1
Connor
This was absolute bullshit.
Today wasn’t supposed to be like this. We were meant to be starting pre-season training, not staring down the barrel of a disaster.
Jake, my teammate, and best friend since college, clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Want Jack, Jim, or José? Or are we going Russian?”
I unclenched my jaw, but I didn’t take my eyes off the mess in front of us. Calling it a pitch would’ve been generous. Right now, it looked more like a mud-filled kiddie pool. Half the uprights were leaning, the turf torn to hell, and our training gym was hanging on by a hinge and prayer. Everything smelled like damp wood and sewage. Oh, and there was a giant fucking sinkhole to the left of the pitch.
When I didn’t answer, Jake added, “I’ll take a shot of each just to begin processing this shitshow.” He huffed a laugh. “Then a side of pussy while I’m at it.”
His remark turned my head with awhat the fuck?expression. I didn’t even have the brain power to start with the swamp in front of us.
“No?” He shrugged. “Too soon?”
“I haven’t even had my fucking coffee,” I grumbled, the lack of caffeine hitting me hard today.
Behind us, a few of the guys arrived too. Bobby cursed as soon as he saw the green, and everyone else shared his sentiment.
“What the fuck?” He kicked a chunk of soggy turf that squelched like a dead frog.
Nate settled beside him, frowning at the damage. “Jesus. Looks like the apocalypse hit.”
“The quake fucked us over, lads,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck to try to ease the shooting pain I’d experienced since the phone call this morning. “Coach called us to talk next steps. Said the shaking shifted something under the pitch—pipes, drainage, and there’s concerns about liquification under the grass.” I exhaled slowly. “Weight room’s underwater. Storage sheds are done. They’ve already flagged structural concerns on the east stand, and until the engineers clear it, we’re shut out.” I shook my head. “We’re sitting ducks.”
“Fuck. What do we do?” one of the rookies, Ramirez, asked, wide-eyed.
“Coach is on his way,” I replied, unable to give my teammates the reassurance I knew they were looking for. To be perfectly honest, I’d have to dig deep to find any kind of positive outcome here. I wasn’t a stranger to rallying the guys and getting them game ready, but this felt different and all the fight in me couldn’t muster up a team building exercise out of this, not with the amount of damage here. I hated that I couldn’t be that for my team right now.
“Did anyone get hurt?” Ramirez seemed genuinely concerned.
“Thankfully, not here.” I sighed. “Everyone’s family safe?” I checked each of the guys’ faces, letting out a breath of relief once they’d all nodded. Not everyone had family here, but they had friends, and it was good to know they were safe, especially since earthquakes in California to this degree weren’t usual. Tremors, sure, especially here in Solterra near a fault line, but this was way more than that and the whole neighborhood had suffered around us.
“Coach’ll have a plan.” Nate nodded, his tatted arms crossed tightly. “Right?” His gaze darted to me again, looking for that reassurance that was still wavering for me. I didn’t want to promise my team something without talking to Coach first, and he knew that.
“Hope so,” Jake muttered. “Or we’re about to be real creative with tackling drills in hotel conference rooms.” No one laughed because it just wasn’t funny.
“We could always see if the Valkyries will share,” Bobby suggested, only half-joking, I’m sure, since he’s dating their assistant coach. “Micah said their stadium has been cleared for use, and I know they were heading in this morning for the first time after the quake.”
I wasn’t ready to branch out to anyone yet, especially not to the most anticipated upcoming team in the women’s league with a captain who had minimal tolerance for me.
“Any of you want to pitch that idea to Teddy Sloane? Be my guest.”
Nate whistled low.
“She’s scary.” Jake shuddered a little, and I think some of the other guys did too. “Like hot as fuck but would eat every single one of us for breakfast.”
“Don’t I fuckin’ know it,” I said, more to myself than anyone else. Teddy was a smokeshow, a pain in the ass smokeshow.
“She’s not that bad,” Bobby defended. “She comes over to Micah’s for dinner. They’ve been friends since college. She’s cool.”
“Dude, just because your girlfriend is besties with the ‘viper’ Valkyrie captain doesn’t mean shit.”
I could tell Jake that it probably did mean shit, because they were the only other team with a brand-new training facility close to us, but again, I needed to talk to Coach first. Management had been blowing him up since the quake happened. I wasn’t about to put my eggs in anyone’s basket, let alone go begging Teddy Sloane.
“Alright.” I turned to the guys, needing to move. “Let’s go see what Coach has to say.”
