Chapter Text
My eyes fluttered open to the sound of a blaring alarm. I groggily sat up, groaning with annoyance while running a hand through my bleached blonde hair. I smacked the alarm, sending it back to sleep... something I wish I could be doing. I ran a cold hand across my bare chest before sighing, turning and letting my legs dangle off the side of the bed. I dipped my head into my hands, rubbing my eyes. I was too bothered to do anything today.
I perked my head up at the sound of someone calling my name, "Ponyboy! Rise and shine! We gotta start working around the bunker, getting it all organized after that last event that really fucked us around!" It was Sodapop. The metal door of my room dragged open, making a loud squeaking noise. That always irritated my... weirdly sensitive ears. Sodapop had that same reckless grin he always had. I don't understand how he can always be so gleeful. Especially if you consider the state we are currently in.
Our bunker was recently raided. We were lucky that it was just a small group of dunder heads. Darry, Dally, and Sodapop took 'em on. Gave them a real good beating. Two-bit and Steve ran to hide all the important stuff. Darry had told me to stay in my room. Hide in a closet or something like that. I hate it an awful lot when Darry continues to underestimate me. I may be a little scrawnier and more fragile due to some disorders I have, but that doesn't mean I can't put up a good fight. He was the same way before this whole... nuclear outbreak.
I snapped back into reality when Sodapop snapped his fingers in my face. I raised a brow, muttering some gibberish, "Wake it up, Pony. We don't have all day to sit around and space out," He chirped, stepping back and sauntering back over to the entrance of my room. I sighed, standing up and getting one of those good stretches in, "Okay, Soda. I'll be out."
Soda gave me a thumbs up before leaving the room. I slumped my shoulders down, walking over to my closet to get changed. I threw on something random. Red t-shirt with black sweatpants. I grabbed a small first aid kit that was on the top of my closet, flipping it open and grabbing the bandages. I wounded my arms during the raid. I forgot to mention that some guy caught on to me while I was running to my room. I threw a punch. He had sharp teeth, I gotta admit. Pained me right in the knuckles real bad. Then I tried crawling away. The grounds of our bunker are like vents, so when my wrist and upper part of my arm dragged across the metal, it got cut up pretty bad.
I tilted my head as I wrapped the bandages over my red, teeth marked knuckles and my wounded wrist. Once I finished, I grabbed one of my dog-tag necklaces, wrapping it over my head and having it rest upon my shoulders perfectly, being wrapped around my pale skinned neck. I took a step back before fully turning around, walking out of my room and shoving my door closed.
I made my way over to the others. Two-bit was picking up a bunch of rubbish, he and Steve were laughing hysterically about some stupid stuff. As always. The first person to notice my arrival was Two-bit. He flashed me a smile. A smile of stupidity and idiocy. I couldn't help but grin back. He's got a contagious smile. "Ey, Ponyboy! Do you remember the day this nuclear war started?" He chirped at me. Steve looked at Two-bit, chuckling, "C'mon, Two-bit. Ponyboy's more sensitive than us, he don't wanna remember that day!"
My hands curled into a fist, I let out a husky sigh, "I do remember it, yeah," I replied with a soft, whispery voice. Steve was right, though. I didn't wanna remember anything about it. It was a nice day. All of us were gathered around the TV because Two-bit had said there some exclusive Mickey mouse episode he wanted all of us to see with him. Johnny didn't come in. He was on our porch watching the sky and looking at activity. We were all too focused on the TV we didn't hear Johnny calling us over three times. The fourth time, all of us looked over like a deer listening for a car on the highway. He told us to come outside, to take a look at what he was seeing. Two-bit had groaned out of annoyance, he wanted to finish watching the cartoon he was so oddly fixated over.
We all walked onto the porch, Johnny was alerted and up on his feet. I stood close to him, staring off in the distance to where he was pointing. He said, "There was some weird, bright light over there, I know I saw it." All of us looked at Johnny, thinking he was overthinking it. He wasn't. We saw another light in the distance, but it echoed a boom. All of us jumped slightly, not totally jumped out of our skin but we were startled. Darry took a step forward, squinting a leaning a bit over. Another one went off, the booms getting louder. That's when we all came to the conclusion that these were explosions. Literal burst. Explosions.
I turned to say something to Johnny when the blinding light of the explosion flashed in our eyes, it wasn't everyday a nuke exploded and practically ended livelihood. The explosion was closer to us this time, making my eyes hurt from the blinding rays. Johnny winced, shoving his face to hide in my shoulder, "Holy shit! Guys, we gotta fucking get out of here," Was what Steve had screamed. Concern and fear running through his tone.
Darry hurried us into his car, screaming go, go, go, over and over. We all piled up in his car, squished together as he started it and drove away. Johnny was huddled up against me, rubbing his eyes. He hurt them from the light of the explosion. I was breathing heavily in that moment, shaking like a frozen kitten who was dropped off on the sidewalk in the midst of winter. We got far, but it didn't block out the noises of explosions. We only just heard them more.
We were in too much of a rush to stop for gas. That was the biggest mistake of mine... or our life. We all tumbled out of the car in a panic. Darry yelled at us to follow his lead. While we were running, deathly close to us was an explosion. We were running through the woods. Everyone else was in front of me besides Johnny. I looked behind me and he's not there. That's when I stopped running slightly. It's like the world went into slow-mo. My heart sped up. My panic increasing. I yelled for Sodapop, screaming that Johnny's not here. He's ran off without us. That's when I saw him. running the opposite direction. He was far away. I started screaming for him desperately, but he didn't even react. Johnny's eyesight was already fucked around with because of that earlier explosion and considering the fact he was holding his ears and wobbling as he ran... he probably got his ears injured from that other other explosion.
I remember the feeling of painful desperation that wrapped around my body. I was weak in the knees, almost toppling to the ground while I kept screaming for Johnny. I couldn't lose him, but I did. I watched as he disappeared into the forest as Sodapop wrapped his arms around my waist, picking me up and running away. That day is a day no one will forget. A day that no one will forgive themself over. Because on that day, we lost the final puzzle piece of our gang. Johnny Cade.
Two-bit saved me from my tears by roughly smacking my back, making me jump out of my skin. He chuckled softly, nudging me, "Cool your tits, Ponyboy. I was just messing with ya'."
I narrowed my eyes. Two-bit always made jokes about it, but he misses Johnny just as much as I do. He saw as his Johnny own son, but he didn't like crying, so he usually used his humor to cope with it. I sighed. The gang had noticed how much quieter of been since that day. I don't like talking. I can't even open up. Without Johnny I feel so lost in the world. When he was here, I had a purpose. Dally almost commit suicide the first few days we were in our bunker. He couldn't handle a world without Johnny. But he had Sodapop there for him. But me? No one understands me like Johnny does. Like Johnny did.
Though, in all honesty, something in me... a little voice kept telling me that Johnny is still alive. Johnny is still out there. There have been a few occasions where Darry had caught me trying to sneak out to the surface. They had to put cameras around the entire bunker. Whenever I tell the gang about my feeling, my gut feeling, they always exchange glances and say "Pony" sympathetically. I hate it. There's no chance it's just me feeling that way. But even if Johnny is out there, it's my mission to find him. It's my duty to get him back and return him to where he belongs. I wonder how Johnny is out there. Is he alone? Scared? Lost like I am in this bunker with all of them?
No matter how many times Darry will stop me, will delay me, I will still try to find Johnny. Johnny stuck out from the rest, and he knew me. Like... really knew me and there's not a chance in the world where I'll let the gang tell me that my gut feeling that Johnny is alive is wrong, because I know I'm right, and I will prove it.