Superman: Dawnbreaker (DC Icons #4)(26)

They all shook hands, and Lex said to Lana, “Bryan tells me you write for the school paper.”

“Are you kidding?” Bryan said. “She is the school paper.”

“It’s true,” Clark said.

Lana beamed. “I don’t know if I’d go that far.”

Lex took off his sunglasses. He pulled a business card from his jacket pocket and handed it to Lana. “When you graduate, look me up. My company in Metropolis is always looking to bring on talented writers.”

“Thanks,” Lana said, taking the card. She was clearly flattered, but Clark still didn’t know how he felt about Lex. The guy was just so slick. Like a smarter and more sophisticated version of Corey. And it struck Clark as odd that Lex wanted to be at a high school party.

Clark squashed these thoughts as the four of them started toward the farmhouse. He was flooded with a sudden sense of nostalgia. How many times had he been here during his freshman year? Ten? Fifteen? The place was almost exactly as he remembered it. A long dirt path led up to a faded white two-story house. There was a large, grassy side yard, where they used to have barbecues. And a large backyard that sloped down toward a vast stretch of farmland.

The Joneses’ property was unique in that it was extremely long and had several rows of tall trees breaking up the vast acreage. Tommy’s grandfather had planted them with the intention of creating several different plots with family houses for each of his children. But he’d never had enough money to build anything, and Tommy’s father was the only one still living in Smallville.

Inside the house, country music blared as dozens of people dressed in black milled about, laughing. Dancing. Shouting to one another over the music and drinking from red cups. Two large speakers were perched on a folding table, next to a spread of chips and pretzels and half-empty pizza boxes. Three big coolers on the ground were filled with melting ice and floating cans.

Aside from all the partyers, the house was virtually empty. There was no furniture besides a few folding tables and cheap plastic chairs.

When Lana spotted several friends from the school paper huddled together in the living room, she walked over to talk to them.

Lex scooped up three cold cans of beer and went to hand them out. Bryan took one, but Clark shook Lex off, saying, “I don’t really drink.” Lex shrugged and tossed the extra can back into the cooler. Then the three of them strolled out to the backyard, where another large crowd of people dressed mostly in black stood around a massive, crackling bonfire, talking and laughing.

Clark assumed he’d know everyone at this end-of-the-school-year party, but he didn’t. A few wore letterman jackets from a neighboring county high school. Others seemed slightly older, like Lex. College kids, maybe, back for summer break.

Clark stood a little straighter when he spotted Gloria standing in a small group of Mexican kids he recognized from school. She was wearing black overalls and a light blue T-shirt, and her long, thick hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She looked at him over her shoulder and gave a slight wave, then took a sip from the red cup she was holding.

He waved back, the butterflies hitting him hard as she started walking over. “I was hoping I’d see you here,” she said.

“Same with me.”

They were both quiet for a few seconds, and then she said, “No drink?”

He shook his head. “It’s not really my thing.”

“Yeah, me neither,” she said. When Clark glanced at her red cup, she held it out so he could see what was inside. “Water. I hate feeling like I’m out of control.”

Clark grinned. “To be honest,” he told her, “I haven’t been to a party like this in a long time.”

Gloria glanced toward the crowded bonfire area. “Yeah, I’ll take the neighborhood barbecues any day. I only came to keep an eye on my little brother. Do you know Marco?”

“Yeah. He plays soccer, right?”

She nodded and looked back at her group of friends. “Great,” she said. “Looks like he’s already ditched me.”

“I can help you find him,” Clark said.

“It’s okay.” Gloria glanced around before turning back to Clark. “I’m not usually the overprotective type. It’s just…” He saw fear flicker in her eyes. “Three more people from my community have disappeared. One of them—this guy Danny Lopez—was good friends with my uncle Rene. He went to work at a local farm and never came home. That’s six total, Clark. All young guys. And I’m not trying to lose my baby brother.”

“Whoa,” Clark said. “Three more? What’s happening?”

Gloria shook her head and sipped her water. “There are a lot of rumors flying around, but the bottom line is, we don’t know. Not yet, anyway. And I don’t place a whole lot of faith in our local police force these days. Not when it comes to stuff like this.”

Clark hated that Gloria had to second-guess local authorities, when so many of the white kids partying out here tonight—even poor whites—would never know that kind of anxiety.

Including him.

“Anyway, let me go track him down,” Gloria said. “Catch up with you later.”

Clark watched her walk back toward her group of friends, wishing he could ease her fear about her brother. He realized that since catching those men trespassing on his property, he’d been entirely consumed with what was happening in his world. From now on he would try to focus on the big picture. Starting with these mysterious disappearances.