A Thought of Heaven, A Thought of Hell

"Ah!"

The students inside the school bus that had fallen into the river let out terrified screams.

Crying and shrieking mixed together.

The short, stout, fat boy who had mocked Clark rolled backward when the school bus tilted.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

His body repeatedly slammed into the bus's inner walls and seats. Finally, his back struck the metal frame of the rear window, and he let out a muffled groan before passing out.

The other delinquent high schoolers who had been standing suffered the same fate as the fat boy, thrown around inside the bus until they were utterly disoriented.

The other students seated in their seats tightly clung to anything fixed in place during the fall and were not seriously hurt.

But their luck did not last long. Raging river water quickly poured in.

"Oh God! Help!"

"Jesus! The water's coming in! We're about to drown! Break the windows and get out!"

"Help! I don't want to die! I can't swim! Someone help me! Sob..."

Seeing the turbulent, muddy river water rushing in, the already terrified high school students fell into even greater panic.

They shoved one another as they scrambled toward the school bus windows.

A girl who had been knocked senseless and had blood running from her head was shoved to the ground. Soaked in the murky, freezing river water, she tried to get up but did not have the strength.

The school bus gradually sank, while the cold, swirling river water flooded into the vehicle faster and faster.

Death was drawing ever closer!

The girl who had been shoved to the ground and swallowed several mouthfuls of water had already given up in despair.

The next second, a pair of strong hands grabbed her arm and hauled her up.

"Are you okay?"

The girl Clark had saved from drowning suddenly burst into tears.

"Thank you, thank you, Kent."

"It's okay. Stay calm. We'll definitely be saved."

Clark patted the girl's shoulder, then looked toward where Eric had originally been sitting in the school bus.

It was empty!

Eric must have escaped long ago!

Based on what he knew of his younger brother, Eric would certainly have left the school bus the instant the accident happened.

He knew his brother was different from him. Eric had awakened the power hidden within his body long ago.

And the speed and strength Eric displayed were far beyond anything he could match.

Thinking this, Clark took off his jacket and swam out against the raging current.

Although his father had told him to hide his powers, this was an emergency. If he did not use them now, every student inside the bus would die.

He could not stand by and watch without doing anything.

Splash!

Clark surfaced from the water that had nearly flooded the school bus's interior, drew a tense breath, and dove back down.

Gripping the metal body at the rear of the school bus, he exerted a little force and tore the metal open against the pressure of the river.

After getting out of the school bus, he raised his head and looked upward through the muddy water.

In his blurred vision, he saw someone standing on the bridge, coldly watching him.

It was Eric!

That bastard!

Even Clark, the ever-patient older brother, felt anger rise in his heart.

He had caused the trouble, yet he did not care at all about what came afterward.

It was as though the lives and deaths of everyone on the bus had nothing to do with him!

Clark knew Eric had an extreme personality, but he had never expected him to be this coldhearted!

What he wanted most right now was to go back and teach him a lesson!

Suppressing his anger, Clark grabbed the rear of the school bus and pulled it upward with all his strength.

For the newly awakened Son of Krypton, lifting a school bus was not a problem.

But the bus was now submerged at the bottom of the river and filled with several tons of water. Combined with the far greater resistance underwater than in the air, it made the task exceptionally difficult!

"Ah!"

With a roar, the muscles in his arms bulged as if about to explode.

He drew upon every ounce of strength in his body, his steel-like cells crying out!

A cracking, explosive sound of muscles erupting rang out beneath the water.

The school bus was slowly lifted upward.

"No! It's still too slow!"

An anxious light flickered in Clark's eyes.

At this speed, the students submerged in the water would never last until he could lift the school bus out.

"Eric!"

Beside himself with worry, Clark shouted toward Eric on the bridge.

He knew his brother's strength. If Eric acted, he could easily drag the school bus out of the river.

And Eric's hearing far surpassed his own. He would definitely be able to hear every word Clark said.

"If you keep standing by, I'll tell Dad and Mom!"

Clark, who had only just entered high school, resorted to the tried-and-true tactic of telling their parents.

But the tactic that had always worked before failed this time.

Eric stood on the bridge without moving an inch.

Clark's strength gradually faded, and the school bus rose more and more slowly.

Just as despair filled his heart, the surface of the water exploded.

It was as though a missile had struck the water!

The next second, Eric appeared before him, grabbed the school bus with one hand, and yanked upward.

The school bus immediately shot away from the riverbed and charged toward the surface.

Boom!

The orange-yellow school bus burst through the surface with a tremendous explosion.

Water sprayed everywhere, falling from the sky in scattered sheets.

It was like a sudden downpour.

The students who had been struggling as they drowned greedily gulped down fresh air after surviving the disaster.

The dazzling, dim yellow sunlight shone down on them, and everyone felt as though it were unreal.

The school bus had come to rest in the river near the bank. The surviving students either shivered beneath blankets or wailed in their parents' arms.

Police cars and ambulances were parked on the bridge, while police officers and medical personnel hurried back and forth in tense activity.

Clark had wrapped himself in a blanket handed to him by a nurse. With his head lowered, he stared blankly at the pebbles beneath his feet.

His chest rose and fell faintly, revealing the turmoil in his heart.

Eric stood nearby, expressionlessly looking at several female classmates not far away.

Clark had saved those girls inside the bus earlier.

But they had also seen Clark lifting the school bus from the rear.

Of course, Eric had moved too fast for them to see him. They only believed that Clark had dragged the school bus out of the river.

That was why the girls kept staring at Clark with strange, complicated expressions.

"Hey! Eric, Clark!"

A familiar voice sounded from behind Eric.

Turning around, they saw Jonathan running over, panting.

Jonathan was still wearing his work clothes and had not even changed. He must have rushed over the moment he heard the news while working on the farm.

His face full of concern, Jonathan, whose hair had begun to gray, grabbed Eric's shoulders and nervously reached out to touch his face. "Son, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"That's good. Clark."

After confirming that his younger son was all right, Jonathan walked over to Clark, who was sitting on the ground, crouched down, and touched his older son's face.

"Clark, you're not hurt, are you?"

"No, Dad."

Clark forced a smile at his father.

"Let's go home first."

Jonathan looked at the school bus near the riverbank, frowned slightly, and patted Eric and Clark on the shoulders.

Then he took off his own jacket and draped it over Eric.

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