Sixty-Seven Salamanders

Chapter 1 - Fate

It was just like every other time. Whatever I did or tried, it always ended the same. I was sick and tired of it. A number of complex thoughts and emotions ran through my mind. What would I do after this? What did my future hold? Focus, Adin. This was it; this was finally my chance to change my fate, if even just a little. Everyone was counting on me; I would not fail. Focusing back on reality, I watched as the enormous football player thundered towards me like a runaway train, which of course was very, very bad for my health.

My first reaction was to avoid him but knew that wasn't an option, so I steeled myself for the inevitable impact instead and pumped my legs as hard as I was able; my cleats ripped up grass and dirt as I accelerated towards him. My heart pounded wildly in my chest so loud that I could hear it and wondered if everybody else in the bleachers on both sides of the field could, too. People usually run away from the really big guy that's about to flatten them like a pancake. My inner voice said. I know, but this is our chance to finally kick some ass! My other voice argued.

I cleared my head; there was no running away - it was now or never. He was only a few feet away now and seeing my chance, I made a move. I concentrated on nothing but speed sprinting forward and lifted from the ground to launch at my opponent. At that moment, it almost felt like I was flying, a cool breeze pleasantly streaming into my face. Then, I hit a brick wall. You were taught never to leave your feet when attempting to tackle an opponent and now I understood why. As I slammed into the much bigger teen and blacked out, I had an idle thought. This is what being hit by a bus must feel like.

My name was being called, but I just wanted to stay in lala land. Besides, my head was pounding like Gallagher had used it as his personal watermelon.

"Adin!" The gruffy voice called yet again.

I moved to get up and earned a stab of pain in my lower back. Virtually every bone in my body felt twisted and broken. It was then the recent memory of trying to tackle that moving mountain played. I must be crazy. After another moment, I managed to open both eyes; even my eyelids seemed to pound with the force of what happened.

"Are you alright, Adin!?" The grizzly man closest to my head asked in a panicked voice, kneeling as he examined my entire body for injury.

I wasn't used to my tough coach being in such a flustered state. It made me want to laugh, despite the situation but I managed to suppress it. "I'm fine, Coach O'Leary. He was just really.... big." I blinked slowly as everything came back into focus, the images before me becoming sharper and clearer. Attempting to sit up again was successful, though it still hurt like hell.

"Do you think this is a joke? You could have seriously hurt yourself!" The older man boomed, although noticeably more relieved.

Now, this is more like the coach I know. "I just wanted things to be different... Aren't you tired of losing?" Our football team hadn't qualified for the playoffs in twelve years, and Coach O'Leary had been at our high school for most of them.

He watched me for a moment, then clenched his jaw. "...Can you stand?"

It was ironic, by not giving me his answer, he had done exactly that. Nodding without another word, I grabbed his outstretched hand for support to get up. My legs wobbled for a second, probably making me look like Bambi trying to stand for the first time. Once I realized that I wasn't going to dive headfirst into the ground, I looked around to take in the surroundings.

I hadn't realized how quiet it'd been until all the loud roars and clapping hit me. It wasn't exactly the applause I'd been looking for, people grateful that there wasn't a dead kid on the field. As I stiffed-legged my way back to my team's bench, the scoreboard caught my attention. I already knew the result but looked anyway, and there it was.