Authors Note: So upon writing this, I realized that this was a LONG part of the game and as a whole I think it would reach 10,000 words (this chapter isn't even the half way point). So seeing as how the rest of the chapters are far shorter, I feel it would be odd pacing, so I have decided to split it into two chapters. Thank you for understanding and keep your eyes peeled for, Homeless part 2
Snow fell slowly from the sky, adding to the rapidly growing piles in the city streets. The dim street lights lit up nothing but clean snow and empty streets and the city seemed almost abandoned, save for one lone figure stumbling her way through the snow after pulling herself away from the sheltered warmth of a covered doorway.
Summer had come and gone quickly, and thankfully, quietly and Anna had managed to put a great deal of distance between herself and her last spotting in New Nottingham. All had not been well for the fleeing young woman. With each passing day she had felt her already fragile control on Elsa's powers slipping. Her hair had grown dull and her face ashen, eyes that had once shown a bright teal had lost their gleam to a dull haunted blue. Her gloved hands pulled her scarf tighter around her face with her gloved hands in a desperate attempt to gain some semblance of comfort in the freezing cold.
The light above her flickered as she came to a stop in front of a payphone. She regarded it curiously as she swayed weakly, trying to clear the fog from her mind. In the pockets of her tattered jacket she found two quarters. She could do it, call him. It had been ages since she had last spoken to him, actually truly spoken to him. As Anna lifted the phone from the receiver and deposited the coins she couldn't help but wonder if he would even remember her. With a shaky hand she managed to dial the number, fighting back the fog of her mind. "Please be awake. I need you" she breathed.
After what felt like ages to the freezing woman, the ringing stopped and a voice filtered through the earpiece "Hello? Hello who is this?" A sob escaped her with a smile, she would recognise his accent anywhere, so ingrained into her mind it was. His voice had always been one that brought her comfort. "Oaken" she breathed out with a sigh.
"My God! Anna! Anna is that you?" panic and hope filled his voice and Anna allowed a small smile to grace her tired face. He did remember her after all. "Anna, where are you? Anna, please. Speak to me! ANNA!"
"I'm so tired Oaken" her voice cracked as she spoke, it was hoarse from lack of use and carried a brittle tone. "And I don't think I have ever been so hungry." Clutching to the phone like a lifeline she continued "I'm scared Oaken, I'm so….. So fucking scared. I'm cold" a pause "For the first time, I feel cold and it's scary. Elsa can't protect me, she's getting weak to. She can't shield me from the cold."
When she fell quiet Oaken tried to speak again "Anna, I don't understand. Tell me what is happening."
"They're back" she breathed "The Entities, like the ones from back then. Angry and hateful. They are trying to separate us, Oaken. Covering me, suffocating me. They are attacking our tether. It hurts, Oaken. It hurts so much and I can feel my connection to Elsa weakening. I don't want her to be lost, Oaken. She shouldn't be alone."
She could hear something clattering to the ground and guessed that Oaken had jumped from his seat. "Where are you, Anna? Tell me where you are! I can help you, just please, tell me where you are! I couldn't save them, but I can try to save you! I will come to you, I will protect you!" his voice was thick. "Thank you, Oaken, but it's too late for me to be saved. Good bye." As she was hanging up the phone, she could hear him screaming on the other end "Anna! No! Don't hang up on me! WHERE ARE YOU!? ANNA!" the gentle click of the phone silenced him.
The world tilted as she turned and Anna had to grab hold of the phone while her vision cleared. "I'm sorry, Elsa. I should have tried harder for you" she mumbled as she staggered out of the light and down the street. Her feet felt heavy, impossibly so, and she only made it a few feet from the light before darkness filled her vision and she gave into the cold, falling into the snow.
Elsa sent small bursts of snow at the shadowy Entities that clung to her host. They let go, but only for a moment before they descended upon her again. Even unconscious, pain was written clearly across Anna's face. Brittle spikes of ice rose up around her.
A clinking sound from an ally not far from them drew her attention. Slowly she drifted closer and peered into the ally. A man in raggedy cloths stood at a dumpster, rooting through and placing bits of clothing and scrapes of food into the cart at his side. He didn't look like the violent sort, but fear gripped her all the same. This man could be their salvation, or at the very least, Anna's, or he could do her great harm.
Time was running out as Elsa could feel her Anna's life slipping away. She had no choice but to trust this stranger. For the hundredth time, Elsa cursed her lack of speech. Things would have been so much easier is Anna were not the only person who could hear her.
Then, an idea. Using what little strength she had left, Elsa summoned a small gust of wind down the alley. The man's hat flew from the top of his head and tumbled towards the entrance.
He spun around on confusion "What was that?" as he went to scoop it up, another gust sent it tumbling down the sidewalk where it became stuck on a lump in the snow. "What in the world" the man squinted as he approached the lump. It didn't take long for him to realize that under that light covering of snow, was a person.
With a gasp he rushed to their side, sliding to his knees next to them. His hands shook as he pulled the body into his lap, gently brushing snow from her red hair. A girl, freezing cold to the touch. "No, no please no" he whispered. He couldn't see the rise and fall oh her chest to indicate her breathing, so with bated breath he pressed two fingers to her pulse point. He furrowed his russet brows as he waited "Come on, Kid." He pressed down a little harder, and he felt it. The girl pulse, faint and weak, but there.
After placing his hat on her head, he tucked an arm under her legs and his other behind her back and lifted her up slowly. He held her close to his chest as he hurried off down the street, desperate to get the girl back to his home.
It was hot, far too hot, fire raged around her. She could feel Elsa trying to protect her, but the ice just wasn't enough. "ANNA!" someone was calling for her but they seemed so distant. A blurring face swam into view, followed by another "She's burning up" a woman's voice. "I know. Come on, Red, drink this" and a man. The fire rushed back and she was burning. Elsa was screeching with the pain they shared. Anna felt like she was burning alive and then suddenly, nothing.
Her eyes opened slowly, drawing a gasp from the copper skinned woman who had been holding a cloth to her head. "Dodger!" she called urgently "Dodger, I think she's waking up!" When Anna finally managed to fully open her eyes, the man, Dodger, was next to her "Hey Red, you had us worried" he spoke with a light accent that she couldn't quiet place. New York. Maybe? "How long have I been out?" Anna croaked. The woman frowned "Two days. There were a few times that we weren't too sure is you were gunna make it."
Dodger squeezed her shoulder "But you're awake now, so you're out of the worst of it" he said before motioning over his shoulder "We'll let you get your bearings. Come warm up by the fire when you feel well enough. Come on, Rita" and the two left her.
Slowly, Anna pushed herself up into a sitting position, leaning on her elbows. She was on a dingy mattress that had been laid out over a piece of plywood. Makeshift walls of tin siding had been set up around the mattress. As she examined the small room, her eyes fell upon a small box, tucked away behind a pallet. Anna pulled the box towards her and upon removing the lid, found nothing but a small collection of dingy photographs. In all of them were the same two men. Even through the layer of dust, she could pick out Dodgers rust coloured hair but the other man was a complete stranger. Taller than Dodger, he shared his hair, and while Dodger looked relatively the same in each picture the other man seemed to get steadily more thin and ill looking.
After a time, Anna replaced the box and slowly stood. Her legs were shaking but she wasn't all that surprised. Even before her two days out, she hadn't had any rest or food. Her unsteady feet carried her beyond the tin walls and out into what seemed to be an old warehouse, with similar tin rooms set up around its walls, a total of five others. There warehouse itself had clearly seen better days if the glassless windows and gaping house in the roof were any indication.
Just outside of the tin shack she had come out of was a fire pit surrounded by tattered old arm chair and a couch, it was here that Dodger and the copper skinned woman were sitting. The woman smiled and held a steaming can out towards Anna "Come get warmed up by the fire, get some food into you". Hesitantly, Anna walked over and settled herself back down of the couch, taking the can as she went. Though it was just a simple can of baked beans, it was one of the best things Anna had ever eaten and she ate ravenously from the can, ignoring the sad smiles from the two across from her.
It was only after she had finished cleaning the can of any remaining sauce that Dodger spoke, slowly eating from his own can. "So, Red" he cleared his throat "You got a name, or should I just keep calling you red?" Anna regarded him a moment with dim eyes before replying "An-Joan. My name is Joan" she instantly regretted the lie, she didn't deserve the use the name of the heroic woman whom she had once looked up to, not anymore "But Red… Red will do just fine."
He nodded "Alright, Red it is. How long have you been on the streets?" Anna scrunched her shoulders up to her ears "Three months, at least… all of the days kind of… blur together." Dodger nodded knowingly "I know that feeling, Red. It's been three years for me, and Rita here has been street surfing sine she was your age."
"Younger, probably" Rita interjected, turning her deep brown eyes to Anna "You're lucky Dodger found you, he's been making a habit of bringing in strays" she meant it as a term of endearment "Just last year he took in a little boy, helped him find a home. Come to think of it he had red hair to" she chuckled "must have been fate for the both of you." Anna's recently permanent frown deepened and she pulled her knees tight to her chest "She should have just left me out there. You both would have been better off if I had just froze." She mumbled as she flexed her gloved hands, feeling a thin layer of ice crack beneath the fabric "You both would have been safer."
Now it was Dodgers turn to frown. "Now you listen here, and listen well. I know the feeling of wanting to just end it all, all of here do, but believe me when I say, it is not worth it. You only get one life, Red, and it's up to you to make the best of what get thrown at you and learn to make your own place. I mean, just look at the lot of us" he waved his arm to draw her attention the other occupants of the warehouse.
"Over there, that's Tito" he motioned to a skinny Hispanic boy with wild mousy brown hair "A little bundle of spunk that one, the drugs don't help, but we try to keep him clean, tends to make him a bit testy but on a good day he can make the best music." Next he motioned to an older man with grey hair and a shaggy beard "That's Einstein, but just call him Ernie. He used to be a teacher. Debts caught up to him and well… he lost everything. I found him a couple months ago. Math and history, that's what he taught. Still teaches us a thing or two when he's sober enough. And the little bald man over there, that Francis. He thinks himself an actor, which can come quite in handy." Lastly he pointed to a young woman with a swollen belly and short white blonde hair "She's the newest addition to our little family, aside from you, Red. Calls herself Duchess, for safety reason. She pregnant, shouldn't be too long now. Her boyfriend disappeared and she thought her father had somethin' to do with it, she took off too. Sweetest most well manner girl I ever met. But that's us, we're all here just livin' day to day. Gettin' by on what little we have. We found out place and found a happiness of sorts. The worlds not all bad, Red, as long as you know where to look."
There was a long pause before Anna nodded and stood up "Thank you…. I think I really needed that." She thanked them both again before turning and making her way towards the main door of the small warehouse. "Oh! You're awake" a quiet cheery voice drew her attention over to Duchess, who was setting down on a lawn chair outside of her tin shack "We were all really worried for you" she continued as Anna approached her. "I'm really glad that you made it." With all of the grace she could gather, she finally managed to sit down. Anna's eyes zeroed in on the swell younger woman's belly, unaware of her staring. Duchess merely smiled "Do you want to feel? She hasn't been very active lately but, you can." She voice was so sweet. "No, I really shouldn't" Anna only realized how close she had gotten to the other woman when her wrist was suddenly grasped by the blondes dainty hand. "Nonsense." She smile just as sweet as she pulled Anna's hand against her belly.
The redhead felt panic well up in her chest at the sudden contact. All her thoughts flew to the worst possible outcome. She was going to freeze this expecting mother, she was going to kill her unborn child, and she could feel Elsa panicking just as much. She squeezes her eyes shot tight, ready for the screams of horror. What she was not ready for was the gentle kick against her palm, followed by another stronger kick. "She must like you" Duchess' calm voice pulled Anna from her remaining panic and she opened her eyes to feel another small kick. Tears pricked at her eyes and she could feel something that she hadn't felt in so long blooming in her chest. Hope. But as quickly as it began, Anna crushed it down, pulling her hand away. One isolated lack of ice did not make her safe. What started as slowly backing up, turned to Anna running away and out the door. "She would never be stable again, of that she was sure. It had to end. It all had to end.
On her way out, she passed a tire with a dulled knife driven into it. With a grunt of effort, she pulled it free and continued on her way outside. The warehouse was built up on a raised dock that over looked the frozen waters of the city. Distantly, she noticed that the feeling of cold was gone. She was back to the dull nothing that she had grown used it, and with this in mind she sat down in a snow bank.
The dim sunlight glinted off of the blade as she leveled it against her wrist. Blinking back her tears, Anna made to make a clean cut through her wrist, but her wrist was shielded by a bloom of thick ice that melted quickly. Again and again she tried to make that first cut, and again and again the ice blocked the blade away from her pale skin. "Damn it!" Anna growled as she scrambled to her feet, lifting the blade high, with the intent of plunging it into her cold heart, but as the blade came down, a shaft of ice shot up to intersect, sending the knife flying out of her grasp and onto the lake.
"WHY!?" Anna was furious now "Why won't you let me just end it all, Elsa? I can't live like this anymore! All of the guilt, the regret. All of the fear. It would be bad enough if it was just mine, but I have to feel for the both of us! I am just one person, Elsa. I wasn't meant for this. So why won't you just let me leave and finally stop fighting!? WHY! Answer me, Why, Elsa!" Tears rolled freely down her face and her shook with silent sobs. "I never wanted this."
"Hey, Red" Dodger's voice startled Anna and she spun around to face him, clutching her now rapidly beating heart. He chuckled "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He grinned as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "We're um… we're running low on food, we gotta get more or we'll all starve, and everyone pulls their weight in the warehouse. So if you're goin' to stay with us, you're goin' to have to help us get some food." A new set of feet crunching through the snow alerted them to Rita as she walked out to join the pair "Shouldn't be too hard for you, Red. These can be streets on gold, Honey, if you just do as you're told. Dodger and I, well, we make an art of staying alive" she smirked as she nodded for Anna to follow them "Come and see how the best survive." Anna's eyes darted about as the two began to walk off before reluctantly hurrying after them.
The city seemed a totally different place to Anna. Its streets plowed and filled with the early morning commuters, she could see why people would choose to stay here, even after they had lost it all.
The trio had opted out of making their way into the busier downtown areas, staying portside for Anna's sake, Rita didn't want to throw too much at the poor girl in one day. "Well, this is where I leave you two" Rita turned and smirked at the two redheads. "Remember what I told you, Red." Anna nodded "Play it brave and bold." Her voice was sounding stronger already, and after the half hour walk with the two she felt a little more comfortable being so close to them. She even managed not to flinch too much when Rita ruffled her wild hair. "I'll see you two later!" she called over her shoulder before disappearing into the passing crowd.
Dodger and Anna continued on down the road until Dodger stopped and slumped down against the wall, eyes scanning the crowd. "What now?" Anna questioned, crouching down next to him. "We wait." He grinned at her "Wait for opportunity. It's easier to get a quick buck in the summer, seein' as how people aren't all bundled up—" he held his hands out as a woman hurried past "—spare change?" he smiled gratefully when she dropped a few coins into his waiting palms. "So when you can't take, you beg?" Dodger silenced her with a light glare "If I relied solely on the generosity of others, I'd be dead. I take what I need and move on. It's how I've survived, Red. Besides, we only take what we need. We can't afford to be greedy. Five dollars. That's my goal for the day."
"Alright" Anna grunted as she stood up. "Where are you goin', Red?" Dodger called after her. "I figured we'd make more if we split up. I'll see you later, I owe you that much."
As little as she had liked it, Dodger had saved her twice now and she owed him something for his trouble. So down the street she walked, dull, tired eyes peeled for any opportunity. "Hey, Ginger" a gruff voice calls from the entrance of an alley. He looked her up and down, eyeing her like a piece of meat "Looking to make a little cash?" when Anna nodded slowly he grinned "I'm glad to hear that. I need a favour down and you look just the sort for the job." His smile was sickening, and she was sure she had seen a smile like that before, but Anna tried to ignore it as she asked "What sort of favour?" His grin widened as he leaned closer to her "Well, you and me, we take a little walk down this alley here for a little privacy and you simply have to take care of a little itch I got" his hands moved suspiciously in the pockets of his jeans as he spoke "Scratch my itch, Ginger, and you make an easy ten bucks." Anna was repulsed, memories of the bar flashed to the forefront of her mind and she took an instinctive step back. "No. No I will not go down that road." She snapped at him, turning to leave.
A firm hand wrapped tightly around her arm, yanking her back. "Let me go. Or else" her voice was dangerously low as she glared at him. The man sneered and yanked her arm back again "Think you're better than the rest of them, do you? What's wrong? You're desperate, aren't you? Well come on then!"
It happened faster than he could blink. He had been holding her tight, dragging her smaller frame back, then the pain of cold like he had never known raced up his arm. He pulled his arm back, cradling it to his chest, hissing in pain. "What the hell did you do you little bitch!?" he snapped. "I warned you" Anna practically growled out before turning on her heel and taking off down the street. "Thank you, Elsa" she whispered when she felt safe enough "I'm sorry about earlier…. I was—"she clenched her fists "—I was weak. I'll make it up to you."
A sound that could only be described as something strangling a dozen cats, grated against Anna's eyes. Her search for its source lead to a shabbily dressed teen perched on a milk crate, attempting to tune a guitar. As she approached, Anna tried to someone all of her remaining kindness ask she addressed him "you sound like you're trying to kill a cat, may I?" well it was a good effort she told herself. "Uhmm, sure?" he looked down to the snowy sidewalk as he handed her what was surly his only possession.
She made herself comfortable on the crate next to him, shooting the boy an apologetic smile before she set to work. He had made a right mess of it but with a great deal of effort, Anna managed to get it back into tune. It felt good to have a guitar in her hands again, she hadn't played since her years with Oaken, but the rhythm came quickly to her and soon she was humming along, and then, she opened her mouth and sang.
People stopped and listened, occasionally dropping some change into the open guitar case. Anna sang and sang, growing louder and more comfortably with each pass of the song. The boy at her side picked up the beat and lyrics quick enough, and soon the pair of them were singing the sorrowful song in rounds and harmonies, steadily growing more and more attention.
For the first time in months, Anna smiled, really truly smiled. She could see this as her life and even Elsa seemed content and calm, sending small swirls of gentle snow around the singers. A simple, peaceful life with no more running or fighting or the self-pity that had gotten her nowhere.
It was only when the sun began to dip below the skyline that Anna stopped playing. She shared another bright smile with the boy as she handed him back his guitar, her heart soaring when, once again, there was no burst of ice. "Make sure to take good care of it" she warned him before looking to the small pile of money. "Fifty-fifty?" he asked and she nodded "Fifty-fifty." With the money divided, Anna hurried off down the street to meet back up with Dodger.
"How'd you make out, Dodger?" Anna called as when she finally found him. "Four dollars, a subway token and a pack of mints" he replied, popping one of said mints into his mouth "not the best day ever, but not an entirely bad day either. What about you, Red?" Anna couldn't stop the grin that slowly stretched across her face as she pulled out the small wad of cash "I guess you could say that I did alright for my first day."
Dodgers face was stern as he crouched down to her height, looking her dead in the eyes "How did you manage that? What did you do?" he sounded worried, but quickly realized that he may have spoken to harshly and backpedalled "Look, I'm sorry. I just don't want you to do anything that you'll regret. But trust me, Red, I won't judge you. Okay?" Her gaze was on her boots as her mumbled "I bored some guy's guitar and we busked all day. I didn't do—"her explanation was cut short and her body went rigid as the man pulled her into a tight hug. So many warning were firing off in her brain that all Anna could do was stand stiff as a board, hoping that she didn't freeze her saviour.
"Thank you, Red" he smiled as he took the money, pooling it with his own "you just wait here, I'm going to run over and buy us some food. Jesus, we have enough here to feed everyone a good meal." He laughed as he hurried across the street to a small store, leaving Anna alone to register what had just happened.
Sharp, cackling laughter pulled Anna's attention across the street. Three teens were circling slowly around Dodger, corralling him away from the store. They all wore heavily patched jackets and black boots. "Come on, Ed! Give the Bum a shove!" a feminine voice cheered "Yea, Ed, Get him on the ground!" Dodger hadn't even hit the ground before Anna was charging across the street. "Hey!" she snapped as she pulled the one they had called Ed off of Dodger "Get off of him!" she snarled standing protectively in front of Dodger as he stood.
The girl who seemed to be the leader of the group, lifted a small camcorder and laughed "Aww look at that boys, the Bums got a girlfriend" she sneered, drawing laughs from the two. Her eyes narrowed dangerously "Bonzi, Ed, take her down."
She blocked away their first attempted attacks with ease. They were sloppy and uncoordinated, swinging wildly at her. Anna dodged and ducked, dancing away from their blow. She didn't want to really want to have to hurt them, but they were leaving her no choice. Distracted by Ed, she didn't notice Bonzi swinging a bat at her until it struck her stomach. She didn't think that she had ever been more thankful for Elsa then when it came to her protecting her, as a small shield of ice took the brunt of the blow. She grabbed hold of the weapon and tugged hard, pulling Bonzi close enough that she could bash her forehead against his own, sending him tumbling back. With Ed, she managed to grab the back of his jacket and pulled him over as her knee flew up into his rather flabby belly.
With the boys taken care of, Anna took slow, purposeful steps towards their leader. She snatched any the camera and allowed frost to cover it slowly before she crushed it, tossing it to their feet. "No one will believe you" she growled out "Now get the hell out of here." Bonzi was the first to rush past her "Shenzi, let's get out of here! This bitch is crazy!" Shenzi ground her teeth together as she pulled Ed to his feet "You haven't seen the last of us" she shouted as she took off after her comrade.
Dodged was staring at her, jaw slack, clutching his retrieved groceries? "How did you do that? It was two against one!" he stammered out "Two big thugs against one severely malnourished girl! Just, just how?"
Anna simply shrugged and slung Dodgers arm over her shoulder so that she could be his crutch "I learned how to fight in the army." She took the bag from him as they started walking. "Come on Dodger, let's get you home."
And for those of you wondering, The song that I had planned to have Anna sing was 'Life's Too Short (reprise)', one of the songs that was cut from the final version of Frozen. But seeing as how it is a song owned by Disney, I opted to omit its lyrics. If you haven't heard it yet I strongly recommend giving it a listen, it was meant to be sung while Anna was freezing to death, so as you can guess it is super cheery.