The World Will Know (Newsies)

8: Letter From The Refuge

The goons all but threw Crutchie down on his bed in the Refuge before they left him alone. Their rough actions didn't help any of his injuries, that was for sure. They had put him on the top bunk, and he was supposed to be sandwiched in alongside two other boys who, sad to say, probably had just as many injuries as he did.

Crutchie ran a hand through his light hair, and he could feel a slightly sticky sensation on the side of his head. Upon looking at his hand, he sighed. Blood. There were a lot of other deep cuts on his arms and legs, still bleeding just like his head was. Even his good leg was damaged. He glanced around the room to get an idea of what the place was like now, and his face fell. There were a lot of boys crammed into the small room, and each of them had more than their fair share of bruises, cuts, and other injuries. All of the boys were thin, likely malnourished. They probably hadn't gotten food in a while, and whatever food they had received couldn't have been great. Sadly, he recognized the place all too well. He had been hoping that the place had improved since Jack's time, but he was sadly mistaken. And now he was stuck here again until his leg felt better at least, likely longer. How was he supposed to get out, even with his leg back to its normal condition?

Crutchie managed to tear his eyes away from the other boys, just as he heard some voices from outside the door. They were pretty quiet at first, as if they were just entering the building, but they soon got louder as the people they belonged to drew nearer. From outside the dark space, he could hear a woman talking with the guard. "Please just let me see him. I came for the sole purpose of taking care of him," a young, female voice pleaded. It sounded familiar, but it couldn't be who he thought it was. She wouldn't do something like that, no matter how kind she was.

Then, he was proven wrong yet again, as the speaker walked right through the door. Her blue eyes scanned each bed for the person she wanted to find, darting between the bunks at rapid speeds. Then, Elizabeth's gaze landed on him. She breathed a sigh of relief and practically leapt across the floor to him. She looked up at him from the bottom of the ladder, a relieved smile gracing her lips. "Crutchie!"

"Elizabeth? Whaddya doin' here?" Crutchie asked as he leaned over slightly to get a better look at her. Curiosity and confusion was clear in his voice and eyes. He hadn't seen Snyder lead her along behind him, because he had rounded the corner before Snyder and Elizabeth made their deal.

"I couldn't let them take you away like that, and from the little you told me, I was pretty sure you wouldn't be taken care of here. So, I came to help," Elizabeth explained, smoothing out her dress slightly. "How much space is up there? Enough for me to sit down and patch you up?"

"I think so," Crutchie replied and scooted over to make a little extra room for her. "C'mon up."

Elizabeth did just that and sat down right next to him, her legs hanging directly over the ladder to get down. As soon as she was settled, she asked, "Well, how are you feeling?" Immediately, she regretted asking it, since she knew it was a dumb question to ask in the first place.

"Horrible," was all Crutchie replied with before he heaved a sigh. "I guess Snyder soaked me real good with my crutch, huh?" He managed to let out a small laugh, but then sighed again.

"That's why I'm here though, to put you back together, good as new," Elizabeth replied. She attempted to give him a comforting smile, but it didn't even convince herself. She shook it off and declared, "Let me get a good look at you." She shifted in her place and started examining the side of Crutchie's head, searching for bumps, bruises, and cuts. Sadly, there were plenty of each, albeit some were smaller than others. She found the bigger cut on the other side of his head and chewed on her lower lip. "Hmm...you don't seem to be bleeding too much there anymore, thank goodness, but let's bandage it up to be safe." With a quick nod, she bent down and pulled at the hem of her dress, starting to tear the fabric apart.