(Darry's POV)

Pony had said he would only be gone for a couple of hours, so even though I tried not to worry, I couldn't help it. Sure, sometimes he was later than he expected, but never by more than half an hour. It wasn't close to curfew, hell, it had barely been three hours since Pony left, but when Soda and Steve walked into the house before Ponyboy showed up, I was starting to have a bad feeling in my gut.

"Man, it's really pouring out there," Steve said as he ruffled his hair, apparently trying to dry it off a little.

Soda looked at me with a confused expression. "Oh, hey Dar. Pony take the truck?"

I nodded. "Yeah, he and some friends went for a run."

"In this weather?" Steve questioned. "Kid's crazy."

Soda grinned a little, but he didn't say anything about Steve's remark. We both knew how much effort Ponyboy had been putting in for a potential athletic and academic scholarship to college, and we were prouder than words could describe.

"When did he leave?" Soda asked. "Hopefully they went before it started rainin' like it is now."

I checked the clock on the wall. "Just over three hours ago. He said they were probably going to get something to eat afterwards, but he didn't think he'd be gone for this long."

A concerned look crossed Soda's face, but suddenly Two-Bit came rushing through the door. "Cats and dogs are fallin' from the sky out there!"

"That's not how the expression goes, Two-Bit," Steve muttered. Then he looked back at Soda and me sharing a concerned look. "He's probably just talking about the rest of his friends running slow or something," Steve said sarcastically. His tone made it seem like Pony was a thorn in his side, but we all knew Steve actually cared about Ponyboy.

"Talkin' about Ponyboy?" Two-Bit inferred. "Where's he at anyway?"

"He went for a run with some friends before getting something to eat. He took the truck," I explained. "He's been gone for a couple hours."

"What're you worried for?" Two-Bit asked. "You need a ride or somethin'? Because I can drive you if ya need a lift."

I shook my head. "No, it's not that. He said he'd be back by now, and with the weather like it is, I'm just wondering where he could be." What could've happened? Something must be wrong. Oh no, Darry… don't go down that road again. Just relax.

Steve and Two-Bit tried to assure me that Pony would be fine, then they went into the kitchen to grab some chocolate cake. With the guys in a different room, Soda spoke quietly. "If he's not back in an hour, we'll go look for him." It was both assuring and frightening to know that Soda was as worried about our brother as I was.

It wasn't even thirty minutes before the phone rang.

"Hello?" I said when I answered the phone after just one ring. I felt three pairs of eyes on me as I stared at the door, hoping Ponyboy would walk in and the phone call had nothing to do with him.

"Darrel Curtis?" a voice said.

It felt like my heart dropped into my stomach. This can't be good. "Yes, that's me."

"Hello sir, this is officer Stanton. I'm calling in regards to your vehicle," the man, officer Stanton, said. "Do you know where it is, or who was driving it."

I swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in my throat. "My younger brother borrowed it. Why?"

I heard him sigh on the other line. "We found your vehicle on the railroad tracks in central Tulsa."

I waited for a moment, hoping he'd clarify further, but when he didn't, I spoke up, my voice not able to hide my concern. "Found it? What's going on? My brother should've been driving it." At my words, Soda stared at me with terror in his eyes, and I forced myself to look at the floor while I talked to the officer. "If you have my truck, then where's my brother? He must be with you if he drove it there."

"Mr. Curtis, your vehicle was involved in a collision on the tracks. A train crashed into it," officer Stanton said carefully. "We were able to recover the license plate, which gave us the information needed to contact you."

My heart was pounding, then I felt nauseous and lightheaded, so I had to sit in the recliner before I could utter any more words. "Where… where's my brother? Where's Ponyboy?" If a train hit the truck, then that means he's-

"Well, the thing is…" officer Stanton said slowly. "The collision was devastating to your vehicle. The train was derailed and the truck was pushed into the neighboring trees, making it impossible to recover anyone or anything in a short amount of time. We have emergency crews working on it right now." He waited for a moment like he thought I had something to say. Once he realized I wasn't capable of speaking, officer Stanton spoke softly. "Is there any chance your brother ditched the truck on the railroad tracks? Sometimes kids get a kick out of things like that."

I took a breath and tried to stay calm until I could get off the phone. "No, he wouldn't do that. He's sixteen, but he's not like that." I wish he was the kind of kid that did that sort of thing, then that would mean he had a chance of being alive.

"I see," officer Stanton said. "I hate to say this Mr. Curtis, but the crash looks like it was quite brutal. We'll continue looking for your brother, but we'll eventually need confirmation." I knew what he was saying without exactly saying it. I had to identify my parents' bodies after they died from an accident involving their car and a train, and now I was going to have to do it again, only this time it was going to be Ponyboy's body I had to look at. Glory, I can't do this. Not again.

I forced out a couple more words. "I understand. I'll be there soon." I hung up and immediately covered my face with my hands.

"Darry?" Soda asked, his voice already wavering.

I broke down and started bawling.