Noami And The Ten Chosen - Part Two : A New Reign

Here We Gooo!

Ryan pov

I stood up shakily and wiped the mud from my face. One of my teammates grabbed my arm and started dragging me to the side of the field. I hadn't even realized the coach called timeout. As soon as we reached the bench, I wrenched off my helmet and wiped the rest of the mud off my face. Spitting out my mouth guard, I spat out dirt and grass too. It was raining. There was mud and dirt everywhere and all of us were tired. My boots let out a whine and the booster lights started dimming. I didn't have much power left. The lights of the stadium blinded me. Panting, I looked up at the scoreboard. I paled. 27 - 10. We had less than ten minutes left. We were losing.

"Alright men." grunted the coach. "We're in a bit of a rough spot here. But we can try to rack up points if we use the right plays. It just might work. Barry and Roald, I need you to take care of the two big guys there and David you...." Coach's voice trailed on as I zoned out. Gulping down water, I rubbed my throbbing arm.

One of the other muscular quarterback kids from the opposing team had tackled me just when I had the ball. Then I got a kick in the gut and my face smashed to the ground as three other kids slammed into me at the same time. They managed to get an additional six points while I stayed face planted on the ground.

Gritting my teeth at the pain, my mind wandered to how I got the injury. The image of that twisted evil face, those venomous green eyes, the sight of my weapon being twisted out of my grip, that sickening crunch when my arm snapped in two. How easily Tenebris manged to break my arm. Like a toothpick. I healed slowly, to the point where I could use my arm and play again. But I was weaker. Pain shot up my arm everytime I pushed myself too hard. But I kept on playing. I didn't listen to Noah, who begged me to take care of myself. I kept playing football, forcing my body to play, to distract myself. To get used to the pain.

"-yan! Ryan! Hey Carter!" snapped Coach. I jumped and looked up. The entire team was staring at me. "You good to play?" he asked. I nodded. "Good. Now listen, I'm going to need you to follow my instructions now, Carter. If we play this right, we might have a chance at winning."

We didn't. Twenty minutes later, we were all in the school changing rooms, quietly undressing while we heard the opposing team whoop and cheer from outside.

"Sorry guys." I said, taking off my shirt.

"No need to apologize, Carter. We didn't prepare enough. We'll win next time." said David, one of my teammates.

"Hit the showers men!" yelled the coach, stepping inside the changing room. "Go home, get rest. We're training for the next match on Friday. That gives you three days to get back in shape." The other boys wandered off in the showers, obeying quietly. I stayed back.

"Um coach?" I asked. "I'm going away on a trip for a few weeks. It's for something important... I won't be able to make it for the final match."

Coah grunted and nodded. "David or Walwitz can fill in, don't worry. I probably wouldn't have let you play with that arm anyways" he said, eyeing my scarred arm. My entire torso was covered in thin white scars, earned by the fights from our previous adventure. Most of them were healed and were barely visible, thanks to one of our guardians, Luna. Only three long slashes remained, a reminder of my encounter with the nine tailed fox. Coach stared at the scars with a worried look for a moment. Then he grunted again. "Try not to get hurt, Ryan. Take care of yourself. Don't need some other psycho getting a hold of you again."

I chuckled and nodded. As I ducked into the showers, I heard the coach yell at full volume. "And take care of your little girlfriend too!"
I reddened as the other boys let out mocking hoots in my direction. I made the mistake of throwing my soap at Barry when he started making kissing sounds. As the hot water cascaded down, I laughed along with the other boys, yelling insults as they continued whooping mockingly. Thank god Charlie isn't here to add on to the teasing.