14

“Go, GO! The entire stadium seemed to yell, propelling me forward. Giving me the strength I needed to make one final push.

Someone reached for me and I leaped to the side, the thud of their body hitting the ground behind me reverberating in my ears.

Fifteen yards… ten… five. I was so close. So fucking close I could already hear the echo of ‘touchdown’ ringing in my ears. But a Millington player appeared out of nowhere slamming straight into me, the ball fumbling out of my hands. “Fuck,” I grunted, the ground beneath me breaking my fall.

“That one’s for Thatcher.” Twenty-three came down hard on me. His elbow—or was it a fist—clipping my ribs with purpose. Once. Twice… Pain splintered through my side.

“Get the fuck off me,” I sneered, pushing him off. He rolled away, clambering to his feet. The second I was upright, I got up in his face, barely aware of the game still going on around us. “What the hell was that?”

Dead Man Walking had the balls to smirk.

“Oh, you think this is funny. You