The Queen of Brooklyn~A Spot Conlon Fanfic

Chapter Eleven: It's the Bulls!

Frantically, I look around for Jack. Snyder's been out looking for him ever since he escaped from the Refuge on the back of Teddy Roosevelt's carriage. (Although, now I know it was not on Roosevelt's carriage, it was with Spot and Race by foot.) And now he's found him.

 "Jack!" I cry. "Jack!" Where did he go? Wasn't he just at our table? I turn to Race. "Where'd Jack go?"

"Why?" Race looks concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just need to find Jack!" Race looks like he doesn't believe me, so I quickly say, "I see Snyder the Spider, and he's coming into the theater!" I see Denton, who's taking photos of the rally, in the corner, by the door. Just as Snyder walks in, I catch eye contact with Denton and mouth 'Distract him'. Denton nods and starts talking to Snyder.

I find Jack, laughing and having fun with the other newsies, singing along with Medda. He's in the crowd with Mush and Skittery. "Jack!" I shake his shoulders to get his attention. I have to stand on my tiptoes to do that, since I'm much shorter than him.

"Oh, hey, Red!" He gives me a smile that quickly fades when he sees the panic on my face. "What's wrong?"

"Jack, it's Snyder!" I cry.

"What?" Jack leans in, cupping a hand to his ear. "Sorry, I can't hear you."

"It's SNYDER!" I raise my voice a little louder as I speak in his ear, and Jack's eyes widen with fear. I look back into the crowd. I have to get Spot and Race out of sight, too! I rush back over to them and say, "Guys, Snyder is here. Come on, we have to get out of here! Stick together, okay? I'm gonna try to help Jack."

Spot nods. "Tell Jack to be safe," he says. "And be safe yourself." Race nods in agreement. The two friends link arms and run through the crowd, trying to find a place to hide from Snyder the Spider. I find Jack and grab his hand, pulling him through the crowd while he scrambles behind to keep up with me. (I can be really fast if I wanna be.) 

I hear Denton talking to Snyder as Jack and I snake through the crowd. "So, that's Snyder as in 'Snide'? Smile, sir." He takes a photo right in Snyder's face, and the flashing light momentarily distracts him. I mouth 'Thank you' to Denton, who nods and gives me a smile. Jack and I round a corner—the crowd, now having seen Snyder, is getting a little panicked—and come face-to-face with a bunch of cops.

Now the crowd's going crazy, running everywhere around the theater to get away from the cops. They've come to stop our rally, I just know it. The bulls in front of us crack their knuckles, ready to soak us. "You can let go of my hand," I tell Jack. "It's okay if we get seperated now. Run! I'll hold them off!" Jack nods and runs off, with Oscar and Morris Delancey chasing after him, calling, "Show's over, cowboy!"

Now I'm all alone, facing five bulls who are ready to beat me up. Oh, God. What am I gonna do? Run? No, they'll just chase me. And while I am pretty fast, I'll bet the bulls are faster. One swings a punch at me, but someone kicks him and he falls to the ground. I look up. It was Spot. I shoot him a grin of thanks. Race is busy fighting another bull away from me, but he's no match for the tall cop. The bull kicks him in the stomach, and Race doubles over. The cop takes this opportunity to slam him into a pole. Race's head bounces against the hard metal, and then he slumps to the ground, knocked out cold.

"Leave him alone!" Medda cried, running at a cop, who simply grabbed her by the shoulders and held her back. "My God, he's just a child! Don't! No!" she screamed as the bull started to drag Race away...

...and fell to the ground as someone punched him—hard—in the face. I look up. Spot's hand is still in a fist. He kicks the unconscious bull away and drops to his knees, shaking Race's shoulders. He looks to me. "We need to get him help!"

I feel like crying. First Spot, now Race. When will my friends stop getting hurt? But I try to keep it together as I nod and look up just in time to see the bulls hauling Jack away, led by Snyder the Spider.

I didn't see what happened, but I guess they got Jack. My heart nearly stops beating.

They got Jack.

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Poor Race :(