Anthony collapsed on a bed and buried his face in a pillow as he groaned. It was his first day being a newsie and it wasn't what he thought it would be. He remembered looking out over from his room when he was still with his family, he saw how the newsies operated. Everyday they would be out in the sun, rain, snow, whatever weather he could imagine shouting out the headlines of the various newspapers that they sold. Their arms were full of newspapers, as they raised their voices and waved their hands in the air in order for someone to buy a measly newspaper that only cost a penny. The sweat rolled off from their forehead and their body was ready to give up, but they kept on going.
That was what he was now, a newsie, and he couldn't change it. Sure, he had the choice of becoming what he had wanted to be, but there was nobody he could depend on. There was nobody to give him his clothes, serve him his food, or clean up after him. He realized why they had worked so hard for their food and belongings. It was because they had none. Anthony rolled over from the bed he was laying down. He needed to be strong.
"Don't be making a mess in my bed, Italy!" shouted Blink as he passed by and peering at Anthony. He brushed his fingers through his hair as he took of his hat and threw it on the desk placed next to his bunk. "Just cause I'm wearing an eye patch doesn't mean I'm blind."
"Sorry, Blink," mumbled Anthony as he sat up from Blink's bed. "It's just that I'm not used to this. You guys make it seem so easy!"
Blink chuckled and playfully hit Mush on the shoulder, who was sitting on his bunk bed, which was right next to Blink's, and counting his money. "Hey Mush!" shouted Blink, causing Mush to turn around and look at them.
"Italy here thinks that being a newsie LOOKS easy!"
Mush smirked and looked at the clueless Anthony. "It may look like it… but nah, it ain't all that easy. You gotta watch out for your back and who you talk to. You gotta know where to sell and most of all," said Mush as he put his money in his pants pocket and pointed his finger at Anthony, "…you gotta know how to fight."
Anthony knew this was going to come sooner or later. He needed to defend himself out in the streets. He had heard the stories that his father had been talking about with his business associates when they would come over. Drunks, kidnappers, rapists, thieves, gypsies… the list goes on. He knew the occasional punches and swings, but those were just the basics. He needed to learn more.
"What ya talking about?" The boys looked up to see Jack no longer wearing his cowboy hat, but instead a bandana tied around his neck and his hands shoved in his pockets.
"Fighting," answered Anthony.
"Why you boys always gotta fight?" asked Strider as she walked up towards the group and sat down next to Anthony.
Mush rolled his eyes at her. "I remember that time when you beat up Hummer! The boy was never the same…"
Anthony chuckled and looked at Strider. "You fought a guy? STRIDER did that? What happened?" his questions started flowing out of his mouth as he wanted to know more. He was coming to realize that life was much different here.
"Hah, that's what we thought too!" said Jack, "… but it turns out that Strider was quite the fighter. It didn't help either that he was from Brooklyn! You should've seen the look on Spot's face!"
"Spot? Who's that?" asked Anthony as he looked up at Jack. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought he was talking about a dog.
"A Brooklyn newsie… one of the toughest fighters out there. We're thinking that he MIGHT be the next leader if Spike and his brothers move down," responded Mush as he sat up from his bed and leaned against the wall.
Strider scoffed, causing the group to turn and look at her. "You make it sound like he's all tough…" said Strider, pausing to smirk. "What? You don't know him like I do!"
Right at that moment, a sound of slamming doors reverberated throughout the Lodging House. Somebody was having a bad day. They all turned to look at the one and only door that they could come in from and saw a boy much older than them, with brown hair and a slightly tanned complexion from being out in the sun too much. His head was hung low and his shoulders were slumped as he walked through the crowds of bunk beds in the room and made his way to a group of older newsies sitting in a corner, playing poker.
"Looks like Boxer's not having a good day… wonder what happened," murmured Mush.
"As if you're gonna find out," said Strider as she rolled her eyes. "You should really stop listening in on their conversations."
Mush's eyes widened and raised his hands in protest. "I can't help it!"
"Hey Strider… where's Sappy? I haven't seen her all day…" asked Jack as he played with the bandana tied around his neck.
"She's at Brooklyn… visiting Spot," answered Strider. "You know how she visits almost every week."
But their conversation was interrupted once again when they heard the sound of someone falling limply on the floor. They all turned their attention to the same door that Boxer had walked in the few minutes before. A boy much less than ten or twelve had walked in, or more like, fell in, the room. His light brown curls were strewn about and his pasty complexion gave him the look as if he had just seen a ghost. Slowly, he stood up, with the help of Jack and Boxer. His eyes darted back and forth, looking at either Jack or Boxer. His nostrils flared and chest heaved as he panted and breathed heavily.
"Snipeshooter! Calm down!" said Boxer as he held a tight grip of Snipeshooter's shoulders and making him stand rigid.
"I… walking… saw… help…" answered Snipeshooter as he inhaled to take in a breath between every word. He raised his hand to point at the window and towards the streets.
"Who needs help?" questioned Jack. Other newsies had finally realized what was going on, causing them to circle around Snipeshooter. Anthony glanced at Blink with a look of confusion, causing Blink to shrug and listen in on the conversation once again.
"It's Chase!" cried Snipeshooter as he stomped his foot. "I found him lying on the ground in an alley… he looked beat up… there were bruises and cuts and junk all over his body!" shouted Snipeshooter as he stumbled through his words, although he got the message through.
A boy with jet-black hair and dark blue eyes jumped out from out of the crowd and made his way towards Snipeshooter. His eyes glared and he had a worried and angry look on his face. "Chase! What happened to him? Why'd you leave him alone?!" He grabbed Snipeshooter by the shoulders and pushed him against the wall. "I swear, if anything happens to him…"
"Tony!" shouted Boxer as he ran over to where he was standing and grabbed him in an effort to pull him away from Snipeshooter. "Let's see what he has to say!" he pushed off Tony, causing him to fall on the nearest bunk bed. Anthony's eyes widened as he saw Boxer's strength. Tony was much bigger than him, but Boxer looked like he had effortlessly pushed him into the nearby bed.
"I didn't leave him alone!" shouted Snipeshooter. "When I found him, I saw Specs coming towards us so he told me to get help while he watched him."
Relief spread throughout the group, but there was still one question unanswered. "But why couldn't you just bring him back?! Specs is strong enough!" shouted another newsie, who was known as Roach.
"Lurkers… they were coming towards them, so I—"
But Snipeshooter's sentence was cut off when Boxer suddenly began shouting off newsies names to come with him. "Tony! Roach! Slam—" Boxer's voice faltered as he looked around the group of listening newsies. He could tell they were all worried about Chase. He was Tony's little brother, but most of all, he was also everybody's little brother. Chase had grown up with all of them and if anything happened to him, there would be hell to pay.
"Whoever who wants to join… c'mon boys! Let's go!" He mentioned them towards the door, leaving the rest of the newsies awestruck. Suddenly, Boxer paused at the door and turned back to look at Snipeshooter. "You're coming with us… you have to show us the way." Snipeshooter was still standing up against the wall, trying to regain himself as he stared back at Boxer blankly. "COME ON!" shouted Boxer causing Snipeshooter to jump and run towards the door.
***
Specs knew this wasn't going to be easy. He knew about the Lurkers and what they could do to their enemies. They were the most cruel and evil gang around. The gang was made up of strong and well-built newsies that had formulated around New York. Not only were they strong, but also it didn't help that they were smart either. Their name came from the way they would pop up on their enemies; unexpected. They walked the alleyways at night and hunted who would be next in the morning. Interestingly enough, nobody knew who was in the Lurkers. The night helped them hide their identity and the newsies they pounced on hardly uttered who or what had done the damaged in fear of being sought again.
Specs thought of what Boxer had told him. He knew that the Lurkers wouldn't hurt anybody who hadn't done any harm to them. But what he didn't know was what they had done. The Manhattan newsies had always tried to act as civil as possible, civil enough to make a living for themselves. Specs looked around him carefully as he checked to make sure that Chase was alright. His jet-black hair was strewn all over the place and his light blue eyes looked back up at Specs. He had bruises and cuts placed all over his face and arms, but he still held his head high.
"Specs…" uttered Chase. "I can hear something coming…" His eyes darted back and forth as he tried to sit up against the wall.
"Shhh…" whispered Specs. "Just stay there and don't move. Boxer and Tony will come…" But even he doubted himself now. He prayed to himself that Snipeshooter would run as fast as his legs could carry him. He knew that if he hadn't found the two, they would've been in for a beating. It didn't help either that Chase had a broken ankle on his right leg.
Specs' senses suddenly perked as he heard the unexpected noise of footsteps. He looked down at Chase and pointed at him as if to say stay, causing Chase to nod back at him. The pair looked around the alleyway, but the darkness enveloped them, as they stood ready for what was about to happen.
***
Anthony looked about him, running rapidly as he tried to keep up with the cluster of newsies around him. He didn't know what he was getting into, but if it weren't for Strider, he wouldn't have been here. She had evidently told him about how they needed all the help they can get and how Chase had mattered to everyone. Anthony quickly agreed seeing that the newsies operated as one whole family as they looked out for each other. But what worried him the most if he was going to be able to survive, more so defend, himself, although Blink and Mush had assured him that they would look out for him.
Suddenly the sound of running weakened as they grew to a stop. Anthony could hear the heavy breathing and panting around him as he tried to make a clear sense of his surroundings. The darkness seemed to hug everything, seeming as if all the lights had gone out. But Anthony could make out the silhouettes of the newsies around him.
Snipeshooter looked around fearfully as he tried to see where he had left Specs and Chase. Suddenly, Snipeshooter's eyes widened as he saw what he was looking for. He grabbed Boxer by the arm and pointed toward a dark alleyway. Boxer raised his hand in an effort to tell the newsies to follow him. Anthony followed the group, oblivious of what to do. Nobody was talking, not even one was trying to make a sound.
Unexpectedly, Anthony heard the sounds of punches and swift blows around him. He saw that they were finally upon the "Lurkers" that Anthony had no knowledge of. He looked around to see Mush nearby punching someone in the stomach as his opponent tried to regain his strength and tackle him using his hands. Blink, however, was bent over quickly as he dodged a punch from a much older newsie.
He tore his eyes away from Blink as he saw a tall boy with broad shoulders come towards him. His smile curved upward as he advanced and put his hand into a fist as he swung forward. Anthony's reflexes quickly acted up as he dodged the punch the same way that Blink had did and sat down on the ground and turned with his feet up in the air as he kicked the boy's kneecaps with all the strength he could muster. Anthony chuckled as he saw the pain shoot throughout the boy's body as he screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his kneecaps.
The boy groaned and looked up at Anthony with hatred, who was already standing up from his position, ready for anything to come. "Stupid boy!"
"Talk about yourself…" murmured Anthony as he scoffed and around to see Snipeshooter running wildly away from a much older boy who seemed to want to bait him.
"Aaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!" shouted Snipeshooter as he looked back to see if the older boy was coming. He gasped as he slowed his pace, causing the older boy to regain the missing gap between them. "Oh no…" muttered Snipeshooter as he ran and darted past Anthony.
Anthony looked at where Snipeshooter was looking earlier and saw an older boy making his way towards the crowd as he ran towards Snipeshooter. Anthony smiled as he waited for him to come. Seconds later, he was inches away from him. Anthony sharply thrust out his foot causing the older boy to trip and fall into a heap on the ground. He was glad that the darkness of the night had helped him.
"Whoa…" said Anthony as he saw the older boy quickly standing up. He had just saved Snipeshooter, but he didn't know if he could fight him, or even outrun him. The older newsie moved towards Anthony as he pointed at Anthony and shook his head. "You shouldn't have done that…"
Suddenly, throughout the punches and blows Anthony could hear the shouts of voices echo throughout the air. Their voices were deep and low, like the voice of somebody who was just becoming a man.
"You shouldn't have come here, Lurkers!" the voice bellowed causing the older boy to stop mid-punch and also look through the crowds.
"You knew it was going to come, anyway. You had refused and you need to pay," answered another voice. Anthony looked around to see Boxer shouting at another boy much older and bigger than him. He didn't know where Boxer could've gotten the courage to talk to him like that.
"Refused? What are you talking about?" shouted Boxer.
The other boy chuckled as he took a step forward. His appearance was clouded by the darkness, only giving the newsies a silhouette for them to look at. "You shouldn't have refused our deal, Boxer," said the boy as he paused to take in a breath. "Or should I say Ethan?"
Boxer's eyes widened as he looked up at the boy before him. "Spike? You're a lurker?" He stopped and looked around to find the words to say. "Why?"
"Because of all the things this city stands for. All the things that everybody desires. Money."
"By beating up kids?" shouted Boxer as he walked up to Spike. "How are you supposed to make money from that?"
Spike shook his head as he tried to hold in his anger. He knew that they wouldn't understand. He liked it better when nobody knew what was going on. "YOU SHOULD'VE AGREED!" shouted Boxer as his tempered flared up, causing his face to turn a deep red.
"NO! Its not right!" yelled Boxer in frustration.
Spike looked around and saw a girl with long blonde hair and deep blue eyes not very far from where he was standing. He walked briskly to her, the boys' eyes still upon him. He grabbed her wrist forcefully and pushed her to stand in front of him. "Would you rather have me hurt one of your precious girly newsies?" said Spike slyly. He pushed her against the wall and put his wrapped his hand around her throat causing her to hold her head up and breathe for air.
Anthony jumped up to see that it was Strider. Her face was slowly turning a shade of red as Spike held her. Her hands moved towards the rough hand enveloped around her throat. Anthony looked around fearfully as he tried to look for Mush and Blink who both looked like they were ready to pounce.
"LET HER GO!" shouted Skittery. He advanced towards Spike as he made his way through the crowds, his eyes blazing with anger. Spike turned to see Skittery and effortlessly released his grip from Strider's neck, causing her to fall in a heap on the ground.
Boxer saw Spike and Skittery move towards each other. He had to stop this. He knew that Skittery wasn't able to manage a guy like Spike. Spike towered him and also everybody else. Not only that, but he was a good fighter. "WAIT!" shouted Boxer as he ran towards them.
"Had enough, Boxer?"
"If I meet up with you again… will you stop this?!"
He took a step back as he looked at the faces of the surrounding newsies. "LET'S GO!" he shouted, causing the older newsies that Anthony had seen disappear through the alleys. He heard the sound of running and slowly but surely, the sound faltered into footsteps and suddenly into silence. Anthony thought of Strider and ran towards the place where he had remembered Spike had her. Suddenly, Anthony saw her body lying on the ground. His fear gripped him as he thought of what could've happened. But his body swelled with relief when he saw Strider mover her hand towards her mouth and started coughing.
Anthony saw that Mush, Blink, and Skittery already crouching near her, seeing if she was okay. He kneeled down to see Strider, her neck imprinted with Spike's hand. Suddenly, her eyes rolled up to the back of her eyes as her eyelids slowly dropped down. Skittery looked down at her and effortlessly picked her up. Anthony saw Tony carrying a small boy much like him, which Anthony thought to be Chase. The other boys had already begun walking back to the Lodging House, exhausted of the fight they just had. Anthony looked back at the alleyway, and found the most unexpected thing he thought he would see. Sitting down on the ground was a figure. His face was buried in his hands as he unknowingly let out a frustrated sigh. Anthony looked back at the other newsies already filling out, but his curiosity filled him as he wondered whom it was. His questions were answered as he Boxer lift up his face to look up at the sky.
~*~
A/N: If you guys hadn't figured it out already, all the newsies should be at least two or three years younger than they were in the movie since this was when Race became a newsie. So imagine them like that. *nod* I just wanted to clarify that. And i wasn't so sure about the gang name... lurkers... i hope you guys like cuz i had a really tough time making up names.
Shout-outs (not personalized, sorry! no time!) : Mayo, Sage, Sappy, Strider *i swear i'll send you an email back!!!*