I needn't have worried about Pony's nightmares since he woke up at least once every hour, alteratin' between confused and cranky once he remembered where we were. He'd inevitably ask if Darry was here yet and each time it got harder and harder to tell him no. At one point Keith hauled Ponyboy away from me and literally lay down with him stretched out on top of him like a human mattress so I could get some rest but even that didn't last long. Ol' Joe mumbled and farted his way through the night just loud enough to be a disturbance and I had to keep nudging Steve awake since he was snorin' so loud I was worried he'd attract the wrath of Toothpick. Needless to say by the time daylight started comin' through the tiny cell window I was feelin' like death warmed up and my buddies weren't faring much better.
Pony, somewhat ironically, rallied best out of all of us. Once he'd gotten over his aversion to peein' in the bucket he seemed content to sit drawin' pictures and playin' games of tic-tac-toe in the floor dust. I hoped someone might bring us some breakfast since yesterday's dinner felt about three lifetimes ago but no one even checked on us. I kept lookin' up at the window to try and judge what time it was by the position of the sun but I was makin' poor work of it. Maybe 10ish?
It didn't help that I wasn't sure how far Kiefer was from the lodge Darry'd been stayin' at but I figured it was at least three hours away. Two-Bit had found an old bus ticket in his pocket which he'd ripped in to pieces and was keepin' himself amused by flickin' them onto Ol' Joe, cheerin' silently to himself whenever he got a bullseye. I joined in for a bit but somethin' about seein' the old guy covered in little flecks of paper like he'd just come in out of the snow made me feel kinda crumby, so I decided to close my eyes to try and doze for a while instead.
Pony and Steve were half-way through an ill-advised game of Hangman that I knew was gonna end in tears and I was busy wishin' I had my DX hat with me so I could pull it down and block out the world like I did on slow days at work when we heard him. Pones and I both immediately stopped what we were doin' and sat up poker straight as Darry's unmistakable voice carried through the station.
"Darry's here?" Pony breathed, then seemed to answer his own question as he jumped to his feet and ran over to the side of the cell, gripping the bars tight. Steve threw his arms up in frustration as he scuffed over their game, he's a competitive s.o.b and I knew he'd been way more into it that he'd care to admit. "Darry's here!"
"Thank god," Two-Bit muttered, turnin' to look at us. "I think Ol' Joe might not be long for this world. I accidentally hit him in the eye just now and he didn't even react."
Ol' Joe was the least of my concerns and I signalled for Keith to shut up as I strained to hear what my brother was shouting. Darry's been a yeller his whole life and I've watched him struggle with it since our parents' deaths, especially around Ponyboy. To be honest I was surprised my brother had come in all guns blazing since he usually preferred a 'kill 'em with kindness' approach when it came to dealing with anyone official. Although I guess havin' to cut short your first weekend away in god knows how long to bail your kid brothers out of jail didn't exactly inspire a sunny disposition. Maybe we'd get lucky and he'd yell himself out before he got ahold of us?!
"You might as well hold your horses, kid," Steve drawled as Pony continued to peer through the bars like a kid at a candy store. "Your brother's gonna have to fill out a shit-ton of paperwork before they'll even consider lettin' him back here so -"
Before he'd even finished speaking the sound of heavy footsteps came echoing down the corridor, Darry's angry voice boucin' off the walls as he came barrelling round the corner towards us like a man on a mission.
"You got 'em back here, huh? This is where they're at?!"
"Sir? Sir! You can't go back there!" If she hadn't been so snitty with us yesterday I woulda felt bad for the receptionist chick as her voice rose in panic. "Officer Garret! I need your assistance here!"
Kiefer Police Station really ain't that big so Darry spotted us pretty much straight away, stoppin' short right there in the centre of the corridor. I quickly scrambled to my feet and moved to stand next to Pony, brushin' dust off my pants as I did. I really wasn't sure what was gonna happen but I figured it was better not to be slumped on the floor like some bum. No offence to Ol' Joe, of course.
So now Darry had both his kid brothers starin' at him through the bars of a police cell and lordy I've never seen a person's colour change so quick. It was like all the blood drained out of his face as he took in what he was seein', then rushed straight back as his brain caught up so by the time he turned to face Little Miss Reception and Officer Garrett, who I guess had decided to get off his ass and come see what all the commotion was about, he was red as a firetruck. I thought he might start yellin' 'bout as loud as one too but when he finally spoke his voice was the scary kind of quiet I've only heard him use twice in my life and neither is a fond memory.
"Get that kid outta there right this goddamn second. You hear me?! I want him out, right now!" My brother's fists were clenched at his sides like it was takin' everything in him not to hit somethin'.
"They ain't goin' nowhere, tough guy! I got a whole mess of forms for you to sign, then we'll talk about lettin' people out of cells and alike. Why you city folk always gotta be in such a rush, huh?" Officer Garret seemed to be makin' mighty light of the situation and I knew just how well that was gonna go down with Darry.
"Did I say you gotta let 'em all out? No Siree, but I swear if I don't have my little brother standin' next to me in the next five seconds I'm gonna kick up such a stink you'll be standin' in the breadline come Monday! I'll say it again real slow so you understand. Get. The Kid. Outta there. Right now." I swear I felt a shiver run down my spine and Officer Garret took a small step backwards despite himself. He'd clearly made the grave error of underestimating Darry.
"Now hold up just one minute there, son-" He started, puffing up his chest like he could intimidate Darry into backing down. Ha!
"Get him out. NOW!" Our brother cut Garret off with the scariest, awesomest, most window-rattlin' roar you can imagine and boy was I glad he was on our side! Beside me I heard Ponyboy inhale sharply, he's always pretty shocked when someone attempts to stand up to Darry like he half expects Dar will just haul off and pop them like he would him! To his credit, Officer Garret at least pretended like he was weighing up Darry's demand before he caved and did what he was told. I've seen bigger men than him break way sooner when confronted with the full force of my brother's wrath.
"Ok, I'll give you the boy, but the rest of 'em are stayin' behind bars until I get your John Hancock and that is non-negotiable. Elaine, can you get the paperwork started, please, so we can get this gentleman on his way as quickly as possible?" Little Miss Reception nodded and scurried away, lookin' so completely appalled by all that had happened I'd wager we'll never be able to set foot in the town on Kiefer again. Darry just kept his steely gaze on Garret, watchin' as he moved over to our cell and pulled out his keys. We all moved back as he swung the door open, even Ponyboy who must've known Garret's 'c'mere' gesture was for him.
"It's ok, go on over to Darry, kiddo," I urged, givin' him a nudge in the back to encourage him to get goin'. He resisted a moment longer then suddenly darted across and ducked under Garret's arm like he was afraid he'd miss his chance. The door slammed shut behind him but I hardly noticed as I watched my brother dash straight to Darry and practically throw himself against him. Darry, of course, absorbed the hit like a pro and wrapped one strong arm around Pone, rubbing his back and lookin' straight at me as he did so. I knew exactly what his look meant, which was 'you've really screwed the pooch this time, Sodapop, and boy howdy am I gonna make you pay for it'. Unsurprisingly, it was me who looked away first.
I could hardly blame him, even as I watched him crouch down in front of Pony and talk close at him for a second before standing back up and startin' to guide him back down the hallway. Ponyboy looked back just the once but Darry's strong arm across his shoulders kept him steadily movin' away from me and soon enough they were gone around the corner like they'd never been here at all. I had to take a deep, steadying breath before I could turn around and face Two-Bit and Steve, who were both lookin' pretty stunned.
"Well shit, that did not go how I expected it to…" Keith muttered, always the first to break a silence. "You think Superman's just gonna leave us here to rot?"
"Nah, he just wanted to get his precious baby away from us dangerous hoodlums as quick as possible," Steve butted in before I could answer, slouching back against the bars with his hands in his pockets like bein' left behind didn't bother him a jot. I knew better though.
"He probably just wants to let us stew a little while he gets things straightened out with Garret. Don't I always tell you guys Darry doesn't fuck around? He's mighty pissed that's for sure."
"He gonna wallop you and the kid?" Two-Bit asked after a moment, the gravity of our situation finally seeming to dawn on him.
"Worry about yourself, Matthews," Steve bit back, knowin' I wasn't a fan of talking about gettin' my butt blistered even amongst friends.
"Hey man, I'm just tryna get a lay of the land so I can figure out how I'm gonna play this," Keith retorted defensively and I waved my hand at Steve in a 'stand down' kinda gesture. I was too tired to give a shit to be honest.
"Count yourself lucky your last name ain't Curtis, Two-Bit. It's the only thing that might save you." I predicted grimly, knowin' that once Darry started swinging sometimes it didn't matter if you were his problem or not. "I'm toast for sure, I don't know about Ponyboy."
"You gonna snitch on him for the drinkin'?" Steve asked, watchin' me closely. Shit, I'd almost forgotten about that!
"Shoot I don't know. I'd like to keep it between us if I can but you just know Curly freakin' Shepard is gonna be goin' around runnin' his mouth about it and if anything gets back to Darry…" I trailed off, not even wanting to go there. My buddies both nodded in agreement.
"Lordy, sittin' pretty in this cell for the rest of my life suddenly don't seem so bad!" Two-Bit joshed and I kinda felt the same. Much as I was dreadin' Darry's anger, it was the disappointment I'd seen in his eyes that really had me shakin' in my boots. I'm always pretty good at holdin' my hands up and ownin' my mistakes but it was gonna take more than an ass beatin' to fix this screw up. I just had to hope and pray my brother would be willin' to meet me halfway.