(Soda's POV)
"He wasn't in the truck."
Darry's words made my shattered heart feel like it started piecing itself together. "What?" I asked as the information started processing in my brain. Ponyboy wasn't in the truck. Could that mean he's still alive? Where is he? Where is my brother?
Officer Stanton was talking, but I wasn't listening. Pony could be hurt, but there's still a chance he's alive. Lordy, please let him be alive.
"Let me help you look," Darry said stubbornly, bringing me back to the present.
The cop 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," Darry said in a tone that meant he wasn't taking "no" for an answer. "And you're not going to stop me."
"Mr. Curtis, I understand you're-" officer Stanton started, but Darry shut him up real quick.
"You can arrest me later, but you're not stopping me," Darry said, then he immediately went towards the woods, leaving officer Stanton standing there, stunned.
I wanted to follow Darry, to help him find our baby brother and bring him home, but my feet were frozen to the ground as my mind started spinning. What if Darry can't find him? What if he finds Pony and he's… I couldn't force the words to form in my mind.
"Soda, take a breath bud," Steve said from next to me. I felt his hand give my shoulder a squeeze, and I knew he was there to support me, no matter what was going to happen.
Finally, my legs started working again. I took a couple steps forward so I could help Darry search for Ponyboy, but the cop put a hand up and stopped me. "No way. I already have one civilian on the loose searching for the driver, I can't have more."
Two-Bit spoke with a hint of humor in his voice. "You really thought you were gonna keep the big guy from looking for his kid brother? Ain't no way. If you got in his way or said one more thing, he would've knocked you into next week, then he would go look for the kid."
"I'm Pony's brother too!" I shouted, pushing past Two-Bit. "I need to look for him!"
"I'll arrest you and your other brother both if you keep disobeying my orders," officer Stanton warned.
"Arrest me then!" I yelled, throwing my hands in the air. "I don't care, I just care about Ponyboy!"
Then a hand grabbed my arm. "C'mon Soda, just stay here for a bit." I turned to look at Steve, who had concern displayed all over his face. "Who knows, maybe he'll show up on his own."
I wanted to argue and rip my arm out of Steve's grasp, but between the look on his face and his tight grip on my arm, I had a feeling he'd actually put up a fight to keep me where I was.
Officer Stanton muttered something to Two-Bit, then he walked away. I watched as the cop left the three of us standing there, waiting for answers.
"You tell us the minute you hear something!" I shouted after him, tears in my eyes.
"Kid's gonna be fine," Steve said. I knew him well enough to know that he was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince me and Two-Bit. Still, I appreciated how sure he sounded.
It felt like days had passed as we waited in the rain for any kind of update other than "we're still looking." The ambulance was nearby, and the paramedics stayed ready in case they were needed at a moment's notice. Two-Bit chatted with the paramedics, but Steve and I remained in the same spot we had been since officer Stanton walked away from us.
"You can wait in the car, Steve." I said at one point. I kept my eyes trained on the tree line, waiting for my brothers to miraculously appear. "Then you don't have to be in the rain and catch a cold."
"I'm staying right here," Steve said. I didn't argue with him or say anything after that. I appreciated his stability and support as we waited, and I hoped he knew that.
A while later, officer Stanton walked up to us with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Any news?" I asked. "Anything about Ponyboy?"
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but nobody's found any signs of him."
I took a step towards him and ignored how my eyes stung with unshed tears. "Please, you gotta let me help look for him. I can't keep standing here, waiting for someone to tell me whether or not he's okay!"
The cop was about to say something, but suddenly, there was a commotion somewhere past where the truck was smashed into the tree. From where I stood, I could only tell several officers that were still by the tracks all turned their heads to look at something, then they all rushed towards whatever it was, all shouting things I couldn't quite catch.
"Make a path!" officer Stanton's voice shouted as he immediately rushed towards the crowd of officers. As he ran forward, I saw the group of cops make room for him.
"What's goin' on?" I asked out loud, knowing that nobody around had any answers.
"Not sure," Steve said carefully. "Want to find out, or stay here? I could go check it out if you want."
I turned to look at my friend, and even though he was trying to display his best poker face, I knew he was worried about what could be happening and what it meant, and possibly how I would react to it if it wasn't good news. I didn't know how I wanted to respond, and once Two-Bit walked up to us, the three of us stood silently.
Finally, the crowd of officers shifted, and I spotted a form move away from the group and towards us. After a few seconds, I realized the form was Darry, struggling to support Ponyboy.
Ponyboy!
I started at a walk, not believing my own eyes, but once I was sure about what I was seeing, I sprinted towards my brothers.
Darry hand an arm wrapped around Pony's waist as they walked, and Pony's arm was across Darry's shoulders and Darry held Pony's arm with his free hand. Darry was bent over to accommodate Pony's shorter height, and I was once again astounded by Darry's strength.
As soon as I got closer to them, I could hear Darry's strained voice. "Almost there, Pone."
When I was able to get a good look at my younger brother, my heart dropped. His skin and clothes were littered with cuts and blood, he wasn't putting any weight on one leg, and it looked like he could hardly put weight on the other one, which would explain why Darry was supporting as much of Pony's weight as he could. Both of them had their eyebrows furrowed, but Pony's eyes were squeezed shut and he was gritting his teeth, so I knew he was in a lot of pain.
I wanted to wrap my arms around Pony and tell him how happy I was to see him, but it was obvious it would cause him more pain, so instead, when I reached them, I immediately went to Pony's other side and mimicked how Darry was supporting him. Then the three of us kept walking towards the ambulance.
"Hey Soda," Pony said tiredly.
"Hey honey," I said as cheerfully and softly as I could, hoping that he couldn't see or hear how worried I was about him.
After a few seconds, Pony stumbled, which caused Darry and me to exchange a look. Without saying a word, we both moved so our arms worked as a chair for Pony and we carried him back to the ambulance.
"We got you, Pony," I said. His eyes were closed and his head hung down towards his chest, but I was pretty sure he was awake and heard me.
As we walked, I looked up to see Two-Bit and Steve looking at Pony with wide eyes and jaws dropped. They both cursed under their breaths, and after the shock wore off, they kept quiet and walked with us towards the paramedics.
As we approached the ambulance, the paramedics had a stretcher ready and moved it towards us, but my brother wasn't having it. "'m fine," he muttered through gritted teeth. "No hospital."
"Pone, you need to see a doctor," Darry said between labored breaths.
Pony groaned, but didn't necessarily argue. He glanced at the stretcher, then said two words. "No…sit."
Darry looked at me, confused, but I knew what our brother wanted. Using my head, I motioned for the paramedics to move the stretcher out of the way, and once they reluctantly obliged, we got Pony to sit on the floor of the back of the ambulance. I sat next to him, letting him lean against me for support.
With Pony not needing to be carried anymore, Darry stood and stretched his back and arms, which I was sure were aching something fierce. That's when I noticed the blood coating Darry's hands, arm, and shirt. I looked at Pony's back and spotted streaks of red, then a cut from behind his ear and down his neck caught my eye. I gently moved his head to get a better look at it, but he moaned in pain, and the noise made me immediately stop.
Instead of assessing his injuries, I pulled his shoulders close to me and hugged him as tight as I dared, hoping I wasn't hurting him. "Oh honey, I'm so glad to see you," I said as I choked on my tears.
"Me too," he mumbled back.
The paramedics wanted to look Pony over, so I had to unwrap my arms, but I stayed right next to him. While Ponyboy was getting looked at, officer Stanton approached us, making me feel uneasy about the cop's presence.
Darry stood in front of me and Pony so he was blocking us from the cop. "You can arrest me now."
The officer glanced at Pony, then shook his head. "That won't be necessary. Just get him looked at." Then he looked right at Darry with a stern face. "There will be an investigation into the crash, so we'll be in touch." With that, the cop left, and it felt like a boulder had dropped into my stomach. An investigation? Is Pony in trouble?
"'rry's 'rrested?" Pony slurred, almost sounding drunk.
I turned to see Pony resting his head against my shoulder. While one of the paramedics was looking at his leg, Pony's eyes were closed, but his eyebrows were furrowed, showing that he was either confused or in pain. Probably both.
"Don't worry about that, Pony," I said softly as I brushed his hair off his face. He was cold, wet, dirty, and bloody, but I was just glad he was alive. "He's not going to jail. Everything's fine."
The paramedics were moving quickly around Ponyboy, but when my brother slumped against me, apparently falling unconscious, they went into more of a frenzy.
"Pony?" I said, gently tapping my brother's cheek. "Come on, baby. Wake up."
"We need to get him to the hospital right now," one of the paramedics said. "He's not out of the woods yet." The tone in the man's voice suddenly made me nervous. Pony's alive, but he's not out of danger.
I overheard Darry talking to Steve and Two-Bit about the hospital and something about driving, but I ignored their conversation. I kept trying to rouse Pony, but he was out like a light, which scared me. I wanted to shake him, but I was worried I'd break him in half, he was so fragile in his injured state.
Suddenly, Pony was being put on a stretcher and Darry climbed into the ambulance. "Come on, Pepsi. We're riding with Pony."
I didn't question him. I got to my feet, and moments later, the ambulance doors were closed and I heard the sirens blaring.