We're Back Chapter 1
A/N: I can't believe I'm posting this. If it's crap, tell me and I won't continue. This is a totally unrealistic story based on a dream I've had. But who cares? Anyway, the beginning will most likely suck, because it does. Is very long. And all of the guys have changed, but for good reason: set post-novel.
P.S. I have a thing with Two-Bit and apples. Forgive me.
~
Ponyboy Curtis took a final drag off his cigarette and let it drop to the ground. Grinding it under his heel he glanced back to where his brother Darrel sat.
"Hey Darry," he called "What's new in the world?"
Darry sighed and closed his paper. "Not much that caught my eye yet. Guess I'm not in a reading mood today." Darry rubbed his eyes. He'd worked late again last night and the night before that and he would have been working today if his muscles hadn't been screaming for a rest. He'd see to it personally that Ponyboy had the money for college. And if he didn't have the grades…well, Darry would throttle him.
"Oy there!" called a familiar voice. Ponyboy glanced up and his youthful face broke into a wan smile. "Tim. How ya been?"
The lanky greasy dropped onto the grass. He nodded at Darry who smiled tiredly. He'd been a regular at the Curtis household the past six months, and, remembering the amount of time he and Dally used to spend together, Darry could guess why.
"Not to shabby." Tim replied with a smile. "Guess who I spent the night with?" he added smugly. Darry rolled his eyes and turned back to his paper.
"Who?" Ponyboy asked disinterestedly.
Tim smirked. "Didn't catch her name actually, but she was a great lay." Ponyboy bit his lip, trying not to laugh.
"Don't let Cherry hear you say that, or you most likely won't be able to 'spend the night' with anyone for awhile," Darry called from behind his paper. Tim winced at the hint, and gratefully accepted the weed Ponyboy offered. He watched the studious youth light up and a sudden thought occurred to him.
"Maybe," a quick glance at Darry, and he lowered his voice, "maybe, you could try that little gal out. You know: that Soc. She'd be a great first-" he grinned again when Ponyboy blushed and laughed.
"Tim, if you keep trying to influence him, I will personally see to it that Cherry hears about your girl-laying habits."
"Okay, okay, jeez." Tim swore at Darry half-heartedly, then lit his smoke and settled down beside the brothers, gazing up at the cloud-free blue summer sky.
May was upon them, and the beginning twinges of summer, and with it came a restored sense of peace to all. Their lives settled again, after a long period of sadness. Ponyboy breathed in the warm air, feeling for a minute like nothing had changed. He glanced down and rolled his eyes seeing Tim fast asleep on the ground. It appeared his rowdy night had taken its toll.
"Darry," Ponyboy sat down beside his brother, a newly lit smoke in hand. "Weren't Steve and Soda supposed to be home by now?"
~
"Full house!" Sodapop declared, waving the cards in Steve's face over the Dairy Queen picnic table. "Hah! Beats your two-pair! I win! And I didn't even cheat!"
Two-Bit couldn't help but laugh at the agonized expression that came over Steve's face. Steve had gloated that he was the unbeatable cards master, and (as his best friend usually sucked) readily accepted Soda's challenge: poor Steve had agreed to do whatever Soda's imaginative mind could think of, should the young heartthrob win.
Now, with Soda crooning about his obvious victory, and Two-Bit as witness, Steve had no choice but to follow through with his boast.
"Fine, you win. What do I gotta do?" he snapped. Soda's eyes danced.
"Make him lick your shoes!" Two-Bit advised, then dodged the half-assed punch Steve threw at him. The wise-cracker smiled, but fell silent.
Soda glanced wistfully at his friend. The old Two-Bit would have never shut up at that point. Turning back to Steve, Soda stroked his chin in mock deep thought. "Let's see…" he said, in a fake British accent. "I could make you bleach you hair," which received wild protests, "or go to class with no pants," a whoop from Two-Bit, "or kiss a dog's butt," gagging noises from both, "or-" he looked around. "Or, I could make you take a bite of that half-eaten apple over there."
The apple had once been red, but was now a disgusting shade of brown that matched the table it rested on. It had shrunk into a grotesque version of the original, and there were several fruit flies buzzing around it. Steve turned slightly green at the though of eating the rotten fruit, but Two-Bit snorted.
"Please!" He rolled his eyes. "I would do that without a second thought!" And then to demonstrate, he reached over an awestruck Sodapop's lap, grabbed the monstrous once-fruit, and took a very large, very hearty mouthful, flies included.
"Oh…" Soda gasped after several seconds of silence. The two friends watched in shock as the rusty-haired greaser chowed down. "That…that has got to be the most incredible-"
"Gross!" Steve said, obviously repulsed.
"Amazing thing I have ever seen," Soda finished.
Both boys stared, as Two-Bit chewed the last of his bite, then swallowed. He smiled at both boys. "It's not bad," he said casually, offering the 'apple' to Steve, who pushed it away with a sickened expression.
Two-Bit shrugged and, much to Steve's dismay, took another bite.
A loud horn brought the boys around.
"Finally, she's here!" Steve exclaimed.
"Race you to the car!" Soda yelled. The boys leapt off the picnic table, stumbled through across the gravel, and were brought up short by the sight of Cherry in a gleaming powder blue mustang.
"Wow!" Soda said softly, and Steve let out a low whistle of awe.
"Mwafst!" Two-Bit managed, as a small chunk of slobbery apple fell from his mouth.
"Lovely." Her voice dripping with sarcasm, the redhead shook back her mane of curls and gave Two-Bit an incredulous stare. "You can't expect me to let you in my graduation present with you're foaming at the mouth!"
Two-Bit rolled his eyes, and spat out his mouthful. Once a Soc, always a Soc.
"This is some grad present." Soda's eyes were like saucers.
"I'll say! What kind of mileage can you get on this thing?" Steve leaned forward, placing his hands on the sides of the car, then thought better of it and moved back.
Cherry laughed and opened to door to her friends. "No idea. Come on, if y'all are any more late than you already are, Darry will kill me."
The three boys got slowly into the car, staring all the while. This was for sure the top of the line in transportation.
The mustang roared and jumped ahead.
"What happened to the Sting Ray?" Soda shouted over the engine, his hands pressed against his hair, trying to hold it flat.
Cherry grinned, curls flying, as she slowly pressed down on the gas pedal. Steve gasped and Two-Bit whooped as the speedometer hit 90.
"It didn't go fast enough," Cherry said simply, then let the car slow down as they approached the Curtis household.
Two-Bit grinned knowingly at Soda. He was convinced that Dallas had left a trace of his spirit in Cherry, and no one, not Steve with his scorn, nor Darry with his reason could convince him otherwise. Especially not when she was driving.
"Jesus Christ!" Tim sat up. "Man, hearing that engine I was sure Two-Bit was driving."
Soda jumped from the car giving Tim a 'hello' punch on the arm. "What's up Darry!" he called. His brother was again absorbed in his paper. He muttered back something indecipherable.
Ponyboy gave Cherry a smile and waved. Cherry waved back, then started the car again, and before he could blink she was gone down the street. Ponyboy laughed. In the six months since Dally's death, Cherry had received more speeding tickets than both Two-Bit and Steve could get in a year. With one last glance after the girl, he turned back to his friends.
"Man," Tim was complaining, a standard scowl on his face. "You guys don't do anything. Boring as hell sitting around here."
Two-Bit squinted at him. "Then why do you keep coming back?"
Tim shrugged. "Beats the hell outta me."
Darry let out a sudden whoop. "Nothing huh? How about this!" He pointed excitedly at a small article, hidden between a large madras skirt ad, and the horoscopes.
Tim batted the paper away irritably. "You know I don't read."
"You mean can't," Steve muttered.
"You wanna start something?" Tim glared at the younger boy.
Steve was on his feet in an instant. "Yeah, well maybe I do!" When Tim didn't stand, Soda tugged at Steve's shirtsleeve. The greaser sat down reluctantly, muttering to himself angrily. He'd inherited his father's explosive temper and it had only grown worse this past year.
"What is it?" Ponyboy asked, turning the center of attention back to Darry who was uncharacteristically bouncy.
"This article," he said, then paused. "Well, it was a thrill to read it I guess. But it's probably just bull."
Soda took the paper from Darry. "'Local Hospital Attempts the Impossible,'" he read slowly. He gave Darry a questioning look, then continued.
"'St Jacobs Hospital and George Garfield Science Department have recently engaged in a fruitless study of bringing a person back to life. If tests prove positive, scientist Jonathan Burgman and surgeon Larry Wittles will have achieved a higher level of immortality than mankind had ever hoped to imagine.' You've got to be kidding me."
"Ooh!" Steve said sarcastically.
"'The hospital, which is attempting this experiment for extra funds, is saying there is no hoax and nothing to hide. They are holding the tests in their own facilities, this month of April, and are willing to answer any questions.' Then there's a list of a bunch of people they're doing it on."
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Two-Bit said flatly.
"You call this exciting?" Tim snorted. "Man, you need to get out more."
"Well, I thought it was interesting," Darry replied defensively. "Especially since one of the test subjects is-"
"JOHN CADE!" Soda shrieked suddenly. "No f***ing way!" [A/N: I'm trying not to swear.]
"You're kidding!" Steve jerked his head up, eyes wide.
"They're doing it on every person who's died in the past year and wasn't buried." Soda's eyes scanned the paper. "Wow, that a lot of folk."
"The past year? That means…" Tim sat up suddenly, looking much more interested than he'd been before.
"Yeah both of 'em. Dally too."
"How dare they! Don't they have any respect for dead people?" Steve was seething.
"Aww, come off it Steve. If they do succeed you'd be happy like the rest of us," Ponyboy spoke up. The group glanced at the boy, then exchanged apprehensive looks.
"Now, Ponyboy. Don't get your hopes up," Darry said gently. "It probably won't happen. It's definitely been impossible before."
Ponyboy shook his head, frowning. "If there's one thing life's taught me, it's that you SHOULD hope."
~
"I'm afraid there's no hope, Mrs. Prop. We've done everything we can."
Eleanor could hear the doctor talking to her mother through the open door. She wanted to squeeze his neck until his head burst. How dare he give up on her! Fighting against unconsciousness, Eleanor forced her eyes open. He mother gazed down at her, tears shining in her loving eyes.
"I love you sweetie. I always will," she murmured. A wave of pain rocked Eleanor's body and her vision went blurry.
'Stupid James!' She thought furiously. If he hadn't drunk so much she would be fine. If he hadn't insisted on driving, she wouldn't be fighting for her life. If he'd just let her out of the car…boys were all alike. Stupid and immoral and thoughtless.
Another stab of pain went through her and she felt herself lose control. She rocketed down into darkness.
'No!' she screamed soundlessly. She wouldn't die; she couldn't, not like this…
~
Ponyboy wandered through the hospital, clutching Soda's arms tightly. He hated hospitals. But he wanted to find out about that article and no stupid fear was going to stop him.
Darry watched his younger brothers as they walked slowly down the hall. The hospital was filled with strange sounds and strange smells and even Darry was starting to feel uneasy.
"I thought they were buried," Steve muttered angrily. Darry rolled his eyes. The hotheaded greaser had insisted on coming, then had done nothing but complain the whole time. He was pissed because the doctors hadn't asked permission to use their bodies.
"And who would they ask?" Darry had demanded once, his own temper rising as Steve's tirade continued. Steve had fallen silent for nearly two minutes before resuming his muttered complaint.
"Did you know they weren't buried?"
"Actually I did," Darry said then regretted it immediately.
"What?! What happened to them?" Steve demanded, but at that moment Two- Bit's head poked around the door of one hospital room.
"Steve?" he asked.
"Two-Bit!" Both Darry and Steve cried in unison. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Two-Bit shrugged looking sheepish. "I thought I'd check out about that article. Sounded interesting. Tim's in the waiting room. He drove me – my car's out again, Steve, do ya think you could look at it?"
"Did you know they weren't buried?" Steve demanded ignoring Two-Bit's question.
Two-Bit blinked, then shifted uncomfortably. "Well, yeah, Darry told me, they were given to the hospital or something, for people who needed new kidneys or something. Or something like that," he added meekly.
"Oh! My! God! And you didn't tell me?" Steve shook his head indignantly, and stalked off after Soda, leaving Darry behind.
"Doubtful they coulda used much though, seeing as their lungs were ruined and Dally's liver was probably useless," Darry commented smirking.
Two-Bit grinned smugly. "Come on, help me hunt for 'em. They got a bunch of people with electronics things in them around here, but I can't find neither Dally or Johnny." Before Darry could say a thing, he was being dragged by the arm across the hall and into another room.
This room held nothing but an empty bed and some weird equipment. "Nope," Two-Bit said needlessly.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Both men looked up at the sound of the angry voice. A doctor was striding towards them, looking not at all happy.
"You aren't supposed to be here!" he shouted.
"Sorry-" Darry started, but then Two-Bit's instincts kicked in and Darry found himself being dragged from the room, and through another door, the doctors yells echoing around him.
Both boys broke out in a run now, Darry giving in to Two-Bit's idea.
"Go!" he hissed, following Two-Bit through a mass of doors and rooms until the pair were thoroughly lost. They skidded to a stop in yet another room with one significant difference: there was only one door, and they'd come through it. Groaning, Darry leaned back against the wall, while Two-Bit hurriedly jammed the lock.
"Good going," Darry snapped sarcastically. "Now what?"
But Two-Bit wasn't looking at him. He was gazing past, his eyes wide, a slow grin forming on his mouth.
"Hey, hey! Look who we found," he murmured. Darry whipped around, and sure enough, resting in the bed with wired attached all over him, blond hair scattered over the pillow, his skin paler than it'd ever been in life was a very dead Dally Winston.
"Where'd they go?"
Darry winced, hearing the muffled voice. Two-Bit glanced at the door and put a finger to his lips.
"I don't know. They better not have gone in there, that one's scheduled to go off any minute." The doorknob rattled and then furious cursing filled the air.
Two-Bit grinned at Darry, a bit of his old boldness showing through. "Hey, it even SOUNDS like Dally's alive already!"
Darry glowered at the other, as the door was hit repeatedly.
"Shit! Get security up here-"
"Oh great! You hear that? Security! We're dead f***ing meat, now." Darry hissed.
Two-Bit waved him off, wandering around the bed. "Jeez, he looks different," he murmured, reaching out to the bed. "Hey, hey what's this?" his hand shifted course suddenly, hovering over a small metal switch.
"Two-Bit-" Darry started warningly, but it was too late.
The room exploded with electricity. Two-Bit let out a yell, and fell back, scrambling to get away from the bed. Dally's body jerked under the voltage, sparks flying. Darry could feel his hair standing on end.
"Turn it off!" he screamed, and Two-Bit struggled up and leapt for the switch, the snap, and crackle (and pop) of static electricity surging around him. The power died suddenly and the room plunged into darkness.
~
Eleanor woke slowly, feeling groggy but victorious. She'd done it. She wasn't dead. Stupid doctor. Wherever she was now it was dark, no different from unconsciousness, but she was sure she was alive. But she was tired, so tired, and she had to struggled to stay awake.
"Hello?" she tried to say, but only a strangled sound emerged from her throat.
Then she heard the sound, like a scraping of metal on metal, and a tiny light flared. The flame grew slowly lighting up the person who held it. Eleanor found herself staring up into the hugest, more ridiculous grin she'd ever seen.
"Hey Darry!" The boy whispered, turning away. "He's aliiiive." Then his gaze was back on Eleanor.
"Welcome back, Dallas Winston," he said, giving Eleanor a small wave, a look of triumph on his face, before she plunged into a deep sleep.
A/N: I can't believe I'm posting this. If it's crap, tell me and I won't continue. This is a totally unrealistic story based on a dream I've had. But who cares? Anyway, the beginning will most likely suck, because it does. Is very long. And all of the guys have changed, but for good reason: set post-novel.
P.S. I have a thing with Two-Bit and apples. Forgive me.
~
Ponyboy Curtis took a final drag off his cigarette and let it drop to the ground. Grinding it under his heel he glanced back to where his brother Darrel sat.
"Hey Darry," he called "What's new in the world?"
Darry sighed and closed his paper. "Not much that caught my eye yet. Guess I'm not in a reading mood today." Darry rubbed his eyes. He'd worked late again last night and the night before that and he would have been working today if his muscles hadn't been screaming for a rest. He'd see to it personally that Ponyboy had the money for college. And if he didn't have the grades…well, Darry would throttle him.
"Oy there!" called a familiar voice. Ponyboy glanced up and his youthful face broke into a wan smile. "Tim. How ya been?"
The lanky greasy dropped onto the grass. He nodded at Darry who smiled tiredly. He'd been a regular at the Curtis household the past six months, and, remembering the amount of time he and Dally used to spend together, Darry could guess why.
"Not to shabby." Tim replied with a smile. "Guess who I spent the night with?" he added smugly. Darry rolled his eyes and turned back to his paper.
"Who?" Ponyboy asked disinterestedly.
Tim smirked. "Didn't catch her name actually, but she was a great lay." Ponyboy bit his lip, trying not to laugh.
"Don't let Cherry hear you say that, or you most likely won't be able to 'spend the night' with anyone for awhile," Darry called from behind his paper. Tim winced at the hint, and gratefully accepted the weed Ponyboy offered. He watched the studious youth light up and a sudden thought occurred to him.
"Maybe," a quick glance at Darry, and he lowered his voice, "maybe, you could try that little gal out. You know: that Soc. She'd be a great first-" he grinned again when Ponyboy blushed and laughed.
"Tim, if you keep trying to influence him, I will personally see to it that Cherry hears about your girl-laying habits."
"Okay, okay, jeez." Tim swore at Darry half-heartedly, then lit his smoke and settled down beside the brothers, gazing up at the cloud-free blue summer sky.
May was upon them, and the beginning twinges of summer, and with it came a restored sense of peace to all. Their lives settled again, after a long period of sadness. Ponyboy breathed in the warm air, feeling for a minute like nothing had changed. He glanced down and rolled his eyes seeing Tim fast asleep on the ground. It appeared his rowdy night had taken its toll.
"Darry," Ponyboy sat down beside his brother, a newly lit smoke in hand. "Weren't Steve and Soda supposed to be home by now?"
~
"Full house!" Sodapop declared, waving the cards in Steve's face over the Dairy Queen picnic table. "Hah! Beats your two-pair! I win! And I didn't even cheat!"
Two-Bit couldn't help but laugh at the agonized expression that came over Steve's face. Steve had gloated that he was the unbeatable cards master, and (as his best friend usually sucked) readily accepted Soda's challenge: poor Steve had agreed to do whatever Soda's imaginative mind could think of, should the young heartthrob win.
Now, with Soda crooning about his obvious victory, and Two-Bit as witness, Steve had no choice but to follow through with his boast.
"Fine, you win. What do I gotta do?" he snapped. Soda's eyes danced.
"Make him lick your shoes!" Two-Bit advised, then dodged the half-assed punch Steve threw at him. The wise-cracker smiled, but fell silent.
Soda glanced wistfully at his friend. The old Two-Bit would have never shut up at that point. Turning back to Steve, Soda stroked his chin in mock deep thought. "Let's see…" he said, in a fake British accent. "I could make you bleach you hair," which received wild protests, "or go to class with no pants," a whoop from Two-Bit, "or kiss a dog's butt," gagging noises from both, "or-" he looked around. "Or, I could make you take a bite of that half-eaten apple over there."
The apple had once been red, but was now a disgusting shade of brown that matched the table it rested on. It had shrunk into a grotesque version of the original, and there were several fruit flies buzzing around it. Steve turned slightly green at the though of eating the rotten fruit, but Two-Bit snorted.
"Please!" He rolled his eyes. "I would do that without a second thought!" And then to demonstrate, he reached over an awestruck Sodapop's lap, grabbed the monstrous once-fruit, and took a very large, very hearty mouthful, flies included.
"Oh…" Soda gasped after several seconds of silence. The two friends watched in shock as the rusty-haired greaser chowed down. "That…that has got to be the most incredible-"
"Gross!" Steve said, obviously repulsed.
"Amazing thing I have ever seen," Soda finished.
Both boys stared, as Two-Bit chewed the last of his bite, then swallowed. He smiled at both boys. "It's not bad," he said casually, offering the 'apple' to Steve, who pushed it away with a sickened expression.
Two-Bit shrugged and, much to Steve's dismay, took another bite.
A loud horn brought the boys around.
"Finally, she's here!" Steve exclaimed.
"Race you to the car!" Soda yelled. The boys leapt off the picnic table, stumbled through across the gravel, and were brought up short by the sight of Cherry in a gleaming powder blue mustang.
"Wow!" Soda said softly, and Steve let out a low whistle of awe.
"Mwafst!" Two-Bit managed, as a small chunk of slobbery apple fell from his mouth.
"Lovely." Her voice dripping with sarcasm, the redhead shook back her mane of curls and gave Two-Bit an incredulous stare. "You can't expect me to let you in my graduation present with you're foaming at the mouth!"
Two-Bit rolled his eyes, and spat out his mouthful. Once a Soc, always a Soc.
"This is some grad present." Soda's eyes were like saucers.
"I'll say! What kind of mileage can you get on this thing?" Steve leaned forward, placing his hands on the sides of the car, then thought better of it and moved back.
Cherry laughed and opened to door to her friends. "No idea. Come on, if y'all are any more late than you already are, Darry will kill me."
The three boys got slowly into the car, staring all the while. This was for sure the top of the line in transportation.
The mustang roared and jumped ahead.
"What happened to the Sting Ray?" Soda shouted over the engine, his hands pressed against his hair, trying to hold it flat.
Cherry grinned, curls flying, as she slowly pressed down on the gas pedal. Steve gasped and Two-Bit whooped as the speedometer hit 90.
"It didn't go fast enough," Cherry said simply, then let the car slow down as they approached the Curtis household.
Two-Bit grinned knowingly at Soda. He was convinced that Dallas had left a trace of his spirit in Cherry, and no one, not Steve with his scorn, nor Darry with his reason could convince him otherwise. Especially not when she was driving.
"Jesus Christ!" Tim sat up. "Man, hearing that engine I was sure Two-Bit was driving."
Soda jumped from the car giving Tim a 'hello' punch on the arm. "What's up Darry!" he called. His brother was again absorbed in his paper. He muttered back something indecipherable.
Ponyboy gave Cherry a smile and waved. Cherry waved back, then started the car again, and before he could blink she was gone down the street. Ponyboy laughed. In the six months since Dally's death, Cherry had received more speeding tickets than both Two-Bit and Steve could get in a year. With one last glance after the girl, he turned back to his friends.
"Man," Tim was complaining, a standard scowl on his face. "You guys don't do anything. Boring as hell sitting around here."
Two-Bit squinted at him. "Then why do you keep coming back?"
Tim shrugged. "Beats the hell outta me."
Darry let out a sudden whoop. "Nothing huh? How about this!" He pointed excitedly at a small article, hidden between a large madras skirt ad, and the horoscopes.
Tim batted the paper away irritably. "You know I don't read."
"You mean can't," Steve muttered.
"You wanna start something?" Tim glared at the younger boy.
Steve was on his feet in an instant. "Yeah, well maybe I do!" When Tim didn't stand, Soda tugged at Steve's shirtsleeve. The greaser sat down reluctantly, muttering to himself angrily. He'd inherited his father's explosive temper and it had only grown worse this past year.
"What is it?" Ponyboy asked, turning the center of attention back to Darry who was uncharacteristically bouncy.
"This article," he said, then paused. "Well, it was a thrill to read it I guess. But it's probably just bull."
Soda took the paper from Darry. "'Local Hospital Attempts the Impossible,'" he read slowly. He gave Darry a questioning look, then continued.
"'St Jacobs Hospital and George Garfield Science Department have recently engaged in a fruitless study of bringing a person back to life. If tests prove positive, scientist Jonathan Burgman and surgeon Larry Wittles will have achieved a higher level of immortality than mankind had ever hoped to imagine.' You've got to be kidding me."
"Ooh!" Steve said sarcastically.
"'The hospital, which is attempting this experiment for extra funds, is saying there is no hoax and nothing to hide. They are holding the tests in their own facilities, this month of April, and are willing to answer any questions.' Then there's a list of a bunch of people they're doing it on."
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Two-Bit said flatly.
"You call this exciting?" Tim snorted. "Man, you need to get out more."
"Well, I thought it was interesting," Darry replied defensively. "Especially since one of the test subjects is-"
"JOHN CADE!" Soda shrieked suddenly. "No f***ing way!" [A/N: I'm trying not to swear.]
"You're kidding!" Steve jerked his head up, eyes wide.
"They're doing it on every person who's died in the past year and wasn't buried." Soda's eyes scanned the paper. "Wow, that a lot of folk."
"The past year? That means…" Tim sat up suddenly, looking much more interested than he'd been before.
"Yeah both of 'em. Dally too."
"How dare they! Don't they have any respect for dead people?" Steve was seething.
"Aww, come off it Steve. If they do succeed you'd be happy like the rest of us," Ponyboy spoke up. The group glanced at the boy, then exchanged apprehensive looks.
"Now, Ponyboy. Don't get your hopes up," Darry said gently. "It probably won't happen. It's definitely been impossible before."
Ponyboy shook his head, frowning. "If there's one thing life's taught me, it's that you SHOULD hope."
~
"I'm afraid there's no hope, Mrs. Prop. We've done everything we can."
Eleanor could hear the doctor talking to her mother through the open door. She wanted to squeeze his neck until his head burst. How dare he give up on her! Fighting against unconsciousness, Eleanor forced her eyes open. He mother gazed down at her, tears shining in her loving eyes.
"I love you sweetie. I always will," she murmured. A wave of pain rocked Eleanor's body and her vision went blurry.
'Stupid James!' She thought furiously. If he hadn't drunk so much she would be fine. If he hadn't insisted on driving, she wouldn't be fighting for her life. If he'd just let her out of the car…boys were all alike. Stupid and immoral and thoughtless.
Another stab of pain went through her and she felt herself lose control. She rocketed down into darkness.
'No!' she screamed soundlessly. She wouldn't die; she couldn't, not like this…
~
Ponyboy wandered through the hospital, clutching Soda's arms tightly. He hated hospitals. But he wanted to find out about that article and no stupid fear was going to stop him.
Darry watched his younger brothers as they walked slowly down the hall. The hospital was filled with strange sounds and strange smells and even Darry was starting to feel uneasy.
"I thought they were buried," Steve muttered angrily. Darry rolled his eyes. The hotheaded greaser had insisted on coming, then had done nothing but complain the whole time. He was pissed because the doctors hadn't asked permission to use their bodies.
"And who would they ask?" Darry had demanded once, his own temper rising as Steve's tirade continued. Steve had fallen silent for nearly two minutes before resuming his muttered complaint.
"Did you know they weren't buried?"
"Actually I did," Darry said then regretted it immediately.
"What?! What happened to them?" Steve demanded, but at that moment Two- Bit's head poked around the door of one hospital room.
"Steve?" he asked.
"Two-Bit!" Both Darry and Steve cried in unison. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Two-Bit shrugged looking sheepish. "I thought I'd check out about that article. Sounded interesting. Tim's in the waiting room. He drove me – my car's out again, Steve, do ya think you could look at it?"
"Did you know they weren't buried?" Steve demanded ignoring Two-Bit's question.
Two-Bit blinked, then shifted uncomfortably. "Well, yeah, Darry told me, they were given to the hospital or something, for people who needed new kidneys or something. Or something like that," he added meekly.
"Oh! My! God! And you didn't tell me?" Steve shook his head indignantly, and stalked off after Soda, leaving Darry behind.
"Doubtful they coulda used much though, seeing as their lungs were ruined and Dally's liver was probably useless," Darry commented smirking.
Two-Bit grinned smugly. "Come on, help me hunt for 'em. They got a bunch of people with electronics things in them around here, but I can't find neither Dally or Johnny." Before Darry could say a thing, he was being dragged by the arm across the hall and into another room.
This room held nothing but an empty bed and some weird equipment. "Nope," Two-Bit said needlessly.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Both men looked up at the sound of the angry voice. A doctor was striding towards them, looking not at all happy.
"You aren't supposed to be here!" he shouted.
"Sorry-" Darry started, but then Two-Bit's instincts kicked in and Darry found himself being dragged from the room, and through another door, the doctors yells echoing around him.
Both boys broke out in a run now, Darry giving in to Two-Bit's idea.
"Go!" he hissed, following Two-Bit through a mass of doors and rooms until the pair were thoroughly lost. They skidded to a stop in yet another room with one significant difference: there was only one door, and they'd come through it. Groaning, Darry leaned back against the wall, while Two-Bit hurriedly jammed the lock.
"Good going," Darry snapped sarcastically. "Now what?"
But Two-Bit wasn't looking at him. He was gazing past, his eyes wide, a slow grin forming on his mouth.
"Hey, hey! Look who we found," he murmured. Darry whipped around, and sure enough, resting in the bed with wired attached all over him, blond hair scattered over the pillow, his skin paler than it'd ever been in life was a very dead Dally Winston.
"Where'd they go?"
Darry winced, hearing the muffled voice. Two-Bit glanced at the door and put a finger to his lips.
"I don't know. They better not have gone in there, that one's scheduled to go off any minute." The doorknob rattled and then furious cursing filled the air.
Two-Bit grinned at Darry, a bit of his old boldness showing through. "Hey, it even SOUNDS like Dally's alive already!"
Darry glowered at the other, as the door was hit repeatedly.
"Shit! Get security up here-"
"Oh great! You hear that? Security! We're dead f***ing meat, now." Darry hissed.
Two-Bit waved him off, wandering around the bed. "Jeez, he looks different," he murmured, reaching out to the bed. "Hey, hey what's this?" his hand shifted course suddenly, hovering over a small metal switch.
"Two-Bit-" Darry started warningly, but it was too late.
The room exploded with electricity. Two-Bit let out a yell, and fell back, scrambling to get away from the bed. Dally's body jerked under the voltage, sparks flying. Darry could feel his hair standing on end.
"Turn it off!" he screamed, and Two-Bit struggled up and leapt for the switch, the snap, and crackle (and pop) of static electricity surging around him. The power died suddenly and the room plunged into darkness.
~
Eleanor woke slowly, feeling groggy but victorious. She'd done it. She wasn't dead. Stupid doctor. Wherever she was now it was dark, no different from unconsciousness, but she was sure she was alive. But she was tired, so tired, and she had to struggled to stay awake.
"Hello?" she tried to say, but only a strangled sound emerged from her throat.
Then she heard the sound, like a scraping of metal on metal, and a tiny light flared. The flame grew slowly lighting up the person who held it. Eleanor found herself staring up into the hugest, more ridiculous grin she'd ever seen.
"Hey Darry!" The boy whispered, turning away. "He's aliiiive." Then his gaze was back on Eleanor.
"Welcome back, Dallas Winston," he said, giving Eleanor a small wave, a look of triumph on his face, before she plunged into a deep sleep.