Scott Sigler - The Rookie

Quentin saw Yassoud rushing downfield, that murderous look on his face. Denver and Milford were out there as well, sprinting like living missiles, pulling ahead of their teammates. A line of Human and Quyth Warrior Wallcrawlers formed a wedge and drove upfield, followed by a Sklorno carrying the brown ball. Denver and Milford launched themselves high into the air, arching over the Wallcrawler wedge. Two pink-and-white clad Sklorno players shot through the air to meet them: one picked off Denver in mid-air and they fell in a heap. Milford twisted and her defender sailed past. She landed on her feet as Yassoud and the other Krakens smashed into the Wallcrawler wedge. Milford sprang forward — the Wallcrawler ball carrier tried to dodge, but Milford brought her down at the ‘Crawlers fifteen yard line.

The crowd roared so loudly that Quentin put his hands to his helmet’s ear-holes. He heard some kind of high-pitched screeching from the stands and looked back — the Sklorno males bounced maddeningly in their enclosures, hitting the crystametal walls so hard they had to be injuring themselves.

John Tweedy led the defense onto the field. I AM THE BRINGER OF DEATH scrolled across his face. The ‘Crawlers offense came out and huddled up, led by quarterback Kelley Moussay-Ed. Warburg walked up and stood next to Quentin.

“Kelley’s in for a long day,” Warburg said. “This run-and-shoot garbage doesn’t work against Michnik and Khomeni.”

Kelley snapped the ball and handed off to running back Copu Soggang, who found nothing at the line. He cut right, but Khomeni reached out his long arms and dragged the runner to the ground for no gain.

The ‘Crawlers next ran a short out-pass, good for three yards before Berea leveled the receiver. On third-and-seven, Kelley dropped back as four receivers snaked into the defensive backfield. Michnik drove into the ‘Crawler’s right tackle, then spun to the inside and broke free. Kelley felt the pressure and threw the ball away. The crowd roared in approval.

The defense ran off the field to congratulations and approving slaps from the offense and the second stringers. The ‘Crawlers punted. Richfield called for a fair catch, and the Krakens’ offense took over for the first time. Pine led the offense onto the field. Warburg waited a few seconds before leisurely trotting to join the huddle.

Quentin moved to stand next to Yassoud. “What’s it like out there?”

“It’s unbelievable,” Yassoud said, his grin once again firmly in place. “The crowd is unreal, there’s so much energy. You’ll see soon enough.”

Quentin shrugged. “Hopefully the old fart won’t last long.”

“You never know,” Yassoud said, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Quentin’s hopes.

First-and-ten on the Krakens’ 45. Pine wasted no time exploiting the ‘Crawler’s slow secondary. He hit Hawick for a twelve-yard slant, then Kobayasho for a six-yard out, then a deep crossing pattern to Warburg. Warburg caught the ball in full stride and turned up-field, all 365 pounds of him moving at top speed. ‘Crawler defensive backs Seoul and Onoway closed in on him. Warburg turned to slam into Seoul head-to-head, knocking the 280-pound Sklorno defensive player backwards. Warburg stumbled from the contact, and Onoway brought him down for a 22-yard gain that gave the Krakens first-and-ten on the Wallcrawler fifteen. Warburg and Onoway got up, Seoul didn’t.

The game paused as a Harrah doctor flew onto the field, trailed by a floating cart. The Harrah looked exactly like Doc, except this one’s backpack was pink and light-blue instead of orange-and-black. The doctor looked at Seoul for a long minute, then pushed the cart over the Sklorno’s prone form. A hundred tiny wires shot out of the cart’s underside, wrapping around Seoul in a hundred different places. The cart rose about a foot, and Seoul’s body rose with it, still in the exact same position she’d been in on the ground. The doctor flew off the field, towards the tunnel to the locker room, the cart zipping along behind.

With the wounded player removed, the teams lined up once again.

The ‘Crawlers blitzed on the next play. Pine calmly delivered a seven-yard slant to Scarborough. He dropped back once more, standing tall and taking his time. His offensive line gave great protection, and after five full seconds Pine fired a tight spiral to Hawick for a touchdown.

The stadium shuddered from the crowd’s roar. Fireworks exploded overhead. The entire sky seemed to turn a deep orange. Quentin ducked involuntarily, as if from the shadow of some giant bird flying close overhead.

“Relax, that’s just the dome,” Yassoud said. “They turn the whole thing orange when we score a touchdown.”

The color blinked away, and the sky was once again clear and bright. Pine and the receivers ran off the field as the kicking team came on for the extra point.

“Oh yep,” Yassoud said. “He is an old fart. Five-for-five and a TD on the first drive. Man, we should get him a wheelchair and some oxygen before he collapses.”

“Screw you,” Quentin said. Yassoud just laughed.

The defense continued to pound the Wallcrawlers throughout the first half, shutting down Moussay-Ed. Michnik sacked him twice, and Tweedy got to him once with a devastating hit on a linebacker blitz.

Pine made good on his pre-game plans, guiding the Krakens to scores on their next two drives. At the half, the Krakens were up 24-7. Pine added one more touchdown for good measure in the third quarter, a 32-yard strike to Scarborough. With each completion, Quentin grew angrier. He’d settled into his new-found role as a sideline spectator when late in the fourth quarter he heard Hokor’s distinctive bark.

“Barnes!” the coach called. “Next series, you’re in!”

Quentin stared at his coach, then back at the field. He was going in before Yitzhak. Was he second-string, then? Quentin’s pulse beat double-time as he watched the Krakens defense working against the ‘Crawlers. Kelley hadn’t made it past the third quarter before the ‘Crawlers coach pulled him. His replacement, second-year player Aniruddha Smith, didn’t fare much better. Smith completed a short hook for a first down at the Krakens 32.

“Come on defense,” Quentin said through gritted teeth. He looked up at the clock — 1:12 left to play.

He should have been able to predict what happened next — Tweedy showed blitz, but slid into coverage as Smith dropped back. Mum-O-Killowe, who’d already notched one sack, furiously drove his opposing lineman back as he reached for Smith. Smith dodged to the right, feeling the pressure. He threw a quick crossing pattern to a seemingly open tight end. Tweedy was playing his lame-duck act — he broke on the ball with a speed he hadn’t shown the entire game and picked off the pass. The crowd roared in approval. As Tweedy & Co. came off the field, Quentin sprinted on, so excited he could barely think.

He stood in front of the huddle, a mix of first-string linemen and second-string skill players. Yassoud looked back at him, grinning. Denver and Milford were there, their armored eyestalks twitching in anticipation.

Quentin’s head-up display activated automatically. Hokor’s yellow and black, one-eyed face appeared, lifelike and right in front of Quentin’s facemask.

“Base-block dive right, Barnes,” Hokor said. “Keep it simple and hang onto the ball.”

Quentin relayed the play to the Krakens. He broke the huddle and walked to the line. That feeling was back in his stomach again, the queasy feeling, the one he’d never known before that first full-contact practice two days earlier. His five Ki linemen looked like a giant wall of muscle. Yet if they were a wall, a fortress, beyond them were three Ki battering rams in white jerseys, waiting to blast through the offensive line and tear into him. Outside of them, two gigantic Human defensive ends, obviously heavy-G natives, so big they dwarfed the PNFL’s biggest players. The first play, at least, he wouldn’t have to worry about the front five.