Life With the Newsies- One Shots- OPEN to OCs

On the Run

"Welcome back to the Refuge, Georgia!! I hope you enjoy your stay. I know I will," Snyder greets her and Georgia glares at him. His face suddenly darkens and he nods to the girl. "Tie her up." The police officers shove Georgia into a chair and leave her hands handcuffed. Snyder tosses them some rope and a cloth.  Georgia struggles against them, trying to make it as hard as she can for the two officers. One of the officers pulls something from his pocket and dumps it onto the cloth. Georgia struggles until one of the men presses it hard over her nose and mouth. She struggles not to breathe it, but to no avail. Her eyes start to flutter closed and her head swivels to the side.  The other officer bounds Georgia's wrists and ankles tightly to the chair. Snyder nods as he looks over at the bound girl.  He walks over to her and smiles. The binds on her wrists and ankles preventing her from moving. "Oh, Georgia. If only you knew what I have in store for you."

A Few Hours Later

Jack's head hurts. His hand flies to his head to ease the pain and he slowly sits up. He glances around his surroundings and immediately gasps.  Suddenly, everything from the past few hours comes flying back all at once. Georgia. Snyder. The cops helping Snyder. Jack takes another look at his surroundings and he now knows exactly where he is and he needs to get out. Now. Escaping is not the easiest thing, but Jack has done it twice before. He has no choice but to do it again. Jack has to do it not just for Georgia, but for Katherine, Davey, Crutchy and the rest of the Newsies. He looks around the cell. There has to be some sort of place to escape. Some faint scratch lines on the wall capture his attention. Jack walks over for a closer look to see that there is a name scratched into the wall. Split sticks out clearly to Jack and he smiles. Jack had known Split back when he was a Newsie. The kid had gained his nickname for not staying in one place for too long. Split had always been on the move. He had only been a Newsies for six months to a year before he went off and did something else. Apparently, he had wound up here at some time. Split had been about a year or so older than Jack, if Jack was remembering correctly. Most of the Newsies had been in the Refuge at one point or another, so it was not surprising to see Split's name carved into the wall.  Split also made it known that he had been in a place by doing this. Jack ran his fingers over his old friend's name. He misses Split and wishes he could see him again, but knowing Split, he probably wasn't even in New York anymore. Rubbing his fingers over Split's name opens a small space in the wall. Jack jumps a little in surprise. He doesn't remember the Refuge ever having any kind of secret passage way. Jack sees a small journal in the secret compartment. He opens it and sees Split's messy handwriting scrawled across the pages. Split wrote about the rumors of the secret passageways and how he was determined to find them. Jack reads it all as sort of nonsense language until he gets to a certain part.

The floors and the walls hold stories untold.

Jack stares at the writing and blinks. This has to be some sort of code. Split was never known for writing in codes, but this seemed important. He had just been trying to help other kids escape. Kids like Jack. Holding the journal in his hand and closing the compartment, Jack looks around the room. He sees a piece of concrete with some faint indents in it. Maybe it was what Split had been referring to. Jack shrugs. He would never know unless he tries. Jack kneels down and presses on the piece of floor. It spins and starts to open up to a ladder below. Jack hears footsteps coming towards his cell. He quickly hurries down the ladder and searches in the dark for something to press. Jack finally finds a button and presses it hard. The secret passage way swivels shut above him and he does not waste anytime leaving. Pitch black darkness surrounds Jack as he tries to silently maneuver the secret passageway. He sticks out both of his arms. Eventually he runs into a wall and stops for a second. Jack sticks one arm out to the right and takes two steps. Another wall meets his hand. He tries the left and succeeds. This carries on for quite some time and he makes it to an opening. Jack pushes up and finds himself in Snyder's office. He climbs the tiny ladder only to see Snyder, sitting in his desk chair with his feet propped up on his desk.