Alright, last chapter, woo! xD Thank you guys for the reviews for the last one! They made me smile! :3
Disclaimer: Again, I don't own The Outsiders, Soda, OR Steve. S.E. Hinton does. :C
March 11, 1968
Steve and Soda sprinted through a small village in Laos. They were both drafted into the Vietnam War during August of last year. Both of them were equally upset about the whole thing, but they knew there was no way of getting out. The hardest part was leaving the gang knowing that they might not have seen them again. The two both promised they'd come back, alive. And they made sure that they'd keep their promises.
Soda uneasily glanced around at all the destroyed huts and houses, he winced knowing that there were probably people inside. Soda absolutely hated the idea of going into war, and having to kill people. He wasn't that type of person, though without Steve here with him he would have probably gone insane. The ground shook as bombs were dropped all over the place, exploding every now and then.
Thankfully, they were out of its way before any of them exploded. Besides the bombs dropping, there were also numerous amounts of gunshots, and screaming. Soda couldn't stand the screaming at all, it made his stomach flip every time he heard one. Steve was... well he was Steve, his eyes were hard and he masked any emotion. He didn't even cower a bit when the gunshots inched closer, which amazed Soda.
Soda loosely held his M16 as he ran, but tight enough so he wouldn't drop it along the way. Steve took the lead, aiming his M60 whenever he heard a noise that seemed to be close to them. Soda was a slow learner when it came to shooting guns, while Steve, on the other hand, was a pro at it from the start. With months of training, Soda became better and was as good as the rest of their unit.
Another bomb dropped, as it rocketed towards the ground, just behind the two men, but not that close where it could hurt them. The ground shook, and both of them fell to the ground, debris floating over their heads, and drifting towards the ground. Another blood-curdling scream sounded, and Soda winced resisting the urge to cover his ears.
Steve was up on his feet in no time, glancing back as he got his balance. His eyes slightly widened, and Steve bent down grabbing at Soda's shoulder. "Come on, come on! We gotta go! Now!" Soda nodded, getting to his feet, dizzily. He looked back to see what his best friend had been staring at.
Soda's own eyes widened as half of the village was on fire, and it didn't slow down as it roared and the flames licked over all the brush huts, feeding the fuel. So many people... dead. Soda thought, crestfallen. Unlike others, he sure was sympathetic towards the fallen, especially the innocent.
Steve interrupted his thought once more, "Soda! Get over here, man! I don't want to be the one carryin' your dead body!" He snapped, rushing out of the village, with Soda close behind. Soda caught himself continuously glancing back at the burning village. "Those poor people, Steve, didn't even get a chance to run away." He sighed, running alongside his friend. Steve huffed, "We don't got any time to be sympathetic for others, Soda. Here all you gotta remember is 'Kill or be killed'. None of that apologetic crap." Soda furrowed his brows, understanding what his friend was saying, but he wasn't that kind of person to not have feelings towards others.
The whole idea of war was stupid, in Soda's opinion. And he was fed up with the whole Soc and Greaser rivalry, he didn't even think about these kind of things. Sure, people didn't get along, but killing each other because of it? Soda didn't really get it, nor did he want to get it.
A childish scream interrupted his thought, and he whipped around in an instant. The scream sounded so close... His frantic eyes scanned the village, and immediately stopped on the closest hut, along the side there was a small child huddled up against it.
Soda knew that he didn't have time to think on what he should do, so he did what his instincts told him to do. His gut told him to keep running, but he knew the right thing to do was to go save that child. He stopped, and was about to run back towards the village to save him, but Steve grabbed his sleeve once more.
"What do you think you're doin'?" He shouted, furious. He was obviously fed up with Soda, and he didn't know how many more times he would have to save him from being blown up, or even from drowning in a stream like last time. Stupid kid was prone to getting into accidents.
"There's a kid back there Steve! He's gonna die!" Soda shouted back, raising his voice over the flames and gunshots, not to mention the bombs too. He actually had a serious expression instead of the usual nervous or disgusted expressions he usually wore. Steve shook his head, gripping Soda's shoulder tighter. "We don't got the time to go back, Soda, we gotta get outta here, fast."
Soda shook his head stubbornly, "He's probably just about 5, Steve!" He inched away from his friend, making Steve grip his jacket tighter. "Let go of me, man! I gotta save 'em!" Steve sighed, reluctantly letting go of his best friend, "It could be a trap." He tried to reason with Soda, but that was no use. He was too stubborn.
Soda flashed Steve a reassuring smile before sprinting off towards the village, taking longer strides each step. He was gonna save that kid even if that was the last thing he'd do. He inhaled the smell of the smoke, making him gag as it got stronger. Each step he took he was closer to the kid who seemed to be paralyzed with fear.
As he got closer he knelt down in front of the kid, about to pick him up, but the kid took a small step back, eyes wide. Soda knew that the kid thought that he was probably going to hurt him. "Hey, hey there," Soda paused, giving the kid a genuine smile. "I'm not gonna hurt you, alright? In fact, I'm here to save ya. You okay with that, kid?" He soothed, using the voice he used to use when Pony was sick or upset when he was younger.
The small child seemed to accept Soda's presence, and he gave him a small nod, before Soda picked him up in his arms. "I'm gonna get you outta here, you dig?" Soda's smile widened into a huge grin, which was the first genuine grin in months.
Steve watched as Soda talked to the kid for a couple seconds before picking him up, and breaking into a jog towards the hill Steve stood on. He glanced around, looking intently for any other people, but hoped that the two wouldn't get hurt, for the fire wasn't that far behind them.
Soda glanced towards his left as gunshots seemed to get louder. From behind the darkness of another house, a man stepped out, gun in hands. He stared directly into Soda's eyes, as Soda's eyes widened. He froze for a brief moment, but that was too late.
A gunshot went off, and Soda felt a white-hot pain enter his thigh. Letting out a small gasp, the child cried, burying his head into Soda's shoulder. Soda closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pain, as he covered the kid's body with his arms to reduce the risk of the kid getting shot. Another gunshot went off, another pain, but in his shoulder this time. "Steve!" Soda shouted as loud as he could, not caring if his voice cracked. Another gunshot.
Soda dropped to the ground, his stomach burning, and he screamed in agony. It didn't help the child at all, it just made the poor kid cry even more, but Soda still embraced the child against his chest.
Steve heard gunshots and his name being called when he realized it was Soda. Not Soda... He raced downhill towards the village, where Soda laid, bleeding, with the kid snuggled up against his chest, screaming bloody murder. Time seemed to slow down for Steve has he ran towards his best friend who was like a brother to him. Step by step he ran, which seemed like forever.
He dropped to his knees as he scanned his best friend. A gunshot to the thigh, stomach, and shoulder. Steve winced, not knowing how much pain it would have caused Soda. He leaned forward, slipping his arms beneath Soda's knees and upper back. He heaved himself up, carrying Soda bridal style, with the kid still on Soda's chest. Steve jogged towards the hill, the extra weight slowing him down even more. "Come on Soda..." He whispered, but it was inaudible compared to the ruckus that was going on around them.
The trip towards the hill seemed to take forever for Steve, and probably even longer for his injured friend. Gently, he laid him down on the grass once they reached the top of the hill. Steve unlatched the child from Soda, and plopped him down right beside him. He ruffled the small kid's hair, as he took off his jacket.
Using his jacket, he applied pressure to the stomach wound. "Come on Soda," He repeated, "Stay with me, buddy." He looked over at his face, Soda's head lolled to the side, and he looked at Steve. It took him a second to finally recognize the man, and he weakly smiled. Tears started to well up in Steve's eyes, "You're gonna be okay..." He mumbled, repeatedly, mostly trying to convince himself.
Soda coughed, coughing up blood as it slowly trailed down his chin. Shakily, he reached out to grab Steve's hand, his mouth was moving, as he struggled to say something. This made Steve shake his head, "No, no, no, don't talk Soda. You're gonna be okay. I'm gonna get you home, and you can see Pony and Darry again. Alright? And then we can go to parties, and get all the girls we want... I'm sure of it! I promise..." He trailed off, tears streaming down his rough, muddy face.
Soda's eyes started to droop, "Steve..." He managed to choke out, "Take care of the kid, alright?" His gaze flickered to the child besides Steve, before returning back to his grieving friend. "Y'know, you'd make a great father someday... Better than your ol' man." He coughed, while Steve shook his head. "Nah, don't talk like that Soda, you're not dyin' on me man. You can't die on me man! I need you! I need you here..." He slowly applied more pressure to Soda's wound, ignoring the blood that covered his hands.
"I'm sorry Steve..." He shook his head, weakly, pausing. "Just... whatever you do, keep on fightin'... keep on fightin'... and don't... don't forget about me alright? With that short term memory of yours..." He managed a bloody grin, before spluttering up more blood.
Steve nodded slowly, "I won't Pepsi-Cola... I promise..." More tears streamed down Steve's face, but Soda noticed them this time. Shakily, he reached up to shake Steve's shoulder. "Hey, hey, don't cry man... don't cry..." He coughed, taking in a sharp breath. "Best... friends 'till... the end, right?" He choked out, it was getting harder for Soda to breathe, let alone talk. He struggled to keep his eyes open, as his breathing slowed.
Steve nodded again, too busy applying more pressure on Soda's wound to wipe away his tears. "Best friends 'till the end, Soda, don't you forget that." He flashed his friend a weak, strained smile.
Soda chuckled a bit, making him splutter up some more blood, and started to fall into a coughing fit. The coughs suddenly stopped, as Soda's eyes flickered close, his hand dropped, limp, from Steve's shoulder, and his chest finally stopped moving.
Steve sat back, sobbing, and shaking his head. "Soda..." He inhaled sharply, scowling, and wiped away his tears. His eyes were filled with sorrow, but quickly change into hatred for the world. He grabbed his M60 and stood up, "For you Soda, best friends 'till the end." He glanced back at the village, which was now completely up in flames. He was definitely going to get revenge for his best friend's death.
He grabbed the child's arms and hauled him up to his chest, "Come on, let's go."
Yayy, it's donee! :D
How'd you guys like it? R&R!
Thank you guys!