Courage

Chapter 20

AN: We haven't seen Jack in six chapters so let's check in on him and see how miserable he is! Fun times!

Jack was desperately trying to detach himself from everything - or rather, nothing - that was going on around him, but it wasn't working all too well. He was trying to keep his mind blank, not think about anything, that was the only way to keep from going crazy. But instead, with nothing else to think of, his thoughts were consuming him.

He couldn't stop thinking. He wondered if Crutchie had gotten any better, if Snyder had beaten him any more. He hoped that he was keeping Les calm, because the kid was undoubtedly a mess. He wondered how Davey was holding up, he hoped that he wasn't as miserable as Jack himself was. He hoped that he was dealing with it better.

Then, despite his best efforts, his mind wandered outside of the building. He thought of the boys, the strike, Pulitzer. And Katherine. God, he missed Katherine. But she wasn't there, he couldn't reach her. No one was there.

He was sure Snyder was enjoying himself, though. He was well aware that Jack hated isolation, even more than getting beaten. It was only a matter of time before he ended up here. He wondered how long he'd stay here. He wondered how long he'd already been there. It had obviously been a while, judging by the painful emptiness of his stomach.

Suddenly he was blinded, and he shot to his feet and instinctively backed up the the wall, and then cursed him for it. He was showing fear, and that was the last thing he needed to do.

He blinked against the light, and he heard the cruel laughter of the man he'd gotten used to seeing by now.

"Something wrong, Mr. Kelly? Have you been enjoying your time down here so much that you don't want to leave?"

"Not if it means going with you." Jack winced at how quiet his voice was, rough from disuse, but he stood his ground.

"I could always keep you here for another few days. It does seem you haven't learned anything during your time here."

Snyder began to shut the door again, but Jack, in a burst of panic, ran out past the closing door, and Snyder caught his sleeve before he could go any further.

"Ah, so you do like me better than a dark, empty room?"

Jack searched for words, some sort of cool, collected response to show that he wasn't phased by any of this, that none of it mattered to him. But it did matter to him, and he came up empty.

"I..."

"What's this? The famous Jack Kelly, at a loss for words at last? Perhaps I need to help you find your voice."

Jack felt something strong slam into his ribs, and, not expecting it, he let out a sharp cry of pain, doubling over. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He was supposed to be able to fight back. But he could barely catch his breath to speak.

"Where's Davey?"

"Davey... that's the other boy, the tall one?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I let him go."

That startled Jack out of his bent position. "What?"

"He's gone. In fact, all three of those boys have been released."

That didn't sound like something Snyder would do. "Why?"

"Trust me, it was not my idea. Orders from Mr. Pulitzer, they've been dropped of their charges."

Jack's heart did the closest thing to soaring that it could do while in a place like this. "They... so they's gone? You let 'em out?"

"That's what I said. I wouldn't get your hopes up, though, Mr. Kelly. You will be staying right here. If you'll remember, you decided to play escape artist before your last sentence was up. So you will not only be completing that sentence, but you will also be spending extra time here as punishment for your escape."

Those seemed to be the worst words he'd ever heard. "How long?"

That seemed to be Snyder's favorite part of the story. "A year."

That was it. Any sliver of hope Jack had disappeared. He was going to be trapped in hell for a year, and everything was going to be different when he got out, assuming he survived it, which seemed to be a generous assumption.

"You bastard." Jack growled, suddenly overcome with anger. This man had no right to do anything that he did, but he did it anyway. "You bastard."

Unable to stop himself, he swung a punch at Snyder, and remarkable hit his mark on the man's jaw. He brought his arm back, preparing for another punch, when his hand was caught and in a matter of seconds, he found himself in a choke hold.

He heard Snyder's voice in his ear, quiet with rage. "You are nothing, Jack. You are an arrogant little street rat with nothing of any value. Nothing. And you seemed to think that you are entitled to defy me. You are in my institution, which means that I can do absolutely anything I want with you. So watch yourself."

He released his arm and Jack fell to the floor, gasping for breath. He had been wrong before, when he thought of this as hell. This was much, much worse.