Edgar Allan Poe In My Own Backyard: 2
EDGAR ALLAN POE IN MY OWN BACKYARD: chapter two
by Linda Seaton
The writing
of the letter had been easy. Penning a suicide note had never seemed a
possibility but Lex Luthor had just discovered he was surprisingly good at it.
He smiles and thinks it is a shame that he only gets to do this
once.
Placing the note in the dead center of his desk, Lex slides on his
favorite coat and discards his cell phone. No more phone calls from
Daddy-Dearest. The one this morning was going to be the last.
Lionel had
once again pushed Lex to try to make him return to Metropolis. Lionel had told
him that when he had acquired the Smallville Savings and Loan he had also gotten
some sort of land grant that dated back to the pre-Civil War era. In effect,
Lionel Luthor had somehow wound up owning all the land that makes up Smallville.
Unless Lex returned to Metropolis as obedient son, Smallville would be turned
into an industrial waste dump.
Lex strolls to the doorway and surveys
his office for the last time. He could have gone back to Metropolis. Suicide?
Self-sacrifice is not something known to be in the Luthor genetic hardwiring.
Which is what makes this suicide so perfect. His father will be so baffled by it
that he will spend years trying to figure out what really pushed Lex over the
edge. It couldn't because he wanted to save a town. No, it had to be something
bigger and better than that.
Lex smiles. There�s a bridge out there with
his name on it. He hurries off to reintroduce himself to his destiny.
As
soon as he is out of the room his cell phone begins to trill.
- - - - - -
- - -
At Smallville High the end of day bell rings. As the other students
hurry from the classroom, Clark cups his egg in his palm and then slides it into
a particularly thick sock.
�I think yours looks like Lex. Is there
something I should know, Clark?�
�Very funny.� He glares at Chloe as she
walks up beside him with her egg held a lot less carefully in her hand. �You
should be more careful with that.�
�Clark Kent expert parent.� He looks
alarmed as Chloe shoves the egg into her bookbag.
�Chloe, your
egg?�
�Oh, I drilled a hole in the bottom, drained the yolk and refilled
it with ball bearings and rubber cement. It�s fine.�
�That�s
cheating.�
�This egg is no child of mine, Clark. I�m expecting a few more
survival skills.� She smiles at him and produces her car keys. �Are you sure you
don�t want to come? See the graffiti outbreak that is scandalizing all of
Smallville?�
�I�m not really fond of that bridge, Chloe. And I think I�m
going to swing by Pete�s to see why he was a no show today.�
�Teacher
conference and half-day of school. Pete probably sweet-talked his mom into
letting him take the full day.�
Clark watches as Chloe scrambles out of
the classroom slamming her bag against several desks and the door facing. He
pats his egg reassuringly as he walks carefully out into the hallway.
His
attention so focused on conveying the egg, Clark does not notice the janitor�s
gear in the hallway. He trips and the mop snaps upright just as Lana Lang turns
the hallway corner.
The mop handle connects with Lana�s head. There�s an
odd hollow thwack and she falls back. Out cold.
�Lana!�
Clark
kneels beside the girl and gently touches her face. She moans. Her eyes flutter
open and she focuses on Clark.
�Who am
I?�
�Lana?�
�Lana?�
Clark realizes this could go on
indefinitely so he tries to explain. �Your name is Lana Lang. Don�t you
remember?�
�Who are you?� She pushes herself up to a sitting
position.
�My name is Clark Kent. And I think we should get you to the
hospital.�
He half-lifts Lana into his arms and guides her down the
hallway while still protecting his egg.
- - - - - - - - -
Standing
in Lex�s office, Lionel reads the suicide note and his face is a cipher.
Finally, he pockets the letter and sits down behind the desk. He tugs a small
brown book out of his pocket and flips through the pages.
He stops when
he comes to one labeled: �Replacement Lexs/Illegitimate Luthors�. The page
contains about a dozen names. The first two have been scratched out and someone
has penciled in �Deceased: Amsterdam� with the date 4/5/97 beside the first and
12/3/99 beside the second.
Lionel puts is finger on the next name in
sequence: Lucien Luthor. He dials the corresponding number.
�It�s time. I
need you to send, Lucien to Smallville.� There�s a long pause as Lionel listens.
�He�s on vacation on Europe. Amsterdam.... never mind.�
Lionel hangs up
the phone and scratches through Lucien. He moves to the next name: Lester
Luthor. He dials again.
�It�s time. I need you to send Lester to
Smallville.� Lionel jerks the phone away from his ear to try to shield himself
from the happy screams.
�I�m going to Smallville, I�m going to
Smallville, I�m going to Smallville, I�m going to Smallville....�
Lionel
hangs up the phone, bows his head and rubs his face.
"Lex...."
-
- - - - - - - -
Lex walks from hiis car and toward the bridge. He debates
on taking off his coat and decides to leave it on. He knows that the coat will
make it more difficult for the coroner to perform an autopsy and for some reason
that amuses him.
Leaning against the railing of the bridge, Lex watches
the flat, rippleless brown water. If the fall doesn�t kill him then he�ll have
to drown. A good swimmer, Lex knows drowning himself will not be easy. He takes
a few more steps so that he is directly above swiftly flowing water and a series
of boulders and rocks. He rubs the top of his head one last
time.
Steeling himself with a series of breaths, he hoists himself onto
the rail of the bridge. He focuses all his attention on the water.
He
does not notice the fast approaching Ford Falcon. Behind the wheel, Chloe does
see the suicidal Lex Luthor.
A moment of panic sets in as she stops the
car and surveys the interior. Cell phone won�t help. Her camera, well it could
get her college tuition with a series of shots, but no. Then she sees the
handcuffs dangling from her rearview mirror like fuzzy dice gone bad. She
realizes she can handcuff him to the bridge.
She grabs and unlocks the
cuffs, pockets the keys and runs for all she is worth toward Lex.
He
balances precariously on the railing. He closes his eyes, reconsiders and opens
them again. He lifts one foot and then suddenly he is tugged back. He struggles,
he grapples, he rolls around on the pavement with a streak of blonde and comes
up handcuffed to Chloe Sullivan.
They blink at each as both realize his
left hand is manacled to her right. They get to their feet.
�Why do you
have handcuffs?�
A badly rattled Chloe begins to laugh. �You were going
to kill yourself and you�re concerned about me having
handcuffs?�
Suddenly, Lex is even more right on top of her than before.
He grabs her tightly by the upper arms and half lifts her off the
ground.
�Where are the keys for the handcuffs, Chloe?�
Almost as
if she cannot help herself, Chloe�s gaze travels to her coat pocket. Lex
stretches across her and invades the pocket. With his attention focused
elsewhere, Chloe throws the keys that she has cupped in the palm of her hand.
Lex realizes what she has done and looks up just in time to watch the keys sail
over the side of the bridge.
He cannot help himself and charges over to
the side of the bridge with Chloe in tow.
He looks at her. No words will
come. Instead he makes a strange humming sound that seems to grow louder as his
face gets more flushed. Finally, he manages, �What have you done, you,
you...�
�No name calling. I just saved your life and now I�m not letting
go of it.� She tries for a dramatic turn and walk but Lex holds his ground and
her in place.
�Where do you think you�re going.�
�Car.� Chloe
gestures toward her Ford and Lex shakes his head.
�We�re taking my
car.�
Chloe shakes the handcuffs. �I�m on the right and unless the
steering wheel of your car is on the wrong side then I�m driving.� He glares at
her but Chloe refuses to be cowed. " Jumping off a bridge? Not only is that
crazy but, but, it's also kind of common. I'd expect a slightly more glamorous
death from Lex Luthor."
She gestures with both hands as Lex tries to keep
his distance. She rambles on, "I'm driving. And I think the first place I'm
going to take you to is the psychiatric ward at the hospital."
- - - - -
- - - -
The emergency room doctorr moves his finger back and forth and up
and down in front of Lana�s face. �She doesn�t have a concussion. I think you
should just take her home and let her rest. Don�t let her go to sleep for at
least three hours but other than that....�
�But what about her memory?�
Clark asks.
Lana nods her head in agreement. What about her
memory?
�Since I transferred here from Metropolis General last month I�ve
seen thousands of cases of temporary amnesia. If it doesn�t wear off by tomorrow
bring her back in.�
The doctor moves off leaving Clark to help Lana with
her coat.
�I�m sorry to be so much trouble.�
�It�s all my fault.
If I hadn�t been so concerned about my egg.�
�Your egg?�
Clark
produces the egg. �As part of a class project we have to take care of an egg for
a week. To prove our parenting skills.�
�So, I have an egg too? Somewhere
out there on it�s own?�
�I guess. But I think amnesia is a valid excuse
for not caring for an egg.�
�Would that be a valid excuse for not caring
for a real child?�
Clark smiles and marvels at Lana�s level of
responsibility. �We can stop by the school and get your stuff out of your
locker. Maybe your egg is there.�
Lana smiles and hooks her arm through
Clark�s. He leads her from the room.
- - - - - - - - -
With two
large suitcases held in his meaty paws, Lester Luthor strides through the open
doorway of his new ancestral home. He�s dressed in a poorly fitting plaid suit
and wearing a baseball cap. He passes off the bags to the wary
butler.
�Dad, I�m home!�
Lionel practically slides into the entry
hall. Lester is suddenly right on top of him and locks him in a tight bear
hug.
�Dad.�
Lionel extricates himself. �It�s nice to see you
Lester.� He walks around the young man. Lester bears a striking resemblance to
Lex facially but he is probably a good six inches taller and a hundred pounds
heavier. He also sports a thick head of wavy dark hair and a single inky
eyebrow.
�Lester, from now on you�re going to be called �Lex�. Do you
have any objections to having your head shaved?�
�No, sir.�
�Good.
While we can�t do anything about the height difference...� Lionel circles around
Lester. �Do you think you should lose some weight?�
�I�m three percent
body fat.� Lester shrugs out of his suit jacket to reveal massive, chiseled
arms.
Lionel smiles. �I suppose Lex could have been working
out.�
He puts his hand on Lester�s back and guides him toward Lex�s
office. �What�s the last book you read, son?�
�I don�t read much. I
stopped going to school in 7th grade because of the rages...�
- - - - - -
- - -
Near the Luthor estate, a ggiant sedan circa 1972, peels out and
leaves Pete and Faux Pete behind in a cloud of dust.
�This is the first
and last time I hitch hike anywhere.� Pete glares at his twin.
�Live a
little.� Faux Pete starts walking in the general direction of Luthor
house.
Pete follows a little reluctantly. �Mrs. Hiller is going to tell
my mom that there was two of me in her car.�
�And is your mother going
to believe some half-blind little old lady who tells her that her son has a
long-lost twin?�
�I hope not.�
Faux Pete quickens his pace toward
the house and Pete glances back worriedly in the direction the car had sped
off.
- - - - - - - - -
Belted in the massive car, the frail Mrs.
Hiller puts both feet on the accelerator. She risks a glance back over her
shoulder.
Behind the wheel of the family truck, Clark swerves hard to
miss the oncoming car. Lana yelps and holds on as he regains control of the
vehicle.
�Are you okay, Lana?�
�I�m fine. What was
that?�
�That was Mrs. Hiller. And she�s driving really fast for someone
who is eighty-three. I hope nothing�s wrong.�
�You worry a lot, don�t you
Clark?� Lana cradles his egg child in her hand.
�Smallville, this town,
does that to you.�
�I�m beginning to get that. I don�t really remember
anything but I just can�t shake the feeling that at any second something might
fall out of the sky.�
