Hello, everyone!
I'm so sorry for the delay! Hopefully I can make up for it a little with a longer than normal part.
I want to thank Darcy for beta reading this part even though she was sick. And I also want to thank Sheila for letting me twist her arm to come on board and answer my endless medical questions.
Thanks, Sheila, your help has been very much appreciated!
On to the story now...
From Part 12:
“You need to see a doctor. Let’s get you out of here.” Lois reached for the door and opened it a second later…and suddenly jumped back in shock.
Lex stood in the doorway, blocking their escape. He stared at her, and for the first time she saw hatred directed at her in his eyes. She’d seen evil, triumph, lust, and anger in his eyes, but never hatred. Her heart squeezed in fear at the utterly manic glint in his beady, dark eyes.
“You will regret what you’ve done, Lois,” he said, and Lois shivered at the low and threatening tone to his voice.
It was then that she noticed the gun in his hand.
******************************************
Part 13:
Clark immediately stepped forward, standing between Luthor and Lois. The maniac would hurt Lois over his dead body. He prayed that Luthor wouldn’t notice how weak he really was. Clark reached out and grabbed the rail for support before staring Lex boldly in the eyes. He refused to show his fear. As Lex stared back, Clark knew that he’d never felt such hatred toward any human being.
Lex raised his hand and pointed the gun at Clark. “Get away from my wife.”
“You’ll have to kill me first, Luthor.”
“That can be arranged,” Luthor promised as he stepped forward threateningly. “Get down the stairs now.” Clark didn’t budge, and Lex suddenly reached out and grabbed him before shoving him toward the first step.
Clark lost his balance and tumbled down the stairs, landing with a sickening thud at the bottom.
“Clark!” he heard Lois shout, although her voice sounded distant. Ignoring the pain as it radiated through his body, Clark forced his eyes open and watched Luthor’s blurry form as he dragged Lois down the stairs after him. She fought against him, trying in vain to stop his progress. “No! Leave him alone, Lex!”
“You’ll never learn, will you, my dear?” Clark watched as Luthor stopped at his feet, his beady eyes staring down at him.
Clark felt Lois take his hand in hers and his gaze settled on her as she knelt beside him. “Clark? Are you hurt?” Her dark eyes were staring back at him anxiously.
“Say goodbye to your pathetic hero, my love.”
Clark watched, wide-eyed as Luthor aimed the barrel of his gun at him before pulling the trigger.
**
Lois heard the blast of the gun and her heart went cold. Her world narrowed down to that one moment—that one single cold and terrifying moment when Clark cried out as the bullet tore into his flesh.
Someone screamed and she realized a moment later that the scream had been her own. There was so much blood…
Hands shaking, Lois dropped the device she’d been clutching before using her hands to apply pressure to the area where she thought the bullet had entered. “Clark! Oh god! What have you done, Lex?” She turned teary eyes on Lex and her heart turned to stone at the evil sneer on his face.
“I did what I’ve wanted to do since this alien had the nerve to set foot on this planet. He doesn’t deserve to live, Lois.” Lex bent down and picked up the device from the floor. He pushed a button and the room was once again lit up with green. “It’s over, my dear. He’s as good as dead.” Grabbing her by the arm, Lex yanked her away from Clark. “Come on, it’s our wedding night, and you’ve got no one but me now.”
Lois let the tears fall as Lex dragged her up the stairs and out the door of the wine cellar. “No! Please, Lex! We have to get help. You can’t leave him down there like that. Please!”
Lex ignored her hysterical pleas as he continued to drag her to the elevator. Lois watched through her tears as he punched in the code and the doors slid open a moment later. As he was about to drag her into the elevator, she started to fight him.
“Don’t make me hurt you, Lois,” he warned, and she froze as her eyes fell on the barrel of the gun.
The gun that had shot Clark.
The sight of the pistol halted her movement and Lex took advantage of her distraction. He pulled her into the elevator and only seconds later they were moving upward toward the penthouse floor.
The image of Clark lying on the cold cement, blood pouring from his stomach, was enough to send a chill of fear down her spine. He would die if she didn’t do something. He was lying down there in that cold cellar, wounded and helpless…and Lex had turned the kryptonite on full blast.
There wasn’t much time. She had to do something.
The elevator dinged, announcing their arrival on the penthouse floor. Lois suddenly bent over and pretended to heave. “I think I’m going to be sick, Lex.”
“Go do it in the bathroom and get it over with. I will not have you vomiting all over me when we consummate our marriage.”
Lois remained bent over, whimpering and holding her stomach as Lex moved to exit the elevator. She suddenly launched at him an instant later, pushing him out into the hall before punching the button on the elevator panel that would close the doors. She had to get back down to that wine cellar—had to help Clark.
The doors to the elevator started to slide shut, and Lois held her breath as she watched the two heavy mirrored doors slide closer and closer together, each second ticking away with agonizing slowness.
A shiny black dress shoe shot out and stopped the doors from closing at the last possible second. Lois looked up, startled, and found two simmering dark eyes staring back at her. “These tactics are getting old, Lois.” Lex grabbed her angrily, jerking her violently out of the elevator.
He quickly opened the door to his penthouse before shoving her inside. “I’ve had enough of these games and I’ll wait no longer.” Lex picked her up, kicking and screaming, before walking purposely toward the master suite. Throwing her roughly down on the king-sized bed, he said, “You are *my* wife, and I will not be put off!”
Lois struggled against him as his body covered hers on the bed. Her cries were muffled when his mouth landed on hers, hard and demanding. Anger and terror were boiling to the surface and Lois bit down on his lip. Lex pulled back and struck her in the face before pinning her hands to the bed. Lois stared at him defiantly as blood dripped from his lip before landing on the bodice of her white wedding gown.
“What makes you think that I’ll make it easy for you, Lex? You no longer have leverage. I’m going to go to the police and annul this marriage, and there is nothing you can do about it!”
“I can kill you,” he pointed out.
“You’ve already killed me, Lex. You killed me when you shot Clark. It’s over. You’ve lost. You will *not* break me.”
Lois saw his eyes darken in rage and for once she didn’t feel fear. Instead, she felt her own rage bubble to the surface. Adrenaline coursed through her and she fought against him for all she was worth. Finally gaining the upper hand, she managed to remove the device from his coat pocket before pushing him off of her. Lois landed a swift kick to his stomach and then bolted for the exit, turning the device off as she went. She could feel him on her heels as she raced out of the master suite.
Lois’s eyes fell on an ugly, heavy looking armoire and she suddenly threw the device toward the piece of tasteless furniture, satisfied as it slid far underneath. Let him try to fish that device out now!
Lex, however, had not been distracted. Lois glanced over her shoulder to see that he was closing in on her. She willed her feet to run faster as the front door of the penthouse came into view. She was ten feet away from the door—from freedom—when it suddenly burst open. Lois froze, wide-eyed as Inspector Henderson, Perry, Jimmy and several police officers entered the penthouse.
“Luthor, freeze! You’re under arrest!” Henderson’s voice boomed throughout the penthouse.
Lois gasped as Lex slammed into her back. His left hand grabbed her, his hold firm as his right hand brought the cold barrel of the gun up against her temple. “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll kill her.” She could feel him pressed against her back, could sense the desperation in him as the gun shook slightly in his hand.
“Okay, Luthor, just calm down.” Henderson put his hands in the air, a sign of surrender. “No one is going to do anything stupid here, okay? Now why don’t you put that gun down so we can talk?”
Lex sneered at Henderson. “You want to talk? We can talk right here.”
“There’s no way out of this, Luthor. You’re only making things worse on yourself,” Henderson told him. “Now why don’t you just put that gun down before someone gets hurt?”
“Do you think that I want to hurt her? She’s my wife, I love her. But Lex Luthor will not live in a cage!” Lex suddenly took a few steps backwards, keeping a firm grip on Lois.
Lois looked at Henderson, her eyes desperate, before her anxious gaze found Perry. “It’s gonna be okay, Honey,” he told her, his voice soft and reassuring. Perry’s gaze shifted between her terrified eyes and the gun that was holding her hostage.
After a few seconds of tense silence, Lex forced her along with him and Lois couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing as he slowly made his way toward the study. The barrel of the gun pressed firmly into her temple, a constant reminder that Lex was in control of the entire situation.
The police advanced slowly as Lex moved away. They entered the study a minute later, backing in, and Lex pressed a button on his desk. The door to the balcony noisily slid open and the cool evening breeze swept inside. Lois’s hair blew into her eyes as Lex dragged her out onto the balcony, being careful to keep her body between his and the several police officers who had drawn their guns.
“Where do you think you’re going, Luthor? There’s no way out. Come on,” Henderson coaxed softly, “Just put the gun down. You don’t want to do this.”
Lex turned Lois’s face so that she was looking him in the eye. “Goodbye, my love.” He suddenly grabbed her and his lips were on hers before Lois had time to blink.
Disgusted and angry, Lois jerked away from him. “Don’t ever touch me again.”
Ignoring her words, Lex raised his free hand and caressed her cheek. “Don’t worry, my love. *No one* will ever touch you again.”
Lois looked at him fearfully, watching as his eyes darkened, his expression turning dangerous. “Did you know that this is the tallest building in Metropolis?” he asked, and then his eyes shifted to Henderson. A mere second of silence passed by, and Lois was jerked violently toward the ledge of the balcony as Lex suddenly moved. He jumped onto the ledge, dragging her with him.
“Top of the world!”
Time seemed to run in slow motion as Lex tightened his hold on her arm before jumping into nothingness. Lois fought the instinctive urge to close her eyes as the world tilted, and the last remnants of daylight made it possible for her to catch a glimpse of the busy street far below. The wind pulled at her, willing her to fall into it. She could feel Lex’s fingers as they dug into her arm, unwilling to let go. Clark’s face flashed in her mind, and she knew at that moment that she would give anything to see him again.
Lois was suddenly jerked away from Lex, and he was forced to let go of her arm as two strong hands grabbed a hold of her just as she was about to follow him over the ledge. She found herself lying on the balcony a moment later, her rescuer lying beside her.
Lois stared dazedly at all of the faces as they were looking at her…talking to her. It had all happened so fast.
“…are you okay…?”
“…where Clark is?”
Someone was asking her something—it was Jimmy—and the mention of Clark’s name brought her back to reality just as quickly as her rescuer had jerked her back to safety. “He’s been shot! He’s down in the wine cellar! Please, you have to help him!” the words poured out of her mouth, her voice frantic.
Lois got up and was through the balcony door only seconds later. Focusing only on getting to Clark, she ran through the penthouse before stopping in front of the elevator that had brought her up from the wine cellar not more than thirty minutes before. She wanted to scream in frustration as, once again, she was faced with a keypad.
Henderson, Perry, and the others caught up to her just as she started in the direction of the main elevator that would take her down to the lobby. The doors slid open and they all piled inside.
“What’s this all about, Lois? Clark’s been shot?” Perry asked.
Lois stared at her former boss as the elevator started the journey down to the ground floor. “Lex shot him.” A tear escaped one eye, and Lois fought to remain calm.
Clark would be okay. He *had* to be okay.
Silence settled over the group as the elevator neared the lobby. Lois watched as Perry swallowed hard. She watched as Henderson’s stoic mask slipped and worry started to settle over the Inspector’s features.
The elevator dinged, and Lois was out like a flash as soon as the doors slid open. Recalling the directions the receptionist had given earlier, Lois led Perry and the police through a maze of turns, doors, and another elevator ride before they came upon the staircase that would lead them down to Clark.
They shuffled down the long staircase and Lois held her breath when they finally reached the door to the wine cellar. “He’s down here,” she choked out as she opened the door and stepped inside. Lois easily found the light switch, having already found it once, and flipped it on, flooding the cellar with light. Her eyes landed on Clark, where he was sprawled out on the cold cement at the bottom of the steps.
He wasn’t moving.
“Clark!” Lois didn’t recall running down the stairs, but suddenly she was by his side, holding his cold hand in hers. “Clark?”
Henderson was by her side a moment later. He reached his hands out to Clark and checked for a pulse. “He’s alive, Lois, but his pulse is barely there.” He turned to an officer who stood nearby, and Henderson’s voice boomed as he demanded, “Get the paramedics down here now!”
The officer scurried off to carry out the Inspector’s command. Perry knelt down next to Lois and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Lois…”
“Perry! He looks so pale and he’s so cold!” she turned tear-filled eyes on her former boss before launching herself in his open arms. “Oh, Perry, what have I done?”
“Shh, don’t talk like that, Honey. Help will be here soon.”
*****
Lois exited the ambulance, following closely as the paramedics pushed Clark’s stretcher through the automatic double doors of Metropolis General Hospital. Doctors and nurses rushed forward, having been waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
As Lois tried to follow Clark further, a nurse suddenly blocked her way. “Please, we need you to wait out there,” she said, pointing toward the emergency room’s waiting area.
“But…” Lois was at a loss for words as her heart pounded in fear for Clark. She looked at the nurse, her eyes betraying her fear.
“We’ll do all we can to help him,” The nurse assured her, seeming to understand her silent plea. Before she knew what was happening, she was being ushered through the doors and into the waiting room.
Lois took a seat, her mind going back again and again to Clark. She could still hear the loud, thundering sound of the gun as it had fired. She could still recall how Clark had cried out in pain as the bullet hit him.
She’d been so close to losing him. By the time they’d made their way back down to the wine cellar, Clark had barely been alive. And he’d almost died during the ambulance ride. In fact, he *had* died. For two long minutes—the most terrifying minutes of her life—he’d stopped breathing. The paramedics had administered CPR, and Clark had eventually started breathing again. The memory was enough to leave her chilled to the bone.
“Lois!” At the loud calling of her name, Lois’s head jerked up and she found Jonathan and Martha’s worried faces as they rushed toward her. “Are you okay?” Martha opened her arms and Lois was enfolded in her comforting embrace immediately. “We were visiting Jack when we heard about Clark. Have you heard anything yet? What happened?”
Lois squeezed her eyes shut, but her tears escaped anyway. “Lex shot him. He had Clark trapped in a cage laced with kryptonite.”
Lois felt Martha shudder at her whispered words. “How is he doing, Lois? Is my boy going to be okay?”
Lois pulled back and found Martha’s red and tired eyes. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days, and Lois could tell that she’d been crying. “I don’t know, Martha,” she said quietly before stepping away, her eyes falling to the floor.
The memory of crimson red flashed through her mind as she suddenly recalled how she’d used her hands to apply pressure to Clark’s gunshot wound. Lois lifted her trembling hands, and her eyes widened at the sight of the dried blood that covered them.
A sob escaped at the sight, and Lois started to tremble all over. “I don’t know, Martha. God, I don’t know.” Lois sank back into her seat, and the Kents sat down next to her.
“Lois, my boy is strong,” Jonathan told her. “He’ll get through this.”
“He’s the strongest person I know. But he was so weak…” Lois lowered her head into her blood-covered hands, desperately trying to pull herself together. She couldn’t break down now, not in front of Clark’s parents. They didn’t know everything that Clark had gone through, and she wasn’t about to horrify them with all of the details.
“Excuse me; are you Mr. and Mrs. Kent?”
Lois’s head snapped up at the words, and she found a doctor standing in front of them.
“Yes, I’m Jonathan Kent, this is my wife, Martha, and this is Lois Lane.”
“I’m Dr. Dunn,” the doctor introduced himself as he offered his hand to each of them in turn.
“How is Clark? Is he going to be okay?” Lois asked the doctor anxiously.
The doctor didn’t answer; instead his attention was on the Kents. “I’d like to speak with you privately, if I may?”
Martha, Jonathan, and Lois all exchanged a fleeting look. “Of course, Doctor, but anything you have to say can be said in front of Lois,” Martha said.
“If you’ll please follow me then…”
The Kents stood and Lois followed suit. Dr. Dunn led the three of them down the hall and into a private office.
“Please, have a seat.”
“How is Clark?” Lois asked again once they were all settled into their seats.
“I’ll be honest with you. Clark’s condition is serious. He needs immediate surgery to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding,” the doctor paused for a moment before his gaze landed on the Kents. “The reason I wanted to speak with you privately is because I need to know if the news reports are true. Is Clark Superman?”
Martha and Jonathan exchanged a glance before their eyes found hers. She could see the dilemma in their eyes. Just how much should they tell the doctor? Could he be trusted?
The doctor must have sensed their inner struggle. “Look, I know that you don’t know me, I’m just your average everyday ER doctor, but I want to assure you that I’m bound by doctor-patient confidentiality. Any information that you give me will remain strictly confidential.” The doctor paused, and Lois watched as he suddenly swallowed hard. “Besides, he saved my son’s life two months ago. Please help me so I can repay him.”
No one said anything for a moment. Lois’s eyes were trained on the Kents, waiting for them to take the lead. Jonathan sighed before his eyes found his wife’s gaze, and she could tell by their expressions that they were moved by the doctor’s words. If they wanted to get Clark help, they had to trust someone with the secret. Besides, the secret wasn’t exactly secret at the moment anyhow.
What a mess everything had become.
“It’s true. Our son is Superman,” Jonathan finally answered a few long seconds later.
“Can you tell me how he became injured? I wasn’t aware that anything could hurt Superman.”
Again, Jonathan hesitated.
“Mr. Kent, I need to know what happened, how Clark was hurt, what hurt him, and anything else you may know that will help. I need to know exactly what I’m dealing with here.”
Jonathan nodded, understanding settling in his eyes. “Lois, you were there, you know what happened to Clark. I think maybe you should tell the doctor.”
Lois nodded before turning her attention on the doctor. “Have you heard of kryptonite?”
“Yes, the name sounds vaguely familiar. I remember reading about it a while back in the newspaper. Isn’t it some kind of rock?”
“It’s a meteor rock from Clark’s home planet. It’s deadly to him, Dr. Dunn. Lex Luthor used kryptonite to make a cage in which he trapped Clark for six days.”
“What exactly does this kryptonite do?”
Lois looked at the Kents, knowing that they would know more about the effects of kryptonite on Clark than she would.
“It strips him of his powers and invulnerability. It weakens him, makes him sick…” Martha trailed off, the subject visibly upsetting her.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Kent. I know this must be difficult,” the doctor told her sympathetically.
“Dr. Dunn…is Clark going to be okay?” Lois held her breath, knowing that Jonathan and Martha were no doubt doing the same as they waited for the doctor to answer.
“It’s too early to tell. At this juncture, the only thing we can do is hope that the surgery is successful. I’m sorry that I don’t have better news for you. I will do everything in my power to see that Clark survives.”
“But you think that you can help him? There is hope, right?” Jonathan asked, his tone anxious.
“There’s always hope, Mr. Kent. I will do my best. However, Clark’s biology is different from a human’s. I’m not experienced with this—no one is. But I assure you, I will do all I can to help your son.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Jonathan said as Dr. Dunn opened the door.
“You’re welcome. I’ll be out to talk to you as soon as I know more.”
They all left the office and Lois followed Clark’s parents back to the waiting room. Waiting for news about Clark was going to be excruciating.
*****
Lois was pacing a hole in the floor when she heard the soft, short melody that played over the hospital speakers whenever a baby was born. Somewhere in the hospital a new life was beginning, bringing joy to all the people who were gathered in anticipation to meet the newest member of their family.
Lois had once heard that when one passed on, a new soul was born. Her heart clenched as she thought of Clark—thought of the fact that he could be dying at that very moment—and there wasn’t a thing she could do other than to pray that the surgeons could help him.
Lois sighed before taking a seat next to Martha. Perry and Jimmy had joined them shortly after Clark had been taken into surgery, and now they were all seated in the surgical wing’s waiting room, doing what most people did when one sat in a waiting room.
They waited.
They’d been waiting so long that Lois was sure she was going to scream in frustration if someone didn’t tell them how Clark was doing. It seemed that some higher being was listening to her because at that moment, Lois spotted Dr. Dunn as he came out through two double doors marked with the words “physicians only.”
Lois was up and out of her seat in a heartbeat. “How is he, Doctor?”
Dr. Dunn ran a hand through his blonde hair before answering Lois’s anxious question. “The bullet passed through an artery. We did stop the bleeding, but I’m afraid that we weren’t able to stop it in time.” The doctor paused, and everyone held their breaths. Lois’s attention was drawn to the doctor’s haggard face as he started speaking again. “Clark’s lost a lot of blood. We’ve given him intravenous fluids to help replace the blood volume, but it’s really only a temporary solution. His only real chance of survival at this point is a blood transfusion.” The doctor’s words were spoken quietly, but Lois could hear the sorrow in his voice, could see the remorse in his eyes. “I’m sorry, but with Clark’s unique…situation…we all know that a blood transfusion isn’t…” the doctor trailed off, swallowing hard.
“Possible,” Lois finished softly. There wasn’t a single person on earth who could donate blood to save Clark’s life. “There’s nothing else you can do?” she choked out.
The doctor shook his head. “I wish there was more I could do. I’m so very sorry. I would do anything to help him—he’s done so much for us—but it just isn’t possible.”
A dazed feeling settled over her and she stared numbly as Martha collapsed into Jonathan’s arms. The older woman’s grief was heard throughout the waiting room as the mother of the world’s beloved hero sobbed into the front of her husband’s shirt. She watched as Jonathan tried to be strong for his wife, watched as the older man squeezed his eyes shut in an effort to hold back his tears…watched as a tear or two escaped anyway.
Lois was sure that she wasn’t breathing—that she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t allow her mind to think, couldn’t allow her heart to feel. She stood frozen, her eyes taking in her surroundings—watching the people around her.
The doctor was walking away, his expression one of sadness. Jimmy was in the corner of the room, seated in an absurdly bright orange hospital chair. He must be uncomfortable sitting in the hard plastic, Lois mused. Her young friend had his face hidden in his hands, but Lois could see his shoulders heaving as he cried for his friend.
And Perry was standing in front of her, his eyes bright with moisture. There was something different about him, though. Lois put her finger on it a moment later. She could see concern in her former editor’s eyes.
“Lois, Honey, can you hear me? Lois?” He was talking to her. The concern in his eyes must be meant for her.
Why was he so concerned about her? Why did he look so sad? Lois looked around the room in confusion. The room was cold and sterile. The lights were too bright and it smelled too clean. It smelled like a hospital. What was going on?
“Lois, I’m here for you, Honey. Please, talk to me…”
What did he want her to say? What was she supposed to say?
Lois tried to focus, tried to hear Perry through the fog that clouded her head.
“You’re strong…”
“…get through this…”
“…Clark…”
The only thing Lois really heard was his name. The dam suddenly broke and a violent flow of emotion overwhelmed her. Searing pain stabbed her in the chest, in her heart. She felt like her insides were on fire, like she’d been struck by lightening without the booming sound of thunder to warn her first. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything but sink to the floor as she gasped for air.
“NO! Clark!” Lois didn’t recognize her own voice, didn’t recognize the hysterical words that had slipped from her mouth. Someone’s arms came around her, holding her tightly, and she realized an instant later that they belonged to Perry. She clutched at his shirt, holding on for dear life as she wailed into his shoulder.
“Oh, god! It’s my fault! I did this to him! I killed him! If only I’d listened sooner, if only I’d called the police instead of rushing to Lex Towers, if only I’d told the police sooner that he needed help…”
<“Thank you…For loving me so much.”>
She heard Clark’s words in her head, his voice soft and loving…she’d never hear it again.
“If only I’d told him that I loved him sooner.”
<“You have…done everything for me.”>
She’d done nothing for him. Because of her he was going to die. She was going to lose the man she loved, and she had no one to blame but herself. Lois suddenly let out a scream, the sound piercing the hearts of anyone within earshot. It was a scream filled with such pain, with such agony and grief, that the sound of it brought the attention of the doctor and a nurse.
“Ms. Lane? Please, let me give you a sedative, it’ll help you to calm down.”
Lois stared at the doctor through her tears, her heart squeezing painfully. “What?” she asked confusedly. Why was everyone so concerned about her when Clark was the one who needed help? “But Clark…he needs me.”
“I know, Ms. Lane, but I can’t allow you to see Clark if you’re hysterical. Let me give you a sedative,” Dr. Dunn urged softly.
Lois nodded numbly, and Dr. Dunn beckoned for the nurse to administer the sedative. Several moments later, she felt a needle prick her in the arm.
“The sedative is mild but fast acting,” Lois heard the nurse say just as a surreal wave of sudden calmness flowed through her. She welcomed it, wished she could drown in it. Anything was better than the agonizing devastation she’d felt only a moment before.
Lois drifted into a hazy fog as she felt someone pick her up off the floor. She was floating in a sea of fluffy clouds, and they surrounded her, moving her along to a more tranquil place. It reminded her of flying with Superman—with Clark.
His name ran through her mind, warming her soul like sunshine on a hot summer day as the lights dimmed and oblivion claimed her.
TBC...
