Soda looked back over the area of land. It was mid spring and all he was doing was sitting around drinking. What else could he do though? He had nowhere to go. Everyone who had loved him (besides Pony and Steve) had died.

Leaning into his chair he thought about the night that changed his life. The night of sadness...

Summer of 1962

Sophie awoke to the sounds of yelling. It was Darry who was yelling. "Where in the tarnation have ya 'been, Ponyboy Curtis?" he yelled from the bathroom. Sophie plugged her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. She hated it when her brother yelled. "I couldn't even call the cops, Pony! They'd put you three in a home so fast it'd make your head spin!"

"Stop it, Darry!" Sophie heard Soda scream. And then... a loud crash. Everything else was just a huge blur to Sophie. Door slamming. People screaming. Running. The Park. Socs. Drowning. Blood. Police. Interviews. The gang. Pure Silence.

Two Days Later

Soda sat somberly behind the counter at the DX station. His little sister sat in a corner staring into cyberspace. Sophie had become a nothing. A dot. She was scared.

Ponyboy and Johnny hadn't been home in two days. Johnny had murdered some Soc. Johnny? Why? What was so awful that would lead to killing someone? And the worst part: Sophie had seen the whole thing.

Sophie hadn't spoken since that night two days ago. She hadn't eaten either. At night Soda would sit up with her and watch her stare out the window. She had seen something that no one else had seen. She had seen Johnny stab the Soc. Of course, police were all over her, asking her questions and alibis and people who were involved. But she didn't have the answers. She was only seven for God's sake. She could barely master multiplication let alone give answers to such an awful crime scene. Sure, she had seen it all. But had she understood it all? Soda didn't think so.

"Hey, buddy," Steve said as he walked in. Soda noticed Sophie's head popped up a bit at the sound of a human voice. But nothing was said. She didn't say a word. "Still not talkin'?" Steve asked looking over at the little body.

Soda nodded in reply, "She won't eat. She won't sleep. She won't talk. Not even to Two Bit or me. She just sits around staring." Soda sighed deeply. "I can hear her crying at night sometimes. She knows something. She needs t-"

"You need to go home, man," Steve interrupted. "Sophie needs someone to talk to. Even if she doesn't talk back she needs someone talking to her." He looked back at Sophie. "And I think you're the man that needs to talk to her."

Soda nodded, "Thanks, Steve."

Steve nodded in reply as he fished his car keys out of his pocket and gave them to his friend. "Take her somewhere. Talk to her. Don't give up... no matter what."

Walking towards his little sister Soda could feel the tension. She was reliving that night over and over and over again in her mind. "C'mon, baby. We're gonna take a ride," Soda said as he picked her up and carried her out to Steve's truck.

Instead of driving her home, though, Soda drove to the place of the murder. Maybe she'd talk then. Maybe Soda could get something out of her. Parking by the old willow tree he could see the fear in Sophie's eyes. She could remember every detail of that night but she wouldn't say a word about it.

"Baby, will you tell me what happened?" Soda asked quietly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. At first, Sophie tensed up a bit, but then she calmed down. "Please, Soapy." Soda begged. "I can help ya, honey. I'm right here. I'm listening," Soda whispered into her ear.

Sophie sighed a deep breath and began talking. Soda was so shocked that he had gotten her talking that at first he wasn't listening. But then it hit him that Sophie's sweet voice was working and speaking.

"I remember waking up to the sounds of Darry yellin'. At first I didn't know that we was home 'cause I fell asleep at the movie. But then I heard Darry screamin' at Pony and I realized that I was home. I remember closing my eyes and hearing a smack... and then running. I was barely awake when I saw Pony runnin' so I followed. I had no clue where we was goin' but I followed anyway. Pony was crying real hard and... and..." Sophie's eyes began to tear up, "And Johnny was there sleeping in the lot. He and Pony were talkin' and Pony made it sound like he wanted to go away but Johnny talked him into just takin' a walk 'round the park and then goin' home. Johnny picked me up and we walked over to the big spider. T-the boys talked for a little while with a smoke and I fell asleep on Johnny's shoulder. I-it was then t-that they showed up. T-they were mad for some reason... I don't know... but they started fighting..." Sophie broke into a bunch of sobs. Soda grabbed her weak body in his arms and rocked her back and forth.

"Shh, baby," he whispered. Instantly he felt bad for taking her here. "I'm right here, sugar. No one's gonna hurt ya." Her sobs softened a bit but Soda knew that she still needed to get it all out. She was scared to be at the park.

"Do you wanna finish?" Soda asked softly. Either way but eventually she would have to finish. Her system needed to be cleared from all that she had seen and felt.

Sophie nodded as she began talking once again, "T-they took Ponyboy to the fountain. Three of 'em dunked his head under and one of 'em poured beer on him when they let him up for air. Another one was jumpin' on Johnny. And then the one that was pourin' beer on Pony came after me. He tried to smack my head on the cement but someone smacked him.... And then there was blood everywhere. The other boys ran off and Pony pulled me out from under the boy. I had blood all over my back. Since Pony was all wet Johnny gave me his t-shirt. And then Pony.... Pony told me to run home. So I ran." Sophie swallowed hard and Soda knew that it was over. That was everything that had happened that night. Johnny had killed the Soc in Pony and Sophie's defense. That boy could have killed Sophie. But Johnny had saved her. And Sophie knew that.

"Can we go home?" Sophie asked. Soda nodded as he sat her down in the passenger's seat and drove home.

"Where y'all been?" Darry asked as they pulled up. Sophie had fallen asleep in the car and Darry pulled her out and laid her to sleep on the couch in between Two Bit and Steve.

"We went to the park," Soda said catching Darry's attention. "She told me what happened." Tears glossed Soda's eyes. "They tried to kill her, Darry. They tried to kill 'em all. Johnny only killed the one boy 'cause he was about to slam Sophie into the cement."

Darry's cold, bitter look turned into a sweet loving brother as he embraced his little brother in a hug. Tears embellished both boys' eyes as they hugged.

From the living room Two Bit and Steve watched as the two brothers shared a moment. It was sad that something so awful had happened but it was beautiful how they bonded.

The phone's ringing interrupted the moment. "Hello," Two Bit answered before it could wake up Sophie.

"Hello. This is Ann Marie Welter. Is Mr. Darryl Curtis available?" asked a polite voice from the other end.

"Yes, ma'am. Just one moment," Two replied as he handed the phone to Darry. "It's some woman askin' for ya."

Darry nodded as he answered the phone. "Hello."

"Hello, Mr. Curtis. This is Ann Marie Welter from Tulsa Memorial. We have your brother, Ponyboy, here with us." Darry sighed a deep breath of relief.

"Is he okay?" Darry asked.

"He's fine." The woman sighed. "But I'm afraid his friend, Johnny, is hurt pretty bad. You might want to come get him."

"We'll be right there," Darry replied, "Thank you, Miss Welter."

"You're welcome. Pony will be waiting," she said as she hung up.

"What's goin' on, Darry?" Two Bit asked.

"They've found Pony and Johnny at the hospital. Pony's fine but Johnny ain't. We gotta go get him. He's probably scared to death." Soda and the others nodded as they made a move towards the door.