(Darry's POV)

The room was hazy with smoke and everything was colored in an orange hue, but even so, I remembered the room well enough to navigate it without much trouble. The flames near the door were impossible to avoid, but I did my best to stay as far away from whatever the thing was that seemed to be engulfed by the fire. I didn't know what the object was, but it was the only thing I could see that was completely ablaze; everything else that was on fire was scattered throughout the room. I moved through the flames as quickly as I could, hoping that if I was fast enough, the burns wouldn't be as bad.

"Ponyboy!" I shouted, although my voice wasn't much louder than the crackling of the fire. There wasn't a response, but I had to keep trying. "Pony!"

I could feel the stinging burns from the fire, but I completely ignored them and continued making my way through the room. I looked down every set of lockers, but I didn't see anything that hinted my brother was there. I figured I'd keep going forward and check the perimeter, and if I still couldn't find Ponyboy, then I'd walk past every single locker and check everywhere before I decided he wasn't in the room.

My eyes were watering from the smoke, and despite the shirt tied around my face, I started coughing. I continued to shout my brother's name, and I continued to get no response.

Maybe he's not in here. I was hopeful or a moment, but Pony has the worst luck out of anyone I know, and since there wouldn't be a reason for him not to go from the locker room straight to our truck outside, I had a gut feeling that he was in there somewhere, potentially suffocating from the smoke.

As I wandered throughout the room, I was coughing more and shouting Pony's name less. The smoke was getting thicker, making it hard to breathe, and I knew I was running out of time. I wouldn't be much help to Pony if I also suffocated, and I couldn't do that to Sodapop. If I don't walk out of this room, Soda will be a complete mess, and I wouldn't forgive myself for doing that to him.

Before I turned around and walked down each set of lockers, I wanted to check the bathroom and shower area of the locker room. I knew Ponyboy was planning on taking a shower, so I figured he might've stayed in that area if the fire broke out during his shower.

As soon as I made it to the tile floor, I spotted something on the floor, and after blinking a few times and squinting, I realized it looked like someone curled up with their back facing me.

"Pony?" I tried, but then started coughing again. Who else could it be?

I quickly made my way over to the person and I went on the other side to see their face. In an instant, I knew I was looking at my kid brother.

"Pony!" I shouted as I shook his shoulder. He was still pretty curled up, but his body moved limply as I shook him. He was at least unconscious, and if he was worse than that… I couldn't handle it.

I scooped him up in my arms, and I noticed that he had gotten heavier since the last time I carried him, which was after he and Johnny ran away for a week. Although I was glad Pony put on some more weight, it meant it was going to take a little longer for me to get him out safely. Still, thanks to the daily workout I get from my work, I was able to pick him up with relative ease.

I started hustling back towards the door, but when I got close, I realized how bad the situation had become. The thick, suffocating smoke made it close to impossible to know if I was walking in a straight line or not, so I tried walking next to the wall to make sure I didn't get turned around. The object near the door that was consumed in a blaze had fallen onto the floor, blocking my path completely. At least when I went into the room, I could try to avoid the flames, but it didn't look possible the second time I had to cross. I was going to go through the thick of it, no matter what.

With no other option, I pulled Pony tight against my chest and rolled my shoulders forward to try and protect him as much as I could. Then I stepped over the worst of the fire, but I still felt the flames crawl up my legs as I rushed out of the locker room. The heat on my legs was almost unbearable, but Pony and I didn't have another option or more time, so I gritted my teeth and kept going.

The moment I escaped the smoky room, the fresh air hit me like a train, and I started coughing so hard that I was nervous I would drop Pony. I took as many steps as I could down the hall and away from the blaze before I stopped. I was in pain and impossibly hot, but I managed to keep hold of Ponyboy.

"Pony!" I heard Soda yell, but my stinging eyes were shut as I continued hacking.

"Glory!" Two-Bit said from somewhere nearby.

As I blinked the smoke out of my eyes, I saw Soda and Two-Bit reach for Pony, and I let them take him out of my arms and place him on the ground a few feet away. With Pony out of harm's way, I yanked the shirt off my face and tried to clear my lungs with a few more coughs. I started to feel dizzy, and I hoped that I wouldn't pass out.

Then I felt something beating against my legs. "You're on fire, man!" Steve shouted next to me, and I surmised that he was swatting at the flames to attempt to make them disappear, but I couldn't feel hardly anything; either adrenaline or something more terrifying made it so I felt numb.

I fell to my hands and knees, all of the energy draining out of me. I heard Steve swearing under his breath, but I focused on the sounds of my ragged breathing. I was coughing so much, that I could taste bile creeping up into my throat. Still, even over my obnoxious noises, I could hear Soda talking to Ponyboy, trying to coax a response out of him.

"Pony? Come on, honey. Wake up," Soda pleaded.

I took the keys to the truck out of my pocket and held them somewhere behind me, knowing that Steve was still probably close by. "Steve… take the truck… Pony hospital," I said, hoping he got the message.

I felt Steve grab the keys from me, but a moment later, I heard a stranger's voice yelling from a distance. "Over here!" I turned, and despite my tear-filled eyes, I could see multiple people running towards us.

It wasn't long before I could see the first responders circling Ponyboy on the floor. I didn't know what they were doing, but Soda remained at Pony's side, so I trusted that he'd keep an eye on him since I was still feeling lousy and struggling to breathe. I noticed some people ran by me, and I assumed they were firefighters since they would be the only ones running towards the fire.

Suddenly, something was shoved into my face, covering my mouth and nose. My immediate reaction was to try and move the object away, but someone I didn't know was instructing me to keep in in place so I could breathe easier. I decided to listen since I felt light-headed and I didn't have the strength to fight them anyway.

After breathing some clean air, I fortunately felt like I wasn't going to pass out, so I turned to look at what was going on with Pony. I could only see part of his face since the rest of him was blocked the paramedics. From what I could see, he had a mask on his face that looked similar to the one I had, but his eyes remained closed. His skin had patches of all sorts of colors, ranging from pink to red, to grey, and I immediately wondered what I could've done differently to spare him some of the burns or additional exposure to the smoke. I should've moved faster. Why didn't I check the back area by the showers first? He's a smart kid; of course he would've gotten as far away from the fire as he could!

Someone shook my shoulder, making my eyes open and snapping me back to the present. When did I close my eyes?

"They're takin' him to the hospital Darry," Two-Bit said, his voice right next to my ear.

I focused on the scene in front of me, and I saw that Pony had been put on a stretcher and it looked like he was about to be moved. Soda was standing next to the stretcher, and he was glancing at me with a worried expression, which only got worse when I met his eyes. "Darry?" Soda said, his voice sounding scared and childish.

I hated hearing him sound like that.

I moved the mask off my face and struggled to stand up. I could practically feel Two-Bit and Steve standing next to me, probably waiting to catch me if I fell over. I appreciated them, but I was determined not to show any more weakness. Once I got to my feet, I made my way towards my brothers and the paramedics, stumbling most of the way. The numb feeling I had was starting to disappear, and I could begin to feel the pain make its presence known.

One of the first responders looked at me, eyes wide, but his voice was stern. "Sir, you-"

"He's my brother," I said, cutting them off with a hoarse voice. My throat had never been so dry and painful. "I'm going with him."

"Me too," Soda said determined.

The man looked like he wanted to argue, but the female paramedic spoke up. "Family is allowed in the vehicle, but we gotta go now."

I turned to Steve and Two-Bit, who both looked worried. "Take the truck," I told them. "We'll meet you there." They both gave me a small nod, but couldn't find anything to say. There's not much to say, I guess.

Pony was quickly wheeled away, and Soda and I followed. I tried to follow at the same speed the paramedics moved, but I immediately felt nauseous and lightheaded upon exertion. Without a word, Soda was at my side and helped me walk in a straight line. By the time we walked out of the school and reached the ambulance that was parked in front of our truck, Pony had already been put in the back with a paramedic was tending to him, and Soda was carrying at least half of my weight. Outside of the ambulance, the female paramedic noticed that Soda and I had caught up, but when she looked at me, she wore a concerned expression. She knew we were coming with. What's that about?

She didn't say anything as Soda and I got into the back and sat next to Pony. However, as soon as she climbed into the ambulance and closed the doors behind her, the woman looked right at me. Then she moved some stuff around next to her and handed me a mask attached to a tube. "You should keep this on."

"I'm fi-"

"Darry, please," Soda pleaded. I looked at him, and while he held Pony's limp hand between his own, his watery eyes were on me. "You were in the fire too."

As much as I wanted to argue with him, I couldn't do that to Soda. I knew how worried he was and I didn't want to add to his concern. Plus, he helped me reach the ambulance to be with Pony, so I felt obligated to listen to him. I took the oxygen mask and put it on my face, and I would be lying if I said it didn't make breathing easier.

As the ambulance drove quickly on the bumpy road, Soda and I sat quietly as we looked down at Ponyboy. Rather than being in his track uniform, he was dressed in his normal clothes, but his jeans and T-shirt were tattered and burnt in several areas. In the light from the vehicle, it was easier to see all of the colors that covered Pony's skin. Seeing my brother in such poor condition just a short time after winning multiple events in the state track meet was enough for my head to feel like I was suffering from whiplash. While Soda held Pony's hand, I steadied myself by placing my hand on his knee. Please be okay, Ponyboy.