"Holy shit" I said out loud to myself. I had sped all the way to the children's hospital. I was fine up until I hit the entrance. I came skidding to a stop. There were news cameras, reporters, and people everywhere. They were encircled around someone, but I couldn't see who. I parked and got out not really caring about my parking job.
"Follow me!" A large police officer commanded.
"Where's my brother!" I screamed at him. I quickly resented it as they screamed blurred questions. I was blinded by the lights, and everything else. As soon as we entered the hospital the cop took me into some break room. Actually, he dragged me by the collar of my shirt.
"Darrel Curtis I presume?" A shaky voice peered through the blinds and looked out at the crowed. Still hasn't died down has it, O' Riley? I'm Doctor Marks," He stuck his hand out for me to shake.
"Yes? Does this have anything to do with my brother?" I snapped. This wasn't even funny, their little show, I just got bombarded by reporters.
"There was a drug bust today, found a large supplier of marijuana along with many other drugs. You know about LSD?" The cop asked me although it seemed more like he was accusing me.
"I've heard of them, never done either. What's this have to do with my brother?"
"They were your brother's foster parents. We think they forced him to deal at the local schools. Maybe for them even at the big time. Two of my men busted them today, they went to search the shed, figuring they would find more, but we found a dirty, scared little boy. He couldn't move something wrong with his leg. My officer carried him out. The boy never spoke, to frightened, to hurt, I don't know." He ran his fingers through his half-gray hair.
"Pony screams if I bring medication, needles anything near him. We are afraid, that we might scare the child even more if we force it on him, or hurt him psychologically. Even more than he already is. You need to see him, talk to him, and say we want to help. It will be better coming from you." The Doctor said still staring out at the crowd.
"Where is he?" I asked.
"He's not how you last seen him I'm sure," Doctor Marks started again.
"Where the hell is my brother?" I shouted. "Take me to him, and take me now. Or I'll find him myself!"
"Follow me."
They took me up two floors to a teen unit. I hated hospitals. I hated the smell of alcohol in them. I hated what happened in them. Some one in a hospital is never good news. I tried my hardest not to look in the rooms of the kids there. There was nothing more depressing than a sick kid. I was lucky it was nighttime the lights were off and they were all sleeping.
I got to the room; there was a crowd of people there. I recognized a few of the social services people and a few cops by their uniforms. I saw my brother. My baby brother a safe distance away from them sitting on one of those doctor tables, he looked stony faced and scared. The expression all skin and bones, it fit him well. His hair was UN greased and fell over his face. He had his head hung and was shaking.
"Hey baby." I said softly like he was a battered animal. I take back what I said; there was something more depressing than a sick kid.
Pony looked up at me. I had no clue what to do, or what to say to him. He put his hand on the side of my face, and ran it down like he was testing to see if I was real. He sort of looked at me like I was going to vanish at any second.
"Hey." I pushed the hair back out of his eyes, and revealed a cut across his forehead. "What happened to you?"
He didn't answer; he just starred at me with his hollowed eyes that were framed with dark circles. It creped me out the look in his eyes. He looked like he had come out of one of those horror films.
"You can tell me buddy, what's wrong?" I tried again.
Pony dropped his gaze to the floor and pulled one leg up to his chest.
"Darry." Someone put a hand on my shoulder. Pony made a noise.
"Oh my god," Rick starred at Pony. "Darry, Soda and Charlotte are in the waiting room; being hounded by press."
"Okay," I said not taking my eyes off of Pony. He was looking at the doctors, social service and the cops arguing behind me about what to do with him.
"You think they wouldn't do that in front of him. The kid has been through enough." Rick shook his head in disgust.
"Want to see Soda?" I asked.
Something flickered in Pony's eyes. He starred down at his one leg; the one he hadn't moved and then looked up at me.
"Get Soda; meet me by the nurse's station," I said to Rick. I glanced back at the people arguing or whatever. I bet they wouldn't even notice. I slid my sweatshirt off and put it around him. It drowned Pony; I had to laugh when he put the hood up. It was one all the football players got, and it went down to his eyes.
"Okay, I'll take you to see Soda, but you have to let a doctor look at you. I'll stay the whole time with you. Deal?" I stuck my hand out. Pony took mine into one of his cold hands. I picked him up with both arms, I probably didn't need too; I could have picked him up with my pinky fingers. Pony slipped an arm around my neck and rested his head under my chin. I kissed the top of his head. "I've got you little brother."
I carried him out of the room unnoticed. We made it out before Soda and his foster parents were there. So we watched the elevator. The second the doors spread open. Soda came full speed toward us.
"Whoa, slow down careful, we're not sure what's hurt and what's not yet," I warned. Pony reached out throwing an arm around Soda.
"Pony, are you okay? What happened?" Soda asked.
Pony looked up at me. "He will be. I have to take him to go are looked at now."
Pony went through x rays just fine. He never gave direct answers to the doctor. I began to wonder if those people did something to him, to make him that way; put something in his mouth. He had a broken leg; he didn't even answer when the doctor asked him if he wanted to pick a color for his cast. He let the doctors check him over.
"I'm going to have to give him tetanus and draw blood." Doctor Marks looked at the nurse. He got up and left and the nurse began to clean Pony's arm. I watched at Pony's eyes went wide. He pulled away from the nurse and kicked at her.
"Honey, it will only hurt for a second a tiny pinch," she said trying to jump out of the way of Pony's kicking leg. The doctor came in with the shot.
"Is he afraid of needles?" Doctor Marks asked.
I shook my head. "I don't know what's gotten into him," I said honestly. I had never seen Pony act this way. I grabbed Pony, pulling him against me with my left arm and cupping my right hand around his mouth so he would stop hollering. I gently rubbed my thumb across his check.
"Calm down, I've got you; you can't holler like that you'll wake the entire hospital up. This won't hurt more than a second so hug, squeeze my hand or something and shut your eyes. It'll be done with in a second."
"Ponyboy, I don't know what those people did to you or told you, but I'm here to help you. You have to let me give you the shot and take your blood so we know what to do to help you. What if I do it on Darry first?"
Now it was my turn to be scared. I hated needles with a passion. I nearly passed out when it came time to get my shots for football. That was a secret that no one new. He whispered to the nurse something. When she came back next she had another shot. I swallowed hard and looked at Pony. "See, it's nothing," I lied as he pushed the needle through my vain.
Pony buried his face in my neck and stuck out his one arm while holding me in a death grip with the other. I could tell he was crying yet there wasn't a sound. He was silently crying. I had to hold his arm still he was shaking so hard.
"There you go it's over. Go get some rest," Doctor Marks said.
"Come on baby. Let's go upstairs," I carried him back up to his room. "That wasn't so bad now was it?"
Pony just looked down all his hair fell over his eyes. He lied down and shut his eyes. I pulled a chair up next to his bed.
I pushed the hair away from Pony's stitches, good lord he was skinny. I wondered how much he weighed. There was no way could even make a hundred pounds. It surprised me he was sleeping like he was. He usually was a light sleeper. I put my head back in my chair and shut my eyes. I couldn't help thinking about him. What if he wasn't talking because he couldn't?
I don't know what made me wake up. This happened a lot. I woke up with this feeling. The feeling never let me go back to bed.
I saw Pony sitting up right. His legs pulled to his chest. He was doing it again. That silent crying.
"Hey Ponyboy? What's the wrong? What happened?" I asked moving next him on the bed. I tried comforting him. I held him close to me. "You're okay. I'm right here," I said. This was scaring me; he was scaring me. I hate hospitals and I would kill the people who did this to him. I swear the second I saw them.
"Talk to me Pony, please." I begged. "You can tell me anything."
He didn't, he didn't talk at all. He finally cried himself to sleep. I was too afraid to move that he would wake up. I stayed with him. My arm had fallen asleep; I didn't really care. I'd do anything for him.
Out of nowhere, I couldn't breathe. Why couldn't I breathe? I tried opening my mouth. It was blocked. I sat up and opened my eyes. I looked over at my brother. He smiled a little. He had pinched my nose together.
"Think that's funny? Huh?"
Pony pointed behind me. I turned around to find Dally sitting in a chair. He grinned at me. "Morning sleeping beauty," an UN lit cigarette dangled from his lips.
I rubbed my eyes. "What are you doing here Dallas?"
"I took a look at the paper today. Take a look in the sports section," he tossed me the paper. "Front page has Pony's story on it. Says you guys have given no comment."
I nodded. "Yeah, we won't until we know what happened to him." I read through Pony's story, it talked about the drug bust, all the stuff they found and how they used the foster care money to help get the things they needed to make the drugs. They had interviewed the cop that pulled Pony out of the shed, it said he had kicked the cop and screamed when he came near him. It talked about Pony and how no statements have been made. I read mine. It seemed like I had done that interview years ago instead of yesterday.
"Kid your name is all over the news. They all want to hear you talk. They'll be damned to find out you don't talk any more," Dally lit his cigarette and tossed the pack at Pony. "Got you something else." He took out a candy bar and threw that too.
"No!" I snapped grabbing the pack from away from Pony. "You don't need that, he doesn't need to smoke Dal, he's in the hospital for a reason!"
"You don't need to be like that, the kid's freaked out enough," Dally snapped. He nodded toward Pony glaring at me.
I turned around. Pony was as pale as his sheets. His eyes were wide. I wanted to kick myself. "I'm not mad at you," I told him.
"You know kid you look real tuff in this picture, kind of like Tim after he got arrested," Dally stared at the door. I felt Pony dig in to the side of me. A police officer in full uniform came into view.
"I'm Sergeant James; I pulled Pony out of that shed yesterday," he stuck his hand out towards me.
"I'm Darry, his brother," I shook his hand. I felt Pony shaking next to me.
"Son, I need you to identify people for me," he said taking a picture out of his wallet. He showed it to Pony. I knew the people in it were his foster parents. "Are those the people who put you in the shed?" He asked.
Pony shut his eyes; he leaned into my shoulder. He was shaking again.
"Ponyboy, we can put these people away for a really long time if you just nod you head," Officer James said.
I felt his nails dig into my wrist now.
"Son, please look," James begged.
"Back off!" Dally shouted. "Can't you see the kid can't do that crap right now, get out leave him alone."
"Those people are his foster parents," I said.
"I know, but that's not what I'm asking; only he can answer." Sergeant James left the room.
"Why is he acting like that?" Dally asked.
I shook my head. How was I supposed to know, Pony wasn't talking to anyone.
Doctor Marks came in next. He gave Pony one of those fake smiles that a doctor gives you before a shot or something.
"Darry, step out in the hall with me for a second," he said.