The Outsiders: Randy's Little Sister

Chapter 15: "Will he be ok?"

The house looked pretty normal, 'till ya got real close to it. I think Dally knew the real secrets of it but he wouldn't have been able to do anything without me. We were about 200 metres from it, but we could see, as clear as day, the two people walking towards the boy at the front. The man and woman were fighting and by the look of them swaying, drunk. Holding the bottle by the neck, they smashed it against the brick wall and waved it about in towards him threateningly. The boy stood there, frozen to the spot but once he realised what was happening he rapidly tried to open the door.

Dally kept on running and shouting. "Johnny, get the hell away from them, man."

We were still about 100 metres from the house but however fast we ran, we didn't seem to get any closer. Dally was so much fast than me and I think seeing Johnny's parents, made him run faster.

The man, chucked his smashed bottle at Johnny who let out a little yelp. I thought of all the things that could have happened to him but that just made everything so much worse. They got closer and the garden broom, near the front door, got picked up by the drunk woman. She and the man held Johnny down after punching him in the stomach to make him weaker. She beat him with the broom multiple times, whereas the man punched him anywhere he could, like a broken record that was repeating the same thing over and over again. When Dal' got to the house, I have a feeling they may have regretted all that they did to Johnny.

He threw him self on the man and punched him so many times, I lost count. I handled the woman but she wasn't to hard as I just pushed her forcefully and she went in the corner whimpering, like a dog. I kneeled on the floors next to Johnny. There was a shard of glass in his left arm that was pretty far down. It was a shame that he didn't have his denim jacket on, or it wouldn't have gone through. We needed to get him to hospital but first he needed to cope with being in shock. There were large red marks on his face but I looked at him in his eyes and talked in a calming voice.

"Right Johnny, ya in shock." The tears welled up on his eyes. "Just listen to my voice. Breathe in." He did as I said. "Hold and breathe out." We did that multiply times 'till his breaths became longer and more relaxed. Dally was to our left and still punching. It then came to me that Dallas could have killed that man. "Dally." I got up quickly and held his arm. "Don't, ya not a murderer."

"Just one more punch." He said and I shook my head.

"No, that could be the difference between unconsciousness and death." I pushed him off the man and I bent down to try and hear him breathe, which I did. Thankfully. I certainly didn't want to be the bystander of a murder, even if it was someone who deserved to die.

Dally's knuckles were completely broken. They were a sea of blood. "Pull out the glass." He said, once he took a look at Johnny's arm.

"No. That's the worse thing to do."

"It's ok, Zola, I can take the pain." Johnny tried to get up but failed.

"It's not that. If ya take the glass out, there will be nothing stopping the blood from escaping from your body and ya could put youself in worse condition."

"Oh." Johnny looked at the glass. "Glad we have someone smart here." He looked at Dally who nodded.

I chuckled. "Don't move ya left arm." I ordered. "But sling the other 'round my shoulder." Dallas pulled him up, gently, the most careful I had seen him be in ages.

"Dally give me a smoke." Johnny said as we started to walk, slowly back to the Curtis' house. I figured if we went there, someone could drive Johnny to the hospital. Dally passed a cigarette to Johnny but I took it from his hand and put it back in the packet.