The Grave Digger

Chapter 6: The King of Brooklyn

As life went on, Bones started noticing random bruises showing up on Racetrack. At first it had been no big deal, and she just brushed it off, but one day, he came back to the pier, trying to avoid her's, Chuckles', and Rebel's eye contact. The four of them had become really good friends, and Bones and Rebel were nearly inseparable. And when it came to after the newspapers were all sold, it was the four of them whom were always together. So when Race was intentionally ignoring Bones' eye contact, she knew something had happened. "Hey, Race, wha's goin' on? You okay?" She asked him. He nodded, but still would not look up. "Look at me, wha' happened?" She still couldn't get him to listen, and waved Chuckles and Rebel over. "Wha' is it?" Rebel asked, worried something was wrong. "I ain't know, Race won' tell me, an' he won' look at me." Bones was getting angry. She knew what it was, someone was beating Race up, and she was going to get them back. "Race," she said slowly, "is someone soakin' ya?" When he nodded, the same angry expression went across both Bones' and Rebel's features. "Who?" Demanded Rebel. Race shook his head, still looking down. Bones lifted his chin, and jumped. Whomever had done it made sure to make sure he never messed with them. He had a busted lip, a black eye, and scratches and bruises all over his face. Chuckles mumbled, "dear God," in surprise. "Is dat where all da bruises been comin' from? Has someone been soakin' ya da whole time?" Bones asked, mad at herself for not noticing or doing something earlier. Race nodded again, and Rebel was so angry. Who would hurt this little kid? Racetrack had only been a newsie for about a year, and he was fairly quiet, except when taking bets or playing poker. 'It was probably Snake Eyes or Bookie trying to show they could beat one of them up,' he thought to himself, 'well, they chose the wrong kid.' Rebel nearly chuckled to himself, but thought it would be a little inappropriate with the situation at hand. "Was it Snake Eyes? Or Bookie?" Rebel inquired. "Both." Racetrack murmured. It clearly hurt him to talk. But Bones was riled up. "When I get my hands on dose two-" Race stopped her by putting his hand on her shoulder, and said, "no! Don't. Leave dem be." He seemed to be the only one who could ever calm her down when she was angry. Nobody knew why, including Bones. She turned to look Race in the eyes. "Bu' they hoit ya, and you'res my friend!" Race hugged her. "It's okay, really. I promise." But it didn't sit well with Bones.
She was still thinking about it as she snuck off to the graveyard. She had to do something about it. If this kept going on, Race would be in no state to sell newspapers. How would he make money? If she couldn't do anything about Bookie and Snake Eyes, she would definitely help Race get to a different part of New York. She would send him to Mud, he would be taken care of over there. And if she did get her hands on Bookie and Snake Eyes, well, her Jersey boys would take care of them. She had boys all over the country, all the way up to Maine, down to Florida, and out to California. And they would all do her bidding. So, if she told them to take care of someone, they would. She smirked to herself. Not even all of them knew she was a girl. But she had to focus, she had a long night ahead of her, and little did she know, the next day would be a lot harder.
She met Rebel just outside the distribution center, and was confused with the angry look plastered on his face. "Mornin', sunshine. Wha's got you in such twist?" She said, satirically. "Snake Eyes and Bookie." Rebel said, still angry. "Wha' they did ta Race was-" "no, no' that. They got rid o' Paddy." Bones whipped her head to look Rebel in the eyes. "What?" She exclaimed, terrified. Rebel glared his eyes and clenched his fists in their direction. Before, the two had never dared to mess with Bones, or they'd have to deal with Rebel, Paddy, and a few of the other newsies, but with their newfound power, they could do whatever, and would most likely target Bones and Race. They were the smallest of all of them. Bones knew she could take whatever they did to her, but she wasn't sure about Race. He could hardly take the beatings they had given him before they took over, and now... she knew it wouldn't be pretty.
Snake Eyes, it turns out, declared himself the leader, and Bookie was his right hand man. And Bones was right about them going after Race and herself. They had implemented a weekly tax, and if you didn't pay, or couldn't, they would beat you up. And of course, the two who most likely wouldn't be able to pay were Racetrack and Bones. After the first week, Bones had a plan to get Race out of there. On "tax day," he had been soaked so hard, he could hardly walk, and his arm was broken. That was it for Bones. She had to get him to Mud, he would be taken good care of over there, and he wouldn't have to worry about getting soaked every week.
The moon had finally risen all the way, and the sky had gone pitch black. She knew it was risky for her to sneak into the lodging house, but she had to. She approached Race's bed, and quietly slipped a hand over his mouth. She heard him give a quiet, muffled gasp. "Shh. It's okay, it's jus' me," she whispered. He shifted to face her. She was on her knees, sitting over him with wide eyes. He furrowed his brow. What was she planning? "Come wit' me." She motioned with her head to follow her as she slid off his bed. He stood up, towering over her four foot three body. She looked around, made sure the coast was clear, and grabbed his hand. Silently and stealthily, they made their way out of the lodging house.
When the chilly, night air stung Race's cheek as they stepped outside, he asked, "where are we goin', Bones?" She looked around. "Jus' trust me, okay?" She led him onwards. When they got to the bridge, Race stopped. "Bones, stop!" She turned to face him. "Why are we crossin' tha bridge?" She looked so worried, Race wanted to hug her. He knew it was because of Snake Eyes and Bookie. "Please, trust me, tha's all I ask right now." He nodded, and followed her on, saying nothing. Not when they passed the graveyard, not when they turned onto Duane Street, and not when they stepped onto the steps of number 9, the other lodging house.
They soundlessly made their way up the stairs, and over to Mud's bed. They had no clue that Jack was watching them as they tapped Mud, once, twice, and finally a third time, when they woke him up. It made Mud shudder and jump, as if cold water had suddenly been poured on him. He woke up to intense green eyes staring down into his. "Bones?" She put a finger to her lips, and waved him to follow her outside.
Mud listened. He listened as she rambled about how Brooklyn wasn't safe. He listened as she went on about Racetrack needing help, and he listened as she begged for him to take Racetrack in, and help him get better. But he could listen no more when she told him about Snake Eyes' and Bookie's tyranny, the start of it. "Wha' did they do ta Paddy?" His eyes were filled with horror, as she said, "I don' know." She was about to cry. "Wha' did they do with my bruddah?" He whispered, really more to himself, but both Bones and Race looked at him. None said a word, until Bones broke the silence by, once again, asking if Race could sell there. And after hearing about Snake Eyes' cruelty, Mud was not going to say no. He even begged Bones to stay as well, but she wouldn't listen. "I can't. I's gots Rebel and Chuckles I's gotta look afta. An' they's would notice if both o' us went missin'." And with that, she left.
The next morning, Bones was glad she got Race out of harm's way. When Rebel came up to her, dread on his face, and asked where he was, she reassured him Race was safe, and that he was in Manhattan. Rebel was so relieved, he let out a long sigh. But it wasn't so simple getting past Bookie to get their papers. "Hey, where's da liddle run'?" Bones looked at Rebel, thought about their first day, and nearly laughed, although receiving a cold glare from Bookie. "He's where you can' git 'im." She answered, sassily. But she wasn't expecting the anger. He punched, but she dodged. As Rebel tried to calm her, she punched back, getting Bookie square in the nose. With a now bloody nose, he turned back and punched her in the gut. She doubled over, hardly able to breathe. Somehow she stood up, and got Bookie again, in the jaw this time. Rebel tried to pull her away from him, but he kept losing his grip on her tiny waist. He wished he had stepped in front of her as Bookie hit the side of her head, and she crumpled to the ground. Rebel could only stare in terror at her seemingly lifeless body, as Bookie just smirked.
Bones was hurting. She shouldn't have thrown that punch, Bookie was ten times larger than she was. But even when Rebel tried to pull her back, she wasn't going to let Bookie get away with this. She regretted ignoring Rebel when Bookie got her head, and she hit the cobble street below her feet. The last thing she remembered was being dragged away by Snake Eyes as Rebel tried protesting.
When she woke up, Chuckles was standing over her, eyes filled to the brim with tears. She must have been in the lodging house, she was laying on a bed. She tried looking around, but her head would not agree with her. She let out a moan of pain as she looked back at Chuckles. He let out a shaky breath, and hugged her rag doll body. She winced, but it felt nice to be enveloped in a warm hug. He let go, and apologized. "It's okay, it was a nice hug." He sat down on the bed, right next to her legs. All of a sudden, Rebel walked in. That was weird, Rebel had no bruises or scratches, but hadn't he started to fight with Bookie, too? But before she could say a word, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, and covered her mouth to cough. "You're awake." Rebel looked extremely anxious, Bones had never seen him like that. She was absolutely confused. "Wha's... going on?" Her voice was hoarse, and it hurt her to speak. Rebel softly shushed her, and ran his hands through her hair. 'When had his hair gotten so beautifully brown? Or his eyes so sparklingly blue?' she thought, as he leaned over her and told her to get some more rest. She promptly obeyed, and closed her eyes.
She woke up late the next morning, and sat up so quickly, it hurt. She put her hand on her chest and closed her eyes. After she caught her breath, she noticed the little visitor she had. She recognized him from the night she ran into Mud. What was his name? Jeremy? John? "Hi, Mud sent me ta make sure you're okay. Race wanted ta come, bu' Mud wasn't sure it would be a good idea. I'm Jack, by da way." He seemed to be about a year older than Bones. That would make him 9? 10, maybe? She wasn't really sure how long it had been, but for whatever reason, she remembered her birthday being June 19, which also happened to be Race's birthday. And she also wasn't sure when his birthday was. "Hi. Tell Mud and Race I'm alright, and dey shouldn't worry. Thanks fo' comin' ovah here, Jack." He nodded, and walked off.
Bones wasn't sure how long it was after Jack left, that Rebel and Chuckles came back. "So, are ya gonna tell me wha's happened?" She asked, really wanting to know. Rebel sat down on the edge of her bed, and Bones felt her heart jump. How bad had they beaten her that now it was affecting her heart? Maybe she was starting to feel better? "Afta' all da newsies saw how Snake Eyes and Bookie had been treatin' you an' Race, Gizmo decided ta stop it. So now he's da King." Bones almost said something, then shut her mouth. But she opened it once again, and said, "Snake Eyes only lasted a week as King?" Chuckles and Rebel shared a look. "Actially," Chuckles started, "he lasted two."
Bones heart almost stopped. "I've been out a whole week?" Rebel looked down. "A week and a half." Bones couldn't believe it. How was she supposed to make up the money for all the time she lost? Apparently, Rebel read her expression. "Don' worry. Me an' Chuckles covahed fo' you." He handed her a sack of coins. She looked at it for a second, before handing it back over to him. "I can' take this. It ain't right. You oined it." She looked at the blankets covering her to avoid Rebel's eye contact. "Bones-" "no, I ain't takin' it. Tha's final." Rebel looked defeated, and Bones felt horrible. He had wanted to help her, and she just put him down. But she didn't take handouts.
It was only a day more before Bones was well enough to get up and sell papers. She and Rebel each got 50, and headed over to their spot. She had trouble selling that day, and she had a small suspicion it wasn't from having been out of it for so long. Her long, red hair was in a braid down her back, and her distinct features clearly showed she was a girl. She noticed how people would purposely walk past her, or steer themselves to Rebel to buy a paper. But she didn't say a word. And she couldn't really blame them. Rebel was tall, confident, and charming, she would've chosen to buy a paper from him, too. With the lack of people coming to buy from her, she let herself be distracted, and she found her mind wandering back to Rebel. How had she never noticed the cute protectiveness he had over her? Or the dimples that accompanied the smile he always sent her way? But she was eight, and he was fourteen. She loathed herself for letting her mind and her heart go in different directions. She was going to get over this stupid, childish crush.
Time went by, and it seemed as if Brooklyn had a new King just about every week. And every one was worse than the last. Kids started abandoning Brooklyn and moving on to different parts of the city. They were gaining a reputation as the bloodiest part of the city, and it wasn't just the Newsies that noticed. It was in the papers, too. At least, it was in the Brooklyn Eagle. And after six months, it seemed as if the thirst for power had started to slow down, and came to a standstill when Bolts took over the tyranny. And tyranny was the perfect word for his rule. It was worse than Snake Eyes'. The tax was higher, and it was every day, not just every week. He made it so none of them could trust each other. Especially after his first week, and Bones was pretty sure he had snapped. He was the first King in a while to have lasted more than a week, and it made him even more nervous, but Bones wasn't even sure anyone would have wanted to try and get rid of him. He was huge, much bigger than all of them, and he could most definitely win any fight. He would get violent when he was angry, and the brunt of his anger fell down on Bones. She was the only girl, and one of the smallest. She also was hardly ever able to afford the tax, and when she could, she refused. A lot of the time, Chuckles and Rebel had to scoop her up off the ground, and make sure she was able to sell the next day. And Bones had given up selling with Rebel now. If she were going to get over her stupid crush, selling with him was a stupid idea. So, when she learned Race was coming through to sell at Sheepshead, she decided she'd sell there with him. For one thing, it meant she could look after him, and another, she could stay away from Rebel.
Nearing the two month mark of Bolts' reign, his anger and violence were starting to get out of hand. One day, Chuckles hadn't sold enough to pay the tax, but for some miracle, Bones had, but she wasn't going to let Bolts hurt her best friend, so she insisted he take her money, and she took the beating. And when Bolts found out, he beat her so hard, she could hardly pull herself up off the ground. And Rebel wasn't there for her. They had gotten into a real fight, and hadn't talked in two weeks. He didn't even seem like he was worried, or even cared, when Bones always showed up to the docks with bruises that were getting worse and worse. She had gotten over her stupid crush when she realized how much of a jerk he really was, and she hated him. She hated his stupid blue eyes, and his stupid brown hair, and his stupid life. He had brought this on her. She couldn't sell because he was so much better. She wondered why she ever cared about him. But she could hardly stand. And she wished he had never become her friend so she wouldn't wish for him to come help her up. She guessed they both had snapped. This reign of terror seemed to be doing that to all of them. It was taking it's toll, and Bones knew she had to stop it. It was so bad, she even yelled at Race and Chuckles, the only friends she had left. She dragged herself to an alley, and cried herself to sleep.
The next morning, she had her plan. She just hoped it would work. She caught up with Race as he was heading out to Sheepshead. Most of the bruises covering her face had healed pretty nicely, so he didn't see anything wrong. But he was still mad at her. "What?" He snapped. She was quiet for a few moments, walking with her head down. Race felt horrible, and wished he could take it back, but before he could apologize, she said, "look, I know you hate me right now, bu' please, jus' don' sell at Sheepshead fo' a bit afta' tu-day," and walked away to sell her papers. He didn't even get to say a word, but he knew Brooklyn had been going through a hard time lately, and thought it best to heed her advice. In fact, he turned on his heel right there, and walked straight back over the bridge to Manhattan.
That night had gone as any of the others had. She couldn't pay the whole tax, and Bolts sent one of his goons to beat her. She was beat so hard, she couldn't walk the next day, and knew she would pay the price. And she was right. Again, that night, one of Bolts' goons beat her. By now, she had learned to take it, and no longer felt it. She was numb. She had never felt this way before. Not even from Him. She couldn't stop it from coming. She started to panic, and could hardly breathe. The flashbacks were horrible. Worse than ever before. But she knew she brought it on herself. It was all her fault. She had been a bad child. Refusing to listen to what he said. She shouldn't have told him to stop. She was his niece. She was supposed to listen to him. Her parents gave her away to him so she would listen. He just wanted the ring on her right finger. But she wouldn't give it to him. But he had never taken it, and it was her proudest possession.
When the flashbacks ended, and she stopped panicking, she was on her hands and knees, gagging, all the while trying to catch her breath. She collapsed onto the ground, but knew she must start her plan. She forced herself onto her feet, holding the brick wall next to her for support, and took a deep breath. And off to Jersey she went.
She stepped off the bridge, and found Race waiting for her. She hadn't recalled telling him her plan, in fact, she was positive the only thing she told him was to stay out of Brooklyn. "Bones." His voice was filled with sadness, as he looked at her body, covered in bruises, scratches, burns, and cuts. He knew she had been tortured. He hugged her. She hugged back, but pulled away as soon as she did. "Race, I's gotta go somewhere, it's important." He shook his head. "No, he hoit ya, Bones, an' I ain't lettin ya go nowhere where's ya gonna git hoit more." She couldn't even get a word out before he dragged her to the lodging house.
Once they were in, he went over to his bed, and pulled out some bread from a bag. Then he grabbed a canteen of water, and told her to follow him up to the roof. She sat down next to him, and leaned her head on his shoulder. She was so tired and worn, she could have fallen asleep like that. But he turned to face her, and she had to sit up. "Did Bolts do dis to ya?" She nodded her head. Race looked into her deep emerald eyes, and saw how scared, and lonely, and sad she was. "How long's it been since ya've eaten?" He asked, softly. She shrugged. "A while, I guess." But before Race could say anything, Jack emerged onto the roof with them. "Wha's goin' on? Why's Bones here?" But when he saw the bruises, he gasped. "Wha' happened? Ya get in a fight or summin?" She nodded. "Jack, she ain't eat in a while. It's horrible ovah dere." Race handed her the bread. "I can' take this, Race. It's yours." She pushed it back at him. He raised his eyebrow, and handed it back. "Bu' you need it more'n I do, so eat it." After Jack and Race were satisfied that she would eat the bread, Jack left the two alone again. After she finished eating, she and Race shared the canteen. They stayed in a comfortable silence, until Bones looked at the sky and yelped. "I needs ta git ta Joisey, I's got business dere, bu' I'll be back in a few ow-ahs. I promise." Race looked into her eyes again. "Wha' are ya doin' in Joisey?" She smirked. "Ya'll see."
She had spent more time on the train to and from, than she actually had spent in Jersey. All she did was look for one of her boys that she knew, and tell him to look out for a kid coming his way. And she hopped on the train back to Manhattan. Luckily, it was late again, and there was no one out there. She easily slipped her way back into Brooklyn, and found a nice place to get some sleep.
The next morning, she knew her slight disappearance had put everyone on edge. When she showed up to get her papers, if felt as if all of the newsies had been holding a breath, and just let it go. But Bolts was furious. She hoped he hadn't taken it out on anyone else, she would feel horrible. She stepped up to Bolts, with an expression of sassy serenity, and simply said, "you, me, docks, midnight, it's time for a change." She made sure only Bolts had heard it.
As angry as he was with her, Chuckles was worried. He thought, for sure, Bolts was about to beat the pulp out of Bones. But he didn't. She whispered something in his ear, and stepped away, Bolts just glaring at her. And that day, she worked next to Chuckles, the only thing said between them was Chuckles telling her the headline. Other than that, not a word was said.
Chuckles saw Bolts sneak out of the lodging house, and knew he was going to kill Bones. And the only thing Chuckles could do was wait until morning, when the bulls would surely have surrounded the scene, but ignore it. But when he woke up, Bolts still wasn't back in the lodging house. Chuckles' heart did a flip. The bulls must have caught Bolts after he killed her. Chuckles was the first out there. But he saw no police. His heart nearly stopped when he saw Bones standing on the dock with a black eye and chipped tooth. "Where's Bolts?" Chuckles forced himself to ask. All she said was, "Brooklyn's got a new King."

An: picture is not mine, I found it online