The Road to Harlem

3. Escape?

Trigger Warning: Beating

Hello, my lovely readers, it's your author. Sorry the other chapters have been so short. This one's gonna be longer I promise. I hope you like it. Thanks for reading, and I love you all!

Also, sorry I haven't been updating for a while, I didn't have much time this week, but I am going to write at least 1 chapter a week from now on. 

Thanks to my amazing friends for helping me come up with ideas for this chapter! My love goes out to them!

(Patrick's POV) - 1 year later

*RING RING*

A chorus of boys groaned. When are we not tired? We barely get any sleep to begin with. Ever since Snyder started making us do extra work, we end up going to bed in the early hours of the morning. Sometimes kids fall asleep doing work, and they get beat. That happened to me once. It's no different from any other beatings we get. I still haven't gotten used to them. My whole body aches and is covered with bruises, and each one reminds me that I am getting farther from leaving this place.

Once the boys started getting out of their beds, we heard a bang at the door. Everyone immediately stood straight up and expected the worst. One of the guards opened the door and nodded to us.

Nobody said anything, we filed out of the room and down the stairs to where the boys worked. There were long rows of tables with a space in the middle in which to walk. On one side, was a wall of boxes containing the bottles we would be cleaning today. After the bottles were made, they were shipped to us to clean. Then, we'd put them in boxes ready to ship to whoever wanted to use them. More boys filed in through the doors opposite us, and we assumed our positions at the tables. With a final ring of the bell, the boy standing at the end of the table brought down a box from the top of the stack, and our work began for the day. We dunked the dirty bottles into a cleaning solution and scrubbed them with a rag. Then we passed the bottles down the table so that the other boys could wipe them dry. Usually, finishing all the boxes took all day. If we didn't finish all the boxes by the bell, the guards would go around and give everyone a slap on the wrist. Then we would keep working until they were all finished which would usually take until the early hours of the morning. They let us sleep for an hour or two until we have to get up at the crack of dawn to work more.

*CRASH* A bottle slipped from my hand and hit the stone floor. All the boys immediately turned their heads, but immediately returned to what they were doing, afraid to get in trouble because of me. One of the guards nearby, took me by the arm and dragged me into a room. He slapped me across the face so hard that I fell. "This is unacceptable!"

"I'm sorry sir, it was an accident," I mumbled.

"There is no time for accidents!" he yelled. He took his cane and swung it at my side. I cried in pain. He kicked me a few times and left the room.

I just lay there, not wanting to move. I heard footsteps outside the door and immediately scrambled to my feet. I opened the door and went back to work.

When we went back to the bunk room, I climbed into the bunk that I shared with only one other boy, Peter. I was one of the lucky ones, most of the boys had to share a bed with two or three other boys. I curled up on my side and tried to hold the tears in. A single tear rolled down my cheek. The door barged open, and I didn't dare to move. I heard someone walk in, and the door closed. I turned my head around and saw a boy who looked maybe a year older than me. He had brown hair with a cap that I would see the newsies wear when I walked to the market with Muriel. Another tear threatened to drop, but I was too quick to wipe it away. I made my way down to him. "Hi, what's your name?"

"Jack...Jack Kelly," He stammered.

"My name's Patrick, but you can call me Finch," I announced. The boys had been calling me Finch before, but I wasn't sure how I felt about it until now. It reminds me of my family, but also gives me new hope. Like maybe I will be able to leave this place.

TIME SKIP (Flash forward 2 months)

We were in the middle of working when Snyder burst in through the door. We were surprised but continued working as if nothing happened. "I have an announcement!" he yelled. We stopped what we were doing and stared at him, he never did this. Something very important must be going on. "I have received recent news that Theodore Roosevelt will be visiting The Refuge." We murmured to each other as Snyder left the room. One of the guards banged his cane on the ground and we all went back to work without another work.

In the bunk room, we were all excited that the Governor was going to come. "I bet he's gonna see what it's really like in here and let us go," Freckles said. We don't really know how it happened, but almost everyone here has a nickname. One of my best friends here is Patches. We call him Patches because he has an eye patch.

"I'm gonna escape when the guards aren't looking," Jack said. He smirked proudly.

"Yeah?" Patches questioned, "How are you gonna do that?"

"Easy!" Jack explained, "When he goes inside, I'm gonna sneak into his carriage, and climb under the chair-"

*BANG* The door opened and we all froze. The guard looked around, grabbed one of the boys by the window, and dragged him out with him, slamming the door behind them. We relaxed. There was a moment of silence, ever since I got here, one boy gets dragged out of the room to be beaten. Even though it's happened so much, I still haven't gotten used to it. I just stood there staring at the wall, some boys muttered to each other, and others curled up in their beds, grateful they weren't chosen. Nicks walked across the room to Jack, acting as if nothing happened. "I think you's gonna get caught!" The boys keep talking, but I don't feel like listening to their conversation. I climbed up to my bunk and found Peter asleep. I laid down, trying not to wake him up. As I closed my eyes, I thought about what it would be like to leave here. Maybe I would find work somewhere. I knew Jack worked on the streets, but he never said what exactly he did. Maybe we could escape together. My thoughts faded away and I fell asleep.