Score: 78–80. Blazing Fox leads.
2:14 remaining, 3rd Quarter
The basketball clanged off the backboard like a gunshot, ricocheting into the upper stands.
Gasps turned to shouts.
Fans leapt to their feet. Phones lit up like fireflies. The roar of the crowd became a tidal wave of noise, drowning out everything else.
Through the chaos, Malik "Titan" Reed dropped back down to the floor, the echo of his landing shaking the hardwood like thunder. His massive chest heaved, sweat glistening down his arms, but his eyes
his eyes were locked onto Brandon
A beast recognizing its challenge.
A hunter recognizing prey.
"NOT TODAY!" Malik roared, his voice cutting through the noise like a blade of raw willpower.
"Not in my house!"
Brandon stumbled back a step, the air caught in his lungs.
(How… how did he get up that fast…? He blocked it clean. No foul?)
His fingers trembled slightly. The ball had left his hand too slow. Too soft.
(No. I was too soft.)
