Page 7 of Playoff

“Here’s to the Phantoms,” I say. “And hoping they’re okay.”

The guys clink their glasses to mine.

I wakewith a faint headache and realize my phone is buzzing on the nightstand. I reach for it, frowning at the unfamiliar number. It’s an L.A. area code, though.

“Hello?”

“Blake? This is Drake Riser.”

Holy shit.

My eyes pop open.

Drake is the General Manager for the Phantoms.

“Mr. Riser. Good morning.”

“Good morning. Sounds like I woke you up.”

“Yeah, no worries. I was about to get up anyway.”

“How soon can you be on a flight to Anchorage?”

“I…as soon as you need me. Is this because of the accident?”

He sighs. “Yeah. Thankfully, we didn’t lose anyone, but we’ve got a bunch of guys who can’t play. You, Bodi Michener, Dylan Hayes, Warren Franco, and Mikey Stevens are all coming up. Your flight’s in three hours. You’ll be getting an email with all the pertinent information shortly.”

“I can be ready to go in thirty,” I say.

“Great. Safe travels. Thanks for stepping in.”

“Of course. Thank you for the opportunity. I won’t let you down.”

Fuck, I hope not.

I disconnect and yell for Bodi, who’s already coming down the hall.

“We’re going to Alaska!” he yells.

We high five in the hallway.

“Get your ass in the shower,” I say.

“On my way.”

He disappears down the hall, and I go back to my room to start packing. A minute later, my phone rings again. It’s Jensen.

“Jensen!” I answer on the first ring. “Dude, I was getting nervous!”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’ve been in the hospital. Broke my arm in two places, needed emergency surgery.”

“Jesus. You okay otherwise?”

“Yeah, it could’ve been much worse. Doc says I’ll be good to go for next season, but…” As his voice trails, I can only imagine how hard it must be to finally make the playoffs and not be able to play.

“What about everyone else?” I ask quietly.

“Marty Nadeau has a concussion and dislocated his shoulder. Ivan Rochenko got twenty stitches in his head, but he’s okay, no concussion.” He gives me a rundown of all the injuries, and while a few are season-ending, none are career-ending. “And then there’s Gene.” Jensen’s voice is quiet. “Our trainer, man. He had a heart attack in the middle of it all. He’s okay but he had to have some stents put in or something… I’ve been a little out of it so I can’t remember all the details.”

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