“I don’t owe you nothin’.” I replied, “Come on, let’s get you up.” He used my arm for support, stumbling to get up.

“How long do we have?” he asked.

“Plenty of time; That’s one mighty fast train, but we had better get out of here anyway.”

We began walking slowly down the alley, as the snow poured on. My brother leaned on my shoulder, almost passing out.

“Stay awake,” i said, softly patting his face.

“Yeah,” he slurred, “You owe me.” It started to bother me. I turned him around so that he faced me. His head limped sideways. “What do i owe you, Sam?” i asked.

“Don’t do it,” he said, nearly collapsing. I kept him up on his feet.

“Stay awake.” I said again.

“They knew about the train.” Sam said, “And they’re coming back.”

“Okay.” I said, keeping in mind that he was drunk.

“Flashing blue!” he shouted, “Blue flames! Not red, not orange, but blue!” Sam slipped from my arms, and onto the concrete. The boxcar was long gone in the distance. I stared after it, watching the blue explosion.