(Ponyboy's POV)
"Bex, run." I said, my whole body frozen in intense fear as the Corvair slowly drove up towards us. I didn't want her to be a part of this, much less have her get hurt by these Socs. However, she didn't make an attempt to run. She stayed here, holding onto my hand.
"I'm not leaving you, Pony." she said stubbornly. Before I could respond, four Socs hopped out of the car, stumbling around drunk. They surrounded us, smiling wickedly at us. They had a smell of whisky on them, and it almost made us gag. There was a chance for us to run, and it was too late for us to take it. We were stuck here.
"Well, looky what we got here." the blonde Soc said. "Little Colt here's got a girlfriend." one of his friends laughed, eyeing Bexley. To see that Bexley was appalled by this was an understatement. "S-She's my s-sister." I whimper, my mouth dry. The fact that they knew my nickname frightened me. Tears ran down my face uncontrollably, which didn't go unnoticed.
"Aw, look. Lil' Greaser here's crying. Such a little baby." one said with a laugh, his eyes colorless. Bexley didn't like what he said and she stepped forward. "Hey! You leave my brother alone!" she barked, her voice filled with rage. Bexley was a bit shorter than I was, but that didn't matter to her in this case. "Or what, she-grease? What're you gonna do?" the blonde laughed.
"What the hell do you even want? Haven't you had your fun already? You beating up my brother? Why can't you and your gang of wood-be toughs piss off and leave us alone?" Bexley shouted, not holding back her tongue. "Heh heh, no. But it was one hell of a blast. And now, we get to have fun with the both of you. And you two need to be taught a good lesson." the blonde laughed, sending shivers up my spine.
He grabbed me by the front of my shirt in a tight grip, lifting me up off the ground so that I was face to face with him. "Let him go, you bastard! Let him go!" Bexley shouted, suddenly being grabbed by two of the Socs. She was fighting to be let go, but they held her tightly. "Let's give him a bath. I've got plans for his Greaser sister." the blonde said, smirking at his friends.
It soon dawned on me, and I went wild, squirming and flailing like hell as my ankles and wrists were grabbed. "You there, take her away. We'll take care of Little Colt here." the blonde said. "NO, BEX!" I screamed, my voice strangled. I couldn't see where that bastard was taking her, which frightened me.
"Pony!" she screamed back, her voice risen in fear, "LET HIM GO! NO!" When I screamed my sister's name, it was too late to take it back. The blonde put the blade against my neck, the sharp edge gently pressing into my skin. "Remember what we told you before, Grease. Keep screaming like that, and I'll slit her throat with this blade. Then, I'm going after those brother's of yours. You wouldn't want that, now would you?" he threatened, the blade cutting the skin a little bit.
Tears flooded my eyes as I started to shiver, feeling helpless. I couldn't scream for help. If anything happened to my brothers and sister, I'd never forgive myself. My stomach twisted horribly when I thought of my sister, thinking the absolute worst. What would they do to her? Would they hurt her worse than me?
Then, they brought me over to the fountain, and I was fighting frantically to get loose, but they were too strong for me. All they did was laugh at my expense. I was scared to death, my heart was pounding very hard in my chest. Before I could even call out again, my head was dunked under the water of the fountain. The water was so cold that the air was knocked out of my body instantly.
I was submerged in the freezing black water, adding onto my fear. I held my breath as long as I could, before I was pulled out of the water. I coughed loudly, barely having any time to catch my breath before they dunked my head back under the water again.
The pattern was never ending: in, out, in, out. They were doing this so many times that I was beginning to feel dizzy from the lack of oxygen. I didn't know which way was up. My heart was thumping away in my chest, desperate for air that I couldn't get.
They were holding me down now with their hands, not bringing me back up this time. In a panic, I tried fighting to get up to the surface, but I was too weak. I couldn't hold my breath any longer, and I sucked in the frigid water. My lungs burned as the water rushed into my throat and into my lungs. I couldn't fight anymore.
'They're drowning me… They've gone too far. Where's Bex…? What are they doing to her?' I thought as a red haze filled my mind and I slowly passed out in the water. Seeing that there was no other way out.
When I woke up, I felt that I was laying on the pavement next to the fountain. The wind was freezing as it tore through the trees in the park. I was shivering madly as it brushed passed me. The Socs were nowhere to be seen, they were gone. They had tricked me again...
I coughed up the water, turning to my side as it poured out of my mouth until there was nothing left. There was a warm, sticky feeling on my arms, chest, and stomach. The Socs had cut me while I was unconscious, the blood flowing down on the cement below me.
I couldn't help it, I started sobbing out of my control. The fear is finally getting the best of me. I really thought they were gonna kill me, leaving me in that fountain for the rest of eternity. But it was all a fluke, a tactic to scare me even more. And it worked.
I was all alone, the only company I had was the wind and the sound of the fountain bubbling. Bex wasn't with me, my mind thinking that they were hurting her, killing her even… I couldn't help her no matter how hard I wanted to. When I told her to run, that was my last effort to protect her. But… it didn't work.
I was too exhausted to sit up. My vision was blurry to where I couldn't see straight. My head was spinning and the tears kept coming out of my control. I hated that I was alone, more than ever. I wanted Bexley with me…
I was drenched in the water, causing my clothes to stick to my shivering body while I shivered from the fear and how cold I really was. I never felt so cold before… My body was starting to become numb.
Then, I thought I could hear the sound of pounding footsteps coming in my direction. Then, there were multiple faces hovering over me. I wasn't able to recognize who they belonged to. In my mind, they were the Socs, coming to finish me off with dark eyes. All I could do was scream and cry for help, all of my control gone in an instant.
(Bexley's POV)
(Ten minutes earlier)
I watched as those Socs were taking Pony to the fountain, and I went wild. "Pony!" I screamed for him, my voice rising in fear, "LET HIM GO! NO!" The Soc who was holding me dragged me away from Ponyboy, the last thing I heard was him screaming my name and him fighting to get loose.
The Soc who had me threw me to the ground with a punch to my nose, not giving me time to stand back up. The Soc savagely kicked me in my stomach, rendering me helpless and stunned for a moment. It hurt so badly that I almost vomited.
I pressed my forehead into the dirt, trying to breathe through the pain. "Don't even try to run, She-Grease. There's no shame in giving up, y'know." the Soc taunted. I wouldn't give up, I had to help my brother. I had to save him. "What did you… do to him? What did you do?" I gasped, my stomach throbbing.
"What we do with him isn't any of your damn business. He made a fool out of us, and now we want payback. You, on the other hand, shouldn't have interfered. We're gonna kill him first, then, we're coming after you." the Soc said, pissing me off so much. I tried to get up, not giving up on my brother. "Oh, I see. It's not your style, is it?" the Soc said, kicking me hard in the ribs.
I couldn't suppress a cry of pain, tears falling from my eyes. The kick was hard enough to crack a few ribs. And I felt that they did. The Soc got on top of me and straddled me, holding my head to the ground, dirt getting in my hair. "Go ahead and beg, I dare you." he said in my ear, sending a chill down my spine.
He was trying to break me, but I refused to give this bastard what he wanted. "If you… hurt my brother… I swear I'll fucking kill you!" I spat, my voice broken from all the screaming I did. His other hand was next to my mouth. And I took the opportunity to bite down as hard as I could, causing him to curse loudly.
The Soc turns me over onto my back and puts his hands on my throat, cutting off my circulation. I started choking from how tightly he was holding onto my throat. "You stupid little bitch! I'm gonna make you regret that!" he cursed, squeezing onto my throat even more.
He lifted my head from the ground and slammed it back onto the ground. It caused me to let out a strangled cry of pain. I feebly grabbed at his arms to pull his hands away from my neck. I couldn't breathe, my vision was starting to darken and my lungs burned from the lack of air. Before I knew it, I had passed out after my eyes rolled to the back of my head.
(Darry's POV)
Soda and I were sprinting down the street as fast as we could. The first thing on my mind was, 'Pony didn't even have a coat on. Bexley was the only one who did.' The thought honestly scared me. Both of them had gotten a 20 minute head start. However, both of them were so fast that they could be half way across Tulsa by now.
"Wait up for me, Darry! I ain't as fast as you!" Soda called from behind me, out of breath. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw that he was falling way behind me, so I slowed down my pace. I did but blame was eating away at me. If anything happened to either of them, I would never forgive myself.
We first searched the lot, looking in every nook and cranny. For a moment, we thought we didn't see anything but Soda had seen something moving around under some newspapers. For a second, there was a glimmer of hope in me that it was them, but it soon died away when I saw that it was Johnny.
When I looked at Soda, he too had hope but I saw the sadness flicker in his eyes when he realized that it was Johnny. He knelt down beside Johnny and shook him awake. "Johnny? Hey… c'mon, wake up." Soda said breathlessly. At this, Johnny groggily stirs and he opens his eyes.
He sat up, his body stiff from sleeping on the ground. "How come you guys are here?" he asked, rubbing his eyes with a balled up fist. "Have you seen where Ponyboy and Bexley ran to?" I asked in desperation, hoping with everything that he had seen them. Johnny snapped fully awake, "No, they were heading home last I saw. How come?"
There was a knot in my throat; I didn't know how to tell him. The same image kept repeating in my head, all I saw was red. Then there was rage. Next thing I know, I was standing there in complete shock, looking down at my hand that had turned bright red. Then, I saw Ponyboy and Bexley, the looks on their faces forever burned into my head. It was my fault that they ran away…
"I hit them… both of them too off running and now we've gotta find them." I tell him. Johnny didn't wait another second to jump on his feet. That's when we took off running. We then looked in every alleyway, hoping that they didn't get too far. The whole time I was thinking, 'Please let them be okay… I can't lose them… I couldn't handle it…' I couldn't feel more guilty… The biggest job I had to do was to take care of my kid brothers and kid sister, and I blew it… It was the biggest one that my parents left for me and I ruined it.
I told Johnny and Soda to circle around the right, and that we'd meet in the park. I sprinted through another block and thought I wouldn't find anything. However, something laying in the dirt caught my attention. My heart leaped into my throat when I saw who it was. Bexley…
She was laying there in the dirt, not looking like she was breathing. I sprinted towards her and knelt down beside her and felt tears well up in my eyes, seeing the bruises on her neck. Deep, purple and blue bruises…
(Bexley's POV)
When I woke up, I instantly started to cough. However, my throat hurt like hell from being strangled half to death. Before I could see, I felt myself being lifted up by my arms by strong hands. The Soc had a hold of me again… he saw that I was still alive. He's gonna finish me off. "Don't… Don't hurt me… Don't hurt my brother…" I wheezed, my throat raspy, fighting off who had a hold of me. "Bexley, it's me." a familiar voice broke through the silence.
When I opened my eyes, I saw that it was Darry holding onto me. "D-Darry?" I wheezed, feeling anger wash over my body but I was too exhausted to actually show it. Through my dizziness, I thought I could see tears of guilt in his ice teal eyes. Which surprised me because Darry rarely cries. He didn't cry at mom and dad's funeral, so why was he…?
"Are you alright? They didn't… y'know?" he asked me, gently holding onto my shoulders. My eyes dropped down as I started to bawl quietly. Thing was… I didn't know if that Soc did anything else to me other than strangle me and kick me. So I couldn't answer him…
Darry caught this and pulled me into a comforting hug, his muscular arms around my thin body. "I'm sorry hon… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you guys…" Darry muttered, his voice breaking from crying.
He held onto me a bit tighter, as if he was trying to give me body heat. He was doing that because I was shivering, and I didn't realize it. I got so caught up in Darry's embrace that I didn't remember that Pony was still out there, possibly dying and I wasn't there to help him.
"Darry, Pony's still out there!" I gasped, pulling back from him. I saw that Soda or Johnny wasn't with him. "Where's Soda? Johnny?" I asked, looking around frantically. "I told them to look in the park, they should be there." Darry replied. From the sound of his voice, I could easily tell that he was choked up and defeated.
I was about to reply until an ear-shattering shriek cut through the air, getting both of us to look up. I swear I thought I felt my heart break inside of my chest. The scream came from… Ponyboy. Tears rose in my eyes at the heartbreaking scream. They were begging, pleading for any help.
"C'mon, let's go." Darry said urgently, helping me to my feet. I was surprised that he wasn't taking me back home. I didn't ask why. Both of us sprinted to the park as fast as we could, praying that nothing horrible happened. I was hoping that those damn Socs wouldn't go through with drowning Ponyboy, however, I was wrong when Darry and I finally made it to the park.
The next agonizing scream was much louder than ever. I looked towards the fountain, eyes widened and mouth dropped a little. There by the fountain was Soda and Johnny, they were kneeling beside something. "Darry, look!" I exclaim, pointing towards the fountain. Darry looks over to the fountain and worry instantly etched his face.
We sprinted to the scene and my stomach jumped into my throat when I saw it more clearly. I was hoping everything would be okay, but after seeing this, I couldn't have been more wrong. Soda was holding Ponyboy down on the pavement as he was writhing in an attempt to get away.
He was drenched head to toe in water, his clothes were sticking to his body like tape. I even saw blood from the cuts on his chest, legs, and stomach, seeping onto the wet pavement under him. And there was a small cut on his neck that was still bleeding. Pony was scared to death… tears were running down his pale face. I covered my mouth in shock, trying to hold back a sob.
"NO! DON'T TOUCH ME! LET GO OF ME!" Pony screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice so raw that it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I couldn't stand it… I didn't want to hear him scream like that ever again. "It's okay, honey. Please calm down, you're gonna make it worse." Soda said, his voice soothing as he continued to hold him down.
I started to turn away until I heard Pony screaming for… me. "Bex! Bex, no! Don't hurt her!" I quickly turned around when he called for me. He gasped for air, actually gagging a little from being so scared. He kept thrashing around and sobbing in undeniable fear. I dropped down beside him and carefully took his hand, showing that I was right there beside him. His hand was as cold as ice.
"Pony… I'm right here. It's alright. Darry, Soda, and Johnny are here too." I said, tears clouding my eyes. I didn't bother to wipe them away. Pony bit down on his lip, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. Hearing those words helped him calm down, and Soda let him go ever so gently.
Darry pulled his quivering being up to his chest, trying to provide warmth to his ice cold body. He was limp in Darry's arms, his eyes squeezed shut as he shivered like a leaf. Seeing my twin brother, one of the smartest, most talented people I know, so shattered broke my heart in more than two ways. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry…" Darry muttered in Pony's ear, holding him so close to him.
I couldn't hold it in anymore, I started to quietly cry, my head dropped and my eyes squeezed shut. Although I was crying, no tears escaped. Then, I felt a sudden warmness enclose my body; Soda's arms were around me. "Darry, let's get them home." Soda said, his voice oddly calm. Soda wrapped an arm around me while Darry picked up Pony, realizing that it was much too cold for him to be out here.
We all started to run home, our feet pounding on the pavement beneath us. Although, it was a bit harder for me because I couldn't breathe all that well from being strangled. Johnny was a little bit behind us, eyes bulging out of his head from what had just happened. Looking at Pony, each breath he took ended with an icy cloud coming from his blue lips. His hand weakly grabbing Darry's black shirt.
He said something to Pony, but I couldn't make out what it was. "Soda, take Bex home and turn the warm water on in the tub." Darry asked, his voice urgent. I didn't want to leave Pony, but I knew that Darry was right. Pony was on the verge of freezing to death so we had to hurry and get him warmed up asap.
Before running ahead, I took one last glance at Pony. His head dangled back and his icy arms were laying limply on his stomach, looking so weak… I wanted to kill those Socs for what they did to my brother… I'm gonna make them suffer.
Soda and I had made it back home in a flash, pushing the door open all the way. "Bex, I'm gonna start the water, keep an eye out for Darry." Soda tells me, running into the bathroom to start the bath. Then, there was the sound of the water being turned on in the tub.
Darry arrived a minute after with Pony in his arms and I quickly followed suit. Darry set him down on the bathroom floor gently. I sat down next to him, letting his body slump on mine. Feeling just how frigid his body was caused me to shiver as well. "Pony, can you hear us?" Darry gently said, using his thumb to wipe the remaining tears away from his pale cheeks.
Pony faintly nodded against me, the cold water dripping from his hair and onto my shoulder. Looking at Soda, I saw the distress flashing in his eyes. He saw how our brother's small body was shaking like hell; seemingly unable to stop.
"Guys, we gotta get him out of these clothes before he freezes to death." I said, trying to stay calm but I was scared out of my mind. Darry held him as Soda started to undress him. As he was doing this, Darry made the suggestion that I should leave, because I shouldn't see Pony without any clothes on.
But, he was in his briefs, so he wouldn't be totally naked. Plus, it's not the first time I had seen Pony in just his briefs before. He leaned against Darry with his now bare legs pulled up against his chest. He was so cold that Darry even shuddered.
"Pony, we're gonna help you warm up, okay?" Darry whispered into his ear as he lifted him off of the ground. As slowly as he could, he placed Pony into the water. But, the minute that the water made contact with his skin, he screamed bloody murder, breathing in panic.
"Please no! Don't!" he wailed brokenly, his eyes snapping open in fear. He tried everything in his power to pull himself out of the water. I couldn't take it; this was too painful for me to watch. I quickly got up and walked out to the living room, feeling my shoulders shake as my emotions ran high.
I was starting to have another panic attack, and I didn't want Ponyboy to panic even more. I sat down on the couch. 'He thought that he was gonna be drowned again…' I thought, still hearing him struggle to get out of the water. I put both of my hands behind my head and let it drop so that I was looking down at my feet.
My breathing was becoming heavy and my heart was beating so fast it felt like it was vibrating. I couldn't stop trembling like a leaf. Uncontrollably, I felt myself starting to rock back and forth, something that I'd commonly do whenever I had a panic attack. Tears slipped out as I started to sob; I couldn't help it. The sounds around me sounded muffled, a sharp buzzing in my ears.
"Bex? Bex, are you alright?" someone said, but I couldn't make out who it was. "Bex? Hey, Bex?" they said again, the voice more distorted. Then, I felt a hand touch my shoulder, a strong hand.
The touch made me jump with a startled yelp; it made me almost fall off the couch. "Easy, baby girl. It's just me." they said, the buzzing in my ears slowly fading away. I recognized the nickname, the one that Soda calls me. I quickly turned my head to see the worried expression on my older brother's face.
"Are you okay? Why'd you take off like that?" he asked, taking my chin in his hand, holding it ever so gently. I bit my lip and looked down. "I-I'm sorry. I…" I answered, sniffling as I wiped my nose, "I had to get out… Seeing Pony that scared caused me to panic… I just couldn't handle it."
Soda pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back comfortly, trying to help me calm down from my panic attack. "He'll be alright now, baby girl. We're gonna help him through this…" Soda promised, his voice soothing in my ear.
When he squeezed onto me, it caused me to wince from the pain in my ribs. I forgot that Soc kicked me so hard in my ribs that I felt them crack underneath my skin. Soda immediately caught my distress and pulled back. "What's the matter?" he asked.
"M-My ribs… they hurt so bad…" I said, holding my aching side.
He gently moved my hand away and lifted up the side of my shirt so he could see if it was bruised. When he saw my ribs, I saw tears well up in his eyes. "Soda?" I said, my vision being blurred with tears. Then, he took my chin so he could inspect my neck.
"How'd… how'd these bruises get there on your neck and ribs?" he sobbed, gently holding my shoulders.
I reached up to touch my neck, and winced at how tender it felt. I remembered what happened before I passed out, I remembered being kicked, punched and being strangled half to death. Tears filled my eyes again and I let out a sob.
"Th-That Soc… dragged me away from Pony… so I couldn't help him. He punched me, kicked me in my stomach a-and my ribs… I tried to get to Pony. I knew what they were gonna do… But… he started to strangle me. I thought I was gonna…" I answered, sobbing in between my words.
Soda didn't wait another minute to pull me into a loving, yet gentle embrace. "Don't say any more. It's alright now." he whispered in my ear, "They ain't gonna hurt you guys anymore." I buried my face in his chest and cried until I had no tears left. The whole time, Soda was rocking me back and forth while stroking the back of my head.
After a while, I was able to calm down. I pushed myself back from Soda's embrace, wiping my eyes while sniffling. "You okay now?" Soda asked me, making me look up for a second. "Yeah… Yeah, I'm okay. Can we check on Pony? He doesn't know that I left." I asked. Soda gave me a warm smile and nodded.
And with that, Soda helped me back up to my feet and he helped me go back to the bathroom so I could see how Pony was doing. When I looked in the bathroom, I saw just how exhausted Pony really was. His skin had returned to a pink blotchy color as the warm water began to bring his temperature up.
I looked up at Darry, whose back was turned towards me. Then, my eyes fell onto Pony, who lay limply in the tub, looking so out of it. He kept slipping in and out of consciousness. I walked over and sat down beside the tub so I could watch over Ponyboy, I didn't want to leave him. In the water, it was now a light shade of pink from the gashes on his skin that was cut with a blade.
My eyes drifted up towards Darry, he had a look of fear mixed with guilt and anger in his eyes. To be honest, I felt a little angry at Darry. I shouldn't be, but I can't forget that he was at fault here. He's the one who drove us away, the reason why Pony and I got jumped, the reason why Pony almost froze to death in that fountain.
I don't know if I could forgive him for what he did. And the thing was, I don't know if Pony would forgive him.