SO Sorry for the long delay! This chapter just wouldn't come…but at least it's here and semi-long. I have trouble writing when I know it's shit. So hopefully this is decent. More will come soon since I am in a writing frenzy now.

Please read and review!!

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So if you're lonely

You know I'm here waiting for you

I'm just a crosshair

I'm just a shot away from you

And if you leave here

You leave me broken, shattered, I lie

I'm just a crosshair

I'm just a shot, then we can die

I know I won't be leaving here with you

-Franz Ferdinand

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Ponyboy's POV

"Ponyboy Michael," a voice was trying to say steadily, pushing down encroaching fear, "don't you do this. Wake up. Now."

Bits and pieces of vague and varied conversation floated around in my scrambled brain.

"Darry, what the hell happened?" someone else yelped, brown eyes widening in panic as his hands grabbed limp ones.

I was scooped up in strong arms. My stomach ached.

"Too much…there's too much blood," croaked a friend I once knew…

I yawned and stretched, sitting up in a darkened room. The voices blurred and died off.

Why did Darry let me sleep so late? I thought with annoyance.

As I jumped off the bed, I realized with frightening intensity that something was wrong. I was not at home. My feet barely grazed the ground, as I felt light as a feather.

I touched my temple with my right hand; a headache throbbed there. Evaluating the room was an odd sensation. I felt as if I had experienced this scenario before…but couldn't quite place it…

And I don't know why I said it, but the words instantly rose up on my lips: "Dal? Johnny?"

You idiot, a voice inside my mind said. They're dead. They're dead. You know that and you're crazy for asking.

But they answered me. "You rang?" Dallas said, smirking as he stepped out of the darkness.

"Hey Pone," Johnny greeted me with a wave.

Then it dawned on me. I remembered what had happened: The tornado, the blood.

And suddenly I hated Dallas Winston and these games. The not knowing, the waiting.

"Get me back!" I snapped. "This isn't goddamned Alice in Wonderland or Wizard of Oz. I want to go home. Now."

Suddenly, Dallas was beside me. I jumped and clutched my side protectively. "it's not that easy. But you're right Ponyboy. This ain't no fairytale," he said lackadaisically. "And this ain't a dream," he added at my increasingly widening eyes. "This is real."

Someone patted my shoulder in sympathy and I spun around to see Johnny standing beside me. "It'll be alright Ponyboy."

Ignoring Johnny, I stared at Dallas bitterly. " I always had nightmares. After my parents. But stuff like this never happened to me until after you two died."

Dally snorted. "Finally figured that one out did you? And they call you the smart one."

"You know Ponyboy," Johnny ventured, more for my benefit than his, "maybe it's why we died…to help-"

"Don't say that!" I barked. Fatigued, I dropped into a chair and inspected my red hands. "Don't say that," I repeated in a gentler tone. Thinking like that wouldn't help me. I couldn't go there.

Dallas lounged across my bed. I had a brief image of him mixed with Slim and it made me sad. Dallas was better than Slim on so many levels, only it was he who had been the one to die early.

"Having trouble believing this?" Dally asked, seriousness heavy in his voice.

I blinked and looked up. "No. I believe it. It's just weird." I shot him a smile. "No one else would believe this. Not even Sodapop."

"Then it's just for you," Johnny spoke up. "Bad stuff like this would've happened, whether we had lived or not Ponyboy," Johnny added. "It's life."

"Sure." I mumbled.

But I got what he had wanted to say. With or without them, bad luck would always happen. Only in other circumstances it could have happened to Two-Bit, or Steve. Or Soda. I just had a knack for stumbling into it myself.

I found their eyes and said more bravely than I felt, "Well, if this is it, let me fall. 'Cause I'm real tired of this."

I was met with silence as Dally blew smoke rings and Johnny randomly pulled out a copy of "Gone with the Wind," and juggled it between his hands.

And then, realizing that I was incredibly hollow and incredibly alone, I asked Johnny: "Where're my brothers?"

He pointed at the door. "Out there."

Hesitating for a moment, I lingered in the room and then I was moving fast, pulling the door open and stepping outside…

The first ones I saw were Steve and Two-Bit. Steve was smoking, resting his head against the back of the chair and staring at the ceiling. Two-Bit held a People magazine but he stared straight through it, his leg bouncing nervously.

My eyes whisked in the opposite direction and finally I saw my brothers. Darry and Soda were speaking with a doctor. The doctor was a tall man, bald with a black beard. The expression he gave my brothers was something between disdain and impatience.

Darry ran a hand through his hair; I was shocked to see dark, dried blood staining the front of his t-shirt. "Look, in English. Please. What does that mean?"

I wrinkled my nose. Darry was frustrated; worse Darry's frustration was actually breaking through the tough barrier he had always tried to keep up as a front. And if Darry was frustrated…

My head snapped to Soda, really seeing him this time…

Well, Sodapop was positively pissed…

"Doc, if I don't get a straight answer in about two minutes-" A muscle twitched in Soda's jaw as the doctor sighed and nearly rolled his eyes.

Dally whispered, even though no one could hear us. "Soda's a lot calmer now than he was back at the house. I mean boy, when he walked in and saw you lying there he just-"

"Shut up," I hissed at him. I didn't want to hear this.

"What?" Dallas asked pretending to be wounded, " I just wanted to give you one last talking to."

Glaring at him, I crossed my arms. "Swell." Then I caught onto his words. "What do you mean 'last'?" I squeaked.

"Settle down. It'll come to you."

The snap of the doctor's clipboard got my attention again. "The blunt abdominal trauma your brother received resulted in extensive internal bleeding to the organs. Especially to the spleen which ruptured. The internal bleeding can be stopped through a simple blood transfusion. But we need permission from his guardian to perform a splenectomy - remove the ruptured spleen. So as you can see, we need a signature, Mr. Curtis." He held out the clipboard to Darry. "Think you can do that?"

As Darry grabbed the clipboard away and hurriedly inspected the forms, the doctor chuckled and ran a hand down his goatee. "That damn tornado. Well, at least it's good for business." He chuckled good-naturedly.

Soda and I both gaped at him, aghast. Darry kept his head down, staring at the forms, but I saw his knuckles go white.

Soda shook his head and took a step forward, fists clenched. "Buddy…"

"Whoa!" Steve said quickly, jumping out of his chair and grabbing Soda's arm. He pulled down into a chair next to Two-Bit. "C'mon Soda." Then in a lower tone he said, "Soda, I don't think it's wise to assault the doctor who'll soon be holding the scalpel over Ponyboy."

Darry scribbled down his signature and shoved the clipboard back at the doctor, his face stormy. "If you don't find me immediately after his surgery, I'll find you."

I smiled with satisfaction as I saw the doctor take a step back from Darry. It was as if he was really seeing him and all his muscles for the first time. "It'll be one or two hours," he grumbled and spun around on his heel, running into Dana.

"Hello, sir," she said briskly.

"Nurse Maxwell," he commanded, pushing the forms in her hand. "Get this patient prepped for surgery."

Her eyes narrowed as he walked away. "Prick," she muttered before turning back to Darry.

The doctor stopped and slowly turned around. "What's that nurse?"

Dana feigned innocence. "Sir?" She cocked her head in confusion.

He squinted hard at Dana and then continued his walk back down the corridor.

"That goddamn bastard doctor," Dana muttered as she turned back to Darry. "Thinks his shit don't stink…" Then remembering the situation, Dana laid a hand on Darry's arm and asked, "Did you understand what Dr. Copeland told you about your brother?" But her words weren't condescending they were honest, professional.

"Yes," Darry said in a stilted voice. "He needs an operation." His eyes were numb, resigned and helpless.

"So, he'll be fine then?" Two-Bit asked, tossing the magazine aside. Soda looked terrified of the news and took a couple of deep breaths.

"He lost a lot of blood." Dana shifted uneasily. She held up a hand at Soda's irritated face, cutting off a retort. I knew he'd lay into her for not being encouraging but I appreciated the honesty.

Darry's face was paper white as Dana continued, "But he should be fine with a transfusion. Despite Dr. Copeland's lack of tact, he is a good doctor. Just know that the surgery does come with risks. Some patients are susceptible to post-surgery infections such as sepsis, or uh, lowered immune systems."

I had to smile right along with Steve as he lowered his head into his hands and said, "God, that's just what that kid needs. A lowered immune system."

Dally smirked. "So he's still a shit. Great."

Dana squeezed Darry's hand. "Don't worry. I'll be there."

The scene in front of me began to fade a bit, voices becoming harder to hear. Steve said something to Soda and patted him on the back as Soda and Two-Bit's dazed expressions clouded over. Dana squeezed Darry's hand and left him to sit beside Sodapop.

Dally nudged me. "Want to see your surgery?"

I grimaced. Seeing my guts strung out on an operating table wasn't high on my list of priorities. "Not really."

Dally lit a cigarette and breathed smoke out through his nostrils. "Better watch kid. After all, it could be your funeral."

All of a sudden, I had no words to fight with Dallas Winston.

XXXX

"There sure is a lot of blood in people…"

Johnny's words from Windrixville echoed throughout my head as I watched Doctor Copeland scoop out my insides. "I don't even want to know what that is," I murmured.

We were huddled in the operating room, standing around unnoticed, watching my surgery. Long, thin tubes transferred someone else's blood into me. I shut my eyes and turned away from the scene, facing Johnny and Dallas. "So don't keep me in suspense. Tell me. Does he knick an artery? Too much anesthesia?" I asked almost crazily.

Things seemed to be running too smoothly, what I wanted to know was where it took a turn for the worst.

Johnny shot me an impressed glance. "What makes you think anything happens?"

"We're here for something…" I said at the same time as Dallas said, "It'll happen…"

Dana, who was assisting, hung up the OR phone and hurried over to the doctor. "Sir, the weather's getting worse outside." As if to make her point, lights flickered on and off overhead. "We need to close up soon, get the rest of the blood in, if the electricity fails…"

Copeland hushed her and she fell back, silent but eyes blazing.

Then I became aware that Dallas and Johnny had stepped away from me. Johnny walked around to the heart monitor. "We're going to go now Ponyboy," he said in a low voice.

I nodded; thinking it would be good to be alone for a while, collect my thoughts. "Ok. See you around Johnnycake."

The next nightmare probably, I joked to myself.

Johnny shook his head. "No. You won't."

My chest tightened and I could barely force out, "What?"

"You gotta make it out of this yourself, kid." Dallas said, walking slowly up to me, gripping my hands in an odd gesture that frightened me more than his words. "We're not gonna be around anymore. Anywhere. It's over. Done."

I stared at them, a sudden dread filling me. If they were serious…

…Shoot, I could barely remember a time without them…even when they weren't actually walking and breathing on earth. At least I still had them in my dreams.

"What am I gonna do without you?" I sputtered.

"That's up to you Ponyboy." Johnny ran his hand down the heart monitor; he wouldn't meet my eyes.

The lights overhead flickered again.

Dallas shrugged. "Does it look like I care?"

But I knew he did. He could lie to himself but not to me. I knew him too well. I nearly laughed to myself…I had felt like I didn't know Dally Winston at all when he was alive…but dead…well I could read him like a book…

"No," I said in disbelief, wrenching my hands away from Dallas and stepping backwards.

Dallas shot me that shit-eating grin of his and held out his arms. "Take a good, long look."

"Choose. It's your choice." Johnny suddenly met my eyes with a strange forcefulness and I knew what he was going to do.

I snapped my eyes shut, took a deep breath to collect myself and then opened them. "I'll never forget you guys," I whispered more to myself than to them.

Johnny shot me a real grin, not that frightened puppy-dog one I had always remembered. A real one. "We know you won't Ponyboy." And he raised his hand, balling it into a fist over the heart monitor.

Dallas walked over to Johnny. Everything was beginning to fade. "And if you do kid…we'll be back."

My mouth pulled into a thin, taught line and I nodded curtly. "Johnny. Do it."

Johnny raised his fist higher and then slammed it down onto my heart monitor. The wavy line short-circuited once, twice and then snapped off. Everything went dark.

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Alrighty…please leave reviews and I will update. I hope this wasn't a horrible chapter. Meh. I have no clue. ;)

Also, pardon any typos…I proofed this quickly…

Thanks!