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Part 6/?
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"In a box?" Lois says in disgust. "In a box? That's so stupid, isn't it?" She looks up at me, her eyes dark with worry.
"I'm sure they're just trying to upset us, that's all." I include myself in that statement because I'm certainly upset. Would she get the hint if I picked her up and flew her out the window to somewhere safe?
There's a flash of lightning followed almost immediately by a crack of thunder. That one was close. Lois jumps, her hand reaching out instinctively for my arm. "I wish we could go for that walk," she says, her fingers tightening on my bicep. Then her expression changes from frightened to determined. She releases my arm to walk over and shut the door firmly.
"You were right, Clark. We should talk."
She sits on the edge of my bed, patting the space next to her in invitation. I sit down heavily, not sure what it is she wants to talk about. I've done a quick risk assessment and there's simply no way I can tell her. Not even if we left the house - we'd still have to come back sometime and two years of subterfuge is not something she's likely to forgive quickly. And definitely not quietly.
"Let's think about this logically, okay?" she starts and then begins ticking points off on her fingers. "One; someone left pictures of me on my desk at the Planet. Two; someone left a picture of us, in Metropolis, on the back of my door. Three; someone has left another picture, taken in Valentia, but this time there's a message on the back. Now, are all three of these things connected or am I just that popular?"
"They have to be connected," I tell her. "It's just too much of a coincidence otherwise."
"Right. But those first pictures showed up on my desk at least a week before you got the call from Josh to come out here. So did someone send those pictures in advance of stealing the silver to bring us out here?"
"Lois, we don't even know if they had found the silver yet when those pictures were left on your desk."
Agitated, she stands up and throws her arms wide, narrowly missing me. She turns away from me but not before I see her face twist in frustration and fear. She moves to the desk, absently tracing the wood grain on its surface while she thinks. "Do you ever feel lost, Clark?" she asks quietly.
She looks back at me and I nod. "I just hate this. I hate feeling trapped and clueless and…" She turns back to the desk. My heart beats faster - she's here. My real Lois. She's here and she's allowing me to see her.
"Scared?" I finish for her.
"I hate that most of all."
I want to hold her, but it has to be her decision.
"Do you know what scares me most of all?" This is said so softly that I doubt I could have heard her without super hearing.
"What?"
"I know you think I'm reckless sometimes," she turns and leans back against the edge of the desk. "And, truthfully, I probably push things further than I used to because of Superman. I've gotten used to having him around. He's always right there or close by. And now, being all the way out here, it's like I'm working without a safety net. Sure, he was in Valentia yesterday, but he was obviously in a hurry to be somewhere else. There's no guarantee that he'll show up again if something happens."
"Lois…" I start and then hesitate. It's a great opening, but there are still four people downstairs and she's not likely to respond in a soft voice if I tell her. "I'm here. I would never let anyone hurt you."
This elicits a small smile. "I know that. And it means a lot to me." She pushes away from the desk and comes back over to me, resting her hands on my shoulders as she looks down at me. "You know I would never let anyone hurt you either."
I grin. "Thanks. That means a lot to me."
Her fingers tighten a little on my shoulders. "So… I guess there won't be any swimming tonight."
"No, I guess not."
"That's a shame. I was really looking forward to it."
Feeling bold, I put my hands on her waist and gently urge her forward so she's between my knees. She comes willingly. Her left hand leaves my shoulder to comb back my hair. "Why?" I ask her. "What's so great about swimming in a lake?"
"The stars," she says wistfully. "I love the night sky, all those stars. And…"
"And?" C'mon, Lois, tell me what I want to hear.
"And this." She leans down and kisses me softly.
I hear the squeak of someone coming up the stairs. I put my hand on the back of her head and deepen the kiss. She lets out a soft moan at my sudden fervor but she kisses me back just as passionately. She sinks down, settling herself onto my knee and wrapping her arms around me when there's a knock on the door.
"Dinner's ready," Emily calls out.
Lois groans and pulls away from our kiss. "I really don't like her."
At this moment, neither do I.
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By morning the rain has stopped. Humidity still hangs heavy in the air but the temperature is much cooler than the day before. Mist rises from the ground as we all hike towards the cabin. It matches perfectly with my sense of foreboding.
We roll the tarp back and find a few inches of water in the bottom of the trench. "Please tell me we're not working in there today," Lois gripes.
Emily seems sympathetic. "Why don't you help me in the tent today? Let Marty and Doc work on the water situation."
"Thanks," Lois says.
Josh and I check on the scaffolding along the north wall. It shifted considerably in the storm so we decide to take it down and reassemble the whole thing again. Marty and Doc spend the morning bailing and pumping the water out of the trench. Every scoop of water is run through a sieve first, complicating and drawing out the process. When I hear my name I freely eavesdrop on Lois and Emily as Josh and I take the scaffolding down.
"So, you and Clark… how close are you guys?" Emily asks Lois.
"Oh," Lois is caught off-guard. "We're… he's my best friend. And… we're dating."
"What about Superman? Is there something there?"
Lois makes a little sighing laugh. "Superman? He's a good friend, too, but not like Clark. I'm not dating him. I mean, I guess I would, if he'd ask me. But he never has. And he's not naive, you know."
Emily sighs. "I didn't really mean he was naïve. It just seems odd that this perfect guy only exists to help people. What does he do when he's not flying around fixing problems?"
I can hear the smile in Lois' voice as she answers. "I remember he once told me he had errands to run. But it wasn't stuff like picking up dry cleaning or grocery shopping. He had a neighborhood watch meeting and then he said he was going to a prison."
"Prison?" Emily giggles. "I bet he's their favorite pin-up boy."
Lois laughs with her. "Yeah, he never did say why he was going to the prison, just that it was on his list of places to go."
There's a pause and then Emily hesitantly asks, "So… is he a good kisser? Superman, I mean. He looks like he'd be a good kisser."
There's a pause and I think that Lois isn't going to answer. Then she says very softly, "Yeah. He is."
But Clark is better, I edit for her.
Emily giggles again. "I knew it! He's just so… wow. I'd only ever seen him in pictures or on tv, you know? I guess it's a good thing he didn't come over to talk to us. I don't think I could have said anything intelligent."
"He does have that effect on people. I still get nervous around him, not as often, but sometimes."
"Clark!" Josh sounds frustrated. "Are you helping or hindering?"
"Sorry," I apologize, directing my attention away from the tent and back to Josh as he tries to steady a pillar. We struggle with the post for a minute until I put a little extra effort into it and slide it firmly into place.
"There are days when I think I need to seriously reconsider my career," Josh pants, wiping his forehead. "We need to try and brace this wall from the inside. Watch the scaffolding here while I take this post into the cabin."
"I'll do it," I tell Josh, taking the post from him. I stand in the open doorway and look inside. Sunlight slants through the spaces where the outside wall has spread. Some of the planks from the wooden floor are missing, the rest creak beneath my feet as I move inside. I carefully pick my way over to the northeast corner, feeling that same odd tingle along my skin. I lean the post against the wall and then step back, looking to see a good spot to ground it. I kneel down and pull up a couple of floorboards.
"Clark?" Josh calls.
"It's okay," I shout back. "I'm just looking for a good spot to…" Before I can finish there's a creak, then a loud snap and then both the pole and the entire wall are falling onto me. I flatten myself on the floor, figuring that's the best idea. As the weight of the wall and roof settle on me all I can think is that I'm glad I came inside instead of Josh. I can hear the shouts and cries from outside. The one that cuts through me is Lois' anguished, "Clark!" I hear her struggle with Marty and Doc, trying to get closer to the cabin while they tell her to stay out.
As soon as the crashing noise ends I call out, "I'm okay!"
"Clark?" Lois sounds almost frantic. "Clark? Can you hear me?"
"Yes! I'm fine!" And I really am. The roof's center beam is resting directly across my back and head - it surely would have killed anybody else. There's no way I can just crawl out of here without arousing suspicion so I let out a small sigh and settle in to wait until they've pulled enough of the cabin off of me to make it look like I was just really, really lucky.
The commotion outside is intense. Emily shouts that she's going to run back to the house and call for help. Everyone else is involved in pulling the rubble away. I can hear Lois, barking orders as she directs them on what to move and where. I feel guilty for making them all go to so much trouble, but after Marty's outburst about Superman there's no way I'm going to reveal myself.
As they pull away wood the rubble on top of me shifts again, pressing down even more heavily.
"No!" Lois yells. "Not like that! Clark? Can you hear me?"
"I'm okay!" I call back, turning my head towards her voice. Something glints in the dark tomb I'm trapped in. I reach out towards it and gasp when it hums at my touch. It seems to be a small box, hidden inside the stones of the cabin's foundation. I inch a little closer and grasp the end of the box, pulling it towards me. It comes free from the foundation, still emitting a low hum that reminds me of the globe Jor-El left for me.
A small beam of sunlight slants in from above me. They're getting closer to having me free. It also shows the odd hieroglyphics carved into the box. Even though I can't read them I'm certain it's Kryptonian writing. I turn it over in my hands, unsure how to open it. There are no obvious locks or hinges. It's fashioned from some type of metal but it's lightweight, measuring about seven inches long, four inches wide and about three inches high.
Another beam of light slants across it. On impulse I push it back where I found it, setting a stone in front of it to hide it. Yes, I should give it to Doc. It's part of his proof. But I don't want to share it just yet. Not until I know what it contains. I know it's wrong, but it's my heritage, not Doc's.
Lois's hand touches my ankle. "Clark? Can you hear me? Are you okay?" I move my leg for her, my guilt compounding with her relieved sigh. I edge myself slowly out from under the beam - there's no way they could all lift it off of me. Nor is there any way I could explain being unscathed from it crushing me. As they pick another section of the wall off me, I roll into the free space they just opened up.
Four anxious faces peer down at me. I sit up and Marty and Josh each take my arms to help pull me out.
"Be careful," Doc cautions. "We don't know how badly he's hurt."
"Actually, I think I got really lucky. The beam from the ceiling kinda saved me."
"Oh, thank God," Lois breathes, her face pinched with worry. Her eyes dart back and forth as she checks to see if I'm really all right.
Josh looks at me in amazement. "You are one lucky son of a…"
"I can't believe it," Marty says. "We thought you were dead, for sure."
Lois touches my arm. "You're sure you're okay?"
"Yes, I promise. I was only trapped."
Her eyes close briefly in relief. When she opens them again her hand drops to encircle my wrist. "I need to talk to you, Clark. Now!"
Lois pulls me down the hill, stopping when we get to the pier. She looks back up the hill where Marty, Doc and Josh are looking at the twisted wreckage that was the cabin and shaking their heads in disbelief.
"That wasn't an accident, Clark. Josh did it on purpose."
"Josh?"
"I saw him, Clark! I saw Josh messing around with the scaffolding. He pushed on the wall and it fell over!"
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