Chompy (ONC 2021)

~11~

"Can I use the bathroom again?"

"Luca, this is the third time, already! We'll have to hurry up and leave if we want to make it on time," Toothy tapped his foot.

Finally, my brother emerged, clutching his chest as if his heart was about to beat out of it. I'd attended some of his games as a kid, but I hadn't seen him play recently. The Monstruo City varsity jersey he wore looked like it was made for him.  It suited him perfectly.

"Let's get this show on the road. Alright everybody. Hold hands. And absolutely no wriggling this time!" Toothy commanded.

All of us held onto each other. There it was again, the faint aroma of those flowers. At Mt. Helleron, I thought that overwhelmingly sweet smell had been coming from the mountain foliage, but it had actually been the scent of monsters glooping into the area. For the smell to have been that strong, there must have been at least a dozen monsters stationed at Mt. Helleron that day.

Now that I'd glooped a few times, I actually enjoyed the process. After the flowery smell dissipated, there was that weightless feeling followed by the pricking sensation along my limbs. And by giving into the forces of gravity and glooping, we were all able to land safely without too much motion sickness. Luca only gagged for a few seconds before regaining his balance.

"Alright, you three. Stay low and out of sight. And don't wander off because once I give the signal, we'll need to leave immediately," Toothy instructed Chompy, Roary, and me.

The three of us nodded and hid behind the stadium bleachers. There was a decent-sized hole where some of the stands were joined together, so we could watch what was happening on the field.

"And here he is folks! The next-in-line of the Nightcrawler family. Give it up for Toothy!" the sports announcer hyped up the crowd.

The monsters cheering went ballistic as the oldest Nightcrawler sibling ran a lap around the soccer field waving at the crowd.

"Toothy is currently leading the investigation to find the traitor in Monstruo City, but he's still making time to play with the varsity league. His team–the Roaring Thunders– are up against another hard-to-beat team–the Spike Outs. Will the Roaring Thunders dribble their way to another victory this week?"

Toothy took his position in the center of the field and waited for the referee to blow the starting whistle. Immediately, his foot was on the ball, and he was plowing down the field.

"Nightcrawler! I'm open!" one of Toothy's teammates waved at him.

Toothy maneuvered skillfully around an opponent before passing the soccer ball. The crowd cheered as the Roaring Thunders inched their way to their first goal of the match. But the Spike Outs had a solid defense system. Getting past them was like trying to break through a wall of cement.

"NIGHTCRAWLER! NIGHTCRAWLER! NIGHTCRAWLER!" the fans cheered for Chompy's brother in the stands.

Toothy flashed a smile and winked at the camera man. He sure knew his angles. I glanced at my brother who was precariously positioned nearby. The game went on like this for a while until the crowd collectively gasped in surprise. Chompy, Roary, and I watched through our peephole and grimaced at the teammate howling in pain on the field. He wore a Roaring Thunders jersey, and I recognized him as the teammate Toothy had passed the ball to in the first few minutes of the match.

His ankle seemed to be bent in the wrong direction, and Roary and I immediately looked away from the gruesome injury.

"With Thornbrow from the Roaring Thunders down, we're going to be calling for the team's substitute player. Can the Roaring Thunders make a comeback?" the announcer asked enthusiastically.