Stay By Me

Chapter 23

Diana watched in horror as Ponyboy and Johnny leaped out of the car and towards the burning church. It was abandoned, for fuck's sake! They all knew it was going to burn someday, why couldn't they just let it burn and be safe?

She stood back, watching as they talked briefly to a couple of adults. Then, Diana heard the faintest of screams, coming from the church.

"There's kids in there," she said quietly, the blood draining from her face.

"Don't-" Dally said, trying to stop her, but she too ran after Ponyboy and Johnny.

She barely made out their frames in the distance, Ponyboy wearing Dally's tan leather jacket and Johnny in her black one. She saw Ponyboy smash a window and climb into the burning building, and Johnny quickly followed.

Her head snapped between Dallas's stormy face and the panicked ones of the adults standing outside of the church. She had a choice here, whatever she made would make a big difference, whatever happened. She could either hope that Pony and Johnny would make it out safe, or she could go in after them.

Really, she didn't care about the kids. She didn't know them. She felt bad, sure, but they didn't mean anything to her personally. She wasn't as selfless or heroic as Ponyboy or Johnny. She wouldn't be running in for the kids, she would be running in for Pony and Johnny. But they wouldn't leave without getting the kids to safety, her best hope would be to move them along faster.

That was one choice. Her other was to stay put. Dally's blue eyes were stormy, full of emotions he was trying to smother. He was scared. Of losing Johnny. Of losing her. Of losing Ponyboy. Of right then, losing everyone he even slightly cared about. She glanced between the burning church, and Dally. She had to make a choice.

She blinked the tears out of her eyes, and swallowed back the lump in her throat. She felt like she was turning her back on Ponyboy and Johnny, in a figurative sense as well as literal. But she held her stance. She slowed completely to a stop, and stayed by Dally.

But as time went on, it became more and more obvious that they couldn't stand there and hope for the best. The roof was going to cave in any second, and it would kill any and everyone in there.

"For Pete's sake! Get outta there! That roof's gonna cave in any second. Forget those blasted kids!" Dally yelled desperately.

Diana was two seconds away from diving in herself, but Dally held her back. So instead she tried on getting the kids out safely, in hopes that it would help move Ponyboy and Johnny along faster. She was already starting to feel guilty that she hadn't started helping sooner.

Then, at the last second, Ponyboy leapt through the window, coughing and wheezing. And at that same moment, the roof finally caved in.

Time slowed down.

They all heard the most agonized scream, they all knew it was Johnny. The sound hurt her very soul to hear. Nothing else mattered to her, besides Johnny. Anything, to make him stop making that sound.

"Johnny!" She screamed, as if it was her in agonizing pain. She broke Dally's shocked grip, and immediately rushed forward. She ignored the flames burning her skin as she desperately tried to lift the large beam laying across his back.

Her eyes burned and her lungs were screaming for air and not the smoke surrounding her entire being. She noticed Dally helping her, desperately trying to move the beam off of Johnny. Even though she might have been stronger, Dally was bigger, and he finally got the beam off his back, just barely.

Diana grabbed Johnny's arm and pulled him out so fast she felt one of his joints dislocate. She screamed as flames continued to burn at her sleeves, and at Johnny's back, and she saw Dally desperately trying to extinguish flames on his own arm.

She stumbled away from the burning remains of the church, gagging and choking while desperately trying to breath. She was fighting to stay conscious. She didn't want to, through the smoke from the church, she could smell the scent of burning flesh, something she knew she'd never forget. It took her to realize it was coming from her, her hands were now covered in second and third-degree burns, and were completely unrecognizable. She was so high on adrenaline she could barely feel the pain, but even without it she was about to pass out.

Through it all, Dally was still awake. He was still fighting to get the rest of them to safety. As she was still staring at her hands in horror, Dally staggered over to her. He swore, seeing her hands, and the condition she was in. He swung his hand at her, the only time he ever hit her, effectively knocking her unconscious. Then, he too fell into the grass, completely out.

_____
When Diana awoke, she had no idea where she was or what was happening to her, so she immediately started to panic.

"Woah, woah, calm down, you're going to upset your wounds," a voice said.

She tried to calm herself by taking a deep breath, but it hurt to even do that.

"You're in an ambulance, you're on the way to the hospital," the same voice said.

"Where are they?" She choked out.

"The boys you were with? The one with the black hair and his friend with the blonde are in the other ambulance. The young man by you is over there," the person said, gesturing to where Dally sat in the ambulance, seemingly unconscious. His arm looked similar to the way her hands had, but it seemed to be already undergoing treatment.

She looked down. Her hands were being treated, same as Dally.

"Are they going to be okay?" She mumbled.

The doctor, or whoever he was, paused a moment. "We think your friend here will make a full recovery. He burned one arm pretty badly. He'll have scars for the rest of his life, but we think he'll be okay. Same for the other blonde kid, his back was in flames, but that leather jacket of his stopped the worst of the burns."

"And what about Johnny?" She rasped. She really didn't want to know. She wanted to pretend he was going to be fine for a little bit longer. But she had to know. She had to.

"We're not so sure about him. When that piece of timber caught him across the back, we think it broke his spine. And even with the jacket, we think he was burned. He's still passed out, they're giving him plasma now."

Diana tried to keep back tears. She braced herself for a very realistic future, one in which Johnny didn't make it. If only she'd made better, more thought out choices, maybe it wouldn't have to be like this. If she'd gone and helped with those damn kids, they could have gotten out faster.

She could have stopped it. It was fully within her abilities at the time to have stopped it from happening. But she hadn't.

She lost consciousness again, drifting to sleep. But she was plagued with nightmares. Taunting ones, in which she'd moved just a little faster. Ones in which, Johnny could live.

_____
Hey, you there! Ghost reader! It would really help me if you'd vote or comment, it makes me really happy to see notifications and people giving me feedback! Besides it helps boost the story. Thanks!