Kennedy had been walking along Route 90 for the last ten minutes and not a single car had passed her. How hard was it for a girl to get a ride somewhere?
In this hick town, damn hard.
When she'd left Metropolis she should've headed the opposite direction, and as if things weren't bad enough there was a storm brewing. She pulled her leather coat tighter around her and huddled against it. The thunder rolled above her and the lightning crackled and split the dark night sky. She hated thunderstorms. The lightning especially freaked her out. Her dad used to say that the loud crashing was God moving his furniture and when the lightning flashed that was God testing his lights.
The thought made her smile even as the pain blossomed in her heart. Her dad had died in a car accident nine years ago, when she'd been only ten years old and she didn't think the aching would ever subside. If her father had still been alive life would be so very different. She wouldn't have ended up on the streets of Metropolis. And the last few months, which had been a long and terrifying nightmare, would certainly never have happened. Everything would have been the way it was before.
Perfect.
Just her and her dad, living in their tiny house in Knoxtown with the white picket fence and the apple tree in the front yard; spending their weekends fishing on the lake and their summers at the cabin in Hunter's Creek. A lone tear rolled down her cheek and the pain burned at the back of her throat.
Don't go there, Kennedy. It won't get you anywhere and right now anywhere is where you're headed.
She turned off down another long, twisting road and saw lights up ahead. They were coming from a farm and there was another light coming from a barn near the house. She could see two people. It looked like two men - a father and son - they were working, raking out hay and laughing.
Everybody has somebody.
She dropped her bag and climbed up onto the fence, arms resting on the top post. Seeing them work together and enjoying the closeness the task gave them, warmed Kennedy's heart. She was reminded of lazy summer afternoons, her father's sandy-blond head beneath the bonnet of a car and her, dressed in oil-stained dungarees, handing him the tools he needed to complete the job. When the tears fell she didn't bother wiping them away.
Another loud clap of thunder sounded overhead and then a jagged streak of lightning split the sky. Kennedy heard the sound of snapping branches in the tree beside where she stood. She glanced up as another streak of lightning hit and saw the branches spark, they began to crack and split. It wasn't until the huge branch finally snapped in two and fell towards her that she heard herself scream.
*
After dropping Lana off at Chloe's, Clark had gone home and helped his father finish off the barn cleaning. He raked and swept while his father tied up bundles of fresh hay and threw them on top of the huge bale that stood in the corner.
Jonathan Kent was strong, a ruggedly handsome man in his early forties. His farm, his wife and his son were the most important things in his life. But not quite in that order. He was a hard-working man. A good man. And even though there were times Clark got a little frustrated by his father's stubbornness, especially over his friendship with Lex, Clark loved his father deeply. They were a close and loving family.
Jonathan lifted an arm and wiped his brow along the sleeve of his red flannel shirt and glanced over his shoulder and smiled. 'Come on, son. Break a sweat,' he said jokingly.
Clark looked up from sweeping the floor and grinned. 'Sometimes it's nice to do chores the old-fashioned way. Instead of the usual super-powered Clark Kent way.'
'Well, if you want to be out here for the rest of the evening, then go right ahead. But me, I'm looking forward to a cup of hot coffee and a slice of your mother's home-made apple pie.'
His mother's apple pie was to die for. And the thought of it made Clark's mouth water. He cast a grin at his father and a second later he'd picked up speed as he began to fly around the barn, sweeping and raking, becoming a dizzying speedy blur before his father's eyes. He was so fast it made Jonathan dizzy. Ten seconds later Clark had swept and raked and was now leaning the broom up against the barn wall. He grinned at his father - who hadn't even had time to tie off the bale of hay - as he dusted his hands off, before slapping them together.
'Well,' Clark teased. 'That's me done.'
Jonathan laughed. 'Okay, son, just save me a slice of that pie.'
Clark grinned and was about to head out of the barn when a scream split through the air outside. Jonathan straightened up from the bale and was about to ask what was wrong, when as quick as the lightning that lit up the sky, Clark was out of the barn and headed in the direction of where the scream came from.
*
Kennedy couldn't move, it was like she were super-glued to the fence and for the first time in her life her quick thinking deserted her. Her short life flashed before her eyes and as the branch was about to come crashing down, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, lifting her to safety just as the branches came plummeting down and crashed through the fence.
Clark kept his arms around her as he landed in the muddy puddle, using his body as a crash mat for her. Then, her breathing quick and heavy, she lifted her head and looked at him.
'Oh my god!' she gasped, 'I - how did you...?'
'Are you okay?' he asked her, concerned.
She closed her eyes as if needing to re-focus and nodded her head. 'I think so. You broke my fall.' She looked at him. Even in the darkness she could see how gorgeous he was. Strong jaw, chiseled face and clear, bright eyes. And judging by the rest of him beneath her, he was solid muscle.
Wow.
Realising she was staring a little too much and that she was still on top of him, she quickly pulled herself up and stood, tugging at her coat.
Feeling a little self-conscious too, Clark climbed to his feet. 'Are you sure you're okay?'
She ran a hand through her soaking wet curls and nodded her head. 'I'm fine. Thanks. What about you? We landed with quite a thud.'
'I'm made of solid stuff.'
'I noticed.'
Clark's smile was modest. 'Are you sure you're not hurt?'
'Really. I'm fine. Just a little shaken.'
'Okay, well, you seem fine. Not hurt. Or bleeding.'
'Always a good sign.'
He smiled. 'What were you doing out here? Are you lost or - '
'Trying to catch a ride into the next town.' She let out a breath and shook her head. 'No go.'
'Well, if it's a ride you need, then I can - '
'No,' she said cutting him off. 'Really. You've done more than enough. If you hadn't shown up I would've ended up with a concussion or, y'know, dead.'
He couldn't help but smile. 'It doesn't look like this rain is letting up. I live on the farm just there,' he said pointing. 'My folks won't mind taking you in for the night. You can have a hot bath and I'm pretty sure there'll be a slice of home-made apple pie in the offering.'
A bath...a warm bed...apple pie. It sounded like heaven. But she shook her head. 'Thanks. But I should just keep going.'
'It's no trouble.'
A man began running across the field towards them and Clark saw the worried look on her face.
'It's okay,' he told her. 'It's just my dad. He, uh, he must've heard you scream.'
Kennedy nodded and turned back to him with a frown. 'So where did you come from?'
'Where'd I come from?'
'Yeah,' she said. 'I don't remember seeing anyone else on this stretch of road.'
'Oh, I was, uh, just passing. On my way home.'
'And you live on that farm there?' she said pointing.
'Yeah.'
'You, your parents and your brother?'
Clark looked at her and shook his head. 'I don't have a brother.'
'It's just I thought I saw two people in the barn when I was passing. Two men.' She stopped and frowned, recalling how he'd just appeared from nowhere and how quickly it had all happened. The running man was drawing nearer. 'You heard me scream?'
Clark nodded. 'Yeah.'
'From way over there...' She turned her gaze back to the barn and house in the distance. It was quite a way off. A good mile or two. The guy would have to have ears like a bat. A weird feeling began to fill her - she'd seen a lot of weird things in her life and knew this was a definite contender. She bent to retrieve her bag and flung it over her shoulder. 'Well, I...I think I should be going. Thanks for - ' she pointed to the ground where they had fallen ' - that.' Then she moved by him and without a backward glance, began to run as fast as her legs could carry her.
'Wait!' Clark called, watching her as she disappeared down the long, dark dirt-track.
'Clark!'
His father stopped on the other side of the fence, he was out of breath from running and leaned up against the post. He saw the branch that had smashed clean through the fence. 'What happened?' he asked.
'There was a girl. She was almost hit by the branches.'
Jonathan looked down the length of the road. 'Where'd she go?'
Clark turned back to the direction of where she had ran. She was nowhere in sight. 'She had to go,' he said thoughtfully.
'But she's okay?'
'Yeah,' he said still looking down the road. 'I think so.'
'Okay then, well, let's get you inside. You're soaking. Come on, son,' said Jonathan, as he turned and began to walk back across the field. 'We'll mend that fence in the morning.'
Clark tore his gaze away from the road and jumped over the fence, to fall into step beside his father.
'Who was she?' Jonathan asked. 'Does she go to the high school?'
'I don't know. I've never seen her before.'
Jonathan sighed. 'Makes you wonder what her parents are thinking. Letting a young girl walk around in the dark on a night like this.'
'Yeah,' said Clark taking another thoughtful glance over his shoulder. 'Yeah, it does...'
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COPYRIGHT. © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Debra Jay. 2003