A/N: Just a little FYI, this chapter and and the ending of the last chapter take place technically on Sunday May 22nd instead of the 21st because of it going after midnight. I didn't change it because to me the days don't change until you go to sleep and wake up in the morning, and also to not confuse you and make you think Pony's been hiding in the woods for longer than he actually has. This chapter probably takes place from 2-4 A.M. Chapter six will start on the 22nd.

In Hot Water

Chapter Five: "A Risky Chance to Take"

Saturday May 21st, 1966

He was still shaking. It was about fifteen minutes after the phone call Sharon made to Shane when he arrived. Pony instantly knew it was him when he heard heavy footsteps pounding on the ground. As the pounding got louder, Pony thought his heartbeat was doing the same. He felt like time had slowed down so much after he heard Sharon come back to the house.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Pony jumped as he heard Shane yell at his cousin. The last time he knew that Shane Whitfield was angry, Pony was almost killed. He felt guilty for getting Sharon into so much trouble, but then again she didn't tie him as tightly as she should have. It was like she was telling him to leave but Pony knew that wasn't the message. If she wanted him to leave she would have never came back.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried desperately. She sounded so scared. "I… I don't know what happened. I left him and I forgot something at the house and as I was heading back I heard shuffling and when I came in the basement door was opened… I don't know Shane! I'm so sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't cut it Sharon! I told you to tie him down tight, to lock all doors in the house and you failed. Your mistake might have put both you and I in jail, you understand that?"

"I didn't even want to be part of this in the first place Shane. It's not my fault that he escaped!"

"Whatever. You search around the house. I'll go check possible places he could've run to. I know this place from the back of my hand. He ain't gonna get far."

Pony squeaked. Maybe he should just stand up and give his location out to them because maybe that would easier to deal with than what they would do to him if they found him. If he came back to them on his own maybe they wouldn't hurt him as bad as the would if they found him. But turning himself in would make it official that he would not survive this at all. It was like him handing a gun to someone and asking them to shoot him.

But deep in his gut, Pony felt that he was going to die-maybe not tonight, but soon. It was like there was a pattern to it. Every eight months, two people they are close to will die. If he died in this, then there definitely was a patterned. May marked eight months since Dally and Johnny died on the dot. But Pony couldn't help thinking who would die with him.

Pony stop shaking when he saw moving light. That just made the situation worse; they had flashlights. If they shone the light on the bush he was in he was going to be screwed. Ponyboy's life was filled with unfortunate events, they were never ending.

Pony's heart slightly slowed when it got dark. Shane probably went into the woods but he had no idea where Sharon was.

Maybe I could outrun her…

Pony shook his head. He probably could outrun her but that still didn't change the fact that she had a gun. Sharon was armed and dangerous, and so was Shane. If he ran off and got lost in the woods Shane would probably find him. Every option Pony had had a big chance of him getting caught. There was no way out.

The fourteen year old let out a breath between his lips and closed his eyes. It was going to be risky, very risky but he was going to try. He had to fight, not just for him, but for his family and friends. He put the fork in the pocket of his sweats and opened his eyes before bolting out of the bush, it wasn't until he ran out that he noticed he was in a thorn bush. The spikes got caught in his shirt but he just pulled harder to get out, slightly getting scratched by the shrub.

He ran about one hundred yards before finding a tree that looked easy to climb. Soda was always the tree climber of the family but that still didn't stop Pony from pulling and pushing himself up with his arms and legs. It was dark outside and his clothes blended in to his surroundings. He was probably about ten feet off the ground and no one was going to shine their flashlights in a tree. They weren't that smart.

"SHANE!" Sharon's shriek made Pony jump which almost caused him to fall out of the tree, and his heart race began to pick up again. This night was never going to end.

"SHHHAAANNNEE!" she yelled searching for her cousin. Pony saw the light of her flashlight shining on the bush he was sitting in. She must have saw or heard him move.

Pony watched a second light coming. Shane approached his cousin. "What?"

"I didn't see him, I heard crunching sounds and came over here. Look!"

"Yeah, he was in the bush. Was. He's not there anymore. We need to find him, not find where he was. Stuck clothing won't help us find him Sharon!"

Shane paused. "Head out into the east, I'll cover everything else. He's not in the house anymore. When you actually see him Sharon, then call me. He could be long gone by now. We could've caught him by now!"

Sharon didn't say anything and Pony watched the lights depart in opposite directions. He sighed in relief and his heart began to slow again. He waited for a few silent minutes before he began to descend from the tree. He was about halfway down when his foot missed the branch and he slipped, falling from a five foot drop and landing on his stomach. Pain shot up his left wrist as he attempt to catch himself. He let out a soft cry, but immediately got up, running as softly as he could towards the house, hoping that no one heard the thud when he collided into the hard, solid ground.

He got to the phone again dialing the number to his house. He called twice, no answer.

God dammit! Where are you guys?

He began to dial the Matthews' place, but hung up. It was late at night on a Saturday, Two-Bit was probably out drunk. He called the last person that could possibly help him; Steve. He listened to it ring a few times and almost hung up by the time Steve's dad picked it up.

"Hey Mr. Randle is Steve around, it's really urgent." Pony tried to stay as calm as he possibly could, and prayed that Steve was there.

There was no reply from Steve's father. It was silent for a moment and then there were some shuffling noises. Pony almost gave up.

"Darry, Soda?" Steve's voice came through the receiver and Pony felt a bunch of weight lift from his shoulders.

"No, Steve it's me, it's Ponyboy."

"Ponyboy! Where the hell are you?" the greaser shouted at the fourteen year old.

"I… I don't know Steve. I'm somewhere in the woods. Listen, I don't have much time, and I couldn't get a hold of Darry or Soda."

"Heck kid, why didn't you bother calling the police?"

Pony ignored it, both he and Steve knew that the police aren't the best people to contact when you're a greaser, especially when you have a name like Ponyboy. They always think it's a joke.

"Sorry kid, uh, what woods do you think you're in? Can ya describe it?"

Pony hiestated. "Uh.. it looks like a woods Steve. There's lots of trees and bushes and there's a house."

"C'mon kid! Think, is there anything that could help us find you, what kinds of trees are there?"

"I don't know Steve. I was never in scouts, but there are thorn bushes."

"Gee, that's a big help."

"Shut up Steve, I.. I can't stay on the phone, alright? I have to get out of here before they come back. They're out there looking for me."

"They're?"

"Steve, I got to go, but just a little tip, don't ever trust Soda's girlfriend, Sharon again. Bye Steve."

"Wait-"

Pony hung up before taking off through the front door.

oOoOo

Steve drove up to the Curtises'. It has been a rough twenty-four hours, and the fact that Pony just called him a few minutes ago, he was worried. He raced up the steps and walked through the door. He was surprised to find Soda asleep on the couch and Darry reading the newspaper in his recliner.

"Hey Steve," Darry said as he looked up from the paper, but then quickly returned to it. After a moment, Darry took another look at Steve. "What's wrong?"

"Ponyboy, he… he just called me, said you weren't here."

Darry was up on his feet quickly. "What? We just got home a few minutes ago. He called us about two hours ago. Said he was somewhere in the woods, and then hung up on us suddenly. What'd he say?"

"Said that he couldn't talk long, said some people were after him," Steve said then looked over at Soda who was still asleep on the sofa. "And that we can't trust Shannon."

Darry tilted his head. "I wonder why he would say that."

Steve shrugged. "Beats me, but hey, I asked him what kind of trees there were and such to narrow it down. He said he didn't know what kind there were but said there were thorn bushes. Don't know how helpful that is, but at least it's somethin'."

Darry was silent for a moment, but then something snapped inside of him. He instantly grabbed a pen and started to scribble something on the newspaper he was reading, then set it down on the coffee table grabbing the keys at the same time.

"Let's go."

Darry began to open the front door when Steve grabbed his shoulder. "Where we goin'? What about Soda?"

"Soda didn't get any sleep last night, I think it's best to let him sleep for a little bit. We're going to the woods over in the Soc territory, over by the house where Derek Sanders grew up in."

Steve headed out the door with Darry. "Why there? There's a million places he could be."

Darry climbed in the truck and Steve got in the passenger seat. "My dad took me hunting in that woods once before. Soda was only three at the time and Pony wasn't even here yet. There were thorn bushes everywhere and I got stuck and scratched up. We never went there again. Plus it's by the Sanders' place so Shane may be familiar with the area."

oOoOo

Pony cradled his arm as he ran. His left wrist felt numb, and it was swelling. Why did he have to climb a tree? Now if he had to defend himself he could only do it one handed. He wasn't looking forward to that at all, but he kept his pace at a slow jog. It was faster than walking, but quieter than running, and he wanted to say as quiet as he could. He was in deep trouble, like he was in a pot of boiling hot water, or a pot of cooking soup. He wasn't in a great situation and wished this would be over soon but Pony felt this was far from over.

He saw a light shine through the trees. Panic filled his body. With his right hand, he pulled out the metal fork. It wasn't a switchblade, but it could still be used as a weapon then he got on the ground and crawled towards a fallen tree. There was a little ditch under it, and Pony crawled into the hole, anticipating either Shane or Sharon wouldn't see him.

"Ponyboy!" a familiar voice loudly whispered. "Pony!"

Pony peaked his head out of the ditch. He immediately dropped the fork and used his right arm to pull himself out of the hole.

"Darry!" he attempted to shout, but only a whisper came out. Darry rushed up to his youngest brother, pulling him into a hug. It may have only been twenty-four hours, but it was sure a rough, and long day. It felt like it was years instead of days since Darry had last seen him.

"Are you alright?" Darry asked, pulling his brother off of him and examining him. "You're not hurt are you Pony?"

"I'm fine Darry, but I really think we should get out of here right now."

"The kid's right," Steve cut in, flicking off his flashlight, as he noticed the other one heading towards their way. "I think we've been spotted."

Well at least he's reunited with Darry... Don't worry guys this story isn't going to end this quickly, I still have a lot of plans for it *evil laugh.* Sorry about the cliffhanger, I could've gone a little bit farther(like three more paragraphs or something) but that will leave you off at an even bigger cliffhanger... If I were you I'd like me to end it off a a smaller cliffhanger than a bigger. So yes, that does mean that chapter six will be exciting( at least the beginning). I'm not exactly sure how six will end yet, it may be exciting, or it maybe a little on the dull side, we'll see.

I will TRY my best to update this weekend. I do have another on going story, but this story is my main priority. So don't think the other story will have any effect on how much this gets update because it won't. Plus I'm not even sure if I'm going to continue it or not. Back to topic, next update MIGHT be Saturday. If you haven't noticed I update usually on Tuesdays and Saturdays so that can help you predict when you will see a new chapter.

If you didn't read the little AN above, you might want to read it... it's not majorly important, but could clear a little confusion if you have any.

Thanks for all the reviews! I means a lot to me! Keep it up, alright? Believe it or not, your reviews motivate me to update more than anything else does. So the more you review the more time I will make to write!

Also, I had no time to proof read this so please excuse grammar/ typo errors. Thanks!

-MLC 99