A/N: Pre-strike
"Hey, hey, wake up. Wake up, kid, it's just a dream," fourteen year old Sniper whispered.
Ten year old Jojo shot up, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. "It's ok, kid, you're safe, it's just me and da boys, no one else is here," Sniper whispered.
Jojo still looked pretty shaken, so Sniper asked, "Want ta go outside and talk for a bit?"
Jojo shakily nodded and Sniper helped the younger boy up and out of bed, leading him to the bench outside. Jojo had just arrived at the Lodge not more than three days ago. So far, Sniper had been the only one to hear the ten yr. old having nightmares, so almost every night they went outside.
"What was this one about?" Sniper asked patiently as Jojo sat next to him. Sniper wrapped his arm around Jojo's shoulders.
"It-it was him again," Jojo squeaked. Sniper nodded and protectively wrapped his arms around the small kid. "Well, it was just a dream right? 'e's not gonna come find ya, Jojo. And if 'e does somehow, me and da fellas will protect ya," Sniper promised.
"Sniper, do the-do the nightmare ever-ever stop?" Jojo asked quietly, looking up at the teenager. Sniper hesitated. "Sometimes. Mine 'ave kinda stopped and I think Albert and Henry's 'ave stopped. Jack still 'as some bad nightmares dough, and so does Mush. I think over time they'll slow, but I can't say for sure if they'll stop," Sniper said after a minute.
Jojo nodded and they boys were quiet. "Sniper? What do you have nightmare about?" Jojo asked, looking up at Sniper innocently. Sniper paused. Should he tell the kid? "Well, there's this place called da Refuge. It's a 'orrible place. A man named Snyder runs it, Snydah da Spider. 'E's a mean, mean man, Jojo. 'E's da main reason for Jack's nightmares. Anyways, I was taken ta da Refuge when I was younger, 'bout your age. When I finally got out Jack found me and took me 'ere. I'se 'ad nightmare's evah since," Sniper explained somberly.
Jojo was quiet. After a while, he said, "Sniper, how'd you get in the Refuge?"
"I got in a street fight wit some other kid. 'e managed ta escaped 'fore Snydah caught us," Sniper explained. Jojo stayed quiet, resting his head on his big brother's chest. As he continued to think about the Refuge, he fell asleep.
Sniper only realized the kid had fallen asleep after he heard the soft, purring-like, snores. He carried the ten-year-old back inside and laid him down in his bed.
The next morning, Jack woke the boys up fairly early. "C'mon, boys, we'se burnin' sunlight!" Jack said, walking downstairs with Crutchie following. Jojo hopped up, seeming to have forgotten about the nightmare the night before, until Sniper gave him a happy smile. He noticed the scar Sniper had on his shoulder as he got dressed.
'Was that from the Refuge?' Jojo wondered to himself. It was a long, thin, scar, just a shade darker than Sniper's pale skin and ran from the top of his shoulder until about the middle of his upper arm.
"Hey Jojo, heads up!" one of the other boys, Elmer, shouted. Jojo turned and saw a boot come flying his way. He grabbed it just as Race lunged for him. He moved out of the way and took off, giggling.
"Alright, alright, boys c'mon we'se gonna be late," Jack smirked, ruffling Jojo's hair. Sniper had told Jojo that touching, as in hugs, pats on the shoulder/arms/back, and ruffling hair, was Jack's way of show affection to his brothers so he just went with it.
Jojo gave Race his boot and followed Buttons and Crutchie out. "Hey, Crutch, what's ya leg say?" Jojo asked, smiling. Crutchie smiled and paused walking, felt his leg with mock-concentration on his face. "Rain until lunch then cloudy," he grinned. Jojo and Buttons laughed and Crutchie joined as they continued to walk.
Crutchie and Buttons were younger than Jojo, Crutchie being seven and Buttons being six, but they acted way older than that. Or, in Jojo's opinion at least. He hadn't known the boys very long, but the three had already hit it off.
Anyway, they bought their papes and went to their separate selling spots.
He'd been doing pretty well, when he saw an older man walk by. He had small, beady, green eyes, crusty fingernails, and was wearing a tux that told Jojo this man was rich. Jojo grinned.
'I bet I can get this fella ta buy a pape!' he thought.
"Extra! Extra! Factory goes down in flames! Ya heard it right here!" Jojo shouted. This turned the man's head and made him stop. Jojo pretended not to notice. "Extra! Extra! Earthquake knocks down two buildings!" Jojo shouted.
"I'll take a paper," the man grinned. His teeth were dirty and Jojo suddenly felt like being the center of this man's attention was a bad place to be. He handed Jojo a dime and took the pape. When the man didn't walk off with the paper, Jojo began to walk/run away.
"Hey, wait a second, boy! Where's that headline you were talking about?" the man asked. Jojo didn't answer, but picked up the pace, turning a corner. He breathed a sigh of relief and slowed to a walk.
Suddenly a boy a little older than Jojo turned the other corner and headed for him. He had an evil, mischievous, look on his face, and when he spotted Jojo, he picked up the pace. Dang it.
Jojo decided to stand his ground against the bully. That was twice his size. And older than him. And stronger.
'You know maybe this wasn't such a great idea,' Jojo decided. But it was too late now. He was too close to run. "What're ya doing on my side of the city, squirt?" the boy asked, cracking his knuckles. "It's-it's not your street," Jojo said, trying to sound tough. He knew how scared his voice sounded though.
"What if I says it is?" the boy asked, giving Jojo a shove. Jojo frowned and shoved the other boy. The boy laughed. "Squirt wants to be all rough and tough, huh?" the boy asked, shoving Jojo again. This shove was much stronger, and nearly made Jojo fall over. Jojo shoved back just as hard and the boy growled. The boy swung and Jojo ducked. Soon a full-blown fight broke out and they heard a voice shout, "Hey!"
The boy looked behind Jojo, turned pale, and took off. Jojo turned and saw the man from earlier. Jojo tried to run but the man was too fast.
He grabbed Jojo and slowly grinned evilly, insanity in his beady eyes. "You're coming to the Refuge, boy," he growled. Jojo felt the blood drain from his face. This was Snyder the Spider.
"Fellas, 'e shoulda been back by now," Sniper said worriedly. "He's right, Jojo's nevah this late," Specs said, looking at the other boys. Jack nodded, standing. "M'kay. Race, Sniper, Mush and I'se gonna go look for him. Specs, you'se in charge," Jack announced. Race and Mush stood as well and we left.
I searched every alley near Jojo's selling spot. I even went to Midtown to see if he'd gotten lost. After searching everywhere, with a lump of dread in his stomach, he snuck to the Refuge and snuck up the fire escape, peeking into the boys' room. "Hey!" Sniper hissed. One of the boys walked over to the window. "'ave you fellas gotten a new kid today?" he asked, dreading the answer. The boy nodded. "Where is 'e?" Sniper asked. "Snydah's got 'im in da office wit 'im," the boy said in a thick Brooklyn accent.
Sniper paled. Everyone who'd been in the Refuge knew what the office was. "'Kay. I'se gonna be back soon, take care a da boy for me," Sniper said and the boy said, "I'll try." Sniper nodded and jumped down, taking off at a run.
He ran to the Lodge, informing the boys of Jojo's whereabouts. "Sniper, ya gotta calm down. Freakin' out isn't gunna help him at all," Specs said, standing and gently but forcefully sitting Sniper on the bed behind him.
"It's my fault 'e's in there, I shoulda been wit 'im today," Sniper sighed, standing back up and continuing to pace.
"Snipe, ya didn't know dis was gunna happen, it ain't your fault," Henry said.
Sniper didn't reply. "Ok, boys we gotta go get Jojo, but we can't all go or all of us is gunna get caught," Jack said, "Snipe and I'll go get him. Rest a' ya make sure we got da Hurt Box filled and ready, ok?"
The other boys nodded and Sniper and Jack left. When they got to the Refuge however, the boy from earlier told the two that Jojo'd been moved to a different room after Snyder found out about Sniper's visit.
"Snipe, there's nothin' we can do now. Neither of us can get in dere and not have a flashback or somethin'. We just gotta trust Jojo to get himself outta dere," Jack whispered in a hushed voice.
Sniper worriedly looked from Jack to the Refuge, worrying the entire way home.
A day or two passed and Sniper had barely slept. The third day that Jojo'd been gone, Sniper decided to just sneak into the Refuge. But that morning when he'd woken up, the door opened. He saw a small boy standing there after a moment, he recognized it to be none other than- "Jojo!"
Sniper's shout woke the other boys, and as Sniper jumped out of bed, the other boys followed. Sniper helped the Jojo to his bed and Jack ran downstairs. "What's wit all da shoutin?" he asked tiredly.
Then he saw Jojo and sent Mush to get the Hurt Box.
Jojo was beaten and bruised but had a tired smile on his face. "'Ey, Sniper, miss me?" he asked tiredly as he and Jack began cleaning his wounds. "Yeah ya could say dat," Sniper joked, smiling gratefully.
A week or so passed and Jojo was back to normal, but the nightmares still haunted him. He wouldn't talk to the other boys about what happened there, but most of them knew.
Sniper and Jojo still got up every night, Jojo sometimes having to wake Sniper up because Sniper himself was having a nightmare, and they would still go out to the bench and talk. The brothers grew closer than ever, and every time Jojo saw Snyder on the street while selling, he no longer tried to get his attention, but took off in the other direction.
He'd learned his lesson and made sure that when Romeo joined the band of misfit brothers, he understood to stay away from the man with the small, beady, green, eyes. He wasn't going to let anyone make the same mistake he made.
A/N: Hey ya'll! Sorry for the hiatus. I actually really liked writing this chapter. For some reason, I decided that Sniper can't say h's. I don't why, but he can't. Also, I really, really like Sniper and Jojo's friendship. Maybe I'll do another chapter with that. Anyway, feedback is greatly appreciated. Please, please, please give me any suggestions for future one-shots! I'm running out of ideas!
TTFN!