Author's Note:

Hi everyone, I know this chapter is short but I think it's an important one for this story. Just a warning, there is something a little graphic in this chapter. So, be warned. Stay tuned for the next chapter.

Sincerely, keylime2001

Disclaimer: The Outsiders is owned by S. E. Hinton

Chapter 5

(Mid-September)

Harley's POV:

Wednesday…

Today was the day that Pony and I were going to confront Landon, Dr. Thompson's assistant. I was really nervous about it since I wasn't sure how Landon was going to react. I was grateful that Pony was going with me. I still had hesitations about him going with me though. I didn't want him to get hurt. Darry and the gang would kill me. Sure, I was a part of the gang, but I was still the newbie of the gang and I always would be. Today Pony had track off, but he had some errands he had to run after work. He wouldn't tell me what they were, he said it was a surprise. I shouldn't be surprised because of our upcoming wedding on New Year's Eve. It was pretty much put together. I had my dress, we had the venue, we had the cake, the bridesmaid dresses, and we had just picked out the music setlist. My grandmother had insisted on a wedding photographer so we got one. My grandmother had just hand-delivered Steve and Evie's wedding photo album to them. Pony and I were going to be meeting at the Dean's office today to confront Landon. Pony didn't have any classes today so he had a later shift at the library today. Luckily today's shift and classes seemed to fly by.

Pony and I met up at the Dean of Student Affairs office. It was late enough in the day that the Dean would probably not be there, but her assistant was. I had figured out what his schedule was after I had heard Dr. Thompson and Cleo's argument. "You ready for this?" Pony asked me. I nodded. "Here goes nothing," I said. Pony gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. "We've got this," Pony whispered in my ear. "We've dealt with worse back home." I gulped. He was right. I made sure to push the record button on my tape recorder before we entered the office. When we entered the Dean's office, there was a guy who was about 6 ft 5, with blonde hair, and black-rimmed glasses, and he was built like a linebacker. He looked up at us as we entered. "How may I help you?" Landon asked us putting on a prim and proper demeanor that made my blood boil. As Pony entered behind me, I turned around locked the door, and pulled down the blinds to the office. "You can't do that," Landon said with his voice taking a more stern tone. "Oh can't we," I said with a sneer. Landon made a move to get up to confront us but Pony pushed him back into his chair. "You aren't going anywhere Landon," Pony said calmly. Landon got an angry look in his eyes. Fear started to bubble up in my chest. His face reminded me of Ford before he would beat me up. I pushed it away. I needed to appear confident and in control. I couldn't relinquish that. "Who do you think you are?" Landon asked us angrily. "People that have the upper hand, Landon," I said gruffily. I pulled out a tape and one of the tape players that I brought from the library and played the tape of Cleo and Dr. Thompson's conversation. Landon's eyes went wide and he started to stutter. "I have no idea what they're talking about," Landon said looking between Pony and I frantically. "Don't you?" Pony sneered as he pulled out the photos and threw them on the desk of the girl who was killed. Landon's eyes filled with guilt that he tried to suppress. "I guess, you do know what we're talking about," I said with a smirk. "Now I know there has to be more evidence on the murders and disappearances. Show us where they are Landon or this goes to the police right now." Landon looked between us frantically but complied. Landon walked over to a book in one of the bookcases and pulled it. The book lever caused the desk where he was sitting previously to move back to reveal a spiral staircase. Pony and I made eye contact. Pony maneuvered Landon over to a wooden armchair, handcuffed him to it, and duct-taped his mouth shut. Then Pony and I headed down the spiral staircase.

"This isn't creepy at all," Pony muttered from behind me. "You're preaching to the choir," I retorted. This got a nervous chuckle from Pony. "Let's just make this quick," Pony grumbled. "Can't agree more," I said. There was a horrible smell that was coming up to greet us as we made our way down. Pony and I got to the bottom of the staircase and I yanked the light cord. What we saw when the light came on, took both of our breaths away. "Oh shit," Pony said. "You took the words right out of my mouth," I said with a smirk. "We must be on the same brain wave." Pony chuckled. "That scares me," Pony retorted. "That's what makes us so good together," I said back. "Now let's get going and take some photos and document what we are seeing before we get caught down here." Pony nodded in agreement. What we saw in front of me and Pony were thicker binders than the ones that we saw in the basement of the two sororities. There also appeared to be a severed hand that appeared to be decaying that was tacked onto the wall with a label of the name of one of the missing freshmen that still hasn't been found yet. That must have been the source of the smell. "They couldn't have survived that," I muttered as I took a photo of that hand for the record. When Pony opened one of the binders he made a gagging sound. "Harley, I think you need to see this," Pony said hoarsely. "There appears to be some souvenirs in these binders." I went over to him and I felt the blood rush from my face. In it were locks of hair taken from the kids that were killed and there appeared to be other souvenirs like bone fragments, and fingernail clippings. I pushed down the bile in my throat. There were also fragments of clothes in the binders. I made sure to take photos. There were all binders of the same stuff dating back to each chapter's founding date. There were binders for each chapter of both sororities and fraternities. There was also a gigantic walk-in freezer. I walked in and I thought I couldn't be any more shocked. There were vials of blood labeled with the names of students who had died. I recognized some of the names from the binders. I took photos. "Can we get out of here?" Pony asked me nervously. I nodded. "Let's get going," I muttered.

Pony and I made our way up the stairs. I made sure to take photos of the bookshelf, the book that was the lever, and the door entrance as well as the desk. While I did this Pony uncuffed Landon and unduck taped his mouth. "Does anyone else do what you do?" I asked him. Landon shook his head. "It goes back through the history of all the secretaries for the Dean of Activities," Landon said. "The Dean orders the hit and the secretary does the bidding." I nodded. "Now if you mutter a word of us being here, this goes directly to the police right now," I said with a glare. "You hear me?" Landon nodded frantically. "Crystal clear," Landon said. Pony and I walked out of the Dean's office, we went to the library first to develop the photos, and then we went home.

"Want anything to eat?" I asked Pony as we entered the apartment. "I don't think I could eat anything after seeing all of that," Pony moaned. I chuckled. "Darry will kill me if I don't get you fed though," I said. Pony rolled his eyes. "I think he would understand," Pony said with a groan. I didn't listen to him and started to cook up homemade tacos for dinner. Something that we normally didn't have, but I thought it was called for. Pony just picked at his taco. "Please eat," I begged him. "Just do it for me." I gave Pony some puppy eyes. Pony groaned. "Please don't do that," Pony said. "You know I can't resist." I shrugged but continued with the puppy eyes. Pony finally caved in and started eating. After dinner, I made sure to write a letter to the gang with updates, photos of Pony and I having fun as well as copies of the photos from today.

"Do you think we should call the gang?" I asked Pony. Pony groaned. "If we don't tell them right away, Darry will have a fit," Pony said. I nodded. I knew he was right. "Hello," I heard Darry answer on the phone. "Hey Dary," Pony said. "How's it going?" Darry groaned. "You know how it is," Darry said wearily. "Work, then school, then home, and then repeat. And then I try to fit in some time each weekend to hang out with Lila." I chuckled. "It seems like you have your hands full," I said with a smirk. "You're one to talk," Darry said retorted. Pony chuckled. "What do I owe the pleasure of the call?" Darry asked. I sighed. "We thought you might want us to update you right away on the story," I said sheepishly. Darry groaned. "What is it this time?" Darry asked. "Don't tell me it isn't another body." Pony groaned. "I wish," Pony muttered. "How is it worse than a dead body?" Darry asked with fear in his voice. "Well, we found the souvenir vault," I said wearily. "It was under the secretary's desk at the Dean of Student Affairs office. We found a freshly severed hand, binders full of bone fragments, some of them were severed bones, and there were also hair samples. There was a walk-in fridge with vials of blood. The dungeon had binders dating back to every chapter's inception." I heard Darry groan again and mutter some curse words under his breath. "This is looking so bad guys," Darry said. "You guys need to back out." Pony sighed. "I wish it were that easy Dar," Pony said. "But it will only look worse for us now if we back out." Darry cursed again under his breath. "I know you're right," Darry groaned. "That doesn't mean I have to like it." I nodded in agreement. We wrapped up our phone call and hung up. This was going to be a bumpy story.

Pony's POV:

Wednesday….

I had a morning shift at the library today and then some errands to run. What I didn't tell Harley was that her grandmother had flown into town because she had told me she found the perfect tux for me for the wedding day and she wanted it to get fitted. I tried to protest that I could find my own suit, but it fell on deaf ears. I hated lying to Harley about this, but Mrs. Adams told me not to tell her, so I respected those wishes. It made it easier to lie to her because we wouldn't see each other until we met at the Dean of Student Affairs office to confront the secretary about his role in the deaths and disappearances of the freshmen. It was painful to deal with Dorthy today on my shift. It almost seemed like she lived at the library, in her classes, or at the sorority house with Linda. She was always hovering around. Dorthy means well, but she can be a little much. In a way, she was kind of a Soc version of Evie. If I told Evie that though I would have her foot up my ass. I couldn't wait to get to my errands as fast as possible.

Finally, it was time for me to go to meet Mrs. Adams at the tailor. Mrs. Adams looked good. When she saw me, she gave me a big hug. She held up a suit in the bag. "I think you'll love this," Mrs. Adams beamed. I nodded reluctantly. I hoped she was right. I was dreading it though. "I'm sure I'll like it," I said hopefully. I sure did hope I would like it. I followed Mrs. Adams into the tailor shop and they escorted us to a fitting room. When I opened the suit back, my jaw hit the floor. The suit was actually wonderful. It was a midnight black tux with a matching tie, a white undershirt, and midnight black dress shoes. The kicker though was the silver vine detailing like that was on the ring that I gave Harley when I proposed that was on the suit coat. It was a personal detail that made my eyes water. It was perfect. I put on the suit and stepped out to meet Mrs. Adams. When she saw me in the suit, tears filled her eyes. "You look wonderful Pony," Mrs. Adams whispered. She brushed away the tears on her cheeks. I moved forward and hugged her. "Thank you for everything, Mrs. Adams," I whispered. "I mean for everything." I started to sob into her chest. Mrs. Adams pulled my face up to meet hers and she brushed my tears away. "Thank you for making my granddaughter so happy," Mrs. Adams said to me softly. "But, please call me grandma if you're comfortable. After all, you're family." I nodded. "Ok, grandma," I said with a smile. The tailor came over and started to take measurements and pin the suit in different places. I was told that the suit would be ready in a month. "Thank you for everything," I told to Mrs. Adams again. "No need to thank me, sweetheart," Mrs. Adams said. "Now, don't say a word of this to Harley. You hear?" I nodded and chuckled. I hugged her goodbye.

By the time we finished, it was getting dark outside and I had to head to the Dean of Student Affairs office. When I pulled up, Harley was already parked out front waiting for me. "You ready for this?" I asked Harley trying to hide my impending sense of dread. Harley nodded. "Here goes nothing," Harley said. I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze which was also supposed to help comfort me as well. "We've got this," I whispered in her ear. "We've dealt with worse back home." Harley gulped. I could tell she wanted to believe me but was having a hard time. I didn't really blame her. Harley made sure to push the record button on her tape recorder before we entered the office. When we entered the Dean's office, there was a guy who was about 6 ft 5, with blonde hair, and black-rimmed glasses, and he was built like a linebacker. He looked up at us as we entered. He was a typical-looking Soc. In a way, he kind of reminded me of Paul Holden, Darry's old buddy. It made my blood boil just thinking of him. "How may I help you?" Landon asked us poshly. As I entered behind Harley, she turned around locked the door, and pulled down the blinds to the office. I knew she was trying to hide us from prying eyes and intimidate Landon, but it was also intimidating me. "You can't do that," Landon said with his voice taking a more stern tone. "Oh can't we," Harley said with a sneer. My blood ran cold. I had never seen her act like this before. She must be putting on an act. It was kind of scary though. In a way she was reminding me of the tough guy act that Dally put on. Landon made a move to get up to confront us but I pushed him back into his chair. "You aren't going anywhere Landon," I said calmly. I decided to pull the good cop role since Harley was playing the bad cop role.

Landon got an angry look in his eyes. I started to get nervous, but I knew I couldn't let that on. He started to remind me a little bit of Bob Sheldon too. "Who do you think you are?" Landon asked us angrily. "People that have the upper hand, Landon," Harley said gruffily. Harley pulled out a tape and one of the tape players that she brought from the library and played the tape of Cleo and Dr. Thompson's conversation. Landon's eyes went wide and he started to stutter. "I have no idea what they're talking about," Landon said looking between Harley and me frantically. "Don't you?" I sneered as he pulled out the photos and threw them on the desk of the girl who was killed. Landon's eyes filled with guilt that he tried to suppress. "I guess, you do know what we're talking about," Harley said with a smirk. It felt good knowing that we caught Landon in a lie. Landon knew we did too and it was reflected in his face. "Now I know there has to be more evidence on the murders and disappearances. Show us where they are Landon or this goes to the police right now," Harley continued. Landon looked between us frantically but complied. Landon walked over to a book in one of the bookcases and pulled it. The book lever caused the desk where he was sitting previously to move back to reveal a spiral staircase. Harley and I made eye contact. I maneuvered Landon over to a wooden armchair, handcuffed him to it, and duct-taped his mouth shut. Then Harley and I headed down the spiral staircase. I was dreading what we would find in the basement. I knew it wasn't going to be good.

"This isn't creepy at all," I muttered. "You're preaching to the choir," Harley retorted. I chuckled nervously at this. I didn't quite understand how Harley could have a sense of humor about this. She reminded me of Two-Bit in this way. "Let's just make this quick," I grumbled. "Can't agree more," Harley said. There was a horrible smell that was coming up to greet us as we made our way down. I tried to stifle a gag. It smelled like something rotting. Harley and I got to the bottom of the staircase and she yanked the light cord. What we saw when the light came on, took both of our breaths away. "Oh shit," I said. I felt the blood rush from my face. "You took the words right out of my mouth," Harley said with a smirk. "We must be on the same brain wave." I chuckled. "That scares me," I retorted. "That's what makes us so good together," Harley said back. I loved it when we bantered like this. It helped disrupt the tension. "Now let's get going and take some photos and document what we are seeing before we get caught down here." I nodded in agreement. What we saw in front of Harley and me were thicker binders than the ones that we saw in the basement of the two sororities. There also appeared to be a severed hand that appeared to be decaying that was tacked onto the wall with a label of the name of one of the missing freshmen that still hasn't been found yet. That must have been the source of the smell. "They couldn't have survived that," Harley muttered as she took a photo of that hand for the record. When I opened one of the binders I made a gagging sound. "Harley, I think you need to see this," I said hoarsely. "There appears to be some souvenirs in these binders." Harley walked over to me and I saw her face lose color. I guess even something bothers her. In it were locks of hair taken from the kids that were killed and there appeared to be other souvenirs like bone fragments, and fingernail clippings. After that, I was antsy to get out. I followed Harley to the walk-in fridge. "Can we get out of here?" I asked Harley nervously. I nodded. "Let's get going," Harley muttered.

Harley and I made our way up the stairs. While Harley took photos, I uncuffed Landon and unduck-taped his mouth. "Does anyone else do what you do?" Harley asked him. Landon shook his head. "It goes back through the history of all the secretaries for the Dean of Activities," Landon said. "The Dean orders the hit and the secretary does the bidding." Harley nodded. "Now if you mutter a word of us being here, this goes directly to the police right now," Harley said with a glare. "You hear me?" Landon nodded frantically. "Crystal clear," Landon said. Harley and I walked out of the Dean's office, we went to the library first to develop the photos, and then we went home.

"Want anything to eat?" Harley asked me as we entered the apartment. I groaned. I couldn't fathom how she could think of food after what we just witnessed. "I don't think I could eat anything after seeing all of that," I moaned. Harley chuckled. Of course, she would find this funny. "Darry will kill me if I don't get you fed though," Harley said. I rolled my eyes. "I think he would understand," I said with a groan. Harley despite my protests cooked up tacos for dinner. I just picked at my taco. "Please eat," Harley begged me "Just do it for me." Harley gave me some puppy eyes. I groaned. "Please don't do that," I said. "You know I can't resist." Harley shrugged but continued with the puppy eyes. I finally caved in and started eating. After dinner, Harley made sure to write a letter to the gang with updates, photos of Harley and I having fun as well as copies of the photos from today.

"Do you think we should call the gang?" Harley asked me. I groaned. "If we don't tell them right away, Darry will have a fit," Pony said. I nodded. I knew he was right. "Hello," I heard Darry answer on the phone. "Hey Dary," I said. "How's it going?" Darry groaned. "You know how it is," Darry said wearily. "Work, then school, then home, and then repeat. And then I try to fit in some time each weekend to hang out with Lila." Harley chuckled. "It seems like you have your hands full," Harley said with a smirk. "You're one to talk," Darry said retorted. I chuckled. "What do I owe the pleasure of the call?" Darry asked. Harley sighed. "We thought you might want us to update you right away on the story," Harley said sheepishly. Darry groaned. "What is it this time?" Darry asked. "Don't tell me it isn't another body." I groaned. "I wish," I muttered. "How is it worse than a dead body?" Darry asked with fear in his voice. "Well, we found the souvenir vault," Harley said wearily. "It was under the secretary's desk at the Dean of Student Affairs office. We found a freshly severed hand, binders full of bone fragments, some of them were severed bones, and there were also hair samples. There was a walk-in fridge with vials of blood. The dungeon had binders dating back to every chapter's inception." I heard Darry groan again and mutter some curse words under his breath. "This is looking so bad guys," Darry said. "You guys need to back out." I sighed. "I wish it were that easy Dar," I said. "But it will only look worse for us now if we back out." Darry cursed again under his breath. "I know you're right," Darry groaned. "That doesn't mean I have to like it." Harley nodded in agreement. We wrapped up our phone call and hung up. I was dreading how much worse this story could get.

Darry's POV:

Wednesday…

I was so ready for this week to be over. The only positive things about each week were coming home to the gang, seeing Lila on the weekends, and getting the letters from Harley and Pony in the mail with accompanying pictures. It was nice to see my youngest brother happy. I was happy he found someone that brought him out of his shell and made him smile like he used to. In the photos, I could see the love in their eyes when they looked at each other. The one thing that I was looking forward to this week was the dinner that I was going to have with Lila. It was something that I looked forward to each week. Tonight, it was Soda's turn to cook. It was blue lasagna. At least Soda kept it interesting. Things were going great with all of our significant others. Two-Bit had another dinner with Marcia and her parents, which went better than the first. Steve and Evie were doing good and were trying to save up for a house in the neighborhood. Soda and Lorelai were going to a car show this weekend. I wouldn't be surprised if Lorelai spouted information about what the different types of cars revealed about their owners. Lila and I were still going strong. After dinner, the phone rang, and I went to get it as the others were horsing around in the living room.

"Hello," I said wearily into the phone. "Hey Dary," Pony said. "How's it going?" I groaned. "You know how it is," I said wearily. "Work, then school, then home, and then repeat. And then I try to fit in some time each weekend to hang out with Lila." Harley chuckled. "It seems like you have your hands full," Harley sarcastically. "You're one to talk," I retorted which caused Pony to chuckle. "What do I owe the pleasure of the call?" I asked. Harley sighed. "We thought you might want us to update you right away on the story," Harley said sheepishly. I groaned. Of course, they did. It must be another bad thing that happened. It always was. "What is it this time?" I asked. "Don't tell me it isn't another body." Pony groaned. "I wish," Pony muttered. My stomach felt like it dropped out. "How is it worse than a dead body?" I asked without being able to hide the fear in my voice. Soda must have heard it because he gave me a worried look. "Well, we found the souvenir vault," Harley said wearily. "It was under the secretary's desk at the Dean of Student Affairs office. We found a freshly severed hand, binders full of bone fragments, some of them were severed bones, and there were also hair samples. There was a walk-in fridge with vials of blood. The dungeon had binders dating back to every chapter's inception." I groaned and let out a string of curse words. "This is looking so bad guys," I said. "You guys need to back out." Pony sighed. "I wish it were that easy Dar," Pony said. "But it will only look worse for us now if we back out." I cursed again under my breath. "I know you're right," I groaned. "That doesn't mean I have to like it." We wrapped up our phone call and hung up. I was dreading the letter with the photos of what they found in it. They always made me want to gag. This story seemed to be worse than others.

I wandered into the living room, threw myself into the ratty old recliner, and groaned. "What's goin' on Dar?" Soda asked me nervously. I sighed. "Pony and Harley found the Dean of Student Affairs souvenir dungeon," I groaned. I ran my hand through my hair. "Shit," Steve said. "Why did Harley have to find another terrible story to research? Does she have a death wish?" Soda slugged him on the shoulder. "Hopefully they can row themselves out of Greek Row," Two-Bit joked. I shot him a glare and he shut up. "They'll be ok, Dar," Soda said. "They have each other." I nodded. I hoped he was right.