14. Anybody seen my baby?

Pony's POV

I couldn't see Steve and Two-Bit somewhere around.
They probably chased behind the Socs, who were running to their car.
I wasn't sure, if the Socs still would be here, but would be up and away with their car a long time ago, so that Two-Bit and Steve would run behind them in vain.
As I said, everything seemed to pass off in slow motion for me and somehow I hadn't a feeling of time any more.

So it seemed like an eternity to me, until I thought about Claudia again.
And that's probably why she wasn't here any more, because she ran away and got help: my brothers.
But where did she know then from, where I live?

"How y'all actually found me? Has Claudia still made it to get help?" I asked my both brothers surprised.

They glanced at each other strangely and then looked at me the same way.

Darry answered, "Well, we heard ya screamin' and then we were runnin' over here right away. But we neither have seen nor heard from a girl. We only have seen the Socs runnin' away from here. That's why Two-Bit and Steve are after 'em."

I frowned and murmured, "But I haven't screamed at all. I even couldn't move for fear.
The Socs had drawn a blade...
They have cut my arm and one of 'em has hit his elbow against my forehead, that's why I was feelin' a bit dizzy.
But now I'm fine again.
I'm just worryin' 'bout Claudia. The Socs wouldn't get a hold of her and done somethin' to her, would they?"

Without waiting for an answer of my brothers, I tried to get up, what failed since I still felt a bit dizzy.
I swayed a bit and would fall over again, if Darry wouldn't have caught me.

"Hey, hey, take it easy, Pony!" Darry reminded me, when he kept me from falling down.

But I didn't pay much attention to him and Soda, but looked around for Claudia, hoping to see her somewhere around, safe and sound.
But I didn't see her!

"Pony, what's up?" Soda asked me worried.

I explained them that I watched out for Claudia, since she still had to be close by, if the Socs wouldn't have kidnapped her.
I noticed the glance my brothers cast to each other again, but I didn't care about it. I only was interested in this moment, if Claudia was all right and where she was at all.

"Ponyboy, we really haven't seen no girl here. Only ya and the Socs. Nobody else!" Soda tried to convince me.

I was about to reply, when Two-Bit and Steve appeared.

"Hey, kid, ya feelin' better again?" Two-Bit asked and I could sense his concern in his voice.

Steve said nothing.

After I nodded, Two-Bit started to tell, "Golly, Pony, ya must have scared those Socs really to death! They were running, as if the devil would be on their necks! What have ya said or done that they're so funky?"

I looked at him surprised. "What ya mean, Two-Bit? I haven't done anythin' at all..."

"Well, Steve and I have copped these filthy bastards just in time, before they could hop into their super expensive car and drive off.
Of course we asked 'em, what they've done with ya. And there one of 'em murmured quite haggardly somethin' 'bout that they actually would beat ya up, 'cause ya seemed to be a pretty helpless victim to 'em.
But ya would have fought that strong that they had as good as no chance against ya and there he promised spontaneous that they ain't gonna touch ya any more in the future. They would leave ya alone, 'cause ya had insulted 'em so bad and said a few other things he wouldn't tell us any more.
They were even pretty odd, I've to say! Well, just Socs!" And he shrugged.

I have listened to him surprised and replied, "I'm supposed to have done what? This can't be true!
I haven't insulted and attacked 'em. That was Claudia. She had insulted the Socs and attacked the one with the blade to help me.
The Socs also had gotten that!
So why do they assert then that I would have done everythin'?"

"Well, the Socs didn't say nothin' 'bout a girl. They only named ya! You've been alone, that's why the Socs would jump ya." Steve meant and lit a cigarette.

I just didn't understand that!
Why hasn't nobody seen Claudia, let alone heard her?
Above all, the Socs must have seen and also heard her, 'cause the Soc with the switchblade reacted to her words.

But just there it occurred to me that the Soc with the blade only looked at me the whole time when he answered to Claudia's words.
He had never ever looked or spoken in Claudia's direction, only in mine.
He only had looked at me, as if... as if he only would talk with me. As I would have said the words to him, as I would have insulted him, told them the Claudia-truth and attacked him.

As if Claudia wouldn't have existed for the Socs and this wasn't because she was a greaser - a girl for that matter - but because she just wasn't here.

But this just can't be true, I have seen her!, I said to myself again and again.

Suddenly there a soft wind was rising and rustled in a pile of garbage a few steps away from us.
The wind became a bit stronger and blew one of the old newspapers in the pile to us, directly in front of my feet.
I looked down at the already yellowed and crumpled newspaper.

I looked at the page quite uninterested, until I came across a picture, which got my attention right away.
I bent down and picked the newspaper up.
I felt my eyes getting wide, when I stared bewildered at the picture, showing a person - a girl.

"That's... that's impossible! This just can't be true!" I whispered shocked.

"What's wrong?" somebody asked me, I didn't know any more who it was.

I pointed at the picture and the headline to it, which was: Young girl died in a car accident.

Then I read the article below the photo with a trembling voice, "In Broken Arrow, a neighbor town of Tulsa, a girl at the age of 12 was killed by a car crash which happened nearly one year ago.
In addition, the man, who has caused the accident, had got drunk. He hadn't seen the girl, who was crossing a crosswalk, and had hit her.
There the girl was dragged a few feet along, before she lay lifeless at the ground.
An immediately summoned ambulance also couldn't do anything after resuscitations; she just died on the spot.
The causer of the accident was only slightly injured.
Legal proceedings were initiated against him concerning manslaughter through culpable negligence.
The burial of the girl will be on..."

There the report stopped, because the page was ripped.

The girl also died about a year ago, as Johnny did and also on the same day!
Her name was: Claudia Jackson!
Only pure chance?

"How... how can this be? This can't be true, can it? It never could have been the Claudia I've met the last few days! This can't possibly be! But it's definitely Claudia on the photo. I recognize her."

I just couldn't understand this!
Hadn't Claudia been here with me in the end?
Well, anyhow not her body, but only her ghost?
Is such a thing possible at all?

"Come on, Ponyboy, let's go home. Then we can look closer at ya cut and see what we can do to it." Soda said to me and placed an arm around my shoulders, but I didn't really realize it.

I was still too shocked about the unexpected news.
I nodded lost in thoughts and followed my brothers and friends.