Ten minutes later and the game was on. The flag was safely hidden, out of sight from anyone in jail. Dollface had watched as Crutchie pulled himself up to a fire escape in one of the alleys and then gently tossed up his ammunition of snowballs. She was amazed at how much upper body strength he had but if you had one bum limb, you had to make up for it in something else. She then decided to set up her ammunition on a fire escape in the same alley as the flag and jail. This way she could not only defend the flag if need be but could also stop the other team from breaking out their friends. She made a good choice as they quickly got two of the Brooklyn newsies out and Red had tried to hit Buttons. But Dollface came out of nowhere and hit Red first, putting him in jail too.
It was another 15 minutes before they heard the whistle that signified someone had been capture. Buttons shouted out to Davey and found out Racetrack and Swift had been caught. Dollface swore under her breath. They were the best runners. If they were going to find the other team's flag, they would have to rely on pure stealth now. Les might turn into their secret weapon.
However after ten minutes not much else had happened. They heard another whistle, this time Specs had been caught, but that was it. No one came through Dollface's alley and no one tried to make another jail break. She began shivering, having stood around now for almost 40 minutes. She had been warm when they had been walking all day or running from the Brooklyn newsies but now she wished Jack hadn't taken her hat and pulled her coat closer to her body. It smelled heavily of alcohol and cigars, reminding her of her father. No matter how many times she washed it, the smell never left, and even though he was no longer running after Crutchie and her, she still felt uneasy as the smell lingered. She shivered and knew it had nothing to do with the cold weather.
Dollface tried to push the thought of her unpleasant father and childhood from her mind and sat down, leaning up against the brick of the building. She focused on the patches of ice that covered the fire escape and stated at the small icicles that had formed on the railings. Then finally, something happened. Another whistle filled the air, shortly followed by a cry of "soak 'em!"
It was Jack's voice. Dollface laughed slightly at the thought of Jack being caught by a bunch of Brooklyn newsies and knew she would never let him forget it. She then saw Mush go running past her alley and a minute later heard the cheers of their team. They had been freed and made their way back to their side of the line. Buttons and Dollface celebrated together and cheered loudly. The Brooklyn newsies who were still in jail groaned heavily, not having been freed yet.
But no more than five minutes later, Dollface saw a blur run past the alley. She stood up from the fire escape and leaned over the edge, almost slipping on the ice. She saw someone's foot sticking out as they hid behind the corner of the building. She was sure it was a Brooklyn newsie trying to free his team mates. Buttons had bent down to retie his shoe and wasn't paying attention when the boy finally revealed himself.
Dollface rolled her eyes and bent down to pick up a snowball from her stash. Of course it was Spot. He didn't see Dollface on the fire escape and slowly creeped towards the unknowing Buttons. He was going for stealth rather than a full on attack, very unlike Spot. His team mates quietly watched him, eager to be freed. Dollface raised her arm and threw the snowball at Spot but unfortunately missed. She had given up her position as it flew over his head. Spot whipped his head up and saw her on the fire escape.
"Buttons, look out!" Dollface shouted, bending down to pick up a new snowball. Spot threw his snowball at Buttons, but thanks to Dollface's warning, he jumped out of the way and landed in the snow. As Spot bent down to make a new snowball, Dollface stepped forward on the fire escape, trying to get a better angle on him. Then suddenly she felt her feet go out from under her as she slipped on a patch of ice. She fell underneath the railing and over the edge but was able to reach out her right arm and grab ahold of the railing. She felt her shoulder pop and screamed out in pain, dangling by just her arm as she struggled to maintain a grip on the icy railing.
"Doll!" Buttons shouted, looking up. "You ok?"
"Of course I ain't ok!" she shouted out. She tried to pull herself up but her shoulder gave a painful throb and she cried out again. Her fingers began slipping on the railing as she reached up to grab it with her other arm. Then Dollface was struck by a moment of pure terror as she saw, rather than felt, her fingers slip from the railing. Her heart dropped to her stomach as she fell two stories to the ground.
The snow did little to cushion her fall. She landed on her right arm, her shoulder already throbbing with pain, and felt another sharp pain shoot through her wrist. Spot, Buttons, and the other newsies ran over to her, the game forgotten. Dollface gritted her teeth, forcing herself to not cry, and clutched her wrist.
"Buttons, go get your newsies and tell 'em the games off," Spot said, looking up at him and then looking at Red. "Red, go tell our gang too." They all ran out of the alley, knowing this was serious, and left Spot and Dollface alone. She tried to sit up and move but he gently pushed her back down.
"Hey, take it easy ok," he said, inspecting her head for any bumps. "What happened? What hurts?"
"My arm," Dollface said, her entire right arm now throbbing painfully. "My wrist and shoulder." Spot gave her a worried look, seeing her pained expression, and grabbed her left hand.
"We'll fix ya up, don't worry," he said, trying to convince himself more than anything. After sitting silently for another minute or so, he helped her into a sitting position and then moved to sit behind her so she could lean against him.
That's when the first few boys came into the alley. First it was Davey, followed by Jack, and finally Crutchie. They could hear the running footsteps of the others closely behind them. Davey, Jack, and Crutchie all walked over to where Spot and Dollface were sitting and crouched next to them.
"What happened? You hurt?" Crutchie asked anxiously. "What's wrong?"
"She slipped on the fire escape," Spot said, pointing up to the fire escape she had been standing on five minutes before. "She grabbed onto the railing as she was falling, that's how she hurt her shoulder, and then fell before any of us could get up there to help her. She landed on her arm, that's how she hurt her wrist."
"Why you always gotta be gettin hurt, huh?" Crutchie asked, trying to smile for her. He reached out his hand and gently brushed her hair from her face. She tried to smile back but her arm gave another painful throb and she grimaced. The rest of the Manhattan newsies, and a few Brooklyn newsies, ran into the alley and stopped when they saw the pain Dollface was in.
"Ok, we gotta get ya back to the boardin house," Spot said, seeing her grimace. "Kloppman will get ya straight in no time."
"NO!" all the Manhattan newsies shouted out. Spot froze and looked around at them.
"What?" he asked confused.
"We wasn't supposed to be playing in the snow today," Jack explained. "Kloppman told us to just sell papes and then come back home. He didn't want us to get sick or-"
"Hurt," Dollface finished, clenching her teeth. "We can't exactly go waltzin in there afta we completely disobeyed him. Specially not when he turned out to be right."
"Dollface, this is nuts," Spot said, looking at her. "You's hurt bad and you'd ratha keep ya pride intact than your arm?"
"He's right," Davey said, looking around at all the boys. "If we don't get her arm fixed correctly, it could end up badly."
"Don't I know it," Crutchie said, looking awkwardly at his bad leg. They all stood around, silently weighing their options.
"Ya know what, I'm fine," Dollface said, breaking the silence. She struggled to stand up, every movement sending shots of pain down her arm, but gritted her teeth and hid it from everyone else. "Let's just go back home. Kloppman don't hafta know anythin about this. In fact my arms feeling betta already."
"No it ain't," Jack said, walking forward. "Look, Davey's right, we gotta get you fixed up. You's hurt bad and I'll be damned if I let this happen to ya. I put ya up in that fire escape so I'm gonna take care of ya." He scratched the back of his neck, thinking.
"Ok look, we can eitha go back home and have Kloppman ride us hard for this one," Jack said, looking around to everyone, "But then at least Dollface will be betta. Sure, he might not let this one go for a while but at least we'll all be ok."
"I'll be damned if I'm the one that gets all you's in trouble," Dollface said, shaking her head. "We don't all gotta suffer just cuz I'm so clumsy. No, we ain't goin back with me looking like this."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Davey asked her.
"We could go back to my place," Spot suggested. "It's around the corna from here and then we can try and see what's goin on with ya arm. Can't really tell in all this clothin anyway. We gots a fireplace there so we can warm up too."
"Betta than nothin," Jack shrugged. "Lead the way."
The other newsies parted, letting Spot walk past him, and they turned to follow him. Dollface walked slowly, clutching her arm and every single step causing her pain. She tried very hard to hide it, looking down and focusing on the footsteps she was making in the snow, but soon felt as if she would pass out from the pain.
"Jesus, you's stubborn," Jack groaned, seeing her struggle. He stopped and scooped her up so he had one arm supporting her back and one under her bent knees. Dollface blushed when Jack did this. It made her feel infinitely smaller and weak.
"Jack, I'm fine just-" she began to say but her arm gave another sharp throb and she grimaced. Jack gave her a look and she stopped talking, deciding to accept his gesture. They continued walking for another five minute or so before coming to an old warehouse. It was in a rather abandoned area, close to the docks of course, and they all followed Spot as he turned the corner. He stopped in front of a large set of metal doors that looked so brittle that a single kick would knock them over. This seemed to be the case, as all Spot did to open them was push them in with his toes.
"It ain't much, but we call it home when the alleys don't seem so comfortable," he said, letting everyone walk inside. They looked around at the vast, empty room. There was indeed a fireplace, like Spot had said, but that was the only thing that made the room seem welcoming. It was dark and cold and dank and there were piles of crates, boxes, and barrels stacked up in one corner. Over by the fireplace, there was an assortment of blankets and pillows. Spot ran over to them and gathered up his blankets. He piled them together and Jack carefully set Dollface down on them.
"We'll get you fixed up," he said promisingly. "You'll be good as new real soon."
"I know," Dollface said, putting on a brave smile. "I'm in good hands."