The Story of a News Girl

Desert Dreams

April 1891

Drip, Drop, Drip, Drop. Drip. Drop.

Went the water that leaked from the tiny cracks in the ceiling, and dropped into a half full buckets. Snores from the newsies filled the air along with the drip, drop sound of the water. It had been a rather long day for the boys. And, an even longer one for a little news girl, who was currently tossing and turning around in her bunk. Soft mumbles left the sleeping girl's lips every now and again. Soon enough, her soft mumbles slowly became a little louder with each word that left her mouth. The boys could barely hear this. Not because of the dripping sound of water, or from their snores. But because it was a long day hawking the horrible headlines in the middle of yet another rainy day.

"No, stop it. Leave us alone," Feister mumbled in her sleep.

A few of the boys slowly woke up from their deep sleep. Through blurry vision they saw movement from Feister's bunk bed as her voice slowly became louder and louder to the point that she was starting to scream a bit. Without giving it a second thought, Jack jumped out of his bunk and gracefully landed on his feet without stumbling.

"Jack?" Crutchie asked sleepily. "Is Feisty gonna be ok?" the young boy asked with concern in his voice.

"Don't worry bout Feisty, Crutch," Jack replied as he stroked Crutchie's head. "I's got this, alright? You'se just go back ta sleep." in a few seconds, Crutchie snuggled back into bed and eventually fell back asleep.

Jack made his way to the other side of the room and climbed up to Feister's bunk. The small girl was tossing and turning so much that it was a shock she hadn't fallen to the ground yet. "Feisty, yer havin' a nightmare. Wake up, will ya," Jack said as he gently shook the younger girl awake.

"No. Leave me alone," Feister replied as she tried to push him away.

"C'mon, wake up," Jack said again as he shook her a little harder. Soon enough, Feister shot up quickly while gasping for air. Her breathing became heavy, and through the darkness of the room, Jack could see her hair was a mess. Some strands were in front of her face, while small locks were falling out of the bunches she always wore. "It's ok, Feisty," Jack said in a soft tone as he placed his hand on Feister's shoulder.

"Mush?" Feister asked in a hopefully tone.

"I-it's Jack, kid," Jack replied in a slightly saddened tone.

Mush was always the one to wake Feister up from a nightmare. So it was only natural for her to ask. But, it was hard to break the news to her because...well...Mush had been taken to the Refuge just a few days ago. All because he bumped into a fruit stand outside the store, and when he tried to put the fruit back, the grocer thought he was stealing, and Snider the Spider happened to catch him in the act.

Feister wanted to fight back. But Mush had told her to go find Wolf or Jumps since their selling spot wasn't too far from where they were. So, Feister ran as fast as she could to get the older boys. And by the time she did, it was too late. Of course by the end of everything, guilt ate Feister from the inside out. The newsies told her it wasn't her fault. But she didn't believe them. Feister looked over to Mush's bunk to see the messy covers and crooked pillow. Yet, it was empty as can be. The dark haired girl looked over at Jack and quietly asked, "Where is he? Where's Mush? Please tell me it was just a bad dream an' he ain't in there Jack."

"Hey, don't worry bout Mush, alright. He'll be just fine." Jack replied. He didn't know how to break it to Feister that Mush was indeed in the Refuge. The poor girl had been through enough lately, and didn't need another weight on her shoulders.

"But I's worried bout 'im Jack," Feister replied as she started to hug herself. "What if somethin' bad happens. I's won't be able ta live with himself if-"

"Hey," Jack cut off as he slipped his hand onto her cheek. The clouds started to clear up a bit to reveal the moon's light. It spilled through the windows and brighten up the bunk room with soft light. So now Jack could see Feister's eyes. They were big and brown as usual. But instead of burning with bright fire. They held fear. Fear that her best friend wouldn't come back. And it broke Jack's heart. Yet, throughout all this, Feister refused to shed one tear. "Don't think bout that, alright," Jack said in a comforting tone. "Think bout Santa Fe." he finished.

"Who's Santa Fe?" Feister asked with a tilted head.

Jack couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Santa Fe ain't a who Feisty, it's a place out in New Mexico," he explained. If thinking about far off Santa Fe helped him. Maybe it would help Feister. It certainly didn't hurt to give it a try. And so far, it was working. But Jack didn't want to get his hopes up.

"Where's that?" Feister asked.

Jack only smiled. "It's out west. Real far away from here. I'll tell ya Feisty, Santa Fe ain't like New Yawk. not by a long shot. It's got mountains, an' rivers. Buildings that rise up from the ground. Wide open spaces for a fella ta run free on a shining horse. You'se can actually see a bright moon every night, an' unlike here in the big city, instead of seein' a few stars here an' there. The whole night sky becomes one big, sparklin' sight." Jack continued on to explain what Santa Fe was like to the captivated news girl. Feister soon laid back down into her bed. But she was still half awake. So Jack tucked her in and kept talking about Santa Fe to the sleepy, yet still captivated, girl.

"Ya tawk bout Santa Fe like it's yer old friend Jacky," Feister said with a wide yawn.

"Ya gotta good point, kid," Jack replied with a small smile on his face. He was happy to see he managed to get Feister to forget about the whole, Mush in the Refuge mess, and got her to not only think about Santa Fe, but also tire her out.

"Are ya gonna go there?" Feister asked as another yawn washed over her.

"I's plan on it someday," Jack replied as he pushed some of Feister's head off her forehead.

"If ya ever do go there, you'se won't forget bout me an' the newsies, will ya Jack?" Feister asked with wide eyes. "You'se will come an' visit us right? I's sure will miss ya somethin' awful. No doubt Crutchie will too. An' even though Race an' Al said someday they's gonna drag ya out into the street while yer sleepin' so they's won't have ta listen you'se snore - " Feister let out another yawn before continuing. "- I's know they's will miss ya too. We's all will. You'se my big brudda Jack. I's know there's the others, but it won't be the same without ya."

"I'll come an' visit," Jack promised. He didn't really think about that part. He just wanted to get away from the big city. But, of course that meant he'd have to leave the newsies as well. "I's won't be goin' away for a long time Feisty," Jack added. "But, when I's do go. I's will visit ya whenever I's can. An' maybe you'se can visit me sometime. Ya might like it in Santa Fe. I'll teach ya how ta ride a horse."

"Can it be one that's white as the first snow?" Feister asked as she slowly closed and opened her eyes. "That was my mudda's favorite. She loved the winter season. I's rememba 'er knittin' by the fire while it snowed outside an..." before Feister could finish, she ended up falling asleep mid-sentence.

"Sure kid," Jack replied with a smile. That was probably the first good thing about Feister's past he heard. And, not only that, but he also managed to get her to forget about Mush in the Refuge and, he got her to go back to sleep. Jack stayed there for a few more minutes to make sure everything was alright before going back to his own bed.

───── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────

Author's note

First off I would like to say that this chapter was a request from Countess Eliza. Big thanks to her for sending this in! Secondly, this book is completely drafted, which means as long as I don't get busy, weekly updates will actually happen from now on. With that weight being lifted it means that I can work on other stuff. I'm not sure if there's going to be a Halloween one shot this year or not. It really depends on how my brain cells are feeling up to the task. Now onto the chapter. As you can tell there was a bit of a jump from the last chapter, and there's going to be a lot of that happening here on out. And not to worry, Mush will make his return from the Refuge (obviously). Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading.