Chapter fifteen

Casey's body jolted backwards from the impact of the bullet. The phone receiver fell to the floor bouncing as it landed. I closed my eyes fearing the worst and heard a second,

BANG!

I felt Casey's body impact against mine, forcing my eyes to open. She laid in my lap, bleeding and gasping for air. Momentarily I heard the echo of the operator's voice… "hello? Is everything ok?"

Then Mary Lynn let out a second scream in terror. Duke commanded her to shut up and when she didn't he began to batter her with the butt end of the revolver forcing a third shot to let loose into the ceiling, BANG!

The gang laid in a pile in the mud as the first shot went off. They looked at each other for a moment trying to decide if it was a car backfiring. The noise quickly repeated itself and the young men scrambled to their feet.

"Darry?" Ponyboy asked our brother for confirmation.

"Yeah," Darry stood tall as he prepared to protect the entire gang if need be. "Those were gunshots alright."

The air filled with a terrified scream. Ponyboy's ears perked up. "See that's what I heard before."

"Well let's not stand here," Steve toughened up. "Let's go check it out."

Another shot rang through the air and Darry reached out and grabbed Steve by the arm. "Slow down. Don't go rushing into anything you can't handle. Let's all go together, but watch yourselves…ya hear me?"

Ponyboy and Johnny exchanged worried glances and Two-Bit put a comforting hand on Johnny's shoulder. As they moved through the vacant lot towards Johnny's house everyone in the gang worried that Johnny's parents had come to their final fight.

I reached down into my lap and held my bloody friend close to me. Her body trembled, worse than mine, as I feared for my own life. I held Casey close and watched as Duke beat Mary Lynn into unconsciousness removing her screams from the air. Without mercy he let her limp bloody body collapse to the floor. Eyeing me as a witness he took two drunken steps backwards.

I could feel he was trying to determine who I was and if I posed a threat. I looked up at him and tried to plead for my life but all I could produce were a few squeaky whispered words. "Please… don't kill me…"

From outside the house a strange man's voice filled the air. "Hey? What's going on in there?"

Duke stumbled over to the living room window to peer out and for a few seconds I couldn't see him and he couldn't see me. I heard an elderly lady's voice threaten to call the cops and Duke Dobbins stumbled back to the middle of the living room, his vision darting back and forth between the front door and the swinging door that lead to the kitchen. He was contemplating an escape route.

I kept my head low as Casey started to grab at my arms that were holding her and she kicked her feet in pain. One kick knocked the hair dryer to it's side and I became aware that it was still running and I noticed the phone receiver on the floor. The operator was still listening.

"You never heard anything, you never saw anything." Duke said as he stood in the middle of the room and looked down at me.

I tried to answer him through my intense fear. "Never … saw …."

"Damn straight you didn't." Duke smiled causing his mustache to lift. He raised his hand up revealing the gun. I couldn't take my stare from the darkness of the barrel. Duke pulled back the hammer on the gun. I closed my eye's tight, and shook. In the distance the sound of an approaching squad car caused Duke to curse out loud and flounder in his decision. I opened my eyes to see him pace nervously then he reeled around toward me and pointed the barrel of the gun in my direction,

BANG!

The sound of the shot directed the gang's attention away from Johnny's house and down the street towards Casey's house. Quickly Darry, Two-Bit and Dally took the lead forcing Soda, Steve, Pony and Johnny behind them. Together they stepped off the grass of the vacant lot and into the street. The sound of multiple squad cars approaching filled the air as the boys slowly moved as a group, careful not to walk into the crossfire of someone else's dispute.

I jumped and winced as the bullet whizzed past my ear and dug itself a hole in the plaster wall behind me. Silently I prayed in my head. I told the Lord I didn't want to die, I was sorry for my sins, especially the one that hurt my brother the most.

"Son of a bitch!" Duke yelled realizing he had missed me with his shot and the squad cars were now too close for comfort. He looked at the bloody scene in the room and backed up to the front door, raised the gun in haste one final time and let a shot off in my direction,

BANG!

I winced at the sound, but felt nothing. My body was filled with adrenaline caused by the flight or fight syndrome, but I did neither. Instead I watched as Duke bolted from the house.

The moment Duke was gone I looked down at my friend, her skin color pale, her eyes shut. I shook her and put my cheek close to her mouth. She was still breathing, slightly. My attention wandered to the woman who laid motionless only a few feet from me. "Mary Lynn?" I cried out loud. "Oh dear God please help us." Then I squeezed Casey's body tight against me and sobbed. I didn't know if Duke was returning and fear had crippled my ability to move.

The gang noticed police cars racing up the street towards them. From a block away Darry was the first to see the cowboy fleeing from Casey's house. My brother pointed the man out as he dove into the black car the boys had seen earlier and peeled away from the curb nearly missing the squad cars as they arrived outside the house. Darry's heart began to thump as he muttered. "Oh Lord…Scout!"

Hearing footsteps on the front porch I held my breath expecting Duke to return to the scene. Hoping to fool him I closed my eyes and rested my head back against the wall to play dead. The sound of the footsteps began to multiply and I opened one eye to find the living room quickly flooded with lawmen. "Hey Smitty! One man yelled. "We're gonna need those ambulances!" Then he fell to Mary Lynn's side and begged her to speak to him.

"We got two more over here!" A second officer yelled out and came to me. "Are you ok?" I shook my head yes because I couldn't speak. He reached down to feel for Casey's pulse. All I could do was watch and try to read his face for any sign that my friend would be all right. He made eye contact with me. "Did you see what happened?"

I blinked and tried to comprehend the stupidity of his question. I was sitting on the floor, holding my dying friend with a bullet hole in the wall two inches from my head and he wanted to know if I saw what happened?

"Do you know who did this?" He sternly asked again as he took Casey from my lap and laid her body on the floor.

I could barely speak. "Duke Dobbins….. her father." The officer had a look of disbelief fall across his face. He stood up and met a tall, calm man in the middle of the room who seemed to be taking notes about the scene. Suddenly the home became more crowded as paramedics raced into the house. Rapidly the room was filled with organized chaos. I stayed trapped in the corner, watching.

Darry and the boys ran to Casey's home, but were stopped by patrolmen. "Whoa. Where do you think you are going? You can't go in there."

"But our sister is in there." Soda yelled and tried to push past one of the officers. Darry and Ponyboy grabbed their brother's arm and pulled him back. Both of them knew they wouldn't find anything out if they didn't cooperate.

Darry stepped up to the young officer. "Sir, you gotta let me see if she is ok. We heard the gun shots an all…"

"I can't let you go in there." The officer stood his ground. "This whole area is going to be roped off as a crime scene, but I will need you to tell me what you heard or saw." The rookie reached for his notepad and pen.

An older, taller officer approached the crowd of young men as he roped off the scene. "Now ya'll are going to have to back up some." He tried to move Darry backwards.

"No sir, my little sister is in that house." Darry swallowed hard and showed little emotion in front of everyone. "We gotta know if she's alright."

The officer studied Darry's face as if he knew him from somewhere. "What's your sister's name?"

"Scout Marie Curtis." Darry answered and nervously rubbed his sweaty palms on his muddy jeans.

"Curtis?" The officer asked and pointed to our house. "The Curtis family that lives next door there." Now it was Darry's turn to wonder who the officer was. The older man noticed Darry's confusion. "I'm Officer Rosen…I was at your home to tell you about your parents this past winter." Darry shook his head 'yes' as he began to vaguely recognize the man. Officer Rosen looked up at the commotion inside Casey's house. "Are you the brother with custody?"

"Yes Sir."

"Ok, wait here and let me get some information for you." The officer finished roping off the scene and walked away, truly saddened by the thought of our family suffering another tragedy.

Darry didn't move an inch as the young officer began to ask the boys what they had heard and seen. The gang slowly crept up to Darry's side and answered the questions until the first stretcher left the house on it's way to the ambulance. Immediately the boys noticed Mary Lynn's body, still and bloody. Sodapop let out a yelp, fearing the worst. Ponyboy began to shake so Johnny threw his arm around him. They watched as the stretcher was shoved into the ambulance and the car pulled away, sirens screaming.

I had noticed Mary Lynn didn't respond as the paramedics wheeled her out the front door. I couldn't help convincing myself that she was dead. I didn't want to think about what life would be like for Casey without her mom. I knew how hard that was for a girl. As soon as there was room for a second stretcher the paramedics carefully pulled Casey's body from the floor. I watched as they placed Casey onto the gurney and rushed out the door. Her situation was urgent.

With the seriously wounded out of the way a young red headed paramedic came to my side. "Ok now it's your turn."

I looked into his green eyes. "My turn?"

"Yeah." He smiled softly. "You have a pretty bad cut here on your neck."

Surprised, I put my hand up to my neck and felt warm blood oozing out of the long gash that ran along the bottom of my skull. "I … I didn't even know."

"Don't you worry about it none, ok." The young man grabbed both of my shoulders for my attention. "The important thing is you are alright."

I thought about how lucky I was that the bullet had only grazed my neck. My head became filled with the realization that a half an inch closer and I would have been dead for sure. I thought about the other bullets and Casey. Was she going to be lucky too? "What about…" I swallowed hard trying not to cry. "my friend …" I couldn't say another word.

"Don't you worry, the docs at the hospital are going to do their best for them." The man's words were slightly comforting.

As Officer Rosen entered the house the boys noticed a second stretcher leave quickly out the front door. Two-Bit jogged along the rope line to the back of the ambulance. Casey was wheeled across the sidewalk and into the street. Two-Bit called out. "Casey? Casey?" She didn't answer, she didn't move. The rest of the boys crowded the back of the ambulance as the paramedics lifted Casey inside.

"Is she going to be ok?" Two-Bit grabbed the medic's arm. "What happened?"

The medic pulled loose, "I gotta get her to the hospital buddy, that's all I know." With out further explanation the man jumped into the back of the emergency wagon and pulled the door shut. In an instant the ambulance rolled away, sirens whaling.

Inside the red headed man finished wrapping the wound on my neck as a oddly familiar face knelt down in front of me. "Scout? I'm Officer Rosen."

I spoke softly. "I remember you."

The officer smiled, knowing that he and I had only met on unpleasant terms. "Your brother's are outside, they just wanted to know if you were alright."

My brothers, I hadn't even thought of them until that moment. Knowing they were there I now wanted only one thing, to go to them. I stood up on my shaky knees and tried to walk. My body was still shaking more than I had realized and my stomach began to cringe and cramp.

"Hold on there little lady." The paramedic smiled again. "I don't think you should be up and walking before the hospital doctors had time to check you out." I knew he was right, but I didn't want to wait to see my family. I yearned to be home where I figured I would be safe. I took a few more steps and stumbled to the floor.

"Hey, hey hey!" The quiet note taker from the middle of the room yelled out. "Where is she going?"

Officer Rosen looked over at the other officer. "Captain, her family is outside and she wants to let them know she is ok."

The quiet man was Captain Bradley and he furrowed his brow. "Rosen I got one eye witness three victims and a fugitive. I need to get the story from her while it's fresh in her head…" The man paused in his decision to point out a few key pieces of evidence to the photographer who had arrived on scene. "… I need to get a description of the man and to know what happened, she isn't going anywhere."

His harsh words made me feel as trapped as Duke's actions. I wanted out of the house. I wanted to be away from the images that were replaying in my mind and the smell of blood from the carpet. Hot tears filled my trembling body as I stood up and tried to steady myself. "I'll tell you what you need to know, but first I want to tell my brother's I'm ok."

Without knowing better the Captain snapped. "You aren't going out there to see your brothers. I'll send Officer Rosen to get your mom and dad, they can come and be with you."

A frown pulled my lips down as the words mom and dad pierced my heart. Before I could muster up any sort of response Officer Rosen stepped close. "Uh Sir… her parents were killed in an auto wreck months ago. Her brothers take care of her now."

Realizing his error the man cleared his throat, changed his tone and frowned back at me. "Listen, I don't mean to sound cruel, but if you go out there chances are you are going to forget a lot of important details that we need. The best time to talk to you is now."

"Captain, I don't mean to interrupt…" The red headed paramedic had a hold of my arm in case I should fall or faint. "She's got a really deep gash in her neck that is gonna need stitches, as soon as the next ambulance arrives she needs to go." The sound of approaching sirens filled the air and the captain and I knew we weren't going to get what we wanted.

The captain rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand before speaking. "Officer Rosen, you ride with her in the ambulance and get her story. I'll call the station and have a sketch artist meet you in the ER. Tell the docs I don't want her released until I have a chance to check in with you. Understood?"

"Yeah," Rosen answered, "I got it."

A final gurney was wheeled through the front door and stopped in the entryway. The two new paramedics on the scene helped me to lay down and received a status report from the red head about my condition. The young paramedic wished me well and watched as I was rolled out the front door. The world looked funny from the angle of looking directly up and my stomach took a second uneasy turn. To keep from vomiting I pressed my eyes shut tight and felt as if I had a severe case of motion sickness.

Everyone in the gang watched the front door waiting for the next victim to come out. As the gurney was carried down the stairs each of the boys held their breath. Ponyboy looked up to Darry to determine if the scene was good news or bad news. Two-Bit muttered "Oh lordy" signaling to the boys that things did not look good.

The exasperation from Two-Bit pushed Sodapop over the edge and he acted on impulse. Without warning Sodapop darted under the rope and through the cars to be by my side. "Scout!" He yelled with a squeal in his voice as he noticed my blood soaked clothing. "Scout you gotta be alright." His journey to my side was cut short by an officer who was hell bent on holding him back.

I opened my eyes and was blinded by the early afternoon sunlight. I looked in the direction of the voice. "Soda?" My vision cleared and I noticed his caring eyes even on his fearful face. "So! I'm ok So." I reached out my hand as my brother pushed past the policeman.

Soda walked along side of me as the paramedics kept the gurney rolling. "Are you ok Sis? Are you hurt?"

"I'm ok Soda." I cried out through my tears.

Suddenly Darry and Ponyboy appeared over Soda's shoulder and by his side. Ponyboy begged for answers. "What's going on Soda? Is she shot? Scout did you get shot? Is she going to be ok?"

"I'm ok Pony…" I said weakly then my conversation with him was cut short when the paramedics loaded the gurney and me into the back of the ambulance. I tried to will my body to escape from the hearse looking vehicle, but I couldn't find the strength to move

Officer Rosen looked to Darry, "you can come with us." Without hesitation my oldest brother followed the policeman into the ambulance and yelled for Sodapop and Ponyboy to meet him at the hospital. The rear door slammed shut and the sirens began to scream for a third and final time.