This chapter is pretty long, I will say. But a lot happens, which is something we haven't seen in a while.
Enjoy!
Shoutout to my one of my best friends, Seventh, for helping me write some of this chapter. I'm always thankful for you!
Chapter 8:
One Way Ticket
Pony
Ponyboy Curtis was going to war.
The thought had never really dawned on him until today. For the last two months, he'd been trying to forget that it was even happening. He spent his days wandering aimlessly in a pit of despair, hoping that maybe this was all just a nightmare.
Every day, as the sun rose and set, his days of being here—with his family, or lack of one—were coming to a close. Never in all of his life, let alone his eighteenth year, did he think that he could now die by the hand of a stranger and the barrel of a gun.
Suddenly panicked, he looked at the clock that rested just above his dresser on a shelf: 11:20 a.m. He then looked around the room, taking in the massive piles of clothes that crowded his bed—he wasn't entirely sure which pile was dirty and which was clean.
"Looks like a hurricane went through here, kid." someone said with a scoff of interest. Turning, Pony saw Kat leaning in the doorway and looking disgusted with the state of the room. "When was the last time you washed this damn underwear?" she asked, kicking a pair out of her way.
"Don't know," he answered honestly and turned his back, throwing a shirt in the direction of his bed.
"Fair enough," he could hear her sigh before walking in further. He braced himself for her to start yelling or screaming, but when that didn't happen, it left him silently wondering why.
"Aren't you here to yell at me or something?"
"I feel like you're already doing that yourself."
Her words stung him, though he wouldn't be shallow and admit that. "Not at all," he sighed casually, almost like her words hadn't meant anything. He avoided her eyes as he stepped over the pair of underwear she'd kicked out of her way in order to get to his bed, where he started to pick up random clothes and smell them to decide if they were dirty or not.
"God," Kat groaned, throwing her head back and sighing loudly, "You're about as bad as Soda." Moving towards him, she wrestled the shirt he was about to check out of his hand and inspected it, grimacing. "You're absolutely disgusting, Ponyboy," she growled, holding the shirt in one hand and pointing at a stain with the other. "What even is this?"
In truth, Pony had no clue what it was or what it had been. Maybe a spill? Whatever it was, it left behind a muddy brown color on his dark blue shirt. Shaking her head at the lack of response, Kat tossed the shirt in another pile and started sorting through his bed, glaring at him in shock from time to time at the state of his clothes. "You are such a boy."
"It's in the name," he replied sarcastically.
She snorted softly at his remark, and while her expression held its 'that-was-not-funny-in-the-slightest-bit', her eyes sparked with the smallest bit of humor.
It seemed like an eternity had passed since Kat had been in the room, but when Pony went to glance at the time, it only read 11:38 am. She'd only been here for eighteen minutes, but to Pony, it felt like she'd been there for a lifetime.
"You know… She really loves you." Kat wasn't looking at him, instead studying her combat boots. "You're breaking her heart."
"I know," Pony stated grimly, pausing to glance at her, preparing to meet her gaze. When she didn't raise her head nor acknowledge him, he sighed and rocked back on his heels. "But it's not like I chose this."
"You're the one who fucking signed your name, Ponyboy." Kat hissed. "You did choose this. I could've gotten you out of it, but you refuse help from anyone." she looked pissed, but took a breath and seemed to compose herself again.
"I didn't see you offering to get me out," Pony objected, his voice rising.
"I'm not supposed to just do everything for you. I could have gotten you out of it," she repeated.
"I've never asked you to do a damn thing for me!"
"Exactly." she sighed. "But… I looked into it. At this point, the only thing that would get you out of it is if you had a serious injury. I could break your leg if you like."
"Just to get out of going to war? Just to get out of leaving my brother and my girlfriend?" Pony scoffed, finding the idea interesting yet hilarious at the same time.
Kat chuckled. "Yes, but as soon as you're healed up I don't doubt they'll ship you out."
"Then there's no point," Pony shook his head, fed up with her and with everything. "That's useless to me and to you."
"Unless we vanish. The four of us, just… up and leave."
"I'm not leaving Steve and Two-Bit," he paused, feeling a sudden heaviness fall onto his chest, "and I'm definitely not leaving Darry where he's at. Not to just run away."
Kat tapped her chin and seemed to think for awhile. "No, you aren't. But one can dream. Anyways, I'll make sure everyone's safe while you're gone."
The heaviness faded to a dull ache as her words flooded his mind. Suddenly feeling compelled by his own awe, he asked, "You know when you and Soda are getting...you know…"
"Married?" Kat finished with a chuckle. "No idea, he's the one who asked me."
"He's not good with planning, so don't expect him to do anything without getting sidetracked."
"Maybe when you get back, then. That's only, what, a few years maybe?" Kat shrugged.
He nodded in agreement and didn't bother speaking. There was a moment of silence, followed by a sigh, and then:
"I'm… I'm really gonna miss you, Kat."
"And I'm going to miss you, Pone," Kat replied, folding her arms and looking him in the eyes. "You behave out there, or your general or whoever will probably kick your butt."
"General or whoever?" he stared at her, one eyebrow raised questioningly. "Weren't you in the army, so shouldn't you know who trains the newbies?"
"I…" Kat closed her eyes for a moment, before getting up and walking over to the door, which she closed before turning back. "Ponyboy, Molly and I weren't really in the army. They don't take in women, except as nurses and shit."
He moved toward her rather quickly, suddenly enraged. "Then what in the hell were you in? If not the army…" He trailed off, not believing what he was hearing.
"Kid… you've heard of a mafia, right? Think something like that, except not in Europe, and where women can actually lead and fight. I was born into it, but Molly…" Kat closed her eyes and looked away. "Molly was on the streets, you know, her parents were absolute shit. I let her in, which is rare, but I couldn't let her die out there."
Pony reached around her and tried prying the door open. "I've gotta tell Soda. You've gotta tell Soda. Someone has to tell Soda."
Kat suddenly lashed out and forced him against the wall behind him, her arm having more force than he'd remembered, or even anticipated. "You won't say a word to him," she growled lowly, staring at him with narrowed eyes. "At least not right now. The fact that you're leaving is enough of a strain on him, don't you think?" She gave him a moment, a chance to respond, and when he didn't take it, she went on. "I promise I'm not going to leave him in the dark. I'm going to let him know exactly where I'm from, and what I am. But don't break his heart anymore than what it already is."
A knock rapped against the door, and Soda's voice slowly came through the wood. "What the hell is taking you so long, Pone? And where the hell is Kat?"
"I'm in here," Kat replied to his question lightly, happily. She stared at Pony hard and whispered harshly in his face, "Not one word." before releasing him from her hold and quietly opening the door.
Soda
He'd always thought that seeing Ponyboy leave would have been a bittersweet thing. For some time, he'd pictured the day that Ponyboy left to go fight for his country would've been more...humble. More satisfying to watch his baby brother go and do what very well might kill him.
But the minute that Soda pulled up to the large, cinderblock-ringed building and stepped outside to have the sunlight blind his vision, everything in that picture seemed to crumble and fall to ash.
The walk up to the steps of the place was brutally silent. Soda was walking in the back of the group, with Pony and Steve and Two-Bit up front and Kat and Molly in the middle. Every so often, one of them would look at him to make sure he hadn't fallen behind.
He'd heard Pony tell Steve something and then watched him slowly ascend the steps and quietly walk inside. There, in that moment of silence and dread, everyone seemed to crowd around Soda and stand there, stagnant and not saying a word, for there wasn't much to be said. After about fifteen minutes Pony reemerged, dressed in a tannish-gray colored t-shirt and light camouflaged slacks, complete with dark gray boots.
Pony's eyes met Soda's as he stepped into the middle of the circle. Then, without a word, he motioned for them all to follow.
The gray walls quickly gave away to a large field, where crowd after crowd of people were gathered all over the place. Those same people were blocked by a large, twisted black rope, and despite the barrier they were hugging, kissing, waving to kids that were in the same outfit as Pony was. In the distance, well enough away from the crowds, Soda noticed a large set of trucks were revving their engines and waiting for the time to start rounding people up.
Pony continued to walk forward until they were all standing close to one another, including the people surrounding them. Soda found himself standing next to a petite yet stocky woman, who happened to be bawling and shouting to a young kid that was halfway to the trucks. He watched as Pony ducked underneath the rope, closing the barrier he'd never thought would come between them.
It happened in about five minutes, but it felt like a lifetime.
First, Pony went to Steve. Soda saw a darkness overwhelm Steve's gaze, and with a firm hand, he grasped at Pony's wrist and nodded at him in what Soda thought was pride. Soda couldn't hear what either said to one another, but by the way Pony smiled just the smallest bit, he guessed it was something that eased both of their worries.
Two-Bit was trying to keep himself together when Pony moved from Steve to him. The two of them blankly stared at one another and said nothing for a moment before Two-Bit reached forward and took Pony's hand, gripping it firmly and nodding to him silently. Pony didn't say anything to Two-Bit, but instead nodded and held his gaze for another second before moving on.
Kat's expression was solemn, and in truth, Pony didn't seem to spend a lot of time with her. The two of them simply nodded at one another, lightly high-fived, and Kat muttered a "good luck out there" to which Pony replied, "Thanks. I will."
Soda had imagined his brother's goodbye to Molly as peaceful, of all things, to watch. And as he watched Pony hug and kiss the bawling, sloppy mess that Molly was in that moment, Soda could feel the waves of sadness coming off of them together, crashing into the four others that were in their presence. It was a heartwarming sight, and yet, at the same time, it was ungodly heartbreaking.
"And then there was one."
Pony's voice, which was surprisingly okay, startled Soda out of his trance.
There was so much he wanted to say—so much he could say—and yet, in that second of time, he had only one thing on his mind.
"I always thought I'd be the one to go, or at least go before you."
Pony grinned and scoffed at his remark, but his eyes held an enormous amount of pain. "The roles have been switched, brother," he replied matter-of-factly, and with a look at Kat, he murmured, "Probably for the better, too."
He felt his body moving forward; saw his hand reach out and catch the back of Pony's neck and pull him close. "You be careful, you hear?"
Pony sighed, his breath fanning out across Soda's face. "It's war, Soda. War is never careful."
He said nothing for a long moment, only kept his hand at Pony's neck and wrapped the other around his shoulders. He felt Pony shudder beneath him, and heard a light but audible sob rise from somewhere deep within his younger brother. From within that sob and through the one rising in his own chest, Soda heard Pony whisper:
"Don't let me go."
Soda pulled back and looked Pony in the eye, taking it in. Taking in his tired and bloodshot eyes, almost like he hadn't been sleeping and Soda had been too dull to notice. Taking in his fidgeting, almost like he wanted to run away and take the five of them with him. Taking in everything and anything he could, because for as much as Soda knew, it would be the last time he saw his baby brother.
Softly, lightly, Soda brushed a tear away from Pony's eye, placed a kiss on the top of his head and murmured, "Don't let me make you stay."
heh. don't kill me; it'd be greatly appreciated.
