Here's chapter two. Things will start getting interesting now.
Chapter Two - The Accident and a New Brother
Ponyboy awoke, startled as he heard a loud boom. He figured that the thunder from the storm had woken him up, but this boom was louder than usual. It hadn't been from thunder. It had been from something else. Ponyboy, out of breath, sat up on the couch as he noticed something else out of the ordinary. The lights were off and the televisilon was off. The power was out. He sighed, wishing it would come back on. He hated it when the power went out. He felt strange with it being off. He felt even worse since he was home alone and now there were no lights on in the house. He groaned as he stood up, looking around. Something wasn't the same. There was something different going on, but he wasn't sure exactly what it was. He shrugged as he tried to find his way in the darkened room. He wanted to get his shoes on and go outside. It seemed like his brothers should have been home by now, but they still weren't. It had been a couple of hours since he spoke to them on the phone and now he really was wondering where they were. He hoped they were alright. The storm was still going on. It seemed like it would never get lighter outside. The rain just kept on coming as though it was never going to stop.
"They better be alright," Ponyboy said to himself. He had been worrying about them since he spoke to them on the telephone. He wished he was with them. He did not want to be home alone anymore that night. That was when he noticed that there really was something wrong outside. There was a sound that seemed to be coming from the corner of the street and the lightning seemed to be going on without stopping. There was blue light flashing through the front window as a crackling sound could be heard distant. There was something else going on outside. Ponyboy gulped, more worried than ever now as he headed toward the front door. He had no idea what he was going to find out there, but the longer he stayed inside, the more afraid he felt.
After he did open the door, he almost wished that he hadn't. What he found was not a good thing. Darry's truck had crashed into the utility pole at the corner. A wire had fallen and was crackling with live electricity. The crash had been the loud boom that Ponyboy had heard and that had also been the cause of the power going out. The sparks shooting out of the wire was the blue flashing that could be seen through the window. He nearly collapsed on the front porch as he saw the sight. Neighbors had come out of their houses, even in the rain, to see the crash. He even saw Two-Bit in his car as he drove up to the house. Pretty soon he heard the sounds of sirens as an ambulance and police car pulled up to the scene. He began to get dizzy and disoriented as the rain dripped onto him. He groaned as he saw Two-Bit running up to the house.
"Ponyboy! Are you alright?" Ponyboy did not answer. He collapsed at the front step, going into a deep sleep.
Ponyboy hadn't been responsive for several days. He simply listened to what Two-Bit was saying to a lawyer type of guy. Darry and Soda were dead. The crash had killed them. Two-Bit had tried to explain to Ponyboy that the storm had been so strong that they couldn't see through the rain. They crashed into the utility pole and it killed both of them.
"Well, Keith Matthews, you are old enough to take care of Ponyboy. This does mean that you are responsible for everything he does, just like a parent." Ponyboy saw Two-Bit nod. He didn't even know where he was. He knew he was in an office of some sort, but had no idea exactly what the place was. Two-Bit was sitting in a chair next to him, nodding as the man asked him questions. Ponyboy know about his brothers dying, but he couldn't accept it no matter how hard he tried. He just couldn't let them go. With losing Johnny, he had lost enough and now losing his brothers was too much for him to take. Inside his mind, he couldn't take it, but outside, he wasn't saying a word. The man even commented about it.
"It seems as though Ponyboy isn't very responsive. Has he talked to you, Keith?"
Two-Bit shook his head. "No, sir. Not since the accident. I think he's still in shock because of what happened. That's what made me decide to take care of him. I've heard him talk about being scared to death of going to a boy's home of some kind, so that's why I want to be his guardian. I'll take good care of him. I can give you my word."
The man nodded as he held some papers up, handing them to Two-Bit.
"Very well, Keith. These are some papers that you're going to have to sign and Ponyboy is going to have to sign saying that he agrees to have you be his guardian. That's the only way we can do it legally."
Two-Bit understood as he signed his name on a paper. He handed it to Ponyboy. "Ponyboy," Two-Bit said to Ponyboy. He didn't respond, but simply looked at him. Two-Bit smiled as he gave Ponyboy the pen to sign his name. "Now, if you agree to have me look over you, sign your name. You can do that, right?"
Ponyboy didn't nod or say a word. He simply signed his name on the paper and handed it to the man. The man nodded as he smiled at both of them. "Very well. Two-Bit, you are now Ponyboy Curtis's guardian. If I need to speak with either of you, I will call the Curtis home. That's where you will be living, correct?"
"Yes, sir," Two-Bit responded. "We'll be living in the Curtis home. I'm getting a job soon, though, so when I do get the number, I'll give it to you in case you need to reach me there." They agreed. Two-Bit and Ponyboy walked out of the office as Ponyboy walked off in a daze.
"Ponyboy," Two-Bit said. "I'm your new brother."
A couple of weeks went by. Ponyboy and Two-Bit had stayed at the Curtis home ever since. Steve caught Two-Bit coming out of the house once in a while as he went to the store to get supplies for the two of them. It had been two weeks since the accident and the funerals for the brothers had since passed. Ponyboy showed no emotion at the funerals. It was almost like he was still in a state of shock.
"Two-Bit!" Steve called out as he saw him coming out of the house. Two-Bit was on his way to the store to get supplies for dinner. He opened his car door.
"Hi, Steve," he responded. "I'm sorry, but you're catching me at a bad time. I'm on my way to the store to get some stuff for dinner. You know how I have to cook for Ponyboy now." Steve nodded. He understood, but he didn't like the way things were now.
"Yes, I know," Steve replied. "But I was just wondering if you'd like to go over to the Dingo or something like that one of these days. We haven't hungout since that bad accident and I was thinking you could bring Ponyboy, too. He needs to get out of the house once in a while. It might just get him feeling better again. I regret what I said the other week about him and I'm starting to understand what you were saying."
Two-Bit sighed as he sat in the car. He was about to start the car when he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Steve, but you don't know how Ponyboy's been lately. He hasn't talked or anything since the accident and I'm having a bad feeling that he's not gonna come out of this. Everyday, I try talking to him and he never talks back to me."
Steve nodded. "I see. I think you should call a doctor for him. The accident might have caused him a mental illness. You never know what could happen. He already lost Johnny and Dally and now Soda and Darry. I mean, come on, the kid must be in horrible shock. You never know what could be going on his head. I really think you should call a doctor for him. It seems like the best thing for him now." Two-Bit started the car as he sighed.
"I'll think about it, okay. I'm just not so sure about calling a doctor so soon. It's only been two weeks. I'll wait a little bit and see if I can get him out of this." He drove off to the store.