AN: Hi guys! Welcome to my first fan-fiction! Hope you enjoy!
My parents had abandoned me about a month ago. It'd been hard the first few days, but after I found a small little alley in an okay part of town, I'd settled into a daily routine. Wake up, beg and scrounge for food or money, sleep, repeat. Hardly anything interesting happened. Today was different. I'd just gotten back from eating a nice apple, courtesy of a few shiny pennies provided by a rich lady. I was sitting against the wall, deciding not to enter my little 'house', a found tarp over a couple trash cans, until later. It smelled in there, for obvious reasons. Then, I heard someone running towards me. I dived towards the tarp-covered trash cans. Peeking through a small hole, I watched as a kid come running in, breathing hard, carrying a newspaper. I listened and watched, waiting 'till the boy left. After a minute or two, I realized he was crying. My heart broke. Ever since I was little, I'd always been compassionate. I loved comforting people of any age, animals of any kind, I was just a natural-born sunshine. Before I knew what I was doing, I had crawled out and was half-way towards him. The boy was, well, kinda cute. He had blonde, slightly curly hair, with a cap perched on top of his head. When I was 2 feet away, he noticed me. He shot to his feet, fists raised, ready to fight.
"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." I said, raising my hands in surrender. " I just want to know what's going on." He looked at me suspiciously, before lowering his hands.
" Why would ya wanna know?" He asked skeptically. " Street kids gotta worry about themselves." I sighed, that was true.
" I haven't talked to a kid in a long time. Please?" I took a step closer, he in turn backed further away.
" I dunno, it's dangerous." The boy smirked. I took on the ultimate overpowering move, puppy dog eyes. He slowly dropped the smirk.
"Alright, alright. What's youse name?" He asked, warming up to me.
" I'm Kate. Why were you crying?" I asked.
" I'se Race. Snyder was afta me again, and I ain't never going back to the Refuge. And I wasn't cryin'." I raised an eyebrow, but continued on.
" Nice to meet you, Race."
" Right back atcha Katie. What's youse story?" He asked taking a seat on the ground. I sat down next to him, and explained what had happened to me. He seemed hesitant, only sharing that he was a newsie in lower Manhattan.
" What's the Refuge? And who's Snyder?" I asked. He paused before answering,
" It's a jail for underage kids, an' Snyder runs it."
" You've been to jail?" I almost yelled.
" Ya, Ya. Don't be so loud." He said simply. I opened my mouth, trying to ask the dozens of questions swimming around in my mind. Suddenly, his head tilted. A noise, like footfalls on the stone of the alley. Race blanched. "Hide!" he whispered. I dove behind my trashcans and motioned for him to join me. Race hesitated, realizing there wasn't enough room for the both of us without one of us having a limb sticking out. He pushed me in farther, then turned away from the tarp-covered cans. I started to climb out, I was going to make room for the both of us, when I heard Race yell. I immediately leaped to the small hole in the tarp to see what was happening. I saw a well-dressed man holding Race by his shirt collar. " Hey, get offa me!" Race shouted.
" Ah, a familiar face. One that reminds me of a certain escapee?" Race, who had been struggling and cursing, slowed down, looking scared. " What about it boy?" The man pulled Race up so they were face to face.
" Well, I'se ain't gonna tell ya am I, Snyder." Race shot back. The man slapped Race, hard.
" I know for sure that's it's you now, Higgins." Snyder smiled. He held Race in one hand, and with the other fished out a pair of handcuffs. He cuffed Race saying, " It's back to the Refuge with you, Higgins." Snyder laughed, dragging a still struggling, cursing Race behind him. Race glanced towards me and I could see the relief in his eyes. His blue ones made eye contact with my green eyes, and he silently asked for help. I nodded slightly before Snyder dragged him out of sight.
YOU ARE READING
You Gotta Save Him!
FanfictionRacetrack Higgins has been in the Refuge before. Years later, Race has found a family in the Newsies of Lower Manhattan. Running away from Snyder one day, he meets Kate, an orphan living in an alley. When Race let's himself be dragged away by Snyder...