Author's Note
.｡｡*ﾟi hope you're staying safe and being kind to yourself! .｡｡*ﾟ
Warning: Mentions of violence
Love youuu 💗
HOUSE OF REFUGE, 1897
Dr. Fuller was now pacing the board room after Snyder admitted what the boys were resting from. It had taken some questioning from Mr. Ketchum, and just one incredulous glare from Roosevelt, for him to crack.
"You mean to tell me you ordered Dr. Sayers to perform seventeen unauthorized vasectomies on kids?' Dr. Fuller boomed. "Without any consent from those boys. And for what? Some belief in Dr. Sayers' baseless monograph?"
Ingrid Denton looked at Snyder. "Is that true?"
"Yes, it's true," Snyder replied calmly. "I have nothing to hide. I was doing the right thing."
Dr. Fuller glared at the warden. "So, they were operated on without my knowledge?"
Snyder nodded. "Yes, as you are no longer their primary physician." He turned to the board members. "Criminals and madmen will only perpetuate more crime and madness. I was doing an act of public service."
"Good God, man," Roosevelt muttered.
Folding his arms, Dr. Fuller tried to appeal to the Reverend. "What gives Warden Snyder the omnipotence to be a god in his own right? Why should he get to dictate what's done to their bodies?" He turned back to the rest of them. "What the Warden and Mr. Whalen orchestrated was unethical, and the research they are so in support of is frankly not credible. For Dr. Sayers' part, it was an incident of cruel malpractice."
"I have full custody of all those boys," Snyder corrected him. "I am permitted to give them medical treatment as I see fit in the name of the public good."
Mr. Ketchum heaved a sigh, exchanging a look with Mr. Scholten. "I suppose that is true, Warden Snyder..."
Grim counted everyone in the group that had now expanded to include the rest of the missing parties. He was relieved they'd all made it back.
A loud shouting of orderlies rattled from somewhere behind them, and Jack – as well as the others – knew immediately a dozen or so were on their way. They had no doubt been alerted by all the noise.
This was it.
"Shit," Jack muttered. He stared out the window, watching the snow fall. "Follow me," he said to the other boys.
He dashed down the staircase, leading the way to exit he'd used when sneaking to the staff's apartments.
The boys followed him with a cluttering of boots hitting each step.
Shakespeare eyed Muggs uneasily as he dragged the guard along with them, his hand wrapped around the man's mouth, and a screwdriver pressed against his head.
"I can't believe they killed two guards," Shakespeare whispered to Fleet.
"Yeah, and those are just the ones we know about," Fleet said.
Jack led them outside into the cold, down the front steps and toward the courtyard.
"Halt!" The captain of the ferry – Mrs. Anderson's husband – yelled, aiming his pistol at Jack, bringing the boys to a sudden stop. "Stop where you are!"
"Do it!" Muggs shouted, holding the guard.
The captain moved his pistol, aiming it now at Muggs uncertainly once he saw who the boy had in his grasp.
"Shoot," Muggs egged him on. "Ain't enough bullets for all of us."
The guard screamed against Muggs' hand, his eyes widening at the captain.
The captain hesitated, aiming his pistol back at Jack.
Muggs pressed the screwdriver into the guard's temple harder. The guard cried out, the sounding coming up muffled.
Smirking, Muggs eyed the captain. "Shoot him," he said, nodding to Jack, "and I'll dig a hole bigger than a bullet in your friend's head."
Lowering the pistol in defeat, the captain cursed and began running.
All shouting at once, the boys gave chase just as the siren in the tower went off – alerting the rest of the institution.
Snaking their way around the side of the building, Jack recognized which window was Snyder's office. He could see the red, velvet curtains pulled back and the large bureau. He knew the conference room was just to the right, and Jack figured that was where the meeting had to be.
He stopped running directly under the windows, stopping the others in their tracks behind him.
"Whalen!" Jack yelled up at the conference room window – his breath looking like a cloud of smoke.
The others joined in, screaming for Whalen at the top of their lungs, rivaling the blare of the siren.
Inside the conference room, Mr. Ketchum and Roosevelt stood up, disturbed by both the alarm and the shouts from below.
"What on earth is that?" Mr. Ketchum asked, plugging his ears.
Whalen's eyes widened as he pulled the cigarette from his mouth, putting it out quickly. "It means there's been an escape!" He shouted, standing up with Snyder and making for the window.
Dr. Fuller was already a good step ahead of them, peeling back the curtains and squinting through the frost on the glass.
"Good Lord!" The Reverend rose out of his chair and hurried out with the others.
"It's Jack!" Dr. Fuller shouted triumphantly as the rest of the room joined him at the windows to have a look at the boys chanting Whalen's name.
"Sullivan," Snyder mumbled to himself, staring down at the boy leading the mob. He turned to Whalen, enraged. "Well, do something!"
Whalen raced out the door, alerting a few guards in the hallway, and making for the front door. They drew their pistols, aiming them at the boys in the yard in a militant formation. Whalen stood between them with his baton drawn.
"You have ten seconds to get back to your dormitory, or I'll have them shoot the lot of you!" Whalen bellowed. "Do you hear me?"
Jack pushed his way to the back where the barrage of guards was, guns drawn. "We ain't scared of you no more, Whalen," he said, daring to take a step forward. "We're going into that conference, and we're telling the truth about this place!"
Whalen held up his hand. He looked completely deranged, like he'd grab one of those pistols himself and open fire. "Bite your tongues!"
"You ain't gonna get us all!" Grim shouted, stepping up beside Jack. He pointed up at the board members peering down at them through the window. "They're gonna know about the beatings and the torments and the deaths!"
Tide spat on the snow-covered ground, standing by his friend. "We're doing this, Whalen," he said, exchanging a look with Grim. "For Calico."
The others shouted in echoed agreement, screaming that Whalen was a murderer over and over as they charged toward him.
The guards moved their pistols around, as if not quite knowing how or where to aim.
"Shoot!" Whalen shouted to the guards, waving his arms like a madman, and fuming at their incompetence. "Shoot them, dammit! Any one of them!"
Again, the guards simply exchanged unsure glances, looking from the window and back down to the approaching boys.
Impatiently, Whalen grabbed one of the pistols out of a guard's hand and aimed into the mob. He fired right as another guard tried to stop him – the interception making Whalen's aim change downward. The bullet fired at the pavement, emitting a ricochet that hit No Name's left leg.
No Name jumped back, closing his eyes in pain, and spouting a chorus of curses as he hopped on one foot. Rails and Atlas got to him, helping him to the ground safely. They screamed for Doc who immediately turned around and ran to them, fighting his way through the mob to get back.
Doc bent down next to No Name to inspect the injury, taking over for Rails and Atlas so they could help the others.
"It hurts, Doc," No Name said through grit teeth, digging his fist into the snow.
Doc peered at the wound, seeing it wasn't anything major. He breathed out a sigh of relief. "It's okay, No Name. It's just a little piece of the bullet, okay? I'll dig it out. You see that icicle?" He pointed to a long, sharp icicle on the iron fence beside them. "Break it off and hand it to me."
No Name's eyes widened. "You're not going to use that, are you?"
Doc shrugged. "You got a better idea? It's cleaner than using a stick."
Meanwhile, the boys had scattered around Whalen as he leapt onto the fire escape. Interestingly, it was the only fire escape on the whole building – the one on the staff apartments wing.
Whalen began firing down blindly into the sea of shouting boys before climbing up the fire escape further. The guards began firing back, this time at Whalen as they tried to get him to stop shooting at the inmates.
Dr. Fuller emerged amid the chaos, trying to separate guards and inmates, attempting to break up fights just as a dozen other guards began pouring around the corner to help control the situation.
Some of the boys grabbed the shovels that had been lined up along the fence, brandishing them as weapons. The standoff had quickly turned into all-out war, with inmates from Jack's dorm attacking and maiming guards.
All the while, Whalen escaped the violence, climbing ever higher up the fire escape for a better vantage point. He continued firing down into the crowd.
Muggs had long dropped the guard he had taken hostage. In fact, that guard didn't appear to be moving at all.
Muggs ran over to where Doc was keeping his friend warm with stolen coats off some of the fallen guards.
"No Name!" Muggs shouted, dropping beside him in the snow, and noticing the bloodied injury. "Doc, what can I do to help?"
Doc looked over at Muggs in shock and uncertainty. Nodding at the older boy, Doc slung one of No Name's arms around his shoulders, and Muggs did the same with the opposite arm. Together, they carried No Name back inside and away from the madness.
"He's getting away," Jack said to Tide, pointing up at Whalen.
Grim followed their gaze, jolting Tide in the shoulder. Pushing his fear of heights to the side, Grim took a deep breath. "No, he ain't!" Grim yelled back, making a break for the fire escape with Tide, who was still holding a shovel.
Whalen turned around, seeing the two gaining on him, and fired the last of his bullets at them. One bullet pinged Tide's shovel, knocking it out of his hands and down to the ground.
"I'll kill you, Krause!" Whalen was shouting down at them. "You and McGurk, I'll kill you both!"
Jack stared up at them, hearing his heart pound in his ears. Boys around him were smashing windows and cracking skulls with batons. For a moment, Jack wanted it all to stop. He thought maybe things had gotten out of hand. The boys were a little too eager for violence. A little too enraged.
But Jack could understand all that. They weren't in cages anymore. The air was full of screams and battle cries as the guards and inmates hurled across the yard into battle.
Alexei drew blood. He struck a guard with the end of an unloaded pistol, dropping it, and turning around to fight again.
Jack and Fleet exchanged a glance of frightened, worried wonder.
Then a guard rushed at them, shouting for them to get on the ground. With a nod, the two boys acted together. Jack dove in front of the guard, sending him sprawling. Fleet bludgeoned the fallen guard, using the guard's own club as Jack kicked him savagely. The guard collapsed – unconscious at their feet.
Cards elbowed an orderly in the nose, wading through the combat as if shielded by luck.
A gallery of younger inmates had swarmed to watch out the windows. They were thrilled by the display, cheering, and banging on the glass.
Crazy battled three orderlies who rushed him at once.
Lion grabbed a guard in his arms, raised his knee, and brought the guard crashing down across it – breaking some of the guard's ribs.
The kids watching hooted and hollered in awe, pointing at different inmates, chanting their names.
Z grinned at a daring orderly and lowered the stolen baton. The orderly rushed as Z swung and shattered the howling man's left shin.
Rails lowered his head and charged at a guard, delivering a crushing head butt to his stomach.
Shakespeare flew into another guard, gouging his face with his fingers.
Yes, Jack had begun to feel overwhelmed by the hellish fight. He looked toward the icy fire escape in growing panic for Grim and Tide.
A guard grabbed Marquette from behind, throwing him to the ground, and pinning him by holding his club against Marquette's throat.
Jack finally saw the two older boys and started to push his way toward the fire escape.
Grim and Tide stood toward the top of the steps, facing Whalen. Without hesitation, they rushed after him onto the roof with a terribly fury.
Finally on the fire escape, Jack climbed it quickly, careful not to slip on icy patches. He could hear Whalen screaming at the two to get back, affirming he had one bullet left.
Jack couldn't tell if he was bluffing or not.
"I swear, I'll kill you!" Whalen bellowed, aiming his pistol at the two. "Take another step, and I'll shoot one of ya, and throw the other off the side!"
The others down below had now stopped. They stared and shouted up at the rooftop altercation in shock and fear.
"Do you hear me?" Whalen blindly shot as Grim dodged, even though nothing fired. Whalen tossed the pistol aside and drew his baton. He swatted Tide in the head, knocking the boy out, and then moved to Grim.
With his baton, Whalen hit Grim a strong blow behind the knees. "You little shit!" Whalen roared.
Grim fell, crying out in agony. Whalen hit him again. And again. The man looked hysterical.
Out of the corner of his eye, Grim saw Jack climbing up to the roof from the fire escape. He fought to get up, wincing from the sharp pain. "Jack!" He yelled desperately, trying to urge the kid away. "Jack, go!"
Whalen stopped striking Grim and looked over at Jack. "Well, well, well," he laughed, spitting down at Grim. "If it ain't the little newsboy."
"Leave him alone!" Grim shouted, trying to catch his breath. "Jack, run!"
Jack didn't budge, staring anxiously at Whalen. He regretted not bringing a single weapon with him.
"You ain't gonna save him," Whalen said down to Grim, stepping on his back, and making the older boy scream in pain. "Just like you couldn't save McGurk," he said, nodding over to Tide's unconscious body. "Or your lunatic friend who jumped to his death." A wicked smile spread across Whalen's face as he remembered something. "Hell, you couldn't even save your little harlot, and it was your doing what killed her. And your kid."
Jack could see Tide slowly waking back up, watching in confusion as Grim fought to get Whalen off him.
Tide searched for a weapon to help, seeing Whalen's club in his hands, and grabbing for it.
Whalen, now distracted, lunged at Tide, trying to wrestle the baton away.
Grim gave Jack a pained stare as he forced his aching body up. He stumbled to his feet, looking for an opening between Tide and Whalen as they continued to fight – moving near the edge.
Whalen dealt Tide a blow that knocked him back, throwing him off balance just as Grim rushed forward. He saw Tide stumbling, trying to turn.
Grim felt dizzy suddenly, watching Tide struggle to regain his footing.
"Grim!" Tide shouted urgently as Whalen swung at him with the baton – Tide dodging in a split second. "Grim, help me!"
Grim was frozen, realizing just how high up they were. And at any moment, either of them could be over the edge in an instant.
Whalen had Tide cornered as the boys below shouted and begged for it to stop.
Jack held his breath, watching Whalen swing as Tide ducked again.
"Miles!" Tide cried out, snapping Grim out of his daze. "Please!"
Before he could stop himself, Grim charged forward and slammed his body into Whalen's side, and grabbing Tide's hand at the same time. He pulled his friend onto the roof just as Whalen plummeted over the edge.
The screams and shrieks from below sounded muted and distant to Jack as he stood there, frozen in place at the top of the fire escape.
Dr. Fuller was holding onto Lion and Marquette tightly, watching Whalen fall and eventually hit the icy ground. River crashed into Dr. Fuller, hugging him shakily, and trying to hold back his frightened tears.
No one was cheering anymore.
Tide was near inconsolable, sinking to his knees on the roof in shock, while Grim simply peered over the edge in silence.
"We've really done it now, Tide," Grim breathed. "It's over."
Jack didn't know whether he meant for Whalen or for them.