Even from the locker room, the cheering of the crowd could be heard. Almost the entire school was out on the pitch, impatiently waiting for the game to begin. It was one of the biggest match of the season; the AMK Tigers would be facing off with the YCK Bullets today.

There was a lone figure sitting down on the bench in between the lockers, his towel beside him. He had a rugged look, not unhandsome but just out of the ordinary. He had a lock of rather unkempt brown hair, which covered most of his forehead and rather shaggy eyebrows angled upwards to give him a permanent brooding look. His nose was sharp, and hidden behind his thin lips was a set of brilliant white teeth. Razor sharp even, going by human standards. His height was average, but he had rather broad shoulders.

But the most distinguishing feature about him was his eyes.

His eyes were human of course, but instead of having the normal shades of human pupils, his was bright yellow. Doctors have diagnosed that his condition was simply that of a rare occurrence, because that was his natural eye color.

Today was the finals of the annual Inter-School Basketball Competition, and Fang was the AMK Tiger’s star shooting guard. As always, before any important match, Fang’s pre-game ritual was to find a quiet place to settle his thoughts and nerves. He wasn’t particularly nervous; it was just something he did out of routine.

‘Fang!’ a voice came from the hallway outside. ‘The match is about to start soon. Come on!’

Fang closed his eyes, and checked his other senses, making sure that his body condition was in tune with his thoughts. He was proud of his gifts; for some reason, his physique was much better than most of his friends and even the seniors from colleges are unable to match his abilities. His senses were more acute than most people, and he had great stamina and speed that was unmatched.

Without a doubt, Fang was the ideal athlete.

And today was his 20th birthday.

‘Coming!’ he said, as he took out his bottle from his bag before he stowed it in his locker. The entire shelf shook from the force as he slammed the locker door shut with a metallic clang.

Lou was waiting outside for him, and from the quickness of his breaths (yes, Fang could even pick up on Lou’s breathing!), Lou had already warmed up. He extended out his hand, something in his palm.

Fang looked at it. It was a wristband of some sort.

‘What’s this?’ he asked as he took it from Lou’s hand.

‘No idea. Some sponsorship thing. We’ve all gotta wear it.’ Lou replied, his hands wrapped behind his head. An old habit of his when he was bored. ‘What do you think the score difference will be today?’

‘No idea.’ Fang repeated, with a smile as he slipped on the wristband. Lou grinned and gave him a friendly punch.

‘Come on, we’ve got a game to win.’

They pushed open the school doors and walked into the glaring sunlight. The cheering got even louder as they stepped out of the school compound. The match today would be held in the outdoor basketball courts as the original stadium venue was under maintenance.

Needless to say, the afternoon sun combined with the humidity of the weather today would take a huge toll on the players.

The harsh conditions under which the game would be played would force the players to perform at a level close to savagery as they would become desperate to outperform their opponent. And this was what the professional scouts were looking out for.

Fang intended to go pro with his athletic skillset and he knew he could make it too. A quick scan around the court already told him that everyone was bothered by the extreme heat.

Everyone, except him.

Fang was determined to put on a show today. He wasn’t just contented with winning the game; he wanted a perfect game. No misses, no turnovers and definitely no fouls.

Coach Jerkins gestured to the both of them in his usual harried manner, and they jogged over to where the team had gathered in a circle around him.

‘Now, I want a good game,’ began Coach Jerkins as he looked at the faces of his boys. ‘The Bullets are strong; but they’re bothered by this heat as much as we are. I will call substitutions as soon as I see that the heat has gotten to anyone of you. Remember the game plan; keep Fang as open as much as possible.’

‘Yes Coach!’ shouted the team in unison.

‘Now, get on the court and bring us home a medal! Hands in!’ The team huddled up even closer and put their hands together on Coach Jerkins.

‘One, two… TIGERS!’

And off went the starting five, along with the cheering and shouting from school supporters. Fang took his position beside Lou, and began to do some light stretching.

In an instant, an explicable moment of unease went through his entire body.

Fang looked up so fast that he gave Lou a fright.

‘What’s wrong, stud?’ asked Lou with concern.

‘Nothing… I just felt like we’re being watched.’ replied Fang as he looked around, trying to determine what had caused his unease.

‘Of course we’re being watched, you idiot. The professional scouts are here.’ Lou continued with his stretching and ignored Fang, who was still turning his head around like an owl under distress.

‘Yeah… You may be right.’

Fang was unconvinced; he was used to people watching and ogling at how perfect he could be in sports, but this was something completely new. He could have sworn that he had never experienced that feeling before.

And yet, it was somehow familiar.

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The whistle blew, and the game began.

Fang sprinted towards the three-point line without a moment’s hesitation, and Lou, who had possession of the ball, shot a pass straight in his direction. Fang caught the ball deftly, and took the shot immediately, his muscle memory guiding his every movement.

The ball went into the net, and the game’s first three points went to the AMK Tigers.

AMK High went crazy with Fang’s three-pointer. The game had only gone into its first 5 seconds, and Fang had already gotten them a three-point lead. It was quick, but the damage was fatal. The YCK Bullets were stunned.

They got back onto their feet quickly though; the shot clock went into 18 seconds and they had already gotten the ball into their offensive zone. Fang was guarding the opponent’s shooting guard, and that guy had the same physical build as Fang. But a slight wheeze in his breaths told Fang that his match-up was not taking this heat well.

Fang had the upper hand.

The opponents were hard-pressed; although they had good offence, the AMK Tigers had impeccable defence. The shot clock went into 6 seconds, and the point guard decided to throw a pass to Fang’s match-up.

It was a good pass, but not good enough to elude Fang’s inhumane senses. Fang burst forward and swiped the ball into his hands, gaining possession of the ball.

Without hesitation, he drove the ball down the court and with no one to stop him, did a lay-up and the ball went into the net. Another two points to the AMK Tigers.

The crowd went wild again.

The game went on, and pretty soon, rotations went on rapidly as both coaches did their best to allow their players to get the most amount of rest. Fang was doing great; he already had 18 points under his belt, and he was performing up to his own expectations so far. But he was growing tired, and he knew it. He gestured Coach Jerkins to let him rest, and Fang returned to the bench when the next free throw came.

‘I hope you’re not over-exerting yourself, Fang. I let you decide your own substitutions because I know how capable you are.’ said Coach Jerkins as he watched the game with his arms folded.

Fang took a breath and said, ‘I’m fine, Coach. I know what I’m doing.’

The game went on into its last quarter, and the AMK Tigers were leading with a 10-point advantage. Fang was all fired up to enter the game again.

‘This time, I have to make an impact. Or else, I am not going to be good enough to get noticed.’ thought Fang to himself as he waited for the referee’s call to let him in.

The referee blew the whistle, and Fang jumped in.

It went on quite well at first, until the weird feeling he experienced earlier came back again.

Fang looked about in alarm, but it was a mistake; the ball flew in his direction and he realized it only too late. Even with his reflexes, he could not catch the ball in time and it went to his head full on. The ball flew into the open arms of his opponents, and with ease, they got themselves up by 2 points.

‘What the hell is wrong with you, Fang? Get your head back in the game!’ roared Coach Jerkins from the bench. Fang shook his head embarrassedly and stood up quickly. The game continued with the Tigers in possession.

Fang had the ball, but he knew he would be doubled-teamed by his opponents the moment he crossed the half-court line. He quickly found Lou and made a face at him. Lou nodded his head.

They were going to try an alley-oop.

Fang passed the ball to Lou and made a bee-line for the base line. It was a simple one-two play, but the opponents were tired. Fang capitalized on that to get himself free and headed straight for the basket. He jumped the moment he saw Lou lobbed the ball towards him.

At that moment, it was as if time froze and everything stopped.

All was quiet. Nobody was moving a muscle.

‘What’s going on?’ Fang thought to himself.

‘I finally found you…’

A disembodied voice broke into his mind, and with it came the same, uncomfortable feeling he had been experiencing the whole day.

And this time, he saw where it came from.

A fully-grown wolf with fur of silver was sitting on all fours on top of the basketball board. Fang opened his mouth in horror but no sound came out.

‘Lord Fang, we’ve been waiting for you…’ The voice definitely came from the wolf, but he was making no movement.

‘What the hell is going on? What is this? Have I been drugged?’ shouted Fang as he was suspended in the air by the frozen time. He felt stupid talking to the wolf like this.

‘Come nightfall, seek us out in the woods… We must begin our journey with haste…’

And then, as if a magical button was pressed, time resumed. Fang, unfortunately, was unprepared and missed the timing of the ball again. This time, it sailed out of bounds and the possession of the ball went over to the Bullets once more.

Angry cries arose from the crowd and at the same time, Fang felt his past, present and future coalesce and collapse around him.

Dazed, he remained on the court floor and did not hear the referee’s whistle. His vision went blurry as he felt himself being hoisted up and dragged off the court.

But there was only one thing he could remember, and it remained clear in his mind.

The wolf had the same eyes as Fang.

This work is purely fictional. Any similarities in terms of names or references are purely coincidental.