The next day, I was able to sell by myself since my usual partners had other business to attend to and couldn't come and sell with me. Even Break and Holler didn't show up at all. Which was fine with me because I didn't think I could come up with a good lie as to why exactly I was so happy. After the docks last night, Spot and I had walked back to the Lodging house just as silent as we'd been before but this time we'd held hands. When we got back Spot stopped me on the steps and gave me a sweet good night kiss, which I gladly returned. Then we quietly slipped into the silent house and parted ways, going into the bunkrooms to finally get some sleep.
I was woken up by Rose and Tear shaking me, trying to contain their excitement. I smiled and told them I'd tell them everything about last night on the walk over to the distribution center. Of course they complained so I got ready as quickly as possible and the three of us practically ran down the stairs. On the walk over I told them everything that had happened and they were practically squealing with happiness by the time I finished. Their happiness infected me and I was smiling broadly when we reached the distribution center. After I'd gotten my papes I hadn't been able to find Jack or anyone else to sell with so I'd just headed off on my own to the usual spot to do some selling. Without four other boys to compete with selling had gone relatively smoothly. It also helped that one of the major headlines involved a fire of course.
Now I was walking back towards the Lodging House, looking forward to relaxing tonight and maybe talking to Spot again. I'd just turned onto Randolph Street when a big group of boys rounded the corner at the opposite end of the street. Squinting, I was able to make out Jack, Spot, Race, Holler, Break, and another boy who could have been Mush but I wasn't entirely sure.
I waved to the boys, unable to contain my smile at seeing them. Well, mainly at seeing Spot. But none of them needed to know that just yet. They all raised their arms to wave back and I could tell the group picked up pace slightly.
I was passing by an alley when I felt an all-too-familiar cold chill run through me and the smile dropped from my face. Slowly turning to look at the alley, I barely registered the black-clad figure standing next to me before it reached out and grabbed me. I tried to lift up my arms to defend myself but my reflexes were too slow. Two hands clamped down on my arms and dragged me into the alley before I could even shout out in surprise. The two hands that dragged me into the alley almost immediately released me and pushed me further into the alley. I stumbled a bit but quickly straightened up, unsure what to expect.
What I saw made my blood run cold.
Standing only a few feet in front of me was Executioner. Even though he had joined after me I was still terrified of him. There were plenty of stories and rumors of what he had done on Night's orders. I'd even had some close friends of mine disappear in the middle of the night and never show up again. That meant that his presence right now was a very, very bad thing.
"Hello Eclipse," Executioner said.
I just stood there and stared at him in surprise.
"Lovely to see you again," he continued casually.
"Good to see you too," I replied cautiously, unsure how to react.
"You remember Gate of course?" he asked, nodding behind me.
I glanced back to see Gate towering behind me. He must've been the one to drag me into this alley. I shot him a confused look but he didn't even glance down at me once.
"Unfortunately we don't have a lot of time. Pretty soon those Newsies will get here. Gate," Executioner explained, almost business-like.
Before I could ask any questions Gate grabbed my arm again and dragged me over into a very small alley that ran off to the side, separating the building next to us in half and completely hiding us from the view of anyone else in the bigger alley. Gate kind of pushed me up against the wall and leaned backwards try and catch a glimpse of Executioner again. The alley was so narrow that he couldn't even take a step back. I quickly seized the chance to try and figure out what was going on.
"What are you doing?" I asked him, completely confused.
"Dealing with a traitor," he replied tersely.
"Who, Holler? Or Break?" I asked, dreading the answer.
"You," Gate answered, looking me straight in the eye.
"Me?" I repeated, now completely shocked, "But…I'm not a traitor…"
"That's not what I've heard," Gate countered.
"Well what have you heard?" I demanded, starting to worry.
"I've heard that you don't care about the Black Kings anymore. That you spend all of your time with the Newsies and now you want to be one. And that you haven't even bothered to send Night a note in a week," Gate recited coldly.
"That's not true! I've been trying to talk to Night all week! I gave a note to Slick to give to Night, I swear!" I said desperately, holding up my hands defensively.
"I don't believe you," Gate replied indifferently.
"Ask Slick! He'll tell you the truth," I pleaded with Gate.
"We already talked to him. He says that you haven't even bothered to try contacting Night all week. That you're too busy hanging out with those Newsies," Gate sneered.
"That's a lie!" I argued, "I haven't been able to contact Night because Holler, Break and the other Newsies have been watching me constantly. They won't let me out of their sight, I couldn't get away!"
The next thing I knew Gate grabbed the front of my shirt and shoved me up against the brick wall. I let out a small gasp and instinctively my hands clutched his arm.
"Gate you have to believe me," I said seriously.
"I try not to make a habit of believing traitors," Gate said, glaring at me.
"C'mon Gate, you know me! I'm not some sort of traitor," I protested desperately.
Gate ignored me and turned his head to look back into the alley. I couldn't see Executioner anymore but I could clearly hear his voice as well as the voices of the other Newsies that had finally reached the alley.
"You!" I heard Holler say in surprise.
"Why hello there Holler. Fancy seeing you here," Executioner replied in his usual sarcastic tone.
"Who are you?" Jack asked.
"The final part of the trial," Executioner replied coolly, using his favorite line.
We always liked to say in the Black Kings that Night was the Judge and Executioner was, well, the Executioner. There wasn't a Jury in our gang.
"Where's Actor?" I heard Spot ask demandingly.
"Actor? Who's that?" Executioner said in mock confusion, "Oh you must mean her!"
I quickly looked at Gate pleadingly to try and stop whatever they had planned but clearly Gate had other ideas. His hand moved up to my neck and he lifted me into the air. Almost immediately I could feel my air supply cut off as he stepped around the corner and back into the alley, still carrying me high in the air. I heard a collective gasp from the Newsies when they saw me but I was too concentrated on scratching at Gate's hands in an attempt to stop choking. He was standing just far enough away that my legs couldn't reach him to kick him, something we'd unfortunately been taught as Black Kings. I could feel less and less air getting to my lungs and I started to panic, trying desperately to wriggle out of his grip.
"Let her go!" I heard Spot say angrily.
"Or else what Brooklyn? You willingly got your borough dragged into this. These are the consequences," Executioner replied, chuckling.
"What do you want?" Jack asked, and I could see out of the corner of my eye that he'd stepped forward.
"Her," Executioner answered smoothly.
"You can't have her!" Race objected suddenly.
At that point the voices started to blur together as black spots started to fill my vision. The pain in my chest was starting to be too much and the bases of my eyes were starting to hurt like they wanted to pop out. My frantic attempts to get away from Gate started to falter as I began to lose consciousness and I felt my limbs becoming too heavy to move. I couldn't make out distinct voices anymore and was on the verge of letting the darkness overwhelm me.
'Night…would you really let me die?' was the only thought running through my head as I hung there limply.
Suddenly I felt myself falling and hit the ground hard. I stayed completely still on the ground, gasping for air as it finally returned to my lungs. The black spots receded from my vision but I still felt woozy from the lack of air and my limbs felt extremely heavy. I don't think I could've moved even if I wanted to at that moment. Instead, I practically drank in the air and even the dust on the ground as I tried to force as much as I could in my lungs again. My hearing came back too and I managed to catch Executioner say one last thing.
"Here's a little goodbye gift," Executioner said, and I could practically hear the smirk in his voice.
Suddenly I felt something connect with my stomach and all of the precious air I'd managed to force in my lungs left me again suddenly. That feeling only lasted briefly, however, as I flew backwards and connected hard with the brick wall behind me. There was a quick spike of pain before I faded away and let the darkness consume me.
/
"Actor!" Jack cried out, rushing to her side after Executioner and Gate had somehow disappeared into the limited shadows of the alley.
Sometimes it actually frightened him at how good the Black Kings could move unseen. But that was the least of his worries at the moment. Right now he had to focus on his little sister who had just been choked in front of him and then kicked against a wall.
He turned her over and immediately knew that she had been knocked out cold.
"Is she alright?" Race asked frantically.
"She's been knocked out," Jack replied, his voice slightly strained, "We need to get her back to the Lodging House right now"
"I can carry her," Break quickly offered, reaching down and scooping her up in his arms before anyone could say anything else.
"Let's go," Holler said, the strain also evident on his face.
Jack just sighed and nodded, running a face over his hand. He had been busy all morning talking stuff over with Spot and the other Brooklyn boys so he hadn't been able to sell with Actor today. Instead, he had planned to find her and walk her back to the Lodging House before meeting up with Striker to discuss more war plans. But now this…
Jack glanced over at Spot who had been hovering the entire time, his face as white as a sheet of paper. Jack knew that Spot liked his sister and had taken her on a date last night but Jack hadn't had the chance to ask him how it had gone yet. Although judging by how Actor, Rose and Tear had been almost giddy all day he thought it had gone pretty well.
Walking over to Spot, Jack put a hand on his shoulder. Spot turned to look at him with his usual poker face that was marred by the evident anger in his eyes.
"She'll be ok," was all Jack could say to Spot before the two of them followed everyone else out of the alley.
But even he wasn't sure if he believed what he was saying. Actor was clearly a target of the Black Kings. Could he, hell, could anyone really protect her from that kind of wrath? The Newsies plan to hurt the Black Kings may be working well, but Jack could only think of what someone had told him once when talking about snakes in the Wild West.
Even if they're cut off the head of a snake, it can still bite you.
/
The first thing I was aware of when I woke up again was the faint sound of voices around me. I couldn't make out individual voices so it just sounded like a steady buzz of words. I kept my eyes closed and just lay there, not even bothering to move. My head hurt like hell as well as my stomach and back. My limbs still felt a bit heavy, although the feeling was a lot better than before.
Honestly I just didn't want to wake up. I didn't want to have to face everyone with their pity and their questions and I especially didn't want to have to talk to Break and Holler who would understand more about the situation than anyone else. I just didn't have the energy.
When I couldn't stand the sound of the voices anymore, I slowly cracked open my eyes and let my eyes adjust to the light. I managed to carefully roll over on my side and let my legs slide off the bed. The sound of them hitting the floor immediately silenced the talking in the room for a second. My eyes were closed again in concentration, however, so I still didn't know who was in here with me.
"Les, go get Jack and the others. Tell them Actor woke up!" I heard someone say urgently.
"Yes!" Les' high-pitched voice squeaked back.
I heard the sound of the door opening and closing and footsteps running away as I slowly propped myself up on my elbows and looked around the room. It took me a second but I saw that I was on my bed in the girls' bunkroom. It was presently deserted except for Race, who must've been the person talking before.
"Race?" I managed to croak.
"I'm here Actor," Race said soothingly, rushing over to my side.
I slowly pushed myself the rest of the way up into a sitting position despite the throbbing pain in my skull.
"You shouldn't be sitting up," Race protested.
"Race," I said, my voice raspy and barely a whisper, "he choked me, he didn't break any bones. I can sit up just fine,"
Despite my words I couldn't help but wince as the movement also sent pain shooting through my stomach and back. I was sure I had bruises all over from getting kicked and hitting the wall. And I didn't want to know what my neck looked like.
"How'd you get stuck looking after me?" I whisper-asked.
"You took care of me after I got beaten to a pulp that one time. I'm glad to return the favor," Race said, smiling.
I managed a small smile back at him. Looking around the room again, I noticed that it was nighttime outside.
"How long have I been out?" I asked, slightly dreading the answer.
"About five hours," Race answered.
I made a noise that was somewhat like a "hmm" but said nothing else. Before I could ask another question the door flew open with a bang, causing me to flinch back. Race put a comforting hand on my shoulder and I was glad for it.
Standing in the doorway, breathing heavily like they'd just sprinted up the stairs, were Jack, Spot, Break, Holler, and amazingly Slick. Jack immediately crossed the room quickly and kneeled down in front of me.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, clearly very worried.
"I've been better," I whispered back.
Jack's eyes immediately flashed with concern when he heard me speak.
"Actor, your voice…" Jack said.
"It'll be fine," I croaked.
"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let you go walking around by yourself. I should've been smarter. I should've protected you," Jack said, the pain in his voice evident.
"Jack it's okay," I replied hoarsely.
"No it's not! I need to be a better leader. I need to be a better b-" Jack cut off suddenly before he could say the word "brother" but I knew what he wanted to say.
"Jack," I said seriously, grabbing his hand so I had his attention, "this is what happens in war. I've seen it before. I already knew what the consequences would be for leaving the Black Kings. This is just as much my fault. So don't get distracted by it. You've got more important things to deal with"
"Actor…" Jack said, looking at me with a mixture of awe and sadness.
"I'll be fine, I promise," I said quietly, managing a small smile.
Jack smiled back slightly before getting to his feet. Race quickly walked over next to us and spoke to Jack.
"Come on Jack," Race said, clapping Jack on the back and starting to lead him away, "We need to go talk to Striker about finishing this war. The sooner it's over the better"
He finished talking by looking over his shoulder at me and I knew that I would be used as a martyr to inspire the boys to fight harder. I just hoped that Night knew what he had ignited among the Newsies and Street Sharks.
They two of them walked out of the room, but not before Race remembered that Spot was still in there. Looking back at Spot he asked,
"Are you coming?"
"I'll be there in a second," Spot replied waving them away.
Race shrugged and followed Jack down the hallway, the two of them disappearing from sight. I knew Holler, Break, and Slick were still hovering in the corner of the room, waiting for their turn to talk to me. Still, I tried to ignore them as Spot kneeled down in front of me.
"How are you feeling?" he asked stiffly.
I noticed that he didn't make any move to hold my hand or anything and although I knew it was because there were others in the room I still felt a small pain in my chest that definitely wasn't from any of my injuries.
"I'll survive," I answered, somewhat more casual.
"Glad to hear it," Spot commented, nodding slightly.
I looked at him and could see the pain in his eyes. He was tearing himself up over the fact that he hadn't been able to protect me.
"Spot," I said gently, "don't you dare blame yourself for this. That was my past, not yours. Besides, I've dealt with worse before"
My words only made him furrow his brow even more.
"I'll protect you next time," he said seriously.
I stayed quiet for a second, regarding him sadly.
"Ok," was all I managed to say back.
I didn't have the heart to tell him how many "next times" there might be, especially since I was apparently a traitor to the Black Kings now.
"You should go meet up with Jack," I said, nodding my head in the direction of the door.
I didn't want Spot to leave but he had more important things to deal with right now than me.
"Alright," he replied before lowering his voice, "I'll come visit you later alright?"
I smiled as best as I could and he smiled back before straightening up and walking confidently out of the room, his Brooklyn attitude restored. I looked after him until the door closed before moving my gaze to the floor, waiting for one of the three guys in the corner to speak or do something.
I didn't have to wait long before I heard footsteps and Break appeared in front of me on his knees.
"Actor I'm so sorry," Break said, grabbing my hands and holding them tightly.
"I didn't think that…" Holler said, trailing off quietly.
"Actor…" Slick started to say, faltering slightly "If I had known that this was what Night was planning…"
I kept staring at the floor, trying not to look up at them. I didn't trust myself not to lose it if I started talking to them. The fact that Slick had betrayed me was on the tip of my tongue, threatening to slip out.
"Did they say why they attacked you?" Break asked quietly.
I stayed silent still, trying to figure out how to handle this.
"Actor you know you can tell us what really happened. What did Executioner and Gate say to you? Why did they attack you?" Holler asked, kneeling down next Break to look at me.
"They said it was to punish a traitor," I replied quietly.
"Cowards…" Break muttered.
"They couldn't even take us on face-to-face. They had to resort to beating up someone else that they could take down easier," Holler said angrily.
I ignored Holler's comment about me being easier to take down and opened my mouth to speak again.
"You guys weren't the traitor they were after," I rasped, drawing my hands out of Break's.
They looked at me in complete confusion.
"Then who was it? Who else did they think was a traitor?" Holler questioned.
I looked up at them and said dead seriously,
"Me"
The shocked look on their faces almost made me want to smile but I kept my poker face up and went back to looking down at my hands.
"Why would they think that?" Break asked.
"Yeah, you're one of the few people that actually isn't a traitor," Holler commented, the shock still evident in his voice.
"Because," I said shakily, standing up while gripping the top bunk and knocking away Break's hands when he tried to help, "my note to Night never actually made it to him"
I finished my sentence by looking straight at Slick. His eyes widened immediately in realization and a guilty look settled on his face.
"Actor," he started to say but I turned my back on all of them and walked over to the window, gripping the windowsill for support.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for-" Slick tried to say but I cut him off.
"Go away," I said.
My voice was clearly strained and cracked once but I said it loudly enough that they had to have heard me. There was dead silence in the room and I could feel the stares of all three of them drilling into my back. I wanted to cry so badly but instead I bit the inside of my cheek and blinked quickly to ward off the tears. Even more than crying, though, I wanted to leave. I wanted to get out of this Lodging House and leave behind everyone who had abandoned and betrayed and just overall disappointed me.
But against every instinct in my body I stayed in that room. I mean, where else could I go? They wouldn't have let me leave by using the excuse that I was injured and that it was dangerous outside since I'd just been attacked. So instead I stood there at the window long after I'd heard the footsteps of the boys leave the room without another word, looking out the window at the brick wall of the building next door until the colors all blurred together as tears slowly rolled down my face.
A/N WOW I love this chapter. It was so much fun to write a lot of action in here and I'm happy with how it turned out. Just a warning though I'm headed back to school tomorrow and definitely will not be able to post another chapter until Monday, January 13th AT THE EARLIEST because I have something I'm involved in that will literally take up every hour of the day. If by some miracle a chapter is posted earlier then that would be awesome. But unfortunately I can't promise anything :/
