I tried to skate it off.
The second hit happened at the boards.
Same lettered jersey.
Same angry sneer.
Theilan.
This time, the message was clear.
I’m coming for you, Campbell.
He was trying to test the strength of my leg and, in doing so, he learned something I desperately wanted to hide—I’m more vulnerable than I should be.
I took a pill exactly one hour before warm ups so that it would activate during the game, but that wasn’t enough. The ache is continuing, lighting up my entire leg like a flashing caution sign.
Renthrow senses that something’s off with me because he skates past me on his way to the puck and gives me an inquiring look.
Gotta pull it together, Campbell.
I blow out a breath from my mouth, sweat draining down my face. I’ve felt pain before. The surgery where they reattached my leg, where they put the limb back together piece-by-piece was excruciating, even with the anesthesia.
All the physical therapy that followed was no better.
If I can survive that, I can get through this round.
I push through the agony and take off across the ice, refusing to be a liability to my team.
I’m in the neutral zone, and I can sense Theilan closing in like a shark smelling blood. My weakness has been exposed.
I knew he’d be back.
The puck slides wide.
I chase it anyway, thinking I can bring it back before Theilan can reach me. But my body isn’t matching the speed that my brain thinks I’m capable of. With my peripheral vision, I see the blur of skates, shoulder pads and a helmet, but seeing it in advance doesn’t mean I can stop it.
I feel the slash to the outside of my knee and I go sliding.
The ref blows the whistle.
Above the roar of the crowd, I hear someone cursing up a storm.
Then I see Renthrow, Kinsey and McLanely flocking to Theilan. Neither of them touch him, but they form a wall around him like a human barricade until their ex-teammate has no choice but to skate backward.
I lose track of what happens next as a sharp, piercing ringing begins in my ears.
The world becomes a blur of sensations.
The screaming crowd.
The intervening ref.
I blink and everything comes into focus again.
Theilan is arguing.
Coach is shouting loud enough to hurl a lung.
