Disclaimer: The character Rafe Edwards is the creative property of me, as is Stress, Dice, Switch and various other characters. The character Jack Kelly (among others) is the property of Disney. The words following each chapter heading are from the Bryan McFadden song, "Demons in my Dreams" and are used in order to help create the context in which the plot was conceived.
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DEMONS IN MY DREAMS
Have you ever been lost in a different world?
Rafe Edwards is a leader eager to try his luck out at going straight.
What happens when his gang wasn't what he thought it was?
Or his newfound loyalties are questionable?
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II. ENTER SWITCH
And you find yourself powerless, with everything that exists.
You're numb.
Rafe shielded his eyes against the New York sun, hoping to see the owner of such a voice. There, standing a few paces behind him was a short boy, appearing to be no older than twelve. Like the pair of girls he had just encountered, this child could be recognized as a street Arab; the few papers he held in the hand not staying his cigarette identified him as a newsboy. Ignoring the cloud of smoke rising above the boy, Rafe took a step closer. "You talking to me, kid?"
The boy took a careful drag from his cigarette, reducing it to just ash, before tossing the ends to the ground. "Yeah," he replied breathily, the smoke exiting from his mouth as he smirked. "I was just warning you about that dame. She ain't one to be messed with, specially round here."
"And why's that?"
"I told you already. That's Jack Kelly's girl. Ain't ya never heard of him?" he asked, looking disbelievingly at the older boy.
"Name sounds familiar. What he do?" Rafe asked curiously, debating on whether or not it would be more advantageous to listen to the boy's story or just take his money. Ahh, he thought to himself as the boy paused to light up another cigarette, but if you found out more about that girl and this Kelly, you might be able to make a bigger score than some kid's pocket money. Or, at the very least, figure out what it was about her that aroused your interests.
Once the kid had placed the cigarette on the edge of his bottom lip, he continued, despite Rafe's own contemplated silence. "He was one of them leaders of the newsies strike last summer. If it weren't for him and his pal, Jacobs, we would be paying ten more cents a hundred papes. That's enough to get him some recognition around this city."
Rafe nodded as he took in the information; something like that would be worth knowing. But, however, it did not explain why this boy kept him from going after that girl.
Something on his face must have given his thoughts away because the boy let out a short laugh, taking his cigarette out of his mouth before he did in order to prevent it from dropping to the dirt. "I bet you is wondering why I warned you about going after her. Well, ya see, unless you want to get on the wrong side of the Cowboy, you leave his girl alone. He's a bit protective of her, though if you actually talk to Stress, you'd never understand why."
"Stress? Is that her name?"
"Yup. At least, that's the name that she goes by. I don't ask too many questions of people. I learned that I find out more stuff when I keep my trap shut."
"I like the way you think, kid," Rafe said with a grin. This child reminded him of himself when he was younger.
Placing his cigarette back into his mouth, the boy stuck out a hand. "The name's Switch. Just came to these parts myself, and I've made it my point to know what's going on. Be glad to give you some pointers, if you need them."
"Nice to meet you, Switch, but I ain't too sure that I'll be needing any pointers," Rafe said, growing a bit heated that Switch assumed him new to the streets of New York. But, when the boy shrugged his shoulders and began to head off in another direction, obviously intending to sell of the last of his wares, Rafe called out to him. Maybe the kid could help him in some way, after all. "Hey, there. Hold on a second, buddy. I may not need any pointers, but I do need a place to stay. Do you happen to know where I can find out where this Kelly character sleeps?"
Switch paused and, again, shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, I can tell ya where he sleeps. He stays where we all stay – at the newsboys' lodging house on Duane Street. I might warn you though, it's a nickel a night, two if you want a hot meal for supper. And the Cowboy is very territorial about who gets to stay in the house. Ya might not want to mention that you've taken a fancy to his girl."
Rafe smiled to himself as he thought of the change wrapped in his dirty handkerchief. His smile turned a tad puzzled when heard Switch's comment about his taking a fancy to Kelly's girl. True he found her appealing, but wasn't he in it for the jewelry? Of course. After all, once a thief, always a thief. And this thief wanted to land a great score before returning back to his crate.
--
"Hey Cowboy, what happened to your girl today? I thought you hardly ever let her out of your sight?" cracked Racetrack, a short dark-haired boy, as he sat on the floor, holding his five cards up and close to his chest, while chewing on the stub of his cigar.
"Hell, Race, you know Stress. If she decides she's going to go out with Hope and sell some papes, that's what she's going to do," replied the taller boy, his red bandana slightly askew around his neck as he fiddled with the ends, a habit he had for whenever he had a poor hand.
A third boy, a blonde haired newsie with a brown patch covering his left blue eye, noticed Jack's bandana and added two pennies to the ante in the middle of the bunkroom floor. Then, to keep his opponents' minds off of his own bluff, Kid Blink added, "And you let her? I thought the two of you was selling papes together? I mean, specially with the Wraiths out on the streets."
Jack let go of his worn bandana and eyed his own cards again. "Don't mention those god damn thieves to me, Blink. Don't you think I tried to warn her about them? But she said that she and Hope could handle it, so she went. Besides, I got Dave to sell papes with when Stress ain't around."
David Jacobs, one of the instigators in last summer's newsie strike, sold the morning edition of the paper but usually headed home right after; unlike the other's, David had a family and a home to return to after a hard day of selling. Nonetheless, David and Jack, though having nearly nothing in common, had become friends shortly prior to the strike, a friendship that continued even after Jack had stopped courting David's older sister, Sarah.
"True that," replied Racetrack as he added another penny to the pot, despite the pair of three's he held. Though Jack was playing with his bandana, Race noticed that Blink's grin had faded into a concentrated frown, a sure sign that he held nothing more than a face card high. "Anyway, a gal like her can handle herself, eh Cowboy?"
Jack threw his cards down onto the floor, tired of the talk about Stress. He was annoyed enough that she had left without him that morning; did the fellows have to remind him constantly? "You know what, guys? I fold. I think I'm gonna go out and make sure that she's alright. I'll see you all before lights out."
Both Blink and Race nodded before turning their attention back to their card game. Jack stood up and proceeded to walk out of the bunkroom door, though he had not gone very far when he heard Race's voice yell out, "A pair of three's beats your King high, Blink. Hand the pot over." Shaking his head, Jack continued down the steps and made his way out the front door, pausing to nod at Kloppman before heading out.
Jack stuck both hands into his pockets as the early autumn evening's breeze brought a chill to his thinly covered arms. Before he could decide if he wanted to head over to the Bottle Alley Home for Newsgirls to see if Stress was in, or wait to see if she visited him on Duane Street, Jack watched as a lone figure made it's way toward the Newsboy's Lodging House. Thinking that he knew all of the boys who made their home there, Jack leaned against the doorway, watching to see who it was that was approaching.
The dark haired boy seemed older than most of the boys who slept in the bunks, but, as Jack Kelly knew too well, looks could be deceiving. He carried himself with a bit of confidence that most newsies allowed themselves, especially since they had won the strike in July. However, as he drew closer, Jack was sure he had never seen him before.
"Hey there, stranger. Looking for a place to stay?" he asked as he spit in his hands and stuck it out.
The new boy looked haughtily at Jack's extended appendage but only for a moment. Mimicking the gesture, he spit into his own hand and shook. "Yeah, I am, actually. The name is Rafe," he added as he eyed Jack's red bandana and the somewhat new cowboy hat he had around his neck.
Jack noticed the direction in which Rafe's hazel eyes where looking and grinned. "The name's Kelly, Jack Kelly, but most of the guys around here call me Cowboy," he said as he gestured behind him towards the entrance of the lodging house.
Bingo. Time to make the best use of that kid's information. "You mean, you're the Jack Kelly? The one that took on Pulitzer and all those other hoity toity mugs and won? Golly," Rafe said, pretending to be in awe of the year younger boy in front of him.
Rafe may not have heard of Jack Kelly, but he sure guessed that flattering the boy was a great way to get into the lodging house that the boy was nonchalantly guarding. With a look of pride, he stepped to the side, allowing Rafe entrance into the building. "Yeah, that's me. And I'd be glad to tell you all about the newsies strike, but I gotta go out and find my girl." With a point inside the door, he continued, "Just go on inside and tell the old man at the desk – his name's Kloppman – that Cowboy said you could stay. Just make sure that you got your lodging fare, alright, kid?"
Rafe bit back a retort before remembering the gorgeous glitter he had his eye on earlier that afternoon. Just remember the gir— the necklace, he corrected himself as he nodded. "Thanks Cowboy," Rafe said, glad he could drop the demeaning "admirer" act once Cowboy had left the lodging house. "Tell Stress 'howdy' for me," he added, without thinking, as he entered the building, pulling out his dirty handkerchief as he did.
It was not until Jack had started in the direction of the Bottle Alley home that he realized what the new kid had said. "Stress?" he asked himself, pausing as if he was going to turn back and go to the lodging house. But, with a shake of his head, Jack continued on his way. After all, if Rafe had heard all about Jack Kelly, it only made sense that his girl was known too. Anyway, he would just ask Stress when he saw her.
As it was, Jack did not even have to worry long about seeing Stress, nor did he have to make the journey over to Bottle Alley. Just when he was a few blocks away from Duane Street, he saw two figures running down the road so fast that he almost expected to see a crowd of coppers running behind them.
"Stress, Gypsy? Is that you, girls?" Jack asked as he recognized the pair.
Both Gypsy and Stress slowed their running when they heard his familiar voice. Stress grabbed his arm as Gypsy began panting. "Cowboy, come quick. They got Hope," Gypsy spat out, once she had gotten her breath back.
Jack paused for a moment as he looked from Stress' disheveled state into Gypsy's fierce blue eyes. "What do you mean 'they got Hope', Gip?"
"Just what she said, Jack," Stress said, the attitude she had tossed about earlier eerily absent, her normally stormy eyes clouded in grief as she continued to hold onto his right arm . "It was the Wraiths again, and this time they got Hope. And it's all your fault."
