This is getting crazy isn't it?

Chapter 12: Confessions

Danny and Rachel were pacing the room that they were thrown in.

"This sucks. I want to see my brother!"

"I hope he's okay."

Rachel stared at Danny. He was still quiet. It drove her crazy.

"How can you be so calm during all this! You've been so quiet during these situations. Do you not know what is going on? Do you even care!"

That made Danny stand up. He cared for Houston just as much as she did.

"If I recall, wasn't I the one that stood up for him when he was getting picked on?"

"No. That was the old Danny. The Danny Curtis that was fun to hang out with. The Danny Curtis that was like a leader. But now all I see is a little punk who's scared of everything!"

"You take that back!"

"What? You're going to hit your own cousin. Face it. It's the truth. Houston is braver than you. You made him that way. You're his idol. And you need to start acting like one."

Danny was stunned. It was the truth was she had just said. He was so scared of getting mixed up in things that he didn't think about everyone else. Rachel could see that she was getting to him, so she calmed down.

"What made you so calm all of a sudden?"

Danny just fell against the wall.

"It was that song. "So Gold" by Stevie Wonder. It's a nice song. And it made me realize how bad I had been acting."

"That's that song you were playing on the harmonica."

Danny nodded. Rachel knew that song. She had to correct him.

"Danny that isn't what it's about."

"I know. But it made me realize some stuff."

"But it's not meant to do that. It's just like the poem that my dad memorized. It meant that when you're young, you're gold. The song talks about people like us. The way I see it, is to enjoy life when you're young. Cause you're never get it back."

That was a good way of putting it. Danny never thought of it that way. He smiled.

"Thanks Rachel."

"Hey. You know I'll never go down without a fight. Now let's figure out how we're going to get out of here."

Danny thought for a moment. Then he remembered the room. And that sparked his idea.

"I got it," he pronounced

"What?"

"This is the room that me and Alex slept in. I remember there was a loose vent up there."

"It looks loose. That must be our ticket out of here. All right. Let me get on your shoulders and I'll pull myself up there."

"Why do you get to get on my shoulders?"

"You're the man. You're supposed to have all the strength."

"Whatever."

Rachel climbed on Danny's shoulders.

"Geez you're heavy."

……

"Now they're gone!" yelled Jason.

"Jason. Can you keep up with anyone?" said Wesley.

"Okay. Now we got to search for them."

"We're coming too," said Alex.

"We are?" said Keith.

"They're our friends aren't they?" said Alex. "And I know you want your cousins to be safe."

"I never said I didn't want to go," said Jack.

No one knew, but Alex wanted to find them because he had become attracted to Rachel. Now that he got to know her more, he started to like her more.

"Okay. You can take Wesley's car," said Jason.

"Excuse me," cut in Wesley. "They can take your two cents hot wheels."

"Shut-up. Here are the keys. Let's get going."

Everyone ran down towards the parking lot to start their search party.

…..

Pony, Soda, Steve and Two-Bit carried Trix up to the upper room, and laid him down on the bed. When he hit the mattress, Trix started to groan and finally woke up.

"You okay?" asked Soda softly. It was the same way he talked to Johnny after he had gotten jumped.

"I-I'll live."

This reminded everyone too much of when Trix got attacked by the guy who he beat in a poker game.

"Did the I.B.K. do this?" asked Shepard walking in.

"Yeah," said Two-Bit.

"Okay," stared Tim. "It' enough now. We might have to take action."

"We shouldn't go full charge," said Steve. "We need to make a plan first."

At that moment, Pony's cell phone rang. He flipped it open and answered.

"Hello."

"Hey Pony?"

"Darry!"

Everyone looked at Pony at that moment.

"I tried calling but your phone is disconnected. And I'm at your house right now, and it looks torn down."

"Yeah. The I.B.K. are back. Come to Buck Merril's old place and we'll fill you in. Hurry."