Page 58 of Puck'n Bully
The crowd roars like a beast as he pushes himself back on his feet. I can’t see his face clearly because of his helmet but I can tell he’s having difficulty breathing.
“Do you see the kind of resilience a player needs to be in this game?” Dr. Patel says from my side. A fierce expression spreads on his aging face as he keeps his focus on Hayden. “No matter how many times you fall, you have to get up to finish the game. People like you and me need to go about our jobs with the same kind of determination. Your experiments might not always give you the results you want but you don’t give up. No matter how many times you fail, you stay on course and keep going until you have what you’re aiming for.”
“Yes, Sir,” I agree in a sober tone.
A strong emotion fills my heart, sending currents through my body.
It’s a moment before I realize it’s pride.
Pride for the way Hayden doesn’t give up. Pride for the way he doesn’t resort to violence but stays focused on scoring goals.
At the same time, I feel my anxiety rising.
While the crowd roars and cheers, I can see that Hayden is hurt. His movements are stiffer than before and lack the elegance he had at the start of the game. He’s also favoring his right side and doing his best to avoid body contact even with his teammates.
He’s in pain and hiding it.
I expect the referees to intervene at any moment but no one seems to notice. Seeing Hayden in so much pain breaks my heart. I desperately want to rush to him and tell him to stop being a stubborn idiot, and that winning a game isn’t as important!
But I can’t. Helplessness, like I’ve never felt before, crashes over me.
Because even if this crowd doesn’t stop me from running into the rink, I can’t rush to Hayden. I can’t command him to do anything when I’m not even allowed to talk to him.
Hell! I shouldn’t even be here watching him play.
My fingers grip my jeans hard, my stomach churning from watching the game turn into a blood bath.
While my attention is focused on Hayden, the team’s goalie and captain, Logan Johnson gets so badly hurt, that the game has to be stopped. Tearing my gaze away from Hayden, I look toward the injured player on the ice.
As they remove his helmet, I recognize him immediately.
He’s the same guy I’d seen at the Italian restaurant. No wonder Hayden was spooked seeing his team’s captain there. No wonder he lost his cool, scared of the consequences if the captain saw him on a date with another guy.
A heavy sigh escapes me.
I can’t bring myself to be angry at Logan. Not when he’s down with a group of paramedics and referees hovering over him.
“Shit, he’s not going to be able to play,” Dr. Blanton says, looking pale and worried.
“Silverlake has monsters playing for them,” Professor Patel hisses angrily. “They diverted the attention of the defensemen by going after Bastian repeatedly. Their true target was Johnson. He’s an excellent goalie and they knew they can’t score with him protecting the goal line.”
“They came up with a strategy to break our Knights,” Dr. Blanton says in a hollow voice. “And they succeeded.”
Professor Patel nods with a grim expression.
“The Knights are already ahead by three goals,” I say, looking between them. “We can still win, right?”
“It all depends on how good the backup goalie is,” Dr. Blanton explains. “Now that Johnson has been removed, the Bears will be thirsting for the new goalie’s blood. If he can stand against their brutality, we have a chance to win. Otherwise...” He lets out a sigh, not even wanting to say we’d lose.
Tyler Moris, the backup goalie, skates into the rink as soon as Johnson gets carried away on a stretcher. He fidgets, shifting from side to side, looking nervous as the Silver Bears stand before him like a bunch of hyenas who’ve smelled fresh blood.
Tyler is so badly spooked out, he barely does anything to save the puck from crossing the goal line. Every time the Bears get hold of the puck, they score, steadily catching up to the Knights.
When the scoreboard flashes the final score5-3, my heart sinks.
The Knights lose the game to the Bears.
Hayden...lost.
