(Ponyboy)
A shot rings out and a body falls to the ground.
I can't help the yelp that escapes me or the way I jump at noise, burrowing my head against Darry's back. Darry twists around a bit, so that one of his arms goes around my shoulders and he pulls me tightly to his side. I peek my head out from the comfort of his shirt and take in the scene before us.
Smoke lightly curls from the end of the gun that Officer McMann is still aiming at the fallen body of Officer Moore.
Officer Moore groans, his hand going to his shoulder that is weeping blood, the gun held limply in the other hand. Dally stands near him, a smirk on his face. I'm relieved beyond words to see that he doesn't look hurt, aside from the cut he got on his head from his earlier scuffle. Johnny stands behind him, looking paler than before but unharmed.
Officer McMann surges forward, retching the gun out of Officer Moore's hand and slipping it into his belt and roughly shoves Officer Moore over, locking his hands away in a pair of handcuffs. Officer Moore lets out some gruff curses as he's wrestled into the cuffs.
One threat down. Thank God, because I don't know how much longer I can be on my feet, my head is throbbing and spinning, my chest feels tight and I still feel like I haven't caught my breath after being deprived of it. I want nothing more than to go home, to curl up on the couch under a blanket with Darry and Soda.
"You shot my brother" Mr. Moore growls, brandishing the knife he's still clutching and surging towards Officer McMann, who's back is still facing him as he's kneeling down to secure the handcuffs on Officer Moore.
Darry lunges after him, catching Mr. Moore's arm before he can bring the knife down into Officer McMann's back. A guttural scream escapes Mr. Moore as he's stopped and he uses his free hand to send a punch so hard it would have felled anyone but Darry. Mr. Moore shoves Darry away from him, trying to break the iron grip Darry still has on his arm.
Blood erupts from Darry's nose and he blinks in surprise, the hit having rattled him. Mr. Moore uses Darry's briefly stunned state to punch him in the chest and pull his arm free from Darry. Darry's air leaves him in a huff as he takes a step back, knocking into me and making me stumble, my legs still feeling weak from my time underwater.
"Hey!" Officer McMann barks, turning to stand, hopefully to help us and get Mr. Moore in cuffs too. Officer Moore kicks out at him though, hitting him in the back of the knees, causing him to stumble.
Mr. Moore's eyes dart between his brother, the officer, and Darry before finally settling on me. Darry is still trying to catch his breath and Mr. Moore must see his window of opportunity because his arm shoots around Darry, grabbing me by the collar of Darry's too big jacket and yanking me towards him, his breath hot in my face and a sadistic gleam in his eyes. A white, hot fire lights up in my back. I glance back in horror and see his blade disappear into my side, glinting red as he pulls it back out.
"Gotcha" he taunts, still gripping my collar.
"No!" Darry cries, pulling me back into him by my shoulders, my knees give out and I practically collapse against him, panting against the pain in my side. Blood starts to drip, drip, drip, onto the sidewalk below.
Mr. Moore lunges at us again, slashing out with the knife he clutched in his hand. But Darry turned his body, shielding me with his own from the new onslaught. Darry hisses as the knife slices into his forearm, a thin line that rapidly starts to leak blood. I stared in shock. Mr. Moore had hurt my brother. My family. Bad enough that he'd put me through hell, yelling at me and beating on me, but now he had to hurt my family too. Darry cradled his arm, blood dripped between the fingers that were pressing onto the cut. But he remained tall, straightening his spine and standing between me and Mr. Moore.
Mr. Moore straightens also, smiling at Darry as if he were nothing more than prey caught in a trap.
He takes a step forward and another gunshot cracks through the air. Mr. Moore drops, dead before he hits the ground, a ghost of his sadistic smile still painted on his face.
Officer McMann rushes forward and I glance over to see two other cops restraining a bucking and yelling Officer Moore. Dallas is also being restrained by the cops, jerking to get out of their grip while Johnny hovers near him. Multiple cops rush forward. I hadn't even heard them arrive, my blood seemed to be rushing in my ears, muffling the sounds around me.
"Pony? Ponyboy?" Darry asks frantically, kneeling down to the ground and cradling me against his chest. He shifts us so I can't see the fallen body of Mr. Moore. My side feels hot, my warm blood spilling out and drenching my cold, wet shirt. In a twisted way, the blood feels better against my skin than the fountain water had. Darry has a hand, his hurt hand , pressed hard against my side. It hurts, and I want him to stop but my tongue feels heavy and I can't seem to get my words out.
Dally and Johnny are at our sides now, Dally cursing about 'bastard cops holding me back'. Johnny drops to his knees beside us, his hands hover over me, like he wants to help but isn't sure what to do.
"Help me, Dallas!" Darry begs, and I hate the despair I hear in his voice. I want to assure him that I'm okay, that it just hurts but I'm starting to feel really tired. I rest my head against Darry's chest, hearing his heart thudding right by my ear. Despite the rapid rate, it's a comforting sound.
Darry takes his hand off of my side but then he pushes something against it again, hard. I groan.
"I'm sorry, Ponyboy. I'm so so sorry. This is all my fault" Darry says, and to my horror, he sounds like he's crying.
I can't stand Darry crying. My older brother, the person who finally made me feel loved and cared for, shouldn't sound so sad and scared. Mustering up what little strength I have left, I manage to whisper "It's okay, Darry".
I lift my arm, even though it feels like it weighs a thousand pounds, and place it on the arm he's using to press against me. I grip it tight, my hand pushing against the cut that's still dripping blood, hoping I can keep Darry's blood in while he keeps in mine.
"That kid needs a hospital" a nearby voice says.
"No shit, you moron" Dally seethes.
"Give him here, we can take him in my car" the voice says.
Darry tightens his arms around me. "No, I've got him. Dal, help me up"
My world shifts and I can't help but groan as the stabbing pain in my side worsens. Darry is quick to whisper apologies and reassurances to me as he lifts me in his arms, Johnny comes forward to push on my side, matching Darry step for step to the parking lot.
Somehow we end up in the back of a car. I'm still cradled against Darry, my feet splayed over Johnny's lap while Dallas is twisted in the front passenger seat to look at us. Dally scowls, his forehead scrunching causing a bead of blood to drip down his face where he'd been hit with the gun.
It sounds like someone is screaming but I don't know who. My eyes search around, finally landing on Darry, who's staring down at my face, unshed tears brimming in his eyes.
"Darry?" I whisper.
"Yeah, Pony?" he whispers back, pushing my hair back with the hand he's not pushing into my side.
I close my eyes, "It hurts".
"I know it does, little buddy. But we're almost to the hospital and they'll fix you right up, okay? Just a little bit longer" he reassures me, "Everything is going to be okay".
Feeling even more tired, but needing to know the answer, I use the last of my strength to ask, "Do you promise?"
"I promise"
And because my big brother said it, I believed it.
Author's note: Just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and following along with this story! The kind reviews mean everything to me, so thank you so much to everyone who has left one. I hope you are enjoying the story as much as I enjoy writing it (: