Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie "Newsies." The only character in this story that I claim ownership over is Shadow.

Hi there. I don't really have much to say, so here goes chapter four.

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By the time I got to the lodging house, the both of us were soaked. When I opened the door, I was thankful to see the other newsies were still down in the lobby. They stared at me wide-eyed as I dragged Shadow out of the rain. They were all wondering who she was and what had happened to her, but they were all too shocked to move. "Well!? Help me, ya guys!!" I yelled. They all started to scramble at once.

"Snoddy, help me move her near da fire, and someone go get Kloppman!" I ordered. Snoddy picked up her lower body and I got her upper body. Steadily, we moved her over to the fire. Throwing a blanket down on the floor, we placed her on top of it. I touched her hand and found that it was ice cold.

Snipeshooter, looking frantic, appeared out of the office with Kloppman following close behind. "And Skittery came back and he was draggin' dis goil and she was all bloody and..." Kloppman didn't seem like he was listening. "A'right, A'right! Outta da way!" Kloppman yelled over the noise, pushing his way towards the girl.

"Skittery, how bad's the wound?" he asked. "I- I dunno... I didn't get a clear look at it yet." I responded. I ripped the tear in her shirt from the knife even further, until most of her upper arm was visible. There was a bad cut across her arm and it was still bleeding. Kloppman kneeled down next to me, examining it.

"It's a real deep cut... she's losin' a lot of blood..." he muttered "Boots! Get some kind of cloth to wrap this up in! And you—Dutchy, get a bucket of ice water. Cowboy, I need a few towels and some salt. Hurry it up!" he yelled.

In a few seconds, they all returned with everything. Kloppman took the towels and salt from Cowboy. He put some salt onto the fabric and started to clean her cut. He tossed me one of the towels, and I dipped it in ice water and placed it on her forehead.

"Is she gonna be okay?" I asked, growing even more worried. "It depends..." Kloppman replied, starting to wrap up her arm. "I'se hopin' she passed out from shock... But if she's out cold because of loss of blood than that ain't good..." He replied.

He finished wrapping the wound and stood up. "I guess we'se gonna have to see." He replied. "I suggest we leave her down here for at least a day. If we try to move her now the cut may open again... I'se gonna need someone to look after her tonight." Kloppman said.

"I will..." I replied, keeping my eyes on her. She looked really peaceful. Good thing she wasn't conscious, or else she would have been in a lot of pain. "A'right, Skittery." Kloppman said, lightly slapping me on the back. "You got any idea who she is?" He asked. I thought for a second. Then I shook my head. I really didn't know anything about who she was. All I knew was a nickname I had given her and that she was homeless.

He sighed. "I guess we'll find out when she wakes up then, huh?" The rest of the newsies were mumbling to one another, exchanging questions about the girl. "Okay, da rest of yous! It's late and dere's nuttin' to see here. Off ta bed! Ya gotta be up bright n' early tomorrow to peddle da papes!" He yelled.

The newsies reluctantly trudged up the stairs and Kloppman went into his office. I sat down on the couch next to where Shadow was lying. I was unaware that someone else had stayed behind. Racetrack sat down next to me.

We were both quiet for a while as he stared at her with his head in his hand. "Dat's her, ain't it, Skittery? Da one you keep talkin' to on the roof?" He asked. I nodded. "Yeah, Race. Dat's her." I said.

"Do ya know what happened?" Race asked. "Who knows..." I mumbled, shrugging. "I just found her and she was like dis. Some vendors probably just got fed up that she was stealing their stuff all da time. Dey probably figured they was goin' to do somethin' bout it, since the bulls didn't really do much 'bout it."

Race gave me a questioning look. "Ya think someone would really go dat far over a few stolen pieces of food?" He asked. "I dunno... If I remember correctly, you'se the one who said there were some strange people in this city." I replied. Racetrack let out a weak laugh.

"Besides, I don't think it's just a few pieces of stolen food... The way she's scared of udda people, I think she's been on her own in dis city for quite a while now...I also don't think she's gonna be real happy when she wakes up..."

"Eh, she can't freak out dat bad... I'se sure it'll be fine." Race said. He stood up and gave me a playful punch on the shoulder. "See ya in da mornin', Skitt." He said, yawning and climbing the stairs to the bunk room.

I grabbed the blanket off the old chair in the corner of the lobby. As I brought it over to the couch near the fire, I decided I wouldn't need it that bad. I put it over Shadow, that way she would stay warm even though her clothes were still damp.

That's when I noticed my clothes were still damp, too. I thought about going upstairs to change, but I didn't want to leave her alone. Even if it was only for a second. I stretched out on the couch and tried to get some sleep.

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When I woke up in the morning, I woke up confused. It took me a few seconds to realize I wasn't in the bunk room. Quickly recalling what happened the night before, I sat up and looked over at Shadow.

She was still in the exact position we had left herShe hadn't moved one bit in her sleep, which couldn't have been a good sign. Her breathing was shallow and weak. I knelt down next to her and just watched her for a while. It was strange to see her so calm instead of afraid.

I was broken out of my thoughts when I heard the sound of the newsies above me getting ready for the day. I was reluctant to leave her, but I had to. I wasn't doing so well money-wise as it was. If I could have skipped a day to look after her, then I would have. I didn't have much of a choice, though.

I didn't leave the lodging house without making sure Kloppman would look after her. He rushed me out of the door with the other newsies after promising for the fourth time.

I knew she was going to be okay under Kloppman's watch, but that wasn't what I was worried about. It was going to be bad enough when she woke up. If I wasn't there to at least be a familiar face, she would freak out.

I bought half the papes I usually did so I could get back sooner. It didn't get me much money, but it gave me enough for dinner that night and some newspapers the next morning.

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Thanks for reading guys. If you have any opinions, comments or criticism I'd love to hear it, so please review :)