This chappy is for t.h., since she inspired the entire first section of this. It wouldn't be here if not for her.
"But you cannot stay in the dark for so long. Something inside of you starts to fade, and you become like a starving person, crazy-hungry for light." –Amy Tan, "The Joy Luck Club"
Ch. 10
Racetrack's fingers shook as they allowed the worn cloth of Irving Hall's stage curtain to slide from their grasp. "The entire city's wortha newsies is out there." Swerving to let his back hide him from the stage, Race rubbed damp hands through his hair. Ise can't do this. The demanding glitter of Spot's eyes, and an annoying but essential fierce loyalty to Jack might push Race in front of the oceanic crowd, but the reluctant replacement leader could not guarantee any words save the natural "who's bettin?" to spring from his mouth.
"Racetrack?" A light tugging at Race's vest caused him to look down. The wide and scared but trusting eyes of Les Jacobs caused his chest to ache. He knelt to meet Les' question at an even level. "Yeah, kid?"
"When are Jack and David comin back?"
Water threatened to seep into Race's lungs. Somehow, when voiced by an innocent, the question asked by so many held sorrowful potency. "I don't know."
Les blinked and gulped. His small frame quaked as he tried to compose the tidal wave of emotions crashing against his stability. "Will you take care of us till they get back?"
Rushing feelings pushed Race's knees to the floor. His eyes focused on the floor's wooden boards as his throat muscles constricted. Of all the newsies, Les could claim the best reason for debilitating grief, yet the near-ten year old knotted his fragmented strands of strength together better than the rest of them.
A feeble smile wrestled to Race's lips. "Yeah, kid. For you." He tapped Les' hat forward, pushing it over his forehead.
Fixing the hat, Les gazed up at Race with the beginnings of hero worship that he so often settled upon Jack. "For Jack, too? And David?"
Nodding wordlessly, Race turned and faced the stage, attacking it with newfound determination. For Jack and David too.
***
David did not remember running feeling like tickling feathers on the balls of his feet. His leaden appendages tingled, the only sensation afforded him. Somewhere, he knew his body dragged across cruel cobblestones, but he couldn't bring himself to feel reality.
Muffled lights, faded noises, pillowed smells—even Jack's arm supporting his shoulders, the hand keeping him upright—these were gloved, so that all pieces of reality floated beyond David's reach, separated by a blurry, impenetrable veil. He struggled, but the fighting only sapped the last of his strength, severing his remaining conscious link with the real world.
***
At any other time, Jack would dance among these damp streets, savoring the clean sweetness of cool, moist nighttime air. Slippery cobblestones now became his greatest adversary. Still shaken from the sight that awaited them when they escaped, trembling from his own exhaustion, Jack winced each time David's knee or shoulder collided with the ground or a building wall.
Something in David's eyes panicked Jack. The elder newsie understood the effects of captive claustrophobia—they'd driven him, nearly insane, from the Refuge. How else could he have come up with that crazy scheme for escape?
But within David's eyes lurked a warning of
fever. Jack couldn't bring himself to examine the wound on his friend's head.
So he did the most he could—rush to help. A few bruises, casualties of the
rough hastened journey, became of little consequence in the grander gravity of
the situation.
Suddenly, David's body collapsed from Jack's grip, falling against
the crook of space between wall and ground. Jack's knees hit the earth an
instant later, his frantic hands slapping against David's cheeks. "C'mon
Dave, you can make it! Not now! We'se so close!" The distant lights of
Irving Hall gleamed at the opposite end of the street, their lighthouse of hope
a faraway beacon. David moaned, and his head swiveled to the right.
Frost threatened to transform the warm heat of urgency in Jack's body to ice. He shook David's shoulders harder. He's gotta get up. He's gotta be okay. "C'mon Dave, youse smart, think about it! What do I do if I gets there alone, without my Mouth, huh?"
David moaned again, and this time his neck appeared to struggle to lift his head. "Y'mean…can't…think…anything…t'say?" The words seemed squeezed out of a foreign lung, jumbled and mumbled, but they made the cold and dark leap in fright. For a moment, Jack thought he saw a glint of defiance spark in David's eyes before his body again went limp.
"We'se gettin outta here, buddy." Barely hesitating, Jack lifted David from the ground, hoping his friend would forgive him for any blow to pride caused by carrying. Stubborn determination gave life to Jack's aching limbs, propelling him to Irving Hall.
Woohoo, a chappy that's actually near my normal length for chappies! Okay, here's the deal. I delayed in updating because I don't have another chapter written after this one. And I probably won't for another week. I've got two important essays for my ap classes, both due next Tuesday, and one even counts as my final. So I'll be a bit tied up. But I'll try my hardest to get something written, just for all of you.
Rae Kelly—yay no more finals! *throws a no more finals party and hands out cheese*
Shimmerwings-*reddens* thank you. I try to make things original sounding, like my heroes. I have an awful lot of writing heroes. Currently I'm way into Amy Tan and Sandra Cisneros, who just do amazing things with language. Yeah, I'm developing it, but I still hero-worship Jel. As I do many of my friends. Dude, you're so right about Dave's character. It's so multilayered, he could go so many ways, and next to Jack's, it is the most developed…Jack's character even has some holes in it, b/c they wanted to keep him more mysterious. Mah, but too many people are drive by their hormones. *Spits in the dirt, then kicks it* Hehe, I'm looking forward to you looking forward…or something like that…I think I confused myself…
T.H.—ol' buddy ol' pal! I wrote this beginning paragraph just for you. Haha seriously, since you enjoyed the other one so much last time, I wanted to keep you intrigued. Unfortunately, the structure of the story didn't allow for that kind of frivolity with this opening, but ah well, hopefully I made up for it in other areas. *blushes* gah, you've got to stop talking like this to me! I'm going to scurry and hide in my hole, I will! *giggles* I found the second section funny. But Jel's morbided me, so who knows. Aww, I'm making you love Dave? HUZZAH! If absolutely nothing else comes out of this story, that is the one thing I want. For people to love Dave. *hugs him*
YAY POST SOMETHING! Hehehe.
*Hugs back* I loves you too!
Chronciles Baily—'Cause I know you're out there. Hehe hi! Keep up the awesome work on your stories! Yes. Lol. Hi.
And my Iolaus—best for last, you know that! And I know that you're out there too. Gaw, (hehe haley's rubbing off on me) I'm so happy that you're happy! And I hope that this is making you happy! I hero worship you too, y'know. Not with the morbidness, though, so it doesn't apply so much to you, but when I was writing floating kloppyhead with monkey, I tried to think of all you taught me, and to write something I know you'd enjoy. Ise hopes you're enjoying this as well. Loves ya! *snugs*
