Destructive - Newsies | Sprace

Nine | Race

Trigger warning: suicidal thoughts

Race rolled over in his bunk as a loud yelling filled the room. When he finally worked up the energy to open his eyes, he noticed that it was still dark out.

"Guys! Wake up! Crutchie is missing!" Race recognized it as Specs voice.

"What'd you say?" Skittery groaned from his bed.

"I woke up to go pee and Crutchie was gone! He ain't in the bathroom either! He's just gone!" Specs yelled.

Race sat in bed and leaned over. He began to shake the bunk next to him to try and grab Albert's attention.

"Albert! Go find Jack, we got a boy missin'." Race instructed.

Albert groaned, but climbed out of his bed, grabbed his coat, and made his way to the stairs. The only light in the room was the candle that Specs was waving around.

It took a few minutes, but newsies started to get active. Since Jack was sleeping wherever he slept- not many knew where he spent his nights, he didn't sleep in the lodge but it was too cold to sleep outside- and Davey was at home, Race decided to be the one to take charge.

"Everyone on my side of the room start searchin' the buildin'! Everyone else looks outside!"

No one dared to disagree. With two dead newsboys on their hands, nobody was ready for another. Everyone started to run around the building, many calling out to Crutchie.

Racetrack dashed down to the first floor and began to check the bathrooms and offices.

"Crutchie! Where are ya, kid?" Race yelled out, his head spinning around the room.

"Race! We found him! He's outside!" Blink leaned in through the door.

Race just nodded back, then shouted up the stairs. "OUTSIDE!"

Race chased after Blink to meet with the other crowd of newsies huddling outside. They were all standing fairly close together in an attempt to shield themselves against the 2 am temperatures.

When Racetrack stepped outside, he expected to see Crutchie's dead body. What he didn't expect was to see a group of newsboys staring at the sky. At first, Race was confused, but when he followed everyone's eyes he realized what they were all looking at.

There, standing on the top of the Manhattan Newsie Lodge House, was Crutchie Morris. He had his feet on the very edge and he held his head high.

"What's he doin' up there?" Someone asked.

"You don't think he's thinkin' about jumpin', do ya?" Someone else chirped.

"What's goin' on out here?" Jack's voice rang through the crowd.

"Crutchie's on the roof!" One of the young boys yelled out.

Jack's head snapped up and as soon as he saw what everyone was staring at, he pushed his way through the crowd and ran into the building. For some reason, Racetrack felt he also needed to help out. There was something inside him that said if those other deaths were his fault, he had to at least try and save this life.

Racetrack sprinted up the stairs after Jack, climbing up all four flights of stairs until they reached the roof access. Jack pushed the door open and dashed out onto the flat roof of the lodge house.

"Crutchie!" Jack yelled, "What are you doin' out here?!"

"Just go away, Jack!" Crutchie responded, not even looking back. His voice was warbling as well.

"Just, get down from there would ya? We can get all of this sorted out-" Jack tried to get closer to where Crutchie was on the ledge of the roof.

"No!" Crutchie yelled, causing both Race and Jack to jump back a little, "I have got nothing, Jack! Nothing! Somebody is out here killing off newsboys and I keep gettin' sicker day by day!"