Chapter 1: A Desperate Takedown

Daniel’s POV

Daniel saw the ball about to hit the crossbar; he lined himself up for the rebound. The ball was incoming, and he slowly aligned himself as the anticipating crowd sat on the edge of their seats. He aimed for a swift strike. Woosh! Defender Matt Downey from the Brawlers team swooped in and delivered a brutal tackle that sent Daniel rolling across the soccer field. A gasping crowd stood in disappointment, raging as the whistle was blown; Daniel never got up, teammates from the Pinnacles team rushed over to attend to Daniel.

 

“We need a stretcher!”

 

Shouted Dane, Daniel’s best friend, who plays assist. Both coaches rushed onto the field as quarreling momentum began to rise, a red card rose high above the referee’s head… Matt Downey lowered his head and walk away in the direction of the his coach, Eric. Coach Eric discreetly gave him a thumbs up the moment he raised his head to look in his direction as he exited the field.

 

“Are you okay son?” Ask the referee, Daniel nodded yes. “No you’re not. Let’s get him out of here!”

 

As the ambulance disappeared beyond the stadium gates, word slowly began to spread across Holloway Community College. Students checked their phones while whispers travelled through campus corridors, eventually reaching the cheerleading court where Jane and Rebecca were practicing their newest routine.

 

“Are you okay, Captain?” asked Jessica.

 

“No, I think I pulled a muscle in my thigh”

 

Rebecca immediately turned around and shouted

“How bad is it?”

 

“It doesn’t feel so good. Can someone bring me a bag of ice?”

 

The rest of the girls started to gather as Rebecca slid across the court with a bag of ice, she placed it on Jane’s thigh..

 

“No no! higher.. right there.”

 

Daniel was on his way to the hospital for an emergency operation because he had broken a hip bone and dislocated his right shoulder.

 

“You will be alright. How many fingers am I holding up?”

“tree? I don’t know… what does this have to do with my injuries doc?

 

“Nothing, shut up. How are we looking up front?”

 

The doctor asks the driver. “We’ll be there in 20!” he responded.

 

“Weow! Weow! Weow!” The ambulance sped down the empty street

 

While Daniel fought through pain inside the ambulance, life on the field refused to stop. The referee gathered both coaches while thousands of spectators anxiously waited for play to resume; the coaches argued over the incident.

 

The Pinnacle’s coach Miles, argued saying that it was planned sabotage, while the Brawlers’ coach Eric denied, but coach Miles strongly stuck to his point. The referee blew the whistle and the match went back into full gear. While the scores stayed tied with two goals each, substitute Jerome who replaced Daniel had just lost a tackle, and the Brawlers finally saw an opening to make a strike at the goal. They made sharp accurate passes across the field, a signature strategic move of the Brawlers that dominated matches.

 

The last square into the penalty area of the Pinnacles left the crowd speechless as striker Maxwell completed the attack with a sharp left hook that lodged the ball into the back of the Pinnacles goal’s net, it was a sad moment as the crowd barely made a sound; tensions were high, and hearts ached silently. The match ended with the pinnacles losing three goals to two.

 

The girls had just received the news about Daniel’s injury and the team’s loss. Panic immediately set in, and they rushed to the county hospital. Jane completely forgot about her own injury; the worry she felt for Daniel temporarily overpowered the pain in her thigh.

 

“If you had let us go to the match instead of staying back for practice, none of this would have happened…” Rebecca said to Jane

 

“How? How would we have prevented this from happening Rebecca? Mrs. Know It All, tell me..” argued back Jane

 

“Don’t talk to me like any of this is my fault, if anyone’s, then it is your-“ Jessica cut Rebecca short by adding

 

“Arguing won’t undo the damage, let us just go to find out how bad a situation he’s in, and later we’ll forgive ourselves.”

 

Rebecca and Jane were maliciously quiet for the entire journey. The operating room was in full swing as Daniel was taken in as an “FCE” (First Class Emergency), no one was allowed to see him until his operations were completed and resolved.

 

“Where is he?” asked Rebecca

 

“Yeah.. where is he?” asked Jane

 

“He is on the third floor, in the emergency room. But you cannot enter!” Jackson swiftly added.

 

Jackson was the Pinnacles water boy who went with Daniel in the ambulance. Since he had general information about all the players that could answer necessary questions regarding medical history, he is extremely claustrophobic and had to wait outside the facility.

 

The girls rushed inside while Jane had a noticeable limp. They tried to enter the emergency room but were stopped by medical personnel, Jane was noticeably struggling at the back of the group and was immediately questioned about her limping.

 

“Were you hurt in this accident also?”

 

“No, I was at cheerleading practice, I think I pulled a muscle stretching. Will my boyfriend be okay?”

 

“He has a dislocated shoulder, a broken pelvis, and minor internal bleeding, but he will survive.”

 

“Are you certain?” Jane asked, as she broke down in tears.

 

“Yes, he will be fine” the nurse added

 

“Now let me get you someone to look at that leg for you.”

 

“No, I will be alright. Just go check on my boyfriend.”

 

“I am afraid it is protocol to attend to anyone who walks in here with noticeable injuries of any sort young woman”

 

Jane then accepted and went along with her, she was given relaxers along with pain killers and was told to take two weeks off from cheerleading practice. Jane returned to the girls, only to realize that most of them had fallen asleep, and that the rest of the soccer team had arrived. She later noticed that Rebecca was no longer present, wondering where she had gone outside with Jackson.