I hope everyone's enjoying the story. Thanks for all the reviews and feel free to write me privately if you want to talk more.
All characters are owned by S.E. Hinton. Wishing her (and Ponyboy!) a belated happy birthday.
There's a bit more action in this chapter. Enjoy!
XX
Pony didn't know how much time had passed, but in the next moment, Darry was shaking his shoulder more roughly than he should have been.
"Ow Darry - quit shakin' me -"
Pony looked up at him blearily and gave a start. Darry's icy blue eyes looked scared.
"Pony, we have to hurry up and get home. It's getting bad out there," he said, holding out his hand so that Pony could take it to stand. Darry wasn't paying attention, thoguh, and he hauled Pony up faster than he was ready, making his little brother's head spin.
"Darry -" Pony had to grab hold of his shirt to steady himself. Then he had to take a minute or he would completely lose his balance.
"Guess Soda was right," Pony mumbled under his breath.
"Pony, we have to go," Darry said sternly, not hearing him. Before Pony could understand what was happening, Darry opened the door and a gust of snow blasted them. Pony turned away sharply and Darry took the ski jacket he had been holding in one hand and held it over Pony's head as he pushed him outside.
The snow was moving so fast it was actually hurting their faces. Pony almost thought for a second that Darry would turn right around and go back inside, but Darry's jaw was set with convinction. Pony's stomach was doing somersaults but he prayed nothing would actually come up, as he looked down, his feet sliding in the wet snow. Thank god Darry had insisted he put on his those ugly boots.
If I have to throw up again, where would he do it anyway? Pony thought.
Then, suddenly, they were there in front of the truck. Pony didn't know how it had happened, or how Darry could have even recognized the car from the other snow-covered lumps in the parking lot.
Do all older brothers have X-ray vision? Pony asked himself. Darry sure does. He even knows when I'm about to get in trouble, before I do!
The Ford shook as its engine used all of its power and Pony suddenly remembered that Darry had already been at the truck. Darry opened the door, pushing Pony inside and slinging the puffy jacket backwards over Pony's shivering form. After he closed the door, Pony leaned his head against the cold window pane.
Darry got in on the other side, thankful that the heat was on. He turned the windshield wipers on to clear the window.
He was about to put the car in drive, when Pony turned to him. "I'm sorry, Darry," he slurred.
Darry gave a start. "Sorry! What are YOU sorry for?" he asked.
"For making us go to the doctor in this weather," he said. In other words, he was sorry for being sick.
Darry sighed, "Pony - I think you're confused. It was my idea. You didn't make anyone do anything. You need to get better," he said, ruffling Pony's hair, and frowning when he felt the heat. He rubbed his brother's left arm from the driver's seat.
"Now, let's get going," Darry said as the car lurched forward. "Soda's probably worried sick."
"You forgot to call him," Pony blurted out.
"Yeah...I know… Let's just get home."
Darry pulled the car around slower than normal, inching towards the exit.
As they turned on to the street, the truck stopped suddenly. Pony jumped and felt an ache in his neck. He looked at Darry wearily.
"What happened? Darry, you ok?" he asked. Darry was hunched over the steering wheel, leaning forward and attempting to peer through the windshield.
Darry nodded. "It's just hard to see is all."
They were moving like snails, but finally the truck reached the end of the ramp that led to the highway, and Darry looked over his shoulder. He looked for so long that for a moment Pony opened his eyes and wondered in his haze if they had reached the house already.
"Darry?" he asked.
"I still can't see very well, Pone. The snow is awful thick."
"Ok," Pony answered softly. "Go slow."
Darry finally eased onto the highway. "Would you look at that!" he exclaimed excitedly a few moments later, "Not bad!" Pony opened one eye and peeked through the slit. "The highway is clearer than the other roads were," Darry said. "I think we'll make it."
"Yea, we are survivors," Pony joked, "They shoud send us to the Reader's Digest -"
He stopped short. Which is exactly what the car in front of them did, with no warning. It just stopped. It's brake lights flashed on, but only for a split second before the car stopped moving. On instinct, Darry slammed on the brakes. The tires skidded.
They fishtailed across the highway.
Pony's head throbbed. He was sure they were going to slide the truck into another car. Or another car was going to slide into them. But they didn't. They came to a stop in the left lane.
Pony rubbed at the frost on his window and peered through to try to see why the driver of the other car had slammed on his brakes. But he couldn't make out anything through the snow.
"Pony," Darry looked at him for a second, before quickly turning back to the road, "You doin' ok?"
"Yea," Pony sighed, "That was close, Darry," Then, "My head hurts."
"You didn't hit it right?" he asked absentmindedly. Without waiting for an answer, he blurted out, "That does it. We are getting off the highway. We'll take the back roads home."
Darry considered himself a good driver, but the snow was coming down hard. It was worse than he had imagined.
"Why?" Pony asked meekly. He remembered that they were supposed to stop at the pharmacy and pick up the prescription. He really wanted something to make him feel better, but he didn't want to give his brother anything more to worry about right now.
"Because there are too many drivers on the highway," Darry said, "Too many crazy drivers. There are probably accidents everywhere. I don't want to find ourselves in the middle of a pileup."
Pony frowned. But he knew his brother was right.
Darry began to guide the truck across the highway, back to the right lane.
They passed two fender benders before they reached the exit. "See?" Darry said aloud, though Pony wasn't even sure if he was talking directly to him anymore. "We don't want to end up in one of those situations."
Pony was beginning to feel sick to his stomach again. "Are you sure you know your way from here?" he asked.
"Yup," Darry replied, "Stop worrying, kiddo. I'll get us home safely."
Ponyboy leaned back against the seat, his head pounding. He didn't even notice that Darry almost drove by the next exit ramp. Not that it would have made much difference since he was going so slowly. Eventually, he turned onto it and soon they were traveling through the back roads (or the countryside, one or the other, nobody could really tell.)
"I guess Sodapop was right after all," Darry said out of nowhere. He grinned a rare grin but kept his eyes on the road.
"Don't tell him that, Darry," Ponyboy smirked, "You'll never hear the end of it."
A few minutes of silence passed but as Ponyboy looked out the window, he was starting to get a bad feeling. It also didn't help that the nausea was starting to come back.
"Darry, are you absolutely positive you know the way home from here?" he asked suddenly. "I mean, are you absolutely sure?"
For the first time, Darry gave Pony a look. "We're not lost," he said confidently.
"Well, do you know where we are?" Pony asked tiredly.
"Honey, if I didn't know where we were, then I wouldn't know where to go. Relax, ok?"
Ponyboy turned his head. And that's when he felt the throbbing in the back of his neck. He figured it was just achiness from the fever, but it sure did smart.
He had a bad feeling about this weather. And their situation. And the fact that he was he was starting to feel worse. But he wasn't going to let on. Darry had enough to worry about.
Pony was starting to shake a little bit. It couldn't all be from fever, could it?, he thought. It was probably from nerves too.
Darry didn't look at him, but he felt small vibrations from the seat. "Pony?"he asked. "How you doin', Pone? Maybe you should rest. Close your eyes and try to get some sleep."
"Not feelin' so good," Pony said quietly.
"Not so good, huh?" Darry turned to look at him again then, his eyes worried. But he couldn't look for long, though. Jaw clenched, he turned back to the road.
"This snow is really thick," he said aloud, "It's sticking, too. There are already several inches on the road."
"Do you think it's a blizzard?" Ponyboy asked quietly.
Darry shook his head, but Pony thought he meant "I don't know."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves yet, little buddy."
Ponyboy decided he would trust Darry and let him drive in peace. In any case, his eyes were closing and he was so exhausted, like his the wind had been knocked out of him.
He was almost fully asleep when he suddenly realized that Darry had stopped the car. Waking up with a start, he asked, "What's wrong? What are you doing?"
Darry had stopped on the side of the road. He turned to look at Pony fully, his worried eyes betraying his more controlled voice.
"I think I better wait until the snow has let up a bit," he said. "It's too thick right now. I can't see more than a couple feet in front of me."
Pony looked out the window again. The wind was howling but the road was completely empty. There hadn't been a single car, truck, or pedestrian on the road since they had left the highway.
The truck was high enough that the snow didn't reach its bed, but Darry left the headlights on and the heater, too, for Pony's sake. Pony was grateful. He would have turned into an icicle without it.
Since he had stopped the car, Darry edged over a bit and put the back of his hand on Pony's forehead, and then his cheek. He visibly winced. "Jesus, Pony, you're still burning up. Shoot, kiddo, this is not good at all."
Pony opened one eye to look at him, "You're telling me," he said hoarsely, "We were supposed to stop at the pharmacy so I could get meds weren't we? Now we're not even doing that."
Darry opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then quickly closed it again. He didn't know what to say. After a few moments of silence he said, "We'll start moving as soon as the snow lets up a bit. I'm sure we can stop there on our way h-"
"It's probably not even going to be open at this rate," Pony interrupted, bitterly. He wasn't one to interrupt Darry, but he was annoyed. Nobody could really understand how bad he actually felt.
Darry didn't apologize, but did move his hand to rub the back of Pony's head softly. It was like saying sorry in his own way.
Pony crossed his arms over his chest, but the bitterness had left him at that point. There was nothing Darry could do at the point. Man, he was tired.
"What's Soda gonna say?" Pony said, not realizing he had spoken out loud.
"You let me worry about that, alright kiddo?"
A few more moments of silence and then "Darry, are you sure it's ok to stop?"
"I just want to wait for it to clear up a bit," Darry replied, "Here, let's turn on the radio and see what they're saying."
They did. The weatherman didn't have anything good to report. He was telling people to get off the roads, stay home, and avoid going out at all costs. The roads were dangerous and icy and the snow was continuing to pile up.
Pony himself was feeling worse, not better. Maybe it had to do with being in the same uncomfortable position for a while. I need to be in bed, he thought and sighed deeply.
Ponyboy reached behind his own head to rub the back of his neck with his hand. But that only made it hurt worse. It was beginning to ache there more and more.
Darry peered at him. "What's the matter, Pony?"
"I don't know,"Pony replied, "My neck is hurtin'. Probably been in the same position way too long," he said.
Another 10 minutes passed before Darry finally decided to turn on the ignition. "The snow isn't any lighter," he said aloud, "Well, all right. I'll drive again. We'll just take a long trip home, that's all."
Darry put his foot on the accelerator. He pressed down. He pressed harder.
Pony could feel the back wheels of the truck spinning.
Darry groaned. Then moving as if in slow motion, he leaned forward, until his head rested on the steering wheel.
"I don't believe this," he moaned, "This isn't happening."
Pony's stomach turned to a block of ice.
He looked over at Darry, searching his face for answers. It didn't look good.
He felt like crying.
"What do we do now?" he whined.