In Vietnam

Trying to Remember

Pony's POV

Once I woke up, I felt weird. I couldn't remember why I was in the hospital nor could I remember where I was.

When the nurse first saw me awake, she was shocked, but then she explained what had happened. She asked me if I could remember anything, and when I said no, she nodded and told me that I had long term amnesia. I didn't know what that was, only that it had something to do with memory.

It was two days before I was able to see anyone besides the nurses. On day two, six tough guys came into my room with the nurse in front of them.

I grinned, trying to be polite, even though I didn't have a clue who these people were. They looked happy to see me.

So, instead of keeping the silence, I said, "Hello. Who are you?"

Their facial expressions went from happy to worried, and once the nurse explained that I had long term amnesia from the rock impact, they looked sad.

The nurse whispered something to the six guys, and then she left.

The oldest looking one came over first, with a very handsome younger man next to him. They kind of looked like me, so they must be my brothers. The nurse said something about me having two older brothers; I just didn't know their names.

The handsome one sat down beside me, and I asked him, "Are you one of my brothers?"

"Yeah, kiddo. I'm Soda, your happy-go-lucky middle brother."

We both smiled, and then I looked to the oldest one. "And you must be my oldest brother."

"Yup. I'm Darry, but sometimes these guys call me Superman."

I chuckle. "I can see why."

He smiles, and then a guy with a Mickey Mouse shirt comes over to me. He holds out a hand, and I shake it.

"Hey, kid. My name's Two-Bit. My real name is Keith, but you started calling me Two-Bit because I always have to get my 'two-bits' in. I'm one of your best friends."

I grin again and say, "Nice to meet you, Two-Bit. I can tell we have been real good friends."

"Damn right."

Next is a guy with a bird tattoo.

"Hey, Pony. My name is Steve, and I love cars. We used to not get along very well, but then things happened, and we became real good friends."

"Nice to meet you, Steve."

Following him was a tough looking guy and a shy smaller kid that resembled a puppy.

"Hey, Ponyboy. I'm Dally, your tough friend from New York, and standing next to me is Johnny, your best friend."

"Hey, Pony."

"Hey guys. Nice to meet you."

After introductions are finished, I say, "I hope that I'll be able to remember y'all completely one day, because you guys seem like really cool people to be around. I can tell we were close before."

Darry says, "Yeah, we've all been through a lot this past year, so we've gotten a lot closer."

"So, the nurse didn't specify, but where exactly are we?"

"We're in Southern Vietnam."

"Why're we here?"

"Well, you and Soda got drafted to serve in the Vietnam War, so the rest of us decided to enlist. It's been a rough year since you've last been home."

I nod. That explains where I was when I hit my head.

After talking, I started drifting off to sleep. Darry, Soda, and the others stayed in the room with me, and most of them fell asleep as well.

The next few days went by smoothly, but I still couldn't remember anything besides the gangs' names. I got to know them better, and I was liking them even more. Soda told me that him and I were super close before I lost my memory. I remember telling him that we could become close again. Darry had told me that we used to not get along, and Steve said the same thing, but they said that we got closer and were able to change that. As for the rest of the guys, they just told me about stuff that happened in Tulsa. Like how Johnny apparently killed a kid to save me, and we were in a church fire. He explained how he faked his death, and how we became a couple.

One night when I was asleep, I started having a weird dream. I was running away from something along with Steve and another guy when I felt something shoot through my side. I passed out for what seemed like forever.

I sat up and gasped, while everything came crashing down.

I remembered everything.