It was pitch black outside. No matter how hard he tried, Ponyboy couldn't see a thing. His legs would sometimes hit bushes and his face would sometimes run into a branch. It made for a very irritating time. He would hear Soda groan every now and then when he would hit something too. It was causing their patience to run thin fast. Pony had thought the moon would get through some of the trees to light the way, but there was nothing.

"Did you expect us to have to walk in complete darkness when you planned this?" Pony asked, "I can't see a damn thing, and I bet I have bruises and scratches everywhere."

"No, this wasn't exactly how I visioned this," Soda sighed, "Apparently I thought streetlights would exist in the woods."

Pony smirked at the comment, because he wouldn't doubt Soda to believe there would be lighting in the woods just like the streets. "Well that probably means it will take longer to figure out where we are and where we're even going towards."

Soda was quiet for a moment before responding, "Yeah. You're probably right. I'm sorry buddy. I really didn't think this through. I was too hyped up on the idea to get home."

Pony shrugged, even though Soda couldn't see it, "Oh well. We're already moving along, so all we can do is keep going. No bother going back when we'll just get in a butt load of trouble. Might as well make the running away worth it."

The boys were filled with different emotions. They didn't want to show it off, but they were both the guiltiest greasers of wearing their feelings on their sleeves. They could barely keep a conversation going between them, which was rare enough, so they both knew their minds were wandering. They both were trying to come up with some sort of solution, but were running short.

"Hey Soda, the home had to have called the police by now, right? That was obviously part of your plan"

"Well yeah, that's why we're hiding out here," Soda replied.

"Do you think they've told Darry?" Pony asked as he began feeling guilty just imagining the roller coaster they had to be putting their oldest brother on with all of this.

"Yeah I'm sure they have. I bet the fuzz questioned him on it, you know? They probably asked him if he took us out or had anything to do with this."

"Well I was just thinking, what do you think Darry's doing about it? It's not like they told him and he's just moving on with his life like it's not his problem."

Soda thought for a minute, "Well, I mean..."

"Or Johnny and Two-Bit? How did Steve handle it when he found out? I can only imagine with the way he acted as we were getting taken away in the first place. Or even Dallas? What is the whole gang doing about this? Do you really think they're just sitting at home waiting for us to show up?" Pony asked.

Soda realized that his little brother had a point. They couldn't honestly expect Darry to sit at home and patiently wait for his little brothers to be found. He wouldn't do that, or maybe he was depending on what the authorities were threatening. And Pony was right, what was Soda's best friend doing? Soda wouldn't give it a second thought if Steve was in his car driving around to look. Two-Bit would be right there with him too. The gang was close like that, and there was no doubt they were doing something about it once they heard it from the police.

"I think it's hard to say Pony, considering the position Darry could be finding himself in," Soda simply replied, "The fuzz could have really put him down, making it a tough choice to decide if he should go look for us or stay put."

"Maybe, or Darry is saying screw them. I was just thinking maybe we won't have to walk so far if one of the guys is out looking for us."

Soda slowly nodded, "You do have a point there little brother."

"That could be a blessing to think about," Pony suggested, "Maybe instead of trying to find home, we could try and find them."

"It is a little comforting. Hell there's no way one of them hasn't offered to come look so Darry doesn't get in trouble," Soda pointed out.

"Yeah so we may be home sooner than we think. We just have to figure out what way they'd go to look for us," Pony said.

"I guess that depends if they've asked Darry what way the boy's home is. He could have tried to talk any of them out of it," Soda shrugged, " It's so hard to know. Either way, you may have a point about one of them trying to find us, maybe even Darry is. It makes me wonder..."

Pony waited for his brother to finish his thought, "What?"

"Are we jeopardizing it by walking more? Possibly getting more lost if we get so off track?"

"I guess so," Pony slightly agreed.

"Maybe we shouldn't walk too far then. After all, we have no idea where we are really going. One of the guy's could be searching around here trying to find us," Soda went on, "What do you think?"

Pony shrugged, "It makes sense. It sounds better than just getting more lost by risking the walk."

"Okay new plan then, we stick around this area and keep an eye on one of the guys coming to look for us," Soda said.

"And what if we don't see any of them? How long until we try to move on? And how are we going to look out for them? Are we going to try and go to the streets? I'm scared Soda. Being out here is hard enough, not knowing where we are is even worse."

Soda pulled Ponyboy into a tight hug, "I know you're scared, and I'm sorry. God I'm so sorry I got us in this mess Pony. I'm sorry we are lost and unsure of our next move and unsure of when we'll be somewhere, anywhere, hopefully home."

"Soda, I don't blame you. I wanted to run away too. You didn't make me. I just can't help feeling scared...it's a fair thing to feel."

"You're right. It is."

Pony took a relaxing deep breath, "So how long until we try going our own way again?"

"Let's give the guys two days before we try a different area."

"Deal."

"And if it makes you feel better, I can try and look out closer to the streets while you keep hiding out."

"Sure," Pony said, "I want to just sit and rest now."

"Good idea. Let's just settle in and make a couple sandwiches. I'm starving."

A couple hours passed. The brothers ate and tried to make a plan of how to watch for one of their friends while still not exposing themselves. It was proving to be difficult, but Soda just wasn't sure about walking aimlessly in the middle of the night anymore. Soda wasn't one to become easily frustrated, but he was feeling very on edge about this whole mess.

Suddenly while sitting in the darkness, they began hearing some ruffling.

"What was that?" Ponyboy whispered.

Soda listened in, "Maybe it was just an animal." The two boys listened in as the rustle would come in and out. "Wait, is that...a light?"

"What?" Pony asked, confused.

"Like a flashlight?"

"I don't know what you're looking at."

"I think..." Soda focused in more then suddenly jumped up, "We got to go Pony. I think it's the fuzz."

"What!" Pony whispered loudly.

"Shhh, just get up and move quick," Soda grabbed his little brother's hand. Pony hurried himself up and they began moving. They tried to be fast, but quiet, which turned out to be hard as leaves and sticks were everywhere.

"Sodapop!" a voice yelled, "Ponyboy! Are you boys out here?" Soda and Pony stopped in their tracks. They waited. Soda could hear his loud breathing and tried to hold his breath. Pony could only assume anyone could hear his loud heart thumping away in his chest. They had no idea where the owners of the voices were, but they weren't going to answer back.

The voice started again, "Sodapop Curtis! Ponyboy Curtis! It's the sherriff's department! We're here to help you, so make yourselves known!"

Ponyboy looked up at Soda with a desperate plea that couldn't be seen in the pitch black. He squeezed Soda's hand tight. He wanted to say out loud 'Make them go away!' Soda couldn't help but wonder if he had made it too obvious by going into the woods. He should've figured the police would look in the woods for runaways. It's probably happened before. The idea of it put Soda in panic mode.

"Sherriff's department! If anyone is out here..."

Soda could hear the voices getting louder and clearer.

"Sodapop and Ponyboy Curtis! We know you're out here!"

They weren't going to leave.

"We will search every part of these woods! Come on out, and we can talk about what's going on! We can help you!"

'Bullshit,' Soda thought to himmself, 'You won't bring us home.'

"Sodapop and Ponyboy Curtis!"

Soda gave Pony's hand a good squeeze, leaned over right next to his ear, and whispered, "Trust me." He felt his little brother's head nod as he continued, "Run."