Author's Note
.｡｡*ﾟi hope you're staying safe and being kind to yourself! .｡｡*ﾟ
Love youuu 💗
Chapter Text
HOUSE OF REFUGE, December 1897 - January 1898
After the yard war, the board had determined the institution not only lacked proper regulation, but it also lacked the three principles Snyder prided his work on: order, discipline, and obedience.
It was put to a vote whether Snyder should be removed from his position. Dr. Fuller and Commissioner Roosevelt were not official members of the committee, and therefore, could not participate in the voting. In that way, it seemed unfair.
All those in favor of Snyder's removal: Ingrid Denton.
All those opposed, in a landslide: The Scholten's, Reverend Alderbourne, Judge Gerard, and Mr. Ketchum.
And so it was. Dr. Fuller would return to Bellevue. The board would leave the island with plans to whip the Refuge into stricter shape than it was. Snyder would stay on as warden, and Dr. Sayers would continue his practice permanently as Refuge physician – for a much higher salary. Mrs. Anderson, Mr. Caldwell, and the injured guards and orderlies would receive monetary compensation and special medical attention until they were well enough to return to their posts. Mr. Whalen would die on site immediately, before an ambulance could even be called.
A total of 3 guards had died. The two Muggs and Alexei had killed – Mr. George Kinney and Mr. John Bowing – and the guard Muggs had taken hostage and later snapped the neck of – Mr. Thomas Burke – were delivered to a morgue in the city and later released to their families for burial.
The families of the dead guards were outraged, demanding justice for their slain husbands or sons or fathers. Mr. Whalen's mother made quite the fuss, stirring a public outcry, and inciting a movement of sorts with others from the neighborhood.
She demanded the boys responsible for her son's death be punished and strung up for their crimes. Things were not looking favorable for Tide and Grim.
Everyone had seen the three of them on the roof, and everyone had seen one fall off, leaving two behind. Whalen's mangled corpse on the pavement clued in who was who.
No one had seen Muggs and Alexei kill those guards, and therefore, nothing could be proved. Mr. Caldwell couldn't remember much from his attack and could only say there had been two boys involved in the murders. He couldn't identify which. Maybe it was just easier for the newspapers to pin all of it on Grim and Tide. And it's not like either of them would snitch, not even on Muggs and Alexei.
Deep down, Grim knew he couldn't bring himself to do it, and he'd told Tide as much. He knew Colleen needed her brother, and that it would destroy her if she lost him. Grim knew that kind of loss.
And to implement Alexei would mean implementing Muggs.
Grim knew he and Tide had no one else. No one would care if they were locked away forever. Maybe, Grim thought, he could make that final sacrifice. And to Grim, taking the fall for everything, just so some thirteen-year-old girl could keep her brother, was more than the right thing to do.
Not like it would've done much to tell the truth.
Nothing either boy would say made a difference in the eyes of the law. And with Snyder's job on the line, he couldn't afford to be soft. He had to make an example out of them. Now, the whole city was watching, demanding justice.
All they saw was a good, hard-working man named Whalen, cut down for his honorable work in counseling and caring for the city's unwanted criminals. And they looked upon Tide and Grim as vicious degenerates, hellbent on murder and debauchery. They had started the prison riot, murdered the other guards, and pushed Whalen off the roof to his death.
And nothing would convince them otherwise. A bang of the gavel, and Krause and McGurk were to be sent up the river to the big house until further sentencing. In the meantime, they were put in the Refuge's solitary.
The press had a field day, churning out graphic headlines like: Hearst's Adolescent Assassins Massacre Reformatory Guards and Ochs' Randall's Island Ruffians Now Sing Sing Slayers and Pulitzer's House of Refuge Under Siege: Innocent Pawns or Evil Plotters?
Dr. Fuller spoke to the press regarding Snyder's negligence and Whalen's abuse, only to be smacked in the news for sympathizing with "homicidal juvenile lowlifes."
Snyder received a flood of mailed-in donations from concerned readers and powerful benefactors. The Children's Aid Society made the public statement that they supported Snyder and his lieutenant's brave efforts to combat the riot. Reverend Alderbourne's congregation was audience to a sermon about the dangers of immorality, the ways of the vicious street arab, and the horrors of a godless life.
The other boys' prospects weren't much better.
Like Grim and Tide, they'd been taken to the solitary confinement block almost immediately – once order was maintained – where they were soundly beaten by now vengeful guards.
Jack caught a lot of the anger. Snyder made sure he suffered in solitary. It was because Jack hadn't been afraid to give him trouble. And now Snyder knew who Dr. Fuller's witness would've been.
Jack was furious. Someone should've noticed, and someone should've done something. The Children's Aid Society had pretended not to know. The board had looked the other way. There was no way, Jack thought, that the board didn't see what was going on. Snyder must've had them paid off, or maybe he had something over them.
"Fuck this place," Jack grumbled, pacing his cell. "Nothing…it was really all for nothing."
They had been completely abandoned. Given up on. Left to rot.
Until Kloppman paid a visit.