Dallas Winston Has A Sister? (Outsiders Fanfic)

Two Wrestling Matches, And I Lose Both

Note to Readers:  This story is based on a dream I had, so it might be a little weird, but I hope you like it.

        I was tackled form behind by Two-Bit, and the minute he got me on the ground, I heard shouting and yelling as Pony, Soda, and Steve jumped on Two-Bit who was on top of me, forcing my face into the dirt.  I struggled and squirmed, but it was literally impossible to get out from a dog pile of four wrestling guys if you're squished on the bottom.  My ribs felt like they were collapsing and I couldn't breathe, but no matter how much I yelled and kicked and hit, they wouldn't get off.  There was more shouting, and suddenly I could breathe and see something besides black again.  Dally and Darry had tossed all the guys off of me, and they were still laughing and wrestling around on the ground.  I surprisingly wasn't mad at them for almost killing me either.

        I got up and brushed dirt and dead grass off of me, spitting out a mouthful of currently soggy, once dry vegetation.

        Soda and Steve were rolling around on the ground, trying to shove each other's face into the dirt, when they smashed into Johnny who was standing near the fire, and he fell over on top of them.  I went to help him up because they were getting dangerously close to the bonfire that we had built that was now blazing in the center of the lot. 

        By the time I got over there, Soda had won the grind-face-in-dirt contest and had triumphantly gained the marshmallows.  Like that kid really needed any more sugar.  Darry and Pony returned from the small stretch of woods bordering the lot with a bunch of sticks to roast marshmallows on.  Both Two-Bit and I, courtesy of Two-Bit, produced a broken chocolate bar from our pockets, but that's all we had because Pony had forgotten to grab the graham crackers that Darry'd bought off the counter before they left. 

        We all sat down around the fire, I had Dally to my left and Pony to my right, and Johnny was next to Pony with Soda and Steve next to him.  Two-Bit was sitting between Dally and Darry, and Darry was next to Steve. 

        After we had made the whole bag of marshmallows into chocolate bar sandwiches that melted all over our fingers and a bunch of burnt marshmallows (thanks, Soda) and Two-Bit had downed a beer or two, we were sitting around talking, and then Darry mentioned something about needing more wood.  We had let the fire burn down to mostly coals to cook marshmallows, and it had gotten cooler out.  My face was roasting but my back was freezing, so I volunteered.

        "I'll go get some," I said, standing up and heading for the woods at the edge of the lot.  It was pretty dark away from the fire but I didn't mind, until I heard someone following me.  I figured it was Two-Bit trying to scare me, and as I froze and turned around to face him, I heard a twig snap as he froze too. 

        I was really surprised when I saw it was Ponyboy instead of Two-Bit, and I asked cockily and jokingly, "Trying to scare me or something,Two-Bit Matthews?"

        He laughed and then replied, "Nah, I figured you could use some help."

        "What, you think I might get the wrong type of wood?" I asked, and we both laughed and then continued walking in silence.  All the sudden I heard rustling nearby, and then two glowing yellow eyes appeared.

        "Wait," I whispered, holding a hand up to stop Pony.

        "What?" he whispered back.

        I didn't answer, just studied the glowing yellow football-shaped cat eyes with black slits for pupils.  Even though I couldn't see it, I could tell it was big, not your typical stray cat.  It's eyes were waist level, not close to the ground like a small animal's, and too big to be a small creature perched on a branch.

        A wild yell pierced the air as Two-Bit jumped out from behind a tree, and that didn't scare me near as much as the creature crashing through the bushes and lunging right at me.  My scream was drowned out by it's hissing animal roar, sounding like a wild cat as I turned and tried to run, oblivious of Pony and Two-Bit shouting.

        It pounced right on top of me, roaring and clawing and gnashing it's teeth, and pain shot through me, blossoming from wherever it had slashed it's feral weapons at me.  I was yelling and kicking and trying to roll out from under it and shove it off of me, all while trying to keep it's snapping jaws away from my face.  Everything was a blur of red and screams and roars and hot rancid breath in my face and pain and fur and teeth.

        I was struggling to keep it from killing me, and then I saw Two-Bit out of the corner of my eye hitting it with a large stick and then trying to wedge the stick in it's mouth, and suddenly someone had me under my arms and was dragging me out from under it. 

         It was Ponyboy, and he screamed, "Run!" and then all three of us headed back for the clearing and the rest of the lot and the fire and the guys.  My only thought was to get away from it, the fear being the only thing that prevented the pain from slowing me down. 

        I ran faster than I ever had in my life, and when we broke into the clearing, I suddenly tripped on something, stumbling and pitching forward, and I would have collapsed if it weren't for Dally catching me and wrapping me in a hug and holding me still until I calmed down.  The boys had been heading into the woods to help us out and see what was going on when all three of us had come running out. 

        I held onto Dally, panting and trying to quit freaking out as I calmed down and pain and exhaustion overtook me.  I was listening to  Pony and Two-Bit's frantic explanations as my breathing and heart rate slowed, returning to normal.

        "It was a mountain lion, like a cougar I think," Pony said, breathless.

        "It just jumped out of nowhere and attacked Tara, and she tried to run but it pounced on her and-" Two-Bit trailed off, and I could feel all eyes turning to me.

        I kept my face buried in Dally's leather jacket, completely ignoring the part of my brain that was telling me I looked like a wimpy little girl who goes crying to her big brother every time she doesn't get her way.  Except for I wasn't crying and I hadn't not gotten my way, I had just gotten mauled by a cougar.

        I felt Dally looking down at me, and then his back muscles flexed under my hands as he shrugged.  Something was up with him too, he wasn't usually the touchy-feely kind but here he was hugging me rather than telling me to suck it up and walking away. 

        They were all talking in quiet voices, still waiting for me to do something.  I let go of Dally and dropped to the ground with a grimace as pain shot through me, jarring my every nerve.  In a second, they were all gathered around me, probably because I had blood practically coating my body.

        There were claw marks all over my face, blood dripping into my eye, soaking my hair, dripping off my chin and soaking into my filthy tattered black sweatshirt.  One of the sleeves was nearly ripped off at the shoulder, the only thing holding it to the rest of the sweatshirt being the sticky layer of blood and dirt coating my bare shoulder and soaking through my shredded T-shirt.

        My side was stinging,but the only thing I could see was the dim firelight shining off the fabric slick with blood.  I think I had gotten bit there, but my legs were only scratched slightly, my jeans torn and dirty and smudged occasionally with rust-colored smears of blood from my hands that were coated in so much blood that it looked like I was wearing red gloves.

        "We have to get you to a hospital," one of the guys said, but I couldn't tell who, and there were murmurs of agreement as someone, I think Dally but it could have been Darry, picked me up.

        I moaned in pain but didn't say anything, every step he took setting off a  new round of pain shooting through my bloody body.  I tried to ignore it as I drifted off into a painful, aching, confused nightmarish daze.