Then again, Daniel saw something strange. Light slowly formed a hole in his eyes as he woke to the world around him. In an instant, the world was revealed. Except everyone looked strange. There was a female with pointy ears clenching a dagger between her teeth and holding two more, one in each hand. An older person, also with pointy ears, stood over him with a look of concern. He held a sword. Daniel blinked and blinked again. The older one bent over and spoke something to him in a strange language. Amazingly, Daniel understood it.
“We are waiting,” he said. And that was it. The vision faded, like the others, and Daniel found himself looking into the faces of the referee and his coach. Except the referee was holding a whistle in his mouth, and a red card and booklet in his hands. His coach wasn’t holding a sword, but was holding a clipboard. Daniel sat up and rubbed his eyes.
“Easy there, son.” The coach laid him back down.
“I’m okay. I really am.” Daniel hopped up. “What happened?”
The referee spoke. “As the ball hit your head, Rick Heinwurst tackled you in the back and landed on top of you. I gave him a red card for the foul and now you have a penalty kick to take.”
Daniel grinned. “What are we waiting for, then?”
As Daniel walked to the penalty area, the crowd applauded. Daniel saw Rachel in the stands, looking concerned. He gave her a wave to show he was okay, and she grinned and waved back
From then on, it was all business. Daniel set the ball on the marker and readied himself for the biggest kick of the season. He stole a quick glance at the goalie, who had taken a few steps to his right, thinking Daniel would kick it there. Daniel grinned. The whistle blew and he ran forward. Immediately he realized that the goalie had crossed him up, diving left. Daniel forgot the soft kick he was planning and kicked as hard as he could. The ball flew towards the top corner — and bounced off the hands of the goalie and back into play.
The Raptors celebrated, thinking that a tie was as good as a win and certainly better than a loss. But what they had forgotten was that time was still left on the clock. Daniel flew towards the bouncing ball, now traveling down the line, and brought it under his control. He sized up his angles and saw Marks waving for a pass. He made up his mind quickly and passed, praying for the pass and successive shot to strike true. The ball gave a little hook, and Marks headed it past the goalie’s desperate lunge. Goal! The whole Nighthawks team mobbed Daniel and Marks, yelling at the top of their lungs. The crowd stood and applauded. As they trotted off the field, they slapped five with their coach and friends, and went to find their rides home.