Going Home

Darry was telling us about how Cherry wanted to help us, when Johnny said that he was going to turn himself in, and that we were going to go home. Dally didn't seem to like that idea too much. He started cussing and swearing. I think that made Johnny real sad. He doesn't like it when anyone is mad at him. We stopped by the church to get our things that bought before we left, only to find it on fire. I asked the nearest adult what was going on, because by then there were people surrounding it. Mostly kids because the adult told me that they were having a class picnic. We found out that there were kids in the burning church, so Johnny and I went in to get them. You would think that I would have been scared, but I wasn't. Not at all. It was a very strange feeling. While we were in there, throwing kids out of the window, I glanced over at Johnny, who was smiling. He actually looked like he was enjoying himself. When we got all of the kids out, I jumped out of the window first, and I could hear Johnny scream behind me. Before I had the chance to go back in and get him, dally hit me in the back so hard that it knocked me out. When I came to, the adult I was talking to at the church earlier, Jerry, informed me that I was in an ambulance, headed for the hospital. I told him how Johnny was wanted for murder, and what had happened that night at the movies. He seemed to understand, and he was very encouraging. When we got to the hospital I got to see Dally, and he was going to be okay, but Johnny was unconscious when I saw him. A little later Jerry came up to me and told me that my brothers were here. I ran to the doors and gave Soda a huge bear hug. Then I saw Darry, just standing there in the door way. He had his hands in his pockets, and the same pleading look on his face was the same one that he had at our parent's funeral. He hadn't cried at the funeral, but he was crying now, which really made me understand the pain he felt. I ran up to him a big hug too. I was finally home, and it felt so good.