Tuesday October 6th, 3:05 pm
Someone was shaking his shoulder. He thought it was one of his brothers trying to wake him up for school. But the voices that were slowly getting louder didn't sound like his brothers and whatever he was laying on was a lot more uncomfortable than his bed. The light behind his eyelids seemed to brighten, he squeezed them tighter, trying to block the light out.
"Ponyboy! Cmon man, wake up" a frightened voice said, startlingly close.
Ponyboy groaned and opened his eyes. He was lying flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Tommy was kneeling next to him, his hands on his shoulders.
"Jeez, man. You scared the hell outta of us" Tommy said in a shaky voice, helping Ponyboy to slowly sit up.
"What happened?" Pony asked.
"Well first you got the wind knocked outta ya. And then I think you passed out for a second, after you saw the blood." Tommy answered.
Ponyboy fought down a wave of nausea as he took in the scene around him. He was sitting near the end of a slowly growing pool of blood. Will and Matt were leaning over something, urgently whispering to each other. On the ground in between the two of them, was a body.
Pony's head was spinning. One moment he was seeing the body on the locker room floor, the next he was seeing a boy bleeding in the park, a boy with black hair laying in a hospital bed, a boy falling in the street. He smelled blood, and fountain water and burnt flesh and gun powder. All of them blended together and Pony had to close his eyes, trying not to pass out again.
Tommy shoved his head between his knees, muttering at him to take some slow breaths.
"He..he's lost a lot of blood. We need to get some help" said Will.
"Tommy, go call the cops. And tell them to send an ambulance" said Matt, sounding scared.
Tommy stood up.
"Take Ponyboy with you" Matt said.
Tommy hooked a hand under Ponyboy's arm and hoisted him up. Ponyboy looked over at where Matt was kneeling. He had his shirt off and was pressing it firmly into a cut on the neck of the boy on the ground. Will was crouched by them both, looking lost and scared.
"Go!" Matt yelled.
Tommy kept a hand on Pony's arm as the two of them ran on shaky legs to the pay phone across the field. They could see the doors to the locker room from where they stood.
Pony leaned against the side of the phone while Tommy dialed.
He wanted to help, to do something. He wished he could step up like Matt had done. But honestly Pony was just insanely thankful to be out of that locker room. Away from that body. Away from that coppery, metallic smell that seemed to have seared itself in his nose.
He heard Tommy talking quickly, saying someone was really hurt and they needed help fast. He saw Tommy nod, and give them more information. Pony didn't notice he had hung up the phone until he heard Tommy yell.
"Shit man!" Tommy yelled, his head leaning against the phone, he looked at Pony with wild eyes "What the hell is happening?"
Ponyboy knew he didn't want an actual answer, so he just shook his head. He reached out and gave Tommy's arm a squeeze.
"We…we should go back. See if they need any help" Tommy said, looking as scared to go back as Ponyboy felt.
Reluctantly they headed back to the locker room. Tommy opened the door and went in first, Pony followed him in but hung back by the doors. He leaned his back against them, he could just see the tips of a pair converse sticking out of the aisle, resting perfectly still in the pool of blood surrounding them.
"The cops are on their way. An ambulance too" said Tommy, making his way to stand next to Will, who was leaning against the wall directly across from the locker aisle where the body was. Pony wanted to stand with them, to feel close to people but he didn't want to step any further into the locker room.
"Well he won't be needing that ambulance. He's dead" Matt said flatly.
Will sniffed loudly, his eyes were glassy and staring straight ahead at the body.
"Who..who is it?" Tommy asked.
"Ray Brower" said Matt "He's a senior with me."
"What happened?" Ponyboy asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper.
"Looks like someone stabbed him. Roughed him up a little too"
"Maybe we should wait outside for the cops" Will suggested, obviously uncomfortable with staying in the locker room with the body.
"You guys can. I'm going to wait here, I don't want him to be alone" said Matt.
Ponyboy looked up at the older boy. He had stepped away from the body, Ray Brower, he looked sad and scared and younger than seventeen. But Pony saw that he was determined to stay, despite everything he was feeling.
Ponyboy wanted nothing more than to get out of this locker room. He wanted to go home. He wanted to call Darry to pick him up right now and for his big brother to tell him that everything would be okay. But he looked back at the tip of those converse and whispered "I'll stay too".
"Me too" said Tommy. Will simply nodded.
They all stood there, quiet and unmoving, until they heard the sirens approaching.
Ponyboy had always been weary of cops, and even more so after Dallas. But hearing the sirens grow louder the more comforted Pony became. Help was on the way. He opened the door to the locker room, keeping it open with his back and waved an arm at the swarm of cops pulling into to the parking lot. He'd never been so happy to see the fuzz in his entire life.
They came running in, taking control. Two of the cops guided all four boys out of the locker room and over to the field, having them sit on the bench.
The four of them sat side by side on the bench facing the two cops. One was real tall, almost as tall as Darry. The other was shorter and appeared older, he was holding a notebook and pencil, ready to scribble away. The taller of the two cops, while intimidating in size, asked in a kind voice "Now why don't you boys tell me what happened."
There really wasn't much to tell. It's not like they had really seen what happened, just the gruesome aftermath.
Matt told them how'd they been going to the locker room to change for track. How they'd seen Ponyboy go in first, how someone ran out moments after Pony went in, and how they found Ponyboy and Ray on the ground.
"He was bleeding everywhere. I tried to stop it but I think he was already dead" Matt said desperately.
The tall cop looked at him sadly.
"You did the right thing, son. But there was no way someone could survive those injuries".
Matt sniffed and nodded.
The tall cop addressed Ponyboy now.
"Did you see the face of the person who ran into you?"
Ponyboy shook his head. He really didn't. Everything had happened so fast, he hadn't even realized he'd been run into until he was on the ground.
"No sir. I'm sorry, I didn't see his face" Ponyboy answered.
"I think..I think it might have been Mr. Wright" said Will in a small voice.
The name was familiar to Ponyboy, but he couldn't put a face to it.
"And who is Mr. Wright?" the cop inquired.
"He's the freshman P. E teacher. It was all really fast but it really looked like him" Will said.
The radio on the cops belt crackled to life, speaking in some kind of code.
The shorter cop, took it and answered back.
"Okay, I think that's all we need from you boys for now" said the tall cop "but we will need to come by later and collect individual statements from all of you. For now, call your parents and have them take you home. You shouldn't be walking alone until this case is closed."
With that the cops walked towards the locker room, which had been roped off with yellow tape by now.
"I gotta call my brother" Pony said, making his way back over to the pay phone. To his surprise, all three boys followed him. He guessed they were all pretty spooked, no one really wanted to be on their own right now.
Pony put a dime in and called Darry's work number. Normally, Pony would never bother Darry at work, but right now all Ponyboy wanted was for his brother to be here and make everything okay.
A gruff voice answered "Carver's Construction"
"Hi, I need to talk my brother, Darrel Curtis. It's an emergency"
"Darrel isn't here today. He got sent to a different site, there's no manager there so they don't have a number to reach him there."
"Oh" Pony said, unsure what to do now.
"Do you need me to drive over there and get him for you?" The man asked, he sounded annoyed but willing.
"No, no it's okay. I'll call my other brother. Thank you, sir" Pony said and hung up the phone. He sighed, feeling nervous.
Ponyboy tried the DX. He heard ringing and ringing, thinking that maybe the line was busy. He waited a bit longer but hung up. He was really feeling antsy now, unable to get a hold of his brothers. He wanted them both, to have them hold him and make him feel safe. Soda would run a hand through his hair and Darry would calm him down with an arm wrapped around his shoulders.
"Not able to get a hold of them?" Tommy asked.
"No, nobody's answering"
Feeling desperate, Ponyboy tried Two Bit's house and once again, got no answer.
"I'll give you a ride home" Matt said. Pony shot him a thankful smile. He would have preferred his brothers, but at least he didn't have to walk home alone. He was still pretty spooked, especially since whoever killed Ray was still out there.
"Could you give me a ride too? I normally take the bus, but…" Will gestured to the blood on his clothes from where he had knelt next to Ray. Matt readily agreed.
Pony looked down at his own clothes. He had blood on them too, from being knocked to the ground and landing in the pool of blood. Uncomfortable, he tried to rub some off it off of his bare arm.
Tommy hung up the phone, saying his dad was on the way to get him. One of the cops brought their backpacks out of the locker room where they had left them while they all waited with Tommy for his dad. His dad got there quickly, jumping out of the car and pulling Tommy into a hug. It made Pony miss his own dad something fierce.
Tommy and his dad moved over to talk to one of the cops while Pony and the other boys headed over to Matt's car. A cop nodded at them, giving them permission to leave.
They went to Will's house first. Just as Will was about to shut the car door, Pony yelled "Wait! Can I use your phone?"
Matt put the car in park and waited while Pony ran in with Will. As much as Ponyboy wanted to go home, he didn't want to be there alone. He hoped he'd be able to catch one of his brothers, or someone in the gang so he wouldn't have to be by himself.
He called the DX first. The phone didn't even ring, like it had been disconnected somehow. He shifted from foot to foot, a bundle of nerves settled in his stomach. He knew if he could just talk to one of his brothers, he'd feel a little better. And yet he couldn't get a hold of either of them.
He called the house. No answer. He called Two Bit's again. No answer. Sighing, he hung up the phone. Will gave him a pat on the shoulder and walked him back out to Matt's car.
"No luck?" Matt asked. Ponyboy just shook his head.
The drive to his house was quick. And as nervous as he was to be home alone after everything, he was so thankful to be home. Darry's truck wasn't in the driveway, so Pony assumed he was still at work. Pony thanked Matt who gave him a sad smile. Matt waited until Pony had opened his front door before driving off.
Pony shut the front door quietly behind him. His house was quiet. There was no radio, no tv, no wrestling matches.
Pony felt everything start to catch up to him. His hands started to shake. Tears burned in his eyes and a lump formed painfully in his throat. He shut his eyes tight, trying to keep the tears from falling.
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?"
Pony jumped, his eyes snapping open. There in the kitchen stood Darry.
Flashing back to their fight before Windrixville, Pony started to stutter out an apology as Darry crossed the room in powerful strides.
"I'm sor-" He was cut off as Darry grabbed him and crushed him to his chest. One of Darry's hands came to the back of his head, rubbing his hair as the other one squeezed him tight.
"Christ Almighty, you scared me to death" Darry said, Ponyboy was shocked to hear tears in his brother's voice. Pony just hugged him tighter, pushing his face into his brother's chest.
"I'm sorry" Ponyboy whispered, not even embarrassed to find that he was crying too.
"It's okay, it's okay" Darry soothed as Pony started to cry harder. "I'm not mad, I was just scared. I ain't mad at you".
Darry stroked Pony's hair, and then shifted him back to take a look at his face.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Pony shook his head. Darry nodded, but then looked down at Pony's shirt. He stepped back, holding Pony at an arms length.
"Glory, what the hell happened? Where are you hurt? Let me see" Darry started trying to lift Pony's shirt.
Pony squirmed "It's not mine" he croaked "Someone killed him. In the locker room. We went in and he was just dead." Ponyboy was starting to get worked up again but Darry just rubbed his arms, and said in a gentle voice "I'm sorry Pony. That must have been awful." Pony just nodded.
Darry sighed. Keeping one arm on Pony, he used his free arm to run a hand through his hair.
"Okay. Why don't you get cleaned up and then tell me what happened, okay little buddy?"
Pony nodded, but instead of stepping away from Darry to get cleaned up, he stepped towards him, wrapping his arms around his brother again. Darry hugged him again, holding him tight and whispering comforting words to him.
The phone started to ring. Darry pulled back from Pony to answer it but Pony followed along, wanting to stay as close to Darry as possible.
He could tell it wasn't one of the gang because Darry was using his grown up voice, the one he used with cops and social workers. Pony didn't listen to what he was saying, he just leaned against his brother, Darry's arm around his shoulder, like he wanted him close too.
"That was the cops. They said they need to come get your statement" Darry said uncertainly.
"Darry, I didn't do anything, I promise"
"I know, kiddo. They said you aren't in trouble. They'll be here in about fifteen minutes if you want to get changed before then."
Ponyboy nodded. He wanted to take a shower and scrub and scrub until he was nothing but new skin.
He went into the bathroom, but he left the door open, wanting to keep Darry near. Darry must have sensed this because he leaned in the doorway, murmuring comforting words.
Ponyboy couldn't shower as long as he wanted to, since the cops were on the way, but he was able to rinse all of the blood off, the water running pink as he first stated to scrub.
He got out and went to his room to get dressed. He got changed, throwing one of Soda's flannels on top. It smelled like motor oil. He wanted Soda to be here too, especially if he had to talk to the cops. Soda would keep him calm. But since he wasn't here, Pony took a deep breath of the flannel and pretended he was.
As soon as he steeped into the living room, he was picked up and swung around.
"Ponyboy Curtis!" Two Bit cried, setting him down "You sure had us all scared, kid. Glory I'm glad you're okay!" Two Bit smiled at him and ruffled his hair. Since it was still wet from the shower, Pony didn't mind. He just gave Two Bit a small smile back.
A knock sounded at the door. Darry answered it, letting three cops into the room.
Darry shook hands with them, and then offered them a seat. One of the cops took Darry's recliner. Darry sat on the corner of the couch closest to it and then beckoned Pony over to him. Ponyboy saw Two Bit slink out the front door and take a seat on the porch.
Pony sat down next to Darry, so close that their arms were pressed against each other. He felt nervous again, like he might be in trouble.
"Okay Ponyboy, we just need you to tell us what happened, in your own words, for your official statement" said the cop in the recliner. He must have noticed how nervous Ponyboy was because he added gently "You aren't in any trouble."
Darry gave his knee a soft squeeze. Pony looked at him and Darry gave him an encouraging smile. Ponyboy took a deep breath and started to recount what had happened.