What if Jack went to the Refuge instead of Crutchie?
(PART ONE)
As the Newsies triumphantly take their photo, they ecstatically run around the square. They toss, throw, and rip up any papers nearby. The Newsies celebrate for a few minutes. What they don't know is that Wiesel, the Delancey Brothers, and other goons have been watching them. As the gates slowly open, The men step out, clubs and baseball bats in hand.
"I think it's time these kids learned a lesson," Wiesel announced, catching the Newsies' attention. They freeze, not knowing what to do. Jack steps to the front of the crowd, getting in Wiesel's face.
"Newsies… Get 'em!" Jack shouts. With that, the Newsies swarm them. The men advance, with zero hesitation. The men aren't bad fighters, they don't have much more than the Newsies. Still, they hold up pretty well. Jack runs up to Crutchie.
"Crutchie, stay outta sight. I'll tell ya when it's safe." He urges. Crutchie tilts his head, confusion washes over his face.
"But why-" Before he can finish his sentence, a goon takes a swing at Crutchie. Jack pulls him down, barely dodging it.
"Now!" Jack yells. Crutchie nods, then limps away. Not before tripping a nearby goon. Jack fights against the goon. The fight is more or less even until a police whistle freezes and silences everyone. A squad of policemen shows up, signaling for Wiesel and the others to stand down. Romeo runs up to the chief.
"Bout' time you showed up! They're slaughterin' us!" Romeo cries. With one swift one, the chief elbows Romeo in the face, sending him down. Many more policemen arrive. Jack stands on a couple of crates, making an announcement.
"Fellas! It's the bulls!" Jack yells. The policemen advance towards the Newsies. The policemen are outnumbered, but they are much more experienced fighters. Many Newsies flee, some stay and fight, and others are beaten relentlessly. Amidst the chaos, Snyder appears from behind a stack of newspapers. He immediately locates and makes progress towards Jack. He yells out to him.
"You can't run forever, Kelly! Morris! Oscar! After him!" Snyder commands. With that, the Delancey Brothers immediately hurry towards Jack. Albert and Elmer run, attempting to save Jack.
"We got ya Jack! Don't worry!" Albert shouts. Snyder pushes them apart. leaving two policemen to come by and pull them away. The Delancey Brothers get a hold of Jack, keeping him in place. Snyder gives a pair of handcuffs to Morris. Suddenly, Snyder punches Jack several times, while the Delancey Brothers hold him up.
"Ain't so tough now, huh Cowboy?" Morris taunts, putting the handcuffs on him. Jack elbows Morris in the ribs and attempts to escape. But he's got nowhere to go. From behind a stack of newspapers, Crutchie sees the entire scene play out. Internally, he's panicking. He knows he has to do something. But he feels powerless. It doesn't take long for him to make up his mind, though.
"Jack!" Crutchie shouts, making his way to him. The limp is slowing him down, but he's still making decent speed. Crutchie pushes and shoves through groups of Newsies. Which makes it harder and harder for him to get to Jack.
"Crutchie no!" Jack yells. Oscar punches him in the jaw, making him shut up. Morris laughs mockingly, enjoying the current situation. The Delanceys had always had it out for Jack.
"Shut it, Kelly!" He says to him. The Delancey Brothers continue to toy with Jack. Snyder sees Crutchie among the crowd, slowly making his way towards them. For a split second, Snyder's face shows signs of worry. If one Newsie arrives, it won't be long until a whole army of them appear. Snyder knows this. However, the Delanceys are unaware. Jack notices Crutchie approaching, and he attempts to stall them.
"You got a lotta nerve, ya know 'dat? You ain't getin' away wit' this one!" Jack says angrily. The brothers don't respond, simply laughing. Before either of them can respond, Snyder quickly turns to the Delanceys, a look of urgency washing over his face.
"Take him to The Refuge." He orders. The brothers roll their eyes, but listen, taunting him as they pull him away.
"Say bye-bye ta' Crutchie!" Oscar teases. Snyder shoots them a look, but they ignore it. Morris joins in.
"Yeah! Say bye!" Morris says. Jack elbows him in the jaw, making one last attempt. But he's unsuccessful. They haul him off to The Refuge. Jack yells out to Crutchie one last time.
"Don't worry Casey! I'll be alright!" Jack yells out. Morris punches his stomach.
"Shut it, why don't ya?" Morris demands. Covering Jack's mouth. With that, Jack, Oscar, Morris, and Snyder leave the area. Crutchie desperately limps after him, trying his hardest.
"No!" Crutchie yells, tears streaming down his cheeks. But before he can get any further, A policeman trips him. Causing him to fall. He winces in pain.
"Dumb crip.." He mumbles. He takes his crutch. Before the policeman can soak him across the chest, Race steps him, pushing the policeman to the ground.
"Go after Jack! I'll hold 'em off!" Race says. But when Crutchie looks, Jack and the others are long gone. Race tries to fight against the policeman, but he's powerless. He gets elbowed to the ground. Crutchie turns to help Race. Before he can, the policeman hits him in the face with his crutch. He falls, getting hit some more. Race gets to his feet, and once again, he steps in, pulling Crutchie to his feet. He picks him up and then runs off. The policeman goes to run after him, but the chief stops him.
"No, it's no use.. They already got the escaped convict." The two walk off. Newsies Square is left empty. The moon eerily hangs over the darkened sky. Ripped-up newspapers are scattered all around Newsie's square. The distribution wagon is tipped over, and several crates are broken into pieces. Newsies are dispersed around Lower Manhattan. After distancing themselves from the chaos, Race and Crutchie finally stop, retreating into an isolated alleyway. He sets Crutchie down against a wall.
"Say, thanks Race.. For savin' my neck out there…" Crutchie says, wincing. Already missing his crutch. Which was the only thing that made his bum leg slightly more tolerable.
"Yeah, no problem Crutchie…" Race says timidly. Crutchie could immediately tell something was bothering him. He sits up a bit, speaking in a softer voice.
"You doin' okay?" Crutchie asks. Motioning for Race to sit down. He sees this and sits. He sighs, then speaks. Avoiding eye-contact.
"Barely.. I jus' can't believe they got Jack.. I knew we shoulda put this strike off a couple a' days. Too late now.." It was obvious the fight had shaken Race up a bit. Crutchie could tell. If anyone was good at reading people, it was Crutchie. But Crutchie was also a good comfort person.
"Yeah.. but hey! Ya know Jack! He'll be outta there before ya know it!" Crutchie said, trying to lighten the mood a little bit. He was good at that. Crutchie was naturally optimistic anyway. He saw the bright side in everything. Not only was he trying to convince Race, he was trying to convince himself.
"How come youse always so cheery all da time?" Race asked. It was a valid question after all. Crutchie had been beaten up. He lost his crutch and he possibly lost his best friend. Yet, he still tried to keep a smile on his face. It was a mystery, not just to Race, but to every Newsie.
"I'm not sure.. But hey! It helps!" Crutchie said. He tried his best to remain optimistic. But with the recent events, it was hard. He couldn't stop replaying the image of Jack getting hauled away by the Delancey Brothers. Could that seriously be the last time he saw him? It couldn't be. Jack was known for making his escape out of The Refuge. So why wouldn't he escape now?
"Well.. We should get some rest… No point in continuin' da strike if Jack ain't here…" Race said. He hated to admit it, but it was true. If they didn't have Jack, they didn't have a leader. It was the sad truth. No one else could replace him, even if it was temporary. The Newsies had already gone so long without a leader. So nothing was new, at least to Race. Crutchie speaks up.
"But.. We can't just abandon the strike… Jack would want us to keep goin'.. Right?" Crutchie said. Even if Jack wasn't present, he wanted to continue what he started. Whatever it takes, he'll make sure the strike lives on. One way or another.
"But, there ain't anyone to lead it?" Race argued. Crutchie didn't know how to answer that. After a few seconds of thinking. Crutchie spoke. Slightly hopeful.
"Well.. We could vote for someone! Yeah! That's it! We'll… We'll hold a meetin', and.. If we round up all da' Newsies.. We could vote for a new leader until Jack comes back." Crutchie suggested. He had no idea how he arrived at that conclusion, but he was proud of himself. He didn't consider himself the "brains" of the Newsies. That title belonged to Davey.
"You know, that's not a bad idea… How bout'.. We discuss this wit' the other Newsies tomorrow? Say.. At Jacobi's?" Race proposed. Crutchie nodded excitedly. He was happy that his idea was going to be discussed with the other Newsies. Once again, he felt proud of himself. If only Jack could see me now. That thought made him a bit sad, but this was for the strike. For the Newsies.
"Alright, get some rest, Crutch. You'll need it.." Race said as he patted Crutchie's back. He brought up his hand, spitting in it. Offering it to Crutchie.
"See ya tomorrow, Race!" Crutchie said. He recognized the gesture, doing the same, then shaking his hand.
"See ya tomorrow, Crutchie!" Race stood up, making his way to his usual sleeping spot. Crutchie was left alone. Despite his bum leg hurting more than ever, and having no crutch. He limped to Jack's penthouse in the sky. It took forever, but it was worth it. It had only been a few days since Santa Fe was introduced to Crutchie. He wanted to go now more than anything. As he leaned against the railing, he started to wonder what Jack was doing. What was The Refuge like? Crutchie had only heard stories of it. A wave of sadness washed over him. He felt bad for Jack. He didn't have anyone to talk to. Crutchie sighed, then looked off in the distance. Suddenly, he had an idea. He'd write him s letter. A letter to let him know that he was okay. With that, Crutchie stands up, still in pain, he uses the railings for extra support. He grabbed an empty piece of paper from one of Jack's endless bags of drawings. Hopefully, he didn't mind. He picked up a broken pencil and started to write the letter. After about 10 minutes, Crutchie finishes writing. He sits down on his side of the penthouse. He reads the letter out loud to himself. Singing as he does so.
CRUTCHIE:
"Dear Jack.. Greetings from the Penthouse!
How are you? I'm okay.
Guess I wasn't much help earlier.
Them bulls soaked me real good with my crutch.
Oh yeah Jack! This is Crutchie by the way!
Those damn bulls, they is rude,
They say "Shut it crip, you do or you're screwed"
But the bruises ain't so bad, least' so far,
Although, I still don't got my crutch! Haha!
I really miss you
Singin' all bout' Santa Fe!
And How clean and green It is
How I'd toss my crutch if I ever went that way!
Anyway, so guess what?
There's this secret escape plan for youse!
Tie a sheet to a bed, toss the end out of window
Climb down then take off like a shot!
I would help, but not tonight.
I can't sleep, and I don't got my crutch.
Hey but, Pulitzer, he's goin' down!
And then, Jack, I thinkin' we might just go
Like you was sayin'...
Where it's clean and green and pretty!
With no buildings in ya way
And youse ridn' Palominos, every day!
Once that train makes-
"Pipe down up there!" A Newsie shouts from below.. Crutchie limps to the railing, yelling down to him.
"Sorry!" Crutchie yells down. He sits down, finds his place, then continues to sing.
We'll fine, so will I
But just keep this one thing in mind
On this rooftop you said that the Newsies look out for each other..
So you take all them kids in there, and bring em' with ya!
The end!
Your friend..
Your BEST friend..
Your brother..
Crutchie"
As Crutchie looks over his letter, he folds it up and puts it away. He lays down and finally attempts to get some sleep. The pain is unbearable, but he's able to get through it. Meanwhile, across town, Jack is sitting on a bed, in an isolated cell inside of The Refuge. He's on a broken bed, drawing a landscape of Santa Fe on pape. There's a single candle sitting in the center of the room. There's one window with bars. As Jack finishes up the drawing, he sighs, as he leans against the hard concrete wall. Throwing the drawing across the room. He quietly sings to himself.
JACK:
Santa Fe
Are you fair?
I can't spend my whole life hidin'
You're the only light that's guidin' tonight.
Someone bangs on the door. Jack stops singing for a moment, keeping an ear out. Then, the person shouts.
"Quiet Kelly!" Snyder shouts. Banging on the door one last time. Jack rolls his eyes but quiets down. Continuing to sing.
JACK:
Can you keep a candle burning?
Will you help me find my way?
You're my chance to break
And who knows when my next one will be
Santa Fe
Wait for me..
When he finishes sinigng, Jack settles down and attempts to sleep. Unable to fall asleep. He groans, rolling on his back. He whispers to himself.
"Damn this place..." He whispers angrily. Jack closes his eyes, finally catching some sleep. With that, the day ends. The Newsies are scattered all around Lower Manhattan Sleeping in different places across the city. Jack is officially captured and placed into The Refuge. With Snyder personally watching him. In the meantime, Crutchie is left bruised and beaten without his crutch. Now, the Newsies of Lower Manhattan are left without a leader.
END OF PART ONE
