Tulsa Ripper

Chapter 6

Outside the rain poured down. Dally had hopped over the side of the porch and walked around the whole house before Darry had a chance to stop him. He came back up the front steps soaking wet and still not looking convinced that he'd thouroughly searched the place. "Dal, don't you think maybe Johnny might have dreamed this? He's been under a lot of stress and he's tired-" "I know, maybe he did, but I thought I saw someone out here too, just before I fell asleep. I figured I imagined it with the lightning and all, but now..." "Dal! Why didn't you say something? Lock the door, come and get me- I don't know, something?!" "I don't know! Like I said, I thought maybe it was just one of the boys, or I just imagined it. Maybe I did. Maybe Johnny did-" Dally stopped short as something caught his eye. He reached down into the shadows under the window and picked something up. It was a crushed beer can. He looked at it carefully and then held it up for Darry to see. Darry looked at him. "We don't have that brand."he said softly. Dally turned it over in his hands, thinking. "Maybe Two-bit carried it over from his house. Or Steve..." "...Maybe." The two boys weren't sure what to do. "I think I'm going to call the police. " Darry said. Dally didn't argue. They went back in and Darry locked the door behind them. "Dally, dry off. Johnny, everything's going to be all right, kid." Darry trailed off as he headed into the kitchen to use the phone. "What's going on?" Soda asked, getting up to follow Darry into the kitchen. Dally came back into the living room with a towel around his neck and went over to Johnny who was trembling slightly and looking off towards the kitchen. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach. When Dally came in, he looked up at him with big, scared eyes. "I thought you were just going to 'stick your head out the door'?" Johnny said with as much indignance as he could summon. Dally sat down with a slight grin. "Sorry," was all he said. Johnny looked back towards the kitchen. "You ok, Johnnycake?" Dally asked Johnny nodded. Darry came back into the livingroom. "The police are going to send a car to do a patrol around the area." Darry said. Johnny's stomach went cold. "You... you called the cops?" he asked in almost a whisper. The police? What if the ski mask guy thinks I told them? He thought in a panic. Johnny tried to think straight. There wasn't much he could do if they wanted to talk to him? His mind raced. No, no... they'll just drive around, Johnny reassured himself. And for this neighborhood, they might not even bother to come out. "Just to be safe- what's the matter kid?" Darry's voice broke into his thoughts. Johnny realized he was staring at Darry and quickly stopped. Darry got down beside Johnny. "I locked the door tonight, kid. Everything's all right. We're all safe here. Soda, where are you sleeping tonight, are you in with Pony?" Darry had explained everything that was going on to Soda, who now looked almost as scared as Johnny. "I wasn't, but I am now! So if you want my room, Johnny, you're welcome to it." "What do you say, kid, would you feel better in there? Or are you comfortable out here?" "I'm fine right here. Look, I'm sorry I woke you all up... I probably did just dream it..." Hey- don't you worry about wakin' anybody up," Darry said. "You need ANYTHING, and anyone of us will help you out, whatever time of day or night it is. Now, if you're comfortable right here that's fine. Dally, I want you to stay here tonight, we don't need anybody wandering around out in this weather. You take care of Johnny." "I'll take care of Johnny," Dally said grabbing Johnny around the neck, bending him forward and messing up his hair. Johnny forced himself not to cringe as a wave of pain shot through his side. He gave Dally a half hearted smile. He was still scared. "All right, I guess we can all get some sleep then." Darry smoothed out Johnny's hair, fixing the mess Dally had made of it and told him, "you wake me up if you need me. Or if Dally isn't doing a good job of lookin' out for you-" At that point, Darry got a bit of a slug form Dally. Not a real one, Dally knew better than to mess with Darry. And Darry knew better than to mess with Dally. "Darry?" Johnny asked quietly as Darry headed towards his room. "Yeah kiddo?" he asked turning back to Johnny. "The cops... they aren't going to ask to talk to me, are they?" he couldn't stop thinking about it. Darry chuckled a little. "No, Johnny, they're just going to drive around. OK?" Johnny sighed in relief and nodded. "OK," Darry patted his shoulder."You settle down and go to sleep now." Johnny fiddled with the blankets, but didn't lie down Dally was standing by the window looking out at the rain. Johnny had his back to him and Dally looked over at him curiously. He could tell that Johnny was still very unsettled about the whole incident. Dally was somewhat unsettled himself. Something was up with Johnny. Something in his eyes... He walked over and sat down on the edge of the couch. Johnny avoided his gaze.
"You feelin' a little better, Johnnycake?" Johnny nodded. "So, uh.. what scared you so bad anyhow, about the guy that you saw? I mean... you were pretty worked up..." Johnny looked embarrassed. "Hey, it's ok, Johnny, I was just wonderin' if there was anything you weren't telling us." Johnny wanted to tell Dally about the guy in the woods. He wanted to tell someone so badly, but he couldn't forget the threat... I will kill your friend Ponyboy. I will make it my next goal... No, Johnny thought, I can't risk Ponyboy's life. Johnny was getting really scared again. His breathing was getting rapid and he was shaking. Dally could tell he was going to get nowhere with this. And he hated making Johnny talk about things he didn't want to talk about, even though sometimes he wondered if it would be good for Johnny to just make him talk.
There was a loud clap of thunder and Johnny flinched slightly and drew in a quick breath. "Easy, kid. It's all right. I'm gonna stay right here tonight," Dally reassured him with his hand on Johnny's arm. He was sure of it now. There was something Johnny was not telling him, but he decided not to press him for information tonight. He had looked so exhausted. Johnny closed his eyes and let out his breath. When he opened his eyes, Dally could see how scared he was, and how tired. "All right, lie down," Dally said, pushing Johnny gently towards the pillow. Johnny laid back but made no attempt at sleeping. "Close your eyes..." Dally whispered. "I'm not tired,"Johnny said, trying to sound convincing and stifling a yawn. Dally was NOT buying it. He raised his eyebrows and the slightest hint of a smile passed over his face. "Yes, you are," he said adamantly. Johnny looked at him pleadingly. He wasn't ready to go back to sleep, but his eyelids were so heavy... "C'mon, don't look at me like that...it's all right, I'll be right here..." Johnny couldn't keep his eyes open any more. As much as he tried to fight it. "I'll be right here," he felt Dally push his hair back off his forehead. The sound of his voice began lulling him into a state of calm. "Don't worry kid, you're safe. Just go to sleep..." Dally sat beside him until his breathing grew slow and steady. As he was sitting there, he noticed a dark stain on the side of Johnny's shirt, just above the blanket. His shirt was faded black and the stain sat right about where his arm would have covered it had he been standing, so no one had noticed it before. Johnny was already in a deep sleep. Dally carefully pulled the blanket down a little and very gingerly lifted up the edge of the t-shirt. He drew in a quick breath at what he saw.
A bloody gauze bandage was taped to his side covering what appeared to be about a 6 inch gash. What he could see of It looked deep and fairly new.
"What happened to you, kid?" Dally whispered almost inaudibly. Had his old man done that to him? Dally could feel intense rage building deep inside him. I'd kill him, Dally thought. I swear, someday... I don't even care if they send me to The Chair. It was all he could do to keep himself from shaking Johnny awake and insisting that Johnny tell him who did it so he could go and beat the life out of the person right then and there. But Dally didn't really feel that he needed to ask him. He had a pretty good idea of who was at fault. He got up and started pacing. He wondered if he should at least wake Johnny so he could clean the cut up a little better.
First he had to get himself settled down, he was so angry at Johnny's father. Dally stood at the window for a long time, contemplating the situation and trying to calm himself. Suddenly, he saw movement on the porch. His stomach went cold. Someone was out there! He grabbed a beer bottle and stood beside the door. The knob rattled.