Chapter Nine- Missing
"I will, Johnny, but there's somethin' else I need to talk to you about." I said and I went into my room and grabbed Gone with the Wind. I flipped open to page 126 and found Johnny's letter.
"I found this letter in the book. Why'd you write all them things, Johnny? You ain't dead! You ain't crippled! You've recovered!" I said. Johnny shrugged.
"Well, Pone, at the time that I wrote that I wasn't." He said. Memories came flooding back. Johnny in the burn ward…Johnny telling me he didn't want to die…The rumble…Me and Dallas going to see Johnny…Johnny slipping into a coma…Dallas robbing the store and getting shot by the police…Us running to the lot to help him…Us taking him to the hospital…Us hearing Johnny was alive…
"Yeah, well, you are now!" I said. I heard the front door open and slam and then heard Two-Bit and Steve's voices.
"Where the kids?" Two-Bit asked.
"In Johnny's room, talkin'. Johnny ain't been sayin' much lately." Darry answered.
"Who can blame the kid, he got jumped again!" Two-Bit said.
"Him and Ponyboy both." Soda added. "Ya'll seen Dally? Pony said he was down at the Dingo earlier."
"Naw, Dally ain't there now and we ain't seen him." Steve said. I turned away from the door and looked at Johnny.
"I wrote those things in case I didn't make it, Pony. You just never know if you're ever gonna have a chance to say those things to someone." Johnny said and I knew he was right.
"Well, it's OK now, Johnny." I said. Johnny didn't anything. He just sat there.
"Listen, I'll see ya in the mornin', OK?" I asked and Johnny nodded.
"See ya in the mornin'." I walked out into the kitchen.
"What did he say, Pony?" Soda asked.
"Well, me and him ran into Randy Adderson today…" I said.
"Bob's friend?" Steve asked. I nodded.
"Yeah, Bob's friend. He was one of the ones that beat Johnny." I said.
"What that big-shot want?" Two-Bit asked.
"He just wanted to talk." I said, not wanting Two-Bit to go out and look for trouble like Dallas. That's the last thing we needed: Another Dally.
"Yeah, well, he'd better watch it." Darry said in a low voice under his breath and I knew what he meant. Randy's a Soc; Johnny and I are greasers. I shrugged and began to wash the dishes with Soda. After that, I went to bed. I thought about what Darry had said. We all knew he meant it. I hated the gap.
I woke up the nest morning around ten o'clock. Darry and Soda had already left for work and I knew the rest of the gang wouldn't be by until later. I yawned and walked into the kitchen for a Pepsi. Johnny wasn't up yet.
I gotta wake him up, I thought. I finished my Pepsi, put the bottle in the sink, and knocked on Johnny's door.
"Johnny? You up?" I asked. I didn't get an answer.
"Johnny?" I asked, opening the door.
Johnny's bed was empty. In fact, the whole house was empty. I knew Johnny wasn't anywhere in the house. Johnny was missing.
"Soda! Steve!" I called as I neared the DX where Steve and Soda worked. Steve wheeled out from under a car and Soda put down what he was working on. Both had oil and car grease on their faces, but it wasn't like they never had grease on their heads or faces before.
"What is it, Pony? What's wrong? Where's Johnny?" Soda asked. I stopped to catch my breath.
"Johnny's missing!" I panted.
"What?!" Steve said, suddenly alert. "Where'd he go?"
"I dunno. I woke up and he was gone!" I said.
"Dang it. Where do you think he went?" Soda asked.
"I don't know!" I said. "But we gotta go find him!" I said.
"Yeah, you're right. I'll go find Darry and you go to the Dingo to find Dallas. That's probably where he is. If he ain't there, he's at Buck's and you don't go over there, you hear?" Soda asked. I nodded. "Steve, you go find Two-Bit, wherever the heck he may be." Steve was off.
"Won't you get in trouble for leaving?" I asked Soda as I trotted after him.
"Maybe, but we gotta find Johnny. I deal with the boss later." Soda said and I nodded. I ran to the Dingo to find Dally. He wasn't there, but Tim Shepard was.
"Tim!" I said. Tim turned.
"What is it, kid?" He asked gruffly, but not like he didn't care.
"You seen Dally?" I asked.
"Nup. Probably at Buck's." Tim said and I was growing frustrated.
"Dang it! I gotta find him!" I said.
"Why?"
"Johnny's missin'." I said.
"The quiet kid?" Tim asked.
"Yeah. Tim, Soda and Darry won't let me go to Buck's, but I gotta find Dally! This is important!" I said.
"Well, come on. I'll go in and find Dallas for you." Tim said and I sighed with relief. I ran after Tim and we reached Buck's. Luckily, Dallas was there and not inside. In fact, it looked like he had just arrived.
"Dally!" I called. Dallas turned around and looked at me.
"Ponyboy, what are you doin' here?" He asked.
"Dally, we need your help! Johnny's missin'!" I said. Dally stared at me in disbelief.
"What?"
"The black-haired kid's missin'." Tim said and Dally's eyes flashed fire.
"Johnny's missing? Well, what are we waitin' for?" Dally said and we took off to meet the rest of the gang.
By the time night rolled in, we still hadn't found Johnny.
"Hey, Pony, we're gonna find him, buddy!" Soda said and I hoped he was right. We were heading to the house to see if Johnny had showed up there while we were out looking. Just as we passed the lot, something caught my eye. I nudged Soda and pointed.
There, on the other side of the lot, was a dark heap. It was Johnny.
"Johnny!" I yelled and I reached him first. He was on his side and unconscious…or dead, I wasn't sure. I looked at Soda. Soda, like he had done six months before, leaned down and tuned Johnny over. Johnny had been beaten just about as bad as last time. His scar that Bob had left on his cheek was cut wide open. His face was bruised badly and in the fading light, I saw a few dark spots on his black T-shirt. Dang it! It was the Socs again! I was trembling and Steve put his hand on my shoulder to steady me.
"Easy, Ponyboy." He said. I looked back at Johnny. He was still breathing.
"Johnny? Johnnycake? You OK, kid?" Soda asked. Johnny moved a little and opened his eyes.
"Guys? Soda?" He asked.
"Yeah, it's us." Soda answered.
"What happened?" Two-Bit demanded. "Who did this?" Johnny took in a ragged breath.
"Randy."
A/N- Uh oh, Randy had better watch it!
As I say all the time, I write with my fingers, not my brain, so if you see any typos or something, blame my fingers, not my intelligence. So blame the fingers!
Poor Johnny!
-Robin