Missing Days

Chapter 11

Found

XXX

"Hey guys," Darry called out as he entered the house. The three of them were sitting at the table eating what looked like pale hamburger mac and cheese. Darry's confused look would have been entertaining on any other day, but Soda simply shrugged.

"Just didn't feel like getting adventurous."

He understood, meals had been like that all week. Soda's dinners were oddly normal while his own creations were unusually basic. Essentially, they were drained by the time dinner needed to be readied and neither wanted to put forth much effort. Still, despite the simplicity of the menu, it had to be done. Case in point, his stomach growled low - wanting anything to soothe the faint pains of hunger, so he scooped some up and ate it. It was perhaps the closest thing to a normal meal Soda'd made in months.

The rest of the evening went by as it had for the last week. The gang hung around the Curtis house in relative silence; eating or quietly discussing ideas of where Dally'd stashed the kids or of what new issues had cropped up at work. What was silently ignored was the pending court action that Darry's social worker and their appointed lawyer were hammering out. It was going to happen one way or another; but they were all hoping the boys would be found first - so their testamony could better defend their actions - or exonerate them entirely. While the Soc statements clearly indicated what Johnny'd done was in self defense, they'd already learned a long time ago never to trust the justice system, especially when it pitted their side of town against the West side.

As dinner wound down, Soda and Darry silently went to clean the dishes then took their seats in the living room to watch the nightly local news. They stayed together as a group for this, each wanting to hear something yet nearly terrified of what it would be. They got nothing from the police anymore; the cops hadn't been by since that first visit just after Bob Sheldon had been found dead. Darry'd even had to go to the station to find out what was in Randy's and Cherry's statements; but even then the cop wouldn't tell him much. They'd learned more from Two-Bit's version of what Cherry'd told them that evening in the lot. The group individually knew the nightly news was their only source of anything new, so they sat together in uncomfortable silence watching and waiting for any details. Again, this night, nothing. As the reporter wound down and signed off, Steve and Two-Bit reached for their jackets to go.

"You guys need anything?" Asked Two-Bit, turning around on the porch.

Yes, thought Soda. Ponyboy. I need my brother. "No, we're fine," he answered.

"Okay, we'll see you in the morning then."

Darry closed the door, planing on going over to Bucks soon and "chat" some with Dally; but something in Soda's face made him wait. Looking at him, Darry couldn't remember a time he'd looked so lost. He simply stood there, arms crossed over his chest, head down staring at the floor. He went over to his younger brother and put one arm around his neck. What surprised him was Soda putting his arms around him, laying his head against his chest. That hadn't happened since they'd buried their parents; when Darry'd first had to summon herculean strength he never knew he possessed.

"Soda...you okay?" Darry softly asked.

"I'm just tired. It's been a really long day." He paused a moment, his head still on Darry's shoulder. "It's been a long week."

Darry understood, being alone all day allows no escape from the reality of what was going on. This was exactly why - despite exhaustion that left him near collapse by the time he crawled into his bed at night, he'd requested extra hours at the shop. With nothing to keep them mentally busy, each dwelled on their brother; how he was doing and - perhaps what fate he'd met. For Darry, it was even worse; he felt responsible for Pony's leaving in the first place, and wondered if Sodapop would ever forgive him. Ponyboy either, for that matter. But they had to find him first, to see if forgiveness would ever happen. They held onto each other for a moment longer then let go, each wandering about the house aimlessly a while longer.

XXX

It was a little after 8pm when the phone began to ring. Soda, who had been heading down the hallway to head off to bed early, paused to hear Darry clear his voice and pick up the receiver.

"Hello."

Even in the dimness of the room, Soda clearly saw Darry's head jerk up. "Yes, that's my brother's name." ... "What happened?" ... "No, they're deceased, I'm his legal guardian. What happened?" … "A fire?" … "How bad is he hurt?" … "What do you mean you can't say?" If it were possible to explain it, Darry's shoulders both slumped and tensed at the same time. I felt my own stomach tighten, my feet turn to lead. "I understand. What's that? Hold on, hold on...." Darry was shuffling the papers around on the side table, finally finding a pen and paper. "Okay, what's that again?" … "Tulsa General Hospital … uh huh, got it." ... "Say again? Burn Unit? Right. I understand." … "Thank you, yes; we're on the way."

Darry slammed the phone down and hollered out: "Soda! Get your shoes on! Pony's been found!"

"Already done," Soda'd answered. Darry need not have yelled. With the first sentence he'd spoken into the phone, Soda's body had gone on alert, had slammed his feet into his shoes and was waiting by the door.

Darry grabbed his keys and both brothers tore off for their truck. Once inside, Soda'd finally asked for details.

"Soda, look, I don't know. The lady said three kids were involved in a fire but only two of them had identification on them. One of the IDs had Ponyboy's name and our phone number on it. She couldn't really say more because something about the written descriptions on the two cards didn't match anyone's physical descriptions." Darry's stopped there, but Soda persisted sensing more.

"You said 'fire'. I heard you. What happened?" Darry couldn't miss the rise of panic coming through in Soda's voice, and his own eyes were absolutely filled with terror.

"She said they were all involved in some building fire out in some town called Windrixville. The ambulances are bringing them here because of their injuries." A pause, Darry didn't want to say it. "They've been burned, Soda All of them." With that, Darry's jaw jumped. Soda squeaked, sucking in air.

"Well, how about Ponyboy?" Soda persisted when he could find his voice again. "How bad is he hurt?"

"Soda," Darry said in a voice straining to stay composed. "I already told you, she couldn't tell who's who. One of them has a couple burns, another is seriously hurt, and the third was still being examined."

"Oh God, Darry!" Soda's voice cracked. Of all the injuries he could imagine, being burned alive was the most hideous torture he could imagine.

Darry reached over and squeezed his shoulder. "Lets just get to the hospital before we get worked up, okay?"

Soda nodded his head, he didn't trust himself to speak right then.

The large building with the red TGH glowing in the dark loomed ahead of them. Ambulances rushed ahead here and there as Darry pulled into a parking spot and killed the engine. Darry could feel Soda wanting to get out and run inside, but he held him back. Together they quickly crossed the parking lot and entered the front lobby.

"Excuse me," Darry said to a woman at the desk. "I got a call that said my brother was here, Ponyboy Curtis..." his voice trailed off.

The lady looked at her papers, turning page after page, then finally ran her finger across one line. "Go on to the main ER and then turn left, down the hallway to the Pediatrics waiting room." She pointed in the direction they were to go in, but Soda had escaped Darry's grip and was already out in front.

Turning a corner where a sign in overly bright cheerful letters read "Pediatrics," Darry remembered again that Ponyboy was, despite his size, still young.

Suddenly, Soda called out - "Pony!" and opened his arms wide. Running into those arms was a blond boy, and it took Darry a moment to figure it out. The boy was smaller than his youngest brother, and his skin was - despite the filth covering him, very pale compared to Ponyboy's usually tanned complexion. And he was some odd shade of blond - definately not his brother. Then, through the filth, the tattered, torn and singed clothes. Under the dirt, sweat, soot and ash covered him from head to toe, Darry recognized the eyes, the chin, the face of his youngest sibling. It was, indeed, Ponyboy. Soda was swinging him, holding on so tight Darry thought he'd break him. Finally he set him down and gazed into Ponyboy's face. Darry could see tear tracks in both their faces as the elder searched within the youngster's eyes. Soda reached up and pushed Ponyboy's hair back, then Darry remembered he had a voice.

"Ponyboy..." They both turned and looked at Darry. Oh, baby, please forgive me what I did to you. He didn't say it, he'd wanted to but couldn't make his voice function again. His tears fell as he realized what they'd almost lost. Suddenly Ponyboy was running to Darry and squeezed him tightly in a grip, defying his muted size. Darry finally lost his internall battle, failing to hold back the emotional turmoil he'd held at bay for so many days. His sobs escaped his control for as Darry held his youngest charge tightly again. "Oh Pony, I thought we'd lost you, like we did mom and dad..."

He realized why the woman on the phone couldn't put descriptions with faces. Ponyboy's looks were nothing like what they had been. Now his hair was short, dyed some awful shade of white/blond, and he had definitely dropped a lot of weight. Whomever's clothes he was in hung loosely off him. They knew the shirt wasn't his, but even the filthy pants he was wearing hung off his small frame. But he was back. Darry held Ponyboy and Sodapop in his arms again, both of them, vowing silently to never let his anger unleash itself on the two most important people he held dear. His brothers. His family. He loved them both too much to risk it again.

XXX

Calla Lily Rose

Re-Edit completed 06 Feb 2010.

Reviews always welcome.