When Terry and Kel Coleman run from their abusive father, they end up in Denver. The day they arrive, they meet three street kids named Rudy, Snap, and Josie. The brothers move into the trio's squat where Rudy and the others teach Terry and Kel the ins-and-outs of survival on the streets. While that happens, Terry and Rudy are drawn to each other and begin a tentative relationship.<br><br>Then Kel is almost kidnapped by a man sent by his father to bring him home. Forced to leave their squat to keep Kel safe, they turn to a local pastor for help. Thanks to the pastor, the five young people may find hope for their future -- if they can survive the present. In the process, can the budding relationship between Terry and Rudy survive, or will it be torn apart by the life they're forced to live?

Surviving

“Classy digs,” Kel said with a laugh.


Josie grinned while going to light a pair of candles, set in what looked like empty tuna cans, sitting on a wooden crate. “Our home is our castle or something like that.”


Snap lit two more candles on a battered table on the other side of the room before switching off his flashlight. While he did that, Rudy closed the door and much to Terry’s surprise, got a two-by-four from under the worn sofa that sat in the middle of the room. He put it into obviously homemade brackets—one on each side of the door—to keep the door from being opened from the outside. 


“To keep out the cops?” Kel asked worriedly.


“More like anyone else who might be looking for a place to crash,” Rudy replied.


There was a blanket hanging from a rope stretched across the rear of the room. Josie disappeared behind it, coming back a minute later minus her backpack. When Terry looked at her in question she said, “Snap and my bedroom, so to speak. Rudy uses the sofa.”


Chapter 6