CHAPTER 1 Stewart Mac McKenzie eighth grade sports reporter wakes up worried Not a lot but a little He’s slightly concerned because of what happened at the game last night or anyway what might have happened Late in the game after the Predators got called for a holding penalty after the Predators huddled up again and after Ryan took another snap and handed it to running back Carter Sanchez a player for East River tackled Ryan to the ground Mac isn’t sure whether it was a dirty play Ryan had just attempted a deep pass so maybe the East River player thought Ryan had the ball and was going to throw again If that’s what happened then the tackle made sense Or maybe the East River player was
frustrated about losing the game and took his frustration out on a defenseless quarterback If that’s what happened then it was a total cheap shot But that’s not what makes Mac a little worried At this point it doesn’t really matter why the East River player tackled Ryan All that matters is that he did tackle him hard It was a truly crushing blow Which also isn’t what worries Mac Crushing blows are just a part of football after all What worries Mac not much but a little is that he thinks he saw Ryan’s neck snap back and his head smash against the field Mac was sitting on the sidelines when it happened He had to convince his parents that sitting on the sidelines was necessary for his work they worried that he and his wheelchair were too close to the action But
he liked to watch the game from there because he could feel its violence and intensity As a reporter he liked to have a sense of what it was like to actually be on the field or court when playing a sport Sometimes though that meant he didn’t have the best view of the game Especially in football Big bodies often stood in the way of the action Last night’s rain didn’t help either But despite having his view blocked and despite all the rain and the mud Mac’s fairly sure he saw Ryan’s head slam into the turf A couple of linemen quickly turned and noticed Ryan on the ground and helped him to his feet That’s when Mac saw something else that slightly worried him Ryan took one wobbly step and then fell to the ground again Granted it was muddy and very slippery
That’s why Mac isn’t too concerned The problem is that it didn’t look to Mac like Ryan slipped it looked like he collapsed The linemen helped Ryan to his feet again as the game clock ticked to zero All the Predator players standing on the sideline rushed onto the field to celebrate the victory Mac backed up to the track and waited A few minutes later as the players and coaches left the field Mac was able to find Ryan Mitchell Can I ask you a few questions Ryan Ryan stepped to his left and leaned against the fence separating the track from the bleachers A few of his Predator teammates punched his shoulder pads as they hustled to the locker room
