Chapter 7 Summary

"The Second Lesson." Now Eddie knows that the spot where they are standing is the captain's burial ground. There was no funeral or coffin. The captain says that dying is not the end. It is only the beginning. He says that he has been waiting for Eddie all these years. The captain and the Blue Man are part of Eddie's life, and once this encounter is over, the captain will be able to move on.

The captain tells Eddie that sacrifice is essential. People don't die for nothing. All the men in the truck might have driven over that landmine, he says, and all would have been lost. Besides, he says, he got to keep his promise to leave no one behind. When you sacrifice something that is precious, he says, you don't actually lose it. You pass it on to someone else...