Meg eventually showed up and helped as we all cleaned each other up, of course giving her special attention to Two-Bit. Soda and I kept subtlety glancing at each other, with neither Andy or Darry noticing. Everyone was glad that the Greasers had beaten the Socs, but for some inexplicable reason, no one seemed excited. The air was tense and dark, and the few words spoken were said in a hushed tone. I told myself that it was because everyone was tired, but we all had the same gut feeling that something just wasn't right.
Bonnie showed up at some point, too. She pulled me aside and asked me where Ponyboy was. I felt bad since all I could tell her was what Two-Bit had told me, which wasn't much. I knew she was worried. She seemed to have the same gut feeling as the rest of us. I wasn't too worried about Ponyboy though, because I knew Dally was with him. If he were alone, all of us would probably be out looking for him by now. Ponyboy never went looking for trouble, but somehow it always managed to find him. I was watching Steve and Two-Bit play a quiet game of cards, when as if on cue, the door creaked open, and Ponyboy slowly stepped in. He was alone. We all looked up as he walked in. He was more bloodied and beaten up than any of us. I heard Bonnie slightly gasp when she caught a glimpse of him, all beat up.
"Hey, where you been?" Darry questioned, calmly. Pony didn't answer, he just looked down. It became clear to everyone that something bad had happened. Real bad. Bonnie stood up wanting to go to him, but she had to force herself to stop.
"Hey Pony," Darry said concerned, standing up out of his chair and stepping towards him, "What's wrong?"
Pony glanced in Darry's direction, but didn't look at him directly.
Pony just answered plainly, "Johnny's dead."
The room froze. Pony spoke so calmly, that it took a second for all of us to fully process what he just said.
"Told him about beatin' the Socs," he continued, walking further into the room, "I don't know, he just died. Told me to 'stay gold.'" The realization seemed to hit all of us at once, including Ponyboy. He didn't look like he was feeling much of anything when he walked in, now he looked scared.
"Dally's gone," Pony trembled, "He couldn't take it, he's gonna blow!"
Dally? Out of all of us, Dally was the one who couldn't take it? Dally was tougher than anyone, and he seemed to make it clear that he didn't need anyone. Even I didn't cry right at first. Even though I was surprised, I wasn't shocked. I think all of us knew what would happen, we just tried to ignore it and hope the day would never come. Everyone would cry over poor Johnny, just not at that moment. The realization hit us all at once, but the sadness sank in at different times. Something had to trigger it. I cried over Johnny that day Soda and I went to see him. I knew what would happen, without knowing it. And, deep down, I knew that I would never see him again. So did Soda. We all knew when our last moments with Johnny were. Except...maybe Dally didn't. Maybe Dally didn't know that those were his last moments with Johnny, and that's why he was the one that took it so rough.
If it wasn't quiet before, it sure was quiet now. Soda and Darry were trying to comfort Ponyboy, but he was still in a state of shock. Bonnie seemed to be the only one that could bring him back to the real world, as she helped him clean his wounds. We were all startled when the phone suddenly rang, breaking the silence. Steve grabbed it, being the closest to the phone.
"Yeah?" he said, picking it up. I wasn't listening until Steve set the phone next to the machine and called Darry over, telling him that Dally wanted to talk to him. This caught my attention. I watched as Darry picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
Pause...
"Yeah?"
Pause...
"Sure Dal, are you alright?"
Pause...
"We know."
Pause...
"Hang on, we'll be right there."
Darry quickly hung up and spun toward us.
"That was Dally," he said, urgently, "The cops are after him, we gotta hide him!" Everyone jumped up and stood on high alert, ready for anything.
"Where is he?" Two-Bit quickly asked, pulling on his jacket.
"He'll meet us in the park," Darry answered, "Let's go!"
We all raced out the door running to the park. We ran as fast as we could, hearing sirens in the distance. When the grassy hill of the park was in sight, I could see the silhouette of someone on top of it. It was Dally. We were relieved, thinking that we got there in time, until we saw the blue and red flashing of the cop cars surrounding the park. Then, we could see Dally pulling out a gun. No stupid! I thought, Put the gun down! But it was too late. Loud popping sounds filled the air as Dallas dropped to the ground. We screamed for them to stop, but he was already dead by the time we reached him. "Stupid idiot!" Darry screamed at the fuzz, "You stupid freaks!" Everyone was in complete shock.
Ponyboy was quivering as he mumbled, "Johnny and Dallas...both..." He suddenly looked very pale, and as soon as I noticed, he dropped to the ground. Bonnie screamed and ran over to him. He had completely blacked out. Bonnie put her hands on his face, but slightly recoiled when she touched him, gasping. "He's got a really bad fever!" She cried. Darry put his hand on Pony's forehead, as fear almost overtook him. Soda helped him pick him up off the ground, and lay him on the grass, both begging him to wake up. The rest of us just stared down at Dally. There lay the infamous Dallas Winston, face down in the street, with a gun in his hand. It wasn't even loaded.
They eventually came to take Dally's body away. The whole scene was sickening to watch. To tell the truth, I couldn't watch. Neither could Steve, whose stomach couldn't handle it, making him have to run off and throw up. I asked Andy if we could go home, and he had no problem saying yes. At that moment, neither of us wanted anything more than to just go home. I hugged Meg and Soda goodbye, and told them we'd be back the next day. I wanted to say goodbye to Bonnie and Darry, but their attention was solely on Ponyboy.
I didn't think I'd be able to sleep at all that night. But after I grabbed a glass of water, I fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed. I didn't even dream. I'm glad I didn't, since no dream could've possibly been good after the night I had just been through.
That night managed to be both the best and worst of my life. Sometimes it's hard for me to remember that night. Well, it's difficult to explain. I actually do remember it quite vividly, but whenever I think about it, I get dizzy, my head starts to spin, and I start to feel sick. I can never think about it too long, or I think I would pass out. Believe me, I've had some pretty bad days, but that night most definitely takes the cake for the worst. But, at the same time, it was the best, because Sodapop Curtis told me that he loved me. He had kissed me, and told me he loved me, and I knew he meant it. And I loved him. But our joy was later crushed by the wave of tragedy.
