I'm back with another story! There will be mild language/swearing.
As always, reviews, comments, etc. are appreciated. I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders or anything related to the story created by S.E. Hinton.
(Curly's POV)
Tim and I were driving around town, looking for the Socs that broke a headlight and cracked the windshield of his car the night before at the drive-in. We knew both parts could be replaced, but that costs money, and we don't have a lot of it. Plus, finding the guys responsible and beating the tar out of them was a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon with my brother.
When we drove down one of the main roads, we spotted a group of Socs surrounding a young greaser, which already made us angry and eager to jump into the fight, but when we got closer, we realized we knew the greaser.
"Shit, it's little Curtis," Tim muttered. I felt my blood boil.
In the past year, the Curtis gang had lost two members, and the Curtis brothers lost their parents. Ponyboy was my buddy, and sure, all of us greasers have dealt with all sorts of terrible things, but I've seen him deal with more shit than anyone our age, and he was somehow still a good kid. Ponyboy was the brightest out of all of us, with the possible exception of his oldest brother, and he never looked for a fight. Ponyboy just wanted to live his life and be left alone. Unfortunately for him, he attracted trouble like a light does moths.
Tim drove real fast towards the group of Socs pounding on Ponyboy, and the tires of the car screeched when he slammed on the brakes. We jumped out of the car to back our buddy up in the fight.
There were six Socs, and just us three greasers. The odds still weren't fair, but it was at least better than Pony fighting them all himself. The Socs were big, too. Still, I was pretty sure we got a few good swings in. Tim was fighting at least two guys at once the entire time. If it was anyone else, I'd think about being worried about them, but my older brother can hold his own. Tim's also someone that's going to make Socs pay for messing with him, his family, or his friends. He was dangerous when he wanted to be.
The fight was a blur, but I eventually pinned a Soc to the ground and punched him so hard, he was on the verge of passing out. I was about to send him into the darkness of unconsciousness when I heard a shout. I turned and saw a couple Socs shoving a beaten Ponyboy in the back of a car. I glanced at Tim, hoping he was closer to Ponyboy and could help him, but Tim was shoved to the ground by a Soc that quickly jumped into the Corvair. Tim and I were both too far away to get to Ponyboy before the car drove off.
"Call his brothers, I'm followin' them!" Tim shouted at me as he got up from the ground. "And get him to talk," he ordered, pointing to the Soc lying on the ground in front of me. He didn't even wait for me to reply, he immediately jumped into his car and sped off, following the Corvair.
I looked down at the red-headed Soc, who stared up at me with wide eyes. He's scared. Good.
"Looks like your friends ditched ya," I said. Then I placed my shoe on his neck, putting some pressure on his throat. "Where are they goin' with him?"
The Soc started coughing and trying to get my foot off of him, but he was too weak to be effective. "We're just scaring him," he choked out.
I was angry, and I would've loved to knock him out, but there were things I needed to know. "Tell me where they're going, or I'll kick your teeth in and have my brother come back and finish you off." He seemed to consider this, but he still didn't reply. "You think I'm joking? How many times have you been arrested? Because ain't no way it's more than Tim… and he won't mind going back to the slammer for beatin' the tar outta someone who started a fight with the kid."
He started breathing real hard. Apparently the threat of dealing with Tim was enough to convince him to talk. "The bridge."
I felt my heart rate spike.
There was only one bridge nearby that he could be referencing. The river was only a few miles away, and there was a large, and old, wooden bridge that crossed it. At times, the river flowed real fast and it was dangerous to be near it. Not only that, but the bridge wasn't as stable as it used to be, which is why it attracted so many adrenaline junkies. If the Socs were bringing Ponyboy there, they weren't messing around.
"We're just scaring him… that's it," the Soc under my foot said. "I swear!"
I glared at him. "Your buddies ain't messin' around if they're bringin' him there." I wanted to say more, maybe even break a couple of his bones, but I didn't have time. "You're lucky I got things to do," I growled, pressing a little harder on his neck before removing my foot. "Scram."
The Soc quickly got lost, and I ran to the nearest payphone.
After inserting the coins, I dialed a number I memorized years ago. After a few rings, it was obvious nobody was home at the Curtis household. "Shit," I muttered under my breath as I inserted more coins and dialed another number.
Finally, a familiar voice answered.
"DX, this is So-"
"Soda, it's Curly," I quickly interrupted.
"Curly? Wh-"
"It's Ponyboy." I knew if I said that, he'd shut up and listen. There wasn't much time, so I talked as fast as I could. "Tim and I found Socs roughin' him up, and we jumped in. They took him to the bridge. We couldn't stop them. Tim's following them, but you gotta go and help him out. I called the house, but nobody answered."
"Got it. Thanks, Curly."
Soda hung up, and I found myself standing all alone, wondering what was going to happen to my buddy.