Thank you everyone for reading, following and reviewing. Here is chapter 19.

They'd left me on the floor of the cabin once they'd pinned me down and tied my hands with rope. Mrs. Donovan grabbed the handcuffs and also cuffed one of my wrists to the radiator for good measure. I tried to move to straighten my arms but with my hands bound together and cuffed to the radiator I couldn't take the pressure off my shoulders. My knee was hurting something awful, my jeans were tight around it and it was throbbing with the beat of my heart.

Daniel sent me an unreadable look as he passed me on the way out the door with a duffel bag. The Donovans had all been packing up the cottage. Mr. and Mrs. Donovan had disappeared upstairs and the muffled sounds of an argument could be heard.

Philip came in from the kitchen. He looked at me from the doorway, his brows furrowed. He ran a hand through his neatly cut black hair then rubbed the back of his neck. "Listen Ponyboy, I'm sorry.."

"Don't," I cut him off and Philip had the decency to look ashamed. It was too late for apologies. Part of me understood that Mrs. Donovan was the one at fault and she'd put her family in this situation but a larger part of me didn't have any sympathy left for them. That part just wanted my brothers more than anything else in the whole world.

Mrs. Donovan had said that a red headed guy with large sideburns had been asking about them at the general store. Could I really believe that it was Two-Bit? And if he was here did that mean that Soda and Darry were close by?

The hope that sprang in my chest was so bright it hurt. I needed to keep us here long enough for them to find me. If we left, who knew how long before I'd see them again? I bit my lip hard, I wasn't gonna bawl in front of them.

I wouldn't let that happen. I was sick of this family thinking that they could determine where my life was going. I was gonna fight them until I finally got away.

Daniel came back inside and looked around, his hands on his hips. "That's everything, I think."

Philip looked towards the stairs where his parents hadn't appeared yet. "I guess we should get him… in the car."

Daniel glowered. "We aren't seriously sticking him in the trunk again?" Goosebumps jumped up on my arms and I broke out in a cold sweat. I don't think I could handle that tiny enclosed space again.

Philip shrugged helplessly.

Daniel growled. "Fine, let's get it over with."

I shrank back from them. "No! Get away from me!" I kicked out at them but they sidestepped me.

Philip unlocked the handcuff and tossed them and the key onto the couch before grabbing me under the arms. Daniel darted forward and took my legs before I could get in a good kick.

"Get off me!" I twisted and pulled against them but they carried me towards the door. "No!"

I was panting, the raw fear coursing through me. I couldn't go in that trunk again, I couldn't stand it. The sides closing in on me, not being able to stretch my screaming limbs. Being knocked against the sides as the car rolled over bumps or into turns. I'd go crazy.

Daniel backed out the door and I could see the car, the trunk open and waiting.

I screamed out. "Put me down!"

I bit back a sob as I tried everything I could to get free. Desperation gave me strength and I went wild. I yelled out as I thrashed and bucked against them. Philip swore as I caught him in the side with my elbow but he didn't drop me.

We were almost at the trunk.

"No! Please," I cried. "Not the trunk again!" Daniel was trying to shove me feet first into the cramped space.

Darry! Soda! Help me!

Daniel's grip on my foot slipped and I kicked him as hard as I could. My foot caught his shoulder and he grunted at the contact. My heels hit the ground with a thud.

Darry! Soda! Please!

Philip's hold on me suddenly disappeared and unable to catch myself with my bound hands I fell backward. My head collided with the ground with a crack and for a moment the world went black. I blinked up at the blue sky spinning above me.

A golden haired figure flashed by me diving towards Daniel and I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, sure that I was dreaming. It couldn't be him. I rolled over onto my stomach and the world tilted.

I closed my eyes tight until the ground stopped moving. When I opened them, my breath caught in my throat. There was Darry hunched over Philip, his large fists pounding him into the ground. His face was stony but his eyes flashed with fire.

"Darry?" I gasped.

My mouth was hanging open and I wanted to rub my eyes. I was a daydreamer but I'd never dreamed anything so real before.

I turned my head, ignoring the pain that the small motion caused to see Soda flying at Daniel.

"Soda?"

He turned at the sound of my voice. I'd never seen my brother so angry, the heat radiated off him and his eyes burned but they softened slightly as they met mine.

They were really here. I wasn't imagining it.

Daniel jumped at him from behind and they both fell to the ground, fighting for the upper hand.

I needed to help them. I struggled to get my arms under me and push myself up. My vision went blank and I blinked as the dark spots cleared.

"What?!" Mr. Donovan shouted as he lumbered out of the cabin.

His face was bright red and you could see his moustache bristle as he huffed in effort. His shirttails had come untucked and there was still mud up his pant legs from dragging me back to the cabin before. He grabbed Darry's arm and was thanked with a left hook to the face.

I gritted my teeth and used my tied wrists to push myself up to my knees. I swayed and was mildly surprised that I kept my balance. Everything was flying by me in flashes.

There was a large fallen branch a few feet away from me and one of the branches that sprouted off it looked mighty sharp. I shuffled my way over on my knees and tried to see if I could break the rope tying my hands together. I wasn't gonna sit around here when my brothers needed me.

Crack

The deafening sound made me jump and I whirled around.

Mrs. Donovan was holding a shotgun pointing towards the sky. Her eyes were glacy and they flicked around the yard. The contrast of this petite woman with her perfectly styled black hair and her crisply pressed checked dress hefting a shotgun would have been laughable if it wasn't so serious.

Time suddenly slowed down and my heart raced.

"Mary.." Mr. Donovan gasped like a fish, reaching for his wife.

"What are they doing here?!" Her voice made my head pound. I tensed as she waved the gun around, pointing it at my brothers and…. Two-Bit? When had he got here? My buddy's face was set in a dark look that I'd only seen on his before a rumble.

"We just came to get Ponyboy." Darry had his hands up. He glanced at me wide eyed

"No, no, no, no, no." Mrs. Donovan chanted, looking around wildly. "You can't have him. I need my son!"

That's what this all came down to. Mrs. Donovan had taken in a foster kid to fill the hole in her heart that her son left when he died. Somewhere along the way, she'd forgotten that I wasn't hers, that I belonged with my own family.

Her feverish eyes were locked on me but she wasn't seeing me. She saw Peter.

"Please Mrs. Donovan," I begged, needing her to hear me. "I'm not your s…"

"Stop!" She screeched and I jerked back from the intensity. "Stop Peter! You'll stay with me! You can't leave me." She slowly turned the gun towards me. I sucked in a quick breath, barely able to hear her over the sound of my pounding heart. "I won't let you."

I could feel the cool sweat drip down my back as a shudder of fear ran through me. She was too far gone. Her family had fed into her delusions by going along with her and there was no talking to her now.

"Please…please don't hurt him." Darry said in a low voice. He looked furious and his fists were shaking, but there was nothing he could do to solve this and I was sure that it must be chaffing him awful.

Glory, they were so close. I'd spent the better part of a week praying for them and here they were. So close.

Mrs. Donovan didn't even react to Darry's plea. "You left me, Peter. You did it once and I know you'll do it again."

I was shaking now, my head pounding. I was gonna die. Here in some woods, far from home with my family only a few steps away. Darry and Soda we're gonna watch me die and it would just about kill them too. This lady, who the state thought was supposed to take care of me while Darry got back on his feet, was going to destroy my family with a twitch of her finger.

I looked at Darry, his eyes icy but I could see the barely concealed panic as he met mine. I turned towards Soda. He was crouched on the ground beside Daniel, watching me, the most terrible look of fear on his face.

I met his dark eyes and hoped that he'd see how much I loved him. That'd he'd know what he meant to me.

His eyes flashed with something unreadable. Then he clenched his jaw, stood up and stepped in front of me.

"Soda!" Darry and I yelled together, but he didn't budge. He was only a few feet in front of me, too far to reach if I tried to grab his shirt but close enough that I could see the tension in his shoulders. The gun was now squarely pointed at his chest. Mrs. Donovan gaped at him from the other side of the yard.

His shoulders were straight and the sun glinted off the grease in his golden hair.

"Soda, move!" I yelled out, my voice breaking on the name. I was panicking. Not my brother!

He glanced back over his shoulder and sent me a grin. I wanted to pouch him for trying to calm me down when he was risking his life.

"Wha….what are you doing?" Mrs. Donovan stuttered.

Sodapop just glowered back at her. "You are not hurting my brother." He said in a deadly voice.

She blinked confusedly. "I wasn't going to hurt him."

"Sure coulda fooled me." Soda answered drily, gesturing to the gun still in her hands.

She shook her head fiercely. "No…that's not….no…" she trailed off and stared at the gun as if she hadn't noticed it before.

Mr. Donovan took a small step. "Mary, put the gun down." He soothed.

She snapped her head towards him, her hands tightening on the shotgun. "No! You don't understand. I need Peter. I can't just let him go."

Mr. Donovan's eyes were bright with tears. "He's already gone sweetheart."

She covered her ear with one hand, the gun tilting downwards in her other hand but still towards Soda. "I can't! I can't…" she brought her hand back to the gun and lifted it back to Soda's chest. "Get away from my son." I saw Soda's whole body tighten, preparing but not moving for his spot in front of me.

Glory, she was gonna shoot!

Please…not him. Not Soda.

"Don't you touch my brothers!" Darry bellowed.

She suddenly gasped and tensed. I tensed too, ready to dive at Soda, to try anything to save him.

"Put it down." A firm voice spoke from behind .

Her eyes darted around the yard and she craned her neck to try to see who was behind her.

"Put it down now!" Steve snapped.

My jaw dropped open as Steve stepped from around the corner of the cabin and right up behind Mrs. Donovan. I couldn't see his hand but he seemed to be pressing something into her back.

Mrs. Donovan's eyes were wide with fear. "Is that a gun?"

"What do you think?" Steve answered with a grim smile, his face was unreadable as he looked at Soda then back at Mrs. Donovan. A gun? Where in the world would Steve get a gun? And where had he come from? My mind was spinning. Steve suddenly snapped, "Now, get that goddamned gun off my buddy!"

Mrs. Donovan shrieked and dropped the gun.

"No!" Three or four voices yelled at the same time and I swear time stopped.

I watched in horror as the shotgun hit the ground and went off. The sound of the blast rang through the yard. Mrs. Donovan screamed again.

Soda cried out, twisting as he fell back. His body rammed into me and we both fell back onto the grass. White hot pain flashed into my back and the wind was knocked out of me. I gasped for breath and my head swam.

He was shot! Soda was shot!

I wriggled out from under Sodapop's weight. Something tugged at my back.

I contorted my body to reach my bound hands back to pull the sharp branch that I'd landed on away from me. I felt the stick slide out of my back before I tossed it to the ground.

All I could think about was helping Soda.

Doing my best to scramble to my knees, I leaned over my brother, who was on his side. "Soda? Soda!" I was crying hard now, unable to catch my breath. My tears dripped onto his pale face.

Soda groaned and rolled over to look up at the sky. "She just dropped a loading gun, that stupid crazy broad." He muttered then sent me a sheepish grin. His eyes widened when he noticed my tears. "What's wrong?"

"You were shot!" I sobbed.

He pushed himself up to sit beside me on the grass, wincing. He patted his chest, searching. "I think it's just my arm."

I grabbed his arm and twisted it to see the angry gash along the edge of his bicep. It looked like it had just grazed him but it was bleeding quite a bit. I looked around for something to stop it. The sound of sirens echoed in the distance.

Steve was cussing a blue streak as he scooped up the gun and barked at Mrs. Donovan to back up. I wasn't sure if Steve even knew how to work a shotgun, his dad definitely hadn't taken him hunting.

Mrs. Donovan crumpled to the ground and dropped her face into her hands. "I didn't mean to." She cried.

Philip jumped to his feet and snarled at Steve. "Get away from my mother." He started to advance on him.

Darry hit Philip in a full on tackle and they both hit the ground hard.

"Here, don't move." Soda had pulled a switch from his back pocket and he made quick work of the ropes around my wrists. He pocketed the blade and I rubbed my wrist before Soda pulled me into his arms.

I burrowed into him, the tears coming fast again. Glory, I'd missed him. He was shuddering against me, holding me so tight that I didn't think he'd ever let go. That was fine with me because I didn't want to move away either.

I leaned my head on his shoulder. Shoot, I was tired.

He pulled back and cupped my cheek. "Are you okay Pony?"

"Sure, but you ain't." I reached for his arm again. He hissed at the touch. "Here, we need to stop the bleeding."

Soda pulled out a handkerchief and passed it to me. I tied it tight around the wound. It would have to do for now.

"Soda! Are you alright?" The edge of fear in Darry's voice had me turning around.

He was pinning a struggling Philip to the grass. Steve had the gun in his hand now and Mrs. Donovan was a sobbing mess on the ground. Two-Bit was standing over Daniel with his switch out but Daniel with his glasses askew didn't seem ready or willing to try anything. Mr. Donovan just stood there looking lost, he hadn't moved an inch.

"I'm fine Darry…" Soda started to say when two cop cars squealed down the drive. Our heads all snapped in their direction just as the pigs tumbled out of their cars and leveled their guns on Steve, all yelling.

Steve's hands immediately went up in the air and he paled.

"Drop the gun!"

Steve slowly crouched to put the gun down, his other hand in the air. A cop was on him in seconds. Another cop dragged Darry off of Philip and pinned him face first into the dirt, wrenching his arms behind him.

"Wait, you got it wrong!" Darry yelled.

"Stop, leave him alone!" I yelled.

A third approached Two-Bit, gun drawn.

Two-Bit opened his fist and his blade fell to the ground. "We don't want no trouble."

"Wait!" I started forward but Soda wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his side.

The last cop spoke into his radio before turning to Mr. Donovan. "Your neighbour called about a disturbance about an hour ago. Are these…hoodlums bothering your family?" I bristled at the tone he used. Of course even way out here the cops took one look at a bunch of greasers and determined that we were the problem.

Mr. Donovan opened and closed his mouth a few times, completely at a loss for words. Mrs. Donovan just continued wailing in the dirt.

Darry twisted his body under the cop who was cuffing him. "You don't understand. They took my brother! Kidnapped him." The cop hit him in the ribs and Darry grimaced. "We didn't do anything wrong."

"Please," Soda called. "He's telling the truth. We just wanted our brother back!"

The cop standing by Mr. Donovan looked around confused. The others looked towards him so I figured he was in charge.

I winced as the dull ache in my back bloomed hot. I pressed my hand to my back and blinked as it came back wet.

I looked at the blood smeared across my hand then blinked slowly down at the branch that I'd pulled out before. The sharp piece that I had tried to use to cut the rope was bright red with my blood. I was sitting in what was becoming a small pool of it, the dirt beneath me soaking up my very life.

I dazedly remembered that you weren't supposed to pull out a knife when you were stabbed and I wondered if that was true for sticks too. I'd been too focused on Soda to think about it before but the ache was roaring now.

I suddenly felt dizzy. "Soda?" I mumbled, reaching out my red hand to him.

He glanced over at me then did a double take, his face transforming in horror. "Pony? Where did that come from?"

The world spun, and his hands were on me, patting to find the source. He gasped as his hands met the sticky wetness and I jerked as his touch sent a stab of pain through me. Blackness was creeping in around the edges. All I could see was his white face and wide dark eyes.

"Pony!" Soda screamed, I felt his arms catch me as I fell back.

"What's wrong?!" Darry's panicked voice seemed far away. I turned my head to see him struggling hard against the cop to get to me. His face was being pressed into the ground but his huge eyes were fixed in me.

I wanted Darry, my steady and sure brother. I wanted to yell at those cops to let him come help me. I needed him.

Soda's hand pressed into my back and I whimpered at the touch. His other hand brushed back my hair. "Honey? Don't do this, Pone."

I was scared. I didn't want to leave Soda, but it was getting harder and harder to focus.

A shadow fell over me. "What's going on?" Asked an unknown voice,

"I don't know!" Soda said, sounding so young. I tried to tell him about the stick, but I couldn't get my mouth to work. "He's bleeding. Help him!"

"The ambulance is almost here son."

I felt Soda press his forehead to mine. "Hold on Pony, they're coming. Hold on." He begged as I slipped into nothingness.

Thank you for reading,

Jem