No Permanent Death (The Outsiders)

Struggling to Speak

"What would I even catch?" Alf asked, glaring at her. "I dunno'." She shrugged. "Hep, Maybe? Tell me he doesn't look like a guy with Hepatitis." She said, gesturing to the man on the ground. They all looked at him for a moment. "Yeah... I should wash my hands." Alf muttered, stepping towards the door.
Shit. If I tried to go back in they would surely see the door open, but they'd have to pass by the trashcan to get to me. I panicked, looking around frantically for anything that could save me. I sighed as I accepted my fate, making my body flat and trying to quickly get underneath the dumpster quietly. The smell was even worse here, and I had to hold back a gag when I finally got underneath. Luckily, they were all too busy talking to hear me.

"Curly, I can see you moving to touch me with your nasty herpes hands." Bambi said, the sound of his steps speeding up as he tried to get away. The boy, Curly, laughed. "C'mon! Don't you wanna give your brother a hug?" Curly said teasingly, chasing after him. "No. Never. We aren't even brothers, Get away from me- " Bambi sputtered, quickly stepping away. I could only see their feet, but I'm almost one hundred percent sure he hid behind Tim. Which, again, didn't seem like something that someone with his status would do. I was waiting until I heard a cry of pain as he cut the boy's hand off, or maybe even a more serious command for him to stop... but it never came.

"If you two don't cut it out -" Tim said angrily, effectively stopping the two of them. "Fine." Curly muttered, his hands slapping down against his sides as if to accept defeat. "Thank you, Tim- Don't let him touch the doorknob!" Bella cried, heels clicking quickly against the cement to get herself closer to them. Tim sighed loudly, shoving the boy out of the way and opening the door. "Babies, all of you." He muttered as they walked in.

I waited a moment before breathing a sigh of relief. Finally I could climb out from underneath the dumpster and brush myself off. I most definitely smelled like trash, but there was no way I was staying long enough for anyone to notice. I rushed inside, leaving my old shirt under the garbage can without a second thought. I went straight to the employee elevator, tearing out the pages I had written on once the door closed. I got out on the fourth floor, sighing when I didn't see Soda before rushing over to the bar.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Buck yelled, Steve nowhere to be seen. "I-I'm sorry, I threw up in the bathroom. I need to go." I sputtered. "What?! You can't just-" But before he could finish I sped off to the elevator. I clicked the five button, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw him.

He was talking with Steve, but I didn't care. I tapped him on the shoulder. "S- Joey. Can I talk to you, please?" Soda must've seen my worry, because he said goodbye to Steve and let me pull him to the side.

"What's going on? Why-" He sniffed, moving his hand over his nose. "Glory Pone! Why do you smell like you just went dumpster diving?" He asked worriedly. "I kind of did. But that's not important. Listen, I... I just saw them kill someone." I whispered. Soda's eyes went as wide as dinner plates, looking frantically around the room. "Are you sure?" He asked. "Yes, I'm sure! We have to leave!" I whisper-yelled. He shushed me, shaking his head.
"If we both leave now, it'll be suspicious. You go ahead, come up with an excuse." he paused, biting his lip worriedly, "I'll stay, there's only another half-hour on my shift anyways." He said definitely.

"What? No! What if they-"

"Pony. Did they see you?" He interrupted. I shook my head. "Does anyone else know that someone was killed?" I shook my head. "Okay. I want you to listen to me. Please ." Soda begged. I could see the child-like fear hidden deep in his eyes. He wasn't happy-go-lucky Sodapop anymore, this was 'Dice'. This was a hardened secret agent. I nodded slowly.

"I want you to give Buck your notepad, come up with an excuse to leave, tell him I'll cover your shift, and I want you to call Darry and wait for me in the parking garage. Okay? Do not tell anyone where you're going, and do not call the police." I nodded, breathing out a shaky breath.