Dream Girl: Chapter 10 - Overtaken
Unfortunately, the needle Chloe used in her assault had been empty. Hogan pulled the long needle out of his back, keeping one hand cupped under his nose to catch the blood that spilled out. With a growl, Hogan hauled himself up off the floor, the glass syringe shattering as he threw it at the wall. He extracted another syringe, one full of his drug, from his coat pocket. It was time for Ms. Sullivan to experience all the drug could offer, Hogan thought. Until now, the leader of New Death had only been giving her small doses, hoping in time she would come over to his side. He had to find her. Hogan couldn't let her jeopardize his life's work. He still needed live specimens and if Chloe or her article were allowed to see the light of day, he could kiss all that goodbye.
The blood still poured from Hogan's broken nose, so much he gave up trying to stem the flow. The red river ran freely down his face and dripped onto his white lab coat, painting him even more maddened than before. There was only one hall leading from the main floor of the abandoned warehouses back to where the offices were in this wing, now occupied by experimentation and observation rooms; storage and sleeping quarters. The rest was a perfect maze to others who knew not what they looked for. Gazing down the first leg of the hall before it turned, he saw nothing. He began walking cautiously, listening and looking for another surprise attack from Chloe.
While Hogan made his way quietly down the hall, a pair of metal doors over on the loading deck were torn from their hinges and thrown violently through the air. Clark strode onto the vacant warehouse floor the size of a football field. Kicking on his x-ray vision, Clark swore as he found the interior walls to be lined with lead, same as the exterior; perfect for the regulation of temperature but a major pain in his ass at the moment. Not knowing exactly where to look, Clark sharpened his hearing and picked up two intakes of breath. One steady and deep; the other labored and fast. Following the sounds, Clark sped across the concrete floor to a glass door and entered what was probably once a reception office.
Clark found three hallways intersecting right outside the lobby. Standing at the head of one of the hallways, he listened. In the quietness, he heard the turn of a knob. Clark walked along the wall toward the noise, carefully turning a sharp corner, holding himself from flying into action that might be fatal to Chloe.
Hogan, on the same hall, just around another corner, hurriedly ducked into one of his many torture rooms and peeked through the crack of the door. A few feet down, he watched Chloe emerge, dressed in navy coveralls. In his deranged dreams, he hoped to find something more with Chloe Sullivan than the captor/hostage roles he'd run through in his mind. When she had first started meeting him outside the college's hospital ward, Carter had spent the hours after just picturing her face and re-playing her voice in his head. After he found out about the article she was writing for her journalism class, he wanted her to be his final experiment but things hadn't turned out as he planned. With a wistful sigh, Carter imagined how lovely it would be to watch her take her final breaths. Silently, he left his hiding place and made his way stealthily behind Chloe.
A shoe squeaked and Chloe, feeling the malevolent presence behind her, tensed. She turned and the moment she did, Chloe saw the crazed form of the mad man spring into action and crash into her, knocking her to the ground.
Chloe let all the air out of her lungs in a blood-curdling scream, piercing Clark's sensitive hearing and causing him to flinch. He zoomed around yet another corner and saw Chloe wrestling with a man slightly larger than her. Clark's relief at finding Chloe alive was short-lived as he watched the man raise a murderous needle in the air, blood covering his hand. Chloe continued to fight like a wildcat, screaming and cursing as she struggled beneath him. Finally, Chloe knocked the syringe out of his hand. The man, Clark knew to be Carter Hogan, scurried off her and after it. With a sob, Chloe pushed herself up on her elbows and turned over, starting to crawl away. Chloe and Carter caught sight of Clark at the exact same time. In an instant, Carter lunged and grabbed the back of Chloe's head as Clark moved toward them.
"Clark! No! It's Kryptonite!" Chloe shrieked out in warning but it was too late. Clark was upon them in a flash.
"Hogan! Let her go!" Clark yelled, reaching out to grab Carter by his clothing and drag him away from Chloe. Just as he did, Carter directed the needle toward Clark's exposed wrist and stabbed. The Kryptonite allowed it to penetrate his flesh and Clark cried out in agony as Carter pumped almost all of the deathly mixture into him before yanking it away. The liquid rushed through his body, causing his mighty form to fall to the floor with a heavy thud.
"Clark!" Chloe's anguished scream barely pierced Clark's ears as he throbbed in pain. She watched him writhe on the floor, his skin turning a ghostly white.
"It's your turn, my dear," Carter's voice whispered in her ear. Chloe lay very still, watching Clark. His eyes were open and they were clinging to hers. Chloe bit her tongue to keep from sobbing as she watched the man she loved dying just a few inches from her. Tears broke and slid down her cheeks. Slowly, Chloe moved her hand and began negotiating the hammer from the front pocket of her jumper. Carter tenderly moved her hair from her neck and ran his fingers along her skin. Chloe squeezed her eyes shut to clear them of tears then opened them as Carter leaned down and kissed the curve of her neck. Chloe's eyes never left Clark's as she freed her arm and swung. The hammer connected with Carter Hogan's right temple and Chloe heard a sickening crack. Dead weight pushed Chloe to the floor as blood ran down her neck and into her clothing. The needle he'd been brandishing sank slightly forward into her back with just enough juice left.
"No, please…" Chloe whispered. She crawled out from under Carter and over to Clark, fighting the darkness trying to overtake her mind. Clark laid still, almost no breath escaping, his eyes closing slowly. Chloe crouched over him, brushing back the hair from his sweaty face.
"Clark? Clark? Tell me what to do. I don't know what to do," Chloe sobbed brokenly. A burning was beginning low in her back. Gazing down at Clark, she saw his lips move. Chloe leaned down, the burning now racing along the inside of her limbs. No sound, just movement. Chloe laid her ear to his lips as he moved them one last time.
To read Ch. 11, click here.