through the stuff?"

"There's that." Emma pointed, apparently to a spot a few inches directly behind Karen's head. Karen, by sliding over next to the door, managed to look over her shoulder. A piece of the Jeep's roof had been pierced, and torn downward. There was a flap about four inches wide, hinged at the front, bent downward to allow an opening about three inches high at the back of the rip.

"Can you reach behind the rear seat, and get that big soup pot that was on the top of the camping stuff? Maybe we can scoop some of the rock and dirt out through the hole into that."

Emma again levitated off her seat, to the accompaniment of another gasp from Gracie, and looked over the back seat. "It's here, but it's full of stuff." She started emptying out the contents.

"Wait; we might need some of those things. Don't let them fall down behind the seat where you can't get at them. What's in it?"

Emma named several items, including Karen's old long-sleeved jacket from college.

A thought crossed Karen's mind. "Are you invulnerable?"

"You mean like Superman? No, Daddy says I don't have that power yet. He hopes I'll get it real soon."

"Okay, then you'll need to put the jacket on. It's leather, and it'll protect your skin from getting cut on that metal. Gracie, I need you to help her with this job. Can you do that?"

There was silence from behind her. Then Gracie said, "Okay."

"Good. Gracie, you need to hold that pot under the hole while Emma tries to scoop out the rocks and dirt. If you hold the pot against my seat, maybe I can help hold onto it." She turned to face forward, sitting squarely in the seat, and reached both hands back over her shoulders. She felt the lip of the pot thrust into her hands, and grabbed hold of it.

"There's something in the pockets of the jacket," Emma said.

"Oh, right. Those are my leather driving gloves. You'd better put one on your scooping hand, so you don't scrape it on the rocks." She asked Emma to help Gracie unbuckle her seat belt, then had Gracie lean forward to hold up the pot, while Emma hovered over them. "Everybody ready? Let's see what we can do."

Emma began pulling rubble out of the hole, and dropping it in the pot. Karen could hear a continual drizzle of sand and dirt falling in of its own accord.

"Wait!" cried Gracie. "It's getting too heavy!"

Karen had to agree; her fingers were cramping with the effort of holding the weight of the pot. "Emma, can you take it back to the back, and dump it? Try not to pour it over our stuff; we don't know what we'll need from back there."

They began a routine of filling and re-filling the pot, while Emma scraped away at the rubble. They were fortunate that all of the material above them was small enough to drag, or pry, down through the hole -- but then Emma stopped. "It won't work."

Karen's heart sank. "What's wrong?"

"There's this big rock that's sitting right on top of the hole. I tried, but it's so big I can't lift it, or push it away!"

"I gather you don't have super-strength?"

Emma grew petulant. "Don't you think I'd'a got us out if I did? I'm not *really* Superlady." She dropped to her seat, and sat with her lips compressed tightly together.

Karen sat silently for a moment, in thought. Then she said, "Maybe you are, but you just don't know it yet. Gracie, there's not much dirt in this load. Why don't you dump it behind the back seat, while I talk to your sister." Gracie silently complied, as Karen turned to face Emma as best she could.

"Honey, do you remember that day at the picnic, when we were..."

"What picnic?" piped up Gracie.

"Tell you in a minute!" Emma and Karen repeated in unison -- and broke into laughter.

"Anyway," Karen went on, "Your mom was telling me what it was like to fly with Superman..."

"Mommy really *flew* with Superman?" asked Gracie in awe.

Karen said, "One...two...three..." and Emma joined in, "Tell you in a minute!" All three had a good laugh.

Karen went on, "Anyway, I asked her if he always had to carry her in his arms. She said that it wasn't like that; that gravity just seemed to shut down when she flew with him. He could just hold her by the hand, and they could still fly together. She said that it was like she was part of his body, and that wherever he went, she just went along.

"Emma, do you think that you could do that? Say, with Gracie?"

"But when I saved Walter from drowning when his boat tipped over, I couldn't lift him out of the water..."

"When did you do *that*?!"

Karen and Emma began, "One...two...thr--"

"Forget it!" grumped Gracie, and Emma giggled.

"Emma, I don't think it's the same. You were trying to *lift* Walter, like he was just a heavy weight. What if you had thought of him as being like a part of yourself, and simply flew him along with you?"

Emma thought this over. Then she pulled off the glove, turning to Gracie, and said, "Gimme your hand."

"No way!" said Gracie, in a wary voice.

"It'll be fun! If it works," she added.

Karen saw Emma lean forward, apparently to take Gracie's hand in hers. She saw Emma float up off the seat. There was a pause.

"Cool!" said Gracie. "This is *so* rad!"

She gave them a few seconds to experiment. The air was *really* getting bad; probably much of their exuberance and silliness was due to hypoxia. She had to get this resolved. "Okay, girls, that's enough--" there was objection from Gracie, "--for *now*. Right now, we've got to get this hole opened up if we want to keep breathing. Emma, I want you to *stand* up -- don't fly -- and reach up through the hole, and put your bare hand against that big rock." She waited until Emma had complied. "Now, I want you to *fly* up a little -- you and the rock. Think of it as part of you."

She heard a muffled grating noise from the roof. "It's *working*," Emma said, in awe.

"Now, *fly* it over to the side a few inches. Then jerk your hand out from under it really fast." There was a pause, as Emma moved the rock, watching it intently through the roof of the car. There was a hard *thud*.

Emma carefully withdrew her hand, and sat down in the seat. "I did it. I did it," she said again in wonder.

"Way to *go*, Superlady!" said Karen; and Emma grinned from ear to ear. Karen reached back and placed her hand under the hole. She could feel the cooler night air beginning to flow down as convection carried the warmer interior air out. Well, one problem solved.

"Has it been a minute?" asked Gracie grumpily.

"Yeah, I guess you've earned an explanation," Karen called back to her. "How about it, Superlady?"

Emma grinned. Then she sobered. "How's Mama? She's still alive, isn't she?"

"Of course she is," Karen said. But she reached to take Lois's wrist. The pulse was there -- but it was growing weaker.

* * *