CHAPTER 20

A/N Hey guys! So, I know you're probably thinking "Hey, I thought you died!" but no, I didn't. I mean I kinda did. NaNoWriMo killed me. But I lived!

First off, I really want to apologise for falling off the face of the Earth. I got distracted by a bunch of other projects, and then I tried to do NaNoWriMo, which, for those of you not super active in the writing community, is the writer's equivalent of going 30 days without sleep and then promptly launching yourself directly into the sun, so then I got super intense writing block after that, and then my school's theatre productions were keeping me busy, and I kinda forgot about this. But, our spring play hath been vibe checked by COVID-19, and then our whole school year got vibe checked by COVID-19, and Everest reminded me that this exists, so I'm back! But super sorry again for disappearing!

Also, thank you guys so much for still reading this? I was looking at the Wattpad stats and somehow this is the second most popular Sprace fic on the site? Holy heck? thank you so much I'm not worthy? but yeah, I'm basically trapped in my house for the next few who knows how long because coronavirus said that we really don't get rights so you guys can probably expect a couple of chapters in the next few weeks?

Thanks for reading and waiting almost a year for a new chapter, I don't own Newsies or anything else, except the all stuff I fricking left in my locker at school and if they throw it all out before I can get back to school I'm fighting the president.

Everyday, Charlie would ramble about his plans to get out. Climbing out the window with some feathers and try to fly far away. Tying a bedsheet out the window and climbing down. Find the roof and climb out on top of it. Sneak out dressed as one man in a trench coat.

Our actual plan was no less stupid, but to our little six and seven year old brains, it seemed the most plausible (and most fun).

On the top floor, we had this sort of balcony. Really it was a fire escape, but the ladies had taken down most of it so we couldn't escape.

"Good thing I didn't know how my parents died back then, I'd have been terrified! I mean, seriously, if there was a fire, we'd all be dead!"

Anyways, on the "balcony" there were a few clothing lines connecting to the building across us. We would rotate whose job it was to do the laundry, to carry it upstairs, and to put it on the line.

One day, Charlie and I were on clothesline duty. The lady watching us had left to use a chamber pot, so we were alone for a few minutes.

"Eddie, what if we went down on the wire to escape?" He said, bouncing energetically like he always did when he had an idea.

I thought he was joking, so I laughed. "You're crazy."

"No, I'm dead serious Eddie! We could take one of the baskets and tie it over the wire with a bed sheet or somethin'! Then we can ride it down across the alley, and once we're down the fire escape, we're home free!" He whispered, shivering with excitement.

"Well, you know how little kids are. No self preservation. Why would we think for a second about the risks? We didn't care about falling. Just getting out."

"Alright, let's do it!" I said, bouncing with excitement myself.

Charlie took one of the empty wicker backers we carried laundry in and tied it to the back of the balcony with an old towel. The lady came back, and we bided our time.

Finally, it was a little ways past eight o'clock, and almost everyone had settled down to sleep. As soon as we thought everyone else was asleep, we went to work.

I quietly pulled the old sheets off the bed while Charlie kept watch. Then, we quietly snuck out to the balcony, fearing every creak of the floorboard. Almost silently, we retrieved the basket, and tied either end around the wire with the sheets.

We both decided that Charlie should go first, since he would have trouble getting in on his own. I lifted him up, and he hoisted himself into the basket, and zipped across the alley. He half jumped, half fell out of the basket, and turned to give me an estatic smile. When he had landed, however, a loud crashing sound had sounded from the fire escape across the alley. I cringed at the noise, but continued to climb into the basket.

That's when a pair of rough hands pulled me out and shoved me to the ground.

The ladies were furious. Two of them held me back by the arms. Miss Helena was yelling at Charlie to come back. Sister Mary stood behind us all, leaning against the door frame, looking sympathetic to the whole situation, yet did nothing.

If I couldn't be free, I at least wanted Charlie to be. "Run, Charlie! Run!" I wailed over and over. I knew it was futile, that he was too slow, too weak, with his leg and all. But still, I screamed, hoping he would get away, hoping he would get as far away from New York and the orphanage as he possibly could. I hoped he could run all the way back home to his family and maybe even Lydia and be happy and free.

"I can't! I can't leave you behind!" Charlie replied, struggling to his feet as tears streamed down his face. "I can't, Eddie!"

"You have to! Please! Run!" I shouted back, voice cracking with sobs. We had failed.

Somehow, somehow, he managed to take off and run, well, limp, as fast as he could, disappearing into the night. Miss Helena and a few of the ladies chased down the stairs and into the street after them. Miss Faith, another one of the ladies, and Sister Mary brought me, well, dragged me, back into the building. Rather than bringing me back to the normal rooms, however, they brought me into a small dark room in the center of the building. All there was inside was a flat pillow and a threadbare blanket on the cold, concrete floor, and a rusted chamber pot in the corner.

I lived in that tiny room all by myself for two weeks. I wasn't allowed out, and they barely fed me anything. Sometimes, the ladies would come in, asking where Charlie was. I wouldn't even acknowledge them. They would beat me, but I was too apathetic to feel any pain.

I would lay awake at night, wondering where Charlie was, wondering if he was safe. Hoping he was okay. Hoping I could get out of there soon and find him.

Hoping he wouldn't risk getting caught by coming back for me.

After two weeks they let me leave and return to my normal life at the orphanage. After a brutal final beating, of course.

I lay awake in bed each night, staring out the window, looking at strangers on the street, checking to see if they had bum legs. The other kids didn't come near me, they were too scared the ladies would punish them if they did. So I lived a year in solitude, waiting for the day I would follow Charlie out of this jail.

Finally, the day arrived when I was cleaning the street level hall, late at night. The ladies gave me more work than the others, and always the worst jobs. A year had gone by and my escape attempt had not yet been forgiven. Some kid had thrown up all over the carpets that day, and I had been sent to clean it up. I wasn't allowed to go to bed until I did.

It was a brutally hot summer, and since Charlie's escape, we were forced to keep to windows locked at all times. But the ladies surely were asleep already, and the house was so stuffy, and the vomit-stained floor reaked. So, precariously, I cracked the window, feeling the relief of the crisp night air on my face.

I was about to go back to my work when I heard hushed voices whispering from the shadows.

"Ya sure this is the place, Crutch?" A pause. "Alright. Ya sure you wanna go back in, though? I mean youse was miserable there, what if ya get caught?"

A painfully familiar voice responded. "I gotta, Jack. My brotha might still be in there."

I rushed to the window and peered out. "Charlie?"

Charlie and another boy around our age stepped out of the shadows. Charlie was beaming. "Eddie? Dat you?"

"Yea, what're doin' back here? If the ladies catch ya-"

"I came here to get youse!"

The other boy looked up. "Light on upstairs. We gotta make this fast, Crutchie."

"Crutchie?"

"It's my new name! Pretty neat, huh?" Charlie said. "I've started hawking papes a little ways away from here. It ain't much but it's honest woick, and it keeps me outta here, hehe. This here is Jack Kelly, one of my brothas, another newsie."

Footsteps creaked upstairs.

"Crutchie, we gotta get outta here, someone's moving around upstairs." Jack said again.

Crutchie smiled at me. "So, ya coming with us, Eddie?"

Miss Helena called down, rage seeping into her voice. "Higgins!"

I thrust the window open wide. " Yeah, of course I'm coming wit' youse!"

A/N That's all for now folks! Once again, thank you so much for reading, and thanks for your patience if you've been waiting since the last update.

I'll try to get at least another chapter out this week, if not then y'all should definitely read Everest's fics while you're waiting! She's actually working on this new Miraculous Ladybug Sprace AU one and it's really good so definitely keep your eyes out for that. All her fics are high quality (I should know, I'm basically the quality control ie editor for them lol) and I can't recommend you read them enough. I mean, society has shut down, its not like you have anything else to do.

Wash your hands, stay home, and stay safe!