Chapter 4: Talking and running
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own "The Outsiders" or any of the Curtis' Gang. Sigh. The real owner of "The Outsiders" is my favorite author, the fabulous S.E. Hinton. I also do not make a profit from the stories that I write here on this site.
A/N: If you like it, love it, or even if you hate it, you know what to do. Tell me in a review. I would love it if you favored, followed, and/or if you gave me (a) suggestion(s). Thank you. :)
Ponyboy's POV
As they day went on I was aching to talk to Soda. People might call me insane to "talk" to my dead brother, but I didn't mind. I didn't expect an answer back anyway, but I would give anything to talk to Soda again, for real. I missed the way I could tell him everything. I missed the way he would hug me after a nightmare, but most of all, I just missed him.
X
"Hey Soda, you there? I really miss you. Will it ever get better? I'm not sure how much longer I can take Darry. I think he's bipolar, one minute he hates me and then the next he cares. It's so confusing. And overwhelming, you know? He's changed, Soda. I miss my brothers," I admitted. I felt a tear slip down my face and I wiped it away impatiently.
"I can't stay long; Darry didn't go to work today. I think he's going to lose his job and that scares me. I'm not sure how many hours I can work with school. I might have to drop out." I pushed myself up and brushed off my knees.
Sodapop's POV
I was so tired, but a voice wouldn't shut up. "Curtis! Come on man, we're gonna bust you out of here," a distant, deep, voice assured me. Who was it? It sounded vaguely familiar.
"James? Is that really you?" I asked in a painfully hoarse voice. James was a twenty four year old soldier who had befriended me when I first landed in Vietnam. He was from Tulsa too and had been my war buddy and my sanity before the Vietnamese captured me. There had been a massive raid and between the confusion and chaos I lost him. I thought he was dead. Maybe he was and I was just hallucinating.
He gave me a warning look. "Kid, shut it, will ya? I've been searching for you for months. Just stay alive, got it? Think of your brothers." My brothers... Ponyboy and Darry! Oh, I need to get back to them.
I tried to nod. "Okay..." I whispered. I felt him haul me to my feet, but my leg twisted and I almost fell.
"Lean on me, I got you," he assured me.
"James, I think I'm going to be sick," I warned him. He gave me a blank stare before I bent over and threw up. He jumped slightly, startled, but then helped support me. My head was swimming and I thought I might get sick again, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other.
I made it a few hundred feet before feeling dizzy again. "James," I moaned. He started to speed up in his strides.
"We're almost to the base. Everyone is there," he tried to encourage me, but I couldn't hold on any longer and the laziness consumed me.
A/N: I feel like it was one of those TV moments where everyone in the background is like "oooooh" when I switched to Soda's POV. :) Haha.
Aufenthaltd Gold,
~Alee