When the game resumed Jason started going nuts on the sidelines. He screamed something at Kurt who now had an odd wobble to the way he was running. I could tell, though, that Kurt was giving it all he had. He seemed to be moving in slow motion, but he wasn’t giving up. I didn’t like the look on his face, but I didn’t know what to do.
Fairview had the ball, yet again, and were only meters from our goal. Kurt tried to slip between two opposing players like a quarter being dropped into a pay phone. He ducked low, got control of the ball and suddenly got his energy back. He raced down the field and made a pass to Wicket. As soon as Wicket was swarming with Fairview defensemen, he returned the ball to Kurt.
I don’t think his feet even touched the ground, and he had perfect control of the ball. A fullback and a goalie were all that were in the way. I’d seen Kurt operate with two men on him before. He could turn into a snake and get around guys like there was nothing to it.
I held my breath as he set himself up to make his shot. The ball was off. I tried to follow the ball, but then I heard an awful thud. I turned to see Kurt falling to the ground.
The Fairview fullback had tried to block Kurt’s shot. He missed the ball, and his foot came up hard and caught Kurt below the ribs. I grabbed my own sides and felt sympathy pain as Kurt fell to the ground.
The heavy fullback went down right on top of him. I heard this terrifying scream come out of Kurt. Kurt was not usually a screamer. I’d never heard him utter the slightest whimper of pain, ever. He was as tough as they come.
A whistle blew. The ball had missed the net. Nobody knew what I knew. I was over the rickety fence and running onto the field. The referee pulled the Fairview goon off of Kurt, but Kurt was still curled over on the grass.
Coach Kenner yelled at me to get off the field. He and Jason both came chasing after me. They thought I’d lost my mind. A kid falls down in a soccer game, big deal. But I knew better.
The ref had his hand on Kurt’s shoulder, and the other players had moved back. Kurt was gulping for air and let out a terrible moan like he was trying to cry but couldn’t. I put my face close to his and saw that his skin was clammy and pale. I tried to hear what he was saying and could finally make out the words, “Help me.”
Coach Kenner pulled me away and was still acting like it was no big deal. Jason, that is to say, the nasty version of Jason, started ranting and raving, “Look at this guy. He takes a fall, gets the wind knocked out of him and acts like he’s dying. What a joke.”
Maybe Jason thought he could shame his teammate into getting up and back into the game. I gave him a look that would have made any intelligent creature run for cover.
“Call an ambulance,” I said, my voice shaking.
The other players all looked at me like I was crazy. Jason played it for all it was worth. “What is this? Kurt has to have a girl come to the rescue every time he falls down? Is this the sort of weakling we want on our team?”
“Call an ambulance,” I said louder this time.
No one paid attention. The ref, however, bent over Kurt, pushing me out of his way. He looked up at Kenner. “She’s right. Call an ambulance.”