Disclaimer: Newsies are not ours, we just like pretending...

This is in response to challenge 9&10...multi chaptered vaticide...we'll get there eventually...

Chapter 1:

Snoddy listened to the sound of Skittery's distant voice. They had separated, like they usually did, once they entered the inner city. They sold on opposite sides of the block, still within sight of one another, but far enough away that they wouldn't run the risk of stealing the other's customers.

Snoddy sighed. It had already been an almost dead morning, and though the streets were alive and busy, the headlines were slow, and dull. He counted his remaining papers, and then glanced at his friend who looked just as dejected as Snoddy felt. Snoddy caught his eye for a moment, and Skittery shook his head with a weak smile.

Snoddy shrugged and then turned away. He headed down the street further, hoping that he would have more luck near the market. His hopes were dashed though, and after a while, he gave up completely. He discarded his remaining papers in a pile of trash near the back of an alley, and then strolled out into the busy market to browse the offered goods.

He neared the end of the market, but not ready to return home so early, continued down the road that led to the river. When he rounded a corner suddenly, he found himself at the back of a large crowd of people who were cheering about something. Curious, he moved closer, edging his way between well dressed ladies and gentlemen. He found himself almost on the inner ring of the circle, whose center was inhabited by a man in a black suit and tie, and a tall top hat. Short, silvery curls protruded from beneath the rim of the hat, and a monocle adorned his right eye. He was holding up a large black book and seemed to be waiting for the crowd to quiet down before continuing his speech.

Finally the cheering settled, and the man pointed a hand at the book. "The great book says, the unholy cannot enter heaven." He paused to eye the crowd. "So we must banish the unholy from our presence so as not to be tainted by them!" Another cheer followed the statement and this time, the man, who Snoddy had decided was a preacher of some sort, did not wait for the crowd before continuing. "We must be rid of the filth that litters our streets!"

Snoddy held a hand over his right ear as a woman with a shrill voice began shouting incoherently.

"Beggars, and orphans, and bums belong outside of our borders! Daily they feed off of our tax money, and I have seen the fall of our great society because of their ungodliness!" Several members of the crowd, Snoddy noticed, were looking at him distastefully.

He felt his face grow red, and clenched his fists tightly against his sides as the man in the middle continued his tirade. Before he realized what he was doing, Snoddy had taken several steps forward, and though he wasn't close to the preacher, he was far enough away from the crowd that nearly everyone noticed him.

The preacher, whose back was turned to Snoddy, suddenly noticed how quiet the crowd had grown again. He followed their gazes to Snoddy, who stood several feet from him with a livid expression on his face.

"What's the matter, boy? Does the truth make you angry?"

"It ain't true!" Snoddy snapped. "We'se just as good as all of you, if not better!"

"You see?" The preacher turned back to the crowd. "Do you see the pride? The jealousy? The rage?! They think they're better than us! They actually believe they will be saved in the kingdom of heaven!" There was a chorus of boos, all aimed at Snoddy, who felt more uncomfortable than he ever had before. He scolded himself for making his presence known, and was just about to turn away when the man snagged him by the back of his collar. "Why, would a loving and merciful God place an innocent creature like this in the lowest and most desperate of situations? Why? I'll tell you why! Because this boy, and every other bum in this city deserve what they get! That's why! I'll bet he smokes! And," the man tilted Snoddy's red face up. "He probably drinks, spends nights in the bars, gambling his money away and fraternizing with the other low lives that dwell here, and muck up our blessed city! I tell you, God will stand for it no more! This boy is being punished for his sins! And if we allow him to remain in our presence, He'll punish us, also!"

He threw Snoddy forward, and Snoddy landed hard on the dirt below him. He felt his face connect with the gritty gravel street and knew that the resulting wound would most likely bleed, if it wasn't doing so already. The crowd around him was laughing, pointing, and shouting at him as he lifted himself off of the street. He started to brush off his clothes, and suddenly felt something solid hit his arm. He looked down, and noticed a broken tomato, whose insides had been partially left on his sleeve.

Snoddy started to panic as other members of the crowd mimicked the first and began to throw various objects at him. He was pelted with every type of fruit imaginable, and even some stones. He tried to escape the epicenter of the mass, but they blocked him.

"Remove the filth so that our city may be cleansed of its wicked state!" The preacher's message was barely heard but Snoddy didn't think that really mattered. The mob loathed him and wanted to be rid of him. There wasn't a thing anyone could do to stop it.

Skittery dropped wearily into the shade of the alley beside the lodging house. It was probably cooler inside, but Skittery enjoyed being alone, and because he lived with twenty or so other boys, it was nearly impossible to be alone in the lodging house.

He dug into his pocket for a cigarette and was disappointed to find that he had only one left. He made a mental note to visit Snitch later, and then turned his attention to igniting the end of his cigarette. He was glad for a moment that Snoddy wasn't around. There was no doubt that Snoddy would scold him, yell at him that smoking was a bad a habit, or as was most usual, insist that he share.

It suddenly dawned on him that he hadn't seen Snoddy all afternoon. Skittery found that simple realization odd, as Snoddy was always around. He felt a slight twinge of worry as he stood up and brushed off his pants. Maybe Snoddy had gone inside without him noticing? Skittery broke the smoldering end off of his half finished cigarette and pocketed the remaining half.

Inside was chaos. Because the headlines were so bad, almost all of the newsies had returned for the evening. Skittery noticed small piles of discarded papers littering the tables and counter as he scanned the room for his missing friend.

"Heya, Skitts! Where ya been?"

Skittery smiled at Blink. "Out. Hey, Blink. You seen Snoddy come back yet?"

Blink shook his head. "Nah. He ain't been here that I know of." Skittery frowned.

"Somethin' the matter?"

"I dunno yet. I just...Snoddy's never not here, ya know?"

Blink's cheerful expression changed slightly as it dawned on him that Skittery was right. Snoddy never left alone without telling anyone. A wave of panic washed over him. "Should we go an' look for him?"

Skittery considered the proposal for a moment before he nodded.

Blink nodded back. "I'll tell Jack."

Skittery mentioned that he would wait outside as Blink hurried upstairs where Jack was no doubt sleeping. All he ever did lately was sleep.

It seemed to take forever for Blink to reappear, and when he did, Itey and Mush were right behind him. "Thanks, guys," Skittery said as they made their way down the street.

When they got to the end of it, where the road suddenly forked left and right, Skittery suggested they split up. Itey and Blink went left, Skittery and Mush headed right. A chill breeze taunted them as they headed toward the river. Skittery made sure to walk along all of their usual selling routes.

Dusk fell quickly and a sense of dread washed over Skittery as he and Mush reached the river. "He's around here somewhere," Mush said, hopefully, when he noticed Skittery's wide, worry-filled eyes, and his panicked gait.

In an act of desperation, Skittery began to shout Snoddy's name. He listened to his voice echo off the walls of the surrounding buildings, and then he and Mush listened eagerly into the silence for an answer.

Mush shouted the next time, and soon the two boys were hollering as loudly as they could manage as they traipsed through the dirty city streets. The only time the stopped shouting was when a woman leaned out of her upper floor window and informed them, rather heatedly, that they had just woken her baby.

They walked a few streets down before they yelled again. After each yell, they listened. The only answer they ever got was silence.

Until they turned down 3rd street.

The groan they heard was almost inaudible, and if they hadn't been so eager for an answer, they probably never would have heard it.

They continued to shout, and run, as the reply grew stronger. They finally found its source, lying against a pile of crates and covered in blood.

"Snoddy!" They shouted in unison. The boys fell on either side of the injured newsie, and Mush began immediately assessing the damage.

"He got worked over pretty bad," Mush mumbled, untying a handkerchief from Snoddy's arm. He spit into the red cloth and then used it to wipe away some of the blood that caked Snoddy's pale skin.

"Who did this to ya?" Skittery asked. Snoddy's eyes were swollen almost completely shut, but he managed to look up at Skittery. He shook his head. "Was it the Delancy's?"

Snoddy shook his head again.

"We've got to get him out of here," Mush said. He placed the soiled handkerchief into Snoddy's bloody hand and then stood up. Skittery did the same. Together, they reached down, and hoisted Snoddy to his feet. Snoddy winced when Skittery draped an arm over his shoulder.

"Be gentle," Mush scolded, noting Snoddy's brief flinch.

"I'm tryin'!" Skittery hissed.

The trip back to the lodging was awkward. Snoddy had a hard time moving anything, and he felt like dead weight on Mush and Skittery's shoulders. They had to stop to rest every now and then, and once for Snoddy to retch uncontrollably.

"He'll be okay," Skittery said quietly so that only Mush could hear him. He said it more to comfort himself, than Mush, whose face showed no signs of worry.

They lifted Snoddy up again, and finally after what seemed like hours, found themselves crossing the lodging house threshold.

Jack was waiting for them, along with Kloppman, Itey and Blink, who wore identical expressions of shock when they saw Snoddy.

"What happened?" Jack asked, helping Mush and Skittery lower Snoddy into a chair.

"We're not sure," Skittery replied. "He hasn't said anything yet."

"We gots to get him to a bed," Blink announced. The others agreed. The process of assisting Snoddy upstairs to the bunkroom was a difficult task. Jack and Blink flanked him now, to give Mush and Skittery a break, while Itey and Kloppman raided the medicine cabinet.

They tried to maneuver themselves into the room as quietly as possible.

Skittery hung back slightly when Kloppman entered the room carrying wash cloths and a small dark bottle, and trailed by Itey, whose arms were laden with more medical supplies than they would need.

Now that Snoddy was safe, and being taken care of, Skittery felt free to rage. He wanted so badly to throw something, maim something, or even someone, but no one or nothing in the present room would alleviate that want. He couldn't hurt his family.

While the others attended to Snoddy, Skittery snuck out of the bunk room and down the stairs. He needed to be somewhere where he could let out his anger.

He almost made it out of the front door when a hand pulled him back. Skittery stumbled slightly as he tried to move into a position where he could see his foe. He was met with the sympathetic gaze of Itey. Itey smiled gently, not removing his hand from Skittery's shoulder.

"Don't go out there," Itey said. His voice sounded pleading, and Skittery relented. He

couldn't look at Itey and still feel anger. It just wasn't possible.

"I won't, tonight," Skittery promised.

Itey nodded, satisfied with his answer, and then removed his hand from the taller boy's shoulder. "I won't stop you tomorrow." Itey gave him one last fleeting smile and then ascended the stairs again, leaving Skittery alone to stew in his fading fury.

A/N: Be gentle dear reviewers, I generally write comedy and I LOVE dialogue so this was a new experience for me! Luckily I have my pal Specs to help me. Skitts, 1/2 of Skittery's Bad Mood