Thanks to LaraMoon for betareading
From Part 22:
Slowly the hinges were giving in and with another growl, Clark managed to break them. He almost lost his balance at the sudden release, but could steady himself just before he fell down to the floor. His knees were wobbly and his breathing still came in panting gasps. His shirt was soaked with sweat and he was shivering in the chilly air. It was time to get out of there. That was for sure. With a relieved sigh, Clark climbed down the ladder and went over to Becca.
“Get your things, honey. We’re leaving this place,” he said quietly.
Serendipitous Infinity
Part 23:
Lois cursed herself for not having a single good idea as to where Clark could be. What had happened to her intuition? Had she lost it on the way, was it frozen in the icy wind or was it simply restricted to work in city area? She forced herself to concentrate; if it didn’t work the simple way she would have to do it the good old-fashioned way – think about it. She looked around. What did she know about Kansas? Not much, Lois admitted silently and her glance continued to wander over the snow-covered ground.
Between the farmhouse and the street was a path where someone had shoveled snow to an extent that people could walk along easily. There were hardly any footprints that could give her an idea where the guys who were on the farm used to walk. But besides the heaps of snow next to the path there was only one other heap around. It lay close to the barn and Lois wondered why she hadn’t seen it earlier. Someone had to have removed snow from a place beside it She briefly wondered what it might be, but then she remembered that Kansas was one of the states that were frequently hit by tornados. It could be the door to a storm shelter.
Lois blinked. Could it really be that or was her mind playing tricks on her? The solution seemed simple, but she wasn’t exactly a country girl and if she was mistaken, she might not get a second chance to find Clark. She was still likely to be found any moment now. She sighed and gathered her courage. It was a chance and she really hoped that the guys didn’t keep Clark and his daughter in the farmhouse. It would be much more difficult to get to him if he was guarded.
Slowly, Lois went along the far side of the barn to get closer to the mysterious heap of snow. She shot nervous glances towards the farmhouse, afraid of being watched secretly. Her heart was beating loudly in her ears and she couldn’t help the impression that someone had to hear it. The pondering beat simply couldn’t be missed and there also were her heavy gasps for air. Lois gulped. Wasn’t she used to moments like these? But then, never before had her best friend been in trouble. He was Superman, she reminded herself. She was painfully aware of how dangerous this situation was. If not even Superman was safe, who was supposed to be?
Slowly, she came close to the supposed shelter and hid herself behind a huge pile of firewood as she again heard someone coming closer by the minute. She stole a glance at the person, seeing a slim but tall man, who was shivering and bracing himself against the icy wind. He looked like he would like to be anywhere but here, preferably in a warm house. The man wasn’t walking towards the pile of firewood where she was hiding. She had been afraid he would, but he headed towards the heap of snow. He was carrying a huge package, which sent a jolt of hope through Lois. Maybe he was bringing food, she thought excitedly. Maybe she had found Clark. If so, she only needed to get rid of the guy in front of her.
Lois looked towards the farmhouse once more and tried to figure out if someone would be likely to see her if she knocked the guy out cold. Hopefully her tae-kwon-do would be enough to do that. She prayed silently and anxiously waited for the man to turn his back so she could approach and surprise him. If he had the time to strike first, she would probably lose. Lois held her breath as she watched him kneel down and fumble with a key to open the lock.
When she was sure that he wasn’t looking she tiptoed towards him, cautious to remain out of sight as long as she wasn’t close enough. Frustratingly slow she went on, dreading that he would look up with every step she took. Her heart seemed to beat even louder, as if trying to indicate where she was. Her stomach lurched threateningly and she couldn’t quite say if she had ever been quite so afraid.
All of a sudden, she heard a metallic sound and a heavy thud. Startled, she looked over to the entrance of the shelter, finding it open. The man who had knelt there was lying on his back, but already trying to get back on his feet. Lois didn’t waste another thought on her safety and rushed towards him, sending him back to the ground with a violent kick as soon as he had recovered. He remained lying there, unmoving.
“Get out, Becky,” she heard Clark’s voice. “Get out and run over to our farm as fast as you can. I’ll be right behind you. Hide as soon as you can. You’ll be safe with your grandparents.”
“But daddy!” Becca protested.
“Just do it, honey, please. Don’t argue with me,” Clark replied and soon Lois could hear the little girl climb out of the shelter. She crawled over to the door.
“Becca, it’s Lois. Come out,” she whispered nervously and looked over to the unconscious man in the snow. She didn’t know if he was going to wake up from noise. Lois was rewarded with sounds of joy, as the girl heard her voice. Soon Lois could see her head and a bright smile that was only slightly diminished by red eyes that were swollen from crying. Becca jumped right into Lois’ arms as soon as she left the shelter. Lois embraced the little girl a bit awkwardly and held her tightly “You’re safe now,” she whispered soothingly and hoped that it wasn’t a lie. They needed to get away before the man woke up again.
Reluctantly Becca let go of Lois’ arms as she pointed out, that helping Clark would be easier if Lois could use both hands. Becca crawled aside and grabbed Lois’ ankle to reassure herself that she had indeed come to save them. Becca was well aware that one of the evil strangers was still awfully close. He made her nervous though he didn’t move a limb. Full of fear, she stared at the shelter’s door and prayed that her daddy would come out already. She obviously wasn’t the only one who became impatient, although Lois and Becca hadn’t been waiting for a very long time yet.
A moment later, Clark’s head appeared and suddenly a heavy groan escaped him. He stood on the ladder, swaying and fighting to remain upright. Something was wrong. Becca squealed in panic as all the memories of their earlier struggle with the evil men came to her mind all over again. She increased the pressure of her grip on Lois as if this would help her to escape her fears.
“Daddy!” she breathed helplessly as he climbed more steps, his face turning ashen. Both Lois and Becca could see his gritted teeth. When Becca thought she might faint, Lois grabbed her father with both hands, steadying him.
“Clark,” Lois said in shock as she saw his very pale face. She swallowed hard. Beads of sweat were running down his forehead. He seemed in distress, and surprised by its sudden onset.
“Lois,” he whispered back and suddenly his legs gave way under him, and he slipped from the steps. He moaned in pain and grabbed the upper steps with his hands, fighting to remain upright. Lois held him even tighter.
“Come on,” she encouraged him. “We’ll get you out of here. You can do it.”
Clark looked into Lois’ brown eyes, grateful to have something in front of him to concentrate on. He should have known that the pain would come back to him again as soon as he tried to leave this prison. An adventure like this just couldn’t go on the easy way. But as difficult as it was, he wasn’t planning on giving up now. He had to fight as well as he could, even better, really, if he wanted to get out of here. Neither of the three was well off staying here longer than necessary. With a groan, he summoned his strength and with a little help from Lois, managed to get out of the storm shelter. Breathing heavily, he remained lying in the snow, trying to recover when Lois started tugging at his sleeve.
“Get up, big guy. We need to get away from here. Whatever it is that puts you into this state, I bet it’s the green glowing stuff in that barn. We need to get you away from that,” Lois said urgently and forced Clark to sit up and struggle into a standing position. She knew she could only support and not carry him. And the unconscious guy could wake up any minute now. Nervously, she tapped with her foot, glancing alternately at Clark and the man lying in the snow. Becca seemed to be just as afraid as she was. Her face was pale but for flushed spots on her skin. Her eyes were open widely and she was sweating despite the cold.
“Come on, daddy” she said pleadingly, her voice barely above a whisper. She took his hand in an attempt to support him, give him her strength.
Seeing this, Lois suddenly felt like an intruder into this perfect relationship between father and daughter. How was she ever going to measure up to him in Becca’s regard? How was Becca not going to see her as an intruder, which she was? Her mouth felt dry and she felt incapable to say anything encouraging. Becca’s gesture was so simple and yet so endearing, even though the seven year-old girl wasn’t going to be much help for him physically. Lois gulped and felt a wave of envy washing over her. She didn’t have the impression that she was of much help for Clark right now. And somehow she felt like the evil invader disturbing two people that were fitting together so perfectly.
Lois shook the undue thoughts away. Becca was seven. She was special to Clark, no doubt about that. But so was she. She was a woman and her relationship with him would be just as precious to him as his daughter was. But it would never be comparable. Clark loved both of them, each one uniquely and with all his heart. It was time to make sure that they would end up together, happily ever after. Becca could learn to love Lois. She certainly didn’t need to learn that anymore. The little girl had silently found her way into Lois’ heart. She loved her, she, the woman who had vowed to never have children.
“Come on, Clark,” Lois whispered hoarsely and he looked up at her, his face twisted in pain. But his expression softened as he gave both her and Becca a smile. He staggered forward, away from the barn that contained the substance which was supposedly causing him so much discomfort.
Half running on his own, half being dragged and carried by Becca and Lois who had both taken his hands, Clark was making his way through the high snow. He felt better with each step that separated him from the barn. Breathing became easier and he didn’t need to lean on Lois so heavily anymore. He thanked God that Lois had come and helped him find his way. She surely would pay attention on their way, trying to keep them out of the villain’s view. Clark didn’t feel like he was capable of doing that himself. But he trusted Lois and she wouldn’t want to risk being seen too early. She was heading to the street, obviously hoping to find someone there who could help them.
Soon, all three of them were panting heavily, sweating and exhausted by their run. Afraid, Lois shot glances back to the farm now and then, checking if anyone was following them. Clark wished he could will his powers to return, but that was a futile hope. He would be glad if they came back at all. Luckily, the fields behind them were empty and Clark felt a wave of hope flood him as Lois told him so between gasps for air.
Meanwhile, Lois prayed silently that Jonathan had found the police, but she wasn’t naïve. Even if they did believe him, it was highly unlikely that Smallville’s Sheriff’s Department had enough men to take care of this group of men. They seemed to be powerful and with Superman out of the picture it probably wouldn’t be an easy task to stop them. It seemed like hours since they had parted. There weren’t many law enforcement officers in Smallville, though. And if the police asked for support, it might take some time for help to arrive. At least Clark was getting better now. His color had improved and he was breathing easier. Maybe there was hope after all.
“Daddy, I can’t run anymore,” Becca panted and slowed down. “I’m sorry.”
She was close to tears and Lois could feel her heart break. She had almost forgotten about her. They were running fast, at least considering Clark’s current state. Becca wasn’t able to follow them over such a distance and in the snow that had to be even higher for her. Lois felt her heart sink. Slowing down meant it would take longer. The bad guys wouldn’t ignore their absence forever and sooner or later start to chase after them. But before Lois could even think of a solution, Clark had slowed down as well.
“It’s okay, honey. You did great, I’m so proud of you,” he said as he swept her up into his arms. “Hold on me tightly.” He asked her, before he continued to run.
Lois had stopped as well and now hurried to catch up with Clark again. She looked at him with astonishment. It was amazing how his condition had gotten better, though she could tell that the additional weight was slowing him down considerably. Lois bit her lip. He was still weak. She could see that by the way he desperately tried not to stumble and fall. His shoulders were sagging and it seemed like it was more Becca clinging to him than him holding her. But Lois was sure that was just an impression. There was no way he would be too tired to hold his little girl even if it was the last thing he did.
“I can carry Becca for you,” Lois offered with a sense of guilt. She was stronger than him right now. She wanted to give him a chance to recover; he had suffered enough as it was.
“I’ll be fine. Thanks, Lois. But one of us needs their full strength to fight if it comes to that, and I don’t think I’m the right person for this job,” he admitted with a sad smile.
The street came in sight and getting closer to it they could hear a car approaching. Both Lois and Clark summoned whatever strength they still had and hurried over. The end of this nightmare seemed to have come and neither of them was willing to let this chance pass. Both were gasping for air and Clark saw black spots dancing in front of his eyes. He already thought he might faint if he carried on running this fast.
The sounds of the car died down as if it was heading away. Lois cried out in despair and she was running faster. Clark had to admit to himself that he couldn’t keep up with Lois. He shook his head in frustration and let out a deep growl. Annoyed by his own incapability he followed a few steps behind, but the gap between them was getting bigger.
“Daddy? Are you alright?” Becca asked, worriedly. Until this moment she had remained silent, ashamed of being so weak. She noticed her father’s discomfort and saw the sweat streaming down his face. He looked pale which didn’t exactly help her conscience. “I can walk, daddy. I’m fine now,” she protested mildly and though she still felt pretty wiped out, she hoped that her father would put her down.
“Really, I’m fine Becca.” Clark said as convincingly as he could and slowed down even more as he finally reached the street. “We’re already here.”
Clark looked around but didn’t see Lois right away. A car was parked on the side of the road and Clark realized that it was his parent’s. Martha was sitting inside and so was Lois, gesturing at the older woman wildly. When she saw Clark, her expression softened and she waved at him to come. Clark set Becca back on the ground and they both hurried over to the pick-up.
With a sigh of relief Clark sank onto the car’s backseat after he had helped Becca climb inside. The two women on the front seats looked at him anxiously. Becca shot him almost the same kind of glances as he wasn’t speaking right away, but still trying to catch his breath. He was exhausted and seriously drained, although feeling better now that he was safe.
“I’ll be fine,” he stated. “All I need is a bit of rest. A good night’s sleep and everything will be all right again.”
“We were so worried,” Martha replied, her eyes glistening with tears as she looked at her pale son. “Jonathan is still with Sheriff Harris. She is trying to get help and told us to stay calm for the time it takes. I… we better get home now,” she said, figuring that the backseat wasn’t exactly the best place for Clark to recover.
Martha was deeply worried. Suddenly she was forced to accept that her son wasn’t invulnerable to everything. And she never had imagined him to become quite so pale. He was in a worse condition than Jonathan or anyone else she knew had ever been. All the time she hadn’t needed to worry about him catching a cold, falling sick or hurting himself. That was different now and the sudden realization that her son could get into physical danger was worrying her sick.
Like any mother she wanted to spare him pain. And today a nightmare had come true. Becca and Clark had been in danger and she hadn’t been there to help, hadn’t even sensed it, unlike Lois. She was grateful that this young woman had appeared in Clark’s life and had managed to become such an important part of it. She had been afraid that he might never find the woman he felt was the right one. In pensive silence Martha steered the car towards the Kent farm. On the backseat, Clark pulled Becca into an embrace, doing his best to comfort her to make her fear recede.
“It’s over, honey,” he said and softly stroked her arm. “It’s over now.”
to be continued...
