Chapter Fourteen: The Last Fight

I ran and ran as Shredder chased me. I don't know how he knew I was going to be at the grocery store or how he knew I'd be alone, but I did know that if I didn't get away I was going to be much worse off than when he light the Ford building on fire. I knew he had a butcher's knife and a gun. All I had was a sack of potatoes, chocolate cake mix, chicken, and my switchblade. None of that was going to stop a bullet from going through my brain.

I hadn't seen Shredder since the rumble two weeks ago. Most of his guys had either bailed on him or were arrested after the fight, so most of the greasers and Socs assumed he wasn't going to strike again for a little while.

Too bad we never thought he'd attack us individually.

I turned down an ally and stopped. Dead end and I knew Shredder was at the entrance to the ally way. I dropped my bags and gulped. I was going to die right here. All of the hospital visits, all of the fights, all of the hurt, it was for nothing. The little bastard was going to kill me when I was cornered and had no backup. Oh Soda and Darry, I'm so sorry.

"Nowhere left to run you piece of shit," Shredder hissed.

I turned around and faced the kid. "Think I'm going to give up that easily?" I asked, pulling out my switchblade. That only made Shredder smile and switch the butcher's knife for the pistol. I groaned but stood my ground. I wasn't going down without a fight!

"Here's what is going to happen you greaser," Shredder said as he stroked the pistol, "You're going to beg for mercy at my feet. Then I'll shoot you multiple times and you'll die, got it?"

"Ain't any way in hell I'm begging to you Shredder!" I growled. Something caught my eye as he cocked the gun. Pit-Bull was walking by on the other side of the street! "Pit, I could use a little help over here!"

Pit-Bull spotted me and started to run over as Shredder let loose the first bullet. I managed to dodge the first couple and barely missed getting shot as Pit tackled Shredder and fought for control of the gun. I joined the fight and got the knife out of his pocket and Pit-Bull knocked the gun underneath a nearby dumpster. "Ponyboy!" he shouted, "Go get the others! I can't hold onto this slippery motherfucker for long!"

I got up and ran out the ally, finding the guys shouting my name, looking for me. "Guys!" I shouted, "Pit-Bull's in the ally and he's fighting Shredder!"

"What was that kid?" Fisher asked.

"Shredder is fighting Pit-Bull!" I screamed, "If you don't come Shredder might get up and get his gun! He might kill Pit-Bull then try and kill the rest of us!"

I didn't need to say it again. The whole gang was rushing at the ally like it was a valley of gold. Then there was a gun shot and a screech. "Damn it you bastard!" Pit-Bull screamed.

"Say hi to Satan for me when you get to hell!" Shredder shouted as we turned into the ally. He pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. I could hear the click as he tried again and again, but it was obvious the gun was jammed.

"Looks like I ain't going to hell tonight," Pit-Bull said with a grin. Darry leapt at Shredder and pinned him to the ground. But I wish he had just grabbed the kid.

The moment the gun hit the ground, it caused the gun to unjam and it let loose a bullet. The bullet hit my hip, causing me to scream and collapse to the ground. Sodapop was on the ground in seconds, trying to stop the bleeding. I heard Lee tell Windy and Yeller to go find a phone and call the police. "Hang in there Pony," Sodapop said, "You're going to be alright. The doctors at the hospital will fix you up and you'll be just fine. Just fine Lil' Colt,"

It sounded as if he were trying to convince himself that everything was going to be alright. I could hear his voice breaking and I felt his tears land on my cheek. I tried to move my legs, but I couldn't feel them. "Soda," I squeaked, "I can't feel my legs Soda!"

He moved my head into his lap and I opened my eyes. "I'm scared Soda," I whispered.

"You're going to be fine Pony," he said, "We'll get you to the hospital and you'll be just fine,"

Darry kneeled next to Soda. "Where did he get shot Soda?" he asked.

"The hip," Soda said, "Darry, he can't feel his legs,"

I felt the first of my own tears fall. "What if they can't fix it?" I asked, feeling panicked, "I don't want to be helpless Darry!"

Darry lifted me off of Soda's lap and held me close as Windy came running back. "I won't let that happen Lil' Colt," he whispered.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and waited for the ambulance. They came moments later along with two police cruisers. The medics took me from Darry as the police took Shredder into custody. "Ponyboy," Pit-Bull said, "Didn't he have a butcher's knife?"

"Hid it under the trash," I said. Then the world went dark.

When I woke up it was daylight and the room I was in was bleach white. Ugh, I absolutely hate hospitals! Their so dull and dreary and never once have I had a good day in a hospital! I tried to move but I couldn't. I still couldn't feel my legs and when I looked under the cover I was in this back brace. It was probably to stop me from moving in my sleep and making my back injury a lot worse.

Doc Hamilton walked in with another doctor. Behind them were Soda, Darry, and Alida. I couldn't tell if Darry was dating Alida or if they were just good friends. I hoped they were dating; Darry needed a woman in his life.

Doc Hamilton noticed me first. "Well, good morning Ponyboy," he said.

"Okay," I groaned as Soda hugged me, "How long have I been out?"

"About four days Pony," he said.

"We've been so scared Pony," Darry said, "You haven't been responding to anything the doctors have been doing to ya,"

"Why can't I feel my legs?" I asked, "I thought you said they'd fix me up?"

Darry became very interested with the floor and Soda started crying. Alida came and held my right hand. The second doctor approached me.

"I'm Doctor Riesa," he said, "I'm a specialist with nerve and spinal damage. To explain what happened, the bullet broke your hip and, along with it, the base of your spine. Thankfully the damage wasn't too bad so we were able to repair the spine and fix your hip so it can heal, but the nerves were very much damaged. That's the reason you can't feel your legs. If you can start moving your toes a little within the next couple of days, there's a chance you'll be able to walk again with extreme physical therapy. If not, I'm sorry to say you'll never walk again Mister Curtis,"

Time seem to stop as he said that. The words 'never walk again' shouldn't be in a sentence describing me. It's bad enough that I can't see out of one eye, but this was just the cherry on top to my disaster.

I started bawling and Soda held me close. Darry came over and just whispered nonsense into my ears and Alida squeezed my hand in comfort. When I calmed down something happened. Something just clicked. "I'm going to walk again Doctor Riesa," I said, "I don't care if I can't feel my toes in the next couple of days. I won't stop trying sir,"

He just smiled and left. Doc Hamilton came over and shooed my family from the room, only leaving him and me. "I know this is difficult Ponyboy," he said, "I doubt you want to talk about what happened, but the police want a testament from you and they want it now. Officer Rainflower is going to come in and ask you some questions. I need you to tell her exactly what happened a few days ago, okay?"

I nodded and he brought her in. "Ponyboy, what happened on the night of October 12th?" she asked.

"I had went down to the grocery store to get dinner," I said, "We live only a few blocks away so it wasn't odd that Soda or me would go down there and get some food while Darry was at work. He'd be home by the time we'd get home and he'd make dinner. I was checking out when Shredder walked in and some lady screamed. I saw he had a knife in his hand and a pistol in his pants pocket,"

"I remember getting the call about that," she said, "What happened next?"

"I grabbed my groceries and ran," I said, "But he followed me. No matter what I couldn't shake him. I was almost home when I ran down the wrong ally, straight into a dead end. He blocked my way out before I could turn around. He basically told me he was going to kill me. I saw Pit-Bull, his real name is Tyron, and I screamed for him to help me. Shredder shot at me a couple times before Pit managed to pin him and I dodged those, got his knife, and ran to get help. We were coming back when Shredder shot Pit and tried to kill him. The gun jammed so Darry tackled him before he could fix the gun. But the moment the gun hit the ground, it unjammed, and I got shot,"

I realized she had been writing all of this down. She smiled, asked a few questions about my home, and left. I yawned and closed my eyes. I was going to need all the sleep I could get if I was going to learn how to walk again.