Brutal

Chapter 10: Sick Scars and Fast Cars

As the players converged upon me, their bodies crashing into mine, I felt the sickening impact of my head slamming against the boards. A sharp, shooting pain pulsed through my skull despite wearing a helmet, blurring my vision and leaving me disoriented. The world seemed to tilt on its axis as I struggled to make sense of what was happening.

Amidst the chaos, I could hear the sounds of skates scraping against the ice, shouts of alarm and confusion echoing in my ears. I tried to push myself up, to shake off the dizziness and regain my footing, but the effort only sent waves of nausea washing over me.

"Shit, Connor!" I heard Jake say. "You okay, man?"

Through the haze, I became aware of a searing pain shooting through my leg, the pain so intense it took my breath away. Beneath me, the ice felt cold, and I saw a small puddle of blood pooling on the ice, dripping down from my arm. Someone's blade must've cut me in the collision.

I saw Josh, along with David and one of the hockey players standing over me, their helmets off, looking down at me with horrified and concerned expressions on their faces.

Meanwhile, someone – I couldn't make out who – muttered, "Damn, dude got dummied."

I tried to push myself up once more, to shake off the pain and soldier on, but as soon as I put weight on my left leg, a cry of agony escaped my lips. I crumpled back down onto the ice, my teeth gritted against the pain.

"We need to call an ambulance," Lydia said in a panicked voice.

"I'll call," Ben replied.

The thought of being picked up and brought to the hospital in an ambulance only added to my sense of panic. The last thing I wanted was to cause a scene, to draw even more attention to myself. "No," I managed to choke out, my voice hoarse with pain. "No ambulance. Just help me up."

Ben and Jake lifted me up and carried me over to the bench. I winced with every movement, my leg and head throbbing. They took off my skates.

Meanwhile, Josh came over to the boards. "It was my fault," he said. "I can drive him to the hospital."

In a quiet but stern voice, David said, "Dude, you can't fucking drive right now."

"Jake and I can take him," Ben said. "Josh, you can come with if you want."

The pain flared anew as Jake and Ben hoisted me up, but I gritted my teeth against the agony, trying not to look weak.

Together, they guided me towards the exit, their steps slow and deliberate as they supported my weight. The world seemed to blur around me as we made our way out of the rink.

As we reached the entrance, with Josh opening the door for us, I was surprised to see how dark out it was already.

With gentle hands, they eased me into the backseat of Jake's Benz, the interior bathed in the soft glow of the dashboard lights. I sank back against the seat, exhaustion washing over me as the adrenaline began to fade. Josh climbed into the backseat with me, and I was in too much pain and too disoriented to even get excited about how close we were to each other.

With Ben at the wheel and Jake riding shotgun, we sped away from the rink, the streetlights blurring into streaks of color as we raced towards the hospital. I clung to consciousness as best I could, the pain in my leg throbbing nonstop as the car jostled me with every sharp turn. But soon, my eyelids grew heavy, the world fading into a haze of shadows and distant voices.

"Connor?" I heard Josh say, but his voice sounded like he was underwater. I felt his hand gently touch my face. "Connor, are you okay?"

Then I surrendered to the darkness, and everything went black.