Click Here For TOC I was going to stick to a weekly Monday schedule. But after getting blown away by all the feedback, I asked Carol what to do, and she walked me through the fine art of posting long fanfics. So, you have CarolM to thank for this post, and for the slightly more accurate denominator! Thanks, Carol! 
The new posting schedule is up to you guys: Do you want a short part every M/W/F, or a longer part every M/Th?
From Part 2:Soon, her road joined with another, wider road. This one had a curious pattern of white rectangles going down its center. That was odd… What did they mean? Were they some types of magnetic bars that guided this planet’s vehicles? Or were they supposed to communicate something? Was there something special about this road? Perhaps it led to the nation’s capital, or some sacred place, or…
Lara’s thoughts were interrupted when she heard what sounded like a trumpet from a very large, very sick animal and turned to see a large, rusty, wheeled machine barreling right towards her!
**********
And Now, Part Three:“Lost in Lovin’ and I----What the heck?!!”
Truck-driver Kyle Nathaniel Wilson had been on the road since three a.m., and so far nothing interesting had happened outside of the occasional bug colliding with his windshield. Now, as dawn broke, he suddenly saw the odd sight of a lone figure, standing in the middle of the road, staring at the white line! Instinctively, Wilson pulled on his horn and began braking as fast as he could.
The figure saw him and dove out of his way, landing in a heap on the side of the road. Nat managed to pull the truck over, and walked back to where the figure was slowly struggling to get up. It was a woman, perhaps in her fifties, and she looked pretty shaken. Well, no wonder; she’d almost been hit by a truck!
“Lady,” Nat said, “have you lost your mind?! What are you doing standing in the middle of the road---in the middle of the desert---at this hour?!”
The woman looked at him blankly.
“Look, do you need help? Are you lost?”
Her eyes darted from side to side and she took a step back, eyeing him cautiously.
Was she deaf? “I said, ‘ARE YOU LOST?’”
She flinched. No, she wasn’t deaf. What if she was crazy? Well, that would explain a couple things. On the other hand, she didn’t exactly *look* crazy, just---confused. Maybe she was an illegal immigrant. Nat had heard plenty of stories about trucks full of Mexicans sneaking past the border and then breaking down in the desert. She could have been stranded here for days!
“What’s your name?”
The woman looked at him, sighed, and said something that sounded like complete and total *gibberish.*
Okay, so she apparently wasn’t going to be much for conversation since she obviously spoke no English, and unfortunately, Nat didn’t know a lick of Spanish, if that’s what that was. It didn’t sound like any Spanish he’d ever heard---maybe she was crazy after all? He should probably radio this in, and then take her with him to the next stop. The authorities could handle it from there. One thing was certain, he couldn’t simply leave her wandering around in the desert.
“Look, my name is Nat Wilson, okay? Nat Wil-son.”
“Nat---Wil--Son.”
He smiled. “That’s right; Nat Wilson. And I’m going to help you, okay?” He did his best to look friendly and non-threatening. It wasn’t wise to frighten a crazy person. “Here, why don’t you come with me, back to my truck, and we’ll go find some nice friendly people to help you.”
She seemed suspicious of him at first, but after some gentle coaxing, he managed to persuade her to climb into the passenger seat of his truck. Nat climbed into the driver’s seat.
Nat reached over to help his passenger with her seatbelt. The woman, upon seeing his arms reaching for her, promptly swatted him away and began searching for the door handle.
“Wait, Miss!”
He reached out to stop her, but the woman glared at him. He withdrew his arm and raised both hands in surrender. “Look, I’m not gonna hurt you! All right? Both hands right here! See?”
Her glare stayed on him, but at least she wasn’t trying to escape from his truck anymore.
Nat settled back in his seat and fastened his own seatbelt. Let the woman do what she wanted; he wasn’t about to get in a fight with someone who might be crazy!
After he buckled up, a light bulb seemed to go off in the woman’s head. After briefly looking around her seat, she pulled her own seatbelt forward and turned to look at him.
“Uh, yeah. That’s your seatbelt. That’s all I was trying to do, fasten your seatbelt.”
She looked at the belt, then at him. Her cheeks turned a little red. Finally, she handed him the belt.
Nat reached over as best he could and buckled it for her. “Thought I was getting fresh, huh?” He grinned. “Well, don’t you worry about old Nat, Lady. I happen to be married, dontcha know.”
He started the truck and pulled back onto the road. When it seemed like there were going to be no further incidents, Nat reached for the CB radio.
“Break 1-9, break 1-9, this is Haircut-Poppa. We got any Smokies within earshot?” He released the button.
“This is Officer Richards, Arizona HP. What’s your 20, Haircut?”
Nat pressed the button again. “I’m west-bound on the big road, Interstate 8, about half an hour from Sentinel Pilot truck-stop.”
“What’s your problem?”
“I picked up a woman wandering around in the desert back at the Highway 85 interchange. She was alone, she don’t talk English, and she acts kinda kooky. I figure maybe she’s a foreigner or a nut-house escapee.”
Another voice cut in. “Haircut Poppa, this is Ficus-Ranger. Are you sure that’s a woman and not a Gila Monster?”
“Haircut, this is Red-Rodent. It seems to me some people will do *anything* to get a date!”
Nat chuckled.
“Officer Richards to Haircut Poppa, I’m at a 10-42 near Gila Bend right now, but I’ll try to meet you at the Pilot fuel desk in about an hour or so. How will I recognize you?”
“I’m wearing a white-and-red flannel shirt and carrying a bass guitar. How will I know you?”
Ficus-Ranger’s laugh came over the airwaves. “Duh, Haircut! He’ll be the one in the Smokey-the-Bear hat!”
**********
Clark flew toward the East Coast with Lois in his arms. They were over the western United States, now, and he flew slowly so they could take in the splendor of dawn. The desert was so beautiful at this hour! He looked down. “Uh, Oh.”
“Honey, what is it?”
“Accident. *Huge* one. Sorry, Lois, but I’m going to have to take you home so I can come back here and help out.”
Lois sighed. “Okay. You be careful, all right?”
“Always, Lois.” Clark grinned and sped them toward the rising sun.
**********
Nat pulled into the service area between the fuel desk and the pump canopy. He got out of the truck first, then went around and helped his guest out
She kept staring at everything around them, as if she’d never seen anything like it before in her life. It took more coaxing and gesturing to get her to go with him to the fuel desk. When they entered the building, her attention was diverted to a small TV that sat on the counter, showing footage of the accident at Gila Bend. Nat contemplated going to the restaurant and getting the lady a cup of coffee or some water. Suddenly, she grabbed his sleeve.
“Nat Wilson!”
“What?”
She began pointing frantically at the screen.
Nat looked. It seemed to be a pretty huge pile-up. Fortunately, Superman had arrived and was helping paramedics reach some of the victims that were buried in the twisted metal. “Yeah, it’s an accident. Darn shame.”
“Nat Wilson! Er---er---name!” She was pointing at Superman.
“Name?” What did she mean ‘name’? Surely she couldn’t be asking who Superman was; even people in Mexico knew him! So maybe she really was crazy, in which case, he should probably play along. “Uh, name Superman.”
“Superman!” She stared in wonder at the image on the screen. “Superman---lost?”
“Lost?! No, he’s not lost! Superman no lost. He’s right there, see? Right there.” Nat pointed to the screen.
“Right there…name? Name right there?”
Oh! She wanted to know where he was! “Right there Gila Bend.”
“Gila Bend?”
“Yes.”
“Ka---Superman Gila Bend?”
“Yes. Superman’s at Gila Bend. Yes.”
Nat and his companion watched as Superman continued to help with the clean-up. He didn’t quite understand the look that had suddenly appeared on the woman’s face. But then, what was the point in trying to understand a crazy person? He was a truck driver, not a shrink. As they watched, Superman apparently finished what he came to do and lifted back into the sky.
“Nat Wilson, Superman no at Gila Bend?”
He shook his head. “No, he’s not at Gila Bend anymore.” Now that the accident was taken care of, Officer Richards should be able to show up soon.
“Superman no---not at Gila Bend.” She stood there for a few seconds without saying a word, then her mouth formed into a tight line. “Name---right there---Superman at?”
“You mean where is he?”
“Where---is---he?”
“Well, I guess he went back to Metropolis. Er, Superman---Metropolis.”
“Metropolis? Superman at Metropolis?”
“Yes.”
“Not at Gila Bend anymore. Not at---Kansas anymore?”
Nat raised an eyebrow. “Kansas?”
“Where---is---Metropolis?”
For a woman who didn’t seem to know a lick of English when he picked her up, she sure seemed to be mastering it pretty fast. “Oh, Metropolis is far away. Out east.” He automatically gestured with his thumb in the direction of the climbing sun. “Hold it, Lady! Where are you going?!”
He reached out to detain her, but she pushed passed him with a strength he never would’ve guessed her capable of and ran out the door, nearly knocking down the officer who’d just entered.
**********
TBC
