It wasn't long until Frith lived on the streets. His father and mother were advised to disown him for their own sakes unless Frith himself would give in and go to Camp.

They tried so hard to get him inside that prison. His father told him that it was the only way for him to live a normal life. His mother pleaded, telling him that she would not be able to see him again if he continued to refuse treatment. But, there was no use.

"I don't want to go. I am normal, " Frith muttered, "I am normal. "

"Kiddo, this is for your own... "his father stopped talking, "I... Your mother can't handle this again. "

His mother was currently drowning in her own tears and wails. He could imagine their neighbors listening in on the chaos that was stirring. He could read their thoughts. He knew that they were thinking about their own family. Some were glad that the outcasts were sent away. Good riddance, they were a waste of space anyway. Some were saddened that their loved ones would live the rest of their lives being spat and stomped on. Oh God, why won't the Regime stop? Why won't they let us live?

"I'm not going. Kids die in there. Silhouettes of hanging children can be seen through the window. Loud screams can be heard, and I see workers throw away corpses with bloody wrists. I don't want to die in there, Dad." Frith looked up into his father's eyes, and he squeezed his eyes shut. "I don't want to...die in there. I don't want to want to die. To be forgotten. "

His father turned away, sighed, and became silent. Frith stared at his father as he saw little droplets of despair run down his face. The man didn't dare look at his son, but the son had a feeling that he wanted to embrace his child one last time.

"I never understood why. Why they tell us to do this. Why they force us to do it. If we go up against them again, kiddo, it won't be pretty," the father grimaced.

Frith remembered the day his sister was taken. The entire house was filled with terror and dread, but the Takers would not stop. They dragged his sister out of her room despite her blood-chilling screams, and they did not care that their nails were digging into her arms and legs. His mother flew across the living room like a paper plane before crashing and crumbling into a wall. Like paper, she tore apart. His father roared and faced the enemy with his teeth showing, but he was soon taken down by a small piece of machinery that sent lightning through his veins. Frith just stood there frozen like a deer in headlights. He couldn't help but think that they would come for him next.

Now, they were.

"If I leave, they won't come here. That's the rules. " He said as he grabbed his laptop. "They won't move you. They won't fire you from your job. None of it will happen again if I just leave. "

"Maybe I don't want you on the streets! I may not like what you feel, but I don't want my child dying on the streets! It's safer at the Camp. No one will hurt you. If you chose to leave, it won't be long until I see your body in the trash! " The man's face grew red, and his eyes became flooded.

Frith flinched when he heard his father's exclamation. He didn't realize that his father saw that every day; Frith couldn't imagine seeing the body of a child while doing your job. He didn't want to know what the garbage men did with the corpses. Did they throw them in the dump, or did they leave them to rot?

But, for some reason, he felt that going to the Camp would be worse.

"I don't want to live a nightmare. "

A hour later, Frith stood in an alley with a worn book bag on his back and his laptop in his shaking hands. He never realized how cold the air was until that day. The freezing touch of the wind creeping up his skin was almost too much for him. How could someone live on the streets like this? He felt like a helpless dog shivering in fear looking for guidance.

That's when he realized that the outcasts didn't last long on the streets. It was not unusual to see homeless children being taken to Camp, and he knew that it wasn't illegal to rid the sidewalks of any trash. He was truly, and utterly, alone.

"Is there anybody out there? "he stuttered,"I-Is there anybody out there?"

No answer.

"I'm Frith. I'm new."

He jumped back as a rat scurried over his feet, and he watched it run to its dirty home behind a dumpster. The boy huddled in the corner of the building and the trash, and he clutched his belongings tight. How could the world be so cruel to him? In his dreams, he could walk around the city without being judged. In his dreams, he had a warm bed, a cooked meal, and a roof over his head.

That made him wonder. Why was he different? What made him so terrible that others were better than him? Why couldn't he be normal? He wouldn't have to endure this any longer. He wouldn't have such a grim future.

"Did you say that your name was Froth? "

He turned to see a girl that looked about a year younger than him. Her clothes were torn showing her underwear, and the cloth that did cover her frail body was covered in dirt and slime. A simple, silver chain hung on her neck, and her brown hair was tangled and knotted.

"F-Frith,"he said, "I just got here. New."

"Oh. I'm Rhia. Three days, that's how long I've been here. I'll get my partner. She's gonna explain everything to you. "the girl tapped her one bare foot.

"Three days? "

"I know. Pretty long, isn't it? "she smiled, "If we're lucky, we'll last a week!"

He watched as she dug through the trash and waste until she grabbed a simple walkie-talkie and a bag of canned food with her name hastily written on it in marker. She muttered a few words in the walkie-talkie, and she turned to Frith once more.

"Why you here? "she said, "Sorry to be blunt, but we gotta be careful. "

He bit his lip and muttered, "Lover and Switcher."

"You have to say 'I am..' blah, blah. People are allowed to get rid of us, if you know what I mean. Normals won't say that. "Rhia explained and turned back to her device, "Shut up, you know it's true. "

"I'm..."Frith looked down, "I'm...a Switcher and... a-a Lover."

"There we go! Okay, now let me take you to our place. We need a guy there for night shifts anyway. "

She slapped him on the back, and she held his hand. She led the boy to another alley, but on the way there, he couldn't help but look at onlookers' faces. Smiles turned into sneers. Sadness twisted into disgust. Hands became fists.

"Ignore them. They only hunt at night, anyway,"Rhia paused, "Most of the time."

"But they hate us,"he said, "They hate us. "

"They hated us before. They just didn't know it was us that they hated until now. "

Rhia pulled him down another alley full of posters displaying propaganda, as the girl called it, and words of ignorance (she said that was what it was called) were spray painted on the gray walls. She came to a door with a broken hinge, and she knocked three times.

"You found another? "a girl spoke from behind the door.

"No, I'm bringing a Normal in here to kill us."Rhia rolled her eyes.

The door opened, and a tall girl entered Frith's sight. She was in better shape than her friend with dirty, intact clothes with her black hair somewhat brushed back. Her dark skin, however, was riddled with fresh cuts. Frith couldn't tell how old they were, but he didn't want to think about the scars on her arms.

"This is Rose, my partner. She helped me escape the Camp,"Rhia leaned against the other girl, "Rose, this is Frith. Don't ask about the name. I think it's made up. "

Rose looked in his eyes, "How old? "

"Fifteen,"he replied, "Fifteen years. "

"Belongings?"

"F-five cans of food, a few m-meat sticks, a jacket, underwear, and a... laptop. "

Both of the girls' eyes light up and the smaller one stared at the machine in his hands. He then clutched his precious treasure against his chest looking back and forth at the girls. Rose pointed at it.

"Usable? "

He nodded but didn't speak. He was too scared, too confused to form any words.

"What can you do?"Rhia bounced on her heels.

"S-stuff? "Frith answered, "Find stuff. Do... things. "

Rose dragged her partner and him into the small room and closed the door behind her. Inside was a small, hanging light bulb above a table and four chairs. Off to the side was a couch and a sleeping bag. Squeaks and scratches could be heard, and the boy shuttered at the thought.

"Could you send a video to all devices in the City?"Rose sat down, "I don't care how, but can ya? "

"If they're connected to the i-internet,"he said, "Why? "

The two girls looked at each other.

"Why? "he prompted, "Why do you ask? "

Rhia grinned, "And you're both a Lover and a Switcher? "

He flinched, "Y-Yes. "

The shorter girl sighed, "That's not the answer. "

Frith bit his tongue,"I'm a... Switcher and a Lover. "

Rose quickly kissed the other girl's cheek, "We've got a spokesman! "

He blinked, "Huh? "

Rhia smiled, "We need to stop this! So, since you represent two sides, it'll work better than just one. And there isn't enough of us to riot, so we need a... peaceful way of doing it. Plus, you're younger than us and cleaner than us. "

Frith was silent for a few seconds, "We're... protest?"

Rose shrugged, "If you want to call it that, sure. "