Her Superman

Chapter Four - Ellesmere

Hardy escorted me out of the research room of Ellesmere to my bunk for the night. I wandered of to look around the place we were in.

"Miss Astrid!" I turned back to Hardy "Try not to wonder. Temperatures drop to minus 40 at night around here." i headed back over to where he was standing

"Wouldn't find your body till after spring." he tried to joke. I rolled my eyes and stepped inside. It was a store room with a cot in it. Men with Pride and ego for best friends are a bitch.

"And if I need to use the bathroom, genius?" I questioned

"There's a bucket in the corner." he closed the door chuckling.

"Asshole." I muttered taking my jacket off and grabbing my camera bag. Time to do some actual work. My job was 40% official and 60% just being plain nosey, going into places I shouldn't. My arrival was orchestrated, come early before they can lockdown on the good stuff. I learnt very quickly that if I wanted to do what I wanted to do. Outside the box had to be my best friend. I set up my camera and and grabbed my jacket and flashlight for emergencies. And I meant emergencies, the best story is one under the cover of darkness. Guards fell down even if they didn't mean to. But I wasn't dumb enough to bring a light incase I happened to get into trouble. A light can have many uses before you judge.

Anyway after grabbing my thinks I left my little make shift bunk and headed out. I took pictures of what I observed. Once I had a few I did a quick scout of them, because the shots were not up close I zoomed in and found something or rather someone interesting.

"Well, it looks like i'm not the only one up to sleuthing." I mumble. Being the true nosey person I've become. I followed the figure, granted I was way behind him. Keeping to the edge of the mountain I was happy I brought my torch. i switched it on and saw that I the figure from the picture had found and entrance of some kind.

"I love my job." I whisper to myself. I made my way in and it looked like the lights had been turned on. I don't know where I was but it was beautiful. I was in awe. I climbed a ladder to the next floor up and looked around, not to sound dumb but defiantly a hallway of something. I saw something come forward. It hovered and it was amazing. I raised my camera and let it come into focus before taking a picture.

Whatever it was it attacked me with some kind of whip, a powerful enough one to send be flying backwards into a wall. I screamed then grunted as this in the moment attack happened. I looked up screaming backwards as it came for another crack at me. Out of what felt like no where the man that I had followed tackled this thing, fighting with it till with ultimate strength crushed it. I hurt but I tried to get on my feet.

"Aria, Aria. It's alright, it's alright. It's me. It's me." he grabbed a hold of me to restrain me and I finally got a clear picture of him "It's me." I squatted my eyes, he knew my name. A lot of people knew my name but he was familiar. It hit me.

"C...Clark?" I breathed I stopped struggling. He was older, obviously but his eyes, I would remember those eyes anywhere. How did I not notice him before? He undid my coat and opened it up.

"Your haemorrhaging internally and if I don't cauterise this bleed." the full pain of my injury was now hitting me.

"H...How?"

"I can do things other people can't. I need you to trust me. Hold my hand, this is gonna hurt." I took his hand and that's when my view of Clark shifted, his eyes glowed red and shot out beams. I scream in agony before blacking out.

When I came to, it was daylight and I wasn't in the place I was before. I heard the sound of the helicopter approaching.

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What Colonel Hardy and his team summarised was a Soviet Era submarine, was actually something more peculiar. An isotope analysis of the surrounding ice bores suggest that an object had been trapped in the glacier for nearly 20,000 years. As for my saviour, well he disappeared during the departure of the object in question. A background check revealed that his work history and identification was falsified. The questions raised by my rescuers existence are frightening to contemplate. But I also know what i saw and I arrived at the undisputed conclusion that the object and occupant did not originate form Earth.

I tried to keep it as truthful as possible while still being protective of Clark, despite what I had learned about my childhood best friend, the need to protect him in some way was still thriving despite the fact it had been nineteen years and he was a alien all this time. Clark had reversed the table and left me this time. My hope was that by publishing the article I would bring him back, without having to go to his mother because that just felt like a low blow. I read it out to Perry.

"I can't publish this Aria. You might have hallucinated half of it." he threw the draft on the table.

"First of all that's offensive, second I didn't and third there were contractors who collaborated my story." I retorted folding my arms in defiance.

"The Pentagon is denying there was a ship." Perry continued

"Well of course they are it's their job. Besides who actually believes them half the time anyway, they're known for covering things up. Come on Perry. It's me we're talking about. I'm one of your most trusted and prized reporters. I'm pulitzer prize winning reporter to boot." I argued

"Then act like it." he grumbled

"Print it or I walk" I tried with the famous hand on hip for emphasis. Perry raised his eyebrow.

"Your under contract." I rolled my eyes in annoyance "I'm not running a story about aliens walking among us." Perry sighs sitting down then pushed his copy back across the desk.

"Never gonna happen." he added making me scowl and take it away. Fine, I would just bring Clark to me another way. Stubborn and persistent Aria he will defiantly remember.