Neon Spark

The indoor walls were closing in on me, so I slipped out through the loosened kitchen screen and scrambled down the fire escape into the alley. Tucked behind the old bowling alley, a dormant blue neon sign had an unclipped cable dangling over a puddle. Too quiet, too dead. I dragged an abandoned steel wrench across the grimy pavement, wedged it onto the rusted transformer casing, and shoved the loose metal lead straight against the terminal screw. Zzz-WHAP! A brilliant, sputtering burst of sapphire light erupted, casting sharp horned shadows violently across the cracked brick wall while the sign buzzed like an angry swarm. Now that's real night fuel.