Page 153 of His Hungry Wolf

I played like a man on fire for the rest of the first half. I had never thrown a more perfect game in my life. I had my offensive line to thank for it, of course. And, it didn’t matter how well I threw if my receivers didn’t catch it. But, there was one name the crowd chatted as we jogged off the field for halftime, mine.

Hurrying back to the locker, the only thing I cared about was checking my messages. I would have given anything to see Quin’s name pop up. Ripping my glove off to unlock the phone, I tossed it aside and illuminated the screen.

There were two messages from him. One said, ‘Got the tickets. Heading up now!’ And the other one said, ‘WOW!!!!’ That was it and it was enough.

I was so happy I felt drunk. He had seen me do what I did best. I couldn’t feel better if I tried.

I entered the field for the second half beside myself. I felt like I was glowing. I felt intoxicated. It was a good thing we started the second half playing defense. It gave me a few extra minutes to pull myself together.

As much as I tried to focus, I couldn’t help but search the crowd for him. He was out there somewhere. I could now feel his gaze on me. I wanted to show off for him. So with my helmet in hand headed back onto the field, I called a series of plays that would guarantee we would win the game.

It started with a few passes that got us closer to the end zone. I just needed to be within thirty yards. That was it.

When my final pass got us there, I gathered the guys into a huddle and called the big one. They looked at me questioningly but I was their quarterback. They listened.

In the line, I called for the hike. With the ball in hand, I pulled back my arm ready to launch it. After a continuous parade of passes, the defensive line stepped back. That’s when I lowered the ball tucking it under my arm and charged.

Caught by surprise, the other team was late to react. It opened a gap down the sideline. Ahead of me, I could see the end zone. I wanted this touchdown. I wanted Quin to see me do this.

Rifling towards me was the free safety. He was going to get to me before I got to the goal. I had two options. I could run out of bounds, or I could risk my life and charge through.

I wanted this. I wanted it bad. Picking up speed I made my decision. Nothing was going to stop me.

An arm’s length away, the safety lunged. That was when I leaped into the air. I was going to jump over him. I had seen it in movies and the most spectacular games. I could do it.

Leaving the ground, I watched as the safety cut under me. I wasn’t high enough. I would have to step on him to clear him. But when my foot reached down for his body, I felt his hand.

It was hard to tell what happened after that. What I know is that I heard a crack. It was as my body hit the ground.

There was nothing, and then there was a roar of fire. The pain consuming me was unlike anything I had ever felt. It was my left leg. Something in it had shattered.

I was told that athletes know the moment a career-ending injury has occurred. I used to wonder what that felt like. I didn’t have to wonder anymore. Because in that moment, I knew this was the end.

Chapter 9

Quin

“Oh my God! What just happened? Why isn’t he getting up? Lou, what’s going on? Lou?” I asked turning to him.

With his face painted in the school colors, Lou stared at the field with his mouth hanging open. Like everyone else, he was speechless.

I turned back to see medics running onto the field. Cage flopped around in so much pain they could barely get to him. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This was a nightmare.

In a few moments a paramedic was pushing a stretcher to Cage. It took two men to get him onto it. Tears rolled down my cheeks watching it. I was in shock. I didn’t know what I could do to help, but I had to do something.

“I need to go to him,” I told Lou.

“Yeah. Of course. Where do we go?”

“I don’t know. The locker room?”

“Lead the way,” he said ushering me on.

As I headed to the stairs I realized there was one problem, I had no idea where I was going. Not only was this my first time at the university’s stadium, this was the first stadium I had ever visited. I could barely navigate us to the bathroom.

Despite that, we descended the stairs from the upper deck and wandered around the concession stands.

“Excuse me, how do I get to the locker rooms,” I asked one of the security guards.