When Dally took a corner on two wheels he glanced in the rearview mirror to see the two boys gripping their seats, their jaws clenched. A small smile crossed his face as Tia hollers and laughs could be heard over the squeeling tires. They stopped at Dairy Queen and began shoveling themselves with food.
"Glory," Dally said in amazement "You don't need to make like every mouthful's your last. I got plenty of money. Take it easy, I don't want you gettin' sick on me. And I thought I was hungry!"
Tia watched as Johnny and Pony continued eating. After two barbecue chicken sandwhiches and a banana split she knew she couldn't eat anymore.
"I didn't tell y'all something." Dally said after he finished his third hamburger. "The Socs and us are having all-out warface all over the city. That kid you killed had plenty of friends and all over town its Soc against grease. We can't walk alone at all. I started carryin' a heater..."
"Dally!" Pony said, his voice scared "Heaters can kill people!"
"No, people kill people. You could kill someone with a fork if you really wanted too." Tia said calmly. "Or a blade."
She saw Johnny gulp so she didn't go into further details.
"Don't worry," Dally broke the heavy silence "it ain't loaded. I ain't aimin to get picked up for murder. But it sure does help a bluff. Tim Shephard gang and our oufit are havin' it out with the Socs tomorrow night at the vacant lot. Did I tell ya, we got a spy?"
"A spy?" Johnny asked "Who?"
"That good-lookin' broad I tried to pick up the night you killed the Soc. The redhead, Cherry what's her name?"
Tia scowled and proceeded to say a few lines about Cherry which were not exactly polite. The two boys were in disbelief at what Dally had told them. They talked for a while, about a lot of things but all went quiet when Johnny spoke up.
"We're goin' back and turn ourselves in." He stated.
Dally gagged which was followed by a line of curses.
"What?" He demanded.
"I said we're goin' back and turn outselves in." Johnny repeated quietly "I ain't got no record with the fuzz and it was self-defense. Ponyboy and Cherry can testify to that. And I don't aim to stay in that church all my life. We won't tell that you helped us, Dally, and we'll give you back the gun and what's left of the money and say we hitchhiked back so you won't get into trouble. Okay?"
Dally watched Johnny closely as he chewed on the corner of his ID card.
"You sure you want to go back? Us greasers get it worse then anybody else." Dally said slowly.
"I'm sure. It ain't fair for Ponybot to have to stay up in that church with Darry and Soda worryin' about him all the time. I don't guess..." Johnny swallowed before continueing "I don't guess my parents are worried about me or anything?"
"The boys are worried," Tia spoke up "Two-Bit was going to Texas to hunt for you."
"My parents, did they ask about me?" Johnny repeated.
"No." Dally snapped "They didn't, Blast it Johnny, what do they matter? Shoot, my old man don't give a hang whether I'm in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in the gutter. That don't bother me."
Johnny didn't say anything, he just starred at the back of the drivers seat. Dally cursed under his breath and nearly tore out the tranmission of the T-bird as they roared out of the Dairy Queen.
"Blast it, Johnny," Dally growled "why didn't you think of turning yourselves in five days ago? It would have saved a lot of trouble."
"I was scared." Johnny said in a small voice "I still am. I guess we ruined our hair for nothing, Ponyboy."
"I guess so." Ponyboy replied.
Pony was watching Dally closely, who was scowling and his eyes blazing. He knew better then to say anything to him when Dally was in one of his moods. Dally wasn't the type to keep quiet when someone rubbed him the wrong way. As they drove Pony remembered an incident that had happened a little while ago.
Tia had gotten home around midnight after getting a drive home from Tim Shepard. Dally, who had been at the house, gave her a good yelling at. He wasn't too fond of Tia being around Tim. She had stood in front of him, looked him in the eye and said.
"Aw Dallas." She always called him Dallas when she was being serious "I am not about to climb into the backseat with Shepard. I ain't like most of the sluts that you and Shepard pick up for a one night stand."
Pony remembered the way Dally's eyes blazed when she said that. What had shocked him even more was when Dally smacked her broad side of the head. Even more surprised was when Tia just rolled her eyes and hit him right back. Pony knew from experience that Dally could hit hard, real hard. They probably would have beat each other senseless if Darry, Steve and Soda hadn't seperated them. Yet the next day they acted like noting had happened.
"Johnny." Dally said breaking Pony out of his thoughts, his voice sounded like nothing he had ever heard before "Johnny, I ain't mad at you. I don't want you to get hurt. You don't know what a few months in jail can do to you."
That was when something finally hit Ponyboy. He had always thought of Dally as being a different breed. Dally was tough, cold and mean. Tia was just like him. They acted a like, even the way they looked resembled. They had the same cold eyes. Pony knew that Tia had a few a overnighters in jail and that she had spend 5 months in there for getting pulled over for underaged drinking and driving. The only difference between them was that Tia would lash out at someone verbally before getting physical. Either way, she knew how to hurt someone.
"You get hardened in jail. I don't want that to happen to you. Like it happened to me..." Dally said risking a glance at Tia who was gazing out the window.
Pony suddently felt sad for Dally and Tia. Dally in jail at age ten...Dally growing up on the streets. Tia being beaten by her father...used by her brother.
"Would you rather have me living in hide-outs for the rest of my life, always on the run?" Johnny asked, dead serious.
They conversation was interupted by Dally slamming on the brakes.
"Oh glory." Dally whispered "The churh is on fire."
"Let's go see what the deal is." Pony said getting out of the car.
"What for?" Dally asked sounding irritated. "Get back in here before I beat your head in."
Pony ignored him and Johnny got out of the car too. Tia glanced at Dally and shrugged before getting out of the car too.
"Blast it, not you too!" Dally yelled.
"What's going on?" Pony asked one of the adults standing there.
"Well, we dont' know for sure. We were having a school picnic up here and the first thing we knew, the place is burning up. Thank goodness this is a wet season and the old thing is worthless anyway." He explained. "Stand back, children. The firemen will be comming soon."
"I bet we started it, We must have dropped a lighted cigarette or something." Johnny told Pony quietly.
"Jerry, some of the kids are missing." A lady said, running up.
"They're probably around here somewhere. You can't tell with all this excitement where they might be." Jerry responded.
Everyone froze when a faint yell came from inside the church.
"I told them not to play in the church...I told them." The woman said, turning pale white.
"I'll get them, don't worry." Pony said and started at a dead run towards the church.
Pony threw a big rock through a window and pulled himself in.
"Hey Ponyboy." Johnny said from behind him.
"Is the guy coming?" Pony asked.
"Yeah I think so." Johnny said peering out the window "Nope, its Tia. The man can't fit through."
Tia pulled herself through the window and grinned at the two boys.
"Just a bit toasty in here." She said.
"Just a bit." Johnny responded laughing "Where's the kids?"
"In the back, I guess." Pony responded.
They stumbled through the church, heading towards the back. They pushed the door open to the back room and four four of five little kids huddled in the corner. Once was screaming his head off.
"Shut up! We're goin' to get you out!" Johnny yelled.
Johnny voice was firm, he was acting like his old self. He pushed out the nearest window and tossed the first kid out. Pony picked up a kid (who bit him), leaned out the window and dropped him as gently as possible. He caught sight of Dally standing out there yelling.
"For Pete's sake, get outta there! That roof's gonna cave in any minute. Forget those blaster kids."
Pony ignored him and took the next kid Tia handed him, and dropped him out the window. He began coughing so hard, he could barely stand up. Once they got the last of the kids out, Johnny shoved Pony towards the window.
"Get out!" He yelled to be heard over the fire.
Pony leaped out the window and heard timber crashing, the flames roaring right behind him. He staggered on the ground, almost falling. He was coughing and gasping, trying to get fresh air into his lungs. Dally was behind him in a second and clubbed him across the back, trying to put the fire out on his jacket. He hit him a bit too hard. Pony fell to the ground like a dead weight, least the fire on his jacket was out. Dally froze when he heard a yell come from inside the church.
"Johnny!" It was Tia's voice "Watch out!"
Johnny fell out of the window and landed with a loud thump on the ground.
"You okay kid?" Dally asked quickly, kneeling next to Johnny.
"The roof fell in." Johnny said, coughing for the smoke.
The window Johnny had just passed through, was engulped in flames. Tia was still in there...
"Glory," Dally said in amazement "You don't need to make like every mouthful's your last. I got plenty of money. Take it easy, I don't want you gettin' sick on me. And I thought I was hungry!"
Tia watched as Johnny and Pony continued eating. After two barbecue chicken sandwhiches and a banana split she knew she couldn't eat anymore.
"I didn't tell y'all something." Dally said after he finished his third hamburger. "The Socs and us are having all-out warface all over the city. That kid you killed had plenty of friends and all over town its Soc against grease. We can't walk alone at all. I started carryin' a heater..."
"Dally!" Pony said, his voice scared "Heaters can kill people!"
"No, people kill people. You could kill someone with a fork if you really wanted too." Tia said calmly. "Or a blade."
She saw Johnny gulp so she didn't go into further details.
"Don't worry," Dally broke the heavy silence "it ain't loaded. I ain't aimin to get picked up for murder. But it sure does help a bluff. Tim Shephard gang and our oufit are havin' it out with the Socs tomorrow night at the vacant lot. Did I tell ya, we got a spy?"
"A spy?" Johnny asked "Who?"
"That good-lookin' broad I tried to pick up the night you killed the Soc. The redhead, Cherry what's her name?"
Tia scowled and proceeded to say a few lines about Cherry which were not exactly polite. The two boys were in disbelief at what Dally had told them. They talked for a while, about a lot of things but all went quiet when Johnny spoke up.
"We're goin' back and turn ourselves in." He stated.
Dally gagged which was followed by a line of curses.
"What?" He demanded.
"I said we're goin' back and turn outselves in." Johnny repeated quietly "I ain't got no record with the fuzz and it was self-defense. Ponyboy and Cherry can testify to that. And I don't aim to stay in that church all my life. We won't tell that you helped us, Dally, and we'll give you back the gun and what's left of the money and say we hitchhiked back so you won't get into trouble. Okay?"
Dally watched Johnny closely as he chewed on the corner of his ID card.
"You sure you want to go back? Us greasers get it worse then anybody else." Dally said slowly.
"I'm sure. It ain't fair for Ponybot to have to stay up in that church with Darry and Soda worryin' about him all the time. I don't guess..." Johnny swallowed before continueing "I don't guess my parents are worried about me or anything?"
"The boys are worried," Tia spoke up "Two-Bit was going to Texas to hunt for you."
"My parents, did they ask about me?" Johnny repeated.
"No." Dally snapped "They didn't, Blast it Johnny, what do they matter? Shoot, my old man don't give a hang whether I'm in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in the gutter. That don't bother me."
Johnny didn't say anything, he just starred at the back of the drivers seat. Dally cursed under his breath and nearly tore out the tranmission of the T-bird as they roared out of the Dairy Queen.
"Blast it, Johnny," Dally growled "why didn't you think of turning yourselves in five days ago? It would have saved a lot of trouble."
"I was scared." Johnny said in a small voice "I still am. I guess we ruined our hair for nothing, Ponyboy."
"I guess so." Ponyboy replied.
Pony was watching Dally closely, who was scowling and his eyes blazing. He knew better then to say anything to him when Dally was in one of his moods. Dally wasn't the type to keep quiet when someone rubbed him the wrong way. As they drove Pony remembered an incident that had happened a little while ago.
Tia had gotten home around midnight after getting a drive home from Tim Shepard. Dally, who had been at the house, gave her a good yelling at. He wasn't too fond of Tia being around Tim. She had stood in front of him, looked him in the eye and said.
"Aw Dallas." She always called him Dallas when she was being serious "I am not about to climb into the backseat with Shepard. I ain't like most of the sluts that you and Shepard pick up for a one night stand."
Pony remembered the way Dally's eyes blazed when she said that. What had shocked him even more was when Dally smacked her broad side of the head. Even more surprised was when Tia just rolled her eyes and hit him right back. Pony knew from experience that Dally could hit hard, real hard. They probably would have beat each other senseless if Darry, Steve and Soda hadn't seperated them. Yet the next day they acted like noting had happened.
"Johnny." Dally said breaking Pony out of his thoughts, his voice sounded like nothing he had ever heard before "Johnny, I ain't mad at you. I don't want you to get hurt. You don't know what a few months in jail can do to you."
That was when something finally hit Ponyboy. He had always thought of Dally as being a different breed. Dally was tough, cold and mean. Tia was just like him. They acted a like, even the way they looked resembled. They had the same cold eyes. Pony knew that Tia had a few a overnighters in jail and that she had spend 5 months in there for getting pulled over for underaged drinking and driving. The only difference between them was that Tia would lash out at someone verbally before getting physical. Either way, she knew how to hurt someone.
"You get hardened in jail. I don't want that to happen to you. Like it happened to me..." Dally said risking a glance at Tia who was gazing out the window.
Pony suddently felt sad for Dally and Tia. Dally in jail at age ten...Dally growing up on the streets. Tia being beaten by her father...used by her brother.
"Would you rather have me living in hide-outs for the rest of my life, always on the run?" Johnny asked, dead serious.
They conversation was interupted by Dally slamming on the brakes.
"Oh glory." Dally whispered "The churh is on fire."
"Let's go see what the deal is." Pony said getting out of the car.
"What for?" Dally asked sounding irritated. "Get back in here before I beat your head in."
Pony ignored him and Johnny got out of the car too. Tia glanced at Dally and shrugged before getting out of the car too.
"Blast it, not you too!" Dally yelled.
"What's going on?" Pony asked one of the adults standing there.
"Well, we dont' know for sure. We were having a school picnic up here and the first thing we knew, the place is burning up. Thank goodness this is a wet season and the old thing is worthless anyway." He explained. "Stand back, children. The firemen will be comming soon."
"I bet we started it, We must have dropped a lighted cigarette or something." Johnny told Pony quietly.
"Jerry, some of the kids are missing." A lady said, running up.
"They're probably around here somewhere. You can't tell with all this excitement where they might be." Jerry responded.
Everyone froze when a faint yell came from inside the church.
"I told them not to play in the church...I told them." The woman said, turning pale white.
"I'll get them, don't worry." Pony said and started at a dead run towards the church.
Pony threw a big rock through a window and pulled himself in.
"Hey Ponyboy." Johnny said from behind him.
"Is the guy coming?" Pony asked.
"Yeah I think so." Johnny said peering out the window "Nope, its Tia. The man can't fit through."
Tia pulled herself through the window and grinned at the two boys.
"Just a bit toasty in here." She said.
"Just a bit." Johnny responded laughing "Where's the kids?"
"In the back, I guess." Pony responded.
They stumbled through the church, heading towards the back. They pushed the door open to the back room and four four of five little kids huddled in the corner. Once was screaming his head off.
"Shut up! We're goin' to get you out!" Johnny yelled.
Johnny voice was firm, he was acting like his old self. He pushed out the nearest window and tossed the first kid out. Pony picked up a kid (who bit him), leaned out the window and dropped him as gently as possible. He caught sight of Dally standing out there yelling.
"For Pete's sake, get outta there! That roof's gonna cave in any minute. Forget those blaster kids."
Pony ignored him and took the next kid Tia handed him, and dropped him out the window. He began coughing so hard, he could barely stand up. Once they got the last of the kids out, Johnny shoved Pony towards the window.
"Get out!" He yelled to be heard over the fire.
Pony leaped out the window and heard timber crashing, the flames roaring right behind him. He staggered on the ground, almost falling. He was coughing and gasping, trying to get fresh air into his lungs. Dally was behind him in a second and clubbed him across the back, trying to put the fire out on his jacket. He hit him a bit too hard. Pony fell to the ground like a dead weight, least the fire on his jacket was out. Dally froze when he heard a yell come from inside the church.
"Johnny!" It was Tia's voice "Watch out!"
Johnny fell out of the window and landed with a loud thump on the ground.
"You okay kid?" Dally asked quickly, kneeling next to Johnny.
"The roof fell in." Johnny said, coughing for the smoke.
The window Johnny had just passed through, was engulped in flames. Tia was still in there...