Chapter Three! I got another chapter for y'all and I hope you like it. Thank you guys so much for the reviews! I probably wouldn't have even continued this story had it not been for you guys, y'all are awesome! Please R&R.
Darry's POV
I pulled the truck in-between a group of trees and parked it. I looked at Soda and Pony. Soda was slouching deep into his seat, frowning, and Pony was leaning against the window. I knew that they didn't want to do this and I was pretty sure why. I still remembered that camping trip with Mom and Dad, but this one was gonna be different. I opened the door and slid out onto the ground.
"Come on you two, we still have a hike up to where we're gonna stay," I told them.
Pony grumbled and opened the door, climbing out with Soda right behind him. I grabbed my large pack from the back of the truck and strapped it onto my back. I knew that all Soda and Pony were gonna pack was cloths and hair grease so I had to bring an extra big pack for food, the tent and other things that might come in handy when camping. I had also grabbed a smaller pack that contained a couple first-aid kits and blankets. I handed it to Pony.
"Here, you carry this one," I said.
Pony took it from me and slung it over his shoulder without a word. Soda grabbed the bag that he and Pony had brought and then we started up the trail. The silence was starting to unnerve me a bit after about ten minutes. Were Soda and Pony seriously this mad about coming? I thought it would be good for all of us, but now I wasn't so sure. Soda was shuffling along beside me and Pony was lagging a bit. Would it be better if we just turned back now? No, this would be good for us.
Since we had spent most of the day driving we didn't make it up to the campsite until the sun was starting to set. We pitched the tent, or rather I did, and then I had Soda build a fire.
"Darry can we eat now?" Pony asked, "We didn't even get to have lunch and I'm starving!"
"Sure, buddy," I said.
I dug around in my pack and pulled out a bag of dried jerky. I grabbed what I wanted and then tossed it to Soda and Pony. Soda stared at the bag in disgust.
"This is dinner? Darry, this wouldn't have filled me up when I was three," Soda complained.
"Sorry, little buddy, but there just isn't a whole lot of food that you can take on a camping trip." I told him.
He sighed and pulled out a strip of jerky before handing the bag to Pony. For the longest while we just sat there in front of the fire, not saying anything. This wasn't working like I had planned. This was supposed to be a time where I could bond with my kid brothers, but instead I was getting the silent treatment for bringing them up here.
Something rustled in the bushes and Pony jumped up with a yelped. Soda and I also stood and I shifted my gaze towards the moving brush.
"It's a bear!" Pony howled.
He ran back and forth, waving his hands in the air and yelling at the top of his lungs. My heart was doing jumping jacks as I slowly moved away from the bushes. Soda grabbed hold the back of Pony's shirt and held our kid brother behind him in a protective manner. Our eyes were locked on that bush. Suddenly something jumped out and all three of us cried out. Then I saw what it was. A white rabbit. A harmless white rabbit! Glory, we were scared of that?! Pony was still yelling when Soda slapped a hand over his mouth.
"It's a rabbit, Pony," he said.
Pony stopped screaming and we all just stood there for a moment before letting out in howling laughter. I was laughing so hard that tears watered in my eyes. I wasn't sure if we were laughing cause it was funny, cause we were so relieved that it wasn't a bear.
After laughing hysterically for about five minutes we all collapsed around the fire, trying to catch our breaths. I couldn't remember the last time I had laughed like that. My sides were aching and tears were streaming down my cheeks.
We laid there for a long while, just looking up at the stars that cascaded across the darkened sky. It was so peaceful, so different from Tulsa. At night we would usually hear sirens or people fighting on the street, here it was so much different. The only sounds that could be heard were crickets and the slight breeze that drifted through the trees. Pony crawled up from the ground and started for the tent.
"I'm going to sleep," he mumbled tiredly.
"Me too," Soda said, following Pony to the tent.
I decided to sit by the fire for a while, just listening to the silence. Soon after Soda and Pony had left I heard Soda's loud snoring coming from the tent. I smiled and chuckled a bit. So much for the silence. I stirred the fire one last time before heading for the tent and falling asleep to the sound of Soda's rumbling breaths.
Soda's POV
I woke up to something nudging my face. I was still groggy and I didn't want to open my eyes.
"Pony, get your hand off my face," I muttered.
I felt it again and I pushed it away.
"That's it, Pony," I said.
I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw were beady eyes staring back at me. That woke me up. I cried out and shot into a sitting position. The rabbit got scared when I yelled and it ran off. I exhaled and ran a hand over my face. The great outdoors. Darry said this was gonna be good for us, but all that the woods had managed to do is scare the daylights outta us. Pony was still asleep next to me. I was guessing that he didn't get much sleep last night either. Somehow I had managed to sleep right on top of a rock all night. Either I had terrible luck, or these woods were out to get me.
I gave Pony's shoulder a shake and he groaned. I tried again only to get the same response.
"Pony, wake up," I said.
"Go away," he mumbled.
"Pony, come on get up," I commanded.
"Soda, five more minutes?" he begged.
Just then Darry poked his head in. He was smiling and his hair hung in his face.
"Rise and shine you two," he said in an all-too-cheerful voice.
Pony moaned and pushed into a sitting position, rubbing a hand over his face. He looked like a zombie. Black circles rimmed his eyes and his hair was a messed up and dried drool caked the sides of his mouth. Ponyboy was defiantly not a morning person.
"Go away, Darry, it's too early!" Pony exclaimed.
"Sorry baby brother, but you're getting up," Darry said.
Pony laid back down and covered his head with the single blanket that he had slept with. Darry shook his head, reached over and yanked the blanket out of Pony's reach.
"Fine, I'm up," Pony gave in.
Pony and I got changed while Darry got breakfast ready. I was seriously hoping it wasn't dried jerky again. That stuffs nasty; it's like chewing on a balloon.
I crawled out of the tent and Pony followed. Darry was holding a skillet over the fire. I walked over to him, my thumbs hooked in my pockets. I looked down at the concoction that my big brother was cooking up. Bread. He had put bread in skillet and was now holding it over the fire.
"That's breakfast?" I demanded.
"Yep," Darry answered.
"That's all we get?" I asked.
"Yep."
"Darry, I'm going to die of starvation before the weeks over!" I nearly shouted.
"Sodapop, stop complaining and eat," Darry ordered.
I took a seat on the ground next to Pony and grabbed up a piece of the toast, shoving it in my mouth. I felt like I was eating sawdust.
After 'breakfast' Pony went for a walk while I helped Darry clean up camp a bit. Actually, Pony went for a walk while I watched Darry clean up camp a bit. I sat on a long drawing in the dirt with a stick. Time went by so slowly and I was pretty sure if this kept up I was gonna go insane! I got up and paced back and forth. That's what I was doing when I heard the scream.
"Daaaarrrrryyyyy!"
I jerked my head up. That was Pony! My baby brother came barreling out of the trees, screaming his head off. Darry was at my side now and we watched as out kid brother come racing towards us. And that was when I saw the bees. Pony had a swarm of very angry bees' right behind him! Pony reached us and the three of us took off running and yelling. We reached a lake and Darry and Pony jumped in. I hesitated. The water didn't look that deep, but I had had a bad experience with lakes. The sting to my butt gave me the extra little push I needed and I jumped into the water with a yelp. I struggled at first, but then found that I was able to stand up. The bees were right above us now and the three of us dove under the surface.
The water was cold, but I was thankful that I could stand in it. My heart was still hammering in panic though. When my lungs began to beg for mercy I surfaced with a gasp. I guess the bees had decided to give up, cause they were gone. Darry, Pony and I sloshed onto the shore and collapsed, panting hard.
"Pony, what did you do?" I demanded between heaves.
"Sorry, Soda, I guess I wasn't thinking when I poked the hive with a stick," Pony said.
I slapped my forehead and let my face fall into the dirt.
Well what'd you think? Love it? Hate it? Burn it? Let me know. Stay golden!
