Grand Finale

Grand Finale --- Jumal Afzal

Carter woke up from his sleep startled. His room was cold that morning, the window was open and blew a constant freezing breeze into his small simple room. There was a nightstand on either side of his bed with a dresser directly across from his bed with his small flat screen atop it. He got out of bed to close the window and shuttered from the cold. He wasn’t wearing anything but a pair of boxers, leaving his skin covered in goose bumps.

He jumped back in his bed and wrapped himself in his blankets and checked his phone. He had a text from one of his teammates reminding him that practice was moved to four o’clock in the gym. He didn’t respond to the message. Instead, he lied in bed for another ten minutes before he got up to get ready for school. Carter Powers was half way through his senior year of high school.

He stalked to the bathroom for his shower and to brush his teeth. He returned to his bedroom and threw on a pair of sweat pants with a crew neck. The house was empty upstairs, and when he finally made his way to the kitchen he found his mother up making breakfast. This was unusual; she was never up before him.

“What’re you doing up?” He sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen. There was a fresh cup of coffee for him and a plate of waffles with sausage and eggs on the side.

“You only turn 18 once!” She poured herself a cup of coffee.

Carter wasn’t really big on his birthday. He didn’t tell anyone at school about his birthday, only a few close friends knew and he made them stay low key about it. He didn’t want his birthday to be a big spectacle in the school, he had enough things to worry about. He was the star of the basketball team and his mother was an attorney. Their family was quite well off, another thing that Carter did everything he could to keep from the student population.

He finished up his breakfast, giving thanks to his mom. She gave him a card that he thought was cheesy but it expressed explicitly how much she loved him and hated that he was growing up. It was 7:30. His first class was at 8 and he liked to get to school by 7:50 so he could have time to park his car and go to his locker. There was a thick fog that filled the air and the sun was doing its best to poke its rays through the thick gray wall. Carter was used to the fog; it intruded on his day every morning. He started his car and backed out into the fog carefully, there were no cars to be seen. He drove down his empty street, and slowed down when one of his neighbors was standing in his garage smoking. Carter had lived in his neighborhood his entire life and he didn’t know anything about his neighbors. He wasn’t sure if this was rude or not, but they didn’t attempt to get to know him either; besides, he and his family were very private. He knew their faces though, and they waved to one another whenever they passed.

He slowed to a stop, rolled down his window and called out to his neighbor.

“Good morning, sir,” Carter didn’t know why he pulled over in the first place, he couldn’t even see who he was talking to through the fog.

“Good morning, son,” The man’s voice was gruff. He definitely smoked a pack day.

Carter saw the cigarette butt go out. Now he really couldn’t see who he was talking to.

“Nice foggy day we’re having huh?” The man’s voice seemed closer, like he stepped out of his garage.

“Yeah, you get used to it though,” Carter could feel his hands gripping his steering wheel tighter.

“I’m still not used to this s**t,” His head ducked into the window and Carter wasn’t quick enough to stop the man from reaching in and grabbing the back of his head with one hand and forcing his mouth into the other hand that was holding a cloth.

 

Carter’s eyes snapped open, but he couldn’t see anything. The possibility that he may be blind crossed his mind, until out of the corner of his eye he saw a small light on the floor. The light was in another room and carried, faintly, into the room that he was in. He tried to move but his ankles and wrists were bound in metal, it wasn’t until he realized that he couldn’t moved that he realized he didn’t have clothes on; just the pair of boxers he had put on after his shower earlier that morning. Was it the same day though? How long had he been out?

“HELLO!” He called out, but received no response.

He was drenched in sweat, despite the cold air that filled the room. The ground was cold on his bare feet, it was cement. There were no windows where he was, just that single door to his right. He examined the room to no avail; nothing was visible to him.

He yelled out again, “HELLO! What the hell is going on?” Carter’s voice was hoarse. He felt dehydrated and lethargic. His limbs were starting grow sore as well from being pinned up. He wasn’t sure how long he had been chained up.

Maybe this was all a dream. He shook his head furiously in attempt to wake up from this nightmare. He had been having recurring nightmares the past couple of weeks, maybe it was one of those. He closed his eyes and hoped that when he opened them he would be back in his bed ready to wake up and start the day. His eyes opened and he was still engulfed in darkness, the light under the door was gone now. He was alone in the darkness. He ceased his crying out for any other inhabitants that might be near him.

I’ve got to do something, he thought to himself, but what could he do exactly? His ankles and wrists were bound, he was damn near naked and he was exhausted for standing up for however many hours. His mouth was dry from dehydration and his stomach was starting to rumble. When was the last time he ate? This morning? If it was the same day. The last thing he remembered was saying goodbye to his mother after she had made him breakfast for his birthday.

“Where the hell am I?” Carter called out, again.

Nothing.

Wait, no there was something. His right ear picked up a faint sound coming from the direction of the door. Someone was with him.

“GET ME THE HELL…” He coughed. Talking, let alone yelling, was getting to be a tough task. His mouth was dry and he desperately wanted something to quench his thirst.

The sounds that he heard earlier were starting to get louder. Someone was coming to him. He could hear the person stomping through the house. Was he even in a house? This had to be someone’s basement. Some sick f**k’s basement.

The door opened, but light didn’t flood the room. Instead a spotlight shone on Carter’s face, a flashlight. The light blinded him as he tried to see who was operating it. The person operating the light swiftly moved onto Carter, grabbing the back of his head with one hand and he slowly put the flashlight on the floor, the light facing the door; Carter couldn’t get a look at the person. It was a man for sure, his hands were too big and rough to be a woman’s. With his other hand the man slowly put a cup to Carter’s lips.

Carter involuntarily took a sip and immediately spit it out.

“What the f**k is that?” Carter could feel the blood in his body heating up. He wanted to pounce on this man for locking him up in this damp, cold, desolate basement.

“It’s just water, kid,” The man replied. “Drink it.”

That voice: it sounded familiar, but Carter wasn’t sure where he heard it before. Who was this man? How did Carter know this voice? Maybe he didn’t know it and the man just had one of those familiar voices.

“Who the f**k are you?” Carter spat at the man.

“Drink the f*****g water, kid,” The man’s voice was gruff, like he was a smoker.

Carter took the water apprehensively. He needed it. He gulped down the entire cup in seconds and he wanted to ask for more, but he didn’t want to give the man any type of satisfaction. The man picked up the flashlight and shined it Carter’s face again as he exited the room, slamming the door. The door was a heavy metal of some sort.

“Wait! NO!” Carter resisted against his chains. “COME BACK!”

The man didn’t come back.

“S**T!” Carter screamed.

Ok, Carter remember. What happened? What was the last thing you remember? He woke up that morning, assuming it was the same day, from a nightmare. His room was cold, he closed the window, he showered and he got a text from his friend.

“S**t, my phone!” He exclaimed.

He looked around the room frantically, forgetting he couldn’t see anything. Someone is going to find me. His phone had a feature that allowed certain people to track his location. He extended this feature to his best friend. Would he even know to look for him, though? Carter wasn’t sure how long he had been out of commission, but he didn’t make it to practice. Someone would be wondering where he was. Carter was responsible. He never missed a day of high school. Carter was reliable. He never missed a day of practice. Carter was popular. He was the star of the basketball team. They had a big game coming up on Friday. When he woke up the morning of his birthday it was Monday. Someone had to be looking for him. Someone had to find him.

How long has he been here? He had to make it to the game on Friday. He closed his eyes and envisioned the scene. He trailed his team in the student made tunnel into the court, where the crowd was losing their minds. This was the most important game of his high school career. If they beat this team they would be heading to the championships for the fourth year in a row. Since he started high school his team earned consecutive state championship titles and they were going for the fourth. The school didn’t have a championship title until Carter arrived at the school. After he started, other teams began to win as well. The school was earning a name for itself and it was all because of Carter. Now he was going to miss the game because of this s**t.

“HEY!” Carter called out. He could hear the anger in his voice. He needed to get out of there.

That’s when it hit him. He wasn’t afraid. Being chained up in this sick f**k’s basement didn’t evoke any amount of fear from him. Carter wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. He thought he might be able to use it to his advantage. If he didn’t show any fear, then the man may think he got the wrong guy. That’s when Carter thought, why me? Why did this sick f**k decide to nab me? Why did I stop and talk to this guy?

Carter looked up when he heard movement outside of the door. The man was coming back. He opened the door and light flooded into the room. Carter squinted trying to focus in on the man. After Carter’s eyes adjusted he could get a good look at the man who was standing before him, unmoving. The man stood in front of him like a statue, the only thing moving was his eyes. He was looking Carter up and down from behind a black ski mask.

The man was tall and he was on the muscular side. His arms were huge, and thick like the body of a boa constrictor. He was wearing a tight muscle shirt to show them off. He was in basketball shorts and didn’t seem to mind the cold. His legs were a bit thinner than his arms, but he definitely hit the gym on a regular basis.

“Who the f**k are you?” Carter asked with rage in his voice. He’d never been more pissed off in his life. Not even when his best friend totaled his first car.

The man didn’t answer. He continued to stare at Carter and cocked his head to the side like a confused child.

“You little b***h,” Carter said boldly. “You couldn’t take me in a fair fight.”

Carter wasn’t small. He was built and toned himself. 15 years of basketball did him well. He could bench 175 and squat 260. He’d been in a few fights before and he hadn’t lost one. All the guys were bigger than him and he used their weight against them.

The man stepped forward and sent a strong, forceful punch into Carter’s abdomen. Instinctively Carter doubled over, but the chains held him in place. The man sent another blow to Carter’s chest making him gasp for air as he got the wind knocked out of him. Carter’s breathing grew heavy and rapid, but he still wasn’t scared. He looked this man dead in his eyes as the blows continued. The man stopped after ten and Carter kept his gaze. He started to see stars but he didn’t dare look away. He couldn’t show a sliver of fear to this man.

“That all you got, b***h?” Carter spit some blood up at the man. It landed on his white muscle shirt and Carter relished in the fact that this seemed to upset him.

Carter didn’t expect this, but the man sent a final blow at Carter’s jaw and everything went black.

 

Carter’s eyes snapped open again and he struggled to catch his breath. He looked around and saw complete darkness. he remembered that he was chained up in some muscle man’s basement. He had hoped it was all just a dream, a very bad nightmare, but it wasn’t. His body ached from the blows he took earlier and his jaw was throbbing too. Carter spit something up on the floor and he could taste the tinge of his blood. The metallic taste filled his mouth and he began to vomit. There wasn’t much though, because he hadn’t eaten since that morning. Was it Monday still?

The smell of the vomit started to fill the room, Carter did everything he could to ignore the aroma or it might make him throw up again. His wrists and ankles were starting to grow numb and his neck was beginning to cramp up. Carter wasn’t sure how much he could hold this up.

“HEY B***H,” He knew this was a way to get the man’s attention.

Movement was heard in the house and Carter prepared himself for the oncoming assault.

The door opened and Carter left his eyes wide open, immediately eyeing the man when he walked through. Carter needed to get to know his captor. He had to make a sort of connection with this sick f**k in order to even think about escaping. The man rushed into the room and was instantly on Carter. His breath stank of fish and Carter could see sweat forming under his eyes.

“What do you want, kid?” The man backed off, realizing that his intimidation attempt was failing. Carter was going to remain strong until the end.

“What day is it?” Carter was thinking of the basketball game on Friday.

“It’s Monday.”

Good I still have time.

“Where am I?”

“Doesn’t matter,” The man stepped towards Carter so they were face to face again. His foul breath made Carter want to vomit profusely.

“What the f**k have you been eating?”

This was answered with a blow to the rib cage.

“I was just going to ask for some,” Carter spit up a trickle of blood in the man’s face.

“You’re not getting any food until later tonight.”

“Well what time is it?” Carter was trying to calm himself. His blood was boiling and he could feel himself starting to perspire. He needed to get out of there.

“The sun is still up.” He started walking towards the door. “I’ll be back sometime tonight to feed you something.” He slammed the door encasing Carter in darkness yet again.

“D****t,” Carter felt defeated. He didn’t know what to do. The idea of him dying here crossed his mind and he could not let that happen. He had to get home to his family. His perfect attendance was ruined. The team wasn’t going to make it to the championships. He wasn’t going to graduate. He wasn’t going to be able to go to college and try the long distance relationship with his girlfriend.

S**t.

In light of things he had forgotten about his girlfriend. They had been dating since their freshman year. She planned on going to Brown and he Harvard. He knew they would be able to make it work. If they could survive a basketball season they could survive a few months apart for the betterment of their education.

She hated him during his seasons. He never had time for her. Carter was always focused on the game. Since his freshman year they had an undefeated season and he had to focus on that. Before games they would relax with one another and she would help him envision his wins. She was his number one fan. She was at every game. She painted his number on her stomach and her back, underneath her black sports bra. She pushed him to his max. She was his reason for winning. He never wanted to disappoint her. Carter knew she thought he was playing for the school and the trophy, but he played every game for her. He left everything he had on the court for her.

She’s got to be wondering where I am.

Despite his mind telling him it wasn’t safe for him to fall asleep, Carter closed his eyes and fell asleep with the thought of his girlfriend on his mind.

Carter woke up in a daze. He woke up because he heard some sounds in front of him. The man had come into the room. The door was closed and there was a single light bulb illuminating the room. He was still wearing his black ski mask and white muscle shirt. The man was holding something in his hands. It was Carter’s phone. Carter didn’t keep his phone locked with a password. He had nothing to hide and he always kept it close by.

“Where were you today?” The man read in a voice that failed to mock a teenager’s.

“Why weren’t you in first period?”

“Practice was s**t without you, man!”

“Hey, are you ok? That one was from mom.” He looked at Carter with a sick smile.

“Hey Casper, I haven’t heard anything from you all day. Call me.”

“Enough!” Carter snapped. The last message the man read was from his girlfriend. Their favorite movie to watch together was Casper. She called him that, and he called her Wendy, from Peter Pan. For as long as he could remember they never referred to one another by their real names. He sometimes forgot her name.

“That one’s my favorite,” Carter could faintly see a sick smile forming under the ski mask. “It’s time to eat.”

The man reached over on a small metal table that Carter hadn’t noticed until now. On the table was a plate with what looked like mashed potatoes that had a large amount of gravy atop. Next to the mashed potatoes was a small piece of fried fish. A cup of what Carter assumed was water sat plainly next to the small plate of food. That wasn’t enough, Carter was starving and he was weak. He needed to gain his strength if he was going to escape and make it to the game in time.

“What time is it?” Carter asked again.

“Why are you so concerned with the f*****g time?” The man asked.

“I have a game on Friday.” Carter rolled his eyes. The man caught that and smacked Carter across the face. Carter involuntarily spit up blood as his head jerked from the smack.

“You’re not going to make it to the game, kid.” The man spoke clearly. He pronounced every syllable, “You are going to die here.”

A chill went down Carter’s spine. He didn’t show it in his face though. His face remained stone. The man picked up the plate and started to spoon the mashed potatoes into Carter’s mouth. Carter graciously ate the food and savored every bite that he could because he didn’t know the next time he would eat. The fish was dry and a bit overcooked making Carter wish he had some hot sauce.

Carter finished his food and the man left him again. He left the light bulb on. The chains that were holding Carter weren’t too thick. The room was empty besides the small metal table and Carter himself. The metal door was heavy looking and Carter was shocked that the man could hear him screaming out through the thickness of the door. Maybe he heard him through the ceiling?

“Oh s**t!” Carter whispered to himself excitedly

He just realized that his phone wasn’t off. Since his phone wasn’t off he could be tracked by his friends that he allowed to view his location constantly. If it was off they would get his last location when the phone was on. Hopefully someone would realize that something was wrong and they would go looking for him. He knew his mom would be worried. He sent her a text every day after practice to let her know how it went because she wouldn’t be home until dinner and she worried about him constantly. Someone was looking for him.

Carter closed his eyes and reluctantly fell asleep again. Someone was looking for him. Someone was going to find him. These thoughts coursed through his mind while he slept through the night.

“Wake up!” Carter was startled awake by the feeling of cold water shooting him in the chest. The man ran a hose into the basement and fired the pressurized water at Carter.

Carter began to cough violently trying to catch his breath.

“What the f**k is wrong with you?” Carter spit out water at the man.

“Rise and shine, sunshine,” The man cut the water off. “I got breakfast for you.”

There was a small plate of eggs, that looked dry and overcooked. Carter spit towards the eggs and was delivered a punch to the gut.

“You still hit like a b***h.”

Next to the plate Carter noticed a small black rod. The man picked it up and toyed with it in his hands. He walked slowly, menacingly towards Carter. Upon closer inspection the rod had a small silver tip and a blue switch in the middle of the rod. The man placed the rod dead center of Carter’s chest and flipped the switch. Volts of electricity coursed through Carter’s body as he yelled out in pain. The shock ceased and Carter found it difficult to keep his head up, it kept drooping from side to side. His mouth lost all substance of saliva; he couldn’t spit at the man.

He went to go feed Carter, but was interrupted by a sound upstairs. Carter could see a look of surprise in his eyes. He sat the plate back down on the metal table, slowly and removed his mask enough to show his crusty lips.  He walked up to Carter and his breath had a different smell: cigarettes and onions.

“Keep quiet or I’ll shock the life out of you,” He clapped Carter on mouth to keep him queiet.

The man retired from the room slamming the heavy metal door leaving Carter soaking with cotton mouth. He twitched occasionally, reacting from the voltage that he received. Carter coughed violently.

Then it crossed his mind; someone was upstairs. Someone his captor didn’t expect to show up. He had to get their attention somehow. Would they be able to hear him through the floor? Would they be able to save him?

Carter gathered all the strength that he could.

“HELP!” He yelled out. “HELP! I’M IN THE BASEMENT!”

Carter could hear some movement upstairs. It was more than footsteps, there was a struggle happening above him. What was happening?

Suddenly it was silent.

Carter could hear footsteps now. They sounded heavier than usual. Moments later the door flew open and the man had someone slung over his shoulder. Carter couldn’t make out who it was. The man walked up to Carter and punched him in the stomach.

“Who the f**k is this?” The man threw the body on the cement floor. He kicked the body in the stomach and it doubled over.

“Hey, stop!” Carter called out resisting against his bindings in attempt to help his attempt of a hero that lie in an unconscious heap on the floor. The man looked up at Carter and kicked the body once more.

“Who the f**k is this?” He repeated himself. Carter could see rage in his eyes, they were like little fire balls. Carter also noticed blood on his white muscle shirt. Whose blood was that? The man picked the body up and put it in Carter’s face. “I’m going to ask you one more time, kid. Who the f**k is this?” His tone was growing impatient.

Carter looked at the face of the limp body and his face lit up. he quickly caught and went back to his steel face in hopes that the man didn’t see his excitement. It was his best friend; Jayden. They were on the basketball team together and co-rock stars of the school. The two grew up together. This was the only person Carter shared his location with, constantly. They were damn near inseparable.

“I don’t know him,” Carter lied.

The man dropped Jayden’s body on the floor and it hit hard.

“Liar!” The man yelled and rocked Carter’s jaw, knocking him out.

Carter woke up and looked around the room. His friend was chained up to the wall next to him. He was stripped down to his boxers as well. Jayden was still unconscious but he was moaning and that’s the only way Carter knew he was alive.

“Wake up!” Carter whispered to his friend excitedly. He didn’t want to shout and alert the man upstairs. Jayden didn’t budge. “Wake up!” Carter raised his voice a bit. Jayden started to rouse himself awake.

“Wha…What’s going on?” Jayden was in a daze. When he realized he was chained up he started to panic. “What the hell? Get me out of here!” He was resisting against his bindings and the chains were rattling loudly.

“Cut it out!” Carter ordered.

“Carter?” Jayden looked over at his friend hazily. “What he hell is going on, man?” Jayden didn’t sound too worried. He was tough as nails, just like Carter. He just wanted to know what was happening.

“You know I’m not really sure. I don’t remember much after I had breakfast with my mom on Monday. All I know is I woke up in some sick f**k’s basement.”

“Yeah, you weren’t in school Monday or Tuesday and no one has heard anything from you. I skipped school today and tracked your phone here.”

“Well where are we?”

“I don’t know man. Somewhere out in the country. It took me a good hour to get out here.” Your car’s out front with the tires popped.”

“S**t. Did you get a look at him?”

“Yeah that f****r’s ugly. I asked him if I could use his phone because my car broke down then I heard you screaming somewhere from the house and I tried to make a break for it but he caught me.”

“We’ve got to figure out how to get…” Carter stopped. He heard movement. The man was coming. “He’s coming.” Carter and Jayden closed their eyes and drooped their heads pretending to be knocked out still.

The man burst through the door and turned on the hose. He sprayed both of them startling them awake. The boys yelled in protest but the man didn’t stop. When he finally did, he immediately went for the rod with the silver tip. He shocked Carter first and Jayden stared him in his eyes fearlessly when the man moved on to him. Jayden yelled out in pure pain when the volts coursed through his body. The man threw the rod on the table and began assaulting Jayden with powerful blows to the abdomen.

“My girlfriend his harder than you,” Jayden spit in the man’s face.

The man removed his ski mask and took off his blood stained white muscle shirt. His face was covered in scars along with his body. He was a sight to see. Carter thought he might’ve gotten whipped in the face he when was younger. The scars were deep and settled on his face.

“You two are going to die here.” He stressed every syllable.

“And you still hit like a b***h,” Carter reminded the man.

He shocked Carter again. Carter twitched violently. The man left the room in an uproar. He was pissed. He couldn’t believe these two boys were getting the best of him. They weren’t what he expected. Maybe he expected them to be afraid? Carter was far from it. He wasn’t going to let this man get the best of him. Carter knew Jayden felt the same way. They were going to survive this. They were going to make it out alive.

“What’s the plan?” Jayden asked faintly.

“You think you can take him?” Carter said through his twitches.

“Hell yeah. That b***h sucker punched me.” Carter could feel Jayden rolling his eyes.

“Now, we just have to figure out how to get out of here.”

Jayden started rattling his chains.

“My chains aren’t that tight. I think I can squeeze through.”

Carter watched as Jayden struggled against his chains. He silently yelled as his right wrist slipped out of it’s binding. He started working on his left one. Jayden slipped out of this one and his body lounged forward, he barely stopped himself from smacking his face on the cement floor. He urged his body forward towards the table.

“What’re you doing?” Carter whispered.

“I’m going for the Taser thing.” Jayden grabbed a hold of the table’s leg and flipped it on its side. The Taser skirted across the floor landing in front of Jayden’s feet. He pulled himself back and grabbed the Taser.

“Now what’re you going to do?” Carter asked.

“The shock from this should be enough to shatter the chain.” Jayden whispered back in confidence. “I just have to take the pain.” Jayden placed the silver tip on the the shackle that chained his right ankle. He flipped the switch and Carter watched Jayden’s face contour in pain, but he held his screams in. he rested a moment catching his breath after the shackle cracked open freeing his right leg. He moved onto his left and repeated this. He fell to the ground, hard, gasping for air and coughing as quietly as he could.

“Your turn,” Jayden managed to bring himself together and get off the floor. He stood in front of Carter and zapped his ankles first so he wouldn’t face plant onto the ground. He gave Carter a short moment to catch his breath then moved onto his wrists. Freed, Carter lurched forward into his friend’s arms. He was weak. He was free. They were free.

Not quite. The door was locked.

“HEY B***H!” Carter called out. “I’ll go high, you go low.” Carter shut out the light bulb and they positioned themselves to assault the man. The man sounded as if he were crashing through the house, he was so loud. The noise was growing closer. He burst through the door and the boys blind sided him. Jayden shocked him in his privates and Carter lobbed a punch to his jaw.

The man fell to his knees gripping his privates. Jayden sent a swift kick into his jaw and sent some more volts down his back. The man dropped on the ground with a loud thud, unconscious.

“Little b***h,” Carter and Jayden said together. Jayden kicked him again in the side.

They slammed the door on him and made their way upstairs. They searched the house and found their belongings in the the kitchen. They rummaged through the fridge and found some lunch meat, that they devoured in seconds. Carter poured juice for the two of them and they scarfed down a few pieces of bread.

“You think your car’s cool?” Carter finished his last piece of bread.

“Hopefully his b***h a*s didn’t have time to pop my tires. I’ll go check.” Jayden found a towel upstairs and they dried themselves off. He put his clothes on and went out to his car.

Carter heard noises coming from the basement. The man must’ve waken up.  Carter quickly put on his clothes and grabbed his car keys and phone. He began walking to the door and was caught off guard when the man was standing before him. He was pissed.

“S**t.” Carter cursed.

“And where the hell do you think you’re going?” The man balled his fists.

“I have a game on Friday, man,” Jayden said with exasperation. The man was standing directly in front of the door. He was steaming like a cartoon character again.

“I told you, you are not going to make it to the game. I told you, you are going to die here.” He sounded like a dad.

Carter’s eyes damn near jumped out of his eyes. The man didn’t notice the car that was going, probably, 60 miles an hour straight towards him. Carter jumped out of the way as an SUV crashed through the front door toppling the man. Jayden walked through the gaping hole in the wall and helped Carter up. “Let’s get out of here, man,” He had a faint smile of victory.

Carter and Jayden got settled in back at school. People asked where they were, but they didn’t want anyone to know really. They told their parents and teachers, of course, but that was it. The teachers excused all the work but didn’t advise them to be at school. “We’re fine,” They would say in protest. “We have to win this game on Friday.” The police extracted the body and let the family know that he was dead. Carter got satisfaction from this news. He told everyone at school that he was on a long weekend with his family. Jayden just didn’t tell anyone anything. They even kept this news from their girlfriends. They didn’t want anyone to worry about them. They had to stay focused on the game. The game was in less than 24 hours.

Later that night Carter was eating dinner with his family. They didn’t talk about anything from earlier that week, upon Carter’s request. It wasn’t a big deal, he made it out alive and he could only worry about the big game coming up. His dad gave him pep talks and they both promised to take off work early to make it to the game. Since his freshman year they hadn’t missed a game, not even the away games. Behind his girlfriend, they were his biggest fans.

During dinner, Carter got a phone call from Jayden.

“Dude, are you watching the news right now?” Jayden sounded like he just ran a mile at full sprint.

“No!” Carter got up from the table and made his way to the living room, his parents following him. “What’s going on?”

“Just turn CNN on.”

The news showed the house they were trapped in behind one of the news reporters. The house was covered in yellow crime scene tape. Carter’s car was gone because it had been towed the day after they escaped. Carter took the phone off his ear to focus on what the new reporter was saying.

“Earlier this week a man, known by the name of Harvey Kuzy, kidnapped two teenage boys, who’s names shall not be disclosed. From what I understand he kidnapped the first early Monday morning and on Tuesday a friend teen came to the rescues, but he was thwarted by Kuzy. Thankfully, the two boys managed to out-whit the man and escaped. Kuzy was pronounced dead on Tuesday after a SUV rammed through his front door.”

Carter stopped listening and put his phone back to his ear. “Kuzy? As in Harry Kuzy?”

“I think so,” Jayden didn’t sound enthused.

Harry Kuzy was the star of Carter and Jayden’s rival team. They were all in their senior year and and every year Carter and Jayden embarrassed Henry on the court. He and his team put up a good fight but could never best Carter’s team. After the games, Henry couldn’t bare to look at Carter. He was too embarrassed his dad must’ve felt for the kid. Harvey knew that if Carter wasn’t at the game that Henry would have an actual chance to win, to go to the championship, to win the title. Now Harvey was dead and Henry was going to be embarrassed for a final time. This was the grand finale for Henry.

“Hey, Jay.”

“Yes, sir?”

“We have to kill it tomorrow.”

“No doubt.”