*Chapter 4*

"Do ya think she's awright?" Came a distant voice to Katie's ears. "I mean, she's been out fer da whole night an' now, most da day."

"Dunno. All we can do is wait. She might not have a chance, the blow looks pretty bad." The voices seemed unreal, yet oddly familiar to Katie, whose eyes remained shut. She was afraid of them knowing she was awake, afraid of her father being there.

"She still out?" Footsteps came near to where she lay, in a thinly padded bed.

"Naw, Cowboy. Kloppman don't know if she's evah wakin' up." The female voice was unfamiliar to Katie's ears, unlike the other three voices she had heard. She couldn't put her finger on where she had heard the voices, but she knew them all the same.

"Poor kid. Dere oughta be a law 'gainst beatin' up girls..." The older voice trailed off as he exited the room. Kloppman...Cowboy? Katie thought silently. Oh my gosh! There's no way! She slowly opened her eyes, wanting to sneak a peek at the faces connected to the voices. The first face she saw was that of Racetrack Higgins, a newsie from her favorite movie!

"Race!" She sat up suddenly, thinking it was a dream. Her head pounded in pain and she touched her hand to the gash. The boy, of course, was in shock, as were the other two visitors.

"You know her, Race?" A beautiful girl spoke up, sounding anything but pleased. Her longish black hair glittered with red and brown tents, illuminated by the light of the sun pouring in through a nearby window.

"Uh...well..." Race was dumbfounded. He frantically searched his memory for an answer to his girlfriend's question.

"Well?" The girl's eyes flashed black as her hand found her hip.

"No...I nevah saw 'er bafore, Dragonfly." He responded truthfully, praying that she'd believe his answer. Katie's eyes grew wide at the sound of the name.

"Dragonfly? Dragonfly Collins?" Her blue eyes began to mist over. Dragonfly stared in amazement before the third person spoke up.

"Dat's her." Katie couldn't stand it. She stood and threw her arms around the baffled girl, who quickly shoved Katie away.

"Who da hell a' you!" She exclaimed. "Jack, dis goil banged 'er head real good. She's lost 'er mind!"

"No. Just my face!" Katie laughed. "It's me, Bottle Cap! Don't you remember?"

"Uh...no." Just then, Katie noticed she wasn't wearing her usual jeans and t-shirt anymore. She was now dressed in light brown pants and a white, long-sleeved, button-up shirt.

"This is so...so..." Katie was finally hit with the realization that this was anything but normal.

"Strange. I'm Jack Kelley."

"I...know." Katie sat back down, her head hurting more than anything. It was all too real to be a dream, yet it had to be. "What...what year is it?"

"1899." Race laughed, thinking this girl was knocked senseless, which, if you think about it, was true. Katie layed back on the bed and pulled the thin cover over her head.

"This can't be happening, oh my gosh, this isn't happening..." She mumbled over and over. What had happened to Katie? Did she die and go to...the Newsie verse?