Chapter 27: A Fight Ensues

"Will you please loosen up a bit?! You're choking me!" I pulled on Ebony's arms around my neck and heaved a deep breath. I was completely exhausted and my legs were numb, but there was no way I was stopping until we at least reached Manhattan.

"Sorry! It's kind of hard hanging on to someone as they're running!"

I ignored her terse comment. We turned the next corner and gave a sigh of relief when we saw the Horace Greenly statue in the distance. Happy to put Ebony down, we stopped and caught our (or I should say my) breath.

We walked the last couple of blocks, both of us looking over our shoulder the entire time. As we got closer to the statue we noticed some movement.

"Skittery!" Ebony called out and ran to him. I raised my eyebrows at her sudden mobility but it really didn't surprise me.

Having no energy left, I didn't bother to catch up with her and instead watched as Ebony threw herself at Skittery from a distance. He was taken aback as she began to spill everything through tears. "I'm so sorry Skittery! I never should have done it. I just wanted him to see how it feels but after I left, I immediately regretted it but I already promised Spot and-" She buried her head in his chest.

Skittery looked at me in shock but I simply shrugged. "I'm just as confused as you are."

He pushed Ebony away from him and looked at both of us in concern. "Are you okay? What are you doin here?"

"Oh, I enjoy taking leisurely strolls in the middle of the night. Especially with the severely injured-"

Skittery interrupted me, "Thank you Remy. No need to be sarcastic. Where have you been? I've been worried sick 'bout youse and so has Brooklyn. Spot's on his way ta get youse."

The smile I held for Skittery's concern dropped at the mention of Spot. More of Manhattan filtered out of the lodging house and, upon seeing Ebony and I, stopped in their tracks. I however, was more preoccupied with Skittery.

"You mean he already left?"

"I think so. Cowboy's already left wit some of the othahs. I don't know if they were goin ta Brooklyn first or not."

"Shit!" I took off down the street toward Brooklyn hoping I could catch him in time.

"Remy, wait!"

A new surge of energy hit me as I tore through Manhattan, ignoring any calls to stop. As I ran, I began scolding myself.

Way to screw it up Remy. You should have known Spot would figure it out. Of course he would put a bird on you and probably knew the minute you stepped into Harlem you twit. You should've just stayed put but noooo, you had to be so damn…heroic! And now Brooklyn and Manhattan were on their way to Harlem to fight for something that wasn't even happening.

The wind whipped around me as I crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, my lungs stinging from the chill night air.

If something happens to any of these people because of you…

A number of images began to cross my mind; each ruthless and bloody with different faces. I was sure Jimmy and Devin had almost expected this. Maybe they hadn't been so moronic after all.

The lodging house came into view and to my relief, all the lights were on. There was a chance they were sill there. Putting on a last burst of speed, I flew up the front steps and barged through the front door.

"Remy!" Ace stood up from the couch in alarm.

My stomach dropped. No one was there.

"Where is everyone?" I asked out of breath.

"They went ta get you and Ebony! How did you get here?"

I grasped my side and bent over in exhaustion. "I ran."

Ace huffed, annoyed at my untimely humor, and came to my side as someone else popped up from the couch. "Remy?"

Clover came running around the couch and hugged me around the middle.

"I'm so sorry I lost you! I'm glad youse okay!"

"Lost me?" I bent down and looked the seven year old in the eye. "Were you following me?"

Clover nodded. There you have it.

Ace looked at me urgently. "Remy what happened?"

"There's no time to explain. We have to get to Harlem."

She shook her head. "No, we have to stay here. It isn't safe. Besides it's too late."

"No it isn't, we have to stop Spot."

"They ain't in Harlem." Clover piped up. "Spot wanted ta meet somewhere where neither of them had an advantage."

"Well then where are they?" I asked starting to feel nauseous at the thought of having to run somewhere else again.

To my horror, both girls shrugged.

"This can't be happening." I dropped into a chair and pulled off my hat. Clover and Ace watched me carefully as I hid my face in my hands. "It's all my fault."

Ace came forward and put a hand on my shoulder as Clover spoke. "It ain't your fault. Spot's been talkin bout doin dis foah ages. You just gave him a good excuse is all."

"If it cheers you up at all; Spot found Bommer and let's just say da jerk won't be walkin foah a while."

I looked up to see Ace smiling and couldn't help but smile a bit myself. Spot had actually held up his side of the bargain. Who'd a thought…

"I guess all we can do now is wait."

And we did. For what seemed to be hours.

"Clov?" I looked up at the clock and bit my lip nervously. "Why don't you go and see if you can wake Dr. Wright. I have a feeling we'll need him."

Clover, glad to have something to do, nodded and sprinted out the door.

Ace's eyes stayed on the door after it shut behind Clover. "Ya know, Spot's pretty peeved wit her right now."

"Why, because she lost me?"

Ace nodded, which caused me to sigh. "Poor girl. She thinks the world of Spot. It'll break her heart if he didn't use her anymore."

"Would he really do that?"

I thought about it and decided he wouldn't because he had such a soft spot for her. Spot would never admit it but he loved the girl like a sister.

Before I could answer however, the door to the lodging house flew open causing both Ace and I to jump up from our seats. The dread in my gut increased as Hawk came in, pulling two other boys with him who were both bruised and bloody.

Ace gasped and sat back down while I ran forward. When I reached Hawk another small group entered in the same condition.

"Ace! Get the kit from the kitchen!" I pointed behind me and helped Hawk bring the boys in further. "What happened?"

"I don't know but it's ugly over there. I gotta go back and get more."

"Wait, Hawk! What about Spot?" Hawk only shrugged as he ran out the door.

While investigating the injured, which was now up to six boys, it registered that Hawk was 'getting more'. How many were there?

Ace came running back in with the kit and began handing things to me as I asked for them. As I made my way around the room, more and more bodies filtered into the lodging house. I wouldn't let myself look at faces but simply saw each individual wound and dealt with them one at a time. To put a face to the damage was asking for trouble and right now I needed all my wits about me.

"Remy!" Flash came in and pushed his way through the maze of injured bodies with someone in his arms. "Remy you gotta do somethin!"

He laid Dreads down in front of me but I couldn't act. Her face held an expression of deep pain and she wasn't moving.

My hands shook as I grabbed her face and began to check. Flash was knelt down beside her in tears.

"She must have snuck out. I didn't see her till near da end. I tried ta get ta her but there were so many people. I could only watch as some heartless bastard knocked her ta da ground and began ta kick her."

"I can help with that." I looked up to see Dr. Wright who was immediately pulling out some items from his bag. Thankful that a professional was finally here, I stood up so he could join Flash at her side and begin his work. "What's her name young man?"

Flash looked at the doctor with surprise written all over his face. "D-Dreads."

With Dr. Wright working on Dreads, I told all the boys who were able, to move those who needed the most medical attention over by the doctor. I did my best to maintain my composure as more and more newsies returned. They weren't just Brooklyn either. I had to patch up a nasty cut on Racetrack's forehead, create a sling for Blue's arm, and wrap Mush's leg which was bleeding profusely.

After a long forty-five minutes, things seemed to calm down, but there still was no sign of Spot. I had gone around the room asking, but few boys remembered seeing him, which only made me more nervous. Most of the boys had pretty bad injuries and Spot was more prone to fighting then any of the others. He would be the first and last to throw a punch, whether he was injured or not.

I caught up with Dreads and found that she was, in fact, conscious but was in a lot of pain. After making sure she didn't need anything, I left her with a very apologetic Flash for the entry way. There was still some commotion in the main room so I needed to get away and catch my breath. No one was in the hall so I leaned against the wall and sighed.

It was then that everything seemed to catch up with me. My throat began to close up and my eyes began to burn as I slid down the wall to a sitting position on the floor. I hadn't cried in a long time, at least not to this extent. Brooklyn didn't cry and neither did street kids for that matter. But here I was, practically balling and trembling from fear and exhaustion.

The thought of Spot not returning, or returning practically dead, was more then I could handle. Not to mention all the boys in the main room whom had clearly fought close to the bitter end. If only I had reached Brooklyn in time, if only I had stayed in Manhattan, if only I knew from the beginning...everything would have been different. Maybe everyone would have been okay. I let the past month's stress, anger, and confusion out as my mind was finally able to wrap around the nights events.

Spot had to be alright. He just had to.

The sound of the door opening again and feet swiftly moving past, made me lift my head and wipe my eyes. All fear and anxiety melted away as I saw Spot standing with his back to me, searching the main room. He had blown right past me without noticing.

I sniffed as I stood up, running my sleeve across my nose, trying to maintain some composure. Spot turned at the sound and I saw the same anxiety disappear from his features.

"Rem…" He began but I cut him off as I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry. I should've just stayed put. I was so stupid. I'm so sorry."

Spot cautiously returned my hug and after a very short time, pulled away. "You weren't stupid. You weren't exactly smart…but you weren't stupid. I'm da one dat should be sorry. I shoulda been straight wit you from da beginnin."

I nodded and wiped my eyes again. "Everyone seems to be okay for the most part. A lot of them won't be sellin for a while though."

He turned to face the room solemnly. "They put up a good fight."

Looking sideways at him, I could see the concern his face held. He didn't show any sign of being in pain but his shirt was ripped, his nose looked broken, and he seemed to be leaning all his weight on his left foot.

I lifted his shirt to the part where it was torn and saw a large gash on his side. He winced as I touched it.

"That's a pretty deep cut."

"I'm fine." He pulled his shirt back down, pushing my hands away.

Normally, I would put my hands on my hips and glare, but my guilt was overpowering my usually good-natured humor. Instead I quietly asked, "What about your leg?"

He looked down at his leg and managed to put a little weight on his right foot then looked at me smugly as if this proved that his leg was in perfect condition.

"And your nose?"

"Look, everythin's fine, Bruin. Ise moah worried 'bout my boys."

"The boys are fine Spot. I'm worried about you." I grabbed his arm and pulled him to an empty chair. "Common. At least let me clean you up a little."

He grudgingly followed me and sat down, then waited as I went to get some bandages and something to clean his wounds. The next couple of minutes passed without either of us talking as I tried to fix him up. I did my best to focus on what I was doing so I wouldn't be tempted to meet his eyes. There was something different there but I refused to acknowledge it.

Finally, Spot broke the silence. "I'm glad you're okay."

A small blush started to form on my cheeks so I stared intently at his side where I was bandaging his gash. "Me too."

"How did you get outta there anyway?"

Shrugging, I answered honestly. "Luck."

While I couldn't see his face, I could tell by his tone that he was skeptical. "Bruin, you managed ta get both youse and Ebony outta dere without getting caught. I find it hard ta believe it was all luck."

I paused and smiled a little. "Do you remember when we were little and you, Hawk, Click, and Dozer would play that cowboy and Indian came?"

Spot nodded.

"Do you also remember that you all insisted that I always play the damsel in distress?"

He smirked. "You hated it."

I kept my eyes on his wound as I explained. "Well, I didn't hate the game as much as I hated being tied up for 30 minutes just waiting for you. So I learned a little trick. Dozer was always the one who tied me up and he never paid attention. Once they hid me and ran off, I slipped out and came back when I thought you were about to get me."

"You did that?"

"Silly isn't it?"

"Why?"

I shrugged. "I guess I just liked the attention. It wasn't easy for me to fit in those first couple of years. Unlike Clover, there weren't any girls for me to look up to. Anyway, turns out it was a handy skill."

Finished with the wrapping, I carefully pulled his shirt back down and stood up.

"I should go check on the others." I was about to walk away when he grabbed my hand.

"Hey, I know what youse doin, Rem, but don't. Don't beat yourself up. It ain't your fault."

I nodded and gave him a weak smile. "I guess." While holding his hand was very appealing at the moment, I knew I couldn't stay. It just wasn't the right time, so I gave his a soft squeeze before letting go. "Stay off your leg."