Chapter 1266 (1/2)

Seeming not to care about Valor’s disappointment, the coach continued to speak with his hands on his hips. “Look, a lot of football has to change now that we have the System. Players are faster and stronger than ever, and it’s easy for one side to have a dominant advantage if the league isn’t careful. Because the cruel truth is that the superior players became even more superior with the System.”

Rubbing his chin, the coach looked at his clipboard and then shook his head. “Hell, who knows if football can even be played with such uneven talent. There might need to be an enforced Skill or Stat parity between teams in the future. But! Because the fastest players got even faster… it’s the mechanics of throwing that have really changed. Sure, a defender can sprint the length of the field in less than twenty seconds, but can they run faster than someone can throw the ball? No! They never could. The System didn’t change that.

“As things stand, Tutt here can throw the ball fast enough that basically no time passes between when he throws the ball and when it reaches the receiver’s hands. In the future, cornerbacks will need to study the typical catching postures of receivers in order to guard them effectively. And the reason that you, Clark, are gonna play most snaps is that you have the most reliable catching posture of all our players.”

Tutt nodded and crossed his arms. “Noticed it in practice. There are some variations in timing with other people in the way they turn, but you are always very precise. Makes it easy to know where to throw the ball.”

When the referee blew his whistle, the teams went back onto the field. Of the following five plays before halftime, three were running plays for only a handful of yards each and one was a pass play to Valor for twelve yards. The Vipers contentedly kicked a field goal for three points and raised their lead to 13 to 3 before halftime.

*****

How can I be the face of football… when I can’t even win a single game?

“Shit…. Shit!” Jake Tuck smashed the wooden bench in the locker room to smithereens with his fist and then looked around with red eyes for something else to break. Right now he needed to get rid of some of the heat that filled his chest. He was incensed even further to see his team looking at him with pity and derision in their eyes. Raising his head, he pointed around at the team and guffawed loudly. “You think this is my fault? You think this would have happened if you hadn’t all been holding me back?”

The coach walked over toward Jake with a stormy expression. “Tensions are running high, but you need to calm the fuck down. We have half a game still to play and there is no reason to torpedo our chances of coming back by saying something you will regret. Close your mouth and take a shower, Jake.”

“The only thing I will ever regret is joining this shitty-” Jake began, but before he could continue further, the coach’s fist flashed forward and slammed into Jake’s diaphragm. For a split second, shock crossed Jake Tuck’s face. Somehow, the deadly danger of the System had faded from his mind recently. It was only football that had consumed him. And when it came to football, Jake Tuck was used to being king.

This blow dethroned him in a lot of ways, right in front of the rest of his team.

Jake stumbled and fell backward. The coach looked down at him with a heavy glance. “Calm down. We are still in this game. We just need to change up the offense. Throw a few more screens, rely on spreading out the field horizontally to weaken their defense. This isn’t over. Don’t have a meltdown.”

Slowly, Jake recovered the ability to breathe as his diaphragm stopped spasming. His first instinct was to retaliate, but his better sense quickly eradicated that desire. He was still angry, but he let that anger recede somewhat. Yes. What’s really important is winning. As long as we win...

Seeing that the dangerous fire was slowly vacating Jake’s eyes, the coach turned to survey the rest of the players. “We already have the plays; it’s my responsibility that we kept getting stuffed by their defense. I’ve already worked out a few that should work. They are on the large board in the meeting room. In the meantime… as this is an inaugural game, remember that there will be an extra-long half time, almost an hour and a half. You can do what you want for most of the half, but for the last fifteen minutes, I want you back here warming up. Understood?”

You are really willing to take the responsibility for this? Jake thought bitterly. When I can’t...

“Got it, coach,” The players nodded.

Before he left, the coach spared Jake Tuck another glance. Then he walked back to his office. Most of the other players left too, leaving Jake Tuck alone with the splintered wood of the bench.

“Shit,” He muttered to himself. Then he rubbed his eyes. He sat that way for a few minutes until the drifting notes of music wound their way through the heavy stone walls of the stadium to reach the locker room. Grumbling, Jake Tuck heaved himself to his feet. He didn’t know anything about the pop star coming to perform at the half-time show, but it might clear his head a little.

And the coach was right. They weren’t out of this game yet.

So Jake Tuck walked up through the passages available to the players in order to arrive at a viewing box to watch the halftime show. But halfway there, Jake Tuck walked around the corner and stopped dead in horror.

The hallway was lit by a line of fluorescent lights, but the grey walls still made the tight space seem dark. There was a body sitting slumped against the wall. A pool of blood was slowly spreading outward from the body. A familiar man in a crimson cloak was crouching in front of the body, slowly bringing his hands to his lips.

“E….ezekiel….?” Jake said aloud. Then instantly, his hand jumped to his mouth as the other’s head snapped sharply upward and considered Jake. Similar to the earlier confrontation with the coach, Jake suddenly found himself completely out of his depth. His focus had been so long on football that to suddenly be reminded that most people concerned them with killing was extremely disturbing.