It's been a while, hasn't it? Well school is kicking my butt right now and I hardly have enough time to write anymore, but it's something that I really want to keep doing.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders blah blah blah. Now on to it!
Thursday, September 30th, 1965
7:32 AM
"…oda…Soda!" someone shouted. Sodapop moved his head around before slowly opening his eyes. All of a sudden, he squeezed them shut again due to the bright light.
"…normal. I'll….curtains…" The light behind Soda's eyes got darker, and he tried again at opening his eyes. His eyes opened, and he sat on a semi-comfortable bed in a room that he had recently been in more times than he would have liked. Not only that but there were three people in the room. Two were in fancy suits that Soda instantly recognized. The other was a nurse who left the room to allow the two gentlemen some privacy. Before Soda could speak, his older brother came over and placed his hands on his little brother's shoulders. After that, he squeezed them slightly.
"Y-you okay?!" Darry got out after his voice cracked.
"Been better," Soda replied. Both brothers then threw their arms around each other. Soda could feel Darry trembling with a shaky breath.
"I thought I lost you too," Darry whimpered.
"Come on, Darry. Now you got me crying and I'm supposed to be the bawl baby of the family," Soda said, making Darry sob happily.
"I'm glad we didn't lose you as well Sodapop," another voice said. The two brothers let go of each other and looked at the other figure in the room.
"What's he doing here?" Soda asked harshly.
"Soda, he's here to help us try and find Pony and Johnny," Darry said.
"No sh**. But why is he in my hospital room? And why are you dressed like that?" Darry looked over at Agent Helms who nodded.
"Pepsi…I've been working with him and the rest of his team to work on finding Pony and Johnny," Darry explained. Soda raised his eyebrow at Darry and then quickly turned his attention to the agent, and then back at Darry with a new scowl on his face.
"Oh…so that's one more thing you conveniently forgot to tell me about," Soda snapped.
"You don't understand, I had to and I didn't want you to…" Darry said.
"Didn't want me to get hurt, right?! First, it's the fact that he's a thrill killer, then it's the fact that he sends us letters, and now you've been working with the same people who think that we would be better off splitting up! What else haven't you told me?! Huh?!"
"Soda, I understand that you're mad at me and you have every right to be. I swear I'll tell you everything when the time is right."
"Which won't be ever," Soda snapped. Darry dramatically exhaled and pinched the top of his nose.
"Look, you and I both know that the only thing that matters right now is finding Pony and Johnny before…." Soda did not comment. "I promise, as soon as they are safe I'll tell you everything," Darry swore.
"A-hem," Agent Helms coughed, but both brothers didn't respond to it. Soda kept looking at Darry in disgust for several moments before his face relaxed.
"Only for Pony and Johnny; but I'm still pissed at you," Soda said.
"I can handle that, and it's not like it's the first time you've been pissed at me for something," Darry said causing both to let out a small chuckle. Agent Helms then stepped forward.
"Mr. Curtis," he said.
"Yes," both Darry and Soda said. Agent Helms shook his head. "Sodapop, we need your help with trying to catch this bas**** while we have the change after your failed kidnapping," Helms said. "I need you to try and remember as much as you can. The slightest detail he said to you might be what leads us to Ponyboy and Jonathan."
"I'll try. But I…I can only remember parts of it," Soda said.
"Just take it slow, Pepsi. Start with what you clearly remember," Darry said.
"Okay," Soda said
"I remember that a customer pulled up and I went over to help him pump," Soda said.
Hours earlier:
"Forgive me son, but are you alright? You look like you haven't slept in weeks."
"Feels like it," Soda muttered.
"What was that?"
"Sorry. I said it feels like it. I haven't been able to get a good night's sleep in days," Soda said. "But it doesn't bother me."
"I'm sorry to hear that. It's hard to sleep at night nowadays thanks to that damn serial killer." He said.
"Yeah," Soda said with his voice cracking. The next few moments were in silence while Soda checked the oil and tires. Moments later, the pump clicked off, and Soda put the nozzle back on the pump as the customer got out and followed Soda inside. Soda jumped behind the counter and started pressing buttons on the register. "That'll be 21.48, sir."
"Very well," the man said reaching into his pocket. He pulled out his wallet and gave Soda $26. "The rest is yours."
"Thanks a lot," Soda said opening the register and putting the money inside. Then he put his five-dollar tip in his pocket. "Have a good day, sir."
"You too," he said and started walking away slowly. Soda meanwhile grabbed the box and went back to stocking the shelves. "Actually, there's one more thing I need help with," the customer said walking back to Soda. All of a sudden, he grabbed Soda's neck into a choke hold and pinned his arm behind him. "I've been anxious to come and visit you almost from the beginning. Not as much as the day I would steal the boys, but I still anticipated it nonetheless." Soda froze at this, and his body was immediately filled with rage.
"Where are they?!" Soda shrieked.
"Don't you worry, that's our next stop. I didn't have a good past few days, but I'm sure you and the boys can help increase my mood," Lynch said. All of a sudden, Soda got a burst of adrenaline and used his other arm to take a hard swing at Lynch's face right where his scar was.
"AWWW! Son of a bi***!" Lynch shouted and threw Soda hard on the floor. The last thing the young greaser saw was Lynch removing his hand from his face, and most of his scar had faded away and left smudge marks of brown, pink, and red on his cheek before he was kicked hard in the head.
"Next thing I remember was being dragged away from the store with a huge migraine and everything kept spinning," Soda said.
"Classic signs of a concussion which you had. I'm shocked you were able to recognize anyone," Helms said.
"You recognized me though," Darry said.
"I recognized your voice, but I couldn't focus because you kept moving around. The only reason I was sure it was you was how you held me," Soda said.
"And that's when you told me that his face had makeup on," Darry said. Soda suddenly grunted and crossed his arms.
"I'm such an idiot! How the hell did I not realize that it was Lynch right away? I mean I know he had on a hat that covered up a majority of his face, but still…"
"Mr. Curtis, my department has a whole branch dedicated specifically to disguises, and not one figured out until now that Lynch's true identity had a false scar. Give yourself some slack," Helms said. Soda didn't say a word and refused to look at either of the two.
"So now what?" Darry asked.
"Honestly, we're gonna have to start again as far as looking for him and spreading the word. Sodapop, we're gonna need your help in remembering his face the best you can," Helms said.
"Whatever, just go out and find that son of a bi***!" Soda said.
"Great. I'm going to call in one of our sketch artists to come and talk to you so we can spread the word about his updated appearance," the agent explained. Then he turned to the eldest brother. "Meanwhile, you and I are going to meet at the trailer with Agent Carlos and his team to review our evidence and anything else that he found."
"Hold on, I'm not going with you," Darry said.
"Curtis, I know you would rather stay here, but the game continues," Helms said.
"But I just…" Darry said.
"If Darry goes, will it help Ponyboy and Johnny?" Soda asked. Agent Helms nodded. "Then why are you still talking to me? Go!" Soda snapped. Darry went over and hugged Soda as gently as he could.
"Wait. What if he tries to come back for Soda?" Darry asked.
"I'll send an agent and security guard to keep an eye on him while he's here," Agent Helms promised. "Actually you know what? I'm going to see if I can get Mr. Gregory moved in here with Sodapop so we can keep an eye on both of them."
"Who?" Darry said.
"Scott Gregory. Remember him? He's the one that Lynch had before he kidnapped Ponyboy and Jonathan. He's still in a coma and is recovering in this very hospital under heavy guard."
"Oh…right," Darry said. Darry looked one last time at his brother.
"Just do whatever you have to do to bring them back," Soda said. Darry nodded, and the two left.
Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break
Ponyboy
Earlier that morning
The barn door was unlocked and Ponyboy with a dazed look in his eyes. "Ah, good morning my little hero," Lynch said and lit some of the candles that were half burnt away. "Ponyboy, you look awful. I give you a chance to get a good night's sleep and you just stay up all night." The teen didn't answer. "I hope Johnny-boy did more than you did to give yourself an advantage. But either way, we'll still carry on with our plan." Then he took a glance at his watch. "We've got about an hour before sunrise and I have to heal your injuries just like I did with Jonathan. There's just one more thing that needs to happen before I do that," he said. Lynch then went back out of the barn for a moment. When he came back, he carried a black briefcase with the German Sheppards stalking close behind. Ponyboy all of a sudden tensed up and started pulling on his shackles.
"Aww, did you think that only Johnny-boy would get to experience my little pets? Now we don't have time to replicate it shot-for-shot, but whatever. Alright boys," Lynch said opening the suitcase and pulling out two big pieces of meat. He held it in front of the dogs which caused their mouths to drool. They barked loudly and Ponyboy started to hyperventilate. "Who wants it?! Who wants the blood?" Lynch asked in a baby-like voice. "Go get it!" he said and tossed the meat right at Ponyboy. The young boy tried to kick it away but was only able to get it away before the dogs came at him.
"AHHHHHH!" Ponyboy screamed as the dogs tore up through his already torn clothes. He tried to kick and punch the dogs away, but they jumped back on him and continued to bite down hard. Even after the piece of meat was gone, the dogs continued to bite and nip at him.
Suddenly after what felt like forever, a gunshot was heard and the dogs froze and then ran out of the barn. Ponyboy just lay on the hard ground hardly conscious with bite marks and scratches. "Come on now, Ponyboy. It's time to get you cleaned up and ready to go," Lynch said. He came over with a white first-aid kit and clothes that still had a tag on them. "I suggest you take your shirt off so I can work on healing your injuries." With that, Ponyboy's eyes went wide and he violently shook his head. "Relax Ponyboy, I swear on my honor that I'm not going to do anything like that to you. That's disgusting and is one of the few exceptions to my 'no gun' rule," he explained, and Ponyboy gave him a funny look. "Oh stop it! You've been with me for a little over a week and you should know more about me and what I want. But nobody ever does, do they? Why do I have to be the one who always suffers because I can't get enjoyment in sex or whatever hell else a normal person should like?! Why is that so hard to understand?!" Ponyboy didn't speak. That's when Lynch grabbed Ponyboy's torn-up shirt that he wore and started to violently take it off while being mindful of his bandages, particularly on his back.
"Why can't I ever find the same enjoyment that Jeremiah gave to me?! It couldn't have been more perfect and was the most beautiful sight anyone had ever seen! And then when I moved on to Veronica, it wasn't perfect! Someone cracked under the pressure or didn't play my game right! Everything was ruined!" Ponyboy was frozen on the spot after Lynch flung open the first-aide box and got out some disinfectant cream. "Oh, I'm sorry Ponyboy. Here I am rambling when it's almost sunrise. Let's get you cleaned up." After that, Lynch put on a single pair of rubber gloves and gently started to rub the cream over Ponyboy's injuries. Ponyboy hissed and cried out as the medicine cleaned out his infected injuries.
"Stop moving around, Ponyboy or you'll make it worse; especially since it looks like I'll have to stitch up some of these. I can give you some anesthetic that I 'borrowed' from one of my ex-partners, but I can't give you much since you won't be ready before sunrise. Would you like that?" he asked. Ponyboy then grunted again but much louder. "Alright, give me a minute here." Lynch then went over and grabbed a capped needle and filled it up with anesthesia before injecting it into Ponyboy's arm. A few moments later, Ponyboy felt his arm go slightly numb. Lynch then began to stitch up a wound on his arm.
"There. I admit it's not perfect, but I'm not a doctor. I've only had basic training from my ex-partner after I got into a nasty fight with Special Agent Helms. But that's not important right now," he said.
Just as the sun was just about to peek over the horizon, Lynch wrapped up Ponyboy's last injury. "There. Almost as good as new," Lynch said. Ponyboy didn't say a word and continued to focus on keeping his exhausted eyes open. The serial killer then assisted the teen in taking off the tags and putting on his new white shirt and a red and black checkered long-sleeved shirt that was not buttoned up. Here, you can put on your new jeans," He said and even turned around to give Ponyboy a little privacy as he did it.
"Wonderful! And right on cue." Ponyboy looked out the barn door that was left open and saw a bright hint of gold just break the sky in the far distance. He slowly walked outside and stared at the dark sky that was beginning to turn to a baby blue color with clouds turning a pink or purple color. Ponyboy closed his eyes and took in the morning fresh air that he hadn't seen in over a week.
"Ponyboy! Go on! Remember, you have until noon before I come looking for you!" Lynch said walking out of the barn. He walked over towards a small white house where he saw one of the German Shepherds sleeping by the entrance. The dog flinched before sitting up and began to aggressively bark at Ponyboy and ran towards him. Ponyboy gasped in shock, but the dog was violently pulled back as the dog was tied to a hook connected to the house. "You'll get your chance boy. You know the rules," Lynch said from the barn door sharpening and cleaning some of his knives.
All of a sudden, a noise was heard coming from a nearby parked 1965 Ford Custom. "…please respond. Special Agent Helms requests you to return to the headquarters trailer."
'Special Agent Helms?' Ponyboy thought.
"GET!" Lynch screamed with a look of shock on his face looking at the car. Ponyboy flinched but ran as fast as he could away from the barn into a wide-open field that seemed endless.
I guess I'll stop there for now. I know not a lot happened this time and it's been a while, but I've got some ideas that I want to do for the next few chapters. I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you next time.
LaurenHardy13