Page 124 of Unrivaled

Totally impartial, read the caption.

Grady hit the Heart button.

The game started off with tight defense on both sides. Grady made a few forays into the offensive zone, but the Orcas had learned from their mistakes and quickly shut down any plays the Condors made.

Things opened up a little bit in the second. Kirschbaum put the puck between Mitch’s legs five minutes in, and then a bad turnover from Dawg resulted in the Orcas getting a really good look at a 2–0 lead. Fortunately Mitch had that one covered.

Grady couldn’t let momentum start swinging the Orcas’ way. He chewed his mouthguard in annoyance. Next to him on the bench, Farouk nudged his knee into Grady’s. “We got this.”

Right. They did.

Three shifts later, one of the Condors dished Grady the puck at the center line, and it was like time slowed down. He could see where the Orcas were going to be and exactly how to get around them. He carried the puck all the way to the crease, then passed to Farouk at the last second.

The goalie never had a chance. Tie game.

“Holy shit!” Farouk screamed at him behind the net. “That was insane!”

Laughing, Grady crashed their helmets together. “Fucking nice finish!”

Ten minutes into the third, Grady was sure the game would go to overtime.

He had done everything he could to tip the balance in their favor. He won 70 percent of his faceoffs. He made nine shots on goal. The Condors needed a game-breaker.

And Grady thought he saw the opening for it, just like he had in the second period. Except this time, he didn’t get two strides into the offensive zone before the breath got crushed from his lungs.

The first time he managed to inhale again he was on his back on the ice, the ringing of the whistle loud in his ears. He registered the sounds of a fight, then several more whistles as the linesmen tried to break it up.

The thing was, it didn’t hurt. He hadn’t hit his head. He just had to get up and he’d be fine.

He rolled to his left side and tried to push himself up with his arm, and it gave out under him.Thathe felt. Thathurt. There was no strength in his arm.

He’d just have to play one-handed.

Farouk helped him up, but when Grady skated toward the bench, their coach shook his head. “Get it checked out. You can afford to miss a few minutes of one game.”

Grady glanced back toward the ice. He needed to be here for his team.

But Dawg said, “C’mon, Grades. You got so little faith in us? Go.”

The idea of going down the tunnel with the trainers made Grady’s stomach hurt, but he could barely hold on to his stick. “I’ll be back,” he said finally. “Feel free to win without me.”

Strength or not, he could still move his arm. Maybe not a full range of motion, and maybe not without gritting his teeth in pain, but it still moved. His hand opened and closed, even if his grip was limp. How bad could it be? He’d played injured before. He wouldn’t leave his team in the lurch during playoffs.

He couldn’t let this team down.

PIRANHAS OUTLAST HEATWAVE, WIN SERIES 4–1

By Craig MacLeod

The first series of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs has been decided as the Anaheim Piranhas defeated the Las Vegas Heatwave 3–1 last night to take the series four games to one. The home team had the possession advantage most of the game and held Vegas to 23 shots on goal, compared to the Piranhas’ 37.

Emory St. Clair and Deniz Kaplan each scored their fourth goal of the series, and Max Lockhart added his first of the playoffs in the victory.

With the return of power forward Dante Baltierra anticipated for the second round, the Fish will prove a difficult opponent. They will play the winner of the Condors-Orcas series. Vancouver hosts game 6 tonight. The Condors lead the series 3–2.

IF HEplayed for any other team, Max would have attended game 7 to cheer on his man.

But Max played for the Condors’ biggest rival, and he’d have to play the winner of this series. He didn’t want to come across as a sore winner, or whatever; the Condors had let a 3–0 series lead slip away, and anything Max said about it would be salt in the wound. To make matters worse, he knew Grady was injured. Hell,everyoneknew Grady was injured.Shooters shootwas a cliché for a reason, and right now, Grady wasn’t.

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