Jack runs the back of his neck. I can tell when he is worried. This can't be good. He looks over at Specs. " Hey, Specs, any sign of reinforcements?" Specs shakes his head and makes a thumbs down towards us. Jack calls over Davey to give the boys hope. Like I told him to do earlier. "Davey, alright Davey..."
Davey walks in and through the clumps of Manhattan newsies. He speaks like he has waiting to say this his whole life. "Courage doesn't erase over fears, it's the opposite. Courage is when we face our fears. To all those bigwigs in their tower, we won't obey." He looks over to me and waves his hand for me to say something.
I breathe in and breathe out. "Look at us. The brave battalion. We are standing side by side. I know we are small in number, but we are not afraid to hide." Jack runs up to Me and Davey.
Jack yells that the newsies. "To all those boys who didn't come. We will fight for you, because it's the right thing." Everyone starts listening and becomes animated for the cause. "The Strike starts right damn now!" Jack shouts extremely loud that I know Delanceys and Weasel heard him from the paper stand.
Weasel walks up to us with Morris and Oscar right behind him. Not gonna lie. It's getting scary. Weasel booms. "The sun is up, the birds is signin', it's a beautiful day to crack some heads. Step right up and get your papes." Is he mocking us? Uh- huh not today.
Morris disgustingly cracks his knuckles and tilts his head. "Hey, you're workin' or trespassing. What's your pleasure?" He says to us. You don't know how much I want to spit in his eye right now.
Just then a group of kids just like us burst through and line up to get paper. Weasel walks back to his post and devilishly grins at us.
Davey grabs my shoulder and leans down to my ear and says. "Who are they?"
I get angry and say. "Scabs, what do you think?" I get so angry my voice gets raspy.
Skittery jumps up to the front of the crowd. "They think they can just waltz in here and take our jobs." Crutchie goes over to Jack and shouts so everyone can hear him. "We can handle 'em!" Not very threating coming from the one with a messed up leg. And I couldn't place the voice but someone yells, "Let's Soak em!" That's followed by a bunch of "Yeah!" s.
Davey freaks out and yells, which isn't something he usually does. "Hold it, hold it! We all stand together or we don't have a chance. Jack!"
"No. I hear ya." He says to Davey. Jack hearing his cue walks to the center of the space between the scabs and the striking newsies.
He stands up as straight as he can and talks like I have never heard him talk before. "Listen, fellas, I know someone put you's up to this. They're probably payin' you some extra money too, yeah? Well it ain't right! Pulitzer thinks we are gutter rats with no respect for nothin', including each other. Is that what we are, huh? Well, we stab each other in the back and yeah, that's who we are. But if we stand together, we change the whole game. It ain't just about us. All across this city, there are boys and girls who should be out playin', or goin' to school but instead they are slavin' to support themselves and their folks. Ain't no problem in being poor, and not a one of us complains if the work we do is hard. All we ask is a square deal. Fellas, for the sake of all the kids in every sweatshop, factory, and slaughterhouse in this town, I beg you. Throw down your papers and join the strike."
Suprisingly I see Katherine out of the corner of my eye. She is standing under the gates out of trouble. She is writing every word that came out of Jack Kelly's mouth.
One scab walks up to Jack. "I'm with ya." He throws his papers on the ground and shakes Davey and Jack's hand. All of us cheer. I smile and turn to see Katherine giving me a thumbs up.
The second scab throws down his papers the other one turns to Him and grabs his shoulder, "Are you kidding me?" The third scab says.
"At the end of the day who are you gonna trust them." He says pointing to us. "Or them?" He says pointing to the Delanceys.
We all walk up our new striker and the other scab is holding on to his papers. He throws em down and sticks his arms in the air. "Oh, what the hell. My father's gonna kill me anyway!" We all cheer and I pat his back.
"Strike!" I shout.
"Strike!" Les shouts.
"Strike!" Crutchie shouts.
"Strike!" Race shouts.
"Strike strike strike strike!" We all start chanting.
Oscar and Morris runs up to us. Morris grabs Les and throws him over his shoulder. Little Les shouts at us to help him. "Davey! Stray! JACK! Help me!" A crowd of us retrieve Les back and Elmer got punched in all of the Chaos.
All of us charge the Paper Stand. We stand on top of it. Throwing paper and Jack hold up a roll of The New York World. Katherine runs in and brings a cameraman with her. She snaps a picture of us.
Bulls runs into the area. Jack's eyes grow wide and throws down the paper and shouts. "BULLS!"
Bulls are people hire to beat other people up. Delanceys do it in their spare time when they are not beating us to a pulp. Weasel yells at the Bulls. "Its time these kids learn a lesson"
Jack yells at us. "Newsies! Get 'em!" We all jump and run of the structure. I run towards Katherine and grab her by her wrist. She looks at me shocked. "Stray? What's happening?"
I pull her all the way out of the world gates before I answer her. "Bulls are attacking. Run! Go home! Things are getting nasty."
I turn to go back in but she stops me, "You're going back in?" Katherine questions.
I nod slightly and say. "I have too." I don't say anymore. I just run and try to avoid chaos which isn't going to happen. It's already mad in here.
Davey hids Les in a barrels and punches are being thrown left and right. Oscar kicks down the barrel and it rolls over to me. Les crawls out and clings onto my leg. He is shocked up. I pick him up piggyback style and run over to Davey. He takes his little brother and hids.
I feel a kick straight in my leg. I fall down face first in my gravel and roll over to see who it is. It's none other than Morris. I use my other leg and kick him in the gut. He stumbles backwards and I use the moment to stand up. He charges back at me and I doge a punch. Morris grunts and I throw a fist straight to his face. He holds it with his hands.
But it's not over I feel two arms wrap around me I can't move. "Miss me." Only one voice could be so despicable. Oscar is currently holding me back.
A whistle blows. The police have arrived. Thank god. Boots runs up to him. "It's about time you got here, they're slaughtering us! " The police man slaps him to the ground. I flinch and Oscar pulls me back from even trying to move.
More enter and then the Synder the Spider follows. I get really scared. I can't go back. I kick up my legs trying to escape, but Oscar tightens his grip. His brother comes right in front of me and punches me in the face. I scream. And unexpectedly Race comes to my rescue. He jumps on Morris' back and I throw my leg backwards and kick Oscar where the sun don't shine. He lets go off his grip. Me and Race run as fast as we can.
Cops, Bulls, Synder, and Delanceys. It is a real life nightmare. I see Jack climbing up a fire escape. I am just about to go that way too but I hear a scream. I violently turn around to see Crutchie. No! Not my Crutchie.
He punches Morris but then Oscar pushes Crutchie to the ground. I scream out "NO!"
Synder runs up and takes the his crutch out from under Crutchie. He beats him with it. "CRUTCHIE!!!" Synder puts handcuff on him. "It's off to the Refuge for you, little man. Take him away!" The Delanceys drag him. On the ground!!! No no no!
Crutchie yells out. "JACK! STRAY! HELP!" I am hyperventilating!
Jack shout from above me. "Crutchie!" Synder hears the scream and looks and sees Jack. He smirks and yells, "Kelly!"
I feel and pull on my arm. I scream scared even though it was only Buttons. I breath a sigh of relief. But Synder noticed. "Sinclair!" He shouts.
Buttons pulls me. "No!" I would let him take me from Crutchie.
"Stray! We have to go." He says pleading with me.
Before being tugged out I scream at the top of my lungs while crying my eyes out. "CRUTCHIE!!!"
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A/N: AHHHHH! Everything just went downhill.
Please comment about your reaction this chapter since it was so crazy.
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