SADLY, I DO NOT OWN THE OUTSIDERS! IF I DID, I WOULD BE LIVING IN TULSA AND DATING PONYBOY! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE AMAZING S. E. HINTON!
Author's Note: Lol. I just watched The Karate Kid (starring the one and only Ralph Macchio (Johnny in the Outsiders movie.) The whole time I was like "Go Johnnycakes! You got this! Do it for Johnny, do it for Johnny!" I thought it was ironic that Johnny (Ralph) was fighting Johnny (that was the other charecters name.) Haha. Also, I'm leaving for Texas tomorrow and there's no wi-fi where we're staying, so I won't be updating for like 5 days. Sorry ;) Thanks for all the reviews, too. You guys are awesome! Alright on with the story!
At The End Of The Road, Chapter 5: Killer Chemo
SODA'S POV
Drip, drip. Beep, Beep. The noises were driving me crazy. It was silent except for the chemo medicine dripping from the drip bag, through the tube, and into Pony's arm. And then there was the heart moniter. I think I hated it even more then Pony did. It was a if they could just measure my little brother's life as nothing more then a long zigzagging line. My worst fear was the dreaded flat line. Oh, God. I was so scared of that.
Chemo had begun 10 minutes ago. Pony was lying still on the bed, eyes closed, but I knew he wasn't sleeping. I wanted to talk to Darry, for him to comfort me, but we had no privacy. There was a nurse sitting in a plastic chair in the corner, making me feel extremely uncomfortable. If it was Maggie, I would have been okay with it. We had only just met her, but she seemed so friendly, and she was going to be Pony's permenant nurse. We were probably going to get to know her pretty well, and it would have been nice to get a head's start on that. But this nurse was pale and bony, with suspicious eyes that matched her pale skin. She looked really uptight and unfriendly. Great.
Dr. Mitchell stuck his head around the corner.
"He doing okay so far?"
"Yeah, he's alright." Darry said. Dr. Mitchell came into the room, holding a needle.
"Just have to draw some blood,"he said, injecting the needle into Ponyboy's arm.
"Didn't you just do that?" I asked. Dr. Mitchell smiled. "Yes. We draw blood frequently, though, to check on his progress. He gotten sick yet?" We shook our heads.
"Good, maybe it won't affect him as badly. The longer it takes for syptoms to show, the better. It means they're stronger, more resistant."
"What other syptoms are there?" Darry inquired worriedly. "I couldn't find a page on them in those papers you gave me." I smiled a little and shook my head. Darry stayed up all last night, pouring over those papers. He didn't want Ponyboy to have to see them.
"The common, short-term syptoms start with anaemia. Anaemia makes you extremely tired, and some people find it hard to catch their breath. It's usually not too serious, but if it does get serious, we'll do blood transfusions. Chemo also weakens your immune system making it hard to fight off infections. He'll also be tired, weak, have constant vomiting, possible mouth sores, and hair loss. He probably won't lose his hair until the second or third round of chemo, though."
I was worried. And this was supposed to be helping Pony? No way. Dr. Mitchell caught my expression.
"I know, it seems as if it's doing him more harm then help. It's helping him tremendously, we just can't see it."
I nodded. We sat there for a minute, until a nasally voice broke over the loudspeaker.
Kenneth Mitchell, please report to room 701. Kenneth Mitchell, 701" Dr. Mitchell got to his feet.
"I've got to run. I'll drop in later. Good luck!" We thanked him, and then he was gone. I sighed. Darry and I looked at each other.
Before we could say anything, Pony started to stir. He opened his eyes weakly.
"Hey Pone," said Darry gently. "How do you feel?"
"Tired." Pony mumbled. I stroked his hair. Why did this happen to us? To him? Pony didn't deserve this. He was always so good.
Suddenly, Pony went pale. Darry was fast-moving, grabbing the basin from the bedside table and holding it under him. He gagged and heaved. I rubbed circles on his back and Darry talked to him softly and I wondered, how anyone deserved this.
PONY'S POV
I cringed as I heaved again, panting and breathless. Soda stroked my hair, Darry kept mutterimg that everything would be all right. But it wouldn't. I would surely die, there was no way I could go through this over 5 times. I finished and Soda wiped my mouth with a tissue.
"You okay, Pony?" I nodded, too tired to talk. "It'll all be over soon." I nodded again, taking deep breaths as my stomach flipped again. My stomach contracted and I heaved again. Darry held my head over the basin as I threw up again. It hurt so badly, my stomach was empty, so it was basically stomach acid. Tears of pain stung my eyes. God. I wanted to die. This was a living h***. There was no way out. I leaned back against Soda's shoulder, completly exhausted. The room was spinning. I just wanted this to be over.
I don't know how much time passed. It felt like hours. For hours, all I did was throw up. I was so dizzy, I clung to the edges of my bed to keep from falling off. Dr. Mitchell came in every half hour to test my blood. Maggie came in, too. She checked my tubes, then sat down. She talked to Darry and Soda for a long time. I couldn't follow their conversation, everything was just a tangled, dizzying blur of voices. It made me so dizzy that I started throwing up again. I could feel everyone comforting me, but everything was just a blur. I just wanted to be done, I felt so sick I couldn't bear it. But I couldn't afford to look weak. So I set my jaw straight and didn't complain.
My mouth was sore and felt disgusting. My throat was completley dry. I was dying for a drink of water, anything. But when I managed to ask Dr. Mitchell, he said I wouldn't be able to keep it down, and I couldn't eat or drink anything. I agreed, but then he did something worse. He brought in another I.V. to "keep me hydrated." The pain wasn't really the problem, my arm was so numb from all the needles that I couldn't feel it, anyway. It was bad because the tube was really short and I could barely move. I felt like I was literally tied down to the bed. And it made me feel calstraphobic.
My head was aching and pounding now. I put my head in Darry's lap and tried to keep from throwing up. I could tell that it was getting dark out; there were vents in the ceiling that must connect to the roof. It's gotta be almost over, I thought as I emptied my stomach again, it has to be time now. Sure enough, Dr. Mitchells came in 10 minutes later, informing me that chemo was over. He took out the chemo I.V. I was shocked that that was the mildest level. I didn't care, though. I was done. Dr. Mitchell congratulated me on getting through it. Darry and Soda both hugged me. I could barely keep my eyes open. I just smiled at them the best that I could, fell back onto my pillows, and fell asleep instantly.
DARRY'S POV
He was done. Thank God. I didn't know how I got through it. It was absolute torture watching my little brother suffer like that. I felt totally helpless. I mean, I acted like I was in control, like I had a plan. It was a mechanical sort of process; help him sit up, hold his head while he throws up, comfort him, wipe his mouth, lay him back down, hold his hand, encourage him. I may have appeared calm, but it took every bit of my self-restraint to not run out of the room. I felt so awful not being able to do anything. Then I felt selfish for feeling sorry for my self when I should be feeling sorry for Pony. Then I would worry about the money and hospital bills. Then I would feel guilty all over again for worrying about that when I should be helping Pony. Soda, too, this was killing him, but I had to give him credit, he was really calm.
I wanted my parents. I was still just a kid myself, a teenager even. I was turning 20 next month. My parents would know just what to do. And me? I was as clueless as you can get.
It was around 7:00 pm. Ponyboy was finally asleep, and Soda had fallen asleep in the chair next to his bed, holding his hand. I smiled, they were so close. That was when I realized how hungry I was. I hadn't eaten a thing since breakfast, and neither had Sodapop.
"Maggie," I whispered, so I wouldn't wake up Pony or Soda. She looked up from the magazine she was reading. "I'm going down to the cafeteria to get Soda and I something to eat. Can you make sure they're okay?"
She smiled. "Of course, honey. Go on ahead."
I thanked her and slipped out of our cubicle and into the hallway. I let out a sigh. First time I had been out of it in 11 hours. I walked down the long hallway, until I finally got out into the oncology ward waiting room. From there, I took the elevator down to the cafeteria. When I got there, I was just going to get whatever I saw and go, but a familiar voice called my name.
"Darry!"
I turned to see Elizabeth Dunthers waving from a table. With her was a man who I assumed was her husband, and two kids; a girl who looked around 8 and a boy around 16. They all looked almost exactly alike. I was glad to see her, I needed to talk to someone besides doctors for a change of pace. I went on over.
"Hi, Mrs. Dunthers."
"Hello, Darry. This is my husband, John, my daughter, Skylar, and my son Thomas."
I said hi to them and she introduced me. I asked how Daniel was doing.
"Oh, he's fine, should be able to go home in a couple of days. How is Ponyboy?"
I wasn't sure how to respond, I didn't really know if he was okay or not. "It was a bit of a rough day, he had his first chemo session today."
They all looked at me sympathetically, even Skylar. It hit then just how much this can affect people.
"I remember when Danny had his first session." John spoke up. "Not fun, that's for sure." Mrs. Dunthers nodded in agreement. "It's nice that your parents let you be there for him," she said. "I didn't let Skylar or Thomas come to Daniel's."
I winced. Mom and Dad. I tried to act casual, but pain was stabbing at me like a knife. "Acctually, I'm Pony and Soda's legal guardian. Our parents died two months ago in a car wreck."
Mrs. Dunthers's eyes got huge, John looked apologetic, and the two kids looked awkward. "Oh my God," said Mrs. Dunthers. "I'm so sorry, Darrel, I had no idea..."
"That's alright." I said briefly. Again, I didn't want to get into it. There was an uncomfortable silence.
"Well," I said, getting to my feet. "I'd better be getting back now."
Mrs. Dunthers nodded, still looking guilty. "Alright, Darry. Well see you later."
I nodded. The rest of the family said bye, too, then I went to the food line. I just got us each a turkey sandwich and coke, paid, and headed back upstairs. The talk with the Dunthers had made me feel kind of down. I just really needed my parents now. And then I started feeling guilty, because I was suddenly remembering all the times I had yelled at Pony, for now seemingly unimportant things.
I arrived at Pony's room, went in and found Pony half-sitting up, breathing hard, and holding Soda's hand tightly. Soda was trying to look comforting, but he looked scared. Maggie was adding something to his I.V. I hurried over.
"Pony, are you okay?"
"Yeah," he said, though he was obviously not. "Ive just got a killer headache."
I turned to Maggie worriedly. "A headache? Dr. Mitchell didn't list that as one of the side affects."
Maggie nodded. "It's not. It's probably nothing to worry about, I just put him on a pain medication. I'll go get Dr. Mitchell though, just in case."
She left. I sat on the edge of the bed, and wondered how much more stress I was going to be able to take.
Author's Note: Done! I can try to do another chapter tonight, but I need sleep, I'm getting up at 4 in the morning to catch our plane for Texas! I worried though, we're going to a part where they have deadly scorpions that can kill you. :0 Hopefully I won't get bitten, but if I never update again, then you'll know what happened. Haha. Also, HAPPY ALMOST 4th OF JULY! A bit early, but oh well. Hope everyone has fun. Btw, to all you foreign readers, we celebrate the 4th of July cause it's the day that we declared our independence. So, happy summer, then, to the foreign people! ;) Review, please! Thanks! Stay Gold! -Emily ;)