Pony froze and stared at the heater, pointed straight for him. Aiming right at his head. He heard the shot. It was loud and long. He could see the bullet moving toward him slow but fast at the same time. He tried to move and run away but his feet wouldn't move. He tried to move his body, to bend in another direction but he couldn't move a bone in his body. He was frozen there, watching death come at him. He could no longer see it, for it was about his eyes and nearly ready to enter his forehead.

Ponyboy jolted up in his bed with a bloodcurdling scream, his body drenched in sweet and his breathing hard and heavy. He reached up and touched his head but found no injurious. He then remembered he was in Darry's room, in his bed. Soda was still sick and in the other room. Darry was up and at his brothers side momentarily. He rubbed his back soothingly, telling him that everything was ok. Ponyboy merely burst into tears and dug his face into his brothers shirt, clutching his arm for comfort.

"What happened, Pon? What'd you dream about?"

"What's wrong?" Soda opened the door and stepped in quickly, having heard the scream of terror.

"Bad dream I guess." Darry said. "Huh Pon?" Ponyboy nodded, confirming that Darry was correct.

"What about?" Soda walked over and joined Darry in comforting the youngest Curtis.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Pony cried out loudly between sobs.

"C'mon Pon." Soda urged.

"You'll feel better." Darry said. "Tell us what it was about."

Pony let out a quivering breath. "There's that same guy and he shoots at me and the bullet it just keeps coming and coming and coming and I can't get away from it. There's nowhere I can go. I can't move and it just keeps coming." He sobbed. "I keep having the same dream over and over, I finally woke up. Right before the bullet hit I'd start dreaming again." Pony burst into sobs again, unable to control his emotions. The cries racked his body and he shook, both his brothers holding an arm around him.

"You wanna go back to sleep?" Darry asked. Pony shook his head violently.

"You wanna go sit outside and have some hot chocolate?" Soda suggested, knowing his little brother loved looking at the stars.

Pony shook his head again. "I'm never leaving the house again!"

"Now Pony-" Darry started.

"NO! If I don't go outside he can't get me." Pony said.

"Nobody is going to get you." Darry insisted. "It was just a dream. You're fine. You're right here home safe in bed, the police are gonna find him. You don't have anything to worry about."

"I'm never going outside again." Pony repeated himself.

Soda looked at Darry and shrugged. Darry sighed. "Why don't we all go out into the kitchen and have some chocolate cake?"

Pony didn't think this was such a bad idea so he put his arms out for Darry to pick him up, making it clear that he wanted to be babied. Darry met his brothers request with some difficulty since he could only carry him with one arm but years of roofing houses and football made it so he could and they all headed out to the kitchen.

***

"What do you mean the kid ain't gone outside for four days?" Two-Bit asked.

"I mean he ain't gone out." Soda said. "You'd think he'd be pleading with Darry to let him go see a movie or something but we can't even get him to come out on the front porch with us after supper. He keeps having some horrible dream about that guy that shot Darry and now he refuses to leave the house. Not to mention he never wants to sleep." Soda said, shaking his head.

"Probably just wants some attention." Steve muttered.

"And you know what else?" Soda went on hardly hearing Steve's uncalled for comment. "He don't like being left alone either. Darry used to worry about leaving him by his lonesome all day since he's been up to no good lately but now it's just the opposite. He's suspended, yah know so he's at home every day and when we gotta go somewhere he starts begging for one of us to stay. He freaked out so bad the other day neither of us went anywhere. I guess it's kind of fortunate in a way that Darry don't got work right now since Pony refuses to be left alone but I dunno what we're gonna do when he finds a job again. I mean I want him to obviously but I don't know what Pony's gonna do."

"Maybe I could head on down to the nightly double with him." Two-Bit suggested. "You think Darry would mind?"

"Man, I don't think he'd care if you took him to Mexico as long as you got him out of the house but I'll bet you a thousand bucks you won't be able to get the kid out of the house."

"Where is he?"

"In his room, reading or studying as usual." Soda said.

Two-Bit got up and walked towards the hallway. "Hey Pon." He burst through the bedroom door, enthusiastically. "You wanna head on over to the drive in with me? They've got some real good movies that just came out."

"I can't. I'm grounded. You know that." Pony mumbled, staring at his text book. "And Darry says I have to do my science."

"I bet we could talk superman into letting you go." Two-Bit said.

"Darry's at a job interview and he ain't gonna be back until after supper." Pony explained.

"Oh." Two-Bit said, out of ideas.

"It's ok. I don't wanna go anyways. Thanks though Two-Bit."

"All-right." He said walking back out to the living room.

"See what I mean?" Soda asked.

"Yeah." Two-Bit said, sitting back down and picking up his beer. Steve was busy dealing out the cards again and Soda was staring out the window at nothing in particular.

"So when is o'l Dar gonna let you go anywhere?" Steve asked.

"Huh? Oh, in a couple days it'll have been a full two weeks. I spent most of my grounding being sick so it really didn't make much difference." Soda laughed.

"Where is Darry anyways?"

"Job interview." Two-Bit answered for Soda. Soda looked at him questioningly. "Pony told me."

"Oh." Soda said.

Ponyboy sighed and closed his book. His stomach was rumbling and he wanted something to eat. He could hear them out in the living room talking about him. They think it's weird that I won't leave the house. Pony thought. Well they wouldn't go anywhere either if someone was after them.

*Didn't I tell you if you reviewed I'd give you another chapter real soon? :) Chapter 38 is almost done as well so review away and I'll update soon!*