The Grave Digger

Chapter 13: The Graveyard Ghoul

   Bones started to bring Spot to the navy pier to sell, and things went back to how they were. People would ignore her, and buy from him. But it was worth it at first. She would get to see Rebel, and he'd buy from her. He always gave her a quarter, insisting it was fine, and that she needed it more than he did. She was always so grateful for that. But she still couldn't make enough money to afford both newspapers to sell, and food, and more often than not, she'd have to choose between them. Of course she'd choose the newspapers, how else would she make money? So she decided she'd go back to digging up graves at night. She had given it up after she was hit by the streetcar because she thought she wouldn't be able to get away fast enough if the bulls found out she was there. But at this point, it was a risk worth taking.
   She had to admit, as she walked to the graveyard, she missed it. It had been over a year since she'd done this, and the walks to the cemetery in the dark on her own were pretty soothing. She didn't have to worry about anyone but herself, and she didn't have to worry about Brooklyn in general. She could just have her alone time, which she most definitely needed. She may have only been 13, but she felt like everyone's mother, going around, telling them what and what not to do, helping them with anything, and playing with the little ones all the time. She was never alone, being surrounded by hundreds of little kids, even older ones that acted like the little ones. Sometimes, a girl just needed a break.
   It was almost winter, so it was a little chilly. She gave a small shiver as a breeze floated through, as she had no jacket. She reached the graveyard, and breathed in the smell of fresh cut grass.
   That night went fairly well. She found a few parts, as well as a skull, and she also found some gold. She decided not to mess with it. She was already taking this person's bones, and she felt a little bad for whoever it was, but she needed the money, so she didn't touch its gold.
   The next morning, she got back to the docks, surprisingly, before anyone was out there. She smiled, thinking of the money she made, and how, with the regular amount of papers she sold, she'd be able to afford lunch that day. She walked with Spot to the navy yard, and she could just tell, today would not be a good day for her. She guessed Rebel wasn't there, because, no matter what, nobody would buy from her. And she had made the mistake of getting 50 papers. No one would even try and take them without paying. She would shout out the headline, and people would go straight towards Spot. At the end of the day, when no one was out, and there was nobody to sell papers to, she went and found Spot. He had sold every last paper.
   Spot was heartbroken when he saw Bones hadn't sold any papers. She worked twice as hard as any of them, and yet she was still treated like garbage. He hugged her, knowing it hadn't been a good day for her at all. Her friend that was usually there, wasn't, so she didn't have him to talk to, and Spot knew she wouldn't talk to him. They were close and all, but she was still a private person, and the only people she told all of everything to were Race and Jack. Since Race, for whatever reason, didn't go to Sheepshead that day, he hoped the two would come over that evening. If not, he would take Bones, and they'd go to Manhattan to see them. He knew her well enough that she just needed to talk.
   Jack was waiting for Race down at the Brooklyn Bridge. They were gonna go make sure Bones was alright, make sure nothing had happened. After five minutes, Jack was about to leave without Race, when he came running towards Jack, something in hand. "Wha's that?" Jack asked. "Nuttin'," Race answered, hastily, as if trying to hide something. Jack just shrugged it off, and they went on walking. As they reached the end of the bridge, he waved to Marbles and Goat, who were trying to be inconspicuous, but really weren't. They nodded, and went back to their positions. Jack rolled his eyes, but kept walking. As they reached the end of the bridge, Jack was a little surprised. For whatever reason, Spot and Bones were waiting for them. Bones was smirking, so Jack guessed one of her spies had told her they were coming. He smirked right back, and said, "wha'? Ya spyin' on us, or summin'?" She giggled, and replied, "I's always gotta keep an eye out ev'ry where. So, ya wantin' ta play pok-ah, or summin'?" Jack saw Race smirk out of the corner of his eye. "Maybe. I got a nice stash o' cigars here. Ones ya can't find nowhere." He held up his bag, and Jack guessed that's what had been taking so long. He must have been getting some Havana cigars. Technically they were illegal, but if you knew the right guy... Anyway, Jack didn't smoke cigars, only cigarettes, so he had no interest. "I'm jus' here ta make sure you're okay. Ya are like my sista, afta all," he said, nudging her shoulder. She wrinkled her nose the way she always did when she was annoyed. He saw Race's heart skip a beat, and couldn't help but feel bad for him. The poor kid had a crush on her, but she only seemed interested in Spot. There was even a rumor going around that the two were dating. "Well, le's go play pok-ah, den."
   Bones wasn't stupid, she knew that Race liked her, and she knew that someone spread a rumor about her and Spot dating. She couldn't believe that, Spot was merely her best friend, taking Rebel's place. But people gotta spread something around. As she was playing poker, and Jack was rolling his eyes, she payed attention to Race's little mannerisms. How, if he reached for something at the same time as her, he'd quickly pull his hand away to keep from touching hers, if she said a joke that wasn't funny, how he'd laugh anyways, or if she said something, or complimented him, he'd blush. By the end of the game, it became fun for her, it would give away what cards he might have. He nearly abandoned his poker face, and she couldn't have been more amused.
   Race didn't know when he realized she was messing with him, but he guessed it was about when she made him fold, and she won the game. He was stunned for a minute, before slowly saying, "you- you- you cheated." He was so confused, and still absolutely agape. She scoffed, and answered, "no I didn'." Race was a little lost, he was almost unaware of what was going on around him. She had just completely played him. Jack apparently noticed as well, for he was intently listening, and laughing at the two of them. "She played ya, Race. Totally played ya," Spot answered, a look of arrogance upon his face. Bones rolled her eyes, and slapped his shoulder. "Ya're lucky, ya're datin' her," Race scorned. Bones and Spot looked at each other, and burst out laughing. "Nevah in a hundre' mil-yon years would I date Spot Conlon!" Her comment made Race chuckle nervously, and made Spot, Bones, and Jack laugh even more. "Ouch, honey," Spot joked. Bones doubled over from laughing so hard, and Spot hugged her from behind. Jack, still laughing, pointed to them and said, "see, dis is why ev'ry one thinks ya're datin'." Bones stood up straight, and wrinkled her nose. "We's jus' bes' friends, like me an' Race are, an' me an' you, Jack." Race didn't know why, but Bones calling him her best friend hurt his heart. He just ignored it, it was starting to get really dark, and they needed to get back to the lodging house. "It's gettin' dark, we's prolly gotta get goin'," Race followed up, hastily. Bones nodded, "be careful, you two," she patted Jack's back, and Race started to feel better when she hugged him, rather than just a pat, as she had done for Jack. She kissed both of their cheek's, and watched them off, as Spot went up to the lodging house with the other newsies.
That night, Bones went to the graveyard again, but, as the ground was starting to harden from the cold and the coming winter season, there wasn't much she could do, and only found a few small bones. She was very disappointed, and wished she could have done more. She found no troubles while she was there, and went to take the bones where she usually brought them.
   She woke up the next morning, and waited at the distribution center for all the Newsies, as usual. She and Chuckles bought theirs, and she stood next to him, lighting a cigar. "So, Chuckles, wha's da headline tu-day? Anythin' good?" Chuckles took a deep breath. "Yeah, actially, it's pretty good. Says 'Graveyard Ghoul Strikes Again,' ya know anythin' abou' that?" He turns to her with an accusing look. She raised her hands in surrender, but said nothing. "Bones, ya gotta be more careful. Ya can' be doin' dis no more, wha' if they catches ya?" he whispered. "It'll be fine, Chuckles. Ya wanna sell wit me tu-day?" Chuckles shook his head. "I'm sellin' wit Penny." She nodded as she took off towards Spot.
   Spot said nothing until they reached the Navy Pier. "So, Miss 'Graveyard Ghoul,' how much ya find las' nigh'?" She covered his mouth, and looked around quickly, making sure no one heard. "Shut ya trap! Someone hears, dey'll send da bulls straight to me, an' I'll git arrested." Spot sighed, "ya shouldn' be doin' it anyway." She just ignored him, and went to sell her papers.
   It had been nearly a year since that conversation with Spot, and selling papers seemed to be getting harder for her. It seemed she could only sell one or two throughout a whole day. She knew it wasn't her ability, she knew it was because she was a girl, and being a newsie was a "boy's job," but she was twice as good as those boys. And she couldn't always use the same ploy. She had used it so often at that point, that it didn't work anymore. With winter coming, she knew she'd need to do more to make money than selling papers and robbing graves. But she couldn't believe she was even contemplating that, it sickened her. But did she really have a choice? She would go weeks without food. Her hair was starting to fall out, and she hadn't grown an inch since she was 7. Not only that, but she was severely underweight. Everyone could see it, especially through her completely baggy clothes.
Spot was worried about Bones. She was at death's door, not eating for weeks at a time, and he didn't know what to do. She wouldn't let him buy her food because she felt bad about not being able to pay him back, but he didn't care about that. She could die, and he might not be there, and there was no way he was ready to be King. He knew she would make him King because even if she was only gone for a few days, he'd be the one to lead while she wasn't there. Not Chuckles, not Magnet, but Spot. He could never live with himself if something happened to her, and he knew Race was feeling the same way. They had talked about it together, and Race even suggested she try and sell over there, although that would mean Spot'd have to take over, but if it helped her stay alive, he was all for it.
   The boy followed Jack and Race out of the lodging house, staying far enough away they wouldn't notice him. He wanted to know where they went just about every night. He wouldn't be surprised if they were meeting some girls, but how likely was it that Jack had a girl, and he was pretty sure Race had a girl over in Brooklyn. But he kept following them. Even when they went across the bridge, although his friend had been pretty persistent that the leader of the newsies over there was actually a terrible boy-eating monster. But Race and Jack got through. He just hid himself in the shadows pretty well. When they got to the end of the bridge, the boy noticed Race and Jack talking to another kid- a girl, a small one at that. She had a cane, bright red hair, and pale skin with lots of freckles that stood out upon the black night. But the thing that stood out most to him was the shiny ring on her right hand. She seemed to be sick, and both Race and Jack looked worried, Race even more than Jack. He guessed she was Race's girl. But when he shifted a bit, not even enough for anyone to hear or notice, she whipped her head in his direction, and froze. She asked Race and Jack a question, but he couldn't hear. They both looked confused and turned around, but couldn't see him. But the girl did. She started to walk towards him, but Race tried to stop her. She ducked under him, and kept walking. She stopped about ten feet in front of the boy, before saying, "ya're Snitch, right?"
   He stepped out from the shadows, and nodded. "I'm guessin' ya're Race's goil?" She looked appalled. "I ain't nobody's goil bu' Brooklyn's, ya hear? I's tired o' people sayin' I'm wit uddah people when I ain't. An' Race ain't got no goil. He never has." Snitch was confused. Who was this girl? "I thought tha' was why Race was always sellin' in Brooklyn, 'cause he had a goil ovah here." She shook her head. But he was still confused. "Den who are you?" She rolled her eyes. "Hi, I'm Bones," she held her hand out for him to shake it. Reluctantly, he did. "You're Bones? I always thought you was a guy." She sighed. "Yeah, well ya'll shoul' get goin' it's real late." Jack sent her a look, but Race said he still had to talk to her, so Jack and Snitch started back.
   Of course Snitch had followed them. Race just wanted to be alone with Bones. He knew she was the Graveyard Ghoul, and he really wanted to talk to her about it. She shouldn't be doing anything that could get her arrested. Once Jack and Snitch had left, he looked her in the eyes. She took a deep breath, and hugged his waist. Race didn't know why, until he heard faint crying. He rubbed her back, and kissed the top of her head. She pulled away, her eyes puffy, and said, "things've been real hard, an' I know wha' ya're gonna say. An' I know I shouldn' be diggin' graves again, bu' I ain't really got no choice, do I? How else'm I s'pose ta make money?" Race was quiet for a moment. Finally, he answered, "ya could come ta Manhattan. It might be easiah fo' ya ta sell ovah dere." She shook her head. "Race, I can'. I's got all da newsies ovah here. I hope ya undastand." He nodded, and hugged her one last time before walking across the bridge.
   During the next few months, winter came and went, and Bones had plenty of ways to avoid all the snow, but she wasn't always warm. That's just how things went when you didn't have shoes or a coat. Most of the newsies did have some form of a coat, and Spot would even let her borrow his if it was too cold out. By the time it was February, Bones was ready for spring. She wished she had never done what she did, but she did it, and she made almost enough money, and when she added the little she made from robbing graves and selling newspapers, she could even buy herself food every other day. She had been starting to look a little better, and color started to return to her face, and Spot, Chuckles, and Race were happy. Jack hadn't come back in a while, and that really worried Bones. Where was he? She asked Race, but he would never answer. After a while, she ignored it. He might just have been busy. Or he might have a girl in Manhattan that he didn't tell anyone about. That last one made Bones excited. She hated spreading gossip, but hearing it was a whole different story.
   One night, Race asked Bones if it was alright if he brought a friend of his to sell with him at Sheepshead. Knowing she had not met all the Newsies over in Manhattan, she said it was fine. The next day, she got her papers, and waited for them by the bridge. When they came into view, she was excited. Not only had she never met this newsie, but he had a lame leg. Leaning on her cane with both hands, she smiled. "Hey, losah!" Race yelled to her, and she laughed. "Hey, joik." She laughed even harder as they got closer. The other kid was pretty confused, but he nodded, and didn't ask questions. "Dis is Crutchy, by da way. Crutchy, dis is Bones." Race introduced the two, and a look of realization came upon Crutchy. "So ya not some monster dat can rip a poison in half. I swear, I'm'a get Mush when I get back." Bones laughed. "People actially think dat? I thought Chuckles was jus' jokin'!" Race and Crutchy both laughed, and they set off on their way. She had sent Spot to sell with one of the younger newsies by the navy pier so she could meet Race's friend.
   As they walked to Sheepshead, Crutchy asked her questions to get to know her better. "Why's ya name Bones?" was one, but Race answered it for her. "Ya heard abou' da 'Graveyard Ghoul,' righ'? Dat's her." He whispered it, so nobody around them could hear. Crutchy wasn't scared or anything. He just thought of it as a good way to make money, and he saw why she did it as they were selling. People would hardly buy papers from her. And she was really good at making up interesting headlines. Granted, Crutchy didn't sell 'The Brooklyn Eagle,' so they might just have had good headlines, but he wasn't so sure. But she would make a great headline writer. It wasn't until later did he realize she couldn't read.
   "Hey, Crutchy, wha's dis say?" She came up to him with a note. It finally dawned on him that she had been making those headlines up. But the note was not something he wanted to read out loud, it was vulgar, and he couldn't believe anyone would say that about anyone. But he didn't want to lie. He had to remind himself that they were the same age, so she wasn't too young to hear that stuff. But he was gonna try not to use the bad language. "Well, summin' along da lines of, 'ya're a b-word, ya should be a f-ing w-word, not a f-ing newsie.'" That had been extremely hard for him, he hated cursing, and especially about someone. He felt so bad for her, even more so when she just shrugged it off, like it was a normal occurrence. And he had a feeling it was. The rest of the day, he watched and made sure she was selling alright, but he couldn't do anything when she wasn't. Crutchy and Race had both sold all of theirs, but Bones had hardly sold half. And Crutchy knew it wasn't because she sold the Brooklyn Eagle, rather than the New York World.
   At the end of the day, they walked back to the bridge, and as they did, Race took some of her papers. Crutchy guessed that's how he had some copies of the Brooklyn Eagle for the other newsies a lot of the time. Crutchy felt so bad, he had to give her a hug. She smiled, and called him really sweet. As they were walking across the bridge, Race informed him that she hardly ever called anyone sweet, and that the two of them would get along great.
   Bones liked how nice Crutchy had been to her, and she wished he would come by more. But time went by, and she didn't really get to see him very much. He had come by with Race sometimes in the evening to watch them play poker, but that was about it. He had just been so nice to her, and she didn't get that very often from people, even her own newsies. But he gave her hope that there were still plenty of great people out there. As it changed from the cold of February to the soggy March, her selling would go up and down, some days she would sell really well, and some days, she wouldn't sell anything. She went back to pick pocketing for the time being, so she'd never have to do what she had done before ever again. She was also still the Graveyard Ghoul, but it was pick pocketing that nearly got her in trouble first.
   Someone was chasing her, they had noticed she had taken some money out of their pocket, and they chased her. She was nearly out of breath, it had been almost 10 minutes she had been running, and she had no clue how she didn't fall down dead. Luckily, her knee hadn't been bothering her too much lately, but she knew it would after that. She saw an alleyway, and took the chance. She squatted down near the wall, waiting for him to pass, when she heard a sniffling sound. Slowly, she turned around, and saw some kid, about maybe 7 or 8, holding on to a stray puppy. Forgetting about the man chasing her, she ran over to the kid. "Hey kid, my name's Bones, you got a name?" He reluctantly nodded yes. He seemed scared, like she was going to hurt him. "I promise I ain't gonna hoit ya. Wha's yer name?" She held out a hand for him to grab, but instead of grabbing her hand, he grabbed her body into a hug. Bones rubbed his back. She heard him say "Cameron," as the puppy scurried away, and she kissed his head. "Is it okay if I give you a nickname, Cameron?" He looked at her, and she nearly started to cry. He was so sad, so battered, and he must have been terrified. He nodded, and the first thing that came to mind was puppy, because of the little runt he had been holding when she found him. She thought it was a great one, but decided to shorten it. "How 'bout if I call ya Pup?" He smiled and eagerly nodded. "Ya wanna come meet my friends, Pup? Teach ya how ta sell newspapahs?" Again, he nodded. She stood up, pulled her braid under her cap, and held out her hand for him to take it.
They had been walking back for some time, before Bones asked, "Do you know how ta read, Pup?" scared he was going to be like her, and couldn't read. He nodded one last time as they arrived at the pier. Spot and Spaz were there, fighting about something. They both turned around, and Spaz walked straight up to Bones and Pup. "Who's da liddle run'?" Bones glared at him, and said, "ya don' tolk ta a kid like dat, Spaz, an' you 'specially ain't tolk like dat to da King o' Brooklyn." Spot saw it before Bones did. As Spaz jumped at her, he grabbed his arm. It took Bones by surprise, and she fell backward into the river. As soon as she surfaced, she climbed back up onto the dock and punched Spaz in the nose. Spot pulled him away from Bones, and she went over to Pup. She hugged him.
   She was glad she had helped this kid, but she had a weird feeling she wouldn't be there for long. After a few days, and having trained Pup, she was tired. She really needed a break, but she couldn't afford one. She talked to Spot, and he said he could tell she needed one, as well. He told her it would be fine, and that he would take care of the newsies.
   As she had been planning to go to Richmond, one of her messengers from Long Island came to her. He told her that a friend of hers had been attacked up there by three brothers, but two had left the state. Luckily, her messenger had told her their names, so she could easily track them down. So she changed her plans, and headed to Long Island.
   She had gotten through Queens, and was now following the jerk who attacked her friend. She stayed well hidden, and waited until he was alone to strike. She dragged him to an alleyway where nobody would see them, and soaked him until he was bleeding in the streets. And then she ran. She ran as fast as her tiny legs, and crippled knee could carry her. She didn't stop until she saw Queens ahead of her, and she collapsed to the ground. She dragged herself to a hidden alleyway, and fell asleep.
   No one had seen her while she was asleep, so she was still alone when she woke up. She took a deep breath, and started on her way back to Brooklyn. Spot saw her first, he had been waiting for her, she had told him everything before she left. She walked back to the docks with him in silence. She could tell he was worried, she had been hobbling a bit more than usual lately, and she knew he thought she should rest. But she couldn't afford those luxuries any more than he could. They didn't talk until they got back to the pier, and sat down. "Bones, I don' wan' ya goin' to da graveyard tu-night. I don' think it's safe righ' now. Spaz kep' sayin' things like, 'she won' be King no more,' an' 'she's bedder off dead,' I think he's settin' ya up." Bones looked Spot in the eyes. "I'll be fine. An' if anythin' does happen tu-night, den ya can soak Spaz, an' I wan' you ta be King." Spot widened his eyes. "Bones, I ain't ready. Wha' if I's-" but she cut him off before he could say anything. "Spot, ya'll be fine. I's seen ya lead, an' ya were great. I promise, ya'll be fine, okay? Bu' you be careful, too." She watched Spot and the other newsies get to bed, and couldn't help but feel that Spot was right. But she couldn't afford not to go to the graveyard, so she waited a few minutes before leaving.
   She was just starting to dig up the soil, when she saw lots of flashlights coming her way. She started to run, but she tripped, and she couldn't get back up. What was even more sickening, was that she recognized the voice that said, "ovah dere, officers, dat's her, dat's da Graveyard Ghoul." It was Spaz. Spot had been right, and she realized it even more when the officers lifted her up, grabbed her cane, and said, "you're under arrest."  She glared at Spaz as they walked through the night.
   By the next morning, she was in front of a judge. She didn't even know what all they were charging her with until the judge sentenced her. "What's your name, girl?" She looked at the judge. "Bones," she sneered. He took a deep breath. "What's your real name?" She shrugged, and replied, "dat's de only name I ever known." He sighed, and finally said, "Bones, you are charged with pick pocketing, body snatching, and second-degree murder, how do you find?"
   Bones' head was spinning? Murder? Did she kill the kid up in Long Island? And how did they know it was her? She couldn't respond, and the judge took that as her pleading guilty. "Alright, well, this will move things on fast. I find you guilty. You will be sentenced to death by way of electric chair in one month, and for the time being will stay out your time in the House of Detention."
   Bones could hardly breathe. Sentenced to death? She was going to die? She hadn't killed anyone. She would never do that. Her head was still spinning as she was lead across the bridge connecting the courthouse and the prison.

An: I made her such a terrible person, I'm sorry. And Crutchy is just the most pure thing in this world. Last thing, Richmond is what Staten Island was called up until 1975.