Stay - Dallas Winston

9

As soon as I stepped into the burning building, the heat and smoke hit my lungs like a truck.  

The air was dry and thick, taking all of the moisture out of my airway immediately. 

I was constantly fighting the urge to cough. 

The smoke was thick, making visibility low.  

“Is that guy coming?” I asked them, as we searched for the kids. 

“No, too fat.” Johnny said. 

We found the kids huddled up in corners of the room, shaking with fear. 

They were all crying and screaming. 

I grabbed one, ran to the closest window, and threw it out.   

“Come on, we don't have much time!” I yelled at Ponyboy and Johnny.  

They quickly followed my lead.  

Taking kids, and throwing them out the window one by one.   

That's when Dallas appeared outside the window.  

We handed him the kids, and he ran them away from the building. 

“Ouch! That little shit bit me!” Ponyboy yelped.  

Every minute it felt like it was getting hotter. 

I was getting light headed.

I looked over at Pony, and my eyes got wide. 

“Pony, you're on fire!” I yelled at him.

Dallas quickly grabbed Pony through the window, and pulled him out of the church.

Dallas grabbed a piece of wood, and whacked him on the back.  

He put the fire out, but he must have hit him a little too hard. 

Ponyboy dropped like a ton of bricks, he was out cold.  

“There's one more in the back.” Johnny said, between coughs. 

“I'll get ‘em.” I said, and Johnny followed my lead. 

We weaved through the falling pieces of the frame of the old church, and I grabbed the last kid. 

As I handed the last kid to Dallas, a large piece of the ceiling caved in right next to Johnny and I.  

It fell on Johnny and I's legs, trapping us on the ground.   

“Fuck!” I yelled.  

That's when there was a large crack underneath our feet.  

The floor gave out beneath us, and the both of us began to fall.  

Everything went dark and I felt a large smack. 

"AHHHH!" Johnny cried out, "help!"

“I'm coming!” I heard a voice yell, as I lost consciousness. 

...

Once I regained consciousness, I was in a bed. 

It wasn't my bed, it was a hospital bed. 

I was hooked up to oxygen, and all sorts of IVs. 

"Holy shit." I groaned, forcing myself into a sitting position. 

"Glad to see you're awake." Spoke Twobit, who was sitting at the edge of my bed. 

"Twobit, what happened?!" I asked, as he quickly gave me a soft hug. 

"The church collapsed on you and Johnny yesterday night, good thing Dallas pulled you guys out." Twobit replied. 

"Is everyone ok? How long have I been out?" I quickly asked. 

"Kids are ok.  Ponyboy is ok, he went home last night.  Dallas, and Johnny were in the next rooms over being treated for burns, they left this morning. Doc said that if you and Johnny would have been hit another 2 inches to the right, you both would have been paralyzed from the waist down." Twobit spoke in a serious tone, which was very eye opening, because Twobit was never serious about anything. 

I swallowed hard in response. 

Dallas Winston had saved Johnny and I's lives.  

"You guys are lucky to be alive. Dallas jacket saved your skin. If you weren't wearing it, you would have been burned to a crisp. You've been out since last night, when you got here." Twobit replied. 

"What time is it?" I asked him. 

"About 2 in the afternoon." He chuckled, looking at his imaginary watch. 

"Did.... did you stay here all night?" I quickly asked Twobit.  

"Yeah, they tried calling your dad, but he didn't come.   I wasn't gonna leave you here alone. Doc said you've got a couple broken ribs, and a mild concussion.  He said once you've woken up, you can go home.  So, Johnny and Ponyboy are bringing you some clothes.  Once they get here, we can go." Twobit gave me a reassuring smile. 

After an hour, Johnny and Ponyboy showed up with some clothes for me. 

Johnny had some burns on his face, arms and hands. 

Ponyboy had a mild concussion as well. 

I quickly got changed out of the hospital gown, and into the clothes they had brought me. 

The clothes they brought me ended up being Darry's, which were way to big on me. 

I couldn't complain, I just wanted to get out of that damn hospital.  

The four of us loaded the bus.

"So none of you brought cigarettes?" I asked them. 

They all shook their head no. 

Man, I was dying for a cigarette. 

"Ponyboy, if you ever pull a stunt like that again... I'm gonna kill you." I groaned. 

"Yeah, yeah. Dal said the same thing." Ponyboy sighed.  

I instantly felt bad, regretted the words that had left my mouth instantly. 

Ponyboy was just trying to do a good thing. 

The whole gang had probably already scolded him for it, especially Darry and Dallas. 

"I'm sorry, Ponyboy.   I don't mean to yell at you." I apologized. 

"It's all right," Ponyboy had a small smile appear across his lips, "Dallas has been asking about you constantly."

"Oh, yeah... he's been pacing around.  He even visited you when you were sleeping." Twobit nudged me with his elbow. 

"Shut up." I chuckled. 

My chuckles grew quite as I remembered what he did.  

He told Johnny about our secret right from the start. 

I was supposed to be angry with him. 

After the bus ride, we made the quick walk to the curtis house. 

As we approached the front porch, I could see Dallas pacing inside the living room. 

He did look stressed. 

He couldn't stand still. 

"Can you grab me a cigarette from inside?" I asked Johnny.

I truly didn't want to go inside yet. 

I didn’t even know what I would say to Dallas. 

"Yeah, I want one too." Johnny smiled, as he opened the door to go inside. 

He stopped, and turned back towards me. 

"Can.... can I talk to you?" He asked me. 

"Yeah, but grab the cigarettes first." I smiled.