AN: I don't know if many people will read this or not, but I thought it was good, so whatever.

Summary: Jonas and Gabriel make it out of the community...but can they survive on their own in the wild? Especially after they find a spiky bush with gleaming red berries in it…Oneshot.

Warnings: They would spoil it for you, although I wouldn't advise you to read it if you get easily grossed out.

Rating: K+. Please tell me if I need to change it.

I disclaim anything you recognize. I don't own the Giver.

Introducing…*drumroll*

Release

Jonas sighed as Gabe cried with hunger. The typically silent child's soul had been ripped to shreds during this journey. How long had they been gone? Weeks, even months had passed, Jonas felt certain of that. He would have been long forgotten.

Or would he? Would the community have been thrown into a panic at the sudden onslaught of memories when he had left? What had the Giver done? Would his parents be alright? Then again, he thought, they weren't really his parents. Not his true ones. Once order was restored to the community, if order was restored, a new Jonas would be named and given to his parents. He would never have a true place in their hearts and minds again.

But did he ever? Jonas thought back to the time when he had first lied to his parents. That had been such an eternity ago. The message they had given him was clear though: Love is a meaningless expression. You should not waste your time pondering it.

Love isn't a meaningless expression, though, Jonas thought as he smiled down at Gabriel fondly. The smile quickly faded, though, when twin growls of hunger burst from their all-too-thin bellies. "You must be so hungry, little guy," he crooned, still fighting waves of exhaustion himself. The need to surrender, to just give in, was overwhelming. He knew that Gabriel needed him. That's what made up his mind. He would not let Gabriel suffer any more.

Bundling up the anorexic-like Newchild up in his tattered and worn cloak, he started walking more steadily and with more purpose. He would find food. He would find shelter. He would survive- if only for Gabriel's sake.

Suddenly, tiny white flakes starting floating down from the heavens. They were flakes that Jonas knew to be snow.

As if on cue, Gabriel poked his head out cutely to observe this new type of weather. Jonas almost laughed at his expression as a tiny snowflake landed on his nose. The said appendage crinkled cutely and the Newchild tried to bat it off, only to have it melt. Gabriel looked up at Jonas, confusion clearly written across his face.

"It's called snow, Gabe," Jonas said with a pang of sadness resounding in his heart. People in the community would never know about the snow if nothing was done to stop the Sameness. They didn't need (or deserved) to be shielded from the outside world, to miss all the beauty that the wild provided.

Right now, though, the wild needed to provide him with food. Ignoring the snow now, he trudged on ahead, his former stamina seemingly gone. Gabriel shuddered. The small child seemed to have lost his excitement about the snow.

Suddenly, Jonas saw something in the distance. It was dead ahead, but it looked as though it was miles away. It looked like…a bush? Maybe it had berries on it. He licked his lips at the thought, barely moistening them. "Gabe," he whispered. "It looks like we might be eating soon after all." After what they had been through, just one berry would taste like the sweetest ambrosia.

He started stumbling ahead, wanting to run but knowing that he would most likely collapse.

As he got closer to Earth's version of heaven, the sprinkling of snow became a downfall. In what seemed like seconds, the ground was covered with a frosty layer of white. A low whine came from around his midsection, and he realized it was Gabe, tormented by the sudden chill.

Jonas had been given memories of snow, but that hadn't prepared him for this. Not really. The wind was howling around the two lonely travelers, encasing them in the coldness of winter.

Still, Jonas trudged on. He tried to keep a grip on the one sole memory he had left- the memory of sunshine. It was no more than a wisp, lasting barely a second. Jonas could feel it trying to escape his body, escape his mind, go back to the community.

Gabriel was howling now along with the wind. Sighing softly, Jonas pressed his hands to Gabriel's back and tried to transmit the memory. He felt it leave him, and felt Gabriel relax for the smallest space of time. It had worked. Gabriel had the memory.

They were approaching the bush now, thanks to Jonas' staggering steps. He could see it more clearly now. Somehow, the bush was still green and growing, its pristine leaves standing strong. Tiny red dots were on it. They were berries! He rushed towards the bush, faster now than ever. He shook Gabe lightly. "Food, Gabe!" His voice cracked, both from happiness and from the strain of trying to live in these horrendous conditions. Jonas could feel the infant shifting in anticipation.

Finally, they reached the unidentified bush, staring at the bounty of berries in front of them. The wind had ceased, at least for the moment, and Gabriel stuck his head out from where it had been hiding. His face lit up, as if he knew that food was coming, and soon.

Tentatively, Jonas reached a shaking hand towards a berry, but paused. How did he now that these berries weren't poisonous? The leaves on the tree were spiky and green, as if warning people from eating it. The red berries stood at attention, gleaming at him. It seemed as if they were trying to taunt him.

Forgetting any qualms he had about trying the fruit, Jonas impulsively grabbed a few of the berries and ripped them off the bush, almost squishing them. He winced as a few of the spiky leaves cut into his hand, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Jonas almost tossed them into his mouth, but he remembered the little scrap of a child in his cloak, and instantly felt guilty. How could he be so greedy when Gabriel obviously needed the nourishment more than him?

Carefully, as if he would crush the younger child, he gave the berries to Gabe, watching as he grabbed the berries and shoved them into his mouth.

Apparently, the berries were tart, because Gabriel's face scrunched up almost immediately after he had bit into them. "Gabe, you have to eat them," Jonas said desperately, begging the child to eat them. "They're the only thing we have right now." He sighed with relief as he saw Gabriel visibly swallow them. "Good, Gabe."

Tenderly, he plucked a few more of the vibrant red berries from their spot on the bush, and tossed them into his hungry mouth. He almost recoiled, they were tart! Gingerly, he swallowed, trying not to taste them too much.

When they hit his empty stomach, though, all he could think was more.

With reckless abandon, he started consuming berries like there was no tomorrow, occasionally sparing Gabriel some when he cried out for more.

When he was at least partially finished gorging himself, he found the sense to cram some more of the berries into his pockets and anywhere he could store them.

After a long period of time, Jonas felt that he was totally satisfied, and so was Gabe. Their pockets were stuffed to the brim with the precious berries. If they saved them and ate them in moderation, they would last a week of so.

Speaking of Gabriel, the young child was now giggling and more happy, not to mention alive, than Jonas had seen him since that fateful day when they had escaped from the community that had kept them prisoner.

Jonas had had doubts about whether it had been wise or not to take Gabriel with him, but now, looking at the child's face, there was not a doubt in his mind about whether or not he had made the right choice. Gabe had, in his hastiness, smeared some of the berries and now there were bright red spots staining his face. Jonas had to hold in a chuckle at the cute picture it made.

"We'll stay here for the night," Jonas promised. They had nowhere to go, and honestly, why leave this place? The berries provided both juice (in a way) and nourishment. They didn't have anything to 'make camp' with (Jonas remembered receiving the memory of camping for the first time, how long ago that had been!), but the bush itself would at least be a bit of cover from whatever the weather threw at them.

Indeed, nightfall was indeed approaching, and it was getting even colder. Jonas wondered how much colder it could even get. Hopefully not much. He and Gabriel were just barely surviving now.

Carefully, he lowered Gabriel to the hard, grass-less ground, trying to ignore the child's complaints. He shrugged off his cloak; that would have to be their blanket for the night. He sighed, looking at the place that was to be their stay for the night. How far had they fallen? From living a perfect pain-free, naive life at the community to pitifully surviving off of a bush in the middle of nowhere.

Wearily, he fell into a fitful sleep, filled with dark inky blackness. In the dream, no, nightmare, his parents appeared to him. "Jonas, you have upset us greatly..."

The Giver's voice resounded around him. "Jonas, you have made a wrong choice. Now you must suffer the consequences..."

With a start, he woke up. It was okay. It was all going to be okay. They had a somewhat steady supply of food. Gabriel's stomach was filled. It was going to be all right. Jonas lay there, panting, and he decided to do something worthwhile.

He had known that snow was essentially made of water. He just hadn't put together the pieces. Jonas had stolen a canteen (of sorts) from the community as he had escaped. Now, all he needed to do was put some of the snow from the ground into the canteen. He would let it warm up, then unfreeze, becoming water.

Jonas did so, and about an hour or two after it had started melting, Gabriel woke up. Luckily, today was one of those good days. They had nourishment, and a seemingly eternal source of water- as long as it kept snowing or raining. All was well.

It continued in that fashion for about a week. They would get up, eat some berries, drink water, and try to find more bushes or another form of food.

One day, though, when Jonas woke up, he knew instantly that it was going to be a bad day. For one, Gabe was crying. The newchild seemed inconsolable as he screamed and hollered for all the world to hear.

That wasn't the worst of it, though. Jonas' head was throbbing and he felt as if he was going to be sick at any moment. "Gabe...Please be quiet..." he murmured, stroking said child's head. He was worried about himself, but Gabriel came first. In his mind, Gabriel had always come first. The child had wormed his way into his heart.

Soon, though, the nausea over came him. He felt the bile, oozing and dreadful, forcing its way from his stomach back up to where it had originally come from. Hurriedly, for he didn't want to vomit all over Gabe, he jumped up (ignoring the way the world seemed to spin under his feet) and ran over to a random ditch in the ground.

Gagging and spitting, he tried to recoil as the vomit forced its way out of his mouth and onto the icy ground. What was wrong with him? He hadn't eaten anything poisonous, had he?

Jonas almost vomited again when he saw what the mess he had thrown up was. It was almost all spit and redness- as red as blood...and maybe berries.

Groaning, he sat hunched next to the pile of red while he waited for his headache, and the nausea, to reside.

When he felt better, about ten minutes after that episode, he stumbled weakly back over to the bush. What he saw would have made many faint.

Apparently, Gabriel had been sick too, and the evidence of it was smeared all around his mouth. Jonas felt his heart break for the obviously sick child.

"Don't feel good, Jonas..." the frail child slurred weakly. Gabe had picked up different words in the community. Jonas was sure that he would have been an excellent student- if they had stayed there.

"I know," he whispered. "It'll be okay."

As the day continued, though, Gabriel developed a fever. Jonas has been horrified to find that the child had diarrhea. There was nothing he could do to help. That was the bad part.

It wasn't as if he weren't sick too, though. He'd thrown up two more times since that morning, and he could tell his breathing had slowed down- as had Gabriel's.

He had seen memories of sick people. They had gotten something...injections, he recalled, and had taken pills or nasty liquid...medicine. They didn't have that. There was no way to get through it but to wait it out.

That was the terrifying thing. What if they couldn't wait it out long enough? What if they died before they got better?

They lasted four days. Four, before Gabriel got really bad. They had had nothing to eat but the berries, and Gabriel wasn't keeping those down. Jonas was completely terrified, both for himself and for the newchild. For he had only gotten worse too. At night, though, he could feel that Gabe's heartbeat kept slowing. That couldn't be good.

One day, though, it stopped completely.

They had gone through the day, with Jonas trying as hard as he could to make Gabe well again. It had been a horrendous job. Jonas had vomited once, and Gabe had twice. The child seemed to be constantly dizzy now, and his face always seemed to be burning up. As they laid down for bed, Jonas wrapped his arms around the child in front of him, trying to provide warmth. He fell into yet another fitful sleep.

Jonas woke up early, stretching, yawning, and trying to keep warm. Still sleepy-eyed, he looked at Gabe...but something looked different about the child. Gabriel was all hunched up where he slept, but his face was...colorless. That was when he noticed that Gabe wasn't breathing. Growing ever more frantic, he pressed his ear to Gabriel's chest, trying to listen to the heartbeat he knew would be there. It wasn't.

"Gabe?" he whispered softly, as if screaming would hurt the Newchild's ears. "Wake up..." Carefully, tenderly, he nudged the boy's body, noting the way the once fluffy blond curls of hair stuck to his clammy pale-gray skin.

That finished it for him.

Gabriel was dead. It was all Jonas' fault. "No! Gabe!" he cried desperately. Jonas had cried before, with the Giver, but not like this. Ever. It seemed as if a bit of his soul had been ripped away with the loss of his companion and somewhat-adopted sibling. He screamed. He cried. He wept, for there was no one to hear him here.

Finally, his tears subsided and he had to wipe his face. His face felt red and blotchy, and he felt nauseous again. He had to go on, though.

He now knew for certain that the berries were poisonous. Luckily, he had stopped eating them yesterday. But would that be enough? Would he die? Would he go to Elsewhere?

Jonas looked at Gabriel's body again. It looked so frail, laying against the ground like that... He decided to give Gabe a proper burial, like the ones he'd seen in the memories. The one that his ancestors did.

Jonas wept as he dug the hole, wept when he lowered Gabriel's body into it, and wept when he refilled the grave. When he got back to the cursed bush though, his face was made of stone. No emotion showed in his eyes. He looked like the walking dead.

He vowed never to cry again.

Jonas packed up his things. It hadn't rained or snowed for a while, and he was thirsty, so thirsty... He was half-delirious.

Jonas started to stumble along the road, wishing aimlessly for water.

It wasn't long before he heard it- the flowing of water. Was it a river? It was concealed by a few trees. With all the energy he had, he began to run towards the sound. It got louder and louder as he got closer and closer...

Finally he broke through the last branches and bushes (Oh, how he hated the things!) and nearly fainted from gladness as he saw it: a river.

Hurriedly, he half-limped toward it. Jonas whimpered in pure relief and fell to his knees beside it. He didn't care about the cleanliness of the water, he just wanted it.

He scooped it up in his hands. He lapped it like the dogs in the memories. He tried every method possible of drinking water.

As he drank, his thoughts began to wonder. What if he just let go? What would it be like to escape from life? To escape from everything would be a blessing...

Suddenly, he felt himself lean a bit too far. Waving his arms frantically, he tried (without success) to avoid the inevitable as he pitched forwards and fell face-first into the river.

His first thought was that it was way deeper than he had expected. He sank, but it was a long time before he hit the bottom. When he did, though, black-stained sand flowed up around him, rendering him virtually blind. I'm glad you are a strong swimmer, Jonas. But stay away from the river. Those were the words that the Giver had told him. He remembered now. Survival came first, though.

Jonas' first instinct was to kick up, up to the surface. His former thoughts floated back across his mind, though: What if he just let go? What would it be like to escape from life? To escape from everything would be a blessing...

He stared, unmoving, into the water as those thoughts repeated themselves in his mind, seemingly unaware of the ever-growing need for air.

At the very last moment, he tried to kick to the surface, but he was too far gone, and too far from the surface.

With a soft, non-visible sigh, he closed his eyes and let go.

One lone tear trailed from his eye and joined the water around him, never to exist again.

The End.

If you don't know what happened, the berries were holly berries.

Thanks for reading!

Tigertopaz- Titanium Banana