I really can't remember much of what happened after Darry got the phone call from Dally, but I do remember Dally's death exactly. I remember gathering my skirt in one of my hands so I could run better. I remember pushing Karen, Evie, Two-Bit, Darry… pushing them all off of me, following Ponyboy and Soda and Steve.
"The gun!" I yelled when I caught up to them. "He's got a gun! He told me he has a gun and that fool, he'll use it, you know he will!"
I remember being able to outrun all of them, even though they were all taller and stronger. Maybe it was because they were all busted up from the rumble. I figure it's because it meant more to me.
I remember yelling his name, locking eyes with him, seeing him getting ready to run harder when the police cars rounded the corner. He reached into his waistband, but never took his eyes off of me. As he raised the gun, I could hear the boys yelling at the cops to stop, not to shoot.
"Just a kid," Sodapop yelled. I reached the edge of the circle of light. Dally was in the center.
I remembered, then, Dally's voice months earlier when he played a trick on Tim, swiping the bullets from his gun.
"He'll be angry, Dal. Those bullets are liable to end up in you."
The pop of guns sounded, and I thought dumbly they sounded like fireworks on the Fourth of July.
"Shoot, kid. It'll take more than bullets to kill me."
A sick grin spread across his face. His body jerked towards me, knocked back by the impacts of the bullets. "Brooklyn." He said my name like a prayer. I threw myself forward, but was stopped by somebody's arms.
"Just a kid," I could hear Soda's voice in my ear, but it didn't make any sense. It was too soft, too gentle among the sound of sirens and yelling and pounding footsteps. It didn't fit with the smell of smoke and metallic blood.
"Glory, look at the kid!" Two-Bit yelled and Soda pushed me hard enough towards him that I just about knocked Two-Bit over. Ponyboy had fallen and Darry caught him just before he busted his face on the ground. Steve was hunched over, holding his side and gasping. I knew they were hurt, but all I cared about was Dally. But he was dead.
Dallas died young. He died violent. He died desperate. He died gallant. Above all, he died happy.