A/N: Sorry this chapter took a little bit to get out, especially since I left the last chapter on a cliffhanger... mb guys

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At first, Ponyboy didn't realize he was stabbed. That there was a knife sticking out of his stomach. He felt the of the soc on top of him move violently and he shut his eyes in reflex, expecting another assault to the face, until he realized that loud curse that could've been heard throughout the whole state of Oklahoma had come from his older brother, and the weight of the burly body get hauled off of him. The hands that held down his arms and legs to the ground had gone too, and he laid dazed for a second, staring up at the blue sky through bleary eyes.

His ears rang in his head and everything almost seemed tranquil as he paid attention to nothing but the birds that flew overhead. Pony didn't pay attention to the brawl that was happening beside him, but once he realized that Soda was dealing with them alone, he began to sit up.

And then, pain. White, hot, stabbing pain blossoming all across his abdomen. It was so sudden and so incredibly intense that the breath in his lungs blew out of him, as if somebody had stomped on his torso and dug their heel into it, but the bottom and their boot was riddled with spikes. His elbows that were trying to hold him up had given out and he fell back onto the dirt-ridden sidewalk, eyes wide with horror and agony and just about every other emotion one could feel when there's a knife sticking out of their stomach. His head swam and he had half the mind to suck in shallow quick breaths after realizing he'd stopped briefly.

Pony's hands flew down to the blade handle, desperate to get the thing out of him, desperate for the pain to end, before hands clasped his, stopping him. He nearly thought it was the socs back for more, wanting to finish what they started. If he had a drop of strength left in him he probably would have pushed them away but to be totally honest, he didn't. So all he did was lay there, his hands laying helplessly in somebody else's, awaiting his fate.

He almost let his eyes slip closed until he realized the person grasping his hands were with comfort, not restraint, and that the person was calling his name with a voice he could never forget if he tried.

"Soda?" Ponyboy whispered, voice almost unheard of by Sodapop. He tried to open his eyes a little wider, but the pain throbbed through his body so harshly that it nearly made him pass out. He's pretty sure his eyes rolled back into his head a few times while trying to keep eye contact with Soda which only scared him more. "H-hurts,"

"I know, baby, I know." Soda sobbed out, taking Pony's hands into one and smoothing his hair back with the other. "You gotta keep the blade in so that you don't bleed-" Soda quickly stopped himself from saying 'to death', "bleed out," He continued.

Soda's eyes scanned down back to the knife sticking out of his baby brother's abdomen, realizing with horror that the wound was still bleeding. The crimson red soaked quickly into his indigo blue t-shirt, turning it into a nearly black color. Sodapop reacted quickly and set Pony's hands down on his sides gently, and shrugged off his DX jacket.

"This is gonna hurt a lot, honey, but I need to help stop the bleeding. Keep your arms to your sides, okay?" Soda told him, voice shaky and soft, despite his weak attempts at sounding assured. Darry would sound assured. God, he wishes he was here right now.

The only response that came from Pony was a pain-idled groan and Soda knew that if he was conscious enough to give a solid yes or no answer, he would need to stunt the bleeding either way. So he bunched the jacket up and placed it strategically around the blade, laying it down gently around the wound. His hands hovered over it for a second, hesitating to press down, taking one last look at his brother's pained expression.

'I gotta do it if I want him to hold over 'til I can get him to a hospital.' Soda told himself, looking away as he pressed his hand over the piece of clothing, blood seeping into it and spreading like an infection. A loud, agony filled cry came from Ponyboy and it took everything for Soda to not let a sob out himself. Pony's arms curled up from where they were resting at his sides and Soda was worried that they were making a move to push him away, but his wrists just hung limply as his hands trembled.

"I know, baby, I'm sorry," Sodapop said, voice quivering and desperate. This was all his fault. How could he let this happen? They could have gotten out of there unscathed if he had just paid more attention to Pony and took all of the socs into account. But now, here they were, in the worst possible situation, and Sodapop didn't even know how they would get to a hospital. Could he call an ambulance? There was a phone booth at the end of the block, maybe he could run and call after Ponyboy's in a little better shape, or he could flag down the next car when it came. Shit. How could he let this happen?

"Soda," Pony all but wailed,trying to resist the temptation of pushing Soda's hands away and making his injury worse.

"I know, Pony, I'm so sorry. You'll be okay. I'm gonna get you help," Sodapop told him in a shaky voice, trying with all his might to keep his composure. The last thing he needed is to accidentally let the floodgates loose out and send his critically injured little brother into more of a panic than he was already in. He had to be the rock.

A second later, a new sound pierces through the air. A police siren. Another split second later, red, white, and blue flashing lights could be seen turning the corner and driving speedily down the street. Sodapop didn't know whether the cops were there for them or not, he doesn't recall anyone close enough to call the cops and he doesn't know who would even care around here anyway, but there were a few storefronts nearby so it could've been from them. Anyway, he didn't care. He needed to get Ponyboy some help, and fast. With one last push of pressure on Pony's stomach, Soda stumbled to his feet and made a desperate attempt to get the cops attention by waving his arms and yelling for them to stop. They did so, the car squealing to a stop right beside Soda.

"What do you need, son?" The one in the driver's seat said. The second he said that, his dark eyes narrowed in on the stark red blood on Sodapop's hands and the apparent bruises on his face. Meanwhile, his partner was sitting in the passenger's side, his sunglasses drawn and a dark mustache covering his upper lip. He looked like one of those stereotypical cops that Soda remembered seeing when he watched a movie with Pony in the living room.

"M-my brother, he's been stabbed! He needs help!" Soda practically yelled, voice frantic as he moved aside from the window to give the cops a better view of the boy laying on the floor a few feet away, a blade still sticking out of his stomach.

The officer's eyes widen slightly and they swing their doors open, narrowly missing Soda who's still standing right by the driver's side. They bolt to Ponyboy's side and kneel down next to him. Soda's right behind them and he kneels on his other side.

"Kid, hey," The police officer, whose name plate on his uniform reads Stark, snaps his fingers in front of Pony's face, who is blearily looking up at the sky. His eyes seem to be unfocused and he looks to be at death's door, but after a few seconds he realizes the stranger leaning over him as Officer Stark presses two fingers to check his carotid pulse.

"Soda-", He begins, but is promptly cut off with a pain filled cry that just about startles Soda out of his skin. He reacts quickly and puts his hands on either side of Pony's face, to steady him. He was about to lean closer to whisper reassurances into his ear, but then Ponyboy cried out again. Out of the corner of his eye, Soda saw the blade sticking out of Ponyboy's abdomen being tampered with by the cop wearing the sunglasses, which were now pushed up on his head.

"Don't do that, you're hurting him!" Soda shouted.

Both officers gave him dirty looks in return.

"You best watch your tone, kid. We may not be medical professionals but we aren't itching to kill him, either." The officer with the mustache told him, voice cold. His name plate on his uniform reflected in the sunlight, which spelt out Carter.

Soda looked away and placed his attention back on Pony. He hadn't meant to sound as angry as he did, honestly, he didn't have the space in his racing mind to deal with anger right now. And when he did, it wouldn't be at the police officers. He was grateful enough that he'd run into officers that had half the heart to help out a poor kid on the other side of the tracks. He'd heard horror stories of kids Ponyboy's age die because the fuzz refused to treat their injuries seriously.

"Load him in the car. We're gonna take your brother to the hospital. You coming' or not?" Officer Stark asked, starting to stand from where he was kneeling.

"Yes," Sodapop said, voice giving off more attitude than he meant. The officers gave him another look and then at each other.

"You know, what type of mess did you boys get into anyway?" Officer Stark said, crossing his arms.

This took Soda back a little bit. Aren't they supposed to be bringing his little brother to the hospital?

"We were just walking home. Some guys in a mustang came and jumped us."

"You mean those kids on the west side? What'd you do to them to get them riled up?" Officer Carter said with a sneer in his voice, and making a face that could only be described as the face you make when smelling something rotten in the trash.

(yall I get confused between who lives on the west side and east side. if thats wrong and doesn't make sense im sorry )

"Nothing!" Sodapop defended immediately.

"Clearly you boys did something. The only people who are prone to violence around here are your type." Officer Stark said.

Soda's jaw was nearly dropped at that one. He never really had many interactions with police officers. The only times were when the police showed up at his front door to tell them about the news of their newly deceased parents, and when he and Two-Bit got arrested for doing handstands in the street. But now, his kid brother was bleeding out with a knife sticking out of his stomach and these two grown men are blaming them for it, because, what, they're poor? And now he's treating them like animals. 'Your type'? That's bullshit!

Not that Sodapop told the officers with guns and handcuffs in front of him any of that. Maybe someone like Dally wouldn't hold back, but he would rather be able to use his hands to tend to his brother when, or if at this point, they would be driving to the hospital. But time was running out. They could deal with all this 'who did what' stuff later.

"Are you gonna keep interrogating us or are you going to actually do your jobs?" Soda said. He was getting fed up. Darry always told the both of them to have good attitudes with cops, but this was life or death and these cops were treating them like dog shit.

Sodapop took another look at Pony, only to do a double take and realize his eyes were closed.

"Pony?" Sodapop asked as his heart sank for the hundredth time that hour. He took Ponyboy by the shoulders and shaked him gently enough as to not agitate his injury but hard enough to wake someone who was sleeping.

One of the officers scoffed. Soda didn't care enough to see which one it was.

" 'Pony'. Must be his gang name."

"He's not waking up! Are you bastards gonna take us to the hospital or not?!" Soda shouts, loud enough to be heard across the block. Screw good attitudes.

The officers looked like they wanted to talk back but they didn't say anything more. Together they hauled Pony's body up, one picking him up by the feet and the other by under the arms. Soda stood and watched helplessly, and he knew it wasn't a good sign when Ponyboy didn't make a sound.

They laid him down in the backseat and Soda squeezed in, lifting Pony's head into his lap.

Oh, God, Darry's gonna throw a fit.

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A/N: I keep finishing chapters off in cliffhangers without meaning to i'm so sorry lmao