The Choice of No Return

By Madison Cassulo

When Samantha finally escapes from a place where she was forced to call home, she doesnt know where to run next. She finds a person who she thinks could be a friend, but when she gets pulled into a deathly situation, will Samantha save her friend or be captured herself? Find out in this exhilarating novel of friend or foe and life and death.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 20, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462894673

Madison Cassulo

Madison cassulo is a 12 year old girl born in hawaii on november 12, 1998. When she was in 2nd grade at hualalai’i academy, her teacher always pushed her in her writing and encouraged her to continue. Her love for writing was inspiered from her two friends, erin and elena. Many of her friends are good writers as well, and help her to make things clear and give suggestions. This is her first book, if you enjoyed it you can read the rest of the series.

Book preview

Chapter 1

THE DECISION

The wind whipped her face as she paced slowly back and forth between a small shrubby tree and an underground trap door. What to do next was the one and only thing racing through her mind. What to do next. The thought of going in the door was terrifying, but the thought of returning to the orphanage was almost as bad.

The wind picked up speed and spat sand everywhere, hitting her in sharp streaks. She didn’t notice though, her mind was torn in two, one side slightly larger than the other. Sadly the larger side told her to go in the door. She did as her mind desired, go in and risk your life. Samantha stared at the door as sand blew over it; she walked up to it and bent over to grasp the small unique handle. Stop. Something inside told her to stop. She could be tortured and made fun of for the rest of her life and hope to get adopted or she could risk her life by opening a door. One single door that the police have probably been looking for. What to do, the question came back. What to do. Go, she urged herself, go.

The door lifted and sand blew in. She walked down some steps and stuck her very lightly tanned face and blondish-brownish-reddish straight hair out the door. One last look she thought to herself. She gazed at the narrow dead-end street no one ever took. Down she went. Into the cool darkness of underground. At first it seemed like an empty room, but then she saw all the maps on the walls with X’s all over them. There were pounds and pounds of ropes, bags, and pebbles. Pebbles . . . why would anyone want pebbles? Then she saw a sling-shot. Oh . . . that’s why.

Who are you? said a calm voice from behind her. Who are you, and why are you here? How did you find this place?! Samantha was frozen. She turned around and saw a figure standing at the bottom of the stairs. A girl, tall and lean, she had pale white skin and dark brown-chocolate curls framing her face. She wore a loose brown thick t-shirt and skinny jeans; she was bare-foot and had bits of sand from the desert outside trapped in her eyelashes. Slender white arms were crossed over her chest.

Sa—Samantha. Samantha Ross. 11 years old. Samantha stuttered, I found it as I was running a-a-away from Kronky Orphanage. I decided to ex-explore, PLEASE, please don’t hurt me . . . Samantha was about to crouch down and try to hide. But then she thought why? Why hide? The person that I want to hide from is right in front of me, and if I have to get away I might have a chance. But Samantha’s main reason was that she was tired of hiding from bigger, scarier people.

Chapter 2

Home

Well then Samantha Ross, I’ll let you stay with me then. Thanks for the life report. The girl said, I’m Allie. Allie Styoes, 14 years old, ‘Wow’ thought Samantha, '14 and she’s like, what 5.9?’ I ran away from that same orphanage when I was 7, she continued, I built this place myself. It took me nine and a half months to complete." Allie smiled and walked over to Samantha and patted her on the back and kept walking into another small room.

Let’s see . . . What about, no that wouldn’t work . . . Hmm. What about—no not that either . . . Samantha heard Allie mummer to herself in the other room. Samantha? Would you come here please? I need your opinion on this.

Coming. Samantha walked over to Allie and saw