Campbell didn’t know how to react to all of this. It was just all too ridiculous for him. Maybe if I just don’t go out there I will eventually wake up and everything will go back to normal.

Following that thought, he sat back down and waited for something, anything, to happen.

Minutes ticked by as nothing happened. The robotic voice didn’t urge him to get going. And no one came in to get him. He was allowed to just sit there and do nothing.

More time passed, and as once again, nobody interrupted him, he decided to lie down and go to sleep. Hopefully this’ll wake me up.

An unknown amount of time passed as he drifted off to sleep. For a moment, he felt like he was back in his cell, and everything felt better. The dingy lighting and bare concrete walls were oddly comforting now.

He had grown used to this place, and being anywhere else just felt weird. This was his home now and for the foreseeable future, and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to leave it for a long time, not after what he had done.

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

But unfortunately, his dream was shattered by that robotic voice, and he found himself back in the locker room. He woke up and stretched to get rid of the pain from lying down on the wooden bench.

How long has it been? Are they finally running out of patience?

“I can wait for a very long time, but you can’t. You’re weak body still requires food and water, and I won’t be giving you anything so long as you stay in here. Your body will start to consume itself from the inside out.

You’re only way to get out of here alive is to play that game of basketball and push your brother into the spotlight.”

His stomach rumbled as the voice shattered this illusion. How long has it been since I’ve eaten? The voice was right, he didn’t have the time to play these games.

He didn’t know how true the voice’s words were, or what would happen to him after the match was over. But he did know that it was still the only option.

A mix of emotions welled up in him as he pushed himself out of the locker room. Stepping outside, he was immediately hit by a wave of cheers, as the loud voices of the audience cheered on their favourite teams.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

He looked around at the crowd, and couldn’t help but lap up the attention that the crowd put on him. It was nostalgic. This feeling was what he had been missing in his life for the past few years.

He used to live for this feeling. It was one of the things that kept pushing him to improve and that kept him going. Hearing the crowd calling out his name when he led his team to victory was one of the greatest feelings in the world.

But all of that went away when he got injured. He was pitied for a while, and he got a lot of messages online from his fans and strangers wishing him a swift and safe recovery. But after a while, they all just disappeared.

He had been forgotten.

He wanted to sit here in this moment forever, but he knew that he had other things to do.

He turned his attention to the court, where he saw both teams waiting patiently for him. This really is all for me, isn’t it?

He liked the feeling, but his mood was soured when he saw his brother also standing there on the court.

There were only four people standing there for his team, meaning that he was also on the starting lineup.

He slotted right into his place as the power forward, and locked eyes with his brother who was standing opposite him.

His brother was quicker than him, and as much as he hated to say it, a lot more well-rounded as a player than he was. Dylan fit the position of a small forward very well.

Campbell felt the urge to compete with his brother to prove that he was better, but pushed that feeling down, knowing that it wasn’t of any use to him here.

The referee walked out onto the court with the ball in hand, forcing Campbell to look away from his brother. His eyes followed the referee to the two centres, where he quietly observed both players and prepared himself for the match to start.

Both centres were significantly taller than him, just short of seven foot tall from his estimates. His teammate was a tad bit taller, and had longer arms. Hopefully, the jump ball would play in their favour.

A hush fell over the crowd as they waited for the match to start. No longer were they cheering for their favourite players. Everyone was waiting eagerly for the referee to start things off.

As silence filled the arena, the ball was thrown into the air.

The centres launched up into the air like rockets, their giant frames breaking through the air with force.

The ball reached its peak, and both players reached out for it. They wrestled for control of the ball while in the air, and for a moment, the crowd grew tense.

The pace of the game was about to be set.

Come on.

The tension made it feel like it was going on forever, but in reality, it only lasted for an instant.

Campbell’s teammate wrested control of the ball and slapped it back to his team, into the waiting hands of their point guard.

The point guard pressed forward slowly, taking his time as the rest of his team raced into position.

Campbell was waiting on the left side, just outside of the paint, while his brother was on the right, closer to the three-point line.

He could feel the defender pressing up against him, but was confident in his strength. He raised his hand to call for the ball, but at the same time, so did his brother.