Thank you so much for the reviews and support, I'm glad that you're still sticking with me. A very big thank you to my friend, who'd like to remain unnamed, for giving me feedback when I know you've been very busy. I really appreciate it!

I hope that you enjoy!

By the time we were driving down the fifth different backroad around Gold Lake without any sign of Ponyboy, I was chomping at the bit. The main road curved and twisted around the lake with smaller roads shooting off from it that would lead to even smaller roads and then driveways to individual cabins.

It was a maze of trees and dirt roads that were almost too small for Steve's car to get around and it was driving me crazy.

North end of the lake. That was all that we'd been able to find out about the Donovans in town. We'd slept fitfully in the car for a few hours since we'd arrived in the middle of the night and Darry said there wasn't no use trying to talk to anyone when everything was closed. We'd split up after grabbing some coffee and donuts to see if we could find out anything to point us in the right direction. Two-Bit was the only one of us who'd found out anything, people seemed pretty tight lipped around here. The guy at the general store had been mighty talkative though and had said that the Donovans cabin was on the north end of the lake.

Sounded pretty good at first until we realized that the north end of the lake had at least 25 cabins and driving between them was gonna take hours.

I tapped my fingers against the dashboard in a rhythm fueled by nervous energy and Darry shot a glare at me. I stopped and lifted my hands in surrender, giving him a small smile.

He rolled his eyes as he turned back to focus on the road ahead.

He took the next corner and swore softly as we took in the sight of yet another split in the road. This time the road broke off three ways and we all groaned.

Two-Bit scratched his sideburn. "Well, which lucky door do we take first?"

It didn't matter which one we picked. These roads would probably break off into smaller ones and we'd be spending the rest of our stinkin' lives driving in circles, never knowing if Pony was just minutes away or not.

I ran my hands over my face, then slammed a fist into the dash. The shock of pain that shot up my arm was strangely satisfying.

"Hey!" Steve snapped from the back seat.

"This is taking too long!"

Darry reached out and touched my shoulder. "Hey Soda, now ain't the time to lose your cool. We're doing the best that we can."

I shrugged him off. "Well it ain't good enough!" I wrenched the car door open and hopped out. I realized that I didn't have a plan so I walked over the edge of the road and kicked a fallen stick I found there.

The sound of car doors opening behind me echoed through the quiet forest. It was close to midday but out here in the wilderness you didn't have the hustle and bustle of Tulsa. We were completely alone.

We were in the middle of the dirt road out in the middle of nowhere in Colorado of all places. The guys had listened to me and followed me out here. They shouldn't have, I was dumb. Just some dumb drop out. What did I know? I just wanted my brother back so much that I was willing to try anything, no matter how crazy.

"Soda, get back in the car." Steve said, always one to be direct.

I whirled around, my hands clenched into fists. "This is nuts, we drove all the way out here on a guess. We're wasting our time driving around in circles and Pony might not even be here!" I was yelling now but none of the guys backed away.

Darry stepped towards me. "This was the only lead we've had and you know those cops weren't gonna check it out. They've written him off as some no good runaway."

I snarled at the thought, my kid brother was better than any of those pigs.

Darry crossed his arms over his chest. "Now ain't the time for this!" He said in his best guardian voice. "I know you're frustrated little buddy but we need to look for Pony now. They'll be time to melt down later."

The fact that I'd only melt down if we didn't find Pony was left unspoken but it hung in the air taunting me.

I pressed my lips together and nodded. I breathed deeply to try to calm my pounding heart. The anger drained out of me leaving me oddly empty.

Steve looked at the fork in the road thoughtfully. "It might be best if we split up. We could pull the car over there and each check out a road. We'll cover more ground that way."

Darry studied the road. "That could work."

"Look at you, Steve, using that head for more than to grow hair on." Two-Bit reached out to ruffle Steve's hair and was thanked with a punch in the gut.

"Knock it off you two." Darry said before an all out brawl could start. He tossed Steve his keys. "Move your car over to the side there so it's out of the way."

"Two-Bit, you take the road to the left, Soda and I will take the centre one and Steve can go right." Darry said, gesturing to me. "No matter what you find, we meet back here. Best we take them on together, I don't want to risk losing Pony again or him getting hurt because we don't have back up."

"Aye, aye captain," Two-Bit saluted smartly. Steve jogged up and Two-Bit pushed him towards the road. "Come one, we have a wayward Curtis to find."

Darry hooked his arm around my neck and drew me forward. I lifted my hand to wave bye to Steve and he returned it before we all broke off Two-Bit and Steve each down their roads and Darry and I together.

Darry and I trudged along in silence. I knew Darry had decided to stay with me because he was worried I was losing it. I'd seen him and Steve exchange looks since I'd run out of the house yesterday morning. They were just waiting for me to snap and honestly I didn't blame them. The longer Ponyboy was gone the more I felt like the ground was tilting beneath me.

I shoved my hands in my pockets. "Darry…" I started not sure what I was trying to say, how to explain this weight in my stomach.

Darry glanced over at me, "yeah?"

"Do you think we're wasting our time?"

Darry kicked a rock up the path and put his hands in his pockets too. "I really don't know. I sure hope not, but… I don't know…" he trailed off and we kept going.

We both knew that if we didn't find Pony that it was going to break us. We'd had too much loss, but losing our little brother would be the last straw. He was our responsibility, since the moment mom and dad had brought him home from the hospital. The thought of never seeing him again almost made me double over.

Up ahead the trees cleared a bit to show a cabin ahead with two cars parked in front of it. My eyes took in the fender of the car closest to us and my jaw dropped. I stopped dead in my tracks and I felt my pulse kick up. It couldn't be!

I wanted to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing anything. Darry kept on trodding along oblivious to what I saw.

Snapping out of my daze, I started shoving Darry towards the bush, causing him to stumble.

"What the hell?" Darry grunted as he regained his feet but I kept pushing. He batted my hands away.

"Quick, get off the road." I whispered harshly at him and was thankful when he listened without questioning me anymore.

Once we were both safely covered and off the road, I started to creep through the bush towards the cabin.

Darry grumbled and cursed as he followed me. "Soda, what is going on with you? I swear if you're losing it…"

"Shhh!" I hissed and pointed through the trees as the sand coloured car. "That's Mr. Donovan's."

Darry's icy eyes widened then narrowed. I saw his jaw tighten and his hands ball into fists. Suddenly he was all business. "How can you be sure?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Cars are my thing, Dar. Of course I noticed his ride after seeing him drop and pick Pony up so many times." I pushed down a branch to peer over it. "See, it's a coupe Deville."

Darry followed my gaze and then nodded. "Yeah, I guess it looks the same…" he trailed off, deep in thought. "Alright, let's get a closer look to be sure then we'll go back and get the guys."

I started to move forward but Darry clamped his hand on my arm. "Remember Soda, we don't do anything without the guys. We can't risk Pony getting hurt."

I pulled my arm out of his hand and shot him my best smile. "Of course Muscles, no worries."

We both knew that there was no way I was walking away if Ponyboy was there. Shoot, I doubt Darry would be able to tear himself away no matter what he had said.

The door of the cabin swung open and Darry and I both ducked down, hoping that the bushes and trees at the edge of the property would cover us. Daniel stepped out, lugging a duffel bag over his shoulder. I sucked in a quick breath and hit Darry's arm repeatedly. Darry grinned at me in return. They were here! Somehow against all odds, things had gone our way for once.

I don't know how it was possible, but there was Daniel Donovan loading a bag into the back of the Cadillac. We'd crossed two states and somehow found them. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest that I was sure that Daniel was going to turn towards it any second.

Darry tapped my arm and pointed behind him, I shook my head. Darry's brow furrowed. "I want to see if Pony's here first." I whispered.

"No matter what we find, we'll need the guys help…" his eyes flitted behind me, he froze and a mask of pure rage fell over his face causing me to whip around.

Daniel had returned to the cabin and was backing out carrying the legs of a struggling Ponyboy. His hands were tied in front of him and Philip had him under the arms. Ponyboy kicked his leg out, almost catching Daniel in the stomach.

"Put me down!" Ponyboy's frightened voice rang through the forest.

Anger that was white hot surged through me so fast that my vision went dark for a second then narrowed so all I could see was Pony's white face darkened by a bruise along his chin. My legs were moving before I could decide what to do and I almost didn't notice Darry barrel forward ahead of me.

The Donovan brothers almost had Ponyboy to the open trunk of the Buick and I could see the sharp panic on his face as he fought harder. He yelled out his voice high and desperate, as he struggled against them. His whole body bowed and ached as he tried to get away from the trunk. I could see the muscles in his arms straining and his chest heaving with the effort. Daniel grunted and lost his hold as one of Pony's feet caught him in the shoulder.

"No! Please! Not the trunk again!" Ponyboy's voice broke as he pleaded.

I wasn't sure how it was possible but the image of them trying to shove my terrified little brother into a trunk made me even angrier. Darry's usually icy eyes were burning with hatred as he broke through the tree line just in front of me. We were of one mind. They were going to pay.

Daniel looked up and this face drained of colour when he saw us coming. There was no time to warn his brother before we were on them.

Darry fist bowled into Philip's face and he dropped Ponyboy. Ponyboy's feet hit the ground first before falling backwards, his hands not able to catch him, his head hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Darry tackled Philip to the ground, his fists flying, his muscles bulging. My brother, the fighter, was livid.

I flew into the side of Daniel, taking him to the ground. He yelped and tried to kick me off him. I fell all over him, I was gonna pound his face into the dirt.

"Darry? Soda?" I looked over my shoulder. Pony had propped himself up on his elbows from where he had fallen, his green eyes the size of saucers met mine. He looked at me like he couldn't tell if he was dreaming. I started towards him but a blow to the side of my head caused me to stumble.

I turned back to Daniel growling as he made a grab for my shirt. I hooked my arm around his neck and he pushed back against me. His foot kicked out my leg and we rolled around in the dirt trying to get the upper hand.

"What?!" I glanced up long enough to see Mr. Donovan run out of the cabin. He grabbed Darry by the shoulder, probably to get him off Philip, but didn't expect Darry to swing around to face him.

The air was knocked out of me as Daniel got me in the side with his elbow.

I heard a rustle and I looked over my shoulder to see Two-Bit running as fast as his legs could carry him from the woods to the side of the driveway. Where he was coming from I didn't know but three on three was a better fight.

Crack.

The familiar sound of a gun firing caused all movement to stop. The silence was sudden, reminding me of when Darry flicks off the radio complaining it's too loud. Two-Bit skidded to a halt at the edge of the driveway. Darry froze mid swing, his fist inches away from Mr. Donovan's face. As one, we all turned towards the sound.

Mrs. Donovan was standing near the side of the cabin, a shotgun pointed towards the sky in her hands.

Daniel gaped at her on the ground beside me.

For a long moment as the echoes of the blast rang in our ears, nobody moved .

Mr. Donovan reached out towards her, his eyes full of panic. "Mary…" He started.

"What are they doing here?!" She screeched, she waved the gun around wildly from Darry and Two-Bit to me. My muscles tensed. Mr. Donovan stopped in his tracks.

Darry's eyes were hard but he spoke low as you would go a skittish horse. "We just came to get Ponyboy."

She started to shake her head. "No, no, no, no, no." She took a step backward. "You can't have him. I need my son!"

I looked around at Pony, who'd been able to get up to his knees and was kneeling on the ground a few feet away from me.

"Please Mrs. Donovan," he started. "I'm not your s.."

"Stop!" Ponyboy flinched at the sound. "Stop it Peter! You'll stay with me. You can't leave me." Ice filled my veins as I watched resolve come over her face and she turned the gun on Ponyboy. "I won't let you go." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

The Donovans stared at her in horror and shock. Darry was clenching his fists so hard that he could draw blood. The rage on his face was reflected in mine. Two-Bit's glare would have made any lesser person pause.

Ponyboy just watched her with large glassy eyes.

"Please," Darry's voice shook with barely contained anger. "Please, don't hurt him." Darry's face was a stony mask but his eyes blazed. His shaking fists showed how much effort he was using to hold himself back. From trying to get the gun away from Mrs. Donovan or to wrap Ponyboy up and shield him with his own body I wasn't sure, but he was too far away from either.

Mrs. Donovan didn't take her eyes off of Pony. "You left me Peter." Her whisper carried across the yard. "You did it once and I know you'll do it again." She hissed, the gun still pointed at Ponyboy's chest.

My heart dropped. Ponyboy's eyes flashed from Darry to me. Clear green eyes pleading with me to save him. I saw in them the tiny baby that had curled his strong fingers around mine, the laughing kid who'd followed me everywhere, the teen who'd lost too much, too fast but still kept that love of watching sunsets.

I wanted to pull him into my arms and hold him so tight. I wanted to tell him that I'd missed him so much this past week and that he meant the world to me. He was so close right now. I couldn't lose him.

I wouldn't.

I knew what I had to do without questioning it.

A calm washed through my body as I stood up and stepped between Ponyboy and the barrel of the gun.

Thank you!

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