Sorry for my absence, but on the bright side, I'm on Spring break, so I'll have much more time to write! Also, this is a short chaoter, but next chapter will be very interesting, I promise.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Carly groaned, her head pounding like a bass drum. Her body felt like it had been hit by a truck; pain coursed through her very veins.

Gabe... where was Gabe?

With a lot of effort, she opened her eyes and examined the hospital room.

She was obviously laying in a hospital bed, hooked up a hundred machines that beeped and booped loudly in her ears. Bright lights lit the room, making her eyes ache from the briefest glance. White was everywhere- the walls, the sheets, the hospital gown; it was almost painful.

"Good. You're awake," a female voice said, softly.

Carly looked out of the corner of her eye, finding it hard to move her head without experiencing jolts of sharp pain.

The nurse was pale with long brown hair curled up into a neat bun. Her eyes were green and bright with kindness; she wore little make up, but still looked super model pretty. Her uniform was a pristine white, and her smile was almost brighter than the lights, but more comforting than painful.

"W-" Carly couldn't get anything else out.

"Don't try to speak. Your brain's bound to be a little fuzzy," the nurse advised. "I'm Nurse Jacqueline, but I prefer Jackie. You must be Carly."

Carly nodded as best as she could.

"Alright. Do you feel well enough to take some medication for the concussion you've got? It'll make you drowsy, but it'll help with the pain."

Carly nodded, immediately, despite the sharp pricks of fire in her neck and head.

Jackie smiled. "I thought so."

She picked up two pills and helped Carly sit up before Carly swallowed the pills.

Carly smiled, hoping Jackie got the message. Thank you.

"Your welcome," Jackie said. "I've gotta get going, but I'll be back soon. Try to get some rest."

Carly didn't need to be told twice; she promptly passed out.

The next time she awoke, Jackie was not there, but she wasn't alone.

Johnny Cade, Dallas Winston, Two Bit Mathews, Steve Randle, Tiffany Anderson, Ponyboy, Darry, and Sodapop Curtis stood by her bedside.

"Hey, Carly," Johnny greeted. "How you feeling?"

"Not too bad. What are you guys doing here?" Carly asked.

The group exchanged glances.

"We want to know what happened. You showed up at out house last night beaten bloody, and you mumbled Gabe. Me. GC. Tiffany. I'm sorry," Darry recapped.

Carly sighed. "I knew you'd ask about that eventually. Alright, a few months ago, Gabe started acting weird. Paranoid, defensive, a little abusive. I tried to convince him to go to a doctor, but he would go into a bout of rage, and it took me a while to get the courage to ask him again. I wanted to leave him, but I was afraid that he may... really go off the deep end if I left, and that was the last thing I wanted.

"Anyway, when Soda and Tiffany started dating, he took it... almost personally, and I still don't know why. He wanted me to help with a prank to freak them out; I agreed because it was just supposed to be a small prank, where no one got hurt. But it wasn't a prank. He beat Tiffany, and he didn't tell me until after. I was scared he would do it to me, too, so I kept my mouth shut. I'm sorry."

"Where is Gabe now?" Steve asked.

Carly shrugged, flinching as pain rocketed up her arm. "I don't know. He probably skipped town; there's no telling whether he'll come back. My advice is that you stay on your toes, keep your eyes open. That's really all we can do."

No one said anything for a long time.

Finally, Tiffany stood and left.

Soda got up to follow her.

"Can you tell her I'm sorry? Again?" Carly asked.

Soda smiled and nodded, even though he knew that Tiff had already forgiven Carly, but she hadn't forgiven Gabe.

"Get well, Carly. We'll visit again."

Soda chased after Tiffany and found her seated on the curb outside the hospital, smoking a cigarette.

"Didn't know you smoked, Tiff," Soda said, sitting down beside her.

She shrugged. "I don't very often. This is my first cigarette in two months."

Soda smiled at her, sadly. "How you holding up?"

"Okay, I guess."

"You guess?"

"I don't know anymore, Soda," she sighed. "He's still out there somewhere, and he's pissed off. I'm scared he's gonna come back."

"Well, when he does, we'll be ready for him."

"Soda..." she said after a pregnant pause. "What do you think happened to him? Paranoia, mood swings, anger issues... do you think it could be something more serious than him just being a troubled teen?"

Soda didn't respond at first.

"My aunt suffered from schizophrenia," he said, seemingly out of the blue. "My uncle had committed suicide a few weeks before, and we thought it was just her grieving. But then, one day, she just started screaming and shaking Ponyboy, telling him to run before Mikey got him, too. Mikey was one of her hallucinations.

"The point is that she suffered from the same symptoms that Gabe has. If he has schizophrenia, I just hope he can be saved before it's too late."

Silence reigned.

A FEW DAYS LATER

Ponyboy Curtis had seen a lot in his life. He'd seen his parents buried six feet under; Johnny kill a Soc; Johnny nearly die; Tiffany after she was attacked; and now, Carly.

But the day he got the phone call, he knew he was screwed.

It came at 4:03 pm on a Thursday while Ponyboy was struggling through his math homework. The caller ID was unknown; Ponyboy answered, thinking it was simply a wrong number.

"Hello?"

"Ponyboy Curtis," a familiar voice said. "You are to meet me at four thirty tomorrow afternoon at Nature's Park. Fail to do so, and your family pays for it."

Click. The person hung up.

Ponyboy sat there for who knows how long, staring at the wall. He didn't notice when Soda and Steve started running up and down the halls, or when Darry started screaming at them for one reason or another, or when Mickey Mouse started blaring.

With a shaky hand, he placed the phone on his desk.

Normal people had to worry about math tests and research papers and drama with friends. He had to worry about getting jumped and courts and now, mysterious phone calls. If only he could be a normal kid, if only for a day.

Should he go? If he didn't, Soda and Darry could get hurt, but if he did go, he could get hurt, which would in turn, hurt Soda and Darry.

Decisions.

Well, what did they want? Revenge? Well, he hadn't ticked anyone off recently; there was the whole Bob thing, but that was months ago! If it were about that, surely this person would've gotten revenge by now.

What else could it be?

Only one way to find out.

Ponyboy slipped his switchblade into his pocket before plastering a fake grin on his face and going to hang with the guys. He may not be able to do so after tomorrow.

Gabe hung up the phone and hopped in the car.

The plan was genius, if a bit complicated.

You see, the plan had two phases. Phase 1 was revenge on Sodapop Curtis and Tiffany Anderson, but this phase was simple.

He would kidnap Ponyboy Curtis and hold him for ransom. Soda was incredibly close to his little brother, and Tiffany probably saw him as a little sibling. The worry would nearly drive them insane, and the money issues afterward would be the icing on the cake.

Phase 2 was revenge on Carly, but he was still working out the kinks in that.

The best part was that the kid wouldn't tell. Too loyal for his own good.

"Don't trust anyone," Terrance agreed from the passenger seat. "They'll stab you in the back."

Gabe smiled. "Got that right."

What'd you think? Who do you think Terrance is- an accomplice, a friend, a hallucination? Also, I'm struggling with some writers block. Any ideas would be greatly beneficial, thank you!