Field of Monsters

The Vikings' punt boomed through the air and fell deep into the Dons' territory before bouncing out at the 9-yard line.

'Take control of the game!' Coach Long yelled.

Coach Norman had a different message as the offence marched off the bench. 'Put them away for good!'

Chris kept his head down, fiddling with his gloves as he walked to his spot at the back of the formation. He slapped his thighs before hunching into his stance, hands on his knees. He just had to keep running.

The rest of the team got into position. The Vikings across from them looked so tense they'd explode any second. Of course, Stephen and Isiah were talking trash the whole time.

Myles's eyes darted from Chris over to Isiah. 'Shut the hell up!'

Isiah straightened up, and turned his head to Myles, looking at him as if he'd just realised how crazy Myles was.

The Dons snapped the ball. Jay dropped back, looking to pass, before he calmly handed the ball over to Chris.

The delayed run had bought time for the middle to open up a bit more. Even with Mike's girth filling most of the space there, a gap had opened up to the left of him.

Myles was distracted, still staring at Isiah when the ball was snapped. As such, he sprung into action a second too slow. Chris scampered away from a head on collision with him, but Myles dove and ankle-tapped him.

Chris stumbled and fell to the turf after a 7 yard run. Myles growled as he bounced back up, slapping his helmet. He brooded in the huddle. The others gave him so much space he was almost in his own huddle.

Isiah glared at him. It wasn't long before the Vikings broke apart and returned to their formation, awaiting the Dons.

Stephen's smirk made Isiah want to slap him in the face.

The Dons snapped the ball again. It looked like another pass. Stephen rushed forward. Jay kept the ball. Isiah backed off, not allowing Stephen to push him around again.

Then Stephen stopped instantaneously. Isiah almost slipped in his hurry to match him. His eyes darted to Jay, who was loading up for a pass. Isiah burst forward, and that was when Stephen slipped by him.

It wasn't a Curl, it had been a Stop and Go, and Isiah had fallen for it perfectly. It was going to be a touchdown if Stephen got around him, so he did the only thing he could, and latched onto Stephen, dragging him back.

Jay cocked the ball again, and this time released it, lobbing it over to Stephen … or at least where Stephen should've been, had Isiah not disrupted his run.

As the ball flew, so did a flag, and while the pass was an incompletion, it was obviously DPI which had caused such.

Myles stomped over to Isiah, shoving him so hard Isiah nearly landed on his ass. Isiah stumbled back, then got up in Myles's face, shoving him back. 'The fuck is your problem, freak?'

'Guard your man or get the fuck off the field. We're supposed to destroy them! Not lose.'

'Then do your fucking job, nigga! Destroy THEM, not me. You fucking retard.' Isiah shoved past Myles and back to the huddle.

Myles turned his gaze upon the Dons, his fists clenched so tight they were shaking. Stephen wasn't hard to find amongst the huddle, and Myles fixated on him.

The Dons prepared for the next play with a fresh set of downs after the penalty. They went back to the air. Stephen cut to the inside instead of faking a Curl, and while Isiah wasn't as out of position, Jay still saw room to squeeze the pass in.

As Stephen crossed the middle of the field, Jay fired the pass in up high where he could reach it. Stephen extended his stride, lunging out. His hands found the ball at the same time Myles slammed into his chest.

Isiah spun away from the collision as Myles lifted Stephen off his feet and speared him into the ground, Myles's shoulder trying to drive through his sternum.

Even as stars flashed across Stephen's vision, the lights surrounding the field brightening and widening; he held onto the ball. The reception was good for 9 yards, and Myles hit was legal as he hadn't led with his own helmet, or hit Stephen's head.

The Dons hurried over, helping Stephen to his feet, asking if he was okay.

'I'm fine, I'm fine,' he answered. Though when they took a step back and he tried walking on his own, he stumbled to a knee. His chest was on fire and he couldn't breathe.

The officials called an injury timeout to the game, and Stephen's teammates helped him to the bench.

'Stephen? You alright?' Coach Long asked, looking him over. The team doctor was right there as well.

Stephen thumped down onto the bench, holding his chest. The doctor quickly replaced Stephen's hand with their own, checking for any pain. Stephen shook his head. 'I...just...need...air!'

Stephen sucked in as much oxygen as he could, but it wasn't enough. Thankfully, there were no breaks or fractures; the heavy hit had just winded him.

Across the field, on the opposite bench, Myles sat on the Vikings' bench, never taking his eyes off Stephen. His grin spread wider throughout the break. Finally, the game was getting exciting.

After the timeout finished, Stephen sat out the next play, and so did Chris as Cameron came in.

JJ took the field too, replacing Stephen as the Dons moved to a heavy run package instead with JJ at FB. He paved the way through the middle for Cameron, occupying Mike and widening the gap just enough for Cameron to wiggle through and pick up the first down.

Then he came to Myles. Myles reared back, fist clenched. Cameron curled over the ball, turning his head away as he lowered his shoulder and tried to ram right through Myles.

Myles's fist crashed down on Cameron's arm and grazed the ball, rocking it in Cameron's grasp. The two thudded into one another and Cameron tripped, tumbling over Myles as he re-secured the ball. His run ended after 6 yards.

After that play, Stephen convinced Coach Long he was good to return, and the doctor cleared him as well. He and Chris returned to the field as Cameron and JJ went back to the bench, Cameron still shaking out his arm.

JJ stopped Stephen as the two passed each other. 'Stay strong, hermano.'

Stephen nodded and continued on his way. He was still feeling the effects of Myles's hit, still sucking in deep breaths, and he suffered for it on the next play. He couldn't get away from Isiah, and across the field, Benny nor Cole found openings, either.

Myles scanned the field and saw the Receivers struggling to get open, so he dropped from his zone and came with a late blitz against Jay.

Jay didn't panic. He went through his progressions, checked in on every target, even as Myles came bearing down on him. He found his outlet, Chris, and dumped the ball off into the flat just as Myles smashed into him.

Chris caught the ball as Jay and Myles hit the turf. He turned upfield and darted ahead for another 8 yards before a DB pushed him out.

The Dons were moving steadily. Even if they met resistance, they were overcoming the Vikings' tough defence.

Chris got the ball again on the next play on another run to the outside. Once again, Myles chased after him. Chris fearlessly cut back inside instead of running out.

He caught Myles off guard, but with animal instinct and beast-like reflexes, Myles lunged out, his fingers poking through Chris's facemask as he tore Chris down to the ground so harshly that he almost ripped the helmet right off his head.

Whistles shrieked, and flags flew. Chris rolled on the ground, Stephen sprinted past him and shoved Myles who cackled, staring past Stephen and even Chris, staring at nothing. It was a feral look, and the grin only added to his wildness.

'You wanna go another round? Come on, hit me!'

JJ and even Chris came to Stephen's side, pulling him away from Myles before things devolved into another fight. Officials also separated the two, and the rest of the players as everyone had been pulled into Myles's orbit.

The game continued with only more warnings delivered to either side, and specifically to both Stephen and Myles.

The Dons went back to the air. This time, Jay tried to find Stephen on a Slant, but Isiah was draped all over him and reached over his shoulder to knock the ball away.

Stephen looked around for a flag for more interference, but his complaints fell on deaf ears as the officials walked right by him like he didn't even exist.

On second down, Chris took another Draw, and broke this one to the outside between the Tackle and Guard. He avoided Mike with this angle, but ran straight into Myles who cracked him good with a shoulder to the head.

Chris crumpled to the turf, but bounced right back up, shaking the hit off, glaring at Myles. Myles laughed in his face, still grinning. 'Come back for more! I'll be here all night. Can't leave my favourite punching bag alone.'

Chris turned away, not giving Myles the response or the attention he so desperately craved.

The Dons were on third down, still with 7 yards to go for another first down. Of course, they resorted to the passing game again.

With how much Myles crept up to the line to prepare for runs, the Dons saw space beyond him, which Stephen tried to exploit with a Post route.

However, as he made his break towards the post and streaked across the middle of the field, one Safety quickly dropped down and helped Isiah cover him.

Cole's Out route was covered closely too, and whilst Benny's Cross had given Myles something else to preoccupy him after it was obvious the Dons weren't running, he wasn't open either.

The Vikings defence had shifted right underneath the Dons' nose without them even realising. Jay could only dump the ball off to Chris again, but the Vikings swarmed him before he could reach the first down marker.

It was fourth down, but the silver lining was that the Dons were once again in field goal range. And at least they came away with points rather than nothing.

Those two field goals stood between the Dons and the Vikings as the score read 13–7.

The tension on the field was so thick the following kickoff almost hung in the air before plummeting like it'd hit a net wall. But the Dons fans were cheering loudly, stomping their feet, and celebrating, even as Marshall brought the ball out to the 31-yard line on his return.

Ty strode onto the field, eyeing the scoreboard. 6 points was a great cushion than 3, but that lead was still one mistake from crumbling away, either from him OR Deshaun. He looked across to Deshaun, hoping he'd continue to play well and hold Isiah on a short leash.

Marshall had a calm demeanour as he stood before Ty, tall and laid back. Ty took a deep breath, pushing all others from his mind as he focused on Marshall.

He wouldn't have much to worry about on the first play, as the Vikings got their RB more involved with a slashing run up the middle. Mike helped carve open a hole through the gut, but JJ was quick to come and plug it, meeting the RB head on and slamming them down after 4 yards.

The Vikings stuck with their RB, but in the passing game on the next play. They went with a screen, and with how preoccupied Deshaun was with Isiah, it worked pretty well before the rest of the Dons scrambled over and broke through the wall of blockers to bring the RB down after 11 yards.

They stuck with passing after that. Marshall feinted towards the outside, though Ty kept favouring the inside, as if enticing Marshall to go outside. Marshall still tried to cut through to the middle, but Ty kept in front of him, blocking him off.

Over on the other side of the field, Isiah rushed up to his mark in a straight line, then jammed his feet down. Deshaun stayed close to Isiah until Isiah stopped, then Isiah shoved him away half a yard before curling back.

Isiah caught the pass, but Deshaun recovered quick enough to tackle him. The catch was good enough for 8 yards. As Deshaun got up, he complained to the nearest official about Isiah shoving him, but the official wasn't interested.

'Stop complaining, nigga,' Isiah said as he walked by. 'You old niggas always bitching. Play the fucking game!'

Deshaun glared at Isiah, but returned to the Dons' huddle. 'It's fuckin' bullshit.'

Ty knew the struggle, but that was the life of a CB. They'd chosen to be on the wrong side of the umpires as soon as they picked defence.

The Vikings tried to pick up the first down on the ground, but the Dons had been expecting as much. They crashed down on the inside, and forced their way through Mike, stopping the run for only a yard.

Still, another run like that—for just a single yard—and the Vikings would pick up another first. Would the Vikings risk it?

There was a long pause during that third down. Ty and Marshall stared at one another throughout, Ty trying to figure out if they'd pass or run. Which was riskier? The Vikings were a pass-centric team, but the Dons' defence had held up against most of their attempts so far.

Marshall was pondering something as well. Ty saw it on his face. It was troubling, but at least he hadn't figured it out yet. That was the one saving grace.

Though Marshall would have more time to piece his puzzle together, as the Vikings returned to the ground, and even with the Dons clogging the middle of the field, Mike grit his teeth and forced his way forward.

The RB squirted ahead behind Mike, and gave him an extra push, before the scrum collapsed 3 yards downfield with the Vikings picking up the first down.

With the new set of downs, the Vikings tried another run, which went outside the Tackles. But that was a mistake. Donte wasn't just a threat during passes with how he blitzed, he was also a solid wall on the edge against runs, and the Vikings didn't even get a yard against him.

On Second and Long, the Vikings felt backed into a corner already, and returned to the air.

Marshall came forward tentatively. He went through his motions rapidly, but he was still testing the waters. He shimmied inside, and Ty responded quickly, hopping out in front of his potential path. The outside was open and waiting, but the sideline was another enemy working with Ty to keep him corralled.

Isiah staggered out of the blocks, trying to put Deshaun on the back foot, but Deshaun was wary of his tricks and kept with him as he cut to the inside on a route that was closer to a Post than Slant.

Nathan fired the ball in, aiming for a narrow gap within the coverage, but Deshaun bumped Isiah off his mark and got a hand on the ball, knocking it away.

It was Isiah's turn to complain to the officials and look for a flag that wouldn't come.

'Stop fuckin' complainin' and play the game,' Deshaun said with a sneer.

'Fuck you, nigga.' The two glared at one another, but turned away and backed off on their own accord.

Third down, 10 yards to go. The Vikings were desperate. Ty knew it. And when they were desperate, they'd come back to Marshall. Even if he'd failed them so far that night, they'd have faith he'd come through for them in the end.

Ty had to kill that faith, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. He could even win the game while he's at it. "Intercept this, take it back for a touchdown, and the game's over." He shook with anticipation.

Ty thrust a hand out when Marshall lunged forward, but Marshall slapped the spear away and it brushed off him rather than pierce him. Ty hurried back, and Marshall kept coming. Then he stopped, twisting back.

A curl! Ty started forward, eyes darting over to Nathan, looking for the ball. This was an easy pick-six. At the back of his mind, he knew they wouldn't gift him with such an easy interception.

It was a trap. Nathan wasn't even looking to pass yet. Marshall kicked off and started forward again. Ty stopped, turned, and bolted after him all in one motion.

He was playing catch up, Marshall already a couple of yards ahead, but he knew he could reach him soon.

However, time was something he wouldn't get. Already, Marshall turned his head, locating the ball. Ty didn't have time to do the same. He dove, a hand stretching over Marshall's shoulder just as the ball plummeted into his peripheral vision.

The ball hit their hands just as Ty tackled Marshall. Marshall couldn't latch onto the ball with Ty's hand in the way, and instead the ball bounced off them and to the ground. They crashed hard, skidding to a stop after another few yards.

The pass fell incomplete, and no penalty was called. Ty had won another battle, and the Dons had stopped the Vikings once more.