Dally was driving a little too fast for me in Buck's car. It was making my stomach roll constantly. When we reached Tenth, sirens were blaring behind us; it was the fuzz.

"Okay, um, act sick. I'll pretend I'm taking you guys to the hospital." Dally said. Pony let his head rest against the back of the seat and he groaned sickly.

I rested my sore and battered body against Pony's, actually feeling sick. I let out a groan and coughed a couple of times. "Alright, son. You gotta have a good reason for driving like that." a cop asked, looking as if we had just interrupted him during something that he was doing.

"This boy and his sister, they fell over on their motorcycle and I'm taking them to the hospital." Dally said, pointing at us with his thumb.

I crack my eyes open and glance over at the cop for a moment. Pony groaned as well, showing that he was hurting just as I was. The cop's demeanor changed in an instant.

"How bad are they?" the cop asked. "I don't know, man. Do I look like a doctor? They look pretty bad to me." Dally said. "Follow me. I'll give you an escort." the cop said, going back to his motorcycle.

While going to the hospital, Dally was ranting about something that I could hardly make out due to my delerious state. All I could focus on was the pain in my body.

"I was crazy, you know that, kids? Crazy about wantin' Johnny to stay outta trouble. If he was smart like me, he wouldn't have been in this mess. If he was smart like me, he wouldn't have ran in that church man. You two better wise up. You get tough like me and you don't get hurt. You look out for yourselves and nothing can touch you." Dally ranted, banging a fist on the steering wheel.

Every breath I made me wince audibly, making tear up from the pain. Both Pony and I had tuned out the rest of Dally's rant. Honestly, we were hurting way too much to actually pay attention.

We make it to the hospital about a few minutes later. Or at least I think it was. We stumble through the lobby to where Johnny's room was.

Pony had my arm around his shoulders to help me walk; it hurt like hell. It took a bit of convincing before the doctor let us in to see Johnny. Dally used the empy heater (gun) to get us in.

We make it to Johnny's open room. When we stepped inside, my heart sank. Tears immediately blurred my vision as I felt pressure in my cheeks and bridge of my nose.

Johnny was very still in his bed. He couldn't be... No... No way he's dead. Dally swallowed hard and said in a hoarse voice, "Johnnycake?"

Johnny stirred at the sound of his name being called. He opened his eyes and he looked at us. "Hey guys..." he weakly said, finding it hard to smile. "Johnny, we beat the Socs..." I said, choking on my tears, "Chased them out of our neighborhood."

Johnny looked much worse than the last time we saw him. My heart started to pound in fear and worry. I was scared to death.

Johnny's grin dropped when I said this. "Fighting is useless..." he said, awfully white. "They're still writing editorials about you in the paper. For being a hero." Darry said fast, licking his upper lip nervously.

"Yeah, they're calling you a hero and heroizin' all the greasers. We're all proud of you buddy." Dally said, giving Johnny's arm a squeeze. Johnny's eyes glowed with awe.

"Ponyboy... Bexley..." Johnny said in a voice so croaky and quiet that Pony and I barely heard him. Pony and I leaned closer to him so that we could hear him. Tears were threatening to spill.

"Stay gold... you guys... Stay gold." he spoke his final words. The pillow sank a little and he went completely stiff. My stomach turned in constant circles and I paled noticably. Johnny died right there in front of us.

I sobbed but no tears fell. You know how there are stories about how peaceful people look when they die? Well Johnny was nothing like that. Like a moth drawn to a flame.

I shook my head, burying my face into Ponyboy's shoulder so I wouldn't have to look at Johnny. He didn't hesitate to hug me, holding me close to him. "Johnny?" Dally said, "S-So this is what you get, huh? This is what you get for helping people? You punk..."

I heard Dally slam his back against the wall. He had this contracted in agony and I saw a few tears fell from his eyes. "C'mon Johnny, don't die. Don't die on me now... Please..." Dally begged, slamming his fist into the wall, "Bastards!"

He then bolted out of the door as fast as he could. By this time, my entire face was covered in blood and tears. My own heart ached badly, causing me to sob audibly.

"C'mon, Bex... Let's go..." Pony said, his voice cracking. He sounded like he was crying as well. "O-Okay... g-gimme a s-second." I quiver, knowing I had to do something before leaving.

I leaned down over Johnny and kissed his forehead for about 7 seconds, showing how much I loved him. I walked down the hallway with Pony dizzily. Since Dally had taken the car, Pony and I had no choice but to walk home.

Johnny was my mind the whole time. He wasn't dead... He couldn't be. It wasn't true.

He had to be asleep in the lot, or sitting on the back steps of the church trying to read Gone with the Wind. I could see Johnny sitting on the curb with a cigarette in his hand. We were stargazing together in the lot.

The feeling was too overwhelming and I felt my stomach turn to ice and I started shaking out of my control. "Pony... I'm gonna be sick..." I groan, fighting the dizziness and nausea that washed over me. He got the hint fast and he carefully set me down on the grass.

Almost immediately, I started to throw up that night's dinner in my stomach. My stomach, throat, and nose burned something awful.

"Are you alright, Bex?" Pony asked me, kneeling down next to me. "No... I wanna go home." I asked, letting tears fall from my eyes. He nods and throws an arm over his shoulders.

We made it home a few minutes later. What was left of our gang was in the living room. Steve was lying on the couch, his shirt unbuttoned and bandages covering his side.

Pony opened the door. I had my hands holding onto him gently. We stepped into the house.

The gang looked up at the two of us. Soda had a large bruise on the side of his face. Darry's hand was in a bandage and he had a black eye.

Two-Bit's face was taped up, he ended up having to get four stitches in his cheek and seven on his hand from punching a Soc too hard in the jaw. Everyone was quiet. Guess there ain't gonna be an afterparty tonight.

"Hey, where have you two been?" Darry asked, standing up slowly. I froze when he said that and whimpered. I didn't want to start another fight.

When Darry saw the distraught looks on our faces, he stopped. "Hey, Pony, Bex, what- what's wrong?" He asked us gently. Ponyboy looked at all of them for a second before answering.

"Johnny's dead." He said strangely. I wiped a few tears away and sniffled. He's not dead, something told us.

"We told him that we beat the Socs... he just died in front of us. H-He told us to stay gold." I sobbedd, wanting to sit down because of how dizzy I was feeling.

Everyone was stricken silent. Nobody realized just how bad off Johnny was. Soda made a funny noise and looked like he was about to cry. Two-Bit closed his eyes and he clenched his teeth.

Then, I remembered Dally. I heard him running out of the hospital in a rage... Pounding on the wall.

"Dally is gone... he ran out like the devil was after him." Pony said. "Guys, he couldn't take it... he's gonna blow up..." I sob but no tears came.

How could Pony and I take it? I was distressed so badly that it made me sick. Dally is tougher than us.

Pony was taking it more than I was... Johnny was the only person Dally loved and he was gone.

My legs began to feel like jelly and I could barely stand without feeling like I was gonna collapse. Soda came and helped me sit down on the armchair. I rubbed my throbbing forehead, trying to keep my nausea settled.

Two-Bit tried getting Pony to sit down but he refused despite him looking sick. He looked as if he was gonna pass out at any moment. My entire body was visibly shaking and my heart pounded so loud that it hurt.

Then, the phone next to me rang, causing me to jump. Darry answered it and held it up to his ear. After a few minutes, he hung up.

"That was Dally. He just robbed a store and the cops are after him. C'mon we gotta hide him." Darry informed us.

We all sprinted out of the house as fast as we could. Ponyboy looked as if he was having trouble running, not in a straight line. I was scared to death.

When we reached the lot, we saw Dally being chased by the cops. The sirens grew louder and louder as they tailed him.

Dally then pulls the gun out from his waistband, "You're never gonna get me alive!" That's when the cops began shooting at him.

"It's not loaded!" Pony yelled. "No! Leave him alone!" I cried, seeing Dally getting shot by the cops. Everyone else was yelling at the cops about the gun not being loaded.

"No! Not Dally too!" Steve yelled. "No!" Ponyboy and I yelled in sheer panic.

It was only the other day that he had told Johnny, Pony, and I about him using that gun as a bluff to fool them. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

As the bullets hit him, his body jerked around. "He's just a kid!" Darry yelled as Dally fell to the ground. When we reached him, he was dead.

"Stupid idiot! You stupid freaks!" Darry bellowed in anger.

This is what Dallas Winston wanted, he wanted to die. I stared down at Dally's hole covered body, my stomach constantly doing turns.

"No... not Johnny and Dallas... both of them." I groaned, realizing the horrible truth. Both of our friends died that same night. One dies a hero and the other a criminal...

Like in Gone with the Wind, he was gallant. Johnny was right. Dally risked his own life for us, trying to keep Johnny out of trouble. I remembered Dally giving us that gun. Dally didn't die a hero; he died a violent and desperate man.

I started to dry heave from feeling sick. I turned around and threw up a second time that night, falling to my knees. Darry kneeled down next to me a second after.

He helped me up to my feet and kept his arm around me. Then, I saw Ponyboy swaying on his feet. "Glory, look at him!" Someone cried.

Ponyboy then collapses to the ground, passing out cold. "Oh god! Ponyboy!" I yell, both me and Darry kneeling down next to him. I shook my brother's shoulders but he wouldn't wake up, scaring me. Now I know how he felt when I passed out earlier that day.