A Different Path

Chapter 24 - Strike and Refuge

"Get outta here," he said, his voice panicked. "I'll meet you there." I nodded, and he took off to get Les hidden.

I was rushing down the alleyways to get to the lodging house, trying to stay out of view of anybody. I was nearly there and began to feel relieved, when two cops turned the corner, heading right to newsie square. I froze, not knowing what to do. More cops soon joined them, and Snyder was in the group, making my heart sink.

"That's one of them!" He yelled, making two of them run at me. I took off down a different alley, trying to go as fast as I could. It wasn't hard for them to catch up, though, and before I knew it I was tackled to the ground. 

"No! Please!" I yelled in fear, and Snyder kicked me in the stomach as punishment. This didn't knock the wind out of me, though, and I fought back against the grip of the cops that were trying to hold me down. "Jack! Race!" I screamed, hoping that somehow they'd hear me. Deep down, I knew they wouldn't, and Snyder kicked me again. I could no longer breathe, making me unable to fight back. The cops got off of me and Snyder grabbed my hands, cuffing them.

"It's off to the refuge with you, little man." He spat, grabbing my crutch. He then hit me with it a few times, and dragged me away.

Jack's POV

I had hidden behind a trashbin once the cops showed up, feeling totally defeated. Once things grew quiet, it was clear that the rest of the fellas had ran back to the lodging house, trying to escape Snyder, most of them succeeding. I had told Davey and Les to just go home, not wanting to risk them getting arrested. I finally came out from hiding, heading straight to the lodging house to see Crutchie.

As I opened the door, I felt overwhelmed by how many boys were there. It wasn't more than usual, of course, but it was chaotic, as they were trying to patch one another up. I scanned the room briefly, realizing Crutchie likely went to Race's room. I went right to his door, knocking on it. Race opened it a few seconds later, looking exhausted.

"Hey," he said, broken.

"Hey, can I see Crutchie?" I asked, and Race just stared at me, confused.

"He ain't here," he said, and my heart dropped.

"What?" It immediately felt like time had stopped, and I was hoping he was playing some kind of cruel joke.

"He ain't here, but I'm sure he's somewhere in the lodging house. C'mon, let's look." He quickly said, sensing that I was panicking. 

We ran around the entire building multiple times, asking everybody if they had seen him. Nobody had, and we couldn't find him. I stood at Race's door to meet up with him again, fully panicking now. 

"Did you find him?" I asked desperately, and he shook his head. "Oh my fucking god," I mumbled, feeling sick to my stomach.

"Here, let's go into my room," he opened his door and we went in, and I sat down on his bed right away, feeling as though I couldn't hold myself up any longer. 

"They got him," I whispered, staring at the ground.

"Jack I'm sure he just had to hide somewhere else-"

"Stop trying to make shitseem okay, Race! They got him!" I snapped, beginning to sob. "I- sorry," I quickly added, pushing my hair back.

"It's okay, I know why you're upset. You stay here, and I'll go check, okay?" He offered, and I nodded. "I'll be back soon. Try to stay calm." He then left me alone, and I had to lay down, as I felt like I might pass out at any second.

Crutchie's POV

I was sitting next to the barred window in the room I had been placed in, clutching my side as I breathed heavily from the pain. I hadn't even tried to claim a bed or ask if anyone would share, as I knew it was a lost cause, so I decided I'd set myself up beside the window. It was dark out now, and I was crying quietly to myself as I thought about Jack.