The stranger that is following me is wearing all black. It's hard to tell in the dark night, but I'm able to detect a shadowy figure lurking a few feet away. My nervous eyes dart from side to side, trying to find an escape. How long have he been following me? His steps echo from behind me and I quicken my pace.
With each step I try to distance myself from the dangerous stalker. Why didn't I ask someone for a ride home? I knew that it would be dark walking home from work. The city wasn't a safe place at night for a teenage girl who's alone. Actually, it isn't really a safe place for anyone alone at night.
I know that he's close. My heartbeat seems to pound in my head as I run. A crack in the sidewalk sends me flying to the ground, and I land on the concrete, scraping my hands. I begin to get up, but realize that he is standing right over me. Paralyzed in shock, all I can do is stare. No one used to mess with me until I became a greaser. My shield was removed the moment I left the West Side Socs. He pins me to the ground and I'm glued to the sidewalk.
He doesn't look much older than me, probably only seventeen. The man seems unlike a greaser or Soc, just different. Icy blue eyes stand out even though the only light comes from the dimly lit street lights.
"What do you want from me?" I ask, trying to hold back the hysteria in my voice. "Here's my ring. All the money I have." I manage to throw my valuables to his feet. It hurt to throw away the ring. My grandmother's wedding ring was worth a small fortune and even more in sentimental value. I figured I was worth more than a ring. But it still hurt.
"No, I don't want that."
My heart seems to skip a beat, and my breathing is not normal.
"Please, don't kill me." I fight back the tears that threaten to trickle down my face. The boy almost seems to smile.
"I'm not going to kill you." I hear a sick, twisted laugh. "Maybe."He presses he lips to my neck. I kick and wave my arms around trying to fight him to no avail. This wouldn't of happen if I was still a soc. Why didn't I learn to fight? Why didn't I bring a knife? Why? Something sends a searing pain though my arm. I recognize the agonizing scream as mine. I can't speak; only moan unintelligible things until blackness tugs at the corners of my vision. This is the end. I'm going to die right now. I just hope it will be quick.
"Soda, Darry's gonna kill me if I stay out any later." Ponyboy says. He silently hopes that Darry will go easy on him because he's with Sodapop. But there still is school tomorrow.
"Yeah, you're probably right. And he'll kill me for letting you stay out this late. But that doesn't mean I'm done for the night." Sodapop says, flashing his movie star smile. It feels good to be traveling with the gang, there's a certain sense of security, Pony thinks. The only one missing is Dally, but that isn't too uncommon.
Then, a bloodcurdling scream breaks through the silent night. It echoes in everyone's ears.
"What the hell was that?" says Two-Bit. He flicks out his switchblade, ready for an inevitable fight. He knows the scream was close, but it scares him in a weird way. It was a high pitched scream of a girl.
"Be careful Pony. You too Johnny." Soda warns. "I think it came from right over here." The boys break out into a run when they see them. A young girl is strewn across the cement sidewalk, crimson blood stained across her body, as a man cloaked all in black slashes her with a knife. Without thinking, Sodapop lunges at the man, Two-Bit attacking with his blade. The man is quicker, though. He jumps and races away like he was shot from canon. He jumps in a car, not a mustang or a jalopy, and speeds away with a screech.
"Dirty piece of Soc shit!" Steve swears, left in shock from the turn of events. Ponyboy finds his mind is racing and find he can't think straight. He's seen fights and this just wasn't normal. This was one man, if you could call him that, attacking a defenseless woman randomly. Then running away like a coward. Pony kneels next to girl in utter horror. He can't see all the wounds in the poor light, but he can tell it's bad. Real bad.
"What do we do?" He asks, his voice breaking.
"Let's bring her to my place. Darry will know." Soda picks up the girl, surprised at how light she is. Soda thinks of Sandy, and what he'd do to a monster that did anything to her. The group sprints back as fast as they can to the familiar Curtis house.
"Darry, some Soc just jumped this girl. We couldn't just leave her there to die." Pony watches the wave of shock spread through Darry, but he keeps his cool.
"Oh, God." Darry says under his breath, looking at what was done to the girl. "Bring her inside. Go find bandages Pony, get some wet towels Two-Bit." Soda lays the girl down and Darry gets to work. He steadily cleans all the cuts and scratches placing the strips of stitches across the deep knife wound. He wraps bandages around her bleeding hands while the boys sit there bewildered. They've all seen this, but no one has tried to kill a girl, especially one this young before. This was a new low, even for a dirty Soc.
Pain was everywhere, engulfing me like a strong gust of wind. I think I may have moaned, but I don't remember. But I do remember someone helping me. Strong hands took mine as they gently wrapped bandages around my wet hands. Why were my hands wet? Then I remember the attack in a burst of clarity. It seems all too real. My hands were wet with blood. I blink my eyes open despite the pain and see a man leaning over me.
I instinctively recoil , hoping my nightmare would soon come to an end.
"It's okay." He soothed. "We're helping you." I trust his words and his kind eyes and relax my tense body. I'm conscious, but barely coherent.
"Thanks." I manage to mumble. My world turns black again, though the last thing I see is his face.
AN: Thanks for reading! This is my first Outsiders fanfic, so I hope it's okay. I've been dying to write this forever and am happy to finally let it all escape. Please, please review. Oh, by the way, I rated this T because I'm 13 and I wrote it, so I feel it would be appropriate for someone my age to read. It would mean so much to me to get any feedback. I promise you the next chapter will get better, so bear with me.
P.S.: I'm now a beta reader (yay!) and would love to help with your story! Please contact me. Thanks!