Iron Heart (The Gauntlet #2)

Chapter 6 - Fusion

Codi timed her jump to perfection and wrested the ball from Gareth's grasp, spinning to find a team mate. She let fly in almost the same motion, finding a pass to Ripple just as two strong arms snapped around her legs in a tackle. Hitting the ground with a grunt, she rolled clear and scrambled back to her feet, following the ball down towards the other team's goal.

The players split off into pairs, the team in possession trying to find open space and make their way to the goal. Accordingly, Codi twisted away from Gareth and started running a diagonal course across the centre of the pitch. Ripple streamed down the left flank and hurled a bullet-like pass cross court to find a boy on their team. As he caught it, however, Gareth came in like a freight train and speared him, knocking the ball free. A player on the other team scooped it up and set off.

Now it was Codi's turn. She watched and waited for her opportunity. Gareth had left her unmarked to make his hit – a tactical risk that the torpedo player would often take. So she ignored him in turn and watched the eyes of the ball carrier. He glanced left and right before slinging a looping pass over the middle of the court. A girl on the team leapt high to snag the ball and when she landed, Codi was there to meet her.

She delivered the hit with mechanical precision, planting a shoulder into the other player's gut and snapping her arms tight around her opponent's legs. With a grunt of exertion Codi drove the girl hard into the floor, but she managed to cling on to the ball through the impact.

"Deadlock!" the referee shouted.

Immediately Codi let go and rolled away, scrambling to her feet. The other girl did the same and the court started seething with motion as the respective players tried to elude their markers. Codi waited, standing a few yards away, not allowed to pick up another player until the pass had been thrown.

Eventually the girl let fly, but before the ball reached its target a nimble figure leapt high and snagged it. Codi blinked in surprise as Leela set off like a rocket, tearing down the left flank of the court towards the goal. Gareth went to tackle her, but she made a sudden jink and spin, completely wrong-footing him. Chasing down the middle, Codi dashed into the semi-circular scoring area and raised a hand.

"Open!" she shouted. Leela didn't hear, or didn't care. She tossed the ball up into the air and clubbed it toward the goal with a clenched fist. It was a good strike, but the boy playing anchor for the other team was ready. He managed to deflect the ball with his fingertips, causing it to ricochet off the post and bounce into the waiting arms of another defender.

Codi bit back a frustrated curse and started backpedaling, eyes darting left and right as she tried to follow the explosion of movement. She realised that Chris hadn't been kidding. The Battlecast teams played the game with a professional fervour that was amazing to see. The onlookers whooped or groaned depending on which side they were backing. She was gratified to find that the split was roughly equal.

The ball was now racing towards her goal and she struggled to find a worthwhile target. The contact rules were fairly fluid, often left open to the discretion of the referee as to what was legal and what was not. If she mis-timed a challenge they could penalise her heavily for what was simply termed a 'spite-foul.'

Gareth's team moved seamlessly, zipping passes left and right and she saw the other team's gunner slip away from Leela and break into the open. The boy was built like an iron coil, thin but hard, and he sprinted hard towards their team's box. Codi spun and ran a course to meet him, but it was too late. A meticulous pass threaded through between the defenders and found the gunner, who immediately spun and thwacked the ball on target, an instant before Codi crashed into him.