The punishment for a seventh-grade dropout runaway is probably pretty harsh, but Ash Barker doesn't care. She can’t waste time or emotions on anyone but her brother, Matt. They were placed in separate foster homes, so Ash runs away to find him. If she fails, she’s headed back to juvenile detention. Everything is going right on schedule until two kids, Dayna and Kevin, barge into her hideout -- which just happens to be in their house. She ditches the pair fast, but can’t stop thinking about those bruised, skinny kids. Dayna and Kevin live with abusive parents who force them to stay in their room most of the time. If they go to the authorities for help, they’ll be split up, too. Ash knows how that feels, and she goes back to help, taking the two with her. With any luck, they’ll all help each other along the way. Meanwhile, as Matt waits for Ash, he can’t resist telling his foster brother and best friend, Jon-Allen, about the plans. They stash food, earn money, and keep watch for the night Ash appears at their bedroom window. Ash is so happy to be reunited with Matt and to discover she’s falling in love with Dayna that, at first, she doesn’t worry about what they’ll do next. But life on the road begins to take its toll -- they have to resort to shoplifting and scavenging to survive. Ash feels a growing sense of guilt at the disaster she’s made of everyone’s lives. Can she somehow keep her newfound “family” together despite hunger and sickness? Or will she be able to find the strength to reach out for help?

No Turning Back

“Are you guys okay?” Ash asked. “What happened?”


“They started messing with us as soon as we walked out of the store,” Kevin said. “They kept trying to take my stuff, but Dayna cussed them out and kicked one of them, so they chased us.”


Ash shook her head in wonder. Dayna surprised her more and more every day.


“You just ran right up to that guy and beat him up,” Kevin said, staring at Ash. “Weren’t you scared?”


“I was too mad to be scared,” she answered. She just felt shaky, now. And her right hand really hurt.


“Are you all right? Your knuckles are bleeding.” Dayna examined Ash’s hand in her own.


Ash felt as if electricity jolted through her body. “I couldn’t let them hurt either one of you.”


“I tried to punch one of them,” Jon-Allen said. “He ran away.”


“Yeah, we tried to beat up the others,” Matt said, standing taller.


Ash grinned. “That was a close one, but we took care of them.”


Chapter 67