Chapter Text
Ponyboy ran with Johnny away from school, they were excited. It has been so cold and snowing, today was finally the day the lake froze over. When it got cold like this instead of football the game would try hockey on the lake. They didn’t have any proper equipment and none of them knew the rules too well, but it was still fun to hit a rock around on the ice with sticks. Then laugh at anyone who fell.
Pony and Johnny skidded to a halt at the lake’s edge; Johnny tripped over his own feet a little because of the slippery snow. This year they had the idea to practice before the other boys came, that way they could win. Pony threw a rock at the ice to test it, when the rock just slid, he stepped out onto the ice. Johnny followed, wobbling a bit. It took them both a minute and a few falls to get their balance right.
Once they got their balance they were sliding around on the ice, it couldn’t be called proper skating because they had no skates, but it was still just as fun. Johnny did figure eights while Pony went in a circle around the edge of the lake. The ice was bumpy due to all the wind they got while it froze over, maybe that is why Pony didn’t see the moving water. Part of the lake was still unfrozen, and Pony was headed straight for it.
He realized too late that it wasn’t solid. He tried to stop his momentum and dig his heels into the ice, but it was no use. He slid off the edge and into the frozen water. His body froze at the cold shock as water rushed into his nose and mouth. He felt something tugging his body, he thought for a moment it might be Johnny trying to save him. But he felt no rush of air to his lungs, when he opened his eyes, he saw ice above him. The water was pulling him away from the unfrozen spot and under the ice.
He knew he should swim towards safety, but his mind and body felt heavy, he couldn’t thing right. He wasn’t sure where safety was anymore. His eyes closed and he felt calm. Maybe he would get to see his parents sooner than he thought. He did feel a little sorry for leaving his brothers and for dying in front of Johnny. He hopes they won’t be too mad at him.
Darry has been sitting in the same uncomfortable chair for days. He reuses to leave the hospital, to leave Pony, who has been in a coma. It’s scary seeing all that medical equipment hooked up to his little brother. It was even more terrifying watching them pump the water out of his lungs and shove tubes down his throat and in his nose so he could breathe. Soda was sitting on the bed next to him holding Pony’s hand and crying. Darry can’t remember the last time Soda stopped crying, if he even had at all.
Both brothers had been scared to death when Johnny came running to their house with a soaking wet Pony slung over his shoulder. Johnny had never been able to lift Pony before, that’s what had scared Darry the most. Johnny had been running on pure adrenaline and that was never a good sign. Pony wouldn’t wake up; he wasn’t breathing so they had to call an ambulance. That’s when Soda started crying, when they took Pony away to the hospital. Darry had to pick him up and put him in the truck so they could follow.
Now here they are, three days later and Pony still hasn’t woken up. The doctors are talking like he is already dead, but Darry refuses to believe that. His little brother is strong, he’ll get through this, he gets through everything. He has too, because Soda won’t be okay without him…neither would Darry.
Pony opens his eyes, everything is so quiet, is this what Heaven is like? No, it can’t be, there is Soda and Darry. Are they talking? He sees their mouths moving but he doesn’t hear anything. Oh, now he is being grabbed by Soda. He wraps his arms around Soda hugging him back. He still doesn’t know what’s going on, at this rate he feels like he never will.
When Darry finally gets Soda to pull away, he talks at Pony again. Why were they both whispering so quietly? Is it the middle of the night? He stares back at Darry confused. Darry seems like he repeats the same word over and over before he leaves the room. Did Pony do something wrong? Is Darry mad at him? He probably is because Soda is holding him again and petting his hair. He always does that to comfort Pony.
After a while of the doctor poking and prodding at him he turns to Soda and Darry. Pony can’t see his face, but he watches his brothers’ faces fall. Soda looks like he might cry and Darry look horrified. What is wrong with him? Why isn’t he being told?
He regrets wishing he was told when Darry scribbles on a piece of paper and holds it up for Pony to read. ‘The cold water damaged your ears and caused hearing loss. The doctor says you are deaf.’ Pony started crying, which made him even more upset because he couldn’t hear himself cry. He had no idea he was wailing until his throat started to hurt. Soda and Darry held him all through his sobs. Their hearts were breaking, their little brother was deaf, he wouldn’t hear ever again. But they had to hold it together for Pony’s sake, he needed them right now.
The next few weeks were hard; it took a lot of adjustment of the smallest things they never thought about before. Darry couldn’t just yell Pony’s name to wake him up, he had to shake him awake. Both brothers also had to carry around a notepad so they could communicate with Pony. Soda struggled with this the most because he had trouble spelling and writing. Pony had to be put in a special school for disabled kids that was further away. Darry had no issues making the drive though, Pony loved learning and he wasn’t going to let that be taken from his little brother too. The days were never easy anymore, and everyone struggled, but they still had each other and that’s what mattered most. They could handle this together, it’s all they could do.