A/N: Hey guys, here is the second chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and alerted to this story, it means so much. In exchange I can promise that this will not be one of those stories that you get three or four chapters from and then it just stops. I will defiantly finish it up and the more reviews the faster it will go! Ok read on!

May 2, 1967 6:23 am

The very first thing Ponyboy Curtis was aware of when he opened his eyes was pain and a lot of it. His entire head was throbbing so much that it felt like someone was repeatedly clanging his head with a frying pan. Not exactly the most pleasant way of awaking up in the world.

The second thing Pony was aware of was that he was tied to a chair in a very dark room, probably a basement. The whole thing seemed like the beginning of a really bad mystery novel that Pony had once read. Unfortunately for him, the end of that particular book had not ended very well for the captured boy.

Then again, the boy in that story had been a rich and spoiled Soc with a taste for danger. So maybe Ponyboy would be ok.

Pony tried to strain against his restraints but with no luck, not that he had expected any. Things were never that easy, even in books.

For several more minutes, Pony tried in vain to escape from the chair but he knew that there was no way he could. So finally, giving up, Pony finally looked around to take in his surroundings.

From the small furnace in the room's corner Pony surmised that his first assumption was probably correct: he was in a basement. There were no windows and only a few sealed boxes in one corner. Quite boring in fact. Pony had half expected there to be something a cage or a long operating table. Maybe Darry was right, he really did have too much imagination.

Just then Ponyboy heard footsteps pounding down the stairs beyond the room's only door. From the sound of it, there was more than one person.

Stiffening as the door opened, Pony watched warily as three young Socs walked in. To his intense surprise, Ponyboy realized the recognized them from school! They were all seniors and some of the most popular students in the school. They also happened to be friends of the former Bob Sheldon.

Daniel Walker was the king of the school, son of a wealthy business man and had the looks to fit the image. With blond hair and green eyes that always had a cocky look to them, Ponyboy had always made it a point to avoid him and his many girlfriends.

Daniel's best friend, Kevin Forrest stood next to him with an extremely annoying smirk on his face. Kevin, a dark brown haired and eyed boy was a typical jock without a brain, the kind of guy who probably never had an original thought in his life. The type of boy that Daniel could easily take advantage of.

It was only the third boy who was the only surprise for Ponyboy. James Archer was a Soc but he certainly wasn't in the same group as the other two. In fact, James had always reminded Pony a bit of Johnny, they had the same dark eyes and hair and that same haunted look in their eyes.

James looked extremely nervous and his eyes kept flicking from one boy to the next but never lingering on Pony. The other two did not seem to share their companion's conflicting emotions.

Daniel stopped right in front of Pony's face and stood staring down at him with a wide grin. Pony glared back at him and asked, "Well, do you care to explain yourself, Daniel? Why the hell did you bring me here?"

Daniel's smile stayed on his face as he answered, "Well, Ponyboy, I can give you one guess."

"My guess would be," Ponyboy replied slowly, "it would have something to do with Bob Sheldon."

Kevin let out a horrid snort of laughter and said snottily, "We have a regular genius in the house!"

Both Pony and Daniel ignored him and Daniel said, "Well, yes actually it does have something to do with Bob, but not with you actually."

Pony raised an eyebrow and demanded, "If it has nothing to do with me then why did you kidnap me?"

James flinched at the word but Daniel just smirked. "We have a plan," he said, "and you are part of it. Luckily for you all you have to do is stay here hidden while everybody searchers frantically for you. Quite simple for you indeed."

"Lucky?" cried Pony, his voice breaking, "How is kidnapping me going to help you? The Socs and Greasers are finally getting along better and with this you could ruin that!"

Daniel looked pityingly at Pony and said smoothly, "Yes, that is kind of the point, boy."

With that the golden haired Soc turned and walked out of the basement calling behind him, "Kevin watch him. James come on."

James glanced at Ponyboy and he saw something close to pity in the boy's eyes but he meekly followed after Daniel. Kevin leaned back against the wall and smirked over at his captive.

Pony looked about himself again and sighed. He had no idea how he was going to get out of this one. He only wished he had apologized to Soda that morning.

May 2 4:56pm

Soda glanced at the clock for the tenth time in as many minutes. This would be about the time Pony would have come home from track practice. Soda knew it was silly but he couldn't help jumping at every little sound from outside, desperately hoping that his little brother would walk through the front door but of course he didn't.

Darry and Soda had spent the entire day wandering the town, talking to anyone who would listen, trying to find anyone who had seen Pony but to no avail. Pony's track buddies had reported seeing him leaving the school grounds but not after that. It was as if he had simply disappeared into thin air.

Darry had been in constant contact with the policeman in charge of the case, a Detective Kendall. The police were doing their own work but they hadn't come up with anything useful either.

However, in all fairness, the Curtis brothers were lucky that the police were taking such an interest at all. Most of the time when an orphan Greaser went missing they would have given a halfhearted search and given the case up as a runaway.

Ponyboy's case was different though. Everyone knew his amazing story from the year before and the news that he had disappeared yet again was spreading over the town like wildfire. The police wanted the rap up the case as quickly as possible before more Soc bodies turned up like last time.

Kendall had asked the two brothers if they thought their youngest brother had simply run off, poised over his notebook like that was a perfectly acceptable question. When Soda heard that, it took every ounce of his self control not to haul off and slug the officer. That probably wouldn't have done much good anyway.

Darry had calmly explained that there was no chance that Pony simply ran away but Kendall didn't look like he was convinced.

But Soda knew they was right. After a fight with Soda, Pony would have come straight home to make up; he wasn't the kind to run. However, if they were right, then where was he?

Just then the front door swung open and Soda jumped up only to sink down again as he realized that it was Darry, not Ponyboy in the door.

Darry gave his brother a sad little smile and shook his head. Soda dropped his head into his hands and stayed like that as Darry walked behind him and began to rub his back. "We'll find him Soda," he whispered.

Soda looked up at him with red eyes and replied with conviction, "We have to."

He didn't even want to think what would happen if they didn't.

May 3 7:12 pm

Detective Kendall had his eyes glued to the ground as he searched for any sigh of the missing orphan boy, Ponyboy Curtis. His chief had told him that this case needed to be closed sooner rather than later because they could already tell the dangerous youth of the city were becoming interested in the news that the famous Greaser was missing again.

The last thing the police needed right now was a gang war which was very possible unless they found the missing boy. Ponyboy Curtis, Kendall thought with a small smile, what a name.

Just then something caught Kendall's eye by one of the walls of the alley he was walking. That was the one thing that had made Kendall one the police station's youngest detectives, his unexplained ability to notice things that anyone else would have overlooked.

Walking over to the wall Kendall bent down and picked up the item from the ground. It was a very dirty black backpack that was ripped up on one side. Opening it Kendall reached in and pulled out a book. Looking at it, Kendall realized it was a school science book, most likely high school.

Opening the front cover, Kendall looked at the cover, reading the name and smiled grimly. There plain as day was a list of names of students who had owned the book. However it was only the last name that Kendall cared about: Ponyboy Curtis.

May 3 2:23 am

Soda knew he had to sleep. Lying in his and Pony's bed wide awake wasn't going to help anyone. He needed to get rest for tomorrow when he had to go back to work and look for Pony.

Sodapop knew all this and yet he couldn't seem close his eyes to sleep. It seemed like if he did he would never wake up.

Turning over, Soda clutched the sheets with one hand and stared over at the wall. Why hadn't he been able to stop this? Why hadn't he gone to pick Pony after practice to apologize? He had let his pride get in the way and know his beloved little brother was missing. Was it his entire fault?

It was a long time before Soda finally fell into sleep and when he finally did his sleep was plagued with nightmares. When he woke just a few hours later he realized for the first time what Pony had gone through when he had nightmares that he could never remember.

Standing up to stand by the window, Soda stared out into the darkness and swore that he would find his beloved little brother, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

Review! All the thoughts and suggestions mean so much! Till next chapter

~md202