The year was 1896. That night, Jack, Patch, and Florrie found themselves sprinting through the Manhattan alleyways, hearts pounding with urgency. It was a race against time, a desperate bid to escape the clutches of Patch's father, Snyder.
Jack, who was a Manhattan newsie back then had asked her to help him save his little sister, Florrie. Patch had agreed because she was the only other newsie in New York, besides Jack, who knew the complicated layout of the refuge. Patch had been the lookout that night as Jack got Florrie away from the refuge. Hand in hand, Jack and his sister bolted away from the building with Patch following quickly behind them.
Soon, the trio stopped, thinking they had succeeded in their escape until they heard frantic hoofbeats. Snyder, angry as anything, was following them in a wooden wagon. Jack took off with the girls behind him. He knew they would be safe if they could make it to Medda's theater. Patch caught up to him, but Florrie was slow; weakened from her brief stay at the jail.
"Com'on," Jack yelled, motioned towards an alleyway. Snyder was right behind them! Florrie stopped and looked back at Snyder in fear as Patch jumped into the alleyway behind Jack.
Tears filled Patch's eyes as she heard the thundering sound of crushing wheels. With an anguished mix of horror and disbelief, Jack and Patch watched in dismay as Snyder's wagon wheel claimed Florries life, taking with it a piece of their souls.
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Ghosts of the Refuge - A Newsies Prequel
FanfictionPatch Snyder, leader of the Brooklyn newsies, faces trouble when her father, the Warden of the notorious Refuge, comes into the borough. She knows she has to protect her newsies, but how? (This is a very rough draft. I'd just thought I would publish...
