From Tank's Challenge
It was time.
I reached for the car keys and turned the ignition. The engine protested the abuse I was putting it through by trying to rouse it from its near frozen slumber. But finally, after nearly running the battery down with several false starts, the engine caught and began to run. I quickly threw the temperature gauge to full heat, and flipped the fan switch. Cool air began to blow into the cab which caused me to start shivering. The violence of my shaking was beginning to hurt before the thermostat finally opened up and warm air began to flow into my prison.
It was like heaven.
As the numbness of the cold began to leach out of my fingers and toes, the burning sensations came back. Still, it was bearable. More bearable than the cold. It was only a few more minutes before it was positively warm. I was beginning to feel sleepy.
I didn't have any idea how long it would take for the cabin of my jeep to fill with the trapped exhaust fumes which would cause unconsciousness, and eventually death. The fact that it would happen, of that there was no doubt. I may not have much time left, but, at least I would die warm.
I shifted about some, trying to find the most comfortable position. I stared down at the pad of paper on the seat next to me. "I love you, Clark."
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.******************************
I have felt this terrible sense of unease since mid-afternoon. The school bus accident took longer than I thought it would to clean up. The kids needed reassurance and I just couldn’t whisk off quickly. When I got back to the Planet and found Lois gone, I looked for a note first on my desk, then on her desk, and then asked Perry and then Jimmy where she was. Jimmy said he gave the Van Brocklin research to her just after lunch. Later, she took a phone call and then left hurriedly as if to meet a source. I looked at three different message pads on her desk, hoping for a clue from the indentations on the blank paper. Finally, I found scribbled directions to Al’s Diner on Rte. 42 and Ferris Road and the note 3 p.m. It was now 4:30 and I could barely keep my speed down getting to the stairwell and airborne.
I think I made a speed record even for me to Al’s Diner. I was in such a hurry to find her that I walked in the Diner as Superman and asked the waitress if she had seen a woman around 3 p.m. She said there hadn’t been many customers that afternoon and she remembered a man who left a note for a woman he was supposed to meet. The woman had read the note then took off driving up into the mountains. I described Lois and the clothes she was wearing today and the waitress confirmed she was the woman. I thanked her briefly and then left to follow the road.
“Come on Lois. Where are you?” I mutter aloud. “Help me find you, Lois!” Why haven’t I heard any cries of “Help, Superman”? That doesn’t seem like Lois. Fortunately, I can still see the outline of the road under the dusting of snow. But the snowfall is increasing. Lois is running out of luck. Why didn’t she call for me? Maybe she was still mad at Superman for not saving Clark. I mentally kick myself for not being forthcoming to Lois after the Clyde Barrow fiasco and my “resurrection.”
If I tune my vision just right, I can see a single set of tire tracks under a fresh layer of snow. Why is she driving alone up this isolated road? Or was the man waiting for her outside the diner and then took her hostage and then to some lair in the woods? Either way, she’s in trouble and my unease is turning into full-blown panic. I follow the winding road with increasing speed, snow swirling up behind me as I fly nearly supersonic. The snow is falling harder and wherever she is at, she is in trouble in this weather.
It is getting dark and there is little moonlight. My agony is increasing. Suddenly, just ahead of me I can see a heat source. My vision extends further into the infrared than humans. I x-ray the car and find it’s Lois’ Jeep with the engine running and Lois alone inside it, head lying back on the headrest. The heat from the engine has melted some of the snow around the car, but the front is down in a ditch and the back is just barely sticking out of the snow. I see the back window is open just a bit. For air, I hope, because the tail pipe is covered with snow and the exhaust is going into the car. Just to be sure, and with great relish, I pull the window out and down into the snow. The shatterproof glass breaks handily into two pieces.
Clearing down to the driver’s door, I look through the window to see Lois with her eyes closed. I can’t tell if she is breathing or not! I rip the door off and throw it away with more force than necessary, frantic to get to her. I put two fingers to her neck. She has a pulse and I can just barely hear her breathing. A wave of relief washes over me, but I need to get her to a hospital! I check her legs and find them pinned under the crushed dashboard. Removing the dashboard is easy, but her left leg needs a tourniquet since the dash was keeping pressure on the wound. X-ray reveals the leg is broken but more importantly the bleeding needs to be stopped. Tearing a strip from my cape I quickly bandage her leg and then lift her gently into my arms, snuggling her close to me and whispering “Hang on Lois. You’re safe with me now.”
Flying with Lois in my arms is slower than flying alone, but we are still making rapid time back to the city. Not knowing whether she can hear me or not, I keep talking to assure her and hopefully give her comfort. “Hey, we had a really great time at Thanksgiving last week with my parents. You laughed and we all talked and ate Mom’s fabulous food. They love having you at the house. *I* love having you at the house.” Suddenly I stop talking but not flying. I’m talking to her like I’m Clark, but I’m flying with her in The Suit. Maybe it’s time to man up and tell her about myself. Nearly loosing her is like coming up against Kryptonite.
I stride into the familiar emergency room of Met General with my precious burden, trying to make it seem like any other rescue. But it really isn’t. Not to me. I place her on a handy gurney and announce loudly, “Lois Lane. From the Daily Planet. She has hypothermia, carbon monoxide poisoning and a broken left leg. I found her in a stalled car in the snow in the mountains.”
The Physicians Assistant rushes over for a quick exam. “We’ll get right on it, Superman. Do you have any contact information?”
“Yes. Yes, I do. I know her personally.”
“All right. Please give it to the admit office.”
I go over to the desk, deciding on the way that it is time to get out of reaction mode and into action mode. I tell the receptionist, “Why don’t I go get her contact, Clark Kent, and bring him here. He can provide you with all the relevant information.”
*******************
It’s peaceful here at Lois’ bedside. Perry and Jimmy have been in and out making sure she is O.K. She is still not awake, but she is set, stitched, bandaged, drugged and breathing oxygen. And most importantly, she is alive. The machine hisses in an out like a person breathing. I’m sitting there just holding her hand and rubbing my thumb over the back of it.I’ve quietly told her the Thanksgiving story again. I’m saving the death at the gambling den story for when she is fully conscious and can throw things at me and chase me down. Dr. Hamilton really didn’t clone me, but the whole issue resurrected my spirit.
When I went back to retrieve her poor battered Jeep while she was in surgery I found her “Last Will and Testament.”
“You have my heart, too.” I whisper to her and kiss her lightly on her forehead.
The End.
Artemis
