It was over. Oscar and Morris were gone. The feeling of complete joy and happiness overtook every single person as the shouts and hollers of the newsies spread out all the way from Manhattan, rumors say to Brooklyn. For once, they were winning. There were not enough words to describe the passion they felt. The fire in their eyes kept them fighting. As long as they continued to stay together as a family, everything looked hopeful.
It wasn't until 1 or 2 of the Newsies went silent when they figured out something was off. All around them, the fire passionately gleaming in their eyes was dying. The silence of the boys began to spread onward. Spread so far that at one moment, you could hear the silence of all the Newsies. Some tapping gently on each other's shoulders or giving them a small motion to be quiet. Behind all of the silenced Newsies, you hear nothing but the hard, rough beating of a police bat, one that could cause much more pain than most could endure. And that's when they knew it wasn't over. The war wasn't won...it barely even started.
All that was heard was the shouts of pain as the Newsies held their bleeding face. As the fight continued until every Newsie was beaten to a crisp, you could visibly see the pain they had endured. Most were lying on the ground, too weak to get up. But Jack Kelly...he was running. Running until he heard the so familiar voice of his brother.
"Jack! Wait for me!" It was the one voice that triggered Jack. The boy with the already crippled leg was calling his name. And he was expected not to help. As Jack stopped in his tracks, he looked at the blonde haired boy...he was frozen. He took his childhood, and he ran with it. Anxiety and hurt were obviously in Jack's eyes Crutchie's voice rang in his ear. The pain and guilt that could not hurt more were trapped inside his mind and he felt hopeless. Hopeless knowing that no matter how fast he ran or how hard he tried, he couldn't rescue Crutchie. His brother was gone. The one who would've risked his life for Jack's sake was well off to the refuge.
The silence soon became unbearable. Knowing he couldn't leave the Newsies, pain took over him as he clutched his side. Morris hurt him good. The closer attention you paid to the Newsies, the more you could see how hurt all of them were. A few standing, leaning on whatever was near them for balance. Forms of communication were lost as he looked around. The first people he noticed were Davey and Les. Les being passed out in Davey's arms, tears flooding Davey's eyes. Never experiencing anything close to this when he was in school, he didn't know what to say or what to do. It was like time just...stopped. As Jack kneeled next to them, he kept a close, concerned eye on them and the rest of the Newsies. "Hey, we's all gonna be alright," Jack mumbled, his voice broken. It was obvious how much he cared for the Newsies as he desperately did everything he could to help them. He was frightened, scared to say the least. For the first time, he felt like a coward. Like whatever he was planning on doing wasn't good enough, And that's when he noticed Katherine.
Katherine. She joined the fight. Wanting to prove that women had just as much to do with society as men, she ended up being stopped by Morris. Too weak to keep herself up, the feeling of pain surged through her body as she struggled to keep her eyes opened. As Morris grasped her arm tightly, she groaned in agony as she found she was soon sitting, leaning against the wall to help her keep her balance. Gaining just enough strength to look at Jack, she gave him a forced smile, causing more pain as she let out a wince. She couldn't remember what had happened; just that the pain was unbearable. And whatever was happening, she desperately needed it to end.
"Please, don't hurt her," Jack murmured, choking on his words as he fell to his knees, the suffering increasing every second, both from heartache and physical abuse. "She ain't done nothin' wrong."
Jack must've noticed Oscar tightening the brass knuckles as he approached him, a dark, soul-crushing expression on his face as it forced Jack to move slightly backward but immediately stopping when he felt he couldn't go any farther.
"Don't!" Katherine responded desperately as she finally broke away from Morris and stood in front of Jack protectively, stumbling slightly as her blood pressure dropped. Jack, immediately worried for Katherine's sake, kept an extremely close eye on her, knowing whatever Oscar had planned, she couldn't take it. Noticing Jack's concern, she gave him a soft, encouraging smile and nod. "It's all right. Trust me," she mouthed before turning back towards Oscar and giving him a confident stare. "I know you. I've known you for a very long time, and I must say, Oscar. I don't recall you ever beating up a girl," she said in her natural sassy tone, covering up the fact she was internally shaking just being within arms reach. Noticing Jack try to stand up, she put her hand in front of his face to show he shouldn't try anything. Not yet anyway. Noticing a punch Oscar was about to throw towards her, she reacted immediately and caught his fist, sending a wave of affliction inside her body as she tried her best to hide it.
Oscar slowly backed away after noticing the stern glare from Morris as he watched Katherine and Jack closely. She felt herself internally sigh with relief as she adjusted her jacket, giving a professional nod to Jack as she knew the last thing she needed was for Oscar and Morris to think that they were together. Feeling slightly safer with Jack, it immediately ended as Morris grabbed Katherine roughly by the waist, causing her yelp in fear and shock. As he pulled her close to him, his hands trailed along her body, making Katherine's breath hitch in her throat as she struggled to pull away. The pain being too much to bear, everything slowly faded away as she placed her head atop of Morris' chest.
Jack noticing what was going on looked at her protectively. "Yous can break away from him," he mouthed as his knees remained glued to the floor. Opening her eyes slightly, just enough to see Jack, she slowly pulled away from Morris in hopes of distracting him. Pulling out the report for the strike, she handed it to Morris, his fists clutched on automatic reflex as he took it from her.
"Plumba. That your byline?" he muttered amused as she motioned Jack to go. Refusing to leave, Katherine gave him an encouraging nod as he struggled to regain his balance and slowly went the opposite way to the penthouse.
When he finally got there, he climbed up the ladder, his legs giving out on some of the steps. After he finally reached the top, he practically passed out. This charismatic union organizer looked like he got in a fight with the devil and lost. Horribly. Struggling to breathe, he stared at the sky and the stars, the only thing that has ever taken him away from the hell-hole he was forced to live in every day. As his mind wandered, he felt his body give way as he closed his eyes. The feeling of pain started to disappear. Whether it was in a good or bad way, he needed it. He needed the feeling of comfort and safety because, without a family, he had nothing to live for. He could be off on his way to Santa Fe for all he cared, but he could never live down this moment. The moment where he realized that the newsies were his family. Without them, he felt death would be better than being alive in this second.
As his mind drifted off to his "cowboy" state in Santa Fe, he reached over and grabbed a torn piece of paper and a pencil, the led almost completely gone. As he looked up at the sky, he couldn't help but draw whatever was in sight. The moon was big and yellow and the night turned into day...well not exactly. As he drew, his mind couldn't help but drift back to Crutchie and Katherine. He knew exactly where Crutchie was but hated to admit it. Every time he thought about the possibility of what was happening to him at that very moment brought tears to his eyes. That was one thing Jack Kelly was never going to give up on. Saving the ones he cared about. And Katherine... She had saved his life. Even if she didn't know how she felt about him, there was a small spark in Jack that never wanted anything to happen to her. As he forced himself to shake it off, he slowly began to lay back on the rough, uncomfortable surface on the penthouse. It was home...well, the only home he could "afford." What he didn't know was what waited behind closed doors.
Oscar heard the humming of the orphan boy. The one who sat alone on top of the penthouse. Anger flowed through his body as he looked up at Jack. He had his chance to kill that boy and he blew it. But he had another plan. One that would kill him worse than fate ever could. He knew what hurt Jack the most and it wasn't physical pain, but rather emotional pain. As he gave a mischievous grin, he forced himself to turn away and as he walked, speeding up his pace every second as he desperately wanted to see Jack suffer. Suffer so much that he would never be able to feel comfortable again. And he knew exactly what could do the trick. All he needed was to let Snyder know.
As the night grew darker, Jack continued drawing. The air was chilly as he had goosebumps covering his body, the torn and bloodstained fabric not doing anything for him. On natural instinct, he felt darkness taking over him, his paper and pencil still in hand. His mind began to shut off as he fell into a light sleep. He scrunched up slightly, that being one of the only ways he could stay warm.