Day 2

Darry and Joy spent the entire morning combing all of Tulsa and its neighboring towns. They didn't care as we crossed into Soc territory and Joy took to the streets on foot. She even went as far as to turn on the waterworks to get any leads whatsoever.

"Kids will be kids," one of the older men she asked said with a shake of his head. "Boys run off all the time."

"Not this kid," she said carefully. "My brother, he's a real swell kid. If you see him, track me down, alright?" She had gotten a lot more responses by calling Ponyboy her kid brother. It worked with the older people. The younger ones knew better.

By midafternoon, they had no useful leads. Everything was the same as it was the day before. She groaned as she climbed back into the truck, exhausted from walking around all day.

"What if he's dead somewhere?" Darry asked worriedly.

"He ain't dead," Joy assured him. She leaned against the back of the seat, her head throbbing. "He's probably got himself hidden real good somewhere. We'll find 'em Darry," she promised.

Darry didn't believe her. Every worse case scenario was going through his mind. He didn't know what to think.

On the other side of town, Steve and Sodapop were restlessly pacing back and forth in the livingroom. Soda hadn't slept since the night Ponyboy bolted and with every passing hour, he grew more and more restless and hostile.

"What if he's dead?" he asked his best friend.

"Shoot, Sodapop, you can't think like that," Steve said gently. Even Steve, who had never been all that fond of Ponyboy, was worried. He was worried about Ponyboy and Johnny.

"It's been two days, Steve," Soda said worriedly.

"It's only been two days," Steve nodded, trying to reassure his friend. "He'll come home, they both will."

"It feels like it's been so long already," Soda moaned. He slumped down on the couch, his head in his hands. Steve went to his best friend's side, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"They're going to be okay, Soda, you gotta believe that," he said softly. The whole ordeal was taking its toll on every member on the gang.

Two-Bit was a mess. He was sulking more than ever before and wasn't able to crack a single joke all day. Instead, he hounded Dally for information, begging, threatening, even going as far as to corner Dally more than once. Eventually, Dally did the only thing he knew to do. He lied.

"They might be headed towards Texas," he offered late in the afternoon. Darry's head shot up at the new information. Two-Bit groaned and grabbed his keys off the table, more than likely to plan a trip to Texas.

"Are you sure?" Joy asked, getting her hopes up. She hadn't heard back from her brother yet, and she was growing worried that he hadn't been able to pull off the favor she had asked of him.

Dally shot her a glance and all hope left her face. It was clear to her that Dally would say anything to get the gang off his back.

I wound up going down to the stables around 6 that evening, more for my own sanity that to actually search for the pair. I mounted an old bay mare, who Rick, one of the guys who rode in rodeos, said was calm enough for even the worst of riders. When I kicked her into a gallop, I naturally moved with every movement she made, my body instinctively learning the patterns.

I rode for almost an hour before something caught my eye. It was a very familiar looking piece of cloth. I pulled up on the reins and jumped from the saddle, snatching the fabric up before I really had a chance to think. It was a red handkerchief, one Soda had used only days ago to tend to Pony's cut.

"How in the world did this get here," I mused as I went back to the horse. "It's a shame you can't track like a scent hound," I muttered to her as I pocketed the piece of cloth before remounting, my hands tightening on the reins. "We gotta find 'em, you know that, ol' girl? We gotta bring those boys home.

When Joy returned home that evening, she was only able to sit for a few minutes before a loud pounding on the door made everyone jump except her. She knew that knock anywhere. She flew off the couch, tore the door open and leapt into the arms of someone she had missed more than anyone else in the world since leaving New York.

"Jesus Joy, excited much?" her brother Henry teased as she embraced a tall, long haired boy with bright blue eyes and a sly grin.

"It's been too long, Jake," she cried into his neck, her legs wrapped around his waist.

"You're beautiful as ever," he purred into her ear. She dropped her legs and gave him a quick kiss before leading him and the rest of the guys into Darry's house.

"Guys, this is Jake, Henry, Mike and Ritchie," she introduced. "And this is Darry and Sodapop, Steve and Two-Bit. Dally's somewhere around here," she said.

"Just give us the low down, Scout, we gotta get back on the road. Some of us have responsibilities back home," Henry said with a good natured smile.

"Hold tight," she said as she darted out of the living room, past Darry's room, and into the room Soda and Ponyboy shared. She had remembered Soda showing her an old year book a few weeks back. She grabbed it off the bookshelf and darted back into the living room.

"We're looking for two kids. One's 14, the other is 16," she explained as she opened the book, flipping through the pages. She pointed at a picture of Johnny.

"You got anything that has their scent on it?" Jake asked. Joy blinked, then nodded.

"Why?" she asked.

"We brought along a little friend of yours," Henry said, crinkling his nose. "By the way, you're washing my car."

Mike went back outside and returned a moment later with a tuff looking dog. A pit mix with cropped ears and a docked tail. He growled as soon as he reached the door, then sat down, tail tucked, eyes wide when he saw Joy.

"King!" she laughed as she went to the dog's side, rubbing his head tenderly. "He doesn't travel well," she noted.

"No, he doesn't," Henry agreed bitterly. "Listen, Tommy's already on my ass to get back home by tomorrow afternoon. We had to put a little something-somethin' on hold in order to come out here. Mike's riding back with me, and we're droppin' Ritchie out in the mid-west to keep an eye out. You and Jake can play detective all you want. The dog's your problem now, Tommy's tired of him being a pain in the ass, just give us the details and tell us whatcha want us to do if we hear from twiddle dee and twiddle dum."

"Sounds fair enough," She nodded. She knew how Tommy was. He didn't like sending his guys out on rescue missions, especially when it involved a crime like murder. Jake wasn't tied to the gang like the rest of the guys were. He was a free agent. He could come and go as he pleased. The rest were practically owned by Tommy, and what Tommy says goes.

"If you find 'em, you call me or Dally straight away. I don't care who you have to call to reach us, but you get on the phone and give us a ring the second you hear anything," she said coolly. "You find 'em, you bring 'em back, in one piece, savvy?"

"We ain't baby killers," Ritchie laughed. "We'll bring 'em home alive. You owe us, Joy-Anna. Tommy's pretty pissed that we made this drive for a couple'a kids."

"Yeah well, Tommy seems to forget the little favor we did for him a few years back when he knocked up his girlfriend and she tried to get him arrested, remember?" Jake shot back. "If Joy feels like these guys are kin, then that's good enough for me."

"Trust me, you're doing a bigger favor than you can imagine," She told Henry. "You wouldn't turn you back on Mike's kid sisters or Ritchie's little brothers, would ya?"

"No," he huffed. "But that's different."

"It ain't. You don't know these guys like me and Dally do," she said with a shake of her head. "They're more of a family to me than you and the rest ever were."

"That's harsh, Joy-Anna. You'll eat those words one day," Henry scolded.

"I won't," she said sternly. "I finally know where I belong Henry. And it ain't runnin' the streets in Brooklyn or scrappin' it out with the gang on the West Side. I belong here. This is where mom woulda wanted me to be, and this is what mom woulda wanted me to do."

"Don't bring our dead mother into this," Henry said bitterly. "Mom never woulda let dad send you here in the first place."

"She would've and you know it. I talked to Mariah last night. Did you know that mom and Carl met the Curtis' parents almost two decades ago? Mom liked them real fine. Said they were gonna be great parents," she shot back. "That was right after you were born Henry. Mom had a lot of regrets when she died. She never liked the city like dad did."

"You trustin' 'Riah over dad now?" he snorted. "Shows how much brains you got in that head o' yours. We'll keep our eyes open. You and Jake go make babies or smoke dope or whatever it is that you two do. But remember, you're ours the moment those two come home."

"Only, and I mean only, if one of your guys finds 'em first," she growled. "That was the deal."

"She's right, Hen, if one of her guys finds 'em first, the deals off and I'm outta the gang for good. I'm tired of what you put that poor girl through," Jake said defensively. He wrapped his arms around Joy, his eyes flashing with hatred for the guys in front of him.

"Whatever. We don't need the little sex kitten anyway," Henry shot back. "Remember Joy, you're owned by a far greater power than a coulda do goods," he said before turning and leading his boys out of the house. Joy could feel the tension in the air as she closed the door, her heart sinking. She knew that she had severed ties with her gang long ago, but she never imagined that by siding with a new one, in a new city, that she was putting so much pressure on her brother. Henry wanted what was best for her, deep down he did, but he had to follow their older brother's orders, regardless of how ruthless and insensitive they were. Rules were rules, and unlike the gang in Tulsa, a gang that was more of a family than anything else, back in New York, the gangs were a lot crueler. A lot harder to handle. Joy knew all this, but she was also one to hold true to her word. Now, the only thing on her mind was finding Ponyboy and Johnny before any of her brother's guys did.

Jake seemed to read her mind as he wrapped her in a protective hug. He leaned down and whispered "If I know Dallas Winston, he's got those boys hidden away somewhere real good. All we gotta do is get him to talk."