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Chapter 4

Soda looked over at Steve. Steve nodded his head. The two had been friends for so long that the unspoken communication between them was palpable. They were going to take control of the out of control situation at that precise moment. Apprehension flashed in his eyes as Soda looked down at Darrel. The man had his bloodshot eyes opened. The tears that lined his visage indicated that he was in more pain than Soda could have ever imagined. Darry gradually drug his still bound hands down on to cover the injury to his stomach which continued to leak precious blood. Darry gritted his teeth through the torment as the sweat continued to glisten on his forehead, slide down his cheeks and neck and pool in the hollow of his throat.

"Just hang on Darry." Soda whispered looking up to watch the two masked men for a few more seconds. It was time, the two friends exploded into action.

Sodapop and Steve cleared Darry in a single leap. Both men were up and over the counter in an instant. They had each taken responsibility to take out one man. Since Soda was injured he would take out Andy, and Steve, he would take out the muscle, Chad.

"What the…" Chad shouted as Steve landed on him wrapping his hands around the weapon. Steve had little trouble pulling it from the man's unsuspecting hands and shoving it as hard as he could in the direction of the now closed shop door.

Chad wasted no time with his counter attack the slightly smaller, but defiantly well built Steve. He pushed the boy off of him once and into a wall. As soon as Steve hit the wall he saw something metal on the counter in front of him. It really didn't matter what it was, it was gonna get him the upper hand. He grasped it in his hand and clocked the man in the head and dropping him almost instantly to the floor. Steve responded by shouting profanities at the man falling down on him and delivering blow after damaging blow to the man's still hidden face. Chad on the other hand was struggling to try and cover himself against the punishing attack. He soon found himself unmasked as Steve pulled the ski mask off of his face and dropped his fist square into the unmasked man's mouth. That final blow spelled lights out for Chad.

Steve jumped when he heard the sound of gunfire as Sodapop, who was already injured, struggled to take the weapon from Andy. It had been obvious that Andy was the mastermind behind the operation. He didn't have much to his build, like his friend Chad did. He was wiry like Soda and much stronger than he looked. Sodapop was now bleeding from his lip as it was apparent he had taken more than one direct hit from the other man while trying to disarm him. The bullets slammed harmlessly into the wall. Steve decided it was time to help his best friend.

"You son of a…" Steve's language got no better by the time he jumped into the scuffle between Sodapop and Andy.

A few more punches from the two boys and an elbow from Soda to the man's groin left Andy disabled and soon unmasked. Steve pulled the wool ski mask off of the man and revealed a kid. Soda panted, breathlessly, as he sat on his opponent's chest and looked at his face as lay on his back grimacing from the disabling hit. He did not look much older to Soda than his brother, Darrel. He was a well groomed, nice looking young man. He was in obvious pain as Soda continued to hold him down by sitting on top of him.

"They're just kids." Soda said softly looking up at Steve who had tossed the ski mask to the side in favor of a weapon and was training it on Andy.

Steve looked back at the still unconscious Chad and realized he too was only about nineteen or twenty. They were too young to have been throwing their lives away on the little bit of money the DX Station safe contained. They should have been playing football in college, or baseball with their friends.

--

Soda touched his hand to his head as it began to swim. He very felt sick as he looked at the kids they had just taken down. He licked his lips as he sat for just a few more seconds before he jumped up and ran over to Darrel.

"Ohhh…" Darry cried out as Soda lifted his head off of the floor wiping his slick forehead off with his right hand.

Darry squeezed his eyes closed as his brother scooped him up, cradling him in his arms. It hurt to move. He could feel his pulse beating in his ears. The pain was so intense that he wanted to scream. He couldn't even open his eyes to see his brothers face. He wanted so badly to see Soda and even worse to see Pony. He could only feel for something to hold onto. Something that he could grip as the hurt got worse and worse.

"Shhh… you're okay big brother." His stomach sank as he felt Darry's clammy, blood slick hand claw at his right elbow.

Soda pulled a shop rag out of his pocket and covered the bleeding spot on his stomach. With his free hand he pushed down, putting pressure on his brother's stomach in an attempt to stop him from bleeding. The slightest touch brought a cry of utter torture from Darrel's lips. Soda watched with horror as he realized there was nothing he could do to help his brother.

"Oh GOD, Darry, please hang on." Soda begged as Steve pulled his knife out and sliced the ropes around Darry's wrists.

"Get help." Soda choked out looking desperately at his best friend.

Steve felt the knot of dread in his stomach as he watched the scene play out in front of him.

"Get help!" Soda screamed sending Steve exploding out of the door and into the hands of waiting law enforcement.

--

"Where do you think you're going, son?" The officer grabbed Steve forcing up against the side of the building.

"Steve!" Ponyboy saw the boy rush out of the store and started running towards the door after escaping from the man holding him on the ground.

Steve cringed as the side of his face slammed into the splintery wood structure of the building. He gritted his teeth as another officer began firing questions at him.

"No, let'em go, Steve!" Ponyboy shouted as someone caught him around the waist and started to pull him backwards.

"You have to get in there." Steve shouted pleadingly as metal manacles were clamped around his wrists which were being held behind him. "Please, someone's been shot…"

Ponyboy couldn't hear anything that was being said between Steve and the officers. All he could do was struggle with the and around his waist and watch. He watched in desperation for something, anything to happen.

Where were his brothers?

--

Johnny, Two-Bit and Dallas nearly went to pieces as they watched the scene unfold before them. The struggle wasn't with Dallas as the shots were fired; it was Two-Bit coming unglued knowing his friends Steve, Sodapop and Darrel were in the station. He struggled and fought against Dallas's iron grip around his chest and waist as he watched Ponyboy being shoved to the ground by the large officer trying to protect him from a stray bullet. He shouted wildly as the other onlookers panicked as well.

It was when Steve exploded out the front door that Dallas finally let him go. The three boys all decided to jump the barricade and run towards the building. They were gonna help their friends. They no sooner cleared the blockade and found themselves being held up by additional officers who had showed up on the scene. These men were not going to let them past, and the boys weren't gonna be stopped.

"Do you know that kid?" The officer holding Ponyboy back shouted at the teen.

"That's Steve." Ponyboy shouted clawing at the man's wrist and securing his freedom.

"Wait, you can't go…" The officer shouted as Ponyboy broke free of the officer's grasp. He was followed by Johnny, Dallas, and Two-Bit who had easily shot past the other officers and ran the rest of the way towards the building.

"Steve!" Ponyboy shouted as police officers started to run into the building.

Steve tried to turn to see who was shouting at him only to be pushed aggressively back against the wall.

"Let me go, you gotta help Darry!" Steve shouted wildly.

Ponyboy stopped in his tracks as he watched a cop emerge from the building. The man was shouting orders and pointing his fingers. It was like slow motion as the scene unfurled. The officers holding Steve began to unlock the metal cuffs around his wrists. Steve wriggled free and tried to go back into the building. He was stopped by a cop and taken in the direction of a second waiting ambulance. Another medical crew began to rush towards the building. Sodapop slowly emerged in the doorway. He nearly collapsed on the way out. He was being half carried out of the building by an officer. His head was trickling blood and he was covered head to toe in even more blood. His grimy work shirt was ripped across the front as if he had been in a fight. There were soon two other men being led from the building. They looked like they had been beaten up as well. They had their wrists chained behind their backs. These must have been the culprits. Ponyboy furrowed his brow to him they looked like Soc's. What would a Soc need to rob a gas station for?

He continued to watch. Something was wrong. Where was Darry?

"Kid!" Dallas grabbed Ponyboy by the arm and dragged him out of the path of the ambulance as it pulled up. The medical personnel jumped out and then pulled a gurney out of the back end of the vehicle and pushed it into the building.

"Let me go!" Pony shouted as he pulled his arm free of Dallas's vice like grip.

Pony pushed and shoved through the officers and medical personnel in front of him to get to Sodapop. Soda sat holding his head in his hand as a medic sat next to him dabbing his forehead with a gauze strip. Pony fell on his knees on the other side of him.

"Pony…" Soda sighed breathlessly running his bloody hand across Ponyboy's face. He then wrapped his arm the rest of the way around his neck pulling his younger brother into his tight embrace.

Ponyboy felt as if he would cry. He almost couldn't breathe as he fell into his brother. He was just relieved that they were alright. Everything was alright now.

"You're alive." Pony sobbed feeling tears sting his eyes and then begin streaming down his face.

"Yeah, kiddo, I'm alive. It's gonna be alright." Soda whispered pulling his brother tighter towards him.

Pony soon pulled away and sat up slowly. He and looked down at Sodapop who had an anxious expression on his face. Pony felt nervous as Soda looked around uneasily. He hadn't seen his older brother yet. Maybe Darry hadn't been there after all.

"Soda, where's Darry?"

The words had no sooner left Pony's lips when the officers began to clear people out of the way. A gurney was being wheeled out of the station office. Ponyboy felt as if he had been kicked in the chest. The person on the cot was pallid, sweaty, and dirty. There was blood all over the sheet covering his lower body. His black t-shirt had been cut in half while still on his person. The tattered edges hung in two pieces on either side of the wheeled cot. The color left his face as he watched in horror as the medics shoved the gurney into the back of the ambulance and with brilliant red lights flashing and sirens blaring darted from the parking lot. Darry had been shot.

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