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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IX. EXIT DICE
If you become a nobody
blind to your family
Stress was extremely glad that she hadn't let go of Jack's arm. As soon as Rafe's off-handed comment reached him, his face turned red and he began to swing again.
"Jack, stop it," she yelled and used every bit of strength she had to pull on his arm. "I said to stop!"
The momentum of the swing couldn't be stopped. His arm followed through and Rafe, who was prepared this time, side-stepped the intended hit. Jack missed his target entirely but, due to the force he had put behind his punch, caused Stress to be thrown. She stumbled for a few steps before she fell forward; she let go of Jack's arm and placed her hands before herself in order to break her fall.
The three boys did nothing as she fell until she landed; it was almost as if their feet were frozen to the ground. Her hands hit the ground first and she pushed. As a result, the full impact of the fall was to her shoulder; after she pushed against the ground, she landed sideways. "Damn," she swore, laying on the dirt road for a moment before trying to lift herself off.
Rafe was the first one to move. He rushed to her side and tried to help her up but was stopped by Jack. Jack nearly shoved Rafe away before he pulled Stress to her feet. "Are you alright, Stress?"
Once she was standing, she smacked Jack's arm and walked a few steps away from him, rubbing her sore right shoulder as she did. When Jack, reluctantly, dropped his hold on her, she rolled up the sleeve of her blouse. She wasn't bleeding but there were a series of long red scratches running down the back of her arm. "I would have been," she said, wincing as she ran a dirty finger down one of the scratches, "if you wouldn't have thrown me down to the ground, Cowboy."
Jack had the decency to look ashamed. "It wasn't my fault, Stress. If Rafe…" he stopped and paused to glare at the boy that was standing behind him. He seemed to have remembered why exactly he was hitting Rafe in the first place. "What the hell were you doing with my girl, kid?"
Stress made a noise that indicated that it probably wasn't that best time to bring that up again. Jack conveniently chose to ignore her. "Well?"
Rafe shrugged. "Definitely not what you're thinking there, Cowboy."
Stress turned around and, placing one hand on her hip – she kept her hurt arm down by her side – looked suspiciously at Jack. "Say, Cowboy, what were you thinking that I would do with the new kid?"
Rafe tried to ignore the fact that she wouldn't even mention him by name; instead, he looked at Jack. He was growing all the more flustered. He obviously wanted to swing at Rafe again but knew that with Stress getting this upset with him that he wouldn't dare try. Not with her around, at least. He made a note to himself to make sure that he never went near Jack Kelly again if Stress wasn't around until everything was explained. He wouldn't admit it out loud but Jack's punch smarted.
Jack ran his hand through his hair and looked around helplessly. Switch busied himself with lighting a cigarette of his never-ending supply, pointedly not meeting the older boy's gaze. "Nothing, alright, Stress. Nothing. I didn't mean nothing."
She nodded, knowing that this was the closest she was going to get to an apology in front of a crowd. She walked back towards him and offered him her hurt arm. With somewhat of a smirk in Rafe's direction, he took it. "Come on, Jack. Let's get back to Bottle Alley. I want to say goodbye to Hope," she said, letting him guide her down the street.
Switch, the casual observe making sure to remember everything that just occurred, hurried on ahead. Rafe stuck his hands in his pockets and followed right behind, hoping to hear Stress telling Jack about the night before. The quicker Jack knew the truth about what happened, the safer Rafe would feel. He really didn't want to get hit again at such a disadvantage.
"Rafe? That you boss?" With the mention of Rafe's name, all four of them stopped and turned around.
Rafe heard the voice coming from behind and recognized it almost at once. Rhys. One of his boys had caught up with him. Dice, when I get back to my crate, I'm gonna kill you, he vowed before slowly turning around. He felt the heat of the stares coming from Stress, Switch and Jack, and promptly ignored them. He saw the tall, lean boy, with his brown hair slicked back, and took a few steps toward him. Before he walked away, he patted Stress' good shoulder once. He ignored Jack's jealous glare at his touch and, instead, smiled at the boy that stood a few yard behind him. "Rhys? How are ya?"
--
Loki's steely grey eyes seemed to bore into Gus' dark brown ones but the dark boy didn't flinch. "Did you hear me, Wares? Where the hell did you get that blade?" he asked, repeating his question. Behind him, he clenched his fists and bobbed on his heels, preparing himself for a decent sprint. If the younger boy made to use his knife, Gus would be ready. He could only hope that the other Wraiths would be there to back him up. As it was, none of the other boys seemed to understand the severity of the situation. Well, he thought offhandedly, trying not to break eye contact with Loki, none but Dice and Rhys. I just hope he gets Rafe before something happens.
It was the younger boy that broke contact first. He pointedly turned away from Gus' accusing stare before tossing a remark back. "My name ain't Wares."
The words went unnoticed for, when Loki turned away, Dice took the opportunity to try to take his knife away. In an action that would seem much braver than he would ever be capable of, Dice leapt towards Loki, aiming to wrap his wiry arms around the younger boy.
But Loki seemed to be expecting one of the boys to do just that. Just before Dice could reach him and knock the knife from his hand, Loki spun around. He pushed his knife outward; Dice, unable to stop himself, landed right on top of the steel.
A wicked grin crossed the blond boy's face. Still holding tightly to the ornate handle of his knife, Loki pulled it. But, instead of pulling it straight out, he curved it. It was his aim to destroy as many internal organs as possible. He could not allow Dice to live. And, of course, he wouldn't. Dice was dead almost before the knife was fully drawn from his abdomen.
Predictably, Dice dropped immediately. The attack on their leader seemed to bring about a reaction from many of the cautious boys. Loki reveled in the mutterings he heard but none of them seemed to move yet. They were not very bright during situations that they were not prepared for; most of them were taught how to steal without being caught – there was no need for intellect.
Gus, however, waited until Loki seemingly bent down over Dice's body. Before he even had the opportunity to check whether or not Dice had died, Gus tried his best to bring him down. He had the element of surprise on his side; Loki had not thought any of the Wraiths daring enough to try to fight him when he had just illustrated how ruthless he was by killing Dice. But, just because he was not expecting it, did not mean that he was at as severe a disadvantage. Loki had a weapon drawn. Gus, as the other boys, had already packed their weapons away as part of Rafe's rules. There was supposed to be no need for a weapon inside the warehouse.
Though Gus had been able to knock Loki onto the ground with a forceful shove, Loki struck out at him as he fell. His aim was wild and he only struck Gus on the arm. The knife sliced straight across the dark flesh, tearing his grey shirt and bloodying it with the wound seconds later.
Gus rolled away from him, clutching his arm. The cut was deep, and at first, shock seemed to set in. He felt no pain though he knew he should have.
Loki landed onto the dirt floor hard and, momentarily, lost the grip on his knife. The sweat on his hand, coupled with the fresh blood, made the handle hard to hold onto. In the moment of hesitation when he tried to regain his grip, two of the larger boys rushed him. Chase tackled him, and the knife fell from his hand. Riff kicked the blade away before jumping on top of Chase. The weight of the two boys was enough to, finally, bring Loki down.
But not for long. It was not long after Doc, the only one of the Wraiths who knew anything about injuries besides Rafe, confirmed that Dice really was dead and that Gus was cut real bad, that a new voice could be heard ringing through the warehouse.
"Well, well," came the voice, cutting through the tension as quick as Loki's actions had caused it. "What do we have here?"
From his position on the ground, holding his bleeding arm up against his chest, Gus could only hope that Rhys had returned with Rafe. Gasping slightly at the pain that was now overpowering his shock, he used the little strength he had to look over at Loki's face. After all of his grandstanding, the boss was back to take care of him. But, if that was true, Loki wore the wrong expression entirely. The young boy, pinned under the combined weight of Chase and Riff, smiled as wide as his present position allowed. "Damn," he said, wheezing slightly from the force of his fall, "took you guys long enough."
The newcomer stepped inside the warehouse, followed closely behind by three large boys. The last of them, Jax, closed the door behind him before lowering his head. It was at that moment that Gus realized that, shortly after Loki came in for the night, and right before Rhys left to get Rafe, Jax – one of the boys – had slipped out. He was almost sure of it; he hadn't been there when Gus and Dice covered for Rhys so that he could leave.
He almost smacked himself for his ignorance. Not for the first time, he had just jumped into a situation without thinking about it. If he would have just paid more attention he would have realized that Jax was missing. The red-headed boy had not been at his normal post; he was always standing just to Rhys' right side – the pair of them was as close as Quick and Rafe had been. In a business as ruthless as thieving could be, that was saying something. But, when Gus interrupted Loki in order to give Rhys the opportunity to leave, Jax was already gone. He was sure of it. And, if Jax escaped, why did Rhys remain? Was it possible that the two of them were in on it together? The idea was enough to cause his heart rate to quicken and the blood began to flow more freely.
Pushing his thoughts aside, Gus lowered his gaze, content on trying to slow his bleeding. He couldn't face whoever the newcomer was and he didn't want to know who exactly it was that led the three other boys into the warehouse. As it was, this person alone had the ability to make Loki smile even as he was being held down for murdering the leader of the Wraiths. And a person like that was one Gus did not want to meet. The newcomer's next words did nothing to make Gus feel any better:
"Lock the doors behind us, boys. We got some matters to discuss with these bums before we turn in."
--
"Now, if I was Rafe, where would I go?" Rhys asked himself for what could well be the hundredth time since he left the warehouse the night before. He nearly smacked himself in his head for his repetition. "Stupid," he berated himself, annoyed that his search was taken so long. He had almost expected to find Rafe mere moments after leaving the warehouse. "If you knew where Rafe would go, you'd have find him by no—"
His words were cut off when he spied a familiar form in front of him. After spending the night searching through the neighboring boroughs for Rafe, Rhys almost couldn't believe his eyes when he stumbled upon him. But there he was, the dark-haired boss that he had known ever since Quick died. He wasn't alone, though. He was walking behind a pair, a young man helping his female friend walk down the street, while a kid seemingly led the way.
Rhys leaned up against the window of a nearby shop. He smoothed his hair back so that it was out of his green eyes and called out to Rafe. He was too eager to tell Rafe all about the supposed mutiny within the Wraiths to wonder why he was tagging along with a bunch of newsies.
"Rafe? That you boss?"
