Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie "Newsies."

So I'm back with a new fanfiction, as promised :) This is one of my later stories, so I just finished it recently. It starts off kind of slow, but I promise it gets a little more interesting as you keep reading. I'm going to try and update this whole story pretty quickly, so I may be posting 1-2 a day. I'm not sure why, but everyone tells me it's really different from the rest of my fanfictions.

I hope you enjoy it :D

--START--

We had run out of firewood, which made the apartment unbearably cold. My brother and I had helped my mother knock down the closet door that morning. After that was made into ashes, we had nothing left to burn.

We had nothing at all. Our small one room apartment was empty, except for a one person bed that both my brother and I slept on. For the past week, someone kept knocking at the door. My mother would warn us to keep quiet and pretend we weren't there. Soon the knocks on the door became more frequent, until it was almost every day. My mother would pull us into the corner of the room and huddle together close to the ground where we couldn't be seen. She prayed under her breath and shielded our ears when the man came to our door. But I heard everything and so did my brother, Nolan.

We were given threats. He yelled things through the door, telling us he knew we were there. Still, my mother whispered to us not to make a sound. He warned us angrily about the money we owed him, and made threats about eviction. Back that, I didn't know what that was. We soon heard him leave, and we were allowed to get up from the corner of the room.

We shared the little food we could get. My mother tucked us in that night with growling stomachs. She slept across the room with nothing but a blanket between her and the floor. When she thought I was asleep, I could hear her crying. She cried for us, her children. She cared about us, but there was nothing she could do. We were dirt poor with nothing to gain in Ireland.

That night I was woken up quickly and pulled from my bed. She whispered for us to be as silent as we could. My mother had us stand in the middle of the room. I remember looking at her tear-streaked face and being terrified and confused, unsure about what was happening.

I clutched my doll close to me as my mother scurried around, collecting all the money she had salvaged, which turned out to be very little. A knock came at the door, loud, angry, and persistent. She had started to sob now. She hurried us to the window of our ground-floor apartment. She helped us through and finally climbed out herself.

When we were out, my mother took both Nolan and I by the hand and pulled us along as she ran. We traveled quickly through the small deserted town. Even when we were miles away, she kept going, dragging us behind her and telling us we only had a little farther to go.

Hours added up until daylight finally broke. Sometime near sunrise we got there. The ship was bigger than anything I had ever seen in my life. The metal hull sat steadily in the dark blue water.

My mother emptied out her pockets on a desk near the boarding plank of the boat. The man sitting behind the desk counted out the money. There wasn't much, and I searched the man's face for any trace of sympathy. He sighed and asked my mother to sign our names in a large book. When she was finished, he pointed over his shoulder at the boat.

We walked hastily up the narrow wooden plank, and found that the boat was swarming with other people. Many of them looked as poor as us. With one hand I held my doll, and with the other I clutched my mother's dress. Before the boat began moving, we were forced below deck.

That's when I got my first glimpse of the place that was going to be my home for the next month. The air was stale and musty. It was nothing but a huge wooden chamber. From the floor to the ceiling was no more than 4 feet in height. Pushed into the corners of the walls were blankets, mattresses, and few pillows.

The room became more and more cramped as more people crowded into it. One of the workers on the ship came down and hushed everyone. He quickly went through the guidelines of the ship. The voyage could take anywhere from four to seven weeks and we were expected to stay below deck for most of it. We would receive a single blanket per person and one meal a day.

At first it seemed impossible to live like this. I had gone without food for longer than a day before, but never without sunlight. The steerage of the ship where all the immigrants stayed was dark, dirty, and overcrowded. Still, we seemed to be doing alright until our fourth week at sea.

My mother had started to get ill. I had seen her ill before, from the rocking of the waves on the boat, but it wasn't like that this time. She was too weak to get up from her blanket on the floor. Quite often she would have coughing fits, which resulted in her spitting up blood. Many other people seemed to have this disease also, and it spread quickly because of the conditions in the boat. It was a miracle my brother and I didn't catch it.

Late at night, the sound of a sick crying baby from another family woke me up. I curled up in my thin blanket and tried to sleep, but I couldn't. My mother was awake, also. I heard her coughing violently and crawled over to see if she was alright.

She smiled weakly at me as I kneeled by her side. She took my hand in hers. "Keira..." She whispered. Her voice was dry and raspy. "You stay near your brother, Alright? Don't ever leave his side, now... The two of you will like it in America. I promise."

"What about you?" I asked. "You'll like it there, too... Won't you, Mama?" My mother smiled again, but avoided my question. "Want to know what I heard, Keira? I heard in America, everything's different... There's skyscrapers to farmhouses, and Italians to Irish all in the same country. There's jobs everywhere for people like us, and places to live and schools to learn in..." I fell asleep to the sound of my mother telling me about how my new life was going to be.

The next morning, when I woke up she was gone. Nolan was sitting near me, looking terrible. His eyes were bloodshot from crying, and he looked almost sick with grief. "Kiera... Mama's gone." He told me. "She died during the night, and a sailor took her upstairs so nobody else would catch what she had..." He explained. I found out later that her body was thrown overboard to prevent more disease on the ship.

That day we arrived in America. The ship was a mess of disorder when it stopped. We were told to stay with our families and move quickly up to the deck. The dock was swarming with immigrants. Not only Irish people, but all different nationalities.

The wind that blew across the deck was freezing. I wrapped my thin coat closer around my body. My brother held onto my arm as we fought to stay together in the crowd. Once we were off the ship, people pointed us in different directions. We were asked questions about our names and where we were from. Nolan and I were asked where our baggage was, and when we replied that we had none we were told to move on.

Someone suddenly pulled my brother aside. "This one looks sick." An American man said. They began to examine his bloodshot eyes. Nolan struggled to get out of their grip. "I'm not! I'm not sick!" He yelled. The man sighed. "Seems a bit insane, too. The long trip must've done it to him... better keep this one behind for inspection." He wrote a large X on Nolan's back in chalk.

I cried, trying to fight my way to my brother. But someone held me back. I was pulled by the arm to a smaller boat that left Ellis Island and headed towards New York. The boat moved away from the land before I could jump off. After about an hour, the small boat deboarded and I was left by myself.

------

After days of searching for Nolan, I had somehow walked into the heart of New York City. I didn't have a clue where I was, nor how I was going to survive. I hadn't slept in a few nights for fear of sleeping on the streets unsheltered.

It had started to snow heavily and the winds picked up. The ice cut and stung my face, while the rest of my body was numb from the cold. I couldn't walk anymore. I just needed to sit for a few minutes... Choosing the closest doorstep, I collapsed on the stairs and everything went black.

-----------

Four young boys, none of them older than thirteen, exited the lodging house. Running late, they rushed outside to get to the circulation desk before all the newspapers sold out.

"Ow!" One of them exclaimed, tumbling down the few stairs leading to the door. He put his hand on his forehead, above his brown eye patch, and groaned. "Jeez, Blink..." The oldest said, offering a hand to help him up. "Do ya gotta fall everywhere ya go?" he asked.

"Blink" stood up quickly. "No... It wasn't me dat time... somethin's under there..." The oldest boy sighed and rolled his eyes. "Blink, let's just go before dere's no more papes, alright?"

"Skittery!" He exclaimed. "I'm serious!" Blink climbed the stairs and began digging in the snow on the stoop. The three other boys found he was right. A girl, no older than 10, was lying under the snow with her eyes closed. Her skin was almost tinted blue from the cold.

The boys gaped at her, unsure of what to do. Skittery shook his head to free himself from the daze he was in. He hurried towards the unconscious girl. "Ya think she's dead?" Blink asked. "'Couse not, stupid... She's breathin'. " The shortest out of the group responded. He was only eleven and had a cigar hanging out of the side of his mouth.

"Race, Blink! Stop ya yappin' 'nd help me get her inside!" The two boys ran over, but one was still staring at the girl terrified. "Mush! You too!" Skittery said. Mush nodded slowly, his mouth still a little open, and went to help the rest of the guys.

------------

"Well, ya skin's back to normal color. Dat's a good start." An old man was kneeling over me, placing a boiling hot wet rag over my forehead. He had on round glasses and a hat. I didn't recognize him at all. The last thing I could remember was the harsh snow and wind. I had somehow gotten inside.

I immediately sat up, making the old man jump back. "Woah, settle down, there. I ain't gonna hoit ya." I looked around the large wooden room. It had a few pieces of furniture and a fireplace. My doll was propped up in a sitting position against the couch.

He saw what I was looking at and handed it to me. "You was holdin' it when da boys found ya." He explained. "What boys?" I asked, surprised at how weak my voice was.

"Da boys dat live heah. A few of 'em found ya outside on da stoop. They're upstairs, if ya wanna meet ya saviors." He suggested, smiling. I shook my head quickly from side to side. "I can't... I have to find Nolan." I said, standing up. "And who's Nolan?" He asked patiently.

"My brother." I replied. "We got separated." The old man nodded understandingly. "You'se can leave in da mornin'. But right now it's dark out, 'nd poisinally I don't think you'se in da best state of health at da moment."

He led me up the staircase and I reluctantly followed. "The boys are nice... Well, most of 'em anyway." He mumbled the last part under his breath. I could hear the loud talking and laughing before he even opened the door.

He stood in the doorway and I stood behind him. "Hey, Kloppman... How's da goil doin'?" I heard one of them ask. "See for yaself, Skittery." He replied, stepping aside.

---------

I stepped in, somewhat frightened of the loud boys. "Skitt, Mush, Racetrack, Blink... C'mere!" Kloppman called. One by one, they looked up and assembled near Kloppman and me.

"Dese are da guys dat found ya." He said, introducing me to them individually. Skittery was the oldest by far. He looked around 13 or 14 and was pretty tall. Blink had an eye patch over his left eye and carried a wide grin on his face. Racetrack was the shortest, but you could tell by the way he carried himself that he was tough.

My eyes lingered on Mush for a while. He seemed almost scared of me. His hands were deep in his pockets as he stared down at his shifting feet. His hair was brown beneath his newsboy hat. When he looked up at me for a split second, I saw that he had dark innocent eyes. As the boys greeted me, Mush said nothing. Kloppman excused the boys and showed me my bed.

"Dis is where ya can sleep tonight. I'se sorry I don't have a separate room for ya, but I can assure ya da boys won't trouble ya. 'nd if they do, jus' tell me. I'll be right downstairs in da office." Kloppman left me sitting on my bed.

I clutched my doll close to me and kept my head down. Two people approached my bed. Glancing up quickly, I saw it was Mush and Racetrack. Race mumbled something to Mush and pushed him in my direction. He looked up at Race with pleading eyes, but Racetrack just whispered, "go!" and walked away.

Sighing, Mush sat down on a bunk next to mine. I kept looking down at my doll and pretended not to hear anything that just went on between the two boys. "I like your doll..." Mush said sheepishly. I looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks. Her name's Tara." I replied.

Mush looked at me and blushed. "Oh... what's your name?" He asked. "Keira." I said. "You're Mush, right?" He nodded. "Ya don't look old enough to be by yourself... Why were ya alone outside?" he asked.

"I'm not old enough. I'm only 8. I was looking for my brother, Nolan. He's 12 and he's supposed to take care of me, but we got split up." I told him. "Maybe he's at da orphanage." Mush suggested. "Dere's a few near heah... Maybe he's dere lookin' for you."

Mush could be right. I wanted to leave right then to look for him, but Kloppman already said I had to stay. I would wait until everyone was asleep.

I could see the silence was making Mush fidgety again. "How old are you?" I asked. "9." He replied quickly. The other boys started coming over to my bunk and crowding around us.

"Aww, look at dat. Mush has got himself a goilfriend." One teased. He was a few years older than us and was wearing glasses. "No I don't!" Mush replied quickly, turning red in the face.

Another boy, who was close to fifteen, took Mush's hat and held it above him so he couldn't reach. "Give it back to him!" I said, sitting up. The room grew quieter as soon as they heard me speak.

"What's wit her accent?" One asked.

"She's Scottish, stupid."

"I'm not Scottish! I'm Irish..." I replied. Still, they kept talking.

"She sounds like she's right off da boat."

"Are ya an iminagrant?"

"It's pronounced immigrant, dumb-ass."

"I ain't a dumb-ass!"

"A'right, a'right boys... settle down." Kloppman appeared at the door. "Snoddy, give Mush back his hat." Kloppman ordered in a bored tone, as if it was something he had to tell them daily. "Da rest of ya, off to bed. Early mornin' tomorrow... Gotta sell papes." He said. The guys groaned and went off to washroom to get ready for bed.

Once everyone was in their bunks, the noise died down until everything was silent. I waited an hour or so, trying hard to keep myself awake. Once I was sure everyone was asleep, I slipped out of the bunkroom and down the stairs. Unknowingly, I left my doll lying on the bed.

Even though the snow had stopped, the air was still freezing. Still, I didn't turn back, determined to find Nolan. I would search all the orphanages in New York City if there was even a small chance he was there. Scared and lost, I reached into the front pocket of my tattered dress for my doll. By the time I figured out I had left it behind, I was too far to turn back.

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Thanks for reading.