Strike

The Refuge

When Feister came too she felt sore all over, her head was pounding, her body ached, and she guessed her left ankle was sprained. The last thing she remembered was the brawl, that's when it hit her. She shot up right, but felt a sudden pain in her back, making her collapse back down.

"Hey, take it easy," a boy with light brown hair said as helped her sit up. The boy looked about sixteen, had brown eyes, and there were a few bruises on his face.

"What happen?" she asked slowly. She shook her head and everything came into view. While the place looked like a bunk room she knew it wasn't the Lodge's since it smelled worse, it felt a little damp, and from what she could see was it was a very small room.

"When they threw ya in here you was out cold," the boy explained.

"In here?" Feister asked. She was still confused as to where "here", but it hurt her head to think since there was a pounding ache in her head.

"Welcome ta the Refuge, kid." when the boy said this he was being more sarcastic than anything. Feister suddenly went pale and stiff; her eyes went wide and she felt like her heart just stopped right then and there. Memories of how the boys' looked after a trip to the Refuge flooded her mind, how she'd wake up in the middle of the night by the sounds of a nightmare.

That's when she remembered the strike, and the brawl, and the goons and....she got to slug Oscar and Morris Delancey. But that memory soon faded because she was in the Refuge, the place that's a living nightmare, and, then Feister realized that she might not ever see the boys again. But if Feister knew her boys, she knew they wouldn't leave her in this place. She just had to hold onto hope that they would get her out of here.

"So, what's a pretty thing like you'se doin' in here?" he asked. Feister's heart sank a little bit. When the boy said 'pretty thing' it reminded her of Romeo. Then it hit Feister that this boy knew that she is a girl! As if the day wasn't already bad enough, a boy she doesn't know, knows her biggest secret. Well, one of her biggest secrets.

"Where's my cap?" Feister asked. The boy handed her the cap, which she took and put it on. "Protecting my brother," she replied to his question.

The boy nodded. "I'm Flicker," he said as a few more boys came up to her bunk.

"Feister."

"Feister!" a little blonde boy with blue eyes, who looked around seven exclaimed. "I's told ya Manhattan's goil was real!" he yelled while punching a boy with fiery red hair and big dark brown eyes, who also looked seven. "Wait," he said as he turned away from the ginger and back to her and asked, "Are you Manhattan's goil?"

"Yeah," Feister replied. The little boy's eyes widened as he asked, "Do ya know Jack Kelly?" when she nodded he said, "What's he like? Is he nice? Is it true he-"

"Runner!" Flicker said, cutting the boy - Runner - off. "Sorry bout im, we's call 'im "Runner" cause he runs his mouth like a racehorse."

"Oh, an' Runner," Feister said as she looked at the blonde boy. "Jack is a very nice guy, an; he if he says he escaped jail on the back of Teddy's carriage, then he did. I's might also add, you'se an' ya friend here remind me of Race an' Albert."

"You know Race too?" the redhead boy asked. "Second in command of the Manhattan newsies."

"Course she knows!" Runner exclaimed while slapping his friend upside the head. "She's Manhattan's goil, the one who lives with all the boys and almost started a turf war with Brooklyn!"

"I's wouldn't call it a turf war...just a...little disagreement." Feister trailed off as the memory of what happened with the Brooklyn boy came into her mind. IN her defense she was six and had only been a newsie for less than a month

"Can you'se tell us bout what happened in Brooklyn? And what it's like living with Jack Kelly? And Race, and Albert," the red headed asked excitedly.

"This little ball of energy is Firecracker," Flicker said as he put a hand on Firecracker's shoulder. Feister just nodded with a smile on her face, since Runner and Firecracker are so much like Race and Albert, it was almost like she was looking at them when they were younger. "And this is Wild Card, Joker. an' Lucky."

Feister nodded as Wild Card, Joker and Lucky each gave her a small nod of the head. Wild Card and Joker looked around the same age as her, which was fifteen. They both had eyes the color of the sky, but their hair was completely different. While Wild Card had dirty blonde hair, Joker had a mud color. And finally, there was Lucky who had auburn hair, green eyes, and looked about twelve.

After introductions were done Feister started telling Runner and Firecracker about the newsies, what they were like, and a few other stories, like the time Albert somehow got his head stuck in the staircase, or when she tied Jojo's shoe laces together, which made him trip and fall.

A few minutes later she started to get tired, so Flicker told Runner and Firecracker to let her get some rest. Runner and Firecracker left and went to go tell the older boys about what they just heard, while Feister got some rest. It was late, she was tired, her body seemed to get worse with every second. Soon enough she went back to sleep. She thought about the boys, hoping they were doing a lot better than she was.

A hour or so later there was a quiet tapping on the window. Wild Card was the one who opened it, a cool breeze of fresh air filled the small sorry excuse for a bunk room as soon as the window popped opened. He saw a boy who looked just a little older then him, and before he could say anything the boy said, "Listen, ya got a new kid in here, a goil ta be exact. Dark eyes an' hair, goes by Feister."

"Is Feister a goil?" Wild Card asked. When the boy nodded he then left the window and over to Feister's bed. He carefully shook her awake as he said, "Someone's here ta see ya." After a few tries Feister slowly opened her eyes and groaned. Her body ached more than ever, and she knew she should get some rest while she still could, but Wild Card kept nudging her awake.

After a few seconds Feister slowly asked, "Who?" as she carefully sat up.

"Some boy."