Outsiders-Sick ponyboy

Chapter 16

PONYBOY POV

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I heard was soft voices drifting from the kitchen. Soda and I were entangled together so I didn't dare move. He was still sound asleep, snoring lightly through his congestion. 

"Pony seemed okay today. He's sleeping now, but he got up for a few hours." I recognized Steve's voice.

"What about Soda? He seemed worse off than Pone." Darry. I was relieved he was home. I didn't want to be around Steve anymore. I glanced at the clock and was surprised to see it was after six. I must have been sleeping for hours. 

There was a pause. Steve took a minute to answer. "I dunno Dar, he slept most of the morning. Around noon Pony and I heard him throwing up, but there wasn't much in his stomach. He just sat there miserably trying to be sick. Pony and I got him back into bed, but he didn't say anything to us. He seemed pretty out of it."

I didn't hear Darry's response because just then Soda moaned and began shifting around. I looked down at him and my heart clenched when I saw the pained look on his face. His eyes were twisted shut and his mouth curled down, jaw squeezed shut. He looked much paler than before, save for the splotches of red streaking his cheeks. He moaned again and his head thrashed to the side. That's when I realized he was having a nightmare.

"Soda?" I whispered, my voice had gone hoarse. I reached over to try to grab his arm, hoping I could shake him from whatever was terrifying him so badly. He didn't respond to my touch, he only whimpered now, reminding me of a cornered animal.

"Soda? Wake up," I tried a bit harder, pushing my voice just above a whisper, but it hurt my raw throat to do so. I shook his arm with greater intent. 

Soda's eyes snapped open, but he looked right through me, as though some demon were just beyond the bed. His breathing began to pick up pace and his chest rose and fell with alarming speed. I knew he wasn't actually awake even though his eyes were wide open.

"Soda!" I tried to shout, but I just strained my own voice in the process. Still no response.

I jumped out of bed. I needed Darry, he would know what to do. I was so scared something was seriously wrong with my brother and I knew my own panic couldn't help him. I practically sprinted into the kitchen and came to a spluttering halt in front of Darry, who was standing at the stove. Steve sat at the kitchen table, but I just ignored him in my blind terror.  

"Woah, easy kid, what's wrong?" Darry asked. He turned away from the pot he was stirring to lay a steadying hand on my shoulder. I was winded and shaky from both the run and the panic. 

"Soda won't wake up" I gasped through my screaming throat. "He's thrashin' and moanin' and..." I couldn't finish before Darry and Steve were running off to the bedroom. 

I didn't have the energy to follow them. I collapsed onto one of the kitchen chairs and rested my elbows on the table while I gripped my aching head. My heart was still uncomfortably thudding against my chest while I tried to control my rapid breathing. I was willing the tears that sprang to my eyes to stay back. 

DARRY POV

I made it to the room first, terrified of what I was going to find. All I heard was Pony say "Soda won't wake up" before my mind went blank. I was relieved to see that Soda seemed to just be suffering from a nightmare. He looked exactly like Pony did when he can't wake up from the torments inside his own head. I remember the choking fear I felt the first nightmare Ponyboy had, just days after the accident. It must have been similar to how Pony felt just now, seeing his older brother stuck in an imagined terror.