Spot turned around so that he was facing Iris. He gently pulled her closer to himself, being careful not to wake her. Spot watched as her chest gently rose and fell with each breath she drew. It was almost hypnotic. But her breath became less smooth, and she began to move sharply in his arms. Spot pulled away, and Iris sat up panting ever so slightly.
"What's wrong?" Spot asked, also sitting up.
"I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right." Iris looked down at the floor and then out the open window as the storm continued. She turned back to Spot. "We should go to Manhattan."
"What? It's two in the morning, and we're going tomorrow anyway." Iris gave Spot a stern look and hopped out of the bed, pulling on her pants and jacket. "Fine you don't want to come with me, I'll go myself." Spot sighed as she headed out the door.
"Wait!" he called; she turned around and looked at him. "I'm coming, I'm coming."
In the lobby Iris looked outside skeptically. She didn't exactly love thunderstorms, but she had to get to the Manhattan Lodging house! As Spot came down the stairs and saw her looking out the window, he sighed again.
"You sure we have to go." Iris turned around and nodded, grabbing an old newspaper off the front desk to shield her head from the rain; she headed out the door. Spot followed suit by grabbing a paper and exiting quietly.
The scratches and bangs grew harder and rougher. Each newsie clung to something, tensing at each of Skittery's strikes, as if they were painful. Then without any warning everything went completely silent.
Jack took a single step towards the door, and at the same time something was banged into the door. Many of the girls screamed. The wood had been splintered near the top.
Continuous blows were made to the broken area by the object. However, it was soon discarded and Skittery was back at trying to rip through the small opening. They began to see the tips of his fingers and his nails through the hole. They were bloody and mangled, but Skittery appeared to be in no pain, as he continued to scratch away at the broken wood. Then he began to use his elbows to force the hole to get bigger. Scrapping them roughly as shreds of wood dug into his arm, blood falling in puddles around the door.
It was then that Dice started to cry. She had remained silent, but she could hold it in no longer.
Iris and Spot dashed off of the Brooklyn Bridge, and onto the familiar Manhattan Streets, flimsy newspapers being their only protection from the rain. They headed through alleys and side streets; taking every shortcut they knew to get there as fast as possible.
When they finally reached the lodging house they were totally drenched, their newspapers having been discarded at least three alleys before. Iris rushed up the front stairs and grabbed onto the door handle. It was locked. She looked over at Spot.
"The door's locked." The door was usually never locked, so her statement was almost a way of saying I told you something was wrong, but they didn't have time for that. "The fire escape!" she yelled heading around to the side of the building.
In the alleyway, Iris looked up to be disappointed yet again. The ladder was pulled up, and neither of them had anything they could use to pull it down. Spot watched Iris as she tried to think of another plan, meanwhile coming up with one of his own. He looked around at the alley floor, searching for something.
Spot found a fair sized rock by a trashcan. He picked it up and chucked it at the window. The first time he hit the rail of the fire escape, but the second time he managed to hit the window. Though he threw a little more forcefully than he'd expected, as it broke through the glass with a loud crash.
"Did you hear that?" Bailey asked, having heard the window break in the next room. "The window broke, but Skittery didn't do it."
"You don't know that." Specs called to her, trying to stop her from going near the window. "He could be out there on the fire escape, waiting."
"Don't be silly. There's someone out there."
"That's what I'm saying!" Bailey ignored his last comment, heading over to the window, pushing it open.
"Iris!" she called, and all the newsies ran over to the window.
"What's going on?" Iris called back.
"Never mind, just go get some help! Quickly!"
Iris nodded and both she and Spot ran to the police station to get someone. All of sudden the room went silent again. Jake pushed the window closed, so that they could hear more clearly.
"Is he gone?" No one answered, so Jake headed to the door.
"Jake don't he's waiting on the other side. Don't be foolish. He'll kill you." Shortie tried her best to change his mind, but he shook his head.
"Someone has to find out what's going on. I'll do it."
Shortie hugged him tightly. "Make sure you come back."
Jake opened the door and went out into the silent bunkroom, closing the door behind him. The newsies waited in anticipation for some sort of sign, a noise, any noise. But there was nothing. A minute, then a second and a third passed, but still there was nothing. However after the forth something changed. A chair or table broke and then there was very heavy breathing. Like an animal, a ten foot tall animal. Shortie choked back her tears, and both she and Dice clung to each other. The breathing continued, but it slowly began to fade, fade until it was silent again.
"I'm afraid of silence now, lately it's something bad that always breaks it," Dice whispered to the others. Shortie just sobbed louder.
For another hour they sat in complete silence, except for the rain beating on the city streets. The beats seemed soothing, but they just added to the tension. No one said anything, no one did anything, they just waited, but for what they did not know. Then something far away broke, startling the lot of them. They heard feet on the stairs, ascending. They felt hopeful. Then there were voices, but none that they recognized. The door opened; an officer walked in.
"Is everyone ok?" he asked looking about at the nervous faces, most of them nodded, and Jack stood. He walked to the door and looked into the bunkroom. Everything was askew. There were blankets and mattresses scattered across the floor. Around the door there were piles of chipped wood, all covered in blood. He saw the broken table and Jake, with a small pocketknife in his grasp, and then he saw Race still lying where he had landed. Then almost totally out of view he saw Skittery atop his bunk staring at the ceiling, his arm hanging over the side.
Jack stared at the boy. He just lay there. Spot and Iris came up to Jack as he watched the police examine Skittery. They started talking to Jack, but he didn't answer, he couldn't' even understand what they were saying. Iris and Spot went into the bunkroom and started talking to the newsies within. Piper came up beside Jack and hugged him. When he turned to look at her, she saw that there were tears on his cheeks. He hugged her back.
Disclaimer: I don't own the newsies, however Piper and Dice are of my own creation. Iris, Bailey, Quotes and Duckie belong to themselves and Shortie belongs to Iris.