End of the Line

The Dons were ignorant of the overflowing hatred on the opposite sideline. They swarmed around Chris after he returned to the bench. It was like he was the messiah the way they treated him. He may as well have been with the resurrection he just pulled on this game.

The Dons held the lead, and with time dwindling, the Bears would only get one more shot with their run-heavy play style. The defence just had to hold out one more time.

Ty shivered with excitement. He knew he could do it. He looked at the rest of his teammates. Their final embers were building back up into flames. He hoped they were too hot for the Bears to stamp out.

The first recipient of Denzel's anger was Coby. The King exploded off the bench and snatched Coby off it, yanking him up to his feet. 'This is all YOUR fault,' he snarled.

Coby was unperturbed, even as the rest of the team looked like deer in furious, flaming headlights, caught in Denzel's wrath even without it being aimed at them.

'Wow. I didn't think you could get any more pathetic,' Coby said, 'but here you are.'

'Watch your mouth, or your next words will be your last for a LONG time,' Denzel warned.

Coby's face remained impassive. 'How can a "king" who hogs the ball all the time blame anyone else for losing?'

Denzel's fist reared back, veins popping out along the back of his hand and all along his forearm. He caught his father in the corner of his eye and froze. He lowered his fist and shoved Coby back onto the bench.

'If you don't start trying, you're off the team,' Denzel said, his voice shaking with anger even as he tried to keep it low and level.

That broke through Coby's wall of indifference; it was the first real threat. Denzel held enough sway to make it a reality. The Bears were his team even more than the coach's.

Coby took a deep breath as he stood. Denzel turned aside, letting him pass, but his eyes bored into Coby relentlessly as he prepared for the kickoff.

He had to try, and thankfully, the ball dropped about halfway deep in the end-zone. Coby fielded it and took off, scanning the field as he burst out.

His reaction caught the Dons off guard, but they quickly scrambled after him, their wall not losing form or rank as they closed in on him. Still, he cut through them decisively, slashing his way up to the Bears' 40-yard line before they tripped him up.

That was where the last drive of the game would start. Before the Dons' defence took their last stand, Coach Long had one last message for them.

He gathered the defence close and said: 'The job isn't finished. I've never asked more of you boys than today. You've worked the hardest you have all year, but you're going to have to work just a little harder.'

He looked around, his face solemn, serious, devoid of his usual smile. The faces staring back at him were identical, albeit more exhausted.

'But it's only one more stop,' he continued. 'Just one more stop and we end this. You boys haven't come this far just to lose, have you?'

'No!' JJ answered.

The others echoed him.

Coach Hoang came forward. He had some words he needed to share with the defence as well. 'We've worked hard all year, but so has our offence. Today is the best they've ever played, and I'll be damned if we let them down by losing after everything they've done for us. I've watched you all grow. I know you can do this.'

The team came together in a huddle, even the offence, and everyone on special teams joined in. A fist from every coach and player filled the air. Their cry of "family" shook the stands.

Before JJ led the defence onto the field, Bella stepped in front of him, her hands on his chest. Every part of her was shaking as she looked up at him. 'Please. You HAVE to win. It can't end like this … please win.'

He gently grabbed her shoulders, steadying her. He smiled down at her; his exhaustion vanished. 'Of course we're not gonna lose. WE aren't gonna lose, Bella. You're a part of this team too, and I'm totally not ready to say goodbye to Coach Short yet.' He ruffled her hair.

'You know how much I hate it when you guys call me that,' she said with tears in her eyes. But she was smiling.

JJ laughed, head held high as he led the Dons out. Bella watched him go. Each passing Don gave her a pat on the head, except Ty. He might not've even seen her. She saw him, though; she saw them all. Even through teary eyes, she watched them march onto the field.

The Bears met them, a silent fury backing them. The two teams lined up against one another, each side knowing this would be the final confrontation. That drive held the destiny of the game on a razor thin precipice.

In the early goings, the Bears wouldn't pass at all. Every play was a run, which wasn't unusual for the Bears. The unusual thing was that it didn't feel like Denzel against the world in a solo conquest anymore.

The rest of the Bears—aside from Coby—were behind him. Even John was running up after handing the ball off to support Denzel. Though he had little impact physically, stuff like that didn't go unnoticed or unrewarded.

The Bears weren't the only unified force. The Dons worked together to hold back Denzel—though Ty, and even Deshaun, were stuck on their islands covering their Receivers—but they were losing. Each run beat them back further.

Denzel's resilient stamina—to continue smashing through the Dons' this late in the final quarter, after having over thirty carries already—was superhuman.

The Bears marched across half-field and were within field goal range after just a few plays—not that a field goal would do anything for them at this point. There they took a timeout.

Whilst each run was successful, they were also time-consuming. Not just the run itself, but picking themselves up afterwards and preparing for the next. Of course, time was a factor they had to worry about, but they still felt Denzel could reach the end-zone before they ran out of time.

For the Dons, only Coach Long spoke up during the timeout. He said little; he'd said everything he'd needed to before the drive began. His voice was quiet, barely above a whisper, but the fans filling the stands held their breath. The entire field was frozen with anticipation even through the brief breaks.

'It's alright. It doesn't matter if they move the ball. Bend, but don't break. All you have to do is keep them out of the end-zone,' Coach Long said.

Coach Norman sat back. His work was done. He gave the boys a sympathetic look, and the occasional pat on the back, but he had no words for them.

Coach Hoang held his tongue as well. He was afraid he'd stumble and choke on any words he tried to get out. He couldn't remember ever being so nervous about a game before.

Bella stood there, mouth ajar, but not deigning to speak. She feared she'd break down into tears if she tried saying anything.

The boys were silent, even JJ. All that was heard from them was their heavy breathing.

The Dons and Bears reunited on the field. Not much had changed after the timeout. Both sides were slightly rejuvenated, but the results stayed in favour of the Bears.

Another play brought the game to the final two-minute warning. Coach Long reiterated his previous message; silence hung over everyone else.

The run after that brought the Bears into the red-zone and got them to use their second-last timeout.

Again, the messaging was the same, and everyone listened in silence. But now Ty was shaking like a pup caught in a storm. His leg bounced uncontrollably, and his hands trembled.

The game was slipping away from him, and he couldn't do anything. The Bears needed to pass, but why would they? There was still enough time for a few more runs, and they had one last timeout to spare. With the way Denzel was going, they'd break through before time expired.

He had to affect the run somehow … if he could just get close, he could do SOMETHING. He wasn't strong enough to stop Denzel on his own, but he didn't need to be. If they were going to win, he needed to get involved somehow.

He was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't even notice the timeout was over until Coach Hoang nudged him back towards the field. He hurried into position, though Coby was standing lackadaisically, like usual.

Ty needed to impact the run … but he couldn't just leave Coby alone. They'd pivot to a pass if he left his post. Could he edge over and make it in time if he ran after the snap?

The Bears snapped the ball. Ty was frozen in place. Denzel took the ball up the gut, ripping through the defence for another good chunk of yards, drawing ever closer to the goal-line.

The Dons were running out of yards to give up, and while the Bears were running out of time, it was clear which would last longer, especially with that final timeout still in reserve.

There was nothing else for it. It was now or never. Ty had to get involved. He stood in front of Coby, yet he never looked at him. His eyes were focused on Denzel.

He crept closer to the middle of the field before the snap, edging towards it. When the ball was snapped, he'd make his run. He was fast enough, he could get there in time, even if they ran away from him.

The Bears lined up like they always had during this final drive—two Receivers spread wide, a TE tucked in close at the edge of the Line opposite Ty, and Derrick in front of Denzel, both in the backfield behind John who was under Center. John glanced in Ty's direction.

The Bears snapped the ball. Ty lunged towards the middle of the field, then paused. He saw Coby move from the corner of his eye.

That wasn't totally unusual in this last drive—Coby had actually been putting effort into his blocks this time around, but Coby hadn't moved to stop Ty, he'd run away, towards the end-zone.

John took the ball, back already turned to the others as he extended towards Denzel, but Ty knew it was Play-Action even before he saw the fake hand-off. He scrambled back.

Whirling around, he gave chase to Coby. It was hardly a second before Coby was already looking back for the pass. The Bears knew Ty was quick and recovered faster than anyone should've been able to. Their window of opportunity was small.

Ty jumped up, one hand extended blindly, working off of the position of Coby's hands to figure out where the ball could be. It was just too high for Ty.

A fingernail scraped along it. Ty felt the slightest graze—it was like a knife through his heart. But Coby had to adjust to the ball. He stumbled slightly as he reached back, bobbling the pass.

He secured the catch at the 5, but that bobble had cost him a step. Ty pounced. He wrapped his arms around Coby and yanked back, though their forward momentum continued.

Coby's feet pound against the turf. They reached the 4, passed it to the 3. Then Ty dug his heels in. His work in the gym hadn't been for nothing; all of JJ's coaching and teaching hadn't been useless. Ty wouldn't lose, especially to someone who probably thought working out in the gym was "too boring".

Coby stopped as if he'd reached an invisible barrier. The game didn't go beyond that point—he'd reached the edge of the map.

Ty hauled him back, yelling with the effort as he picked Coby up, twisted around, and slammed him down. The play was whistled dead; the clock continued to roll. Under a minute remained.

The Bears were only 3 yards away from victory. Time continued to tick away, but they still had enough of it. They rushed up to the Line, ready to continue their assault.

The Dons hurried back into position. Ty watched from what might as well have been the sideline. He couldn't leave to help the run or else Coby would waltz in for a touchdown … it was up to the others.

It all rested on JJ's shoulders now.