Unliving Love

by Jason A Grimm

  Chapter 13

  The Big Game

  Mike woke to an empty bed which wasn’t unusual for a pregame night. Jen would sleep in the spare room if she wasn’t going to bed at the same time he did and was going to be up late. Jen had a tendency to be even more nervous than he was on game days and the nights before. He rolled over and looked at the clock that sat on the bedside table and saw that it was only 3:00 am still three hours till he normally woke on a game day. He tried going back to sleep but after about ten minutes decided he needed a drink so he climbed out of bed and threw on a pair of pajama pants and made his way down the steps. As he made it to the bottom he could tell that there was a light on downstairs and when he came into the living room he saw that it was coming from the kitchen. He looked around and saw Jen asleep on the couch so his first thought was she left the light on. When he made it to the doorway leading to the kitchen he saw Tracy sitting hunched over a large tablet and looked to be drawing at the small bar table they had at the end of the kitchen. When it was just Jen and him that was where they ate the most.

  “Oh hey.” He said as he entered the kitchen. Tracy jumped at the sound of his voice. She obviously hadn’t expected to see anyone till later in the morning. “Sorry.”

  “I didn’t hear you.” As she got over the initial start her face began to turn a slight shade of pink as she noticed the owner of the startling voice was a shirtless Mike.

  “Yeah that happens in this house.” He opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water. “Doesn’t have many groans and creeks.” He opened the bottle, leaned against the counter, and took a big drink. “Can’t sleep?”

  “I woke up a little bit ago. I was asleep though.” She picked up her tablet and began to draw again using it as an almost shield between the two.

  “Whatcha doing, if you don’t mind me asking.”

  “Oh um…” She tried not looking up. “Part of our class we have to do a dream journal and we are either allowed to write or draw what we dream about.”

  “You choose to draw? That’s cool I can’t draw to save my life, wish I could though because I did like to.”

  “Yeah I’d rather draw than write about it. Think I get the picture across better. I’m not very good at descriptive writing.”

  He took another drink and walked over beside her. “Can I take a look?”

  She had gotten even redder as he was now standing right beside her. “Um… sure.” She held her tablet out covering him from her view.

  There on the tablet was the small spindly figurine that Jen had picked up at Wes’s house. It was in the most amazing detail and was as accurate as he could remember.

  She must have noticed the odd look on his face. “What? It’s not that good I know. It’s just a doodle really.”

  “Oh no that’s not it at all, it’s very good actually.”

  “Oh.” She said with a now curious look.

  “It, just brings back memories is all.” He said not taking his eyes off the drawing.

  “It brings back memories?” Her look had gone from curious to confusion.

  “Yeah at Wes’s house. Jen must have told you in pretty good detail about that damn thing.” He took a drink of his water and made his way back to leaning against the counter.

  She sat there in silence staring at him the pinkish tone of her face now gone but was replaced with a paler shade of white than normally covered her face.

  “What?” Mike said as he himself was now confused.

  “Jen never said anything about a statue.”

  “But you’re drawing it. She must have.”

  “No she told me about the door at the top of the small stairwell and the apparition outside but that’s it and she barely told me the details. She told me about that stuff when we first started talking but was vague and I haven’t asked her about it.”

  Mike stood in silence staring at her.

  “I figured it was still a bit much to talk about.” She added

  “She never told you?”

  Tracy shook her head. “I saw this in my dream, that’s what woke me up.” She noticed the color drain from his face. “Maybe she did and I just forgot.” She was trying to back track now not wanting to upset him. “It was two weeks ago so she’s probably mentioned it at some point. I am very forgetful.”

  Mike forced a smile. “You’re not that forgetful.”

  “I forget things all the time.”

  “I’ve heard you two going over things and I’ve heard you remind Jen about things way more than her reminding you.” He sat his bottle of water in the sink. “This is your football field you have a good head about this stuff. Same way I’ll lose my keys twice a week but remember every play in my playbook, the defensive play book, and the opposing teams defense” She sat there quietly which to him was as good as her saying he was right. “Bigger question is what does it mean?”

  “Could mean a number of things.”

  Mike cut her off. “How many of them are bad?”

  “Of the most likely things?” She paused as if thinking of a way to soften the blow. “Some.”

  He leaned back against the counter and began to rub his eyes.

  “That doesn’t mean the most likely of the likely isn’t the good one.”

  He let out a small nervous laugh in response to just how confusing her last sentence was. “Well what are the most likely things?”

  “Well…” She paused for a second gathering her thoughts. She looked as if she was doing a long math problem in her head. “I’d say the top three. One is that Jen and I have developed a bit of a psychic link given the rapid formation and intensity of our bond. Two, whatever is in the house could have simply followed you here. Three, which is the least likely given the number of times it’s ever been documented is extremely low in the grand scheme of paranormal encounters.”

  “Tracy.” Mike said slightly impatiently.

  “Sorry.” She pulled the tablet tightly against her chest. “The spirit or demon has attached itself to Jen.”

  “I’m sorry?” Mike shook his head. “Attached itself?”

  “Possession.”

  “Like exorcists type possession?”

  She nodded her head still clutching her tablet against her chest. “It’s highly unlikely though. Like I said, very seldom ever happens. One in a billion.”

  “It had its eyes trained on me so maybe it’s me?”

  “She would be more likely. If it was you I probably wouldn’t have gotten the image.”

  “So what do we do?” Mike asked very concerned.

  “Well is she acting odd to you?”

  “Not really, apart from her obsession with the house. She has never been into this kind of stuff. Sure she watched a show here or there on TV but never wanted to get into it, but with having the experience she had I can see why she would though.”

  “Yeah that’s why most people get into it actually. Most of us have had some kind of experience.” She finally pulled her tablet off of her chest and sat it on the table. “Do you have a Bible?

  “Yeah it’s on the bookshelf.” He quietly walked to the bookshelf that was in their living room and pulled the large black book off the top shelf. He walked it into the kitchen and handed it to Tracy. “Are you going read something out loud or is there something in there that tells you what to do?”

  Tracy smiled. “No.” She opened up the Bible. “I’m just going to leave it open and set it on the end table.” She slowly and quietly walked past him and sat it down on the end table near Jen’s head and began to make her way back into the kitchen. As she reached the doorway to the kitchen Jen tossed slightly in her sleep.

  “What does that mean?” He asked in a whisper.

  Tracy turned to him. “Most likely that means she was uncomfortable and had to move some.”

  He looked at her. “What’s the Bible for?”

  “They say it can help ward off spirits. It wasn’t a test.” She smiled.

  “Well how do I know?” He said
halfway returning the smile. “Honestly all this shit has me pretty freaked. The whole situation, Wes and the house…” His voice trailed off.

  “I can only imagine.” She said quietly.

  “I’m sure you have your own story though.”

  She looked at him questionably. “What makes you say that?”

  “Well you said that’s how most get into the stuff.” He turned to look at Jen. “So I just assumed you had a story too.”

  “Oh”

  Mike took that as she didn’t want to talk about it and never being one to pry he left it alone. He looked up at the clock that hung above the doorway. “Shit it’s almost four. I need to try and get back to sleep.” He knew that the odds were slim to none but with the game in only nine hours he needed to give it his all.

  “Ok well good luck.”

  He turned and smiled at her. “Thanks.”

  “Any time.” She returned the smile and a little red came back to her cheeks.

  Mike quietly started making his way back to his room slowing down as he walked by Jen so he could watch her sleep for a second or two then continued on his way. When he made it to his room he crawled back into bed. He knew immediately that he wasn’t going back to sleep. He laid there thinking about everything that Tracy just said… He tossed… He began to think about Wes and now feeling that he was telling the truth the whole time and that he had thrown away his friendship because he was too stubborn to believe… He tossed again and rolled his pillow up into a ball… He began thinking of that Halloween night all those years ago… He flipped around in the bed… He began to dissect his past looking for the moment he put up this mental block… The alarm began to go off. “Son of a Bitch!” He sat up and turned it off. He got out of bed grabbing his sweat pants and matching school labeled hoodie, threw them on and quietly making his way back down the steps, through the hall, into the living room stopping at the couch. He saw Tracy curled up in the oversized recliner sleeping as if she fell asleep while watching Jen. He looked down at Jen and she was still lying in the position she was in when he went upstairs. He found this comforting. He took her image in one last time then walked to the door slid his shoes on and quietly made his way out of the house. He climbed into the car, started it up and made the drive to the stadium. He was grateful that it was a home game and as usual he was the first one there.

  He started the day as he usually did walking up and down the field spending the time going over different scenarios in his head. He knew he had no way of knowing exactly how the game would go but it helped to clear his mind by getting all the “what ifs” out. When he made it back to the locker room the head coach was just walking in.

  “Well did we win?” He asked with a smile knowing this part of Mike’s pregame ritual. Coach Martin was an older man in his mid-sixties with thin grey hair which was usually under a ball cap. He was always clean shaven. He wore dress pants and a long sleeved windbreaker bearing the schools logo.

  “Hell yeah we did Coach.” Mike returned with a smile of his own. He could feel his head starting to empty of everything but the game and he knew the closer it was to game time the clearer he could focus.

  “How you feeling today Son?” Coach asked as he opened the locker room door letting Mike slip through.

  “Real good Coach.”

  “That’s good it’s going to be one hell of a game.” Coach followed Mike into the locker room. “Tough one too.”

  “Yeah looking forward to it.” As Mike sat there going over different formations the other team’s defense is known to do, his other team members began funneling through the door.

  “Two hours left. Let’s go do some drills.” Coach hollered into the locker room.

  The team all stood and made their way out onto the field. They all knew the drill so there was very little talking. Everyone was focused on the game. After about an hour of light drills, just enough to get the bodies loose and warmed up they returned to the locker room to begin getting suited up for the game. When Mike got to his stall he began to pull out his equipment piece by piece inspecting each one as he went. There were equipment people who regularly checked all the equipment but he didn’t like leaving his fate up to someone else. After he checked it all and was satisfied by it he began to suit up. He was usually the last one ready because of this. A few minutes later the coach came in followed by his coaching staff.

  “Ok gather up and take a knee.” The coach said.

  The team stood and made their way to the middle of the locker room surrounding the coach.

  “Ok listen up.” He said as everyone kneeled. “This is going to be a long grueling game! It’s going to be hard hitting! Hard fought! I can see on all your faces that you’re all hungry for a win!” He paused as the team erupted with “Yeahs” and hoots and hollers. “I got news for you… so are THEY!”

  The team began to shake their heads.

  “So, we are going to go out there and be better! Every down every quarter better! It’s as simple as that. They’re a good team… but WE ARE A GREAT TEAM! Now get out there and show them that we are better than they are. Let’s show them that we are, hands down, the better team!”

  The team erupted with deafening cheers.

  “Mike!” The coach said through the cheers.

  He looked up to see Coach giving him an approving smile.

  “Take your team out on the field.”

  Mike stood up. “You heard the man! Now let’s get out there and kick some ass!” He started to jog out the door smacking a sign above it that said win across it in big bold letters. The team, yelling, followed suit smacking the sign as they went. They stopped at the edge of the large corridor that led to the field waiting.

  The announcers had just finished introducing the opposing team and began to introduce them. Then on queue the team began yelling and sprinted out onto the field. The crowd erupted, the ones who weren’t cheering were booing but everyone in the stadium was on their feet awaiting the start of the game.

  After about twenty minutes of pregame warm ups and a few last minute drills from both teams, it was now time for the kickoff. The opposing team had won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. The kicking team took the field and then their kicker kicked the ball down the field and the game begun.

  “Made it out to the twenty three yard line.” Said a gruffly sounding announcer

  “Ok defense! Get out there and get me that ball. Three and out baby! Three and out!” The coach yelled as his defensive unit ran out on the field.

  The first quarter of the game was very back and forth with it ending 0-0. Both of the defenses were doing a tremendous job and not allowing much offense. At the beginning of the second quarter Mike had the ball inside the twenty. The offense took the field and Mike lined up under the center.

  “Set!” He stood up took a step back and pointed to a very large linebacker that was already up on the line. “Omaha gun!” He took another step back and readied himself for the snap. “Hut! Hut!” The ball was snapped and was in his hands. He took a small drop back and then let the ball fly to his receiver on the outside.

  “Touchdown!” The same gruffly announcer yelled and the stadium erupted.

  After a brief celebration of high fives the team ran off the field and the field goal unit ran on, easily making the point after and it was now 7-0. The rest of the quarter went just about the same as the first one did. Both defensive units were making stops when they were needed keeping the teams tied. The opposing team made one more attempt at a play but was cut short by the sound of the whistle indicating the end of the first half. The teams began to jog off the field and headed into the locker room still tied.

  “I said it was going to be a hard fought game and it sure as hell is. We’re up but only by seven and when we go back out there it’s going to be even harder.” The coach said to the team as they took seats in the locker room. “They are going to be in desperation mode and are going to come out hard and come out swinging. We need to f
ind some holes in their defense and get the ball down the field and score some points. Now rest up get some water so we can go back out there and finish strong.”

  The team was quiet for most of the halftime. Mike was having a few discussions with his receivers about different tactics they could try but even those didn’t last very long. Before any of them knew it they were heading back out on the field and once again the crowd erupted as they did.

  The third quarter was another back and forth battle with each team pushing down the field only to be stopped outside of field goal range. It wasn’t till the last minute that the opposing team started to make some progress and with a long run the team had gotten to the twenty-seven yard line. After three downs and only getting an extra couple yards their field goal unit came out and knocked it through the uprights making the score 7-3 and ending the third quarter.

  Three minutes left in the fourth and final quarter of the game, Mike and his team had the ball. Down after down Mike was making short pass after short pass, slowly moving the ball down the field till they had finally gotten past midfield. Second and ten, he lined his team up at the line of scrimmage. He looked around the defense and then got under center. “Set! Hut!” He yelled and the ball was snapped. He faked the handoff to his running back but as he took a step back he was hit from behind and the ball shot out of his hand.

  The opposing team’s player scooped up the ball and ran. With no one around him he scored easily. Their field goal team came out and made the easy point after making the score now 7-10 them. Their kicking unit kicked off the ball and now Mike had the ball back but there was only forty five seconds left on the clock and they had no timeouts left.

  “Ok huddle up!” Mike yelled to his offense as they took the field. “Listen guys that was my fault. We have to score and score quick. We are going no huddle. We’ve practiced this over and over, we all know the drill. You get the ball, you get out of bounds. We good?” The team began nodding.

  “Hell yeah guys, we can do this!” One of the guys in the huddle yelled.

  “Break!” They all yelled and made their way up to the line of scrimmage.

  “Hut!” Mike yelled and the ball was snapped. He took a few steps back and threw the ball to his right hitting his receiver in the chest.

  He caught it and got out of bounds.

  They all got back to the line of scrimmage and once again “Hut!” and the ball was snapped. Just like before Mike took a few steps back and then he flung the ball.

  His receiver caught it and got the first down but this time they didn’t get out of bounds and the clock ticked on.

  The team sprinted to the line of scrimmage and Mike yelled “Hut!” The ball was snapped and he immediately spiked it, stopping the clock at twenty-seven seconds.

  “Huddle up!” Mike yelled. “Ok guys we need to get bigger chunks this four yard shit isn’t going to do it.” The team nodded. “We are going to overload the left so we can get one on one on the right. So that means you man.” He pointed to a particularly tall member of the team. “You need to win, but don’t be surprised if I throw it left so be ready.” He pointed at the receivers that were to line on the left. “Twenty-seven seconds left and we have sixty-four yards to go. We can do this. So let’s do it.” The team clapped their hands and made their way to the line of scrimmage and lined up how mike told them to. “Hut!”

  The receiver’s took off down the field and he threw the ball to his right about twenty yards down the field where the receiver caught it and got a couple more yards, then stepped out of bounds stopping the clock with twenty seconds left. Once again the team lined up in the same setup. “Hut!”

  The receiver’s took off.

  Mike checked his right and saw that his guy was covered. He looked to his left and saw an open guy so he threw the ball down the field.

  The receiver caught it and started to run. Ten yards later he was brought down but inbounds and the clock ticked on twelve, eleven, ten, mike spiked the ball with nine seconds left.

  The team huddled up. “OK guys, we have maybe two plays left and we are about ten yards from field goal range so we need to do a little more work. Same thing ok, someone get open and get the hell out of bounds.”

  The team walked to the line of scrimmage taking this opportunity to get their breaths while the clock was stopped.

  Mike took his place “Down! Set!.. Hut!” The ball was snapped and he took a few steps back ready to throw but no one was open. The clock ticked eight, seven, just as Mike was about to throw the ball away he saw one of his guys all the way in the end zone. He locked on him, cocked his arm back, and let the ball fly.

  It flew down the field through the defenders arms and landed right in the receiver’s chest.

  “TOUCH DOWN!” The gruffly announcer yelled. “They did it! Last minute heroics by Lachey and they did it!”

  The stadium erupted, there were cheers and some boos from the fans of the opposing team. Everyone was on their feet cheering or yelling except for six people who stood in silence. Everyone had watched the ball and didn’t notice that the same linebacker as before hit Mike as he released the ball. At first there were only six who were silent now more and more fell silent as they looked back and noticed Mike was laid out on the field not moving. He was quickly surrounded by trainers. Within seconds the stadium went from celebration to silence as the medical cart was being driven out on the field.

  “That doesn’t look good. Lachey took a nasty hit on that throw.” The announcer said in a hushed solemn voice.

  The trainers rolled mike onto the stretcher and carefully lifted him up on the cart and drove an eerily still Mike off the field.