In Hot Water

Chapter Six: "Far From Over"

Sunday May 22nd, 1966

"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."

To Ponyboy, the night felt like it was never going to end. Why couldn't he have used the phone and just stayed put in the house? If Darry and Steve were out looking for him they would have eventually found the house, after all a house in the middle of the woods isn't that hard to spot once you get close enough. But Pony could never have it his way. Johnny and Dally would still be alive if he could choose, his parents especially. Darry would get to go to college and Soda would never have dropped out. Everything would be normal if he had it his way.

Darry grabbed Pony at the top of his arm and began pulling on him. "C'mon we can out run-"

"I don't think that's a bright idea," the voice cut Darry off. "I suggest you don't move."

The three greasers looked at the Soc. The handgun was in his hand and his index finger was on the trigger. If his finger twitched, the gun would go off in a second. The slow night just got slower. It came to Pony that it was true that time slowed down when you see you life almost flash before your eyes at the very moment. This was the longest night he had lived- longer than the night he and Johnny ran into Bob, Randy, and his friends at the park, longer than the night of the fire when he was at the hospital waiting for his brothers and a word about Johnny, longer than the night of the rumble where both Johnny and Dally died. It seemed that his life just kept breaking records.

Darry's grip tightened on his baby brother's arm, and Pony pretended that it didn't hurt even though it did. He knew Darry wasn't trying to hurt him, he was only trying to protect him. Darry didn't want Shane to take Pony away. Not again. Not ever. But Superman wasn't able to do everything. Darry might have seemed like he was a real superhero, but he was normal, he wasn't anything compared to the real Clark Kent. Darry couldn't prevent Shane from pulling that trigger and he felt useless.

While the two brothers stood still holding onto each other, Steve stood about three feet away from them to the right, a couple of feet away from Shane, his hands up in surrender. Like Darry, Steve felt helpless too. The gun was pointed directly at Ponyboy. If he or Darry moved, Shane still wouldn't fire at them, he'd fire at his target, his enemy. Steve cursed himself then when he just remembered he didn't even think about grabbing a blade when he fled his house very suddenly after hanging up with Ponyboy. That phone call was probably about twenty minutes ago.

Steve looked at the ground. It was the woods and people litter all the time, there had to be something around, right? A pop bottle, or beer bottle… anything he could quickly pick up and charge at Shane before he could notice, after all Steve wasn't in Shane's view very well. His eyes were glued on Ponyboy and if Steve moved slow enough Shane might not notice him moving at all until Steve tackled him.

He spotted a fork on the ground by his foot, wasn't what he was looking for or even expected to be out lying in the middle of the woods, but it would do the job. Steve slowly began to crouch down to the ground to grab the medal silverware off the dirt floor. As he picked it up, he spotted blue and red lights shining through the trees in the distance. The rode was a long ways away but you could still see the flashing lights. It was a good thing that Shane's back was turned against where the cars were parked in the distance, otherwise he would've noticed the flashing lights. Hopefully they would find them in time. Hopefully Shane's flashlight, that was lying on the ground would give the fuzz a clue to their location but deep down, Steve knew it wouldn't.

"SHHHHAANNNEEEE!" A sudden scream of a female voice shouted in the distance. "SHAANNNEE! GET OUT OF HERE! RUN!"

Shane immediately dropped the gun and ran, suddenly noticing the lights in the distance. The eighteen year old disappeared into the night just like that, and the woman who was out there to was never found that night either. They were still missing, they were still out there.

oOoOo

It was Soda who called the police. He woke up after hearing Darry's truck start outside and take off onto the street. He didn't notice the note written on the newspaper at first however. The sleepy state he was in didn't notice it until he came back from using the bathroom. But when he saw it, he didn't bother questioning how Darry knew exactly where to go but he immediately rushed to the phone to report it to the fuzz.

He desperately wanted to go, but didn't have a ride. He called Steve, no one was home. Two-Bit's mom pick up at Two-Bit's house and said he was out somewhere, so that left no body. He went outside and noticed Steve's car. Like before, he decided not to question it and thought deeply on hotwiring it and taking off to the woods, but he wasn't sure if he should. Soda decided it was best to stay by the phone just in case anyone called.

But anxiety and patience aren't a great combination especially if you never have been patient your whole life.

Sodapop was in the middle of pacing back and forth across the room, listening to the boards creak as he walked. If Darry was there he'd yell at him before the floor started to wear out from the amount of trips he was taking. The seventeen year old jumped when he heard the front door open. He was disappointed when he looked up to see Two-Bit.

"Ya hear anything?" Two-Bit asked, anxiously wanting to know if there was any news on Ponyboy. He kind of felt bad about acting the way he did earlier.

"I take it you heard the news?"

Two-Bit shook his head and confusion filled his face. After a moment, panic filled his body after noticing how worried Soda looked. "What's going on?"

"Pony called us about three hours ago… then supposedly called Steve not to long ago… I don't really know what's going on. I fell asleep for probably not even ten minutes and wake up to find Darry pulling out of the driveway, a note and Steve's car parked outside my house…I don't know but I think Darry and Steve know where Ponyboy is and went to get him."

Two-Bit looked stunned. "So… he's… he's okay? Ponyboy's okay?"

"I… I don't know, but he's alive."

And then the phone rang and Soda dived to it to answer it before it could ring a second time.

oOoOo

It was a little after six o'clock in the morning before Darry, Pony, and Steve stumbled into the house, and Soda was up on his feet the second the door opened, tugging his brother into his arms. He was home, he was safe and that's all that Sodapop wanted.

"Oh Ponyboy," Soda cried. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the fourteen year old simply said.

Darry shook his head. "He's not fine, his wrist's broken."

Soda looked down his brother's arm and Pony looked up at Darry. "It's not a big deal, it's my fault it happened anyway."

Darry sighed as he saw the sun beginning to rise outside. It's been a rough night, a rough twenty-four hours. "I'm going to bed. You two better do the same." Darry turned to Steve. "Thanks Steve for all the help last night. It meant a lot."

Steve waved and walked out to his car, and Two-Bit stayed, crashing on the couch.

As the two siblings got under the blankets in their bed, Soda threw his arm around his younger brother, pulling him close protectively.

"Hey Pony," Soda asked, looking at his brother's left arm, which was now caged in a white cast. "How'd you break your wrist?"

"It's my fault Soda," he responded. "You know me, I'm clumsy."

"Yeah, I know you are kiddo, but that's not the answer I want. Does Darry know how you did it?"

Pony nodded, "Yeah. It's not a big deal Soda, I just fell out of a tree. Shane didn't do it if that's what's goin' through your head."

"I'm sorry Ponyboy," he said, closing his eyes. "I'm so sorry kiddo."

Pony turned onto his other side, facing his brother. "What do you mean? You didn't do anything wrong Soda. It ain't your fault any of this happened."

"Yeah it is. If I wasn't out all night, I would've been here and you would have never been taken… again. Shannon didn't want me to leave, she wouldn't let me. I'm sorry, it's my fault."

Sharon, Pony corrected in his head, and sighed. Soda didn't know that his girlfriend was just using him and if Pony told him he'd really think this whole thing was his fault when it wasn't.

"Soda, you didn't do anything on purpose. You weren't the one you climbed through my bedroom window or the one who took me." Pony flopped over to his other side. "It isn't your fault at all, so don't feel guilty. You would never do anything like that intentionally. G'night Soda."

"Night kiddo, but Pone, I'm still sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for. You couldn't have possibly known." Pony mumbled then closed his eyes, talking about Sharon/Shannon instead of being kidnapped. The bed was definitely a lot more comfortable than sitting against a pole and before he knew it, he was out, thinking he knew this wasn't over. Shane Whitfield was still out there and probably had a plan B, and Pony knew that Darry and Soda were aware of this too. This was far from being over with.

oOoOo

Sharon walked up the front steps, inserting the key into the hole before turning, entering the house that she was not familiar with.

"Shane?" she softly spoke, flipping the light switch on. She heard footsteps coming from another room, and before she knew it, her cousin stood in the frame of a hallway to her left.

"I see you found the place," he said to her. "Turn that light out and lock the door. You wanna risk getting caught?"

She shook her head and did what she was told. The house wasn't hers, or Shane's, it was just borrowed, from whom she didn't know, and she didn't want to know. She didn't even want to be part of this mess, but Shane dragged her into it, forcing her, threatening her. Blackmail was a horrible way to make someone do something they did not want to do.

Now the police were after her, probably on the "Most Wanted: Dead or Alive" list. She couldn't do a thing about it, once she was found she was definitely going to jail along with her cousin. If asked two months ago, Sharon would've said she pictured her life right now doing what the average seventeen year old girl would be doing doing. Instead, Sharon used a guy, helped a criminal escape from jail, helped kidnap a fourteen year old boy, and was now on the run. Never would she have thought this would happen.

The cousin Sharon once admired when she was younger, she now resented, hated with a burning passion. Even though she didn't like him anymore, she had to stay with him, he was her only chance to stay safe from the cops if she liked it or not and she still had to follow his orders. Shane always managed to get his way.

"Shane, are… are you sure no one will find us here?"

"As long as you keep the blinds and curtains down, the lights off, and don't take a step outside, we'll be fine."

"How… how long will we stay here?"

"Until this thing dies down when we can move to a better spot. Once were in the clear we'll get him. Don't worry about that."

Sharon shook her head. "I'm not worried about that. Shane don't you think you should just leave that poor kid alone? Don't you think your proved what ever point you wanted to show him?"

Shane looked at her, surprised at her words. "You think I should leave him alone? He killed Bob you know. Remember Bob? You once dated him a couple of years ago and-"

"I remember Shane. But it was the other kid who killed him and Robert had it com-"

"Shut up!" Shane yelled while grabbing Sharon's throat. Her feet slightly dangled off of the floor and he looked her in the eyes, eyes that were filled with fear. "Shut up for once in your life Sharon, got that? Shut up!"

Shane let go of Sharon and she crumpled to the floor, holding her bruised neck while gasping for air, she watched Shane leave the living room, down the hall he entered through minutes ago when she walked in.

Hey guys! So like I said I might not get to update twice a week like I try to but once a week still works(besides I think I was spoiling you guys with that twice a week stuff). This chapter wasn't the best but it was necessary. And if you couldn't tell by the chapter title, this story still has a long ways to go, not sure how much longer but it's not over yet, it's too early for that and I still have some more events to happen. Shane's still out there and is free, so is Sharon/Shannon, and well guess you gets released from prison soon? Hum... it's not over yet guys!

So again with the update, updates are still going to be hard. I'm going to TRY to have chapter seven up on Saturday, but I never make promises that I can't guarantee I can keep. School comes first in my life(if I never was in school this would be horribly written) and even though I absolutely hate competitive swimming, I need to do some sort of school activity for scholarship stuff and ugh life's a climb. So yeah point is, forgive me for not always updating as frequently. I don't usually abandon a story, especially ones that are doing good and I think will continue to be a success. So please stay with me if I make you wait longer than usual for an update. Like I said, usually at least once a week you'll see an update from me. Spring break is coming up(so is my birthday) and during that week I don't plan to update but I do plan to write a lot so it will be a lot easier for me to update with school and sports and life getting in the way. So just hold tight for me, okay?

Thanks for all the reviews, but like always, please don't forget to leave one. I love hearing from you guys with your opinions about my work(good or bad ones) it motivates me and helps me improve. So please don't be afraid to type something simple(or not so simple) down in the box before and hit the submit button. Also thanks to all the follows and favorites. I've been getting a lot of those every since I published On Thin Ice from all of you Outsiders readers. So thanks for the support you guys!

-MLC99