Roberto hesitated, the train was going so fast – what if he got hurt? He was not as brave as his brother, José. But the police were coming, and he needed to get off. Now. He felt under his shirt and gripped his cross necklace, gritted his teeth, and jumped into the darkness. He hit the ground and tumbled roughly. His head hit a rock and he stopped, dazed. All around him were shouts and screams of the illegal passengers of the train trying to jump off or struggling with the police. The train had stopped and the police were searching it, trying to catch all of the people riding it without a ticket. “Roberto! Roberto!” José’s voice shouted in the dark, “Where are you?”
Roberto sat up, holding his hand to his head. “I’m here. My head hurts.”
José dropped his bag to the sand and ran his hand over Roberto’s head. “Let me feel it.” He pulled off his shirt and held it to Roberto’s forehead. “You’re bleeding, but just hold this against it. You’ll be ok.”
Roberto was badly frightened and shaking. He started to cry. José wrapped his arms around him. “Shh. Shh. It’s going to be ok, little brother. You’ll be ok. Listen, we won’t try to jump on this train again. We’ll wait for the next one. Would you like that better?” Roberto sniffed and nodded. José carefully helped him up and picked his bag up. “Come on. Let’s find somewhere to sleep.”
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