Chapters 23-24 Summary

In Chapter 23, Lena and Alex walk back into central Portland, staying on opposite sides of the street. Lena's whole world has turned upside-down. Her mother is alive. She starts to collapse, and Alex tells her to go into an alley, where she sinks down between two dumpsters. In the relative safety of the alley, Alex tries to comfort her, massaging her shoulders, arms, and legs. Lena wonders to herself why her mother didn't come to find her after she escaped.

Alex says that they should get Lena home, but she refuses to go. She thinks Carol and Uncle William lied about her mother. Maybe her sister Rachel even knew. She is too angry to ever go back and wants to run away to the Wilds with Alex. Alex wants her to understand how serious the decision is. She can't ever come...