Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Newsies in this story besides Aces.

Alright. So I've been trying to get out about 1 per day, but I'm sorta busy lately, so it might be every 2 days. However, I'll try my hardest to update one every day.

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I had no trouble getting out of the city. However, once I was out it started to become difficult. The houses got fewer and fewer the more I walked, and so did the people. Whenever I'd come across a person, which was very rare, I'd have them point me in the right direction.

By 7 AM I had reached the train yards. Now all I had to do was steer clear of the workers until the freight train came. I silently wished that I had left the lodging house earlier in the night, that way it would be easier to hide because of the dark. Now the sun was making its way higher in the sky, so I had to be extra careful.

I only had to wait around about a half an hour before I heard the train coming. The old reddened box cars became images instead of moving blurs, and screeched to a halt on the tracks. From my hiding place behind stacks of lumber, I watched the workers stand up and begin loading cargo.

I waited for the right second when they all had their backs turned to me. Glancing around one last time, I sprinted to the closest train car and hoisted myself into the opening of the giant sliding door.

I crawled to the far end of the car where the crates were stacked. Nestling behind them, I made sure I was completely hidden from view. Only then did I let myself relax on the soft hay, grateful for the cool shade the freight car provided.

Exhausted, I took in a deep breath, closing my eyes. My head began to roll forward, bobbing like a cork in the water. I snapped it upright when I heard something tumble into the freight car. Cautiously, I peered over one of the crates.

Someone had jumped into the freight car, landing in the hay. He stood and brushed his clothes off. As he turned to brush the dried grass off his shoulder, I recognized him.

"Racetrack!?" I whispered. He quickly turned his head in my direction and grinned. "There ya are, Aces." He said, calmly walking over and sitting next to me. He casually rested his head against the wall of the car, as if it was a common coincidence that we ran into each other.

"What are you doing here!?" I whispered between gritted teeth. "Followed ya." He replied simply. My mouth dropped open. "You followed me?" I repeated, shocked. Race nodded. "Yep. Woke up jus' as you were leavin'. You ain't exactly da quietest person when it comes to runnin' away, are ya?" He added.

"I'm not runnin' away." I told him. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh? So you'se jus' takin' a joy ride on a freight train headed out of state, is dat it?" He asked sarcastically. I shook my head. "No, that's not it." I replied.

"Den why don't ya tell me why you'se heah." Race suggested. I shook my head again. "Nope. I don't have to tell you anything." I replied stubbornly. Race shrugged. "A'right, well I guess I'se gonna find out sooner or later." He said, settling into the hay.

"Oh, no. No way. You are not coming with me." I said. Even though Race had his eyes closed, he smirked. "Yeah I am." He responded.

"Race, there's no way y—" He suddenly sat up and covered my mouth with his hand, stopping me mid-sentence. "Shh..." He warned quietly. I could hear footsteps approaching the freight car.

Still keeping his hand over my mouth, Racetrack slid down further beneath the crates, taking me with him. "Get down..." He cautioned, his voice hardly even audible. I silently inched closer to Racetrack so that we were both hidden behind the crates. Since my head was almost against his chest, I could hear his soft breathing.

The worker stuck his head in and looked around, making sure everything was in order. After a couple seconds, the giant metal door slid sideways and shut with a crash. Neither of us moved for a few seconds, making positively sure we went unnoticed.

Finally, He took his hand off my mouth and I raised my head to look at Racetrack. His eyes met mine and he smirked at me. "Looks like you'se stuck wit me now."

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"Aces... We've been in dis goddamn metal box for 'bout 6 hours... Where are we goin'?" Racetrack asked. He peeked through the small crack in the freight car where the door was attached, only to see hundreds of trees rushing by and nothing else.

"Just go to sleep or somethin'... I'll wake you up when we're there." I replied, avoiding his question. My arms were folded over the top of a crate and I was resting my head in them. Racetrack got up and stumbled over to me, trying not to lose his balance from the movement of the train. He sat on the crate and even thought my eyes were closed I could feel him staring down at me.

"I don't wanna sleep. Every time I try to, ya wake me up whenever the train makes a stop." He said. I sighed impatiently. "That's because we're not supposed to be here, Race. If some guy opens the freight car and finds you sleepin' in the middle of the floor, we get thrown off wherever we happen to be."

"A'right, a'right... Would ya stop tryin' to change da subject and jus' tell me where we're goin!?" He exclaimed, sliding down next to me. I groaned and lifted up my head to look at him.

He begged me with his eyes, locking his gaze with mine. I stared back at him for a few seconds. He had asked me to trust him about telling the other newsies I was a girl, and that worked out fine... But this was much bigger than that. Still, something told me he wouldn't turn his back on me.

"Alright..." I muttered, taking the newspaper out of my pocket. I handed it to him and he cautiously took it, giving me a confused look. "Just read it." I instructed. Race unfolded the paper and his eyes scanned over the words.

It was quiet for a few seconds as he read the article. "What does dis gotta do wit you?" He asked, still looking at the paper. "My brother." I muttered.

His head snapped upwards and he stared at me. "What..?" he whispered. "My brother, Travis Coles." I replied, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. Race's eyes grew wide. "Aces... y-your brudda... killed somebody?!" He stuttered.

The way Race looked at me made me feel uneasy. His eyes were filled with a mixture of shock and terror. "No, Race... Listen." I tried, but he just started muttering to himself nervously under his breath. "I mean, I ain't da most honest person ever, 'nd once in a while I'll soak somebody if I gotta, 'nd shoah we'se all gone through times when we had to steal somethin' to live but killin' somebody? Oh god, dis is bad...I dunno if I'd be abl-"

"Race, shut up!!" I yelled. He looked over at me and closed his mouth immediately. "He didn't kill nobody. It was set up to look like Travis did it, but he wouldn't murder anyone..." I said, softer this time.

"But if he didn't do it...Then why'd da two of ya run?" He asked. "We lived alone, Race. Just me and my brother. They weren't gonna believe two orphans over a doctor... So we picked up and left. We found the deserted farmhouse, and lived there for a couple months. Then Travis told me it wasn't safe anymore for me... He told me go to anywhere I wanted, just as long as it was far away. I chose New York City, and I guess the police found the hide-out right after I left... "

"So we'se goin' to look for your brudda?" Racetrack asked. I shook my head. "We're going to the house in Virginia." I stated.

Racetrack looked confused. "But... what does dat solve? He ain't dere, right? He ran away to hide in Georgia..." Race said, pointing down at the article.

I shook my head again. "I don't think he's in Georgia, Race... I know my brother, and he's not stupid enough to leave a clue that big behind. I think he did it to throw the cops off, and then he went somewhere else." I said.

"Like where?" Racetrack replied, folding up the newspaper and giving it back to me. I shrugged. "I dunno... but maybe he left a clue behind that the cops didn't catch."

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Thanks for reading, guys. Please review if you can, and I'm in the process of working on the next one.