The Green Mile 1/5 Clex Smallville Adult

Title: The Green Mile
Author: Wereleopard
Email: NC-17
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Challenge: The Green Mile
Summary: Lex meets a prisoner on death row that changes his outlook and his life
A/N: Thanks to Krista for beta’ing this
Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Smallville, Stephen King or Batman. I can dream but it ain’t going to happen. I am not making any money from this, it is just for fun.

Chapter One

An eerie silence hung heavily in the air as the men slowly walked through the overgrown field, rifles resting on their shoulders. Their eyes darted about waiting for an attack, even though they were the hunters.

A piece of material, obviously from a young girl’s nightdress, flapped in the wind unable to break free from the twig where it was attached. A shaking hand pulled it off, hot tears filling the man’s eyes. It belonged to one of his daughters. Shouting out to the other men, they all began to move faster, knowing they were on the right track, hoping to get there to find his children, his girls safe.

Dogs barked mournfully in the background but all he could here was his own breathing, the pounding of his own heart. He screamed out as loud as he could, fear coursing through his veins.

“Katie, Cora?”

XXXXX

The two young girls huddled in fear. A voice whispered over them, something that had been said before.

“You love your sister? You make any noise, you know what happens,” the silken voice washed over them filling them with terror.

XXXXX

Silver-grey eyes suddenly opened, his chest heaving. Slowly reality and sound came back to him, the mumble of the conversations in the hallway as they passed his door.

Lex knew that he would never get back to sleep; he never did when he has this particular nightmare. It was one he would never forget no matter how much he tried.

He washed just like normal, his hands rubbing across his bare skull, it had been a very long time since he had hair, in fact he had been like this since he was 9 years old.

Once he was dressed, Lex walked out into the hallway of the retirement home. Walkers and wheelchairs were strewn about everywhere. He barely noticed them because there was something he needed to do; the same thing he does everyday.

Lex smiled and chatted briefly to everyone, but as always there was determination in his eyes. If you just stared at them in the right way, he could have been a man eighty years younger.

“Good morning Mr Luthor, a Danish this morning?” Jason asked as normal.

“No, just two pieces of dry toast, Jason. Thanks. Leftovers fine.”

“Dry and cold, same as always.”

“Cold is better.” Lex said with a smile.

“Especially on those long walks? Don’t let Doctor Godzilla catch you, Sorry I mean Doctor Bryce. She’ll raise holy hell. We don’t want you to have an accident so we have to send out a search party.”

Lex smiled at the new nurse, Jason Teague, he came across as a good guy. Lex walked away, sneaking out a door that headed to the side of the kitchen. Once there, he quickly turned the corner, grabbed a red raincoat and snuck out the back door with the two pieces of leftover, cold toast wrapped securely in a napkin in his pocket.

It took him a while to get where he was going, using one half of the piece of toast to keep up his strength until he reached his finally destination, an nondescript old building.

XXXXX

A while later, Lex had managed to sneak back in without anyone seeing him and was now sitting with everyone else watching television.

Pete Ross stared at the television for a moment longer, his hands resting on his cane. “Why do we always watch this stuff?”

“It’s interesting.” Alicia told him, glancing quickly at him before her gaze went back to the television.

Pete looked at her in amazement - it was Jerry Springer. “Interesting? Bunch of inbred trailer trash? All they ever talk about is fucking.”

Pete ignored all the gasps around him as he slowly made his way to the television flicking through the channels until he found one he liked. Fred and Ginger.

“Are you alright Lex?” Chloe asked the man who had become one of her best friends.

“I’m fine, I promise.” He told her sincerely.

“It’s those walks, they are wearing you out.” She scolded him, annoyed that she couldn’t find out where he went and what he was doing. That was one thing that had annoyed people about her; Chloe didn’t like not knowing what was going on with everything especially her friends.

“I just had a nightmare last night that was all. We all have them.” Lex smiled softly but soon tears filled his eyes as he heard Fred and Ginger singing, they were dancing cheek to cheek.

Heaven
I’m in heaven
And my heart beats so
That I can hardly speak
And I seem to find
The happiness I seek
When we’re out together
Dancing cheek to cheek.
Heaven
I’m in heaven
And the cares that hung around me
Through the week
Seem to vanish
Like a gambler’s lucky streak
When we’re off together dancing cheek to cheek

The elderly bald man couldn’t take it any longer; the tears fell from his eyes as the memories flooded him. He was suffocating and needed to get out; ignoring all the stares he rushed out knowing that Chloe was close on his heels.

“Lex what was it? It was something to do with the film, right?” Chloe’s eyes showed her anxiety and worry about her friend but not enough to stem her persistent curiosity.

They went to the conservatory, fortunately finding it empty. A short while later, two hot cups of tea were brought to them as the rain poured down outside obscuring everything from view.

“I guess sometimes the past catches up with you whether you want it to or not. I haven’t spoken of these things for a long time, Chloe. Over 60 years” Lex mumbled as he emptied a sugar packet into his cup.

“Lex I’m your friend.”

Lex looked down briefly and then back up to the woman sitting opposite him.

“Did I ever tell you that I was a prison guard during the depression?” Lex asked her not sure if he had actually told her about it.

“You’ve mentioned it.” Chloe frowned at him wondering where this was going.

“Did I also happen to mention that I was in charge of death row? That I supervised all the executions?”

A look of surprise flitted across her face as she shook her head.

“They usually call death row the Last Mile, but we called ours the Green Mile, because the floor was the colour of faded limes. We had the electric chair then. Old Sparky, we called it.” Lex took a deep breath and ran his hand over his skull.

“I’ve lived a lot of years, Chloe, but 1935 takes the prize. That was the year the side effects came back to me, same symptoms I originally had when the meteors landed in Smallville. I was 9 years old then, that was what took my hair and changed my life. I could have just grown up as a rich kid letting daddy get him out of any situation. That was also the year of Clark Kent, and the two dead girls.”

Chloe could see Lex looking at her but she realised his mind had already gone back to the past, to 1935.

TBC