Updated August 14, 2020. This story is discontinued.
New Story is called a Motion of Space
The bright light didn't fade actually. It merely dimmed a little bit, but it still stung Pony's eyes. Yet when he got used to it, that's when he realized the he was surrounded by complete darkness and that the bright light was actually a screen.
He heard the small chatters and whispered of people beside him. And only then, it dawned on him that he had been watching a movie. He was in a movie house.
He turned around, quickly catching a few people here and there. It seemed that the movie had ended, and the people got up to leave. Ponyboy could only stare, feeling something unsettling in the pit of his stomach, his legs felt like jello too.
Huh. I don't remember coming here . . .
He vaguely wondered what he had been watching as he stood up and walked outside. He felt something move in the pit of his stomach. The pain in his back had disappeared, which was really weird . . . Had he also taken some Advil?
I hope I don't throw up again.
Pony slowly walked up the hallway to make go outside. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. There was something off, something he couldn't place his finger on. Not to mention that he didn't know where and how he had gone to see a movie in the first place.
Does Darry know what I am?
A saddening feeling overtook his body. He was a bit irritated with himself. The last time he had lost track of time had been just a few days ago. And if this kept on going on, Darry would surely find out soon. Nothing could stay hidden from Darry for too long these days . . . Darry at least would understand. He was the only one who Ponyboy could talk to.
And those guidance counselors at school would only spread gossip about the student's secrets. He didn't have Johnny or Sodapop anymore . . . even the old Two-Bit would've listened to his problems . . . But he couldn't tell Darry he was having these dreams and that the pills weren't working and that sometimes his nightmares got to the point where he couldn't breath right. So maybe, he couldn't really talk to him . . .
For a second, Pony stopped walking and leaned against the entrance. He couldn't have had another 'blackout,' as the doctors called them. It wasn't possible. He would've at least remembered waking up and saying good morning to his would've at least remembered wishing Darry goodbye. Maybe he just threw on some clothes and didn't say goodbye to Darry . . .
He might be worried.
Ponyboy just stared out into the street in a daze. He would've at least remembered thinking about going to watch a movie too.
Ponyboy pinched himself, but when that didn't 'wake' him up, he slapped his cheeks. The pain that he felt was real enough and his knees were never shaky in his dreams. Never. It also didn't feel like a dream. In his dreams he couldn't read, but as he was looking at the sign right across the street, he figured that there were firsts for everything.
o-o-o
Pony started to walk down the street, staring at the hole in his shoe. Had that been there before? For a split second he'd wish he would've gotten new shoes. But that reminded him of Logan. And in the back of his mind, Pony remembered his dream. Then he remembered about Logan and about the wishes. And then he remembered about his dead friends.
He sighed. "You know what?" He said, talking to himself. "That's the last time I don't take my pills. Maybe that's the problem. I didn't take them, and boom, problems already."
He shook his head and checked his pocket, disappointed to find that he didn't have his pack of gum with him.
"I need to buy a new one anyways," Pony reminded himself, and stuck both his hands in his pockets to prevent from biting them.
It wasn't long before trouble appeared. He should've known it would happen. After all, he was walking all alone and ever since Bob's death, the Socs had become more ruthless. But even as Ponyboy spotted a very nice looking car out of the corner of his eye, he didn't feel scared.
That wasn't until the car started to speed up and threaten to run him over, because after that, he felt his heart speed up and he started to walk a bit faster.
Oh no. They don't ever stop.
His fast walking soon turned into jogging, and that soon turned into running. But no one could outrun a car. Not even a once-used-to-be star track runner.
The car somehow seemed familiar. It was this red shade, but maybe it was just because red shaded cars were common these days. It was a popular color.
Pony put his running skills to use, but it was a shame because he had been out of shape for a long time. He had quit track and now ran for fun. He couldn't take the stress of everyone counting on him to be the top runner.
Eventually Pony slowed down a whole lot because he'd gotten a sudden cramp in his calf. But that was when the car pulled ahead and a good amount of Socs piled out.
Pony's heart was hammering in his chest from the exhaustion and fear.
I could still make it. I'm not that far from home.
All those thoughts disappeared, when they circled him, blocking his only way out. And what surprised him more than being trapped, was the fact that they were the same Socs that had jumped him before his friend's death.
He swallowed.
They're going to kill me for sure. They're gonna finish what they couldn't get a chance to.
At that moment, Ponyboy knew that he would have no chance.
Yeah he could fight, better than the last time he had been jumped, but he was alone. It wasn't' very helpful because he was already dead tired and outnumbered. It didn't really bother him to know that he could just turn around and head for the hills.
"Hey greaser," one of them hissed.
Well this is new.
All of them were smiling and it occurred to Ponyboy that this was a pretty realistic dream because it seemed eerily familiar. Almost like the last time.
He spun around to see if he could escape, but of course he ran right into one of them and in a second they had him pinned down.
He fought hard. And for a second, he managed to free himself from the grasp of one of them, but that was a mistake.
Suddenly a punch to the stomach made him lay there, gasping. It left him open for an attack, because at that moment he was trying to find a breath. This was starting to feel too real.
Even with his eyes squeezed shut he could still picture everything. From the formation of the clouds to the their faces.
They somehow managed to pick him up, and slammed him onto the ground. He felt the blood run down his nose. Then, he was flipped over. The others held down his legs ad arms, as one of them who looked like the leader sat down on his chest.
"Looks like you need a haircut, greaser." He spat, there was a glint of something in his hand.
Those words made him shiver because of how similar it had sounded before.
Need a haircut greaser?
He was dreaming right?
Then he was punched in the face, his eye hurt. His heart sped up and his ribs were killing him.
The pain seems pretty real to me.
The Soc ontop of him smiled evilly and flicked out his switchblade for Pony to see.
"How about a cut right below the chin?"
And that's he started to yell.
"HELP! ANYONE HELP!"
Even if he was in a dream, he was still scared. It almost felt exactly like the last time, even though it was slightly different, he still felt the same fear. He tried to break their grip, but they only held on tighter. He was pretty sure that when he woke up, he for sure would still feel the pain on his wrists.
The guy on top of him, the one who was making it hard for Pony to breath, brought out a blade dangerously close to his neck.
They're gonna actually do it.
He started to struggle more.
"Darry! DARRY!"
Darry always saved him in his dreams, right before the Socs even thought of jumping him. So where was he now? Darry would kick their butts. He could beat up to fifteen Socs in his dreams. But where was he now? There were only about five . . . Had Darry also left him alone in his dreams?
The thought made him panic even more. It made his heart hurt, but maybe it was the bruised ribs. He couldn't tell.
"DARRY! HELP ME! DARRY!"
Where is he?
"HELP! DARRY! DAR-"
One of them shoved something in his mouth, but he kept trying to yell.
They punched him in the face again, and they kicked him in the stomach. Pony let out a gagging noise as the cloth was shoved deeper into his mouth, and his screams were growing weaker by the second.
"Shut him up! Shut him up for pete's sake!" One of them yelled.
It wasn't long before he heard the loud heavy footsteps of what was probably Darry. He could hear his blood rushing to his ears, and the shouts were muffled.
He felt his arms and legs being released from the grips of the Socs and the heavy pressure on his chest the was making it harder for Pony to breath, left.
Suddenly he was roughly pulled up. He felt the strong, sturdy hand of the one and only.
"Pony? Are you okay? Ponyboy are you alright?"
Darry was shaking him too much, and his head was spinning.
"Darry stop it. I'm okay. Quit shaking me."
He squeezed his eyes shut, and sat on his hands to stop them from shaking. So, Darry stopped immediately. Pony heard him let out a breath.
"They didn't get you too badly right?"
Of course they had, but he didn't tell Darry that. It didn't matter if they were able to talk more. Not even in his dreams would he admit he was hurting. And he didn't really feel like lying, so he didn't say anything.
Instead he just stood up slowly, his eyes still closed and took a deep breath. But not too deep, because his chest was aching and his nose burned.
He heard more footsteps, but brushed them away as people trying to see what had happened.
Then, a took familiar voice ran out, and it sickened Ponyboy to the point where he wanted to wake up. Wake up before it got too good.
"Ponyboy, looks like you got cut a little."
Pony turned to see Sodapop concerned. And talking. And here. Not to mention that his eye's didn't look dead. He wasn't hunched over and he still had this happy aura that emitted from his, despite having his brother almost killed.
Even in his dreams Soda didn't talk anymore. Soda just didn't go out anymore either. He remembered reading the sign back when he had exited the movie house, and guessed that there were indeed firsts for everything.
He didn't say anything as Soda came up to him. Didn't say anything as he pulled out his handkerchief.
He's talking.
"Ponyboy are you alright? They didn't get you too hard right?"
He's actually talking.
"I, uh, I'm alright." He paused abruptly. "Are you okay?"
Soda laughed. It was a worried laughter, but he laughed. "Of course."
He stepped back a bit and stared at Darry, away from Soda's wandering hands.
It's Darry who should be helping me.
Soda looked at Darry too. "Ponyboy, are you sure you're alright? I mean you're bleeding. Come here so I can help you."
Pony just stared and looked at Darry expectantly.
Darry just looked around, obviously confused. "We can patch him up at home Soda. He's obviously spooked. C'mon. He'll feel better soon."
Ponyboy just blinked. "Darry I'm okay." He said slowly. "It wasn't as bad as last time. I just-" He wanted to sit down. "Just let me have a moment. Okay?"
Both brothers glanced at each other as he started to lower himself.
"Last time? What do you mean last time? Was it at school? Steve and Two-Bit should've told me. You should've told me." Darry said in an accusatory tone.
Steve and Two-Bit don't even come to school anymore. I thought you knew.
In his dreams Darry always knew. Even then, Pony didn't fire back. He was too tired to, and he knew Darry was right. He sat down at the edge of the curb.
"I know I should have told you-" He cut himself off. "Steve and Two-Bit didn't know either."
Soda took a step back and watched silently as Darry scolded Pony.
"What do you mean they don't know! They're supposed to-"
Suddenly he was interrupted by Soda, who seemed to be talking to someone.
"Hey," Soda called out to someone behind Ponyboy. "Didja catch em?"
Pony was still looking down. He felt sick to his stomach. He recognized those footsteps.
"Nope. Those slimy bastards got away." The voice chuckled.
Wake me up, before it gets too good.
Slowly Pony raised his head up and there stood the rest of the gang.
Steve, looking exactly like he did before. His eyes weren't blazing with anger and according to his body language he seemed calm. He squinted at Pony.
Two-Bit was walking weird, but as he got closer, he looked sober. He didn't have that crazed look in his eye. He didn't have that glazed look either. His voice was clear too. He didn't look like he was drunk out of his mind.
And then there was Dally. He didn't look scared or angry at the world at that moment. He didn't even have the usual bullet holes that riddled in his chest. He looked calm too.
And then the last person. The very person, who as once as Pony thought about, made his heart and soul burn. It was Johnny. No burns or scars were anywhere in his body. He wasn't in a wheelchair. He wasn't walking like a zombie, headed towards Pony, blaming him that it was all his fault. He didn't even look angry.
No. None of the gang looked like he usually dreamt them. Not one of them was yelling and blaming him that it was his fault that they were all like this. It made him happy, but at the same time it hurt him.
Just wake me up before I never want to.
Pony unconsciously stared at Dally in awe, and Dally laughed.
"Got out of the cooler for good behavior." He said and started to light up a cancer stick.
Hadn't he said something similar the last time?
Darry crouched down next to Ponyboy. "Now what was I saying? Why didn't you tell me before?" Darry's tone was accusing, but he didn't really care. He really knew that Darry was worried about him.
Ah, even in my dreams.
Everyone was staring at him, he could feel it. But he just look at Darry in the eyes.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." He said calmly. The fear had subsided, now filled with this numbness. It encased his body. He turned around. And Pony had been right, everyone was looking at him weirdly. He gripped his head.
Darry might've mistook it for pain, because it only took a mere second for him to point it out. "Did they hit you in the head Pony?"
Pony shrugged. No they hadn't, but he couldn't stop staring at Johnny. His skin -had it looked so light before? He felt his heart lurch.
"Pony?"
They were really there. Right in front of him. It was too good to be true. And then something happened, Johnny was faintly smiling. He was actually smiling at him.
At that moment Pony stood up, scaring away everyone. He walked over to Johnny and hugged him. Johnny just gave everyone a really scared and frightened look as he was being squeezed tightly by Ponyboy. Darry closed his eyes and sighed.
I'm so sorry Johnny. But I really needed to hug you. This might be my only chance now, because you're not yelling at me. He thought.
Suddenly he was ripped off and he didn't even care. At least he got to hug Johnny before he woke up. Johnny was all that mattered.
But he didn't wake up. He was still staring at Johnny, so he turned around and found out that Dally was holding him by the neck. Darry glared at Dally.
"Dally, careful with him. He just got jumped." Darry huffed out.
Dally ignored him. "Hey kid, you're creepin' everyone out. So cut the bullshit okay? Sto-"
Ponyboy hugged him too.
Of course it didn't surprise him when Dally threw Pony onto the ground. Even in his dreams Dally was rough. He might've been angry at him too, for killing Johnny.
And when he hit the ground, he was ready to wake up. He had said goodbye to Dally once and for all. He didn't even feel angry. The old Dally would've done the same.
"Dally!" Darry yelled. "What's the matter with you? Didn't I say that he just got jumped?"
Dally coughed. "He was hugging me. What was I supposed to do? Let him? No way man."
Two-Bit began to laugh. It was a laugh that made Pony want to cry because it was a careless laugh. The one Pony hadn't heard in a long time.
"Looks like Ponyboy had finally lost it." He cackled. "He hugged Dally! What's he gonna do next? Hug Steve?"
Pony brushed himself off and stood up, accepting the help of Darry, which to say freaked out Darry. Because Pony always refused his help. Always.
Pony had always detested Steve. But now that he was here and not cursing him out and threatening to beat him up, he was grateful. So he hugged him too. He hugged everyone. And even Darry, because why not? Darry had always been there for him.
When I wake up, I'll hug Darry too.
Of course he ignored the strange stares, because he knew that in his dream, the gang probably didn't know that two of them had died, the rest had gone into depression and that he'd gotten closer to Darry.
But it appeared that all of what had happened was starting to really start to affect Pony. Being jumped by the greasers and the effects of Dally slamming him onto the ground was starting to take a toll on him.
Black fuzzy dots started to fog his vision. Even though he didn't want to worry Darry, he te tried to resist the overwhelming sensation of passing out. It wasn't long until he collapsed to his knees and held his head.
"Ponyboy?"
He felt hands grip onto his shoulders, but that didn't stop him from leaning forward and as he breathed in. Tried to breath in at least. It was all too much.
"Ponyboy!"
He could still hear the faint cries of surprise of all his friends as the black pavement rushed to his face. And then everything went black.
Yeah, wake me up when it just started to get good.