To Vanessa's surprise, the door lock only twisted slightly but didn't open.
Standing outside the door, Peter suddenly stopped moving in a strange manner.
He neither pushed the door open nor walked away.
The air was filled with silence.
Vanessa's heart was in her throat with tension.
Finally, just as she was about to break down, she heard Peter's footsteps retreating.
When the sound of his steps faded into the distance, Vanessa collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Breathing heavily, she was relieved that he hadn't entered. Slowly, she let go of the knife in her hand.
A few minutes later, she stumbled to where her son's body lay.
She glanced at the dark night outside, her eyes hardening. "No matter what, I will bring you back, Terry."
Once Peter had left, she went to the kitchen and found a roll of duct tape. She taped a pickaxe and shovel together, then made a strap out of rope to carry the tools.
After completing all the preparations, she placed her son's body in the car's trunk.
Her husband, Louis, had recently had his driver's license revoked, so the car had been sitting in the garage for some time.
"Vroom!"
The car roared to life as it sped through the rainy night.
Vanessa drove the car, quickly arriving at a forest on the outskirts of town.
The quiet forest echoed with a fearful wind.
Raindrops beat down on her hair, and for a moment, an uncontrollable fear swept through her heart.
Was she really going to carry this corpse through the woods and all the way to that place?
But when she thought about how this might be the only way to save her son, she clenched her teeth and kept moving forward.
Thirty minutes later.
Gasping for breath, she finally reached her destination.
It was a pit surrounded by scattered rocks, with fallen leaves covering the bottom.
A faint green glow emanated from the soil beneath the leaves.
She placed the body on the ground and knelt on the muddy surface to catch her breath.
Then, she used the tools she'd prepared to dig a hole.
The rain-soaked soil was soft, and Vanessa quickly dug a large pit and placed her son's body inside.
After burying the body, she filled the hole back in.
By the time she had finished, she was too exhausted to stand.
After resting for a while, she slowly got up and made her way back to the roadside.
Once Vanessa's figure disappeared, a shadow emerged from behind the trees.
Peter stood in the forest, watching the spot where Vanessa had buried the body, his brow furrowed.
Earlier, outside the storage room, he hadn't entered.
Vanessa, hiding by the door, had been easily detected by his heightened senses.
Her murderous intent had not escaped his perception.
He could have easily pushed the door open and counterattacked her.
But since she was Louis's wife, he deemed it inappropriate to act rashly.
Besides, he was more interested in what she was trying to do.
And sure enough, he had uncovered her secret!
Walking to the pit surrounded by rocks, Peter gazed at the freshly dug soil below.
Why had this woman dug up a body and buried it here?
Could this land have some special power to resurrect her son?
Staring at the pit, Peter fell into deep thought.
Lifting his head, his gaze caught a glimpse of a faint green glow.
He jumped into the pit, moved aside a dead leaf, and picked up a glowing green stone from the ground.
The cool green stone lay in his hand.
Was this a meteorite?
No, it wasn't an ordinary meteorite.
Surveying the eerie surroundings, Peter began to form a suspicion.
The next morning.
At Podrick Farm, Clark and Azu sat at the breakfast table.
"Dad,"
Azu lifted his glass of milk and gulped it down in one go.
"Can you buy me an eagle kite?"
"You want to fly a kite?"
"Yes, and could you also get me some kite string?"
Azu shared his idea, "I saw some people flying kites in town. Maybe I can try it too, just like I'm flying when I hold onto the kite."
"What about you, Clark? Do you want one?"
Peter asked Clark.
Before Clark could answer, Azu interrupted, "Clark hasn't recovered from the funeral yet."
"What's the matter, Clark?"
Peter turned his attention to Clark.
Clark thought for a moment and said, "I just feel like the atmosphere at the funeral was so gloomy. It keeps reminding me of sad things."
Peter nodded. "Clark, you're feeling sad because you saw others being sad, right?"
"Maybe."
Clark found the oatmeal in front of him less appetizing than usual.
He looked up, somewhat confused, and asked Peter, "Is this normal?"
"Of course, Clark. Sadness is a normal part of being human."
Peter ruffled Clark's hair. "People who've just lost a loved one typically start grieving within the first three days and continue for four to six weeks. Most people go through that."
"But over time, emotions shift, becoming like a rainbow with many colors. Intense grief will slowly fade into heartache, heartache will evolve into mourning, and mourning will eventually turn into memory... This process could take anywhere from six months to three years."
Clark looked dejected. "I... I have to go through this for six months?"
"It wasn't your loved one, Clark, so don't worry."
After comforting Clark, Peter placed a lead box on the table.
"What's this?"
Azu and Clark's attention was immediately drawn to the lead box.
Before Peter could respond, Azu eagerly opened it.
A green glow instantly filled their eyes.
As soon as Clark came into contact with the light, he felt uncomfortable.
Azu, unaware of Clark's reaction, picked up the stone and handed it to him.
"Look, Clark! What a beautiful stone!"
Clark reached out to take it.
The moment he touched it, a burning sensation surged through him.
He jerked his hand back with a hiss.
Clatter!
The stone flew out of his hand, and Peter caught it with ease.
Seeing Clark toss the stone aside, Azu quickly asked, "Clark, what happened?"
"I don't know. It just felt like it burned me."
Looking at Clark, who was in discomfort, Peter gave a barely noticeable nod.
As he had suspected, the stone he had picked up at the burial site last night was kryptonite from Krypton.
Since Clark was Kryptonian, coming into contact with kryptonite caused his body to weaken rapidly.
Although his superpowers hadn't fully manifested yet, the kryptonite still affected him.