Give me Love or Give me Death (Savvy -Frozen)

Shelli stood in the doorway for a moment before she could force her legs to move. They didn't have time to waste, she reminded herself. It wouldn't be long until the morning watch began to search her neighborhood. They had to find Ryann and get back before they got to her house. She put a hand to the back of her head. Where could they even start? They would cover more ground if they split up, but she was afraid to do that. What if something happened to him? Then she would spend eternity worrying, just like she did for her brother.

"Let's backtrack," she said quietly. "Take me to the last place that you saw Ryann, and we'll go from there, okay?" She looked around, making sure that there was no one around. Her heart was beginning to pump faster as the adrenaline began to take hold.

Ryann squeezed his eyes shut, doing everything he could to fight the urge to breath. His lungs began to burn, but he couldn't raise his head - not yet. He could still hear voices, muffled by the water that surrounded his ears. Why couldn't they just move on already? He began to panic as a few bubbles escaped from his lips. He brought his hands to his mouth, trying to force the air to stay in his mouth.

"What was that?" he heard one gruff voice ask. Ryann prepared to jump up and run, when he felt something small land on his back.

"Just a frog," a different voice laughed. "Come on, we've still got three more houses on this street." He heard footsteps walking away. Very, very slowly, he raised his head out of the water. As quietly as he could, he gulped in air, relieved as it hit his screaming lungs. He climbed out of the puddle, shivering and miserable. He looked around, and began walking in the same direction as the guards. After all, they wouldn't think to look in a place they had already checked.

Akira waited for her to catch up to him and looked around. He was totally lost. He had been so concentrated on running away, he hadn't thought to make markings or take in any of the sights. They all pretty much looked the same anyway. There was nothing around that would tell any house or street apart from the other. The same old brick, the same old color, the same old design. He shook his head and turned towards his companion when she asked him the question.

He took a step back, eyes wide. Take her back to where he had last seen Ryann? That was impossible! "I can't. We split up at the camp. I am not going to go back there. They'll catch us for sure. I don't know where Ryann went. I ran straight ahead and he ran off to the side. I thought he was behind me. When i turned back to look, he wasn't there. I am sorry I am so useless..." he muttered and hugged himself. The only thing they could do was walk around in search.

"I think we should head in the direction of the camp though. I know that is risky but the best odds for finding him are in that direction. Hopefully we won’t cross any of the guards there as we search. I'd hate it if we were caught and you were punished for taking me in. You shouldn't be punished for helping someone." He started walking again.

Shelli nodded.
"I know it's dangerous," she whispered to him, "but it'll be okay. As long as it's not a guard you know, I might could pass you off as my brother or something. We could say we left your paper work at home. . ." she trailed off, knowing already that that wouldn't work. The guards would just follow them home, in that case. She shook her head.
"Anyway, we won't get caught, okay?"

Ryann followed the guards carefully, knowing better than to let himself make a noise. At least they were leading him deeper into the city. If Akira was able to get free, he would most likely be there. Hopefully though, he had managed to get out of town. He had to make sure, though. If there was any chance that Akira was still in the city and in need of help, then Ryann needed to find him. He hadn't come this far just to loose his only real friend.

He ducked behind the corner of a house as he heard foot steps coming from behind him. He thought he had been keeping a good eye on the guards, but what if there were more in the area? He silently cursed himself for not being more careful.

Akira nodded and gulped down his fear. If he kept telling her how they were going to get caught, then they most certainly would get caught and he didn’t want to risk it. Instead he decided to just shut up and walk. He hugged himself and hugged himself and led Shelli deeper into the town. He walked as quietly as he could and crept along walls. He was just t0o jumpy to just walk normally even thought that might have been less suspicious. He wondered if Shelli thought him a coward. He sure thought he was.

Then he heard footsteps. He gasped and ran into an alley and flattened himself against the wall. He didn’t hear the foot steps coming near him. He chanced and looked out across the street and saw guards turning a corner and away from him. He gave a sigh of relief. They already went through here. They wouldn’t come back. He started to creep back out when he heard a noise. He stopped and looked towards it and found none other than the friend he had been looking for. His face broke into a smile and he was suddenly giddy. He waited for a little bit making sure the guards wouldn’t be able to hear him before he ran to Ryann.

“Ryann!” he called in a half whisper. As Ryann turned around, Akira hugged him tightly and they fell to the ground from the momentum Akira had produce in his sprint towards him. Akira giggled a little and kissed Ryann over and over again and tears started to fall from his eyes. He was just so happy that he was alive! “I was so worried! I thought they shot you last night…” he confessed and got off his friend. “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you did they?” he asked and started to look him over.

Ryann blinked in surprise. That couldn't be who he thought it was that was standing in front of him, right? Surely his search could not be that easy. But as his friend came crashing into him, he knew it was real. He laughed silently in wonder and glee. He grabbed Akira's face, forcing him to end his kissing spree. He still couldn't believe that it was him, and all he wanted to do was look at his face.

Tears began to form in his eyes before he could stop them.
"I thought they had shot you," he laughed back. "I'm fine! I'm fine! And you?" He looked his friend over. He looked good; he even had some new clothes. "Are you okay?" He noticed Akira's friend, and froze. She wasn't screaming, and she wasn't calling for the guards. Was she with Akira? Could she be trusted?

Shelli took a step back, leaving the two a little privacy for their reunion. She felt a mixture of sorrow and happiness. It was good that Akira had found his friend, alive and well. But it made her think of her brother. Was he alright? She looked down. Was there really any chance that he could be free someday?

Akira beamed at Ryann and let him look him over for any injury. He hugged him tightly so happy at least one of his friends was safe from the guards. Their only problem now was to get his lover out of the cage they called a life. He noticed Ryann tense and looked back afraid someone else had come by but only saw Shellie. He gave a smile and sat up, giving Ryann some space.

“It’s okay. Her name is Shelli. She helped me last night. I would have died if it hadn’t been for her. She took me in, gave me food, clothes, and I even got to use her shower. She is a good person. Her brother is actually in the camps. It’s Jeremy. Don’t be afraid,” he reassured and finally got off Ryann. He helped Ryann up and pulled him towards Shelli.

“Ryann, this is Shelli, Shelli this is Ryann.” Akira smiled at the two and then ended up hugging Shelli. “Thank you for helping me survive the night. I promise you that we will find a way to get Jeremy out of the camps. It isn’t right for him to suffer there while we are free.” He himself longed for Jeremy. He had comforted him so many times and protected him from their whips, but he wasn’t there anymore to protect him.

Ryann smiled sympathetically at this new girl. How hard it must be to have a family member in the camps. And especially now, seeing first hand how horribly the prisoners were treated there. His eyebrows raised slightly as he heard who her brother was. He looked down, ashamed. He had not forgotten that Jeremy should have been there, free, with them as well.

"I am sorry about your brother," he said awkwardly. He heard Akira's promise, and frowned. "Well," he amended, "we will do our best. You know it won't be easy," he said towards Akira, scolding him slightly with his eyes. How horrible to promise something that they might not be able to deliver.

Shelli nodded happily as she was introduced to Ryann.
"It's nice to meed you. Akira was so worried about you, I feel I'm almost as relieved to find you safe as he is," she said with a laugh. Her eyes became bright with tears however, as her brother's name was brought into the conversation.
"Don't feel any responsibility," she said, hanging her head. "You only just escaped. I know Jeremy wouldn't want you to risk being re-captured for his sake."

Akira ignored his look and gave her a smile. They had to do something for her. She risked so much to help him. Besides, where would they go now? The guards were search every nook and cranny of the streets for them. They were all risking so much. He bit his lip and looked between the two. They were one sorry little group. They all had so many losses. too many to count yet they still had a some small human part of them.

"Maybe you should come with us," Akira said. From the look on their faces, he knew he had to amend the way he said that. "I mean, when you go home, you'll be alone and then you'll start to worry about your brother and us again. I wouldn't want you to be sad but... never mind. I am being selfish. I shouldn't have said anything..." he said and slid his hand into Ryann's and twined their fingers.

"I guess it is time for us to go though. We count ourselves luck that the guards have already passed here but I am sure they will circle back at one point and I don't want them to catch us out here. Take care of yourself. I wouldn't want you to be hurt either. I will pray for you and I hope my prayer doesn't make things worse for you. I shouldn't say that, but for a while I thought God was against us. Maybe he has decided to help us now but I wouldn't want to harm you in any way."

Ryann shook his head. He didn't know if he was frustrated, or amused by Akira's stubbornness. He justed hoped that his friend wouldn't talk them into a hole that they couldn't climb out of. He returned the squeeze. Well, there was nothing to be done about it now.

Shelli shook her head. How ridiculous.
"God's not against you; humans are. We've never been the smartest of species," she said with a grimace. She cocked her head though, thinking. There was no way that she could let them go off on her own. She had invested too much in them already. She had already done enough to get her put to death. There was really no reason to stop now.

"I don't know about going with you," she began, "but I can take care of you for one more day. You two need nourishment, and a good night's rest without worrying about being caught. Come back to my place. If anyone comes looking, I know a place you can hide. Okay?"

She looked down, ignoring the tears that were trying to spring up in her eyes. She couldn't let them go. Not yet. She couldn't let them down like she had her little brother. On that day, she had just stood and watched as the soldiers led him away. Surely, she had figured, surely they won't keep him long. There was no way that humans could be that cruel to one of their own. That had been years ago. She tried to ignore it, but there was still a part of her that hoped that Akira would keep his promise. She knew it was selfish to want them to risk their freedom, but she would have given anything to see her brother again.

“Take care of us for another day?” Akira began. That was beyond generous. He couldn’t put her at risk like that, but then again, asking her to come along with them was just as risky. He had no right to decline neither her wishes nor her choices. He looked up at Ryan with his indecision. He didn’t know what to do. Should he say yes? Should he say no? There were consequences no matter how they tossed the dice on their situation. It was almost hopeless.

If he said no, they would be running around in the cold. They hadn’t eaten much, especially Ryan. At least he had had a small bit of food the night before and in the morning and he also had a restful sleep. He couldn’t deny Ryan some rest and a warm place to sleep. He would also be able to have a warm shower and food if he said yes. They could die out here in the cold, but if the officers caught them at her house, they’d still be dead.

With a groan, he looked up at her and pouted. “If it isn’t too much trouble, staying at your house one more day does sound wonderful. You did so much for me and I know you risk your life for us but denying Ryan the same treatment would only be cruel. Thank you so much for your hospitality,” he said. He gave her another hug and kissed her cheek in thanks.

Ryann opened his mouth to protest, but Shelli cut him off.

"I'm so glad you agree. After the 'Cleansing' began, I never really felt. . . right. This is the first good thing I've done. It makes me feel good, helping you like this. So I guess I'm being selfish as well." She laughed lightly. "Please, come with me. We'll have to be careful."

Ryann sighed. How could he say no when she put it like that? A warm bed and meal did sound so good too. . .

"Alright. I can't think of any reason to say no. I still feel like you're being too sacrificing, but I guess one night won't hurt."

Akira smiled warmly at her than up at Ryann. He clung to his arm and ushered him forward behind his savior. He was so nervous. Every little movement that crossed his path made him jump and freeze. He didn’t want to go back to that place. He knew he would when he went to save his lover but being dragged there wasn’t an option. They would torture him and then kill him. Same to Ryann and most likely they would do the same to Shelli. He couldn’t have their lives on his hands to.

They clung to the shadows and inched their way around like criminals, and in a sense, they were criminals. A soldier walked by in front of them and they hid well out of sight. The soldier walked by without a glance. It was obvious he was bored with his job and could hardly careless about two gay guys running loose. They couldn’t do much harm. Once he was out of ear shot, they inched forward back to Shelli’s home and managed to get inside without getting caught.

Inside, Akira was able to give a sigh of relief. They were safe for a moment and out of the miserable cold. He rubbed his hands together trying to cause some friction for warmth. “Thank you again so much,” he said again. How else could he show his gratitude to her? She was sacrificing so much for them this moment. He owed her so much.

Shelli's breath caught every time they passed under a window or snuck past a door. What she was doing was crazy, but it filled her with an unparalleled sense of self-fulfillment. She knew that what she was doing was right. Despite that, she thought that her heart had stopped beating when a gaurd came into sight. They had ducked into the shadows, but she could still harldly believe they had gotten by without getting caught.

As the collapsed into her house, she was convinced that either luck or God was on their side. Perhaps both. She shook her head at Akira's comment, however.

"Please stop thanking me. I have already told you that I am helping you for selfish reasons as well." She smiled though, glad to feel appriciated.

Ryann curled up into a corner as soon as they got in, amazed by the temperature difference. It felt truely wonderful to be out of the cold. He smiled up at Aki. Although he still felt that they were using this poor woman, he couldn't be angry when he felt this much relief.

The entire time they were out on the street, Akira kept silent and clung to the walls as much as possible. They had gotten so far and they couldn't go back. They just couldn't. Not to that horrible place. His heart still ached for his lover that was trapped behind that fence and probably in need of a kind word. No matter what she said, he wanted to help her brother out for a selfish reason as well. They had been close and beaten for it. He couldn't leave him behind like that. They were lovers, they had to stand up for each other if no one else would.

Once inside the house, Akira fell to the floor in relief. They were safe behind walls. No one could see them. Not unless someone peeked in or the soldiers went on their rounds again and came knocking on her door. Then they'd all be in a shit load of trouble. Akira turned back to Ryann and gave him a hug. He was so cold. Maybe he needed to come closer to a fire or something. At least he had to get away from the door. It would bring him a chill.

"We all have selfish reasons Shelli. Let me thank you. You are the first kind face I've seen in years," he answered her and started to pull Ryann deeper into the house. He caressed his cheek and rested his head on his shoulder. "How did you survive the night in the cold? I thought you froze to death," he whispered to Ryann.

(Sorry I took forever sweetie! Please forgive me.)

Shelli smiled, slightly distracted, and left the two friends on their own. Noticing Ryann's shivering, she cranked up the heat - she would find someway to pay the extra that would be on the next bill. She went next into the kitchen, sure that Ryann would be in need of a hot meal. She rummaged through her cabinets, wishing that she had have thought to buy more food last shopping day. She did manage to find an old can of soup, and she quickly got to work on heating it up.

As she did so, her mind - quite of it's own accord - wandered back to her poor brother. Instead of dwelling on the dreadful present, she forced herself to remember the past. Sunny memories from before the Cleansing began playing through her mind, and a sad smile began to tug on the corners of her mouth.

Ryann snuggled closer to Aki, glad for his warmth. He had hardly noticed the cold before - it had turned his skin numb. As he began to warm though, he felt the sharp pains of frostbite. These he ignored - they were a welcomed gift compared to what he had suffered in the camps.

"I dug a hole," he answered Akira's question with a crooked smile. "It's okay, now. I'm sorry if I worried you. We need to talk, though." He shook his head. "I don't want to stay here long - I feel guilty just sitting in her floor. We need to figure out our next step."



((I'm afraid that I took even longer, so of course you're forgiven. Also, would you like to play Shelli's brother, since you only have one character as of yet?))

Akira hugged Ryann close when he snuggled closer. They weren't lovers, but they were close friends. Troubles and hard times often did that for people. You could become close to anyone when locked up with them. Akira remembered the day he was ripped away from his family. When his parents had found out, they were shocked of course and when they came to take him, he called out for them but they had turned their backs on him. They let those people take him away. It had shattered him. Ryann and Jeremy were brought there before him. He had become fast friends with Ryann and Akira had taken pitty on Jeremy and always stood up for him so naturally, they became friends to.

"I know," Akira cooed in his ear. "I wanted to get out of this place, but the idea of the 'Cleansing spread farther than just this city. Guards are probably at the gates to. We have to be careful trying to get out of this place. We somehow have to look different or straight or something. I don't even think people are allowed out of the gates anymore. It won't be guarded as much as the camp, but I am pretty sure it will be since they haven't found us."

Fear was always in the air. It clung to one's body like skin. That night Jeremy, Akira, and Ryann had decided to pull their escape. They had been planning it for practically a year. It was risky, but they had to try and get out and for the most part, it was a good idea. Akira had managed to sneak past the guards and shut the power off on the gate which sent everyone in a frenzy. Ryann ran with Jeremy towards the gate but guards started to spill out and they had to separate. They hid and behind different houses and searched for Akira and we came out of the building running as fast as he could, they took off with him. Gun fire rang out and echoed.

Jeremy had been so scared that Akira was going to get shot, but he managed to get away. The guards were practically on him. He had to do something! He froze and looked around. Ryann was still running for the gate. He probably hadn't notice Akira was in trouble since guards were chasing him to. The plan had gone wrong. Jeremy ran for Akira just when his lover fell to the ground. One of the guards grabbed his hair and yanked him up. Akira cried out in pain and it tugged at Jeremy's heart. Akira always got hurt because of him. Maybe this was his chance to save his lover. He rammed into the guard who dropped Akira.

Akira started to run but stopped when he realized it was Jeremy who ran into the guard. He called to him to run but the guards grabbed his arms and slammed him to the ground. Jeremy saw Akira coming closer and he shook his head. "No Akira. Go!" he pleaded. Akira hesitated and the pain in those blue eyes was horrible. A gun shot rang out again and nearly hit Akira. That set him off. He took off running.

"I'll come back for you!" he promised and Jeremy gave a melancholy smile. He doubted Akira would come back. If he was free, he wanted him to stay free. Hell, Jeremy was probably going to die now for assaulting a guard.

Jeremy sat defeated in the isolation chamber. He hadn't been killed, but he had been beaten pretty badly and the guards had no qualms about making fun of him. They all thought he was weak. Maybe he was a little. They called him a coward. Sure he was, but he knew he saved Akira. That was the only thing he was happy about. That night, guards had went out in search but they never came back with a body to burn. That meant Akira and Ryann were alive. Jeremy had been dragged off to the small isolation room and beat him black and blue. He could hardly get up now.

"Where's your shield?" they would mock. "This is the first time you took your own beating. Looks like your pet got fed up with taking all your whippings. Whatcha goinga do now bastard?" They made it a point to echo it often. The words didn't really matter. So what if they were true? He had grown used to the fact that he was probably going to die here. He wouldn't have thought differently if it hadn't been for Akira. He always wanted to get out, be free again. The world didn't want them. He sighed and tried his best not to groan. He was going to have to get up and go back to work soon. Might as well get some rest before he had to get up.