Hello everyone! This is going to be a short one, probably three-five chapters, with an equally short sequel, then I'll probably start my next long story. I hope you enjoy! :)

Inside

It was too hot. This was a bad idea. Darry was going to kill me. Soda too. Maybe Two-Bit. The thoughts flashed by as I held the little boy in my arms, his face hidden in my shoulder. The crackling of the wood so loud I could barely hear Dally yelling at me to get the hell out of that church, using some words I didn't think the kid was old enough to be hearing. The boy held my neck so tight I couldn't hardly breathe, eyes huge as he looked around...or maybe it was the smoke making it so hard to breathe. The kid was crying as I moved as quickly as I could through the burning church. "It's okay. We're gonna get you out." I told him, half yelling over the fire and patting his back. Dodging a pew that had caught fire and was turning to ash, I raced toward the window where I could see Dally at the window.

We'd been out to lunch with Dally, and Johnny had decided that we were gonna go home. He was gonna turn himself in…I didn't know if it was a good idea, but he seemed pretty determined and I guess it was his choice. We'd been in the parking lot at Dairy Queen, me in the backseat as we all ate barbeque sandwiches that Dal had bought us. I hadn't really thought about what would happen after Dally left us. I mean, Johnny had stabbed someone. No one was going to forget that. So I didn't much blame him for wanting to go back and get it over. Besides, I knew he missed the guys. Maybe even his parents, even though I doubted it. And I missed Soda. I knew he was worried. He, at least, would be glad to have me home. Maybe Two-Bit too.

I still didn't know how things were going to work out with Darry. Dally had mentioned that he was worried, but I figured he'd go from worried to mad real quick once he got ahold of me. I'd been pretty sure he hadn't wanted me around for a while...him hitting me had just confirmed it. I tried to tell myself I didn't care, but I knew I was lying. It hurt. He was my big brother and he didn't want me around. And Sodapop...surely he'd be mad too. I'd run off for a week, not even able to tell him I was okay. But I had a feeling he'd forgive me faster than Darry would.

Then we'd come back to the church and it was all a blur from there. The people standing outside, pointing at the building that was going up in flames. No way an old abandoned church just caught fire on its own. Johnny or me must have dropped a cigarette. We'd set the church on fire. And then they'd told us about the kids, and I'd just started running, not realizing that Johnny was behind me until I was climbing through the window, glancing back to find Dally with his hands in his hair, shaking his head, eyes huge and terrified. I'd never seen Dally look so scared before.

We found the kids in the back and, after being bitten by one, I'd managed to grab her, running the little girl to the door and handing her off to Dally who had appeared at a window, screaming at me the whole time. Johnny and I had taken turns, getting the little six-year-olds to Dallas who would grab one and drop them on the grass, usually grimacing in the process. He wasn't a huge fan of kids, but even he wouldn't let them burn to death in a church. One had tried to cling to him and he'd practically kicked her off before the guy who'd apparently been chaperoning them had grabbed her.

"Here. Grab Dally. He's gonna get you out." I told the little boy, holding him out. Dally grabbed the last kid out of my arms, reaching out to grab me too. He had me half out of the building, his arm tight around my bicep, when I heard Johnny yell. I spun around, my heart in my throat as I saw the ceiling beam start to come down...when I saw him running toward us. It was gonna fall on him. "Come on! Ponyboy, now!" Dally was tugging on me, screaming something else, but all I saw was Johnny. I couldn't let this happen. I couldn't let him die because of me. I'd run into the building...I'd dragged him into this! I'd been the last one smoking before we'd left.

I climbed back through the window, throwing my elbow back when Dally tried to stop me. I guess he let go...I wasn't paying attention. I was running. I was running through the burning church, my back and face too hot, the flames practically burning my eyes. I only had eyes for Johnny though...he was turned around...running my way but I could tell he couldn't see. I ran for everything I was worth, and just as the ceiling beam came crashing down, I threw my arms around him, bracing myself with an arm as we both hit the ground. Something crashed down on top of us, the pain in my head so immediate and overwhelming that I saw literal stars.

Johnny groaned under me and for a moment, everything went dark. But suddenly he was kneeling beside me, swearing and screaming for Dally, their hands on me, shaking me too hard. I tried to open my eyes and figure out who was shaking me. "Darry?" I muttered, confused. He was usually the one who was too rough with me.

Johnny. It was Johnny. That memory came back suddenly, my mind one big fog. He was trying to do something...all I could see was fire. All I could feel was fire. I was so hot. I started to reach out but my right arm gave a jolt of pain so terrible that my brain seemed to shut down. I clenched my jaw, my forehead against the ground...even the ground was hot! I needed to get up but I couldn't move. Something was on top of me and I was so hot! I thought of my brothers then, a jolt of terror shooting through my heart. I was going to die. I was going to burn to death. Suddenly I wanted Darry. With a fierceness that surprised me, I wanted my big brother. He'd get me out. He'd save me. Eyes hot, I sobbed under the beam that crushed me, sweat pouring down my forehead, the skin on my back burning.

My face was pressed into the floor and I gasped for breath, turning my head to the side as Johnny pulled on me and screamed. I wanted Darry. I wanted Soda. I wanted my mom and dad! I wanted someone to get me out from under that beam! My head was swimming and the room was spinning, the fire roaring in my ears. "Pony? Pony, hang on man!" Johnny was yelling, trying to push the beam off of me. I groaned, using my left arm to try and push myself up. It hurt so bad my stomach rebelled and for a second I was afraid I was gonna throw up. My right arm was useless and I couldn't manage to get myself up with my left one, so I let myself drop back to the concrete floor, about to tell Johnny to get himself out, but I couldn't manage the words. I just coughed, cheek pressed against the hot concrete and prayed if I was gonna die here, it wouldn't hurt too bad, a tear dripping down my cheek and onto the floor.

Someone was pulling on me then, and I screamed, jerking away on instinct. Whoever it was was screaming at me, and then I was being lifted up, the beam dropping off of me. I opened my eyes and found myself staring at someone's back. I closed my eyes again and heard someone whimper...was that me? My arm hurt so bad. It hung down and swung and I couldn't do anything about. I was so hot...so unbearably hot. Where was Johnny? No way he was carryign me. He was even smaller than I was! I opened my mouth to yell for him but all I could do was cough, my lungs burning, my chest aching from where it was pressed to the person's shoulder.

It was daylight outside and I was still coughing as whoever was carrying me knelt and sat me down, their hand catching my head so it wouldn't hit the ground. I screamed again, my arm at my side once more, feeling grass under my fingers as my eyes slammed shut. My arm had shifted and it hurt so bad…glory I couldn't hardly breathe. "We need help!" Someone shouted, and hands were on me, one patting my cheek and the other on my left shoulder. "Someone help!"

There were more hands on me then, and someone pulled me into a sitting position and grabbed my arm. They were saying something and I heard Dally yelling. Suddenly the person took my arm and jerked it, hard, and that was the last thing I knew, my eyes rolling back as my brain seemed to go to black, and I went limp on the grass.

"Kid, I swear if you don't wake up right now, I'll kill you myself, savvy?" Someone was yelling at me...sounding awful mad. My head ached and I felt dizzy, despite the fact that my eyes were closed and I wasn't moving...unless I was. Was I moving? What had I done? Why did I hurt so bad? Then I remembered, everything coming back in flashes as I tried to get my brain to catch up. The church...the fire. Johnny!

"Johnny!" I yelled for my friend, suddenly trying to sit up, but someone slammed me back onto my back, none too gentle, and my head swam as they moved my arm. I clenched my jaw so I wouldn't scream, feeling the blood drain from my face. I couldn't stop the groan, though, gasping a little and trying not to cry. What had I done to my arm?

"I said wake up, not get up, kid." The voice sounded almost sheepish.

"Sir, if you can't…" I couldn't make out the rest of what the other voice was saying, but they sounded pretty upset. My shoulder was on fire, and my chest burned. I coughed, turning my head to the side, and a hand landed on my other shoulder. The one that didn't burn.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it." The guy mumbled, and suddenly I realized there was a siren...somewhere. Was it in my head? It wouldn't surprise me, considering how much my head hurt. And my hand...I suddenly realized that my hand was killing me too, but I had to remember...I had to find out what had happened to Johnny. Was he with me, wherever this was?

"Johnny? Where's Johnny?"

"In the other ambulance." The guy told me, and I suddenly realized it was Dally. Dally had been in the church too! Was he okay? He sounded upset.

"Dally?" I tried to sit up again, and this time he stopped me before I moved, his hands careful this time as he placed them against my chest.

"Easy, kid. Calm down." That was an order. I always listened to Dally...or was it Darry? My head was spinning and for some reason I was getting them mixed up, but I was trying to remembered what had happened.

"Is he okay? The church…"

"He's fine, kid. I think he sprained his wrist or something when you tackled him. He's okay." He sounded like he was smiling and I opened my eyes, trying to squint up at him in the dim light. "The guy who was there with those kids is riding with him in the other ambulance." Things were piecing back together in my scrambled brain, and I tried to move my arm again, which I immediately regretted. "Stay still, Ponyboy." He ordered and I stilled immediately. My head spun from the pain and I blinked, staring straight up at the ceiling as I tried to sort out my thoughts.

"Darry?" Dal went quiet for a second, and someone, the other person in the apparently crowded ambulance, said something I didn't catch.

"His brother." Dally told them, and I guess they'd asked who Darry was. Why had I asked for Darry? I couldn't really remember. "They're gonna call your brothers from the hospital, alright? You hit your head...and your shoulder too. That beam would have killed Johnny if it had fallen on him...you saved his life, kid." His hand went to my head and pushed my hair back for a second. My head was throbbing as I tried to remember that.

"I did?"

"Yeah." He told me after a pause. "You can't remember?"

"It was on fire." I told him, closing my eyes. Someone touched my arm, moving it, and I swore, throwing my head back and clenching my teeth.

"Yeah...you remember Johnny...the roof was caving in. I tried to stop you from going back in and you broke my nose." That came back then. Dal had grabbed my arm, and I'd swung around with my elbow...apparently it had made contact. I winced up at him, worried about how I'd have to pay for that.

"Sorry." He snorted.

"You saved his life, kid. Those kids, too. That guy called us heroes. I told him we were greasers." He ruffled my hair again, laughing a little and I tried to smile. "I didn't think I was gonna be able to get you out of that church. Johnny had to help. You were trapped under that beam and it took both of us to move it. You started screaming when I grabbed your arm, but man...I thought we were all gonna get buried under that church." He went kind of quiet. "We almost did."

"You okay?" He snorted.

"Got burned some. They tried to look at my arm, but you were unconscious so…"

"Unconscious?"

"Yeah. Remember? Hit to the head? Ceiling beam came down on your shoulder and got you on the back of the head too. You're lucky you were knocking Johnny out of the way. You got a hell of a tackle kid. Ever thought about football?"

He was talking too fast. Something about football...and my head. Had I hit my head playing football? Everything was spinning. "Dal? I don't...I don't play football? I don't…"

"Kid, stay with me. Don't go back to sleep." Something was put over my face but I shook my head, ignoring how it hurt. I was scared...I didn't want something on my face...I didn't want to smother in here.

"Stop, Dal!" It hurt enough to breathe as it was, and even though I knew better than to tell him to stop doing something, I knew that if he put something on my face I wouldn't be able to at all. Coughing, I tried to bat him away. My arms felt awkward and heavy though. "Please, Dal...it hurts." I tried, hoping he wouldn't hit me.

One of his hands was on my shoulder and the other was on my head, so I wondered if that had been him trying to put something on my face. "Easy, kid. That's gonna help you breathe. Come on, let him put that mask on you."

"Mask?"

"Yeah. It's for oxygen or something. Just let him put it on ya." I nodded, staying still when he placed it over my mouth, whoever 'he' was. Immediately it got easier to breathe and I relaxed a little. "Better?" I nodded. Before I'd been gasping for air, fighting to get my breath but this was a lot easier. I wanted to ask what had happened to my arm but instead, I just closed my eyes, ignoring Dally when he told me to wake up.

I thought I was going to get to rest some, but then we went over some kind of bump or something and my arm moved, the pain making my back arch and the scream seemed to echo in the small space. Beside me, Dally swore, his hands grabbing my left arm, bracing me.. I held my arm close to my chest, ashamed to be crying in front of Dal but not able to stop it. "The hell is wrong with the driver, huh? He drunk or something?" Someone was rubbing my shoulder but it couldn't have been Dally because he didn't do stuff like that. I realized as I was trying to breathe again that I could barely move my right hand...I tried and was rewarded with more pain. I felt my eyes get hot again as I tried to move it, gasping a little into the mask.

"You okay, kid?" Dally asked, hand still on my shoulder.

"My hand…" I trailed off when the sob forced itself out of my throat, hoping he'd figure out what I meant. He did, squeezing my shoulder a little.

"They got it wrapped up. You've got some pretty bad burns but the jacket protected you from most of it."

I frowned, squinting up at him, then letting my eyes close again. "I don't...how did I get burned?" I wondered. I suddenly couldn't remember. Where were my brothers? And Johnny?

"The fire, kid." He sounded real worried now. "The church...that beam was on fire. It must have got your hand. You with me kid? We're almost to the hospital, and they're gonna call your brothers."

I winced. Was Darry at work? Or was I late coming home? "Darry's gonna be mad." I told him, sighing a little.

Dally shook me, and I opened my eyes again. I couldn't remember closing them. He was shaking his head, looking real serious. "No he ain't kid. He's worried sick about you."

"He hit me." I told him quietly, closing my eyes again. "I yelled at him and he hit me. He don't want me around, Dal. Just wishes he'd let me go to a boy's home."

Dal shook his head, looking almost sad. "That ain't true kid. Your big brothers are scared to death something's happened to you. I ain't never seen Superman so upset, not even after your parents." He messed up my hair a little. "You okay?"

I just shrugged my left shoulder. It hurt. Everything hurt, but I didn't want to think about it. My arm was held close to my chest by something, my fingers stiff and painful. Glory I was tired. If I slept, then it wouldn't hurt anymore, right?

"We'll be there soon." He assured me quietly.

"Where?" I asked, blinking and feeling dazed as I tried to focus on his face. He still had a hand on my shoulder and it was hard to talk around the mask.

"The hospital, Ponyboy. They're taking all of us to the hospital. Remember?" I shook my head, groaning and closing my eyes. "Stay awake, kid!"

I tried and sort of succeeded, all the way to the hospital when Dally jumped out of the ambulance and the bed I was on moved, two guys, one on each side of me, rolling the bed down the hall. I closed my eyes for that part, too dizzy to watch the lights pass until I was finally in some curtained off place by myself, and they somehow got me into a bed. I was kind of fuzzy on that part as I leaned against some pillows. A doctor hurried in, asking me for my name and how old I was, and I did my best to answer. I was still dizzy but did my best to tell him everything I could.

The mask was still on my face and he was unwrapping my right hand before I realized what was going on, and a nurse came in and poked me in the other arm with a needle. I flinched and looked away, my eyes falling on my hand. It was red and covered in blisters, and the doctor put some kind of ointment and wrapped it in some kind of gauze before leaving.

Everything was spinning around me and I wondered where Dally was. I missed having him nearby, knowing he had my back if something happened...and someone to talk to. I worried about Johnny too...I hadn't seen him since I'd tackled him in the church. Apparently, I'd sprained his wrist. I hoped he was okay. He'd been yelling, I think...it was all a blur. I'd been so hot. I was still kind of hot, but I realized I wasn't wearing the jacket anymore. Closing my eyes, I coughed when I tried to take a deep breath, doing my best to rest and then falling asleep.

Thank you for reading!