Thanks for the great reviews. I'm thinking on brining a character named Jim Halsey into this story, I'm not sure whether I should or not. If I did, then it'd be considered a cross over. We'll see how things go, I might bring him in depending on the outcome.
The day was aging, now in the mid morning, and by now I was barely sane as our car continued to trudge along the dusty roads of a deserted town. Johnny's head was resting gently upon my shoulder as he silently wept. He was my best friend, I was worried for him but at the same time, five words that Rick had hissed at me were going through my mind, they wouldn't leave me alone. Crying's not going to help…,Those were the words that haunted me along with the four other forsaken words that were sure to end my life. Soda was silent at the wheel, most likely inhis own world once again.
Thinking all was clear, I reached with one arm to grasp my water bottle. The water flowed wonderfully down my throat, quenching my thirst and relaxing my body. I let my eyes shut gently as I indulged myself in the cool, refreshing water. With one jolt of the car, I chocked on the cool water as it overflowed from the bottle, spilling all over the car floor and my shirt. What was that?
"What the hell?" I said out loud with water still in my throat, whirling my upper body around to face the force of our sudden push. A familiar navy blue truck was right at our previously warped bumper. Johnny snapped out of his weepy state and faced the back too. My stomach jumped when I recognized the shape of the car, the look of those doors. The man driving the car, a man who had now fixed himself on haunting us. Rick Judgar. That handsome yet wicked beast.
"Holy shit…" Johnny muttered in fear when he too recognized the man's face. I was slightly taken aback by his curse. It was rare to hear Johnny use foul language. Except for the time when I ridded Rick from the car. His curse seemed perfectly in character then.
"Soda, drive faster!" he demanded, kicking at Soda's chair.
"It's him, isn't it…" Sodapop sounded on the verge of tears. It was evident that the cause of the force was Rick. Why he was fixed on stalking us and making our lives hell, was beyond me. But he obviously found pleasure in it.
"Yeah, just drive!" Johnny snapped at him and, just as Johnny commanded, Soda pushed his foot down onto the gas, going about 95. But our car was jostled forward again, twice more. The man wouldn't give up. By now, we were just shouting at each other in frustration and fear, no meaning to our words. Until finally, Rick's car, or the man's that he murdered, took to the side road, kicking up dust with its heavy wheels. That was not the final encounter. I knew our final encounter wouldn't be for a long time.
"Ok, now we're calling the cops." Soda affirmed as he stopped the car at a modern looking gas station. No way was I going alone like last time.
"Johnny, come along with me. Let Soda rest." I told Johnny as we both emerged from the car, heading towards the station.
"What happened at that last station? You seemed shaken up." Johnny inquired as we approached the doors. I shrugged, not wanting to worry him. But I knew I couldn't lie to him.
"Rick." I replied deadpan. That one word was like a mountain that weighed heavy in my mouth. It was difficult to say his name out loud now. And just by that one word, Johnny knew the whole story.
I grabbed the handle of the front door and rattled it aggressively. Locked. It must have still been early because nothing seemed to be open yet. Johnny let out a dramatic sigh and pressed his face against the glass door, eyeing the pay phone only feet away from our grasp.
"This is crazy. You know that, Pony?" Johnny said with a doleful chuckle as he turned around and leaned his back against the glass door. I didn't know what to say to him. Things had been happening so fast, I never had time to reason with the situation. I couldn't. If I let my mind ponder it, I'd surely go insane. That's why Johnny was edgy all the time. Because he was letting himself think about it.
I placed a hand gently on his shoulder. "You cant think about that right now, Johnny. We just have to get out of here. Some way or another, we'll get away from Rick. We just cant loose our sanity. Then he wins." I advised him with power in my voice, the words hanging heavy in the morning air.
We walked back to the car in silence until a roaring engine caused me to whirl around. To my astonishment, a truck - a navy blue truck. Guess who - was charging in our direction.
"Run, Johnny! Run!" I screamed after standing there, dumbfounded. The tires squealed as they carried the car towards us. We couldn't out run that truck. Any fool could see that. Sprinting towards the car, I grabbed Johnny by the arm and pulled him to the ground with me in hopes of lying between the wheels of the truck when it passed. Notice how I said between the wheels. Not under them.
"Are you crazy?" Johnny screamed at me once we had rolled onto the pavement. I left his question unanswered as Rick ran the car into a gas pump, the gas sputtering up like a fountain. The gas rained over us and drenched us, the smell making me gag and stinging my nose. I wiped the gas from my face but, despite my efforts, it would be wet for a while. Me and Johnny scrambled to get to our feet, slipping on the pavement wet with gas. This man was going to kill us this time. I was sure of it. He pulled his truck back but only to charge towards us again, the engine roaring and the tires screeching. I grasped Johnny's hand and shut my eyes. My body trembling, I told myself: the end.
I cracked my eyes open and the head lights of Rick's truck were at my head but the vehicle was at a halt. I wasn't dead. Yet. Instead of running us over, Rick gave us a wicked grin as he lit a match, yet there was no cigarette in his mouth. That's when it clicked. The fire, the gas, our bodies drenched in a fire's fuel - gas. We were the fire's kindling. It would burn us alive, should he drop that match. And by the sneer on his face, I could tell those were his exact intentions.
"Ponyboy!" Johnny's panic-stricken voice shouted my name as he was hauling my up by the arm. My world seemed to be moving in slow motion as I ran to the car. In my head, I was praying as if I was going to die.
Tell Darry I always loved him.
Left foot.
Make sure Johnny doesn't get beat down on because I'm gone.
Right foot.
Comfort Soda, don't let him mourn too long.
Left foot.
Soften Dallas' heart. Let this warn him.
Right foot.
Two-Bit and Steve, don't burden them. Let them not remember my flaws.
Left foot.
I'm coming home, Mama. Pa, we'll reunite again. I'm coming home, Mama, I'm coming home.
Right foot.
I'm coming home.
Left foot.
And with one last step, I was in the back seat, collapsing to the sound of Johnny's voice yelling at Soda.
"Drive, Soda! Drive! For the love of God, start the damn car!" he screamed at him. And that is when everything went black.