CHAPTER 8
THE BEGINING OF A NIGHTMARE
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE OUTSIDERS. I DO HOWEVER OWN THE GARDEN OF MISERY, EDEN, HER PARENTS, THIS STORY, AND THE PLOT TO IT.
PONY'S POV
It was about two hours after Eden had left that I heard the front door open and close. Darry and Soda must have been waiting for it like me becuase we were all out in the living room in a flash. I looked from the blood on her face, to her ripped cloths and tangled hair.
"Oh my god." I said.
None of us moved, we stared at Eden. She looked wobbly, but determined.
"I want a rumble. Those bastards are not getting away with what they did to me!" Eden spat out.
But before she could say anything else, she passed out cold. Luckily I was close enough to rush forward and catch her before she hit the ground. She was bloody and bruised, but the one thing that me and the guys took notice of, were her ripped cloths. Darry grabbed the chair cover and drapped it across her.
"We need to get her to a doctor." I said shakily.
"Pony, this late at night-" Darry tried.
"She needs to get to a hospital then! We know what they did and we need to make sure she's okay!" I yelled.
I guess Darry knew I was right, he didn't yell, or even look angry at the fact that I was yelling at him. He just nodded his head and headed for the truck. Soda helped me get Eden into the car. The ride there was silent. But things did not get easier once we got there.
"We need a doctor now. She's been hurt real bad." Darry told the nurse at the reception desk in the ER.
She looked over the counter and at Eden, who I was currently holding since she wieghed next to nothing. She scanned over Eden's bloody and bruised body, and over the torn clothing. But thats where the trouble started. Her cloths. They were a dead give away that she was a greaser girl. The nurse cocked an eyebrow and made a face as if to say, the-little-slut-got-what-was-coming-to-her.
"You need to fill these out and have a seat. I'll call you when the doctors ready." She said handing us a clipboard.
"No, you don't understand, she's got no identfication, I don't know her social security number or any of that. She needs the doctor." Darry said calmly.
"Without information on the patient she can't be treated." The nusre said pursing her lips as if trying to hold back a grin.
I was about to hand Eden to Soda, but he did exactly what I was thinking. He walked up to the desk and slammed his hands down hard.
"Listen to me and listen real good now girly. My friend here is in serious need of medical attention! So you can either get us a doctor or I can get some of my girly friends up here and make you get one!" Soda yelled through grit teeth.
That did the trick. She had a doctor out in no time. But I wasn't leaving Eden alone. The guy said he understood and it was alright. So long as I sat behind the screen when he examined her, I was gonna do that anyways, i'm not a perv. After about twenty minutes the doctor pushed the screen aside.
"She's lucky this one. Could have been much worse. I've stitched her up, cleaned her up, and have no fear son. Your girlfirend will be checked again in a week to make sure she won't be getting any visits from the stork, of coarse it will be her decision to make depending on the test results. She's got a mild concusion and a fractured bone in her hand. But we'll set it back and put a cast on it. She'll be fine." The doctor told me.
I blushed when he called her my girlfriend. But didn't bother to correct him. Otherwise I might get thrown out of here.
"So she's gonna be just fine?" I asked.
"Well, physically yes. Mentally and emotionally. I can't answer that. Some women bottle it up inside when this happens to them, some let it out in anger, and some, well, some end up going to Boulder avenue." The doctor said.
Boulder avenue was where the mental institution was. It was an assylum for the insane of all kind. I hoped Eden wouldn't end up there. She's strong, she'll get through it.
As soon as we got Eden home there was one question left. Where to put her for sleep. Should we put her in her room, or should she sleep with one of us or on the couch with one of us in the room. We never did get past that though.
"What the hell happened to me?" Eden asked quietly.
She had woken up and seen bandaging all over her body.
"Your alright now. You passed out when you got here, so we took you to the hospital. They fixed you up good hun." Soda smiled sadly.
"Seems like it don't it?" Eden asked dryly.
"Do you remember what happened?" Darry asked.
"Just that I gotta fight that guy in the rumble. He beat me so hard I was knocked out. The guy from the diner." Eden said.
Well that was good. She didn't remember all that had happened.
EDEN'S POV
I wasn't about to worry the guys telling them i'd been violated. They didn't need to know that. Alls' they needed to know was the guys who did this needed to be taught a good damn lesson.
"If you want you can sleep in our room with us for tonight." Pony offered as he set me on my feet.
Just the thought of another person touching me right now made me feel sick. I actually bent over for a second with my hand over my mouth then ran to the bathroom and got sick. Those bastards would pay for this. I would not be turned into a weak little child from this.
"Are you alright?" Soda asked from the doorway.
"Fine, just not feeling well. Probably got a bug or something." I said.
I was about to stand up when I started getting sick again. Soda came up and held my hair for me right as I finished getting sick. I whiped his hand away and turned so my back was against the wall.
"DON'T...touch me. Just don't." I said.
I got wierd looks from everyone, so I stood up and went to my room, shut the door and layed there. I listened while everyone went to bed. One by one. It must have been at least an hour or two before they all went to bed. Then I couldn't hold it any longer. I cried. It was so hard to be quite about it. I hadn't cried in a while, yet that one time and now little things are setting me off. Well, I guess this ain't so little.
I pulled my pillow to my face to try to muffle the sound, it worked, but I guess not well enough, I had let my guard down. I felt someone sitting next to me rubbing my back. At first I stifened up, but then realized in this house I had no one to be afriad of.
"I didn't know you'd be this upset that I lied to you." I heard Dally's voice.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, my tears instantly drying up.
"Well, I wanted to surprise you. I really had that hearing today, I'm a free man now. I didn't know you'd get that upset over it Garden." Dally smiled.
I couldn't help it. That old nickname. Garden, I lied when I said only he called me lunar. Everyone called me lunar in New York. But only and I mean ONLY Dally called me Garden. So...I bawled like a damn baby.
"Garden, whats wrong?" Dally asked.
"Nothing. You just scared me is all. I was really worried." I lied.
I couldn't tell him what happened, I just couldn't. I just got him back, if I told him what happened he'd end up right back in jail. And I couldn't have that on my shoulders. If I lost him again i'd lose it. Dally knew I was lieing and I knew it. But I knew he wasn't going to push the subject either because he saw how upset I was. After a few minutes i'd calmed down enough and Dally changed the subject.
"You know Garden, I think I like you living here. I come here all the time anyways. And this way i'll know your safe. At least until I can get a place of my own." Dally said.
"Then what?" I asked.
"What do you mean then what? Your live with me. Thats what the plan was originally remember?" Dally laughed.
"You mean it? I can stay with you?" I asked.
"Stay with me? No. But you can come home with me." Dally said.
I knew he meant it. It would be a home. My first home, and i'd never want to leave it.
"You know, I think Ponyboy might like you a little bit." Dally said suddenly.
"Why do you say that?" I asked seriously curious.
"Well, lets just say i've been here a little while, and i've had a talk with him." Dally said.
"Yeah, but he's just a kid." I said.
"You should give him a chance Garden. It wouldn't be a bad thing for you." Dally said seriously.
I thought about it for a moment. There seemed to be something about the way he said it, like he really did but didn't mean it at the same time. but who was I to argue? I guess he was right. He'd never steered me wrong yet.
"Alright. But only if he's got the guts to tell me about it." I smiled.
"Alright then. By the way, the rumbles set for next week. I know you were jumped doll." Dally said.
"Oh?" I asked.
"Yeah, no one tramples over my Garden and gets away with." Dally smiled.
Good, he only knew that much. If he knew more he;d have said, 'no one tramples my garden destroying a prized flower and gets away with it.' But I had the feeling he knew the whole thing, but didn't want to upset me. That must have been what it was in his voice.
"Now get some sleep kid. You need your rest." Dally said ruffling my hair and walking out of my room.
"I'll be on the couch if you need me alright?" He asked.
"Alright. Thanks Dally." I smiled.
Great, now I have to find a way to deal with Ponyboy. If he does have the guts to say anything i'm gonna need a plan. I'm gonna make him work for a date. For right now though, i'm too tired to think anymore, and too sore to move. So it's off to sleep. I once again let my world go black.
For the next few days Dally stayed at the Curtis house with me, just to make sure I was alright. And to keep me company when no one was home. We caught up on the years we'd missed each other. Told tales of great fights and cons, shared the true life nightmares of what had happened to us, and talked about the dark times. It was great to have him back.
What I wasn't likeing was everyone now treated me as if I were made of glass. I wasn't allowed to so much as get up form the damned couch without someone helping me stand. I argued about it at first. But then decided, I ain't gonna get anywhere with Dally calling the shots. Pony did try to talk to me a few times during the week about his feelings towards me, but he'd only manage to get out,
"Eden, I really wanna talk to you about...about...nevermind. I'll tell you later"
He was getting there, but not quite. At least he showed he had some guts. Hell he must have guts for likeing me.
Finally the day was here, I'd been doing ten times better, gone to the doctors myself though. I didn't want anyone coming with me. And thank whatever higher power was out there, I wasn't pregnant. So of coarse, we had a party to celebrate not only my not being knocked up, and being healthy again, it was to celebrate or pre-victory. Those socs wouldn't have a chance in hell. I was having a good time when out of nowhere I heard a famiiar voice.
General POV
"Holy shit fella's, look who it is." Tim laughed pointing to Dally.
"Hey man? How's it been?" Dally laughed shaking Tim's hand.
"Good, didn't know you were out, thats a plus. So, I never got around to asking on account of so low rates in rumbles, we agreed to this just for the sake of a fight. But why we fighting tonight anyways?" Tim asked.
"Oh yeah, you guy's haven't heard have ya'?" Dally smiled.
Just at the moment Eden walked into the room from the kitchen and Tim saw her right off the bat.
"Well well well, look what the cat done dragged in." Tim called out.
"Got a problem with me Shepard?" Eden asked sarcastically with a grin on her face as she walked to stand next to Dally.
"Yea, As a matter of fact I do." Tim replied.
"Oh? And what would that be?" Eden asked.
"You haven't been in touch for years." Tim laughed.
Eden walked over and hugged all of Tim's gang. Most of our gang was just confused at this sight. Tim hug anyone? No way. But here he was hugging Eden of all people. And for the love of all hell she hugged him back. Dally sat there smiling like it was nothing, like he'd seen it before.
"I missed you boy's so much. Curly, I ever hear that your ass goes in the cooler again without me and i'll skin your hide." Eden laughed.
"So how you been Eclipse?" Tim asked.
"Good. The Curtis brothers took me in. Besides getting jumped last week, which by the way is why we're fighint, i'm alright. You?" Eden asked.
"Not bad, not bad." Time answered.
"Who the fuck is Eclipse?" Steve asked for all of us.
Tim looked at everyone kind of confused. Eden cleared it up for them.
"I am. Dally calls me Lunar, but my street name is Eclipse." Eden said.
"You got a street name?" Soda asked.
"Well yeah. I practically lived there didn't I?" Eden laughed, and so did Dally and Tim's whole gang.
None of us got the joke. But then we were told that a couple years or so ago, Tim and Curly took a trip to new york for about a year. Thats where they recruited thier gang. They met up with Dally who intorduced them to Eden. Once she proved to the gang that she was tuff, by taking down a guy twice her size, they started respecting her. She would clean them up after brawls and take care of them altogether. So she was sort of like a den mother to them. They knew Dally called her Lunar becuase of her eyes, but then Curly gave her her street name, eclipse, cause he had seen her when she was really mad once, and her eyes had seemed to glow. So at fisrt they tried calling her lunar eclipse, but she wanted the names seperate. So it was Lunar, for Dally and everone else in new york, but Eclipse when she was walking the streets or in a fight or con.
After that most of the gang decided to sit on the front porch. Both gangs fighting with each other for practice. Eden was in her room and Pony decided it was now or never. He knocked on the door and she opened it for him.
"Can I talk to you for a sec?" Pony asked.
"Talk." Eden replied letting Pony in.
PONY'S POV
There wasn't really any space in here. It was an old closet after all. So I decided to sit at the foot of the bed by the door.
"What do you wanna talk about?" Eden asked after a minute of silence.
"Umm, This is kinda wierd...but I kinda like you." I said blushing.
Eden looked at Pony as if to say, you-are-way-to-shy.
"I kinda like you to Pony, your an ok kid." Eden answered.
"Well, I mean that...I kinda like you...in a differant way." I said.
"Look Pony. I like you to, but i'm not really the dating kind y'know? I don't like getting close to people." Eden explained.
"Why's that?" Pony asked.
"Becuase...Becuase everyone who gets close to me dies or gets hurt. I don't wanna see that happen to you. It's just a crush, you'll get over it and things will go back to normal." Eden said.
I thought for a moment, as if coming up with a plan.
"I'll make a deal with you." I said.
"What?" Eden asked.
"You don't have to go along with it if you don't want." I said.
"Ok. What is it?" Eden asked.
"Think of something for me to do, anything at all." I said.
Eden thought hard for a moment, and not seeing the harm in making a challange she gave me one.
"You knock down three guys tonight in the rumble." Eden spoke.
"Ok, now if I do that you gotta go on a date with me. Just one and that's it." I said.
"Ok. You got a deal." Eden said shaking my hand on it.
This seemed to brighten my day. Pretty soon though it was time for the rumble. But before we left the house Eden had an announcement to make.
GENERAL POV
"Hey listen up!" Eden called.
Everyone turned to look at her going silent.
"They ain't gonna listen to a girl sweetie watch and learn." Tim said moving Eden out of the way very easily.
"Shut up Tim!" Eden said pushing him away making everyone laugh, including Tim and Eden.
"Ok. Now i'm gonna warn you all. If you don't wanna get hurt, don't hit me in the face. Alot of shit happens by accident, but accident or not, you hit me in the face and you won't like it. Got it?" Eden finished.
All the guys nodded and said yeah. Then Dally decided to take Eden aside.
DALLY'S POV
I pulled Eden inside real quick and let her know the score.
"Hey, look, no offense, but you ain't fighting." I said sternly.
"Excuse me? These are the assholes who did this shit to me! I'm fighting!" Eden said putting an emphasise on me.
"Please? I'll get the guy who did it to you and let you take a couple of hits on him. But I don't want you in that fight. Your hand is still in a fucking cast for christs sake." I said.
Eden watched me for a moment then sighed and shook her head in defeat.
"Fine. But don't tell the other guys alright? Not after my impressive speech." Eden smiled.
"Alright fine. Just stay in the back alright. No fighting." I repeated.
"Yeah yeah, oh, heads up. Your boy finally got the guts to come and talk to me." Eden said.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Yeah. I really don't wanna go through with it. But I told him if he can take down three guys i'll go on one date with him. One. So no getting your damned hopes up. It might go well, it might not. we'll see. You don't get to decide. Just becuase your like a brother to me don't mean you get to call all the shots. Your just a like a brother to me, thats it. Your not my damn maker." Eden said playfully and walked to go with the rest of the guys.
I just sat there for a minute. Feeling angry and upset at myself and Ponyboy all at once.
"Just like a brother, yep, thats me. But at least I can always be near you with no one getting hurt this way." I said to myself.
GENERAL POV
"Is it just me or does this walk seem much longer then all the other times we've walked to the lot?" Soda asked seriously.
"It's like we're on death row or something." Darry voiced.
"You don't know what it's like to walk death row, when a three second walk takes you three hours...that is death row." Eden said walking smoothly past the Curtis gang, and the Shepard gang and into the lot.
Everybody looked at Eden now. Only those who had lived with her since she had killed her parents understood what she was talking about. She had not been put on death row by court or law, but by her paranoia. She had put herself on a death row that would last until she could forget about it and see she was in the right, she went a little overboard, but she was still in the right. She was guilty of all charges, but cleared and proved innocent in a court room. But she knew she was guilty. Everyday to her felt like the last long walk down to that chair that would end her life painfully. She always felt like someone would punish her for what happened one day.
When the socs finally showed up they did the usuall stand up and check out. The leaders went forward to talk to one another, which of course for the socs was Darrys old football buddy, and for the greasers, was Darry.
"No weapons, chains, blades, brass knuckles, none of that." Darry stated.
"Agreed." The guy nodded.
"And just letting you know, as a warning from her," Darry said pointing to Eden who was sitting on a rusty car hood. "If you want to be able to walk away from this...don't hit her in the face." Darry said.
"You got a woman, sorry, a girl fighting for you?" The guy laughed causing the socs to chuckle stupidly.
"She's here for her own reasons. Your boys should know that." Darry said maliciously.
"Whatever. Hear that boys? Greasy girl doesn't want her face ruined anymore then it already is." The guy called to his group and they laughed.
"Nice scar you got there grease girl. Don't want a matching set?" He called to Eden.
Eden, who had been looking at the ground, decided to look up. Once the socs caught a look at her eyes they all jumped a little. Not only were her eys shocking at first glance, but the scar that had formed from thenight we found her, made her look real tuff, and real scary.
"What in the hell?" Was all the leader managed to say.
"Listen to the warnings your given. It's good advice to keep your life." Eden said in a dangerous voice.
Even the greasers were a little shaken with her tone.
DALLY'S POV
I was itchin' for the fight to start now. I'd seen Eden riled up before, and just looking at her now gave me an adrenaline rush from hell. All the anger she had was now fueling me. But I will admit that tone, it wasn't new to me, but it made me remember to keep her the hell out of the fight. I wanted to just jump up and start the fight myself, hell we all did.
But we waited. The first move had to be made by the leaders. Us greasers weren't much for starting fights, but we sure as hell were for finishing them. It happened real fast, Darry's old buddy threw the first punch. It was started. Before I could even move though I felt hot breath on my ear saying,
"Thanks for trying to protect me." Eden's voice whispered but I heard it loud and clear.
Then I watched as her black hair whiped behind her and into the crowd of people already fighting, now I had to try and find her and kick some ass at the same time.
Pony's POV
At first a kid about my size came to me, but I knocked him down real quick. These socs were out of practice. They were easy to take down, but i'm not complaining.
"Two more to go." I shouted to Eden when I saw her not to far away from me.
She had just drop kicked a guy two sizes bigger then her to the ground. He was rolling over trying hard to breathe.
"Really?" She yelled back.
Three more guys came at her. I took down one of them, with a bit of a struggle, and she took down the other two like it was nothing. Hell, she was using the cast on her arm as a weapon. It wasn't technically a weapon of any kind, so she was still fighting fair.
"I've lost count." Eden smiled.
But something wasn't right. Eden wasn't acting like Eden. She was so...deadly. She was taking down guys left and right, we were out numbered. Everyone else was still on thier first guy, some on thier second. It seemed like Eden was taking on the remaining guys.
The fight went on a little longer. I was trying to help Soda and Two-bit with a guy that would not stay down or run. I looked over at Eden to see she had just punched one guy in the side of his face and he fell to the floor. Just as she was turning around the soc that I knew was the one to have raped her came around to her side and aimed a punch, before I could say anything she turned around and he punched her right in the face.
Now when I say everyone, I mean everyone stopped to see what was going to happen, even the socs and the guy that had punched her. As I looked at her I could tell something was definatly wrong now. Eden's eyes looked like that day at the Dingo, and they seemed to be getting brighter.
Eden's POV
The last thing I saw was a fist aimed at my face. I knew it was bound to hit. And sure enough it did. My world went black instantly. But I was still standing. I could see what was going on, but I wasn't inside of my body. I was off to the side, and everything was in freeze. I didn't want this to happen again. This is what happened the night I killed my parents. My dad slapped me and then everything went black. I watched as I killed my parents, but I wasn't me. I was standing in the doorway watching while my body went wild on it's own.
Suddenly I started seeing things, things I didn't want to remember. I saw my mom and dad beating me over and over again, and when they were through, leave me on the floor like it was nothing.
(authors note, anything in italic right now is her memory)
"Just keep your damn mouth shut and you'll get some food this week!" Dad spat out.
So I sat there and let him beat me to hell with the broom, getting all his frustrations out about work. Then everything went dark, and I didn't feel pain anymore.
What the fuck is happening? Why am I remembering this shit? But before I could control it, more waves of them came.
I watched as my dad zipped his pants and walked out of the way.
"I told you she was good for something. You want a go it's twenty bucks." My dad said to a few men in suits and ties. All of them looking at me like I was a piece of meat. I watched them pay, was brought into the pink room upstairs, and one by one, I layed there, while these starnge men had thier way with me. Too weak to fight, and knowing if I did fight, dad would throw me down the stairs again.
I was thrown out into the rain again, I had yelled back at my parents and told mom about the little buisness dad had made out of me. She became so mad, then dad denied it, so she called me a liar and threw me out, with the instructions to not come back.
"Hey Garden, how long you staying for this time?" Dally asked once I got to his house.
I just shrugged, I really felt like crying, but I was always told it was a sign of weakness, and I would not be weak. I'd prove it one day.
Dad had slapped me hard across the face. I had broken out of my closet and was on my way to grab some money and was caught, then suddenly I was watching as my body went wild, while I watched from the doorway. I saw myself stab his chest, then chase my mother slashing her here and there, and finally slashing her throat. I walked over to my dad propped up against the window.
"Don't do it." He begged.
"Now your good for somehting." I smiled wickedly, and just as the blade was above his head, I was suddenly in my body again, but the swing was too much momentum, and I couldn't stop it on time. I stabed my father through the skull, listening to nasty crunch, then watching him go limp.
I watched from the sideline as my body went limp and I put myself in a trance.
"This chick is easy. This is what you get for fucking with me doll." The guy sneered.
I watched, horrfied, as this guy took advantage of me, enjoying every second of what he was doing, his buddies turning thier backs to watch guard. Halfway through he took out a blade and with each thrust he'd cut my body somewhere. Then when he was finished, he leaned close to my lifeless face, "You were great doll, i'll call." He sneered then kissed my moth hard, then I watched as his foot colided with my stomache, and suddenly I was in my own body again, feeling the pain of everything.
I was more then angry, I now felt blind rage and the need to beat someone with my bare hands until they stopped breathing. I watched now, everything still in freeze, and then...I was back in my body, about to face the guy that violated me, and I planed on taking out everything on him, everything bad that had happened to me, I would oin on him, and make him pay for it, all of it. And the first hit would not be with my casted hand, i'd get the lovely feeling of his falling body and broken jaw with my good hand.
DALLY'S POV
I looked at Eden for one second after the guy hit her, I knew it must have been him that raped her. I never told her I had known about that, only becuase I knew it'd upset her even more to know that I knew about it. But I couldn't bring myself to watch this guy get what he deserved.. I looked away. I wasn't able to protect her, and now I would have to try and save her from a huge mistake, and possibly herself.
Pony's POV
Eden went completely insane after that. It was only a second that she stood still. But once her eyes got so bright they looked like a neon sign, she went off. She tackled the guy that had punched her and started to hit him with so much force that he had a bloody nose in one hit. Bruises were already forming right after she hit. Some of the socs ran from us over to her and started to pull her off. We were about to get up and help when she yelled out to us.
"Stay away from her! She wants you to stay away!" She yelled throught the noise.
She was knocking people down with so much force. Kicking and punching, anything she could do. No one could touch her. A blind rage had come over her. I don't think she even realized what she was doing.
"We need to stop her." I said.
We really did. She had gotten back to the guy that raped her, turned him over, sat on his chest, and began to pummel him, each hit now was so hard that blood began to seep out of the pores on his body, mud mingling with his blood and wounds. It was raining heavily now and we all ran over to her and grabbed her. It took both gangs just to hold her so the socs could run away. She was still screaming and trying to fight. Before I could move she punched me right in the face and knocked me over. Then she stopped moving.
Everyone looked at her for a second. Her eyes seemed dazed for a second, and the brightness was fading. Then she blinked a few times and took a step forward. Everyone backed away from her as far as possible. Except for me and Dally, he looked real sad, like truely upset by this, and like he felt sorry for Eden. She looked around then held her head with one hand.
"Hey Dally?" She called out.
"Whats up kid?" Dally asked carfully edging nearer.
"I don't feel so hot." Eden said right before passing out.
Dally didn't hesitate for a second, he ran up and caught her before she could even touch the ground.
Okay peoples, I hope you all like this. Now, I will ask you in this story, which is one chapter away from the finsih, for the next story, the sequel to this, The Valley of Eden, who would you like Eden to hook up with. Make a vote in your review in this chapter and the next chapter I will list two of the majority results, and then give you all the chance to vote for who it will be out of those two. Thanks everyone, and please review, even if it's just for your vote