Ponyboy sighed some slamming his locker door shut. He honestly Just wanted to hurry up and get home so he could just get to bed. The socs were being a lot more angrier than usual today. Ponyboy was use to the name call and yes the spit wads of papers. But for some odd reason they were now starting to rip up his homework before the teacher could even get it. Lucky for Ponyboy he was able to redo the assignment but still.
"Hey pony!" Johnny called out to his friend of a few years rushing down the hallway towards him. "Huh oh hey Johnny cakes. Ready to head off then." Pony asked him looking behind him to see Bobby standing there with a smirk on his lips. It made Ponyboy feel uneasy enough to quickly look back to Johnny.
"Everything alright man?" Johnny adked the wordiness evident in his voice. "Uh Yeah yeah...I just wanna get home is all. Dallas come to school today at all?" Pony asked softly knowing steve hadn't shown up and two hadn't either. "No looks like we'll have to walk." Johnny said simply. "I was afraid you'd say that." Pony mumbled softly. "You okay? You usually don't mind walking." Johnny pointed out. "It's Bobby. Every Other time he looks at me. He's smirking, like he has something bad planned for me. I just...I don't like it one bit Johnny." Pony explained embarrassed.
"Nah man I get it. He's been giving me the same look too. Why don't we cut through third street to get to your place. It's quicker." Johnny offered making Ponyboy smile some.
"Yeah sounds good. Come on. Don't want Darry to have a cow if I'm late." Pony said following his friend out to the parking lot. Ponyboy felt a hand on his shoulder and slowly turned to see Bobby standing there. He could smell the booze dripping from Bobby's breath as he exhaled slowly in Pony's face. Bobby then smiled pinching Ponyboy under his chin.
"Let go Robert." Pony said firmly pulling from
Him. "Turning into Dallas are we? Shame. Here I thought a greaser could actually make it out of this town. My mistake." Bobby said walking off to his car. "You two wanna ride. A car's a lot quicker than taking that third street shortcut of yours." Bobby said out his window making both guys pale visibly. They would have gotten a ride with some other greaser at school but they all either had detention or didn't bother to show up to today.
"Still wanna take that shortcut?" Johnny asked Ponyboy seeing him shake his head some. "Yeah yeah. We can run if we have to. Plus if he does try something. We are within earshot of Darry and them." Ponyboy said simply. "Yeah it's as good an idea as any. Let's get." Johnny said rushing off with his friend .
They didn't get far before a car pulled up next to them and threw some pop tabs at there feet to scare them. Pony glanced over recognizing he driver as Bobby. Ponyboy rolled his eyes and continued walking with Johnny. The duo Ignored every crude comment spat at them from the backseat.
Bobby suddenly swerved the car onto the sidewalk and had Johnny not have grabbed Ponyboy back in time, Bobby would have ran him over.
"What do you want." Pony said trying to keep his voice level. "You boys shouldn't have talked to me girl. You know what I do to punks like you who think they can just talk to any girl they please?" Bobby asked stepping at the car then snapping his fingers.
Johnny was suddenly grabbed by two socs and pinned to the ground with ease. He couldn't put up much of a fight given his small stature and all. "Let him go." Pony told Bobby firmly seeing his friend struggle against the two on top of him. "Now then. I hear you greasers don't cut your hair. How about I give you a free shave down. We can start at your neck." Bobby seethed shoving Ponyboy down and putting a blade to his neck. "Darry! Soda!" Ponyboy screamed loudly. "Fuck shut him up. Shut him up!" One of Bobby's friends said shoving a dirty rag into the boy's mouth.
Ponyboy muffling screamed feeling the blade slice his lower neck a tad too far. Blood squirted from the wound and hit Bobby straight in the face. "Shit." Bobby cursed quickly ditching the blade in a back alley behind them. "Lets go." Bobby said whistling for his friends to get going. They got into their car and sped off.
The most Johnny got was a few bruising here and there and a bad bloodied up lip. But it was enough to scare him slightly. "Hey po…." Johnny said oddly calm not seeing his friend until he got closer. "No. No. No. No. Ponyboy." Johnny said dropping to his knees trying to see if his friend was still even alive. He had a pulse but it was so weak. Johnny was about to run for help when help arrived. "Ponyboy…" Soda said softly rushing over to his brother. There was already a small puddle of blood dripping from his neck.
"What happened." Darry asked Johnny trying to remain calm. "Bobby and his friends jumped us. Two were on me and Bobby and another was with Ponyboy." Johnny said feeling rather guilty his friend had gotten hurt.
Unknown to them one of Bobby's friends had called an ambulance to their exact location. He was the one soc that didn't do much other than watch his friend try to kill some kid.
"You call an Ambulance?" Soda asked Johnny slightly confused. "No. I was gonna but then you guys came running over." Johnny said softly. Ponyboy groaned slightly opening his eyes. "Darry?" Ponyboy asked softly seeing Darry knelt down beside him. He was keeping slight pressure on the wound to try and stop the bleeding. "Hey kiddo." Darry said softly. "Darry I don't wanna die." Pony said softly his voice drowsy sounding.
"You won't. I promise. The ambulance is almost here. Just hang a little longer Okay." Darry said softly. "Ssss hard." Pony slurred and it made soda look at Darry sadly. "Ponyboy come on keep their eyes open Yeah. That's it honey." Soda said softly petting his brother's hair lovingly.
Ponyboy couldn't hold out much longer, his eyes rolled back suddenly and he went limp in Soda's hold. "No….no...no...Don't do this to us honey. Come on. Please don't take him from us." Soda said sadly sobbing into Ponyboy's hair some. The others just stood there completely pale. Darry felt for a pulse and he didn't get one at all. He'd do cpr but he couldn't risk reopening his brother's wound again.
The ambulance finally showed up and the paramedics rushed to Ponyboy. Almost immediately they hooked Ponyboy Up to a thing of oxygen and started chest compressions to get his heart going again. But all they could get was a long unmoving line.
The sped off still trying to revive the boy the whole way to the hospital. He still wasn't breathing on his own but at least now he had a strong pulse beat and his heart was pumping blood into his body once more. Darry had followed the ambulance to the hospital and currently he was in the waiting room with the others waiting for news on his brother's condition.
After two grueling hours the surgeon dropped his gloves down. He had down everything he could to save the child and he was gone. Another small angel to add to heaven so young. The doctor looked at the clock on the wall and spoke the words he had always hated to utter with a child. "Time of death Five fifteen pm." He said making sure the nurse with him wrote that down. "The family is in the waiting room waiting for you doctor the nurse said softly looking at the boy sadly.
The doctor took a deep breath and headed out to the waiting room to unfortunately great the boy's family. His heart tore in two not seeing any parents but what looked to be brothers and friends. "Family of Ponyboy Curtis?" The doctor asked Darry softly. "Yes I'm his eldest brother Darry. How is he?" Darry asked his voice laced with worriness. "I'm afraid he's an Angel now. I did everything I could to try and save him. I'm so terribly sorry. You can see him if you wish to say goodbye." The doctor said softly almost ashamed of himself.
Darry and them slowly followed the doctor back to Ponyboy's room and Soda dropped to the floor sobbing. Darry was sobbing almost as bad as Soda. "First our parents now him." Soda said sadly as his friend Steve helped him up. "You said Bobby did this to him." Dallas said showing no type of sadness but pure rage. "Yeah he's the one." Johnny said simply. Dallas nodded some looking down at Ponyboy's small body. He looked so little with all the wire sticking out of him and the heavy hospital blanket thrown over him as well.
"Come on Pepsi lets get Home." Darry said softly. "Yeah Okay Dar." Soda said sadly following Darry out to the car. They sat in the parking lot for a bit before driving home.
The hardest part wasn't saying goodbye to Ponyboy in the hospital or seeing his dead body. No the hardest part was going past his bedroom door and expecting to see his nose curled in a book or him writing something. But neither brother would ever see that happened ever again. Fourteen, he was only fourteen. Too young to die. Far too young to die. He hadn't even had a full good life yet. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.
Darry sighed some grabbing the phone up and made a phone call to schedule Ponyboy's funeral. He'd set it for tomorrow evening. The sooner the better. "What now Darry?" Soda asked his Brother sadly not knowing what to do. "I don't know soda. I just don't know." Darry said sitting back in his recliner in defeat.