Chapter Nine
They ran back to his car and jumped in. He sped down the road like he always did to the hospital. But before they got there, they got pulled over by the cops. "Act sick." he said to Pony, who was sitting in the front seat, "Pretend like I'm taking you to the hospital."
Pony laid his head back on the seat and moaned dramatically. Bobby covered her mouth to keep from laughing. The cop came over to the window and looked inside. "You've got to have a good reason for driving like that." he said, "Where's the fire?"
"Uh, the kid, he fell off his motorcycle," Dally said, "I'm taking him to the hospital."
The officer looked at Pony. "How bad is he?" he asked.
"I don't know man; do I look like a doctor? He looks pretty bad to me."
"Follow me." the police officer said.
When he was gone Dally grinned. "Sucker." he muttered.
The officer gave them a police escort to the hospital. "I was crazy, you know that kid." Dally said on the way, "I was crazy about wanting Johnny to stay out of trouble. If he was smart, like me, he wouldn't have been in this mess. If you're smart, like me, you wouldn't have run into that church."
Pony and Bobby watched him. He had never said anything like this before. "You better wise up Pony," he said, "Get tough, like me, and you don't get hurt. Watch out for yourself and nothing can touch you!"
He slammed his hand on the steering wheel. "Easy, Dallas." Bobby said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
He took a deep breath and was silent for the rest of the ride to the hospital. When they got there, Bobby hesitated outside Johnny's door. "What's wrong?" Pony asked.
She shook her head. "I think I'll just stand out here and wait." she said.
"Why?"
She sighed. "I hate seeing him like that." she said, "He looks so broken. I mean he has always looked breakable but never like this."
Pony took her hand. "It will be okay." he said, "You are one of his best friends. He will want to see you."
Bobby nodded and took a deep breath. They walked into Johnny's room and Dally was already talking to him. "We beat the Socs, man." he said, "We chased 'em right out of our neighborhood. Come on."
"It's useless." Johnny croaked.
"Huh?"
"Fightin' ain't no good."
Dally ran a hand through his hair. "You know, they're still writing editorials about you in the paper. You know about you being a hero."
Johnny was silent and Dally put a hand on his arm. "We're all proud of you buddy," he said, "It's gonna be alright."
"Ponyboy." Johnny whispered, "Ponyboy."
Pony leaned in closer. "Stay gold, Ponyboy." Johnny whispered, "Stay gold."
He took one last shuddering breath before his head lolled onto his shoulder. Dally stared at him. "Johnny come on," he said, "So this is what you get. This is what you get for helping people?" He paused, willing Johnny to respond. But he didn't. "Come on Johnny, don't die." Dally choked out, "Come on Johnny don't die on me now. Please."
He got up and slammed his fist against the door frame. The he looked one last time at Johnny and walked out. Ponyboy and Bobby stood there, frozen. Finally, they walked out of the hospital. They walked all the way home in silence. When they made it to the park, Pony felt Bobby's hand start to shake. He looked at her. She had a straight face but when their eyes met her face puckered and she collapsed on the ground sobbing. Pony had seen her hysterically happy and raging mad. He had seen her depressed and alone. But he had never in his entire life seen her cry. And it scared him. She had always seemed so strong, so indestructible. He knelt beside her and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He didn't bother telling her to relax and to be strong. In fact he didn't have the will power to. Tears ran down his cheeks and he buried his face in her hair. "Johnny can't be dead." she gasped, "He can't die."
Pony rubbed her back and she took a deep breath and pulled away from him. She wiped her tears from face. They had made a clean path through the dirt and grim on her face that had been there from the rumble. "Tell me it's gonna be alright," she whispered, "Lie though your teeth if you have to but tell me it's gonna be alright."
Pony gave a watery smile. "Everything's gonna be alright." he said, "How was that?"
Bobby laughed and kissed him. It wasn't like any of their other kisses. It was sad. When they broke apart, new tears were covering Bobby's face. She didn't bother wiping them away but she did stand up. Pony stood up too and the walked the rest of the way home. When they got there, the gang was looking at themselves in mirror and dressing their wounds. Darry looked up when they opened the door. "Hey where you been?" he asked, gently.
He saw the look on Pony's face and the tears on Bobby's and stood up. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.
Pony looked at him. "Johnny's dead." he said simply.
Everyone looked at him. "We told him about beating the Socs," Pony continued, "I don't know he just died. Told me to stay gold."
Two-Bit walked out of the kitchen wide eyed. "Dally's gone." Bobby said, "He couldn't take it he's gonna blow."
They turned around and walked into Pony's room. As they left, Bobby heard Steve whisper, "I don't think I've ever seen that girl cry."
They both lay down on the bed. Bobby's head lay on Pony's chest. She felt it rise and fall as he breathed and knew that Johnny's would never do that again. She closed her eyes and listened to Pony's beating heart. She fell asleep to its steady rhythm.