*I don't own The Outsiders.
Warning: violence and cursing.
(Third Person POV)
The slam of a car door broke the two boys out of their sleepy stupor. The dark haired teen with large black eyes, turned towards his best friend and whispered, "What do they want?" His heart fluttered in his chest, he doubted its quick pace was healthy.
"I don't know, they're out of their territory," Ponyboy whispered back. He glanced down at the small child curled against his side, he shook her shoulder, causing her to moan and frown. She didn't bother opening her eyes, "Baby, you have to get up," he struggled to stay calm and collected.
The Socs from earlier that night were far more drunk now than they had been; leading the two to suspect that dropping their girlfriends off had not gone well. Evelyn sat up, her tired look going to one of repulsion as the older boys stalked towards the three of them. Despite her fear, she was angered, why couldn't they leave them alone?
Johnny and Ponyboy stood up quickly; it was too late to run off. If they had woken up a little early, maybe they'd have had enough time to get somewhere. Pony was a fast runner, but he wasn't sure how fast he'd be able to go with his sister in tow. Most likely, he wouldn't have been able to go as far as he needed and as fast as would be necessary to get away. Then, the two of them would be caught for sure and the Socs would be more pissed because they had run. Johnny would no doubt be with them, he wouldn't ditch the two Curtis siblings, they were his family, even if they weren't blood related.
Johnny pulled a fag from his pocket and lit it, offering Pony one from the pack. Pony shook his head no, "Save one for me, I'll probably need one after this," he mumbled seriously, not knowing how true the statement was.
"Well, well, look what we have here. Got nowhere to go, Greasers? I might be able to help you out, I can give you the box my television came in," the dark haired Soc slurred.
Pony glared at them, not saying anything.
"Isn't it past your bedtime, small fry," he taunted Lyn.
Her expression was one of steel; it would've been intimidating on someone who was over four feet tall. She spat a large wad of spit on his shoe, hitting the center of the shiny leather loafer. It seemed Two-Bit's spitting lessons paid off; he'd be damn proud if he were here. All three of them wished Two-Bit with Dally or Darry would come by.
Ponyboy wasn't only worried about the situation at hand, but the time. How long had they'd been sleeping here? It had been long enough for the stars' positions to change in the night's sky. Darry was going to be so mad at him; he wouldn't be able to see the sunlight for weeks. Not only was he later than he'd ever been before, but he had Evelyn with him, and they were being jumped.
Aw, shit.
"Why you little bitch!" He spat at Evelyn.
Ponyboy was about to speak up on her behalf, but he didn't need to. "I ain't little, butt face! Now get out of here, this is our territory, Soc!" She screamed, having the balls to say what Johnny and Ponyboy wanted to say. However, they both new shouting that at the Socs, wouldn't defuse the situation any.
"Hush now, Evelyn," Pony ordered. "Look we don't want any trouble-"
"You might now, but we do," Randy snarled at them, taking a clumsy step forward.
Pony was hoping their drunken state would work in their advantage; he glanced at Johnny, conveying to him that they were going to fight and run as soon as there was a break. At the moment, Johnny, Pony, and Evelyn were surrounded by five Socs.
The Socs ambushed them; Pony could hear Lyn scream as a toe headed kid grabbed her by the arm. Pony jumped his back, "That's my sister, freak! Let her go you son-of-a-bitch!" Lyn continued to wail as she was dropped to the ground, David wanted to take care of her brother first.
"Put him in the fountain!" One Soc yelled to Dave, he grinned in response, manhandling the kid towards the center of the park where the cement fountain spewed icy cold water. Johnny was struggling with two Socs, including the one he knew was Cherry's boyfriend. He didn't understand what such a nice girl could see in this lousy excuse of a man.
Evelyn sat in panic, practically hyperventilating as she watched the fight. Johnny was faring better than Ponyboy. She watched as three Socs started dunking him in the fountain, barley giving him any time to breathe. Lyn remembered the one time she got stuck in a wave that was unusually big for the lake that her parents brought the kids to during the summer, not being able to breathe was one of the worse feelings she ever had. She cried when Darry finally pulled her out of her watery prison.
She couldn't sit back and watch them hurt Pony like that. She got up, even though her butt hurt from being dropped, she supposed she was lucky it wasn't her head or something important. She ran screaming, "That's my Pony! Mine! Let go!" She charged right into the blonde Soc who had dropped her. The force of her tackle, even though she was small, made him fall into the fountain. His drunken stupor didn't help him any.
She pulled her foot back and kicked one of the other kids who were still holding her brother under; she panicked more when she saw how feeble his fighting was getting. Tears ran down her face, "Let go of him, you're going to kill my brother!" She screeched.
David grabbed her by the arm again; she'd no doubt have some ugly bruises by sunrise. He shook her roughly, "Shut the fuck up!" He roared, throwing her into the fountain. She landed awkwardly against the middle piece that spouted the water. Lyn felt the crunch of her ribs as she landed; her head hit the fountain piece too, stunning her.
Johnny heard Evelyn's pained cry, "Leave her alone, she's just a kid for Christ's sake!" He yelled. Hell, even Ponyboy was just a kid. He spared a quick glance over at the two; both Curtis' were in the fountain. If he wasn't scared shitless before, he was now.
Evelyn sputtered, somehow keeping her head above the water. It was so cold, like tiny ice needles digging into her skin. The sobs that raked her small body wasn't helping her side, it was the worst pain she'd felt in her entire life, and that was saying a lot since she laid her hand on the hot stove one time and burned her hand. This pain was a lot worse than that; she didn't know pain like this was possible.
She now understood what agony was. She thought dizzily, this is what Dally means when he says something hurts like fucking hell.
Someone grabbed her, not exactly rough like David had, but in the wrong places, she let out a loud scream. "Shit man, you really hurt her. She's like fucking five years old!"
Evelyn didn't even get mad that the guy called her five, even though she was obviously nine, almost ten. She looked frantically around for Ponyboy. She spotted him lying next to the fountain, sputtering and coughing. She was so relieved he wasn't dead. Pony was her favorite brother most of the time, he listened to her, gave her whatever she wanted sometimes, and he played with her. She couldn't lose him.
She couldn't bring herself to move, so she craned her neck into a weird position so she could find Johnny. His nose was bleeding heavily, and even in the dark, it looked like the side of his face was swelling. It took her a moment to realize that one of the mean men was talking to her; she had to focus to catch the words. "…okay, come on say something?!" She whimpered in response, closing her eyes tight together, wishing he'd go away and it was Soda or Darry or Pony, leaning over her instead.
Lyn heard a funny sound next to her. It was Ponyboy throwing up. He was still coughing and sputtering, now he was gagging and heaving. Lyn felt bad, but she thought Pony was looking better already. He wasn't as pale now as he was a moment ago.
"Lyn, Lyn?" Johnny's voice croaked in her ear. "Shh, it's okay now," Johnny whispered. He quickly took off his jean jacket and laid it over her shaking body, it was so cold. He wiped her tears with his thumb, "What hurts?"
"My side and head and butt," Lyn croaked, sounding weak and small. Johnny would've laughed any other time if she said her butt hurt, but he looked at her shaking body, her face was tear streaked, her shallow coloring, and her breathing sounded off.
"You have to calm down, Lyn, no one is going to hurt you any more, I promise," Pony appeared above her.
"Are you okay," she asked him.
"I'm fine, baby, we're going to get on home now," he reached for her.
She cried loudly, "NO MOVE! Don't touch me." Whenever Evelyn was upset or overly tired, she had the tendency to talk like she was three instead of nine, in short, choppy, right to the point, fragmented sentences.
"We got to go home and have Darry and Soda look at you. I know it hurts, but I'll be real gentle." Pony picked her up carefully; she still yelped and started crying again. Pony was shaken up, not only from being jumped, but because of how Lyn was acting. She was the kind of kid who fell off the bed and laughed, the kid who jumped off the porch railings, not the kind of person who cried over every bump.
He shared a concerned look with Johnny, he was afraid of how hurt she may be. The two made their way quickly towards home, meaning the Curtis' house. Johnny walked in first, Pony with Lyn in tow right on his heel.
"Where the heck have you been?" Darry asked, jumping to his feet.
"Oh hey, Johnny…" Soda trailed off, noticing Johnnycakes' face, Ponyboy's wet clothing, and worst of all Evelyn curled up, whimpering.
Darry and Soda crossed the room and were peering down at Lyn before Pony got two steps through the door. "Pony, go get yourself a hot shower before you get pneumonia. Soda, grab the first aid kit. Johnny, you alright? Pony, don't stand there, lay Lyn on the couch." Darry barked out, automatically taking control of the situation.
"Fine, just check the kid out, she said her side, head, and butt hurt," Johnny murmured, worried.
"Sweetheart, can you tell me what hurts the worse," Darry asked in the gentlest voice he had. Soda knelt down beside his sister, taking her cold hand.
"My side hurts," she whimpered. Her breathing sounded funny to Darry and Soda, they shared a look. It was ragged, Darry wondered if it was from the pain. He needed to know what happened and soon, but first he needed to make sure his kid sister was okay.
Darry started peeling off the soaked layers, he could hear the shower's steady beat of water coming from the bathroom. He hoped Pony wasn't too banged up. Johnny's nose might be broken, considering it was bleeding pretty heavily.
He slid Evelyn's shirt off and his breath caught in his throat, he could hear Soda curse low and harsh, Johnny gasped from behind him. Lyn's small stomach was turning colors before their eyes; her entire side was covered with ugly bruising. Lyn cried out as Darry touched her skin, and she tried to wiggle away.
"Shh, baby, let Darry look. It'll be over soon," Soda snapped out of his angry glare, switching to protective brother as he cooed to Lyn. Darry ran his hand over her ribs, starting at the bottom and making his way upward along the row of bones. Once he got to the top, he could tell that a rib felt out of place, not just cracked or broken, but out of line.
He pulled his hand back, Darry didn't even hear the shower turn off, but suddenly Pony's horror filled gasp was next to him. Pony's face was crushed with guiltiness, "I'm sorry, Lyn," he brushed his fingers through her hair. She grimaced at Pony.
Darry whispered softly, "Soda, get the truck. Something's out of place." Darry's gut clenched, this couldn't be good.
Well, that was intense.
Thanks for the reviews. Please keep it up. I have over 650 hits, the last time I checked, but ten reviews. Please, send me some reviews, it encourages me to keep going and keeps me from losing interest in the story.
