Hey, guys! Sorry I deleted my last story, Taken, I just really wanted to revamp it because I felt like it wasn't as good as it needed to be. I also wanted to rewrite it because I found out this week that one of my favorite authors deleted her profile, and she had an amazing story about Ponyboy being kidnapped, and really it inspired me to write my own version. Does anyone else reread the same stories over and over? I sure as hell do, and I am deeply saddened that I won't get to read that story again. Alas, I have big shoes to fill, as they say, so here is a bigger, better, badder version of Taken. As always, please comment and leave constructive criticism or whatever. -Riley

Ponyboy and I walked through the park, shivering from the whipping wind and the September chill in the air. My legs were numb in my blue jeans and I could barely even feel myself walking. I rubbed my arms trying to stay warm. At least I had my denim jacket, Pony was still wearing his sleeveless sweatshirt. He was crying and telling me what had just happened between him and Darry; from what I gathered, Darry had snapped and slapped Pony for coming home so late. I knew he was going to be in some deep shit with his brother, but I sure didn't think Darry would go the route of my old man and get physical. I'd seen Darry violent in rumbles, but never with any of us unless he was joking. It was shocking, to say the least.

"You got a cigarette, Johnny?" Pony's voice broke through my thoughts. He sounded choked up still.

"Yeah, man, I found this butt." We stopped at the playground, close to the jungle gym, and I dug into the pocket of my jacket for the butt and a matchbook. When I found them I handed them both to Ponyboy. He struck the match, illuminating his face. But, as soon as he lit the butt and the match went out, Pony's face was still lit by a bright, white light. Pony seemed to notice this as well, because he looked up, eyes widening, and the cigarette fell out of his mouth, causing sparks as it hit the ground. I turned around to see what was going on and immediately my heart started to race. It was a blue Mustang, its headlights were pointed directly at us. There was no doubt whoever was driving had seen us; and I had a bad feeling in my stomach about who the driver was. The car was sitting in the middle of the street, not moving.

"Want to make a break for it?" I asked as the car moved forward slowly, then stopped. The driver killed the lights. The car shut off, the doors opened, and one by one Socs got out. I could feel my heart about to beat out of my chest, but I dared not show Ponyboy how scared I was. I could feel him shaking beside me. The smell of booze became more and more obvious the closer the five guys got towards us. It hung thick in the air. Pony and I were up high on the jungle gym, so the Socs couldn't have gotten to us, but there was no telling how long they would wait us out. The five Socs stopped in front of us, moonlight glinting off the rings on the hand of one guy. The scars on my face seemed to throb slightly as I remembered what had happened a few months ago.

"Well, well, well, looks like these are the greasers who tried to pick up our girls," said Rings, taking a swig from a silver flask. Pony and I looked at each other; I could see the fear in his eyes. We knew we were going to catch it, there was no getting around it. We may as well get it over with. Slowly, we both climbed down the jungle gym. We stood there defiantly, trying to meet their gaze and hope that maybe they were a little too intimidated to approach us. I should have known better, though: All five of them had a good 100 pounds and two feet on both of us. We were royally screwed. Rings put the flask back in his pocket.

"Get them."

I barely heard the two words uttered over the roaring in my ears, but I took it as a signal to run, and fast. Pony must have, too, because he darted the opposite direction. Three were chasing him, two chasing me. I felt something hit me in the back of the head and I went stumbling to the ground. My ankle twisted as I went down. The two Socs who were on my heels started wailing on me. Fist after fist connected with my face; I was numb after the first one, thanks to the cold air. I could feel blood starting to run down my nose and from my mouth. Rings wasn't one of the guys beating me up this time. Weakly, I hoped that he wouldn't scar Pony's face if he was the one working him over. After what felt like five straight minutes of getting punched in the face, I was finally dropped. I collapsed to the ground, moaning in pain.

"Stay there," one of them hissed as he and his friend walked away. I was fighting to stay conscious, and through my half open eyelids I saw all five of the Socs beating the absolute shit out of Pony. I knew I had to get up and help, but I was hurting too bad. I could hear his screams, he screamed for me and for Darry and Soda. As much as it hurt, I moved to get up and help. The earth was spinning as I sat up, like I was drunk or something. I got onto my feet and immediately fell back down.

"Johnny!" came Ponyboy's scream again. Fuck, I thought. I really need to get over there. I tried getting up again, face and side throbbing. Was I kicked? My side felt like the ribs had cracked. I was starting to lose my grip on reality when by some divine miracle, I saw the gang show up. Really, I heard them before I saw them, their shouts making everyone aware of their presence. Sighing, knowing it was being handled, I laid back on the cold ground, letting darkness take over.

Xxx

When I woke up, I was on the Curtises couch. A lamp on the end table illuminated the room. I was still in pain, but not as much pain as I had been in previously. I was warm and sleepy. Darry was sitting on the coffee table, watching me. Soda sat next to him, tears in his eyes. I tried to sit up.

"Whoa, Johnny, take it easy," Darry said, putting his hand gently on my shoulder and pushing me back down. "Do you want some aspirin?"

I nodded, definitely needing something for the pain that was making its way back into my limbs. Darry got up and walked into the kitchen.

"Soda," I said weakly, suddenly remembering the events of last night.. Or whenever that was. "Is Ponyboy okay?"

"Johnny," Soda started. "The Socs took Ponyboy."

"What?"

"They took him. As soon as we showed up, they took off with him. He couldn't fight back, I think he was already unconscious."

"Oh my god," I said. "This is all my fault."

"Johnny, it's not your fault at all. Y'all were jumped, you were passed out before they even took him anywhere. Do not for a second think that this is your fault."

Darry returned with the aspirin and a cup of water a second later before I could respond to Soda. I took the two white pills greedily, hoping they would start working soon. Darry took the glass back from me once it was empty. I sighed, staring at the ceiling, wondering where in the hell they'd taken Ponyboy to. What a mess. What a fucking mess.

"We're going to start looking for Ponyboy tomorrow," Soda said, as if reading my thoughts. "You need to stay here and rest, though; you took quite a hit."

"I'm coming with you guys tomorrow," I stated. We needed to find Ponyboy soon. The Socs could kill him like they almost did to me. "It was the same Socs that jumped me a month ago."

Soda and Darry were silent, and I knew they were staring at the old scars on my face. I also knew they knew what I was implying: that Pony wasn't safe at all with these guys. They had beaten me to within an inch of my life, and that was on our territory. Pony was most likely on their territory by now, and they would have no mercy.

"Get some sleep, Johnny," Darry said, standing up. He walked back into the kitchen.

"Let us know if you need anything." Soda stood as well, heading towards his bedroom. I knew he and Pony usually slept together, and I knew it would be a weird night without having Pony in the bed with him. Darry came back through the living room and turned off the lamp, then retreated to his own bedroom. I closed my eyes, and tried to get a little bit of sleep.