By ValerieRichards
Disclaimers: See chapter 1.
Author's note: I don't like the idea of Soda going to Vietnam and dying. He's my favorite character.
Chapter 2: Going and Possibly Never Coming Back
I fell backwards on my butt and I didn't look up. I just sat there crying silently.
"Man kid! You scared the heck out of me" a voice said. It was Steve, Soda's friend. Steve still didn't like me and it was fine with me. Not everyone's going to like you. He was silent for a minute.
"Sorry" I said shakily. I looked up and saw concern in his face. That was something I'd never seen with Steve. I could tell he was concerned about me.
"What happened? Where are your brothers" he asked. He didn't have to wait long for the answer. Soda and Darry ran up behind me and skidded to a halt. They nearly crashed into me.
"Steve…..thank goodness……you've found him…….we've been looking all over for him" Soda huffed. He looked like he was going to collapse. Steve looked at Soda and then back at me. Darry explained about what was happening. Steve, surprisingly, was shell shocked. I got up and was about to leave when all three of them turned to me.
"Where do you think you're going" Darry asked. I began to run and they chased me. I used my running skills and widened the distance between us. Soda had just caught his breath when I ran. Then, out of nowhere, Soda came up next to me. He must have taken a shortcut. He tackled me to the ground and pinned me.
"Hold it right there kiddo, you're not going anywhere" he said. This sort of reminded me of when I had tackled him to the ground after he ran away.
"Let go of me" I yelled. Soda didn't move and sat on me until Darry and Steve arrived. Steve was huffing and fell to the ground.
"Man kid, you gave us a run for our money" he huffed. Darry and Soda stared at me and held me to the ground so I wouldn't run away again. I had to tell them everything.
"You're never a burden Pony, maybe annoying, but never a burden" Darry told me. I playfully punched him on the arm. All four of us laughed for a while. Then, a thought occurred to me.
"Oh my gosh" I gasped. The others looked at me frightened. Steve worried me a bit, he was never concerned about me. He cared about Dally more than me.
"What's wrong" Soda asked. I slumped down under a tree and stared into space. We had been running and playfully pushing each other. He sat next to me and the others followed suit.
"I just realized, this is the last time we'll be together" I said. It was, I'd be leaving in two days and Darry and Soda had to go to work the next day. They worked long hours and came home late. Soda pulled me into a hug.
"We'll see each other again, so there's no need to worry" he told me. I shook my head. This was a war, a real one and there was a chance that I could die.
"Yeah there is. This is a war we're talking about. I could never come home...I could get shot and….and……" my voice trailed off, but everyone knew what I was going to say. Soda and Darry looked at me.
"What are the chances of that happening" Darry asked. I glared at him. He's twenty-three, he should be able to calculate.
"1 in 10" I told him. The time, unfortunately, went quick and before I knew it, it was time for me to go to the base to train. Darry and Soda dropped me off at the airport and watched me leave. It all happened in slow motion at that point. I began to think about the chances of never coming back.
Please R&R!
