Porcelain

Chapter 9

A few days went by in that same matter. Although Babydoll was the eldest and the most prepared to live life on the run in an abandoned church, it wasn't really clear who was babysitting who.

"How many different things do you think we can cook on a stick over a fire?"

"Babydoll, we probably shouldn't be making a fire right now."

"If we're careful we can probably have a little one on the floor."

"That don't sound right."

"Ew, don't make it weird!"

"You're the one who said it!"

"You two shut up, I'm still tryna sleep."

"Fine, but I still gotta burn these clothes regardless if we're cookin' salami on a stick or not."

So even though they were all real good buddies by the end of the week and had learned how to cook their baloney without burning it, they were all relieved as hell when Dallas finally showed up one morning.

"Thank god you're here, I shoulda waited a couple stops to get off the train!" Babydoll joked.

"That's your own fault," he replied, shooting Babydoll a glance he didn't catch.

"Eh, it's fine, I taught Johnny how to play guitar, cause that's a redeeming life skill here in Oklahoma."

"Can we get food?" Ponyboy asked, interrupting the pointless conversation.

"Sure, I'll bet you're tired of spam," Dally said.

"Amen to that," Babydoll muttered.

_____
After Dally drove them to Dairy Queen, they all shoveled food into their mouths like they were dying.

"Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" Babydoll asked.

"Not especially, the whole town's going crazy over what happened but you probably expected that."

"I did. But that's not good, I'm gonna have to buy more time."

"Should we just turn ourselves in? I was gonna stab him. I'll say I did it, and then this will all be over."

All three snapped their heads to stare at Johnny.

"No. Absolutely not. No the fuck you won't, Johnny. I killed him. His blood is on my hands," Babydoll said in a low voice.

"You can't go to jail, Johnny," Dally agreed. "Going to the slammer, it changes you. You get turned hard. And I can't let that happen to you, not if I can help it."

Babydoll ran his hands through his hair. "I think the best move, for me at least, is to go back to the church. And when it starts to cool down, I'm leaving, and I'm never comin' back to Tulsa."

"No, you shouldn't have to leave because of something you did in self defense," Johnny argued.

"But that's the thing! It wasn't self defense! Self defense woulda been Johnny stickin' him. What I did, that was murder," Babydoll said, voice wavering. "I can't go to jail. Prison, it would be. I promised myself I'd never be there again for better or for worse. There's no way in hell I'm turning myself in and I know you and your gang know better than to turn me in," he said with a sarcastic glare, "so, if it comes to the worst I'm going to Arkansas and living in the middle of nowhere till I die."

"Then we'd better keep this undercover."

They all say there with a solemn look on their faces, before Babydoll interrupted.

"This is nice and all but that lady over there is looking at me funny, and just me. Can we go?"

They all snapped out of their thoughts, and stood to leave the Dairy Queen.

"Dally, please don't kill us driving," he added.

_____
They made it back to the church all in one piece.

"Drive a little faster, I think there's still some of the back left tire left," Babydoll grumbled from the back seat.

"Yeah well do, the church is on fire!"

Babydoll snapped to look at the building, and the people standing outside it.

"Dammit, there goes my guitar!"

Babydoll hesitated a moment taking in the whole situation, a man and a woman, and faint screams above the sounds of the fire crackling and burning the dry old wood of the church.

In that moment, Ponyboy broke a window, and he and Johnny crawled into the building. Kids. There were kids in there, screaming.

In that moment, Babydoll fought a mental battle. Estelle's mother did not raise her daughter to leave those in need. She raised Estelle to rush in that building and save those children, no questions asked. But Babydoll wasn't Estelle. Estelle wasn't Babydoll. And Babydoll knew that he should grab the people he loved and run away as fast as possible.

But in the end, he climbed after them and charged through to find the damn children.

Ponyboy and Johnny had already found them, so Babydoll grabbed a kid from Pony and promptly dumped it out the window.

"Be careful, you don't want them to get hurt!" Johnny chastened him.

"We don't have time for that, they should be grateful to be alive," Babydoll snapped, grabbing another.

"Don't just stand there looking stupid Dally, or else I'm riskin' my life for nothing!" Babydoll yelled, passing another kid to Dallas.

"Forget the fucking kids, the roof's caving in!" He hollered back.

It was too late to give up by then, they had almost got out all the kids. Flaming bits of wood were starting to fall on them, but before he could leave he had to make sure Ponyboy and Johnny were out safely.

All three of them were coughing, their lungs starting to burn and everything was hazy.

As the roof started to cave in, Babydoll saw Ponyboy leap through the window.

Where was Johnny? There he was. Babydoll grabbed the back of his jacket, and dragged him along towards the window.

Babydoll fell through, as the roof crashed down, trapping Johnny in the building.

As Babydoll's consciousness slipped, the last thing he heard was Johnny's anguished scream.