"Darry..." Steve began. He could feel his body beg for the drink he would feed it every single night. He didn't know how to deal with this type of stress anymore. Something was keeping his feet planted there though. He couldn't leave Darry now. He needed to be there for him, and he wouldn't admit it, but he needed Darry to be there for him too.

"I'm leaving," Darry said firmly.

"I-I can see that," Steve said as he watched Darry throw useless things towards his bag, "Where are you going?" It was a stupid question, and Steve was scared to hear the answer he knew he was going to hear.

"I'm going to find them."

"How?" Steve shook his head. No, this couldn't be. The gang didn't need all the Curtis brothers missing.

"I know where the boy's home is, they have to be somewhere between here and there. I can't just leave them out there Steve."

Steve ran a hand through his hair. "Darry, you ain't thinking straight." In his mind, Steve was truly trying to scream out that he couldn't handle Soda and Pony missing, and he needed Darry to keep him grounded before he drank himself to death.

"I don't care! They can't expect me to sit here and do nothing!" Darry argued. Darry was screaming in his own head that he needed someone to find Soda and Pony before they could be killed.

"I know..." Steve looked down, "But, have you even thought about how you're going to do this?"

"I'm going to drive," Darry simply said.

Steve rolled his eyes, "Do you realize how much ground you have to cover? They ain't going to just be walking along the road. They know that's where the fuzz will be."

"I'm willing to take that risk," Darry stopped and look at Steve, "Like I said, you ain't talking me out of this, so don't bother."

Steve sighed. He didn't want Darry to leave, but he didn't want to stop Darry from looking for his brothers either. If they were to be found, Darry was the one to go look. "And what if you do find them? Are you just bringing them back home?"

"Maybe. I'll figure that out later."

"Why are you packing a bag anyway? Are you staying at a hotel or something?"

"I don't know Steve," Darry threw his arms up, "I really don't know what I'm doing or how long this could take. Like you said, they aren't just on the road, so this could take awhile. No use for me to stay here and just worry."

Steve put his hands on his hips and groaned, "Okay fine."

"Thank you. Now you can go home or you can stay here, but I'm leaving as soon as I'm done."

"I ain't staying back," Steve shook his head.

"What are you talking about?" Darry asked.

"I'm coming with you."

Two-Bit ended up leaving the Curtis house without a word. He didn't know what help he could be at that point. This was not the type of news anyone in the gang expected to hear. They always expected to hear Darry tell them the latest about his visit with his brothers or the latest from his lawyer. This was something else though. As much as Two-Bit understood why Soda and Pony would decide to leave, he couldn't help but feel some anger towards it. They may have just screwed themselves and Darry over. He knew he couldn't linger around and sink in anger over it though. That's what Steve had been doing this entire time, and it was only getting him in trouble. Two-Bit just went home to try and go to bed.

Steve stood in the kitchen as he slammed down three beers. He could feel his heart and mind racing. His skin became clammy. He needed alcohol in his system to keep him somewhat leveled. He couldn't be alone right now. He wouldn't be able to just go home, knowing Darry wouldn't be home if he needed something. Steve may not have been around much during all of this, but that didn't mean he could just go on in life without Darry being around just in case.

"Are you sure you're coming?" Darry called from the front door.

"Y-Yeah," Steve gulped the last bit of alcohol down, "Yep. You'll need help."

"Well let's get going."

Johnny Cade sat on the swing at the park. He slowly swung back and forth. He could go home if he wanted, or even go to Two-Bit's house. Part of him was thinking maybe Soda and Pony would walk by the park though. He wanted to be able to catch them so he could feel the relief that they were safe. It's not like he'd be able to sleep anyway.

"Come on guys," Johnny said to himself as he pulled out a cigarette, "Where are you?"

In the distant, Johnny heard a motor. He stood up, wondering if the Socs were on their side of town again. He had to be ready to run. Instead, Johnny saw a too familiar red truck coming down the road. It was Darry's truck. Johnny slowly sat back down as he watched the truck drive on down the road. He didn't even have to guess what was going on. He knew where Darry was going. He knew what Darry was doing.

"Go find them Darry."

"Hi mama," Two-Bit greeted as he walked inside.

"Hi Keith," Mrs. Mathews smiled, "How was your day?"

"It was okay."

"Were you over at Darry's?" Mrs. Mathews knew her son must have been at Darry's if he only had an okay day.

"Yeah. We got some bad news though."

"What's that? Did the judge turn down another hearing?"

"Not exactly. That would have been better than this," Two-Bit sighed.

"What is it?" Mrs. Mathews asked with deep concern, "What's going on?"

"Well, I guess Sodapop and Ponyboy ran off."

Mrs. Mathews got a look of shock upon her face, "Oh my God. They...ran away? Are they sure?"

"Yeah. They decided to just leave. The police questioned Darry if he knew anything about it. I wanted to punch them in their throats," Two-Bit grunted.

"They're just out there? They haven't found them?"

"Guess not," Two-Bit shrugged, "Darry doesn't really know how much they'll keep him in the loop though. He's not their first priority since they belong to the state now. It's such bullshit."

"I know honey. Darry must be so scared."

"Yeah, he is. I'm going to go up to bed though. I'm pretty tired."

"Okay sweetie, maybe I'll try to call Darry tomorrow and see what he needs."

"Probably nothing you can do, but that's sweet of you mom."

Two-Bit walked upstairs and sat on his bed. He tried to bury his anger so he could think straight. He didn't want to bury his emotions in a bottle of beer. Situating himself, Two-Bit gazed out his window and looked up at the moon. It was shining bright, many stars adding to the reflection upon the glass. He went into some deep thought while he looked out the window. His friends were missing and everyone was worrying to death over them. Well, not everyone. Two-Bit was sure the fuzz wasn't doing much to find them. Did anyone really want them to be the ones to find them though? Darry really couldn't do anything about what was going on. He could get in serious trouble if he takes the matter into his own hands. That was just Darry though. He was the only one under the court's watch. He was the only one who's actions could mess things up in the end.

"Fuck it," Two-Bit said as he grabbed his keys.

Soda and Pony held tight as they began running. They couldn't see where they were going, they just figured the direction they were heading was the opposite of the police.

"Boys! Stop right there!" a voice yelled. The voices were pretty muffled, making it difficult to tell if they were getting further away or closer. Stepping on leaves, sticks, and other items wasn't helping much either. Soda wasn't noticing flashlights though, but he was too busy trying to make out trees to tell.

"Just keep going," Soda said, "Don't stop for anything. Just go."

The brothers tried holding on to each other, but it was no use. At one point, they each turned a different direction and their hands let go. Neither of them stopped to try and find the other. They just kept running.