Hey guys!

Sorry it took so long for me to publish the next chapter. My inner critic was getting the better of me and I ended up having trouble with writer's block. Anyway, I hope you like this. ^^^ up there is the song I've been listening to while writing this 'Shatter me'. It's nightcore's version.

M. Elyse Lynch

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Darry's POV

The wind was rushing in my ears as I sprinted down the empty streets, Soda at my side with the gang on our heels. Ponyboy had run away again, yet this time it wasn't because of me. Whatever it was had triggered his instinct to run. Now he was gone again, and I had the feeling that something much worse was happening than the last time. I still remember him lying on the pavement, soaked and screaming, pure terror in his eyes as he struggled in Soda's grip, almost gagging he was so scared...

I promised myself to keep a close eye on him, but I got so caught up in the rumble that I lost sight of him. I couldn't help but feel guilty. This is all my fault... This is all my fault...

Something wasn't right. Ponyboy just doesn't disappear like that, especially not on his own, not now. He didn't go anywhere by himself. Whatever happened must've scared him so much that instinct took over, making him turn and run, flee like the wild horse of the plateaus, his head having no control over his nature. That sounded like Pony alright.

I heard Dally swear under his breath behind me. "Dammit! Where the hell is that kid?"

"As if we know," snapped Two-bit, his lips pressed into a thin line, his goofy grin nowhere to be seen. It didn't suit him one bit. Being serious just wasn't his thing.

"Guys, please," Soda pleaded, his voice strained. This was hitting Soda real hard. It was hitting me hard too. I knew Pony hadn't been ready for this. I shouldn't have let him go.

"Ponyboy?!" I cried out, and everyone listened desperately for an answer, but silence was the only reply. "Oh, come on, kiddo! Where are you?!" I could hardly keep the dismay out of my tone, the sickening fear in the pit of my stomach only getting worse the more time dragged on.

"Johnny, when did you last see him again?" Soda looked over his shoulder at Johnny, his eyes pleading.

I noticed how shaken Johnny looked, his hands trembling slightly as he balled them into fists, his eyes holding a nervous set to them. "I saw him just before he went off to find Darry - he thought the Soc got ya. That's when the blades came out." Dally put a hand on his shoulder, murmuring "Relax, kid" into his ear.

The colour drained from my face and Soda paled. We both knew all too well that Pony didn't have a blade with him. If he was attacked by a Soc with a blade, the chance of getting out of it unharmed was very small.

We weren't too far from home when Steve suddenly gasped, pointing into the shadows, "I think I see him!" I squinted and my eyes traveled over something that seemed out of place, a silhouette of someone on the ground. As we crept closer, the person's features became less translucent, and my eyes went pinpoint when I realised who it was.

"Ponyboy?! GOD NO! PONY!" He was spread eagled in the grass, lying on his left side, his chest gently rising and falling. He was colourless, unmoving on the ground, something dark soaking the blue fabric of his t-shirt. As I neared him, I realised it was blood, seeping from his right side. No no no...please no...

I skidded to a halt beside him and fell to my knees, my hands hovering over his battered and bleeding body. Soda was on his other side, pure horror in his eyes and it wasn't long before the gang was there next to us as well.

"Pony? Can you hear me, baby?" I didn't even try to hide the anguish in my tone. I gathered him up in my arms and pulled him to my chest. In his unconscious state, he let out a high-pitched yelp of pain, the sudden movement obviously hurting him. At the sound, tears sprang to my eyes and I just wanted to hold him and cry.

"This is all my fault," I whispered into his ear, feeling choked up. How could I let this happen again? Not to my brother... Not to my baby brother... "I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..."

"You're gonna be ok, Pone. Everything's gonna be alright." Soda murmured, gently caressing Pony's cheek which was so pale that it seemed to glow in the moonlight. I could feel Pony shiver in my grasp, his heart teetering under my hand as it clung on to life with a quick, wild beat. Soda looked up at me, his face as white as a sheet. "Check his side."

His words brought me to my senses. Very carefully, I lifted Pony's shirt away from his side, revealing a deep gash that ran all the way down to the hem of his jeans. My stomach flipped and Soda gagged. Gasps and cusses hissed above me as the gang saw the wound, too gruesome to describe as crimson trickled into my own clothes, covering my hands.

"Darry! We have to get him home!" Soda's voice was rising, the air of calm gone. I had to stay strong for both Pony and Soda now, but even that was proving more difficult then it looked. I could feel my shoulders trembling with the overwhelming panic building up inside me, but I refused to let it take over.

"Soda, run home as fast as you can. Get the first aid kit and find the stitches, the rubbing alcohol and the bandages. Set everything up on the coffee table. Take Steve with you." I was throwing orders left, right and centre, but Soda took it all in, turning and bolting into the darkness with Steve on his tail.

I slipped one arm under Pony's knees and the other behind his shoulders, lifting him from the ground. I realised just how thin he was, as light as a feather in my arms. This is what the Socs had done to him. They'd scared him, beat him, tortured him. Now he was withering away, fading into darkness. No rumble would fix this. I felt as helpless as ever. I couldn't protect him from this. I couldn't save him. But who could? It was killing me inside. I wanted to break. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. That would only make matters worse. I had to be strong, for Pony's sake.

"Just hold on, Pony. Stay with me, ok? Just stay with me, please..." My voice broke a little at the end. Ponyboy moaned in pain as I rushed towards the porch that I could see illuminated up ahead.

Two-bit held the door open as I carried Ponyboy inside. Soda was waiting shakily beside the couch, tears dripping silently down his pale cheeks as Steve had a reassuring hand on his shoulder. I wanted to comfort Soda, but at that moment Pony needed me first. I placed Ponyboy down on the couch as gently as possible and grabbed the rubbing alcohol from the coffee table, my fingers trembling as I held it in my hand.

"Guys, I'm gonna need you to hold him," I said, my voice quivering slightly with the effort to keep control. I knew from personal experience that this was going to hurt him so bad. Dally and Johnny pinned his legs down, Two-bit held his wrists, and Steve and Soda forced his shoulders down.

I eased his shirt away from the wound and opened the bottle, my hands shaking. The bottle lingered over Ponyboy's bloodied side, but I already knew I couldn't do it. I couldn't stand seeing him in pain, let alone being the one who causes it.

"I can't do it," I mumbled, lowering the bottle back down.

There was silence, before Dally's cool voice spoke over the din. "I'll do it."

A wave of gratitude washed over me as I swapped places with Dally, handing him the bottle. I had a feeling that we were running out of time and Dally taking over might've just saved Ponyboy's life.

"Alright, kid. This might sting a little," said Dally and I scoffed inwardly. It was gonna sting more than a little, that was for sure.

With that, Dally tipped the bottle, allowing the alcohol to spill onto the wound and Ponyboy screamed in agony, wriggling and writhing in his lethargic state.

Ponyboy's POV

Pain. White hot agony. It had no beginning, nor did it have an end. It was just there, surging through my body like burning flames. I couldn't move. I couldn't open my eyes. All I could do was scream...

Every movement I made was like a lightning bolt of agony. Hands pinned me down against my will. The Socs. They had me again, causing me so much pain that I could feel it through my unconsciousness. I was trapped with no way out. Please... I begged. Just make it stop... I'll do anything... Just please... Make it stop...

Darry's POV

"No!" Pony shrieked, his voice coming out in anguished sobs. "Please... Make it stop! Let go of me! Please!"

Ponyboy's shrieks ripped through the night, so full of agony that it made my heart break. His voice rose higher and higher the more the alcohol penetrated the wound, thrashing under our grip, pain and horror contorting his facial features. Tears gushed down his cheeks and finally it hit me what was wrong, causing me to release him.

"Guys, let him go," I said, taking a step back. "He thinks we're the Socs."

As if Ponyboy was a boiling object that couldn't be touched, they let him go.

"Darry... Soda..." Ponyboy whimpered, gasping and gulping for breath. "Make them stop... Make them stop..."

"Shh, honey," Soda soothed, stroking Ponyboy's salted cheek. "You're ok."

I swivelled around Soda and knelt down beside my little brother, running my shaky hands through his hair. "Easy, baby, easy," I murmured softly into his ear, hearing his choked sobs as he tried to breathe through the pain. I knew he couldn't hear us, but he could feel, which was better than being in that pain and fear alone.

"Are we ready?" Dally asked, unscrewing the lid of the bottle once more. I nodded and the gang took their places once more.

"Please don't let them hurt me again..." Pony sobbed as if on cue. I felt my throat tighten just at how broken his voice was.

"It's ok, honey," Soda whispered, rubbing gently circles on Pony's shoulder. "It's almost over... It's almost over..."

"Ok, last time," Dally informed before splashing the alcohol over the gash. I winced as Pony's piercing screams cut through the air once more, so raw that it made my nerves snap. Ponyboy bit down so hard on his lower lip that beads of blood began to form under his teeth. Soda and I uttered soothing words of comfort into his ear, hoping it would calm him down, but it didn't. He struggled feebly in our grip, twitching and jerking with sobs that racked his body.

Dally sewed up the wound as quickly as possible, placing a bandage over the top to prevent anymore blood from being spilt. Pony continued to tremble, tears streaming from his closed eyelids as he moaned and whimpered.

"Alright, my job's done," Dally announced, taking a step back to admire his work. Dally was surprisingly clean and delicate, stitching the gash gently and with care. That was unusual for Dallas Winston.

I scooped Ponyboy up in my arms and carried him off into his bedroom. I placed him down on the bed and carefully removed his bloodied clothes, leaving him in just his briefs. He was still sobbing slightly, his tear-soaked cheeks glistening in the dim light of the room. I covered him with the bed sheets. There was something different about him now. Before this all began, there'd been a glow to his skin, a light in his eye, a genuineness in his smile. Now, he looked...shattered.

I wanted to cry just looking at him. I hoped he knew just how much I loved him. Sometimes I felt like I was too harsh on him, but that was because I loved him so much that I didn't want him to end up hurting himself. Watching him now as he slept, I realised that he was still just a baby, even though he was fourteen, he was still learning, still fragile and if I held on too tightly, he would break. That was what the Socs were doing; they were breaking him.

I leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Please be ok, baby. Please be ok..."