Previously in series:
An Icy ReceptionWelcome to the TundraWalking in a Winter WonderlandInto the WoodsThe Cold TruthCONTENT WARNING:This fic gets a little graphic and is not for the squeamish, the very young, or those engaged in eating. Nature...isn't always pretty. This story contains blood, organs, violence, bodily functions, bodily fluids, animal butchery, and at least one death from a gunshot. Proceed at own risk.
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The Mammoth in the Room----------
The body of a mammoth lay in a heap on the tundra with four LexLabs scientists crawling over it. Even on its side, it was taller than Clark. He watched as Jimmy circled the massive beast, the snow-flecked thermal blanket slipping slightly from around the younger man's shoulders as his camera clicked away. Luthor stared at the dead creature, probably contemplating the implications raised by their encounter with this universe's version of Superman. Lois stood watching Clark, probably doing the same.
He and Lois hadn't really spoken since the mix-up with his stone-age counterpart and her subsequent discovery of Clark's own secret. She had ranted, she had cried, and she had ultimately promised not to tell anyone; but they hadn't truly talked. Then again, what was there really to say? She knew, now. There was no changing that. Any chance of discovering whether she could love him for his true self, powers not-withstanding, was well and truly gone.
Atop the mammoth's shoulder, the scientists Edmund Carroll and Peter Lewis seemed to be having an argument over how to properly skin the animal. Pete waved one gloved hand around while the other slipped into the pocket of his parka. “No, it is *not* just like biology class, Ed! In biology, we had scalpels and much smaller specimens!”
Ed folded his arms, the crinkling of his nose barely visible beneath his hood. “The basic principals should still be the same. A specimen's a specimen: we skin and dissect it!”
A deep shiver ran through Clark as the words dredged up his father's old warnings about what would happen if anyone discovered that he was an alien. Here he was, trapped for up to six months with Lex Luthor and the scientists working for him, and now Lois knew his secret... He shook his head to dispel the irrational fears trying to accumulate. His eyes darted to Lois. She watched him, frowning.
“Are you alright, CK?”
Clark blinked as Jimmy's blanket suddenly settled over his shoulders. “I'm fine, Jimmy. Really.” He removed the blanket and tried to hand it back, but the young photographer held up a hand and shook his head.
“I saw that shiver. You've already been going for days without your suit jacket, and now Lois has your blanket too!” Jimmy jerked his head towards Lois, who indeed stood tightly wrapped in both now that her own blanket was missing—probably left behind with his counterpart's people on the other side of the Atlantic. Clark had been doing his best to make up for Luthor's failure to warn the reporters what kind of environment they were stepping into; now it was only a matter of time before his own invulnerability began to raise questions. The younger man smiled at him. “It won't do us any good if you die of exposure.”
**********
The mood in the camp was considerably better than it had been all week. For the first time since the portal back to Metropolis had been destroyed, everyone had enough to eat. The meat was quite tasty, too; perhaps not a new favorite for Clark, but certainly one of the more agreeable kinds he'd tried.
Next to him on the blanket, Jimmy leaned back, propping himself up with one arm and patting his stomach. “Wow. I can't believe I just ate a woolly mammoth!”
“You didn't.” Dr. Diggory pulled another bite of meat off the skewer; apparently, Luthor had decided that the emergency supplies didn't need to include dishes or cutlery. “That's a steppe mammoth.”
The younger man shrugged. “What's the difference?”
Ed motioned to the pelt of coarse fur now splayed out like a huge rug over the snow. “Well, for one thing, the wool.”
Dr. Plummer shifted closer to Dr. Diggory, who absently slipped his arm around her. “Also, the size. Steppe mammoths are bigger than the woollies will be.”
“Well, then I can't believe I just ate a steppe mammoth.” Jimmy stifled a belch.
“At least we don't have to worry about putting the leftovers in the freezer.” Pete scooped up a bit of snow by his knee. “Nature should take care of that for us.”
Over on the blanket that used to be Clark's, Lois remained quiet. Her arms were wrapped around her middle, and her heart-rate sounded slightly faster than usual. She shut her eyes.
Clark frowned. “Lois? Are you all right?”
“Fine, fine!” She waved a hand dismissively. “Just a stomach-ache, that's all.”
Lex sat up, bristling. “That mammoth isn't tainted, is it? If we die because of some caveman's inability to ensure food safety...” He turned to face Lois and immediately trailed off.
Her eyes had opened again, fixing Luthor with a glare that made Clark wonder if she would spontaneously develop heat-vision. The white mist blasting from her nostrils made her look like a bull about to charge. She spoke through gritted teeth. “At least the *caveman* ensured that we had *food*, Lex!”
Luthor's eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly smoothed over his expression and held up a placating hand. “Forgive me, my dear. I don't mean to belittle your new friend; I'm sure in his mind, a beast of this size was well worth the trade for that can of peaches. It certainly isn't his fault that a prehistoric man would have no concept of food quality.”
Her glare lingered. Finally, she scrambled up from the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “I'm going to bed. I'll see you all in the morning.” Her eyes flashed towards Clark again, and for a moment, the anger left her face, replaced by something he couldn't identify. She almost seemed as though she were about to say something, but then she turned and marched off to the tent she shared with Dr. Plummer. Despite his invulnerability, Clark felt a little bit colder.
**********
The blast of a gunshot snapped Clark out of a sound sleep. He rose onto his knees just as Ed clicked on the flashlight, accidentally shining it right in Jimmy's face. A deep growl reverberated through the tent, followed by the pumping of the shotgun and another thunderous crack.
Clark scrambled out of the tent at a speed he hoped was still humanly plausible. The light of the flashlight shone behind him, while a similar beam swept out from the direction of the women's tent. Two more accompanied the hasty footsteps of Luthor and Dr. Diggory. Four glowing eyes shone back from the direction of the mammoth carcass, and the lights converged on a pair of hefty, lion-like creatures with enormous fangs. Even with the extra light provided, the next gunshot missed.
Jimmy waved his arms over his head. “Get out! Shoo!”
One cat ignored the ruckus, investigating the organ meats that the bipeds had so helpfully piled up on the snow. The other glanced briefly at Jimmy before locking its attention onto Pete and bunching into a crouch. Clark lowered his glasses and aimed a blast of intense heat at the creature's paw. With a snarl, it turned aside, tail flicking as it assessed the noisy creatures surrounding it. The shotgun fired again, and this time the beast collapsed with a gaping hole in its side. The remaining cat pulled an end of the mammoth's intestine from the pile, unperturbed by the subsequent shots aimed its way as it trotted off into the woods with its new chitterlings dragging on the snow.
Luthor stepped forward and grabbed the gun from Pete's trembling hands. “You spent all of that ammo and only hit one target?!”
Clark glared at the billionaire. “It's not like shooting cans off a fence!” He rested a hand on Pete's shoulder. “Are you okay, Pete?”
The scientist nodded, still shaking.
“I hate to say it, but Mr. Luthor's got a point.” Ed looked grim. “Ammunition is already tight. If we run out before the rescue team finds us...”
Jimmy swallowed.
Dr. Diggory adjusted his glasses and peered at the mammoth. The beam of his flashlight showed where bites had been taken from the naked carcass, and of course the pile of viscera had been ransacked. “They must have been drawn to the scent of blood.”
“What are we going to do, then?” Jimmy looked around at all four scientists. “We can't exactly box it up and put it in the refrigerator.”
Dr. Plummer's mouth pressed into a thin line. “We'll have to bury it. It won't be easy, but I don't see any other choice.”
**********
The sun rose a very short time later. In the daylight, the carnage scattered across the white snow looked even more alarming. There was a general reluctance to go too far from the relative safety of the tents, but without plumbing, nature soon forced bravery and closer friendships. Of course, entrusting the shotgun to anyone without Luthor's superior aim was now out of the question, and apparently, so was the option of Luthor escorting everyone with it himself.
Clark listened carefully all morning for any more signs of unwanted company. Fortunately, the only sounds of wildlife came from much deeper in the forest, nowhere near where anyone happened to be. He heard Lois's quickened heartbeat not too far from the edge of the trees, and a frown crossed his face as he realized that it was lingering out there far longer than was safe. Its rapid pace might have simply been due to the cold, or it could be—as it so often was—an indication of trouble. Either way, Clark followed the sound.
As he neared the woods, a drop of red on the snow caught his attention. More droplets trailed towards the bushes, growing larger and closer together as they approached a particularly wide spruce with Lois's heart beating a rapid staccato behind it. In an instant, Clark was beside her. She leaned awkwardly against the needley branches, most of which bent beneath her weight rather than supporting it. More red had pooled beneath her.
“Lois!”
Her face was nearly as white as the visible puffs of her breath, and her lips were blue. She looked up at Clark, eyes widening. “Oh! Uh...”
“Lois, what happened? Can you stand?” He reached forward to support her elbow. Even through the layers of the blanket and her clothes, she felt like ice, and her toes had turned an alarming color beneath the ill-fitting galoshes she had in lieu of proper shoes. He raked his heat-vision over her shivering form, and she let out a moan. “Let me get you back to the others; there should be a first aid kit...”
She pulled away from him and held up a hand. “No, stop! I don't need first aid. I'm... I'm not hurt.”
He frowned. “You're bleeding!”
Lois chewed her lip, which had at least regained a little of its pinkness. “Yes, I'm bleeding, but... I'm not *hurt*.”
Clark stared at her, perplexed at what had to be some weird kind of riddle.
More color returned to her cheeks. “It's a woman thing.”
...Oh! His face began to burn. By accident, his gaze landed again on the red trail; Clark covered his eyes and turned away. “Oh! Oh, my god, I'm so sorry!”
“No, I'm sorry!” She inched further behind the tree. “I really didn't want you to see...this.”
He shook his head, keeping his gaze resolutely away from her for modesty's sake. “Lois, you can't just stay out here in the cold like this!”
“Well, it's not like I have much choice!” She huffed. Overhead, a cloud drifted by in the shape of a rabbit. “I already blew through the emergency stash in my purse, and I'm not about to go puddling up the tent where Jill and I have to sleep every night!”
His cheeks warmed again. “Fair enough. Still, you've already been out here for so long... How much longer is this going to take?”
Except for her heartbeat, she was silent.
“Lois?”
The tree rustled a bit. “This usually lasts for a few days.”
“A few—” He stopped himself from turning around. “A few days?! Lois, you are not staying here for a few days! The exposure would end you before the tigers could!”
“I'll think of something!” Her voice grew stronger. “Women have dealt with this for thousands of years. I'll be fine.”
Clark rolled his eyes. “Of course you will.” He thought for a moment. “Can I get you anything?”
The tree rustled again. “Well, it would be nice if you could swing by the local CostMart and get me some tampons, a bottle of pain-killers, and a double fudge crunch bar.”
He hadn't realized how much he missed her sarcasm. Ever since her discovery the day before, her awkwardness around him had been more unbearable than both the barbs she used to fire at Clark and the girlish swooning she'd do over Superman. Now, a laugh bubbled up in his chest. “Unfortunately, even I'm not that talented.”
“No...” Her voice lowered. “You're not. But you are, um, talented, though; aren't you.”
The lightheartedness blew away in the wind, and the awkwardness returned to take its place. He cleared his throat. “I can get you some breakfast, at least. Have you eaten?”
“No,” she admitted.
In the distance ahead, the camp was stirring again. Everyone began gathering around Dr. Plummer, and amidst the chatter, a few voices asked about his and Lois's whereabouts. Of course, one correctly turned head should answer that question, at least regarding Clark. He folded his arms, keeping his eyes forward even though his attention wasn't really on what he was seeing. “Is leftover mammoth okay?”
“Sure.”
“Anything else?” He found himself hoping for another outlandish answer, like a request for orange juice or a bagel with cream cheese.
Instead, her voice became so quiet that he needed his special abilities in order to hear her. “It would be nice if I could sit down.”
Clark's back stiffened as realization sank in. The ground here covered with ice and snow, and given her dangerously light office attire, the only safe way to sit on it would currently involve ruining the blanket she needed to stay wrapped in. “I'll be right back.”
Clark ducked into the woods, venturing deeper until it closed behind him to shield him from view. The trees gradually became taller and thicker as he pressed on, and eventually he found one with a fairly stout trunk. Running a hand down it removed the lower branches well enough; hopefully the noise of their cracking wouldn't carry all the way to camp. After smoothing down the stray knots and splinters with his thumb, he dragged the half-bald tree back to Lois. Her eyes widened. Clark patted a space on the cleared trunk, then turned back around.
Her breath caught. “I—thank you!”
“You're welcome.” Her heartbeat had begun to flutter, the way it always had when she saw him in the suit. Was she wearing that besotted look again, too? Clark forced his thoughts away from that track. “I'll go talk to Dr. Plummer, and then I'll come back with your breakfast.
**********
By the time he reached Dr. Plummer, the woman was hacking at the mammoth's trunk with a small hatchet. She looked up at Clark as he approached. “Kent, we need you to help Pete dig through the permafrost. Don't worry about going deep enough to bury this whole thing; we'll be breaking it into chunks.” She craned her neck to look behind him. “Where's Lois?”
Clark climbed between the giant tusks, carefully stepping over the one curled over the ground and ducking his head under the other. “Lois is having a...problem. A...” He glanced at the men industriously chipping at the fleshy carcass and lowered his voice, leaning close to her ear. “A woman problem?”
Dr. Plummer's eyes widened. “Oh. Right.” She frowned. “Well, she's excused from all food-related activity, of course. The last thing we need is biological contamination this far from any medical facilities. I assume her absence is because she doesn't have a way to contain the bleeding anymore?”
Clark's face felt incredibly warm again. “Is there anything you can do for her?” The words ran together more quickly than he'd intended.
Mist formed at her sigh. “Unfortunately, no. My own purse is back on the other side of the trans-universal gate, and our supplies—well, let's just say that there was no account taken for a female presence, let alone two. We do have a first aid kit, but if you raid that, know that it will only buy her a very small amount of time and then we won't have it for bleeding caused by injury.” She returned her attention to cutting the trunk.
Clark raked his fingers through his hair. There had to be something he could do to help Lois. He looked back towards the woods, his x-ray vision peeling away the blue-tipped needles of the tree blocking her from view. She sat on the log he'd brought her, vigorously rubbing her upper arms and shivering. His gaze landed on the trees behind her, and an idea began to form.
**********
Continued in Part Two...
Not good...