(Sodapop's POV)
A couple minutes after Darry ran into the fire, Steve finally let me stand up, but he stayed close to me, apparently ready to pin me down again if I thought about finding my brothers in the blaze. I was pacing, not able to stay still and wait while my entire family was in a fire a short distance away from me. Two-it looked fidgety, and Steve kept glancing between me and the fiery locker room.
The hallway started filling with smoke, but I refused to allow it to push me further away. If Darry and Pony don't show up in the next two minutes, I'll shove Steve into the wall and find my brothers.
Before my time limit was up, a figure appeared, rushing out of the doorway that led to the fire. As that figure approached us, I recognized it as Darry carrying Ponyboy. Darry found him!
Darry still had his shirt tied around his head, but even so, he was coughing like a pack-a-day smoker. His bare skin was an angry shade of red, with some areas looking particularly awful as the burns marked up his skin. All of that, and it still was nothing compared to how bad Pony looked in Darry's arms.
"Pony!" I shouted as I ran to them.
"Glory!" Two-Bit said, apparently just as shocked as I was.
The two of us reached Darry and took Pony from him, then we brought my kid brother a few more feet down the hallway before we set him down gently. Meanwhile, I could hear Darry continue coughing, and Steve yell, "You're on fire, man!"
I took my eyes off of Pony for a moment to see Steve using his jacket to swat at the flames on Darry's jeans. Darry dropped to his hands and knees, which made my heart rate spike even higher. Is he going to be okay? When I saw Steve extinguish the last of the fire on Darry, I knew Darry would be relatively fine, at least for the time being, so I turned my attention back to Pony.
"Pony?" I tried as I tapped his cheek. He didn't move at all, which made my worry turn into full-blown concern. "Come on, honey. Wake up."
"Over here!" someone yelled from down the hall.
I looked up and spotted some paramedics and firefighters all running towards us. Seconds later, several of them were surrounding Ponyboy and others ran towards the fire. While Two-Bit stood up and gave the first responders some room, I stayed where I was; I wasn't about to leave Pony's side.
"What's his name?" someone asked.
"Ponyboy," I said immediately. "Ponyboy Curtis."
Everyone around me was talking real fast, and before I realized what happened, a mask was put on Pony's face and the first responders were looking over his whole body. I could hear Pony's name being said once in a while, but I couldn't follow what everyone was saying. Then, someone announced that Ponyboy was going to the hospital, so they quickly put my unconscious brother on a stretcher and prepared to move him.
I stood next to Pony, watching the paramedics do their thing and not able to help in the slightest. I glanced at Darry to see how he was doing, and I immediately felt concern for both of my brothers. He was still on the ground with a mask just like Pony's on his face. When he looked at me, despite the glassiness from tears, his eyes seemed dull. I was suddenly worried he was about to pass out.
"Darry?" I said, hoping my voice would be enough to keep him awake. Come on, big brother.
After glancing at me, he took the mask off and slowly stood up, albeit unsteadily. Part of me was a little surprised to see Darry seem weak and affected by the fire, but then I had to remember that despite everything I'd see Darry do in his life, he was still human and not literally Superman. As he walked to me, it was obvious he wasn't doing great, but he was trying to act like he was fine.
Someone started talking to Darry, but he was cut off by my older brother. "Sir, you-"
"He's my brother," Darry said roughly. His breathing was sporadic, and his voice sounded like gravel, and I wondered if your vocal cords can burn from smoke or fire like the rest of you can. "I'm going with him."
"Me too," I said, making sure I wasn't about to be separated from either of my injured brothers.
"Family is allowed in the vehicle, but we gotta go now," the female paramedic said with finality.
Darry turned to Steve and Two-Bit. "Take the truck. We'll meet you there."
With that, the paramedics wheeled Pony down the hallway and towards where I assumed the ambulance was parked. I was about to run alongside them, but I noticed Darry looked pale and unsteady, so I threw and arm around his waist and walked with him, keeping him upright.
Once we got to the ambulance, Darry and I hopped into the back and sat on the side of Ponyboy. I immediately grabbed Pony's hand and hoped he would suddenly wake up from the contact, but to no avail.
The woman that joined us in the back of the ambulance was handing another mask to Darry. "You should keep this on."
"I'm fi-" Darry started, but I didn't want to hear it.
"Darry, please," I begged. You couldn't hardly walk here on your own, and you were coughing so much, I'm surprised you could breathe. I knew my eyes were watery, but I didn't care. Both of my brothers were in the fire; one of them was being so stubborn that he didn't want to accept the help he needed, and the other one was unconscious. "You were in the fire too." Thankfully, Darry took the oxygen mask and placed it over his mouth and nose. Even though he would be angry if I mentioned anything, I could tell his breathing evened out a little the longer the mask was on his face.
On the way to the hospital, I watched Ponyboy's chest rise and fall, just making sure he was still breathing. I kept holding Pony's hand and Darry put a hand on Pony's knee. I guess both of us need to be close to him right now. How many times are we going to worry about Pony like this?
Suddenly, Pony's arms and legs started twitching. While I thought it was a good sign and that he was waking up, the two paramedics started talking and moving frantically.
"What's going on?" Darry asked, immediately on edge and removing his mask.
The man looked at me as he adjusted something with Pony's oxygen mask. "He inhaled too much smoke. He's convulsing."
Darry and I sat up straight.
"Pony?" I tried, squeezing his hand a little. Please keep breathing, and wake up.
"We're almost at the hospital," I heard the woman say.
"Drive faster," Darry demanded. Even though he was probably feeling just as awful as he looked, my big brother was telling the paramedics to move quicker to save our brother.
While the man kept adjusting Pony's mask and held his shoulders down while the woman and Darry kept Pony's legs from jolting. I sat there and held Pony's hand tightly, not sure what I could even do to help my little brother; I just kept holding his hand and trying to talk to him.
"Come on, Pony," I said softly. "Snap out of it, honey. Wake up."
The moment Ponyboy stopped jerking, the paramedics and Darry all let go and the four of us stared at Ponyboy. I thought it was a good sign that he was finally still, but the guy by Pony's head seemed to think otherwise. His eyes got wide and he studied my brother carefully.
"He's not breathing," the man said after a few seconds. His voice was calmer than I expected, and I didn't know if that comforted me or not.
A moment later, the doors to the back of the ambulance suddenly flew open, and when I turned my head, I realized we had arrived at the hospital. There were several people standing right outside the ambulance doors who talked quickly with the paramedics that rode in the vehicle with us while they moved Pony out of the vehicle. Why do they keep talking? Don't they know Pony stopped breathing?! I heard them say something about oxygen and seizure, but I wasn't able to follow all the conversations.
"He's not breathing! Help him!" I shouted at everyone once Pony's stretcher touched the ground. A man in a white coat started pressing down into Pony's chest as a few of the others started wheeling him away.
I jumped out of the ambulance, wanting to follow Ponyboy into the building, but I glanced back at Darry first to make sure he was coming with me. To my surprise, he was still sitting in the back of the ambulance. I could see his glassy eyes follow our brother towards the hospital, but the rest of him didn't respond to the chaos at all.
"C'mon Darry," I encouraged. We can't let Pony out of our sight.
He didn't respond, and that's when I say that he was shaking and breathing funny.
"Darry?" I tried, taking a step towards him. What's going on?
The female paramedic must've noticed something was wrong, because she rushed to Darry's side and jumped into the ambulance. She crouched down and looked straight at Darry. "Sir? Are you okay?"
He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but instead, his eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped sideways.
"Darry!" I shouted, climbing back into the ambulance before anyone could stop me. I moved around the paramedic and went next to my brother's head. "Darry, c'mon man," I said, lightly tapping his cheek.
Two more people wearing some type of medical uniforms jumped into the ambulance to look at Darry while I stayed by him. I wanted to be with Pony too, but I wasn't about to leave Darry. I'm sorry Pony. Within a few moments, they had Darry on a stretcher, and as they brought him out of the ambulance, I followed close behind.
In the sunlight, Darry's injuries looked even worse than before. His jeans were fried in several areas, and there were burns blossoming on his torso and arms from the burns he sustained from rescuing our brother. The woman who had been concerned about Darry from the start put the mask back on his face, then she looked at me. "What's his name?"
"Darrel," I said automatically in a weak voice. He doesn't like being called Darrel, that was Dad. "Call him Darry."
The woman nodded at me, then looked down at Darry, who laid unconscious on the stretcher. "Darry, my name is Lisa. Can you open your eyes for me?" She waited a few seconds, but with no response, she spoke to the other medical people. "He was in the same fire as the other boy."
"Ponyboy," I reminded her. I didn't know why I said it, but it seemed important they knew his name. "They're my brothers."
Lisa looked at me with an apologetic expression, then she turned back to the others. "Page Doctor Thompson. Let's go."
With that, everyone started rushing to the emergency room doors with Darry still unmoving on the stretcher. I followed them as far as they'd let me, but once we reached a set of double doors that had a sign that said "medical staff only," I was forced to stay behind.
I stood there, my feet cemented to the floor, not knowing what to do. My vision was blurry from tears, but I couldn't force myself to wipe them away. I couldn't move at all.
"Soda," I heard Steve say from behind me.
I was frozen like a statue, but the second Steve put his hand on my shoulder, I crumbled into a sobbing mess.