I hope You're all enjoying this story so far. I'm a bit concerned that Clark is a tad OOC in this chapter, but then, he is younger and it's an elseworld.... Please tell me what you think.
Ice Blue
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Kal stared out the windows of the car with a sense of wonder, his mouth slightly agape. He’d never been outside the mansion without his step-father escorting him, and as the man seemed to have no interest in Kal, he’d spent much of his childhood alone and cooped up. Now, though, his step-father seemed to have had a change of heart, and had arranged for him to take a trip to….um….er…..
“Driver?” he asked the uniformed man in the front seat, “where are we going, again?”
“It’s a surprise, Master Luthor,” was all the man would say.
A frown crinkled in Kal’s forehead as the buildings that passed outside the window became gradually dirtier and more run-down. Something didn’t feel right, and a chill ran down his spine when the driver finally stopped the car and said, “We’re here.”
When the chauffer came around and opened his door, Kal stepped out and looked around curiously. He’d never seen anything like it; almost everything he looked at seemed to be broken: windows, lights, doors… A sudden click from behind him caused him to turn around.
The chauffer was holding a gun.
Instinctively, Kal took a step backwards. “Wh-what’s going on?” he stammered.
“I’m sorry,” the driver told him. “It’s nothing personal; It’s Mr. Luthor’s orders.”
When the realization clicked in Kal’s young mind, his eyes widened in terror. His step-father, his own step-father, wanted to kill him. He stared up at the driver, whose hand was shaking.
“I---I---I can’t do it.” The man lowered his gun and cursed. “You’re barely more than a boy. I can’t do it!” He replaced the gun inside his jacket.
Kal swallowed.
“Just go,” the man told him, gesturing off into the distance. “Get as far away from here as you can, and don’t ever come back. If you do, we’ll both be killed. I’ll cover for you. Now GO!”
Kal nodded and did as he was told. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him.
~*~*~
Kal knew he was fast, but it still surprised him when he reached and passed the state border. He kept running, getting neither hungry nor tired nor thirsty. In no time at all, the cities became suburbs and the suburbs became mountains. Then, the land became broad and flat.
The sun was going down just as he reached a field of rows and rows of corn. It was as thick as a forest, and he blindly plowed his way through. Finally, he managed to see a building off in the distance, and made his way toward it. It was a barn, but it was warm and not occupied by any people, and seemed as good a place as any to pass the night.
~*~*~
Jonathan stopped the truck when his headlights caught the start of a trail that had been broken through the corn. His first thought was that it might’ve been some kind of animal, or maybe just the Johnson boys up to their tricks again; but as it seemed to have been made by something fairly big and was headed in the direction of the farm, he thought it might be a good idea to check it out and make sure the animals were all right.
“Martha,” he said to his curious wife as she watched him climb out of the truck, “You go ahead and drive up to the house; I’m going to check this out.”
Martha nodded, unbuckled her seatbelt, and slid into the passenger seat as Jonathan started towards the trail. The Irigs were right behind them in their station wagon, and Wayne stuck his head out the window as Jonathan passed by.
“Something the matter?” he asked.
“It’s probably nothing,” Jonathan said. “Might be just a fox. I’ll meet you all back at the house in a minute.”
“Wait; I’ll come with you.” Sherriff Harris and his family had been riding with the Irigs, and now he climbed out of the car. “It could be troublemakers; the corn festival always seems to draw them out of the woodwork.”
Together, Jonathan Kent and Sherriff Harris followed the trail through the corn. In no time at all, they came to the end of the field. Sherriff Harris looked down. “Foot prints,” he noted. “They don’t seem to be yours, Jonathan.”
The foot prints led straight to the barn. The two men approached with caution, and Sherriff Harris reached for the handle of his gun before slowly pushing open the barn door. As the moonlight spilled into the barn, both of them gasped.
The teenage boy who’d been sleeping on the hay-bale suddenly bolted upright, bringing his arms up to shield himself. “Please don’t hurt me!” he pleaded.
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TBC
