Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!! I really appricitated the response to this story! Please tell me what you think. I really appricitated the fixing of my spelling of Darrel... haven't fixed it in the story yet, but I will. Please read and review... they help bunches, and mean even more:-)

Chapter 2

Darry rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down at the pile of tools on the ground next to the Pontiac. He was a little curious about there being no sign of Sodapop or Steve standing around outside of the building when he showed up. He had expected to have Soda rearing to get out of there early since it was a Friday night and he had plans. He was sure there was a girl that the plans had revolved around, but his middle brother hardly told him everything he was planning on doing for the weekend.

"Soda… Steve…" Darry called out looking from side to side.

There was no one there.

"Hum…" he muttered to himself furrowing his brow.

Darry walked towards the door still looking over his shoulder. He watched a cat as it darted across the parking lot towards a run down neighboring garage and disappear into the weeds. He sighed as he ran his hands over the doorknob and turned the handle. He pushed the door opened hearing the sound of the bell on the other side. He turned his head catching the attention of two men pointing guns. One was behind the cash register; the other turned as he heard the bell jingle above the door and was then pointing the gun at him. Only now there was something white hot tearing through the soft flesh of his stomach. Then he heard a resounding BANG!

"Darry!"

--

Darrel spun around landing with a thud on the floor inside the door. His hand was drawn instinctively to his stomach where the blinding pain was centered. His ears were ringing and his head was pounding. There was a feeling of nauseas and cold creeping across his body at the same time. The world around him was a blur. All he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat inside of his ears.

"FUCK! Ah, FUCK!"

The one who had been behind the counter was walking around the room with his hands at the side of his head, his weapon pointing at the ceiling. The other was standing over top of Darry starring down at him. His hands were shaking as he looked down at the bleeding man.

"What the hell were you thinking, Chad? Oh my, Lord! How the hell are we gonna get out of this now!" The one standing behind the counter walked around towards the other.

"What the hell Andy, what the hell was I supposed to do?" The other shouted.

Soda and Steve were both prancing in the corner when the two started arguing. At that instance Soda shot forward still holding his bleeding head in his right hand.

"Darry…"

"Another step and I'll blow you away." Andy pointed his gun at Soda.

Steve grabbed Soda by the waist and struggled to hold him back in what had become their corner for his protection.

"Darry _ let me go_ Darry…" Soda struggled against Steve's vice like grip on him.

Soda's head continued to gush crimson blood as he clawed at Steve's arms making them both look as if they had been the victims of a mad butcher. Still the middle brother Curtis brother fought to get to his badly injured older brother.

Andy shot two more shots into the ceiling bringing Soda to a complete halt. "Shut up!" He heaved. "One more move and I'll finish the job I started on him and you."

Soda stood next to Steve in the corner of the office. He was no more than a good six feet from his older brother. It was about to kill him watching Darrel bleed and writhe in pain on the cold floor in front of him. He tugged and wadded at Steve's shirt sleeve in his hand as he continued to watch Darrel like a crazed voyeur.

"What the hell is that?" Chad asked as Andy continued to pace back and forth.

"What?" Andy asked abruptly.

"That… do you hear that?"

"Shit, that's just swell, someone called the freaking cops." Andy cursed again grabbing his ski mask with his hands.

"We gotta get the hell outa here." Chad concluded starting to turn.

"And go where, you moron? They're just around the corner." Andy pointed down the street. "I can see the lights now!"

"Damn." Chad mumbled.

"Pull the blinds and find me some rope. We have a situation to control." Andy ordered.

As Chad did what the mastermind of the operation ordered Andy turned his attention to the two men in the corner.

"Let me help him, please." Soda begged running his blood stained hand across the front of his blue work shirt.

Andy looked at the man lying on the floor. He looked really familiar to him, like he knew him from school or something. That just couldn't be the case here. He looked back at the kid with the cut on his head. His right eye was starting to swell up and his head continued to bleed.

"No." Andy answered coldly leaning over top of Darrel.

"So-Soda…" Darry moaned softly as he shifted his head from side to side. He clutched his stomach with his hand as blood continued to leak from the wound.

"Here, this is the best I could do." Chad walked into the room with a long length of rope and handed it to Andy.

"Good, tie'em up and held me drag this one out of the way." Andy tossed the cord back at Chad who did what he was told.

"You behave and I won't hurt him anymore." Andy threatened bending down and pushing the barrel of the now cocked weapon up under Darrel's chin.

Soda shook with disdain as he watched Andy continue to threaten his brother. He looked over at Steve who gritted his teeth as Chad tied the rope around his wrists behind him. He did the same thing to Sodapop and then shoved them both aggressively against the mock wood paneling of the office wall. Soda lost his balance and hit the floor. Steve slid down the wall sitting on the floor and watching the two men walk like and animal stalking its prey around Darrel.

"N-No…" Darrel put up very little fight as Andy grabbed his wrists and held them in place for Chad to lace up.

"Let him alone." Steve piped up.

Andy pulled his weapon from his pocket walked over to them and pointed it directly at Sodapop's head. The boy gasped loudly as Andy cocked the trigger.

"One more word and I'll blow that one into next week."

Steve looked at Sodapop and then back down at the floor, his dark eyes burning a hole in the chilled concrete. He looked up as Andy pocketed the weapon and the two men pulled Darrel over to where they were and dropped him on his side at their feet. Darrel looked so week. His normally handsome, tanned features were sallow and sticky with perspiration. He watched the man grimace as he fought the ropes around his wrists. He could feel Soda, who was sitting next to him, tugging violently at the bonds holding him.

"Darry…" Soda whispered still fighting at the ropes behind him. "Come one Darry, open your eyes. Please… open'em for me, big brother. Come on…"

Steve looked up and watched the two men as they paced and argued. He watched them wondering who they were and where they came from.

"Soda…" Darry responded with a hoarse whisper.

"Yeah, its me, buddy. You okay?" Soda sounded like a parent talking to a small child.

"Y-You _ okay." Darry stammered.

"Yeah." Soda whispered trying to force a smile.

"Where's _ Pony… is Pony _ okay _ Soda…" Darrel was shaking holding his hand over his stomach.

Soda gritted his teeth as he watched his older brother unravel completely.

"Pony's not here, Darry." Soda whispered.

"C-Cold _ Soda..." Darry's expression was taught with pain as he struggled to stay awake.

"I know, I am too. Just hang on okay." Soda attempted to calm his brother.

Darry struggled to lift his head off of the floor. Vertigo kicked in each and every time he even attempted to move. His stomach was on fire and he wasn't quite sure where he was. He knew that Soda was with him and he thought he remembered Steve Randall, but he couldn't remember much of anything else through the pain filled haze. He was terribly afraid that Ponyboy was going to come through the door at any second. The one thing that wasn't far enough from his memory was the blinding pain.

--

Ponyboy, Dallas, Johnny, and Two-Bit pulled up to the gas station. Dallas had left skid marks at nearly every stop sign and stop light in the city he had bothered to stop at. The sky was dark when they pulled up to the DX station. The glimmer of red lights cut through the evening. The crowd of people pointed and talked as they watched and waited for any word from the inside. Ponyboy felt his stomach drop when he saw Darrel's truck sitting, abandoned, near the garage entrance. He ran from the car to shove his way through a small crowd of people to the barricade which he attempted to cross only to run smack into a cop.

"Hold up, kid. It's too dangerous here, stay back there." The officer with a round belly pointed at the barricade pushing him back.

"No, you don't understand!" Ponyboy shoved back struggling to push through the overweight man.

"Kid, I said, get back there and stay!" The man got more aggressive with Ponyboy.

The kid was almost in frustrated tears this time.

"My brothers are in there!" Ponyboy screamed.

The older man turned and looked down at Ponyboy. He wrinkled his weather beaten face as he adjusted his gun belt. He nodded his head as he looked Ponyboy over really hard. He then turned his attention to the three other boys all standing on the wrong side of the barricade behind Ponyboy.

"Do you know how many weapons they have with them?" The older man asked.

Ponyboy's mouth fell agape as he looked at the man. Was he kidding?

"My bother, Sodapop, works here. My older brother, Darrel, came to pick him up from work. Our friend, Steve, is probably in there too." Ponyboy retorted.

"You don't know the gunmen then?" The officer asked.

Ponyboy shook his head in nervous frustration. "No."

The older man looked down at the kid who couldn't keep his eyes off of the pulled blinds of the glass windows in the office. The kid was pale and fidgeting. He was a greasy looking kid; it probably was his brothers in there. There were just too many greasers in this area.

"Come on, kid. You boys back behind the barricade." The grey haired man instructed.

Ponyboy looked over his shoulder as Johnny grabbed Dallas's jacket and tugged at him pulling him back behind the road blocks. Two-Bit shuffled along behind Dallas; all three never took their eyes off of Ponyboy or the building holding their three friends.