Hi Everyone, I'm back. I'm so sorry that it took me so long to update but hopefully I'll be able to update more often now. I hope that some of you are still interested in this story and will continue to read it. Thanks for your continued support and reviews.

I was drifting in and out of consciousness when the vibrations of the car driving over a new bumpy surface jolted me awake. I shook my head to clear it and gritted my teeth as I was bounced around the inside of the trunk like popcorn in a pan.

After a few moments the car came to a stop and I strained to hear the crunch of gravel under a foot.

Suddenly the trunk was wrenched open, sending a blinding light into my eyes that caused me to wince in pain.

I squinted up and was barely able to make out Philip's shape looking down at me.

"I'm gonna take the gag out, Ponyboy. There's no point in yelling, there's no one anywhere near here but if you do start hollering I'll just put it back in and you won't get this water, you hear me?"

I glared at him but nodded my head resigned. I sure wanted the taste of sweat out of my mouth and I was mighty thirsty. I couldn't tell how long I'd been in that trunk but it felt like ages.

Philip reached around and undid the knot at the back of my head and the moment I felt the gag give I spit it out with a vengeance. The air tasted sweet as Philip pressed an opened water bottle into my still bound hands.

I swished the water around my mouth, spitting it over the edge of the trunk before I drank deeply. The cool liquid soothed my raw throat.

My most immediate need quenched, I eyed Philip from the base of the trunk. He was standing too close to the bumper for me to get by him if I was even capable of unfolding myself from the cramped space quickly enough. I groaned and let my head fall back against the floor. I'd have to be patient and ready to move the moment they gave an inch.

Philip shuffled his feet against the gravel of the abandoned road, crossing and uncrossing his arms. "Do yah…uh…need to use the washroom?"

I peered around blankly, as if expecting a facility to pop up in the middle of the forest that surrounded us.

I wrinkled my nose at the loss of my privacy but I was sure that pissing my pants would be more mortifying. I gritted my teeth determinedly and nodded.

Philip grasped me by the arms and with some pushing and tugging I was freed from the trunk and placed on my feet. I swayed, my legs unsteady under me and Philip thankfully kept a grip on my arm. Together we moved over to the bushes on the side of the gravel road.

Philip turned his back on me but kept a firm grip on my shoulder. I was silently thankful for the illusion of privacy as my bound hands fumbled with my zipper.

There was dense bush as far as the eye could see and setting sun set the trees ablaze with reds and oranges, making it clear that fall had firmly set in.

I could try to break Phillip's hold on me and run but there was no where to go and I wasn't sure if I could make it with my hands together like this. Shoot, I didn't even know if we were still in the same state anymore. Still, I had to try. If I could get to a phone then I could call my brothers, but I didn't know where to tell them I was.

"Where are we going?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder at Philip.

He clenched his jaw and his hand tightened on my shoulder for a moment but didn't even turn his head to acknowledge my question.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance and gazed at as the sky was splashed with fire.

Steve would probably snap at me to get my head out of the clouds and get on with it and figure out the rest later. I glanced back at Philip again, his eyes were still fixed on the car.

I clenched my hands together and twisted my whole body to ram my elbow into his jut as hard as I could.

A grunt of pain escaped his lips and he doubled over, his hand slipping from my arm. I didn't wait to see his reaction, my legs already carrying me into the trees.

"Hey!" Philip's voice called out, but I didn't risk looking back. I pushed my legs harder, though having my hands tied together was throwing off my balance so I couldn't settle into my usual stride.

My foot caught on something and I stumbled, though I was able to keep my footing. Suddenly a hand grabbed the back of my shirt and I was yanked backwards.

I cried out as I fell back into Philip, trying to get my feet back under me so I could get away but he wrapped his arm around my neck.

The pressure made it hard for me to pull in a good breath and I was already panting from the brief run and the panic that was bubbling up. My legs kicked out, digging into the mud trying to find some traction, but Philip's arm just tightened. Even though he was smaller than Darry, Philip was bigger than me and he had quite a bit of muscle on him from his basketball training. There was no chance that I could break his hold now that I'd lost the element of surprise.

"Come on Ponyboy, stop fighting!" Philip's loud voice was close to my ear. "Don't make me make you pass out. You ain't going nowhere."

I could still breath but I couldn't get a deep enough breath to satisfy my lungs. I could feel the blackest at the edge of my vision closing in. A sob broke out and I gave one final tug before I allowed myself to collapse, all the fight in me spent.

Tears prickled at the corner of my eyes and I fought to hold them back. I wanted Soda real bad.

The crunch of shoes over crusty leaves pulled Philip's attention and he loosened his hold around my neck. I gasped and threw myself forward onto my hands and knees, just filling my aching lungs with air.

"What the hell is going on?" Daniel snapped from over to my left.

"The kid tried to bolt." Philip's voice was strained and he rubbed a hand over his face.

"This whole thing is bullshit!" Daniel violently kicked a rock near his foot. Philip watched him tiredly.

"What do you want me to do?"

Daniel turned in a circle, throwing his hands up. "Just let him go! Tell mom he got away from you."

Philip's eyes moved to the car where we could make out the form of Mrs. Donovan agitated pacing. He clenched his jaw, all of the sudden looking much older than he was . "I can't do that."

I groaned, "please, I just wanna go home."

Philip stood up and grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet. "Sorry kid."

Daniel rolled his eyes and growled under his breath as he took hold of my other arm and they began to drag me towards the car. I had trouble getting my legs to move right. I stumbled and their hands were the only reason I didn't hit the ground.

"You think that stuff is kicking in?" Daniel asked over my head.

The sky slowly darkened as my head began to feel fuzzy and heavy as it had that Friday night in front of the motel. My mind snapped to the already opened water bottle Philip had passed me before. I bit back a curse as the ground came up to meet me.

The Curtis house hadn't been this quiet in a long time. Since I'd met Soda and his family I'd always connected this place to noise and laughter. There was always the tv or the radio on too loud or someone getting into a scuffle or Darry yelling about some mess that Two Bit had made.

No, every time this house got quiet it was because that tag along kid was gone. Funny how the quiet one of the group was the one that took the noise with him.

Darry was sitting in his easy chair with the paper but he hadn't turned the page in the last 20 minutes. Soda was pacing between the kitchen and the front porch, occasionally sitting on the old sofa out there to light one up. Two-Bit was draped over the couch watching the muted TV, a now lukewarm beer resting on his knee. And me, I was at the kitchen table slowly working through a game of solitaire.

We'd adopted these places in the aftermath of Ponyboy's phone call Sunday morning. It had only been moments since Pony had been abruptly disconnected and I was looking at the phone in my hand confusedly when Soda had burst into the house.

"I don't care what Mrs. Wilson says this is ridiculous!" He was followed closely by Darry who looked wrung out as he swiped a hand over his face.

"I know little buddy but you heard the cop, they ain't gonna do nothing right now since he's not officially missing yet."

"How's he not missing when no one can tell me where he is?" Soda threw up his hands in exasperation.

Darry crossed his arms and fixed Soda with his steady gaze. "According to the state he's still safe in the custody of his foster family." Darry sneered and clenched his hands. "What do you expect me to do?"

Soda huffed and stormed out of the room. Darry sighed and sat down heavily in his armchair. He looked up and for the first time noticed me standing in the kitchen doorway with the phone still in my hand.

"Steve?"

"Pony called…"

"What?!" Soda's voice came from his room and a moment later he skidded into the room. He grabbed the phone from my hand. "Hello? Ponyboy?" After a long moment of silence, he hung up the phone with more force than necessary and turned towards me. "What did he say? Where is he?"

His eyes were bright and pleadingly and I couldn't hold his gaze. I didn't have any good new to tell him and I knew that he was already on the edge of what he could stand. I scratched the back of my neck while I tried to organize my thoughts. "He was…confused." Darry pulled himself to his feet and crossed the room. The Curtis' exchanged a look.

"Confused?" Darry asked, narrowing his icy eyes.

"He thought the court date was changed to Monday and he didn't seem to know what day it was."

Soda took a step closer. "What do you mean not know what day it was?"

"I don't know man, he thought it was Saturday. I don't know why."

"But.."

Soda's voice was getting increasingly louder and he looked about ready to continue his questioning, when Darry put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "That don't matter now. Did he say where he was?"

I grimaced. Why did I have to be the one to answer the damned phone? "I asked but we got disconnected."

Soda looked about ready to bawl. Darry clenched his jaw and pushed past me. Soda shot him a disbelieving look. "What'cha doing?"

"I'm calling those cops back, they've got to take us seriously now." Darry eyes were glacial and I almost pitied whatever cop he got on the phone.

We'd all gone down to the station and I rehashed the call with the kid about 45 times, until I was sure I could say it by heart. Two-Bit had hung around the house just in case Ponyboy had tried to call again, but no such luck.

After hours, we'd been told to head to the Curtis place and wait for the cops to do their jobs. So we'd taken up these places and been here ever since.

The sharp ring of the phone cracked through the silence, followed by the bang of the screen door as Soda barreled in from the porch, lit cigarette hanging from his mouth.

Darry had the receiver in his hand before Soda could even make it across the room.

"Hello? Yes, this is Darryl Curtis. Hello Officer Roberts." Darry's eyes snapped to Soda who moved to stand by his shoulder. Two-Bit and I exchanged glances both leaning forward as if it would help us make out the other half of the conversation.

"Alright… and what did he say?" Darry ran a hand over his face. "What?! No!" Darry surged to his feet almost knocking Soda over. "…..I don't care what Mr. Donovan says, he doesn't know Ponyboy like we do…yes….well yes…..no, that doesn't matter, this is completely different." Soda started to fidget. I stood up and made my way over to him, ready for him to bolt or explode any moment. Two-Bit never took his eyes off Darry, who had now begun to pace, his hand balling into a fist and releasing with every pass. "So, what now?" Darry glowered. "Fine, you do that! But you better keep trying to get a hold of that woman because I can't be only one who thinks her story has holes in it!" His eyes flashed and I took an involuntary step backwards. "I don't care how you do it, just find my brother!" He turned and slammed the phone down so hard that I thought it would break.

For a long moment, Darry stayed there, his hands on either side of the phone, his head down breathing heavily.

"Darry…?" Soda asked softly, moving towards him like he was a skittish horse.

Darry suddenly wheeled around and punched the wall, his fist crumbling a dent into the drywall. "Damnit!" He roared.

Two-Bit surged to his feet and I backed away further from the livid eldest Curtis. Soda didn't shy away from him but moved to his side and rubbed his shoulder. "Come on Dar, you gotta tell me what's going on?" His dark eyes pleaded.

"They got a hold of Mr. Donovan. He said that Ponyboy ran away."

Soda reeled back as if slapped. "No!"

"I know those pigs aren't the sharpest crayons in the box but there ain't no way they really believe that load of hogwash." Two-Bit crossed his arms over his chest.

Darry turned and started pacing again. He ran a hand distractedly through his hair. "They said he's done it before…"

We all fell into silence, remembering the reason Pony and Johnny had run away and the awful conclusion of those events.

Soda shook his head aggressively. "That was different, he was scared and didn't know what to do. He wouldn't just leave, not when he was so close to coming home."

"I know that and you know that, little buddy, but them idiot cops don't believe it." Darry placed his hand on Soda's arm. "They don't know him like we do."

I nodded. "The kid didn't sound like he was planning on running when he called. Something else is going on."

"So what do we do?" Two-Bit's usual humour had disappeared and his gray eyes were stone.

"The cops are gonna keep trying to get ahold of Mrs. Donovan, they're gonna check out every bus station and put Pony's description out there in case someone sees him." Darry answered.

"That's it?" Soda looked between us. "We're just gonna sit around while my brother is missing?"

"Our brother." Darry corrected. "And no, we ain't gonna just sit on our hands. If those cops aren't going to take this seriously we'll find him ourselves."

"Damn straight!" Two-Bit whooped. "This Sherlock House will find our little lost greaser."

I rolled my eyes. "It's Holmes you moron."

"That's right Steve'o, we'll bring him home." Two-Bit saluted us with his now warm beer then downed it in seconds.

Soda smiled for what was the first time in days, a glimmer of hope coming into his eyes. "You really think we can find him, Darry?"

Darry straightened, setting his shoulders. "Sodapop, I'm never gonna stop searching until Ponyboy is home."

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