(Darry's POV)

After I was done crying, everything that happened next was a blur. I somehow must've explained what the cop told me on the phone, and I found myself sitting in the front seat of Two-Bit's car. He was driving towards the scene of the crash, which was the only railroad crossing in the area that Ponyboy must've been driving across. I wasn't even sure how I was going to force myself to get out of his car when we got there. My brother's dead, and I have to identify his… glory, I can't do this. How am I going to go on without another family member? Don't get me wrong, I still had Soda and I loved him more than anything, but I wasn't sure my heart could take losing Ponyboy.

Two-Bit was quiet the whole time he drove, or at least I thought he was. I wasn't listening to him if he was trying to talk to me. I glanced in the mirror, and I saw Steve's car right behind us, and I knew Soda was with him. Soda shouldn't have to see this, but there's no way I could force him to stay home.

When we arrived at the tracks, Two-Bit turned his car off, and the only sound was that of falling raindrops. The rain had eased up a lot since Soda and Steve had showed up at our house, and I couldn't help but wonder if the storm had something to do with the accident.

"You don't have to do this is, Darry," Two-Bit said solemnly. "I can, or Steve."

I shook my head and sniffled as I looked out the window and wiped the tears off my cheeks. Other than where the road crossed the tacks, there were trees and foliage hiding both sides of the railroad. I knew the trees were hiding the rest of the awful scene that was to come, but for the moment, I appreciated the stretch of woods that allowed me an extra minute or two before I had to see where my brother spent his final moments. I looked at all of the emergency vehicles nearby, all with their lights flashing. What are they going to do? Nobody can survive after being hit by a train. They must be here to check on the train conductor or something.

After a breath, I replied. "Thanks Two-Bit, but I have to." I looked at him, and his teary eyes were staring back at me. "Keep an eye on Soda for me?" It was mostly a request, but I knew he wouldn't say no. He nodded silently, and with that, I stepped out of his car and into the rain.

Some of the officers were trying to tell us to leave, but the one who introduced himself as officer Stanton told everyone else that the four of us were allowed past the barrier of police cars. Officer Stanton seemed to understand none of us were up to talking, so he led us to the wreckage without saying or asking much.

The scene in front of us was worse than I imagined. The front three cars of the train had derailed, almost colliding with the trees on the side of the tacks. I looked around for my truck, and for a moment, I thought it must've tumbled down the hill near the front of the train, but after focusing, I saw a crushed mass of metal against a tree with several people near it. Glory, that's all that's left? Just a crumbled mess? I started walking toward it, hoping Soda wouldn't come with me to look inside the truck, but I didn't turn back to see if he was following me either. I should've driven Pony myself, then this wouldn't have happened.

I could only focus on putting one foot in front of the other, and as I did, I noticed that there were pieces of metal and glass were scattered on the ground, and they got bigger and more numerous as I got closer to the demolished truck. I was about thirty yards away from what was left of my truck before officer Stanton told me to stop.

"We haven't declared the rest of this scene safe for you quite yet," he said. He glanced behind me, assumingly to look at Soda, Steve, and Two-Bit, before addressing me quietly. "We still can't get into the truck, so you don't have to do anything until then."

I looked at him, suddenly feeling empty inside as I just looked at him. I don't need to see my dead kid brother yet. Officer Stanton gave me a pained expression, which forced me to say something instead of just standing there and being pitied. "I'm here for my brother, don't worry about me. I'll be careful, but I'm going over there." He remained silent as he nodded, then we slowly walked towards my truck pinned against the tree.

Another officer ran up to officer Stanton, making us stop again, not far from what used to be our truck. "Sir, we have an update." The man looked at me, then at officer Stanton, apparently asking if it was okay that he talked about it in front of me.

"Go ahead, Simmons," officer Stanton said. "This is Mr. Curtis. Any information you have for me, he has a right to hear as well."

The other man nodded, looking nervous, then he spoke with anxiety thick in his voice. Here it comes. "We uh, we haven't found the driver."

"Yes I am aware," officer Stanton said plainly. "We haven't been able to see the inside of the vehicle-"

"Actually we have," Simmons said. "Miller just looked around what's left of the vehicle and he couldn't find any trace of human rem- I mean, uh, there's no signs of him. The driver's missing, sir."

Missing? How could Ponyboy be missing? He was driving the truck, and not the truck is smashed against a tree after a train hit it. There's no way Pony just disappeared somehow.

"Simmons, get a search party ready and send them out. We have a missing person, a minor at that, and he might be injured. Time is of the essence," officer Stanton said with authority.

With the other man quickly making his way to the other first responders, officer Stanton looked at me. "This is a good sign, Mr. Curtis, but we still don't have any answers. I would be cautious about getting too optimistic."

"What's goin' on?" Steve asked.

I turned around and saw that a short distance behind me, Steve looked upset, Two-Bit was worried, and Soda was trembling and barely holding it together. "They… they can't find him," I said. "He wasn't in the truck."

That perked Soda up. He blinked a couple times and looked at me and officer Stanton. "What?"

"I just sent officers to search the area for him," officer Stanton said. "There's no way to know what they'll find, so please keep that in mind. For now, we're searching for a missing minor that was involved in a serious wreck."

I turned to face the man. "Let me help you look."

He shook his head. "I can't have civilians joining the search. It's still an accident scene, and like I said, there's no way to know-"

"I'm going to look for my kid brother," I said determinedly. "And you're not going to stop me."