Trial and Error

Chapter 14

Soda POV

I woke up later that day. I was still tired, and Darry had finally been wore down enough he was forced to dose off a little. So I just laid there quietly, scared that he might wake up and not want to sleep again. But it was in vain because the phone rang. He jerked awake and answered it like he'd been expecting it to ring "Hello? Have you heard anything?"

He talked for a few minutes then hung up the phone, and sank back into the recliner tiredly. I set up "What did they find out?" Darry sighed "They've asked around, and got a description of the vehicle, and some lady had written down the licence plate number, and it turns out to be a stolen vehicle. So they've got most the state looking out for it."

I nodded slowly. I felt sick to my stomach now. I hate this. I hate it so much! Darry told me he wanted to go drive around town just in case. I shrugged and let him go. It's not like I have any choice. He was gone for quite a while.

I got bored, so I started pacing around the house. I wished someone would come over. Or call. I don't care who. Then as if by blessing the phone rang. I walked over and answered it "Hello?" "Hey, this the Curtis house?" said a voice that sounded like a boy, about my age... "Yea, who is this?" "I've got Ponyboy." I almost dropped the phone right then. "And if you wanna see him again, I want something." he continued.. "W-what do you want! I'll give you anything, just tell me he's ok!" I blurted.

I heard some talking in the background, and got worried. "Alright, listen, we'll let you talk to the kid. But no funny stuff or we'll kill him." "Ok..ok...just..let me talk to him..." I heard some rustling around and some talking 'get the tape off his mouth stupid!' 'Shut up..you do it then' 'He's out cold' 'wake him up!' 'Kid, it's your brother, talk' "H-Hello?" I heard pony's voice. It was hoarse, and quiet, but it was him... "Ponyboy! Are you alright? What happened! We found your shoe in the ditch, and seen the blood and and..." "Soda...I..I don't know..I just..." he started coughing. I was scared.

"P-pony..what are they doing to ya?...how are you? Are you hurt too bad?" I asked worriedly "I..I'm in a closet or something--" he was cut off, and I could hear somebody hitting him, He yelled in pain. I wanted to do something but I couldn't do anything all I could do was listen to them yell and scold him for even telling me he was in a closet...

"S-soda..." "I'm here buddy." "I'm tied up..and my head's busted open..I can't hardly stay awake very long for some reason...and my vision is so blurry, I'm not even sure how many guys there are here...I'm sorry I was walking by myself...Darry told me to call him when I was ready to be picked up.." "Pony...this is not your fault...just hang in there buddy."

"Listen punk." The other guy got back on the line "You tell the cops, and we'll kill him. I'll call tomorrow at exactly 5 o clock. You'd better answer the phone, and answer it alone. I'll give you instructions then. For now, we'll keep the kid safe, and not dead." The phone line went dead. I yelled for Pony, stupidly, knowing he was gone. I didn't know if I should tell Darry. I decided to wait until after the phone call tomorrow.

I hadn't realized how much I was shaking. Wait...he said not dead...that doesn't mean he won't beat him within an inch of his life...god. What am I suppose to do? God.. I hope he's ok... What if he get's hurt? What if they trick me? What if this was all a trick and they kill him now!

Calm down Sodapop. Just cool it. Wait till the other phone call and see what he wants. Maybe he just wants a cup of sugar...yea...think positive...WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?

I jumped when the phone rang again, I answered it "Hello?" "Hey Soda, anyone call yet?" it was Darry... "Um...no Darry, not yet..." "Are you alright? You sound shaken.." "Yea, I'm fine..I'm just worried..." I could hear Darry sigh on the other line "We all are buddy...just hang in there." "Alright...I guess I'll talk to ya later." "Alright, bye."

I sighed and decided to go take a shower. So that maybe I could calm down a little bit. I turned the water on hot, and tried to relax a bit. I'd been so high strung ever since Pony didn't come home that night that I don't think I'll ever relax again.

After a nice long shower, I got out, getting dressed, and decided to cook dinner. I didn't know if Darry would eat, he usually just takes a few bites. He's gonna kill himself the way he's going on. I can't say that I'm much better..but really...He hardly eats, doesn't sleep, and drives around. If it's not a wreck, it'll be a heart attack.

Soon I had spaghetti cooked. I ate some, and kept it heated up for Darry who didn't get home until about 9. I told him about the food, and he ate a little bit. Then sat by the phone.

I laid on the couch tiredly. I didn't want to sleep. Too many things were going through my head. But eventually I dosed off from exhaustion. By morning Darry was asleep too. And stayed asleep until 10. I guess it was all starting to catch up with him. When he did wake up he took a shower, and went out to look again, telling me to eat lunch cause he wouldn't be back until dark.

I sighed, and waited around the house all day. Steve came over for a while to keep me company, then around 4 left again. It wasn't until he called that I remembered that he was going to. I was glad I was by myself like I was suppose to be. "Hello?" "It's me, are you alone?" "Yea...where is he? What do you want?"

"Listen, meet me exactly 50 miles outside of Tulsa. On the North end. I'll be in an old blue truck. The second I see anyone but you, the kid dies." "Will he be there?" "Yea, along with my buddies holding a gun to his head, so no funny stuff. Just you, alone." "Fine, do I need to bring anything?" "Maybe a pen and paper, I've got a few things I need you to do before you get him back." "Fine. When?" "Right now." the line when dead.

Without thinking I called Two bit, and told him I needed his car. He came over, and handed me the keys and I took off without telling him where. I kept at the speed limit through town, then sped down the road as soon as I got out of city limits.

I spotted the truck, and parked Two bit's car. I got out, and walked over to the truck. Some teenage boy. About my age stepped out. "Where is he, where's Ponyboy?" Another kid got out of the passenger side, and pulled the tailgate out, I noticed a gun in his hand, He jerked a tarp back, and there was Pony.

He grabbed his arm and drug him out to the tailgate, and pointed the gun down at his head "Here." I was wide eyed, and felt sick. There was blood all over his face where it'd ran down from a gash in his forehead...his shirt was covered in the blood, and he had bruises on his face..

I took a step towards him, and the kid cocked a bullet in place in the gun "Not so fast pretty boy." I stopped. The other kid grabbed my shoulder "Let's take a little walk and talk things over." I wanted so bad to punch his lights out, but I kept my cool for Pony. I was almost glad he was unconscious right now...

We walked down the road a ways. The kid was acting awfully cocky and I wondered what was keeping me from beating the holy shit out of him right now, then remember the gun pointed at Pony's head.

The guy stopped me at the end of the road. "I want out of this. I can't go back to jail. So I just need some stuff to get out of the state, then you and your brother can go...but you can't tell anyone about us." WHAT? THIS LITTLE PUNK WANTS ME TO HELP HIM GET OUT OF THIS MESS! "What are you talking about? What if I don't help. You kill my brother then you're in a bigger mess cause now I know who you are." The kid pulled a gun out of his back pocket and pointed it at me, cocking a bullet into place. "I didn't want to have two dead kids on my hands, but that's what would happen."

I put my hands up "Alright, alright, I'll do it, what do you want." He put the gun down, and I relaxed "Got that paper?" I pulled it out of my pocket and the pencil. "I need about a hundred dollars, Some non-perishable food, like some peanut butter, jelly, bread, chips, pop, stuff like that. And I need about a weeks supply of it. Then I need a fake ID so I can get past the border. Now here's what you'll have to do to get that. You know Dallas Winston right?" I nodded "Alright, talk to him, I've got a picture, and I've written down the info I want on the ID. Tell him to get the card made or else I'll kill the kid." I wrote it all down as he told me.

He patted me on the back "And no cops, no one but you and Winston will know. So, unless you wanna say good bye for good, keep your trap shut." I nodded, and we headed back. He let me talked to Pony but they stood there with the guns, pointed at us.

He was hardly able to open his eyes "Soda?" I smiled "Hey buddy, hang in there alright? I'm gonna get ya out of this.." "Ok...Soda, I trust you." he said quietly. "You're not hurtin too bad are ya?" He shook his head "Just...really tired..." I sighed, "Alright buddy. I'm gonna go get that stuff for them so I can get ya home ok?" He nodded tiredly.

I sighed, and walked over to him "Where are we gonna meet for me to give you this stuff." He thought for a second, while his buddy shoved pony back under the tarp. "I'll call you tomorrow, same time." I sighed and get into the car, and headed home. I felt horrible for not doing something just then, but they had guns, and I really didn't stand a chance. But I knew I'd feel even worse since I'm not going to tell anyone.

When I got back, Two bit played a hundred questions and I just told him I needed to go talk to someone who said they might know where Pony was, but they were a loss cause. I sat around the house, and soon Darry got home, and asked me if anyone had called over and over again, and I just kept telling him they hadn't.

Pony POV

I wondered if talking to Soda had been a dream when I woke up in the closet. Before I knew what was happening the door was opened and I was pulled out, and dropped on the floor. My legs were so soar, and asleep that I couldn't move.

One of the kids jerked my head up "Listen kid. I want out of this. We were drunk. You're brothers gonna help us get out of it whether he likes it or not. Then ya'll can go free. But you can't tell no cops about us right?" I couldn't talk, so I just nodded a little.

He left me there on the floor and walked off. I thought maybe this was my new spot, and maybe I should go to sleep but someone came in and rolled me over. I was shocked to find that it was just some little ten year old girl. She had a wet wash rag, and a little first aid kit, and started to wipe the blood off my face. \

She didn't say anything to me. Or even recognized I was alive. She just cleaned me up, and put a bandage over the gash in my forehead. Then she helped me set up against a bed, and she brought me an aspirin and some water. Then fed me a small sandwich since my hands were tied.

Then the guy came back over and shoved me back into the closet. I went to sleep, since there wasn't much else I could do. But a while later I just couldn't see any more. I heard the guy talking. "Shut up, It's time to call that kid's brother." I listened quietly.

"Yea, it's me. You got everything yet? You do? Even the ID? Wow, you're pretty fast. Alright, I want you to get the stuff. And take a train down to Helena, which is a small town west of Tulsa a little ways. It'll take an hour or more to get there. Then I want you to meet me in the Holiday Hotel on Webster Street. Yea...bring everything, and come alone. Yea. I'll be here. I'll let you have the kid then, as soon as I know You've brought everything. Come tomorrow. I'll be in the hotel all day, so we'll be waiting for you. No funny stuff, or we kill the kid." I heard him hang up the phone then opened the closet door.

"Good you're awake. So you know what's going on right?" I nodded. "Here's what's gonna happen. You're going to go home. Say you escaped, or we dumped you off. Either way, you don't know anything about us, or you never seen our faces. Alright? It's as simple as that. If we get caught, you'd better believe I've got five guys who know where you all live. Cause I won't go down by myself."

I nodded. And he pulled me out of the closet. Soon I was thrown in the backseat of a car and left there. After about an hour of laying back there the guys got in, and started driving. We drove for 2 hours easy, and then we came to a stop after dark.

It looked like they'd checked into a hotel of some sort, and then put me in the room closet. I was getting use to being locked in closets, and it made me wonder whether or not I'd have like some kinda of chronic fear of them after this was all over. If I didn't die before all this was over.

I spent the rest of the night there. Then the next day I was woken up, and drug into the main room. They threw me onto one of the beds, and cut the ropes and such.. "Listen kid. Word is they're checking out the room. You're out little brother and you fell off a motorcycle."

I nodded. He told me to get under the covers and pretend to be asleep, but I was such a wreck I fell asleep. I kinda remember hearing the cops come in, and ask about me, but they left easily enough. And I slept there for the rest of the time, glad they didn't bind me up again.

After a while one guy shook me awake and tied my hands together. Making me sit in a chair. In another minute the main guy walked in with Soda behind him. Soda was carrying a couple bags. He set them down on the table, and reached into his back pocket. "That's all the food you wanted...Here's the ID's." He handed them to him, he nodded, and shoved them in his back pocket. Then Soda pulled out his wallet and handed him some money. The guy counted it, and smiled, shoving it into his own wallet.

Soda glanced over at me worriedly. "That's it right?" The guy smiled "Yep, and I'll tell you what I told him. If I get stopped cause you rat me out, I know about five guys who aren't in this that know where you live. And I'll have you both killed. Cause I don't go down by myself."

Soda "Ok, ok...I just want my brother home and safe." He nodded "Go, I'm done with you." Soda nodded and walked over, taking the ropes off my hands. He helped me up. I used him as a crutch. And we walked out to the truck.

He sped out of there, not saying anything. In fact, no one said anything until we got back to Tulsa which was a two hour drive. He stopped at a Dairy Queen, and bought me something to eat and drink. I slowly finished it, and we got home.

Soda honked the horn, and soon Darry, Steve, Two bit, Dally, and Johnny all came out...Darry jerked me out of the car in a hug, and held me tight. Then quickly checked me over to make sure I wasn't hurt "Pony! Where were you? What happened? Soda just said he knew where you were and took off! Why did you leave?"

I just stood there tired, unable to really think "umm...I was kidnapped...and...held hostage...then Soda came and got me. They made a deal. But don't ask us who it was or what they wanted. Cause we aren't gonna tell." I remember my knees giving out on me, and everything getting Dark.

I woke up again in a hospital bed. Darry was right there by my side, and so was Soda. Darry was falling asleep where he sat he was so tired. They both looked horrible. I could only imagine the scare they had gotten. I felt my eyelids get heavy, and I went back to sleep enjoying the warmth of the bed.