Chapter 67: Just Another Grand Final

The day of the Pound Ball Grand Final had arrived. Kingdom Stadium was packed with eighty thousand Pound Ball fans. Joan and Sally needed to arrive three hours early to get to their front-row, centre-field seats. They bought all their food and merchandise beforehand to avoid the massive queues.

Ryan, James, Jeff, and their families were in the luxury box to watch the game. Saliyah and many other celebrities were on the field for the pregame show.

‘Do you really think you can top last year’s Grand Final?’ asked Ryan as he looked down on the field.

‘Absolutely!’ replied James. ‘Home viewership is already up 20%. Every venue across the continent showing the game is packed. Plus, we have an extra twenty thousand in attendance.’

‘Last year, we had the greatest wedding,’ said Ryan as he turned to face James. ‘I don’t think you can top that.’

‘How about the greatest first-year anniversary surprise for the continent’s finest couple?’ said James with a huge grin on his face.

‘Oh really,’ said Ryan. ‘I must admit you never fail to surprise me.’

‘Please don’t forget the actual action on the field,’ remarked Jeff. ‘The triplets are truly electrifying.’

‘Don’t forget the improved technology,’ added James. ‘We have a ton of new, never-seen-before special effects.’

‘Thinking of new,’ said Ryan. ‘I don’t see any of the enforcers.’

‘Not to worry,’ replied James. ‘The stadium has plenty of great security features. We have new plexiglass walls separating the field from the fans. We have also just installed centrally controlled locking doors to keep us safe. The enforcers are outside, where they will be needed the most.’

‘I suppose the Alset company provided most of this,’ remarked Ryan, not sounding too impressed.

‘Well..., yeah, but their monopoly on technology is almost at an end,’ replied James. ‘Besides, maintaining a business relationship with them will help soothe the tensions.’

‘I suppose you’re right,’ said Ryan, nodding. Ryan turned to look back down at the field. Saliyah was waving at him. Ryan blew her a kiss.

Twenty minutes later, the game kicked off. The luxury box was well supplied with food and drinks. Jeff was a little annoyed that the new jumbo flaming dogs had not been included in their buffet. He was even more annoyed that the phone in the box was not working.

‘You cannot miss out on these new dogs,’ said Jeff in frustration. ‘It’s like a volcano in your mouth. I better head over to catering.’

At that moment, one of the triplets leapfrogged a defender to score three points.

‘No way,’ shouted James. ‘Are you going to risk missing this amazing action?’

‘I’m almost glad not to be playing!’ exclaimed Ryan. ‘These guys would have killed us. Their athleticism is insane.’

‘Damn, damn,’ said Jeff with excitement. ‘This team is too entertaining. I’ll have to sort it out at halftime.’

‘Are you crazy, brother!’ exclaimed James. ‘Halftime will be even better.’

‘I promise I’ll be back before Saliyah comes on,’ said Jeff.

‘That’ll be a challenge with the crowds out there,’ replied James.

The two teams on the field continued to rack up points. The Flyers with the athleticism and finesse of the triplets, and the Enforcers with the brute force of their blockers. After an Enforcers’ player ran in for three points at the halftime buzzer, the score was 15-12 to the Flyers.

Jeff leapt from his seat. ‘Time for me to sort out those jumbo flaming dogs,’ he said as he rushed to the door. He began frantically pressing the button on the wall for the door to open.

‘Try pushing it in and holding,’ said James calmly.

Jeff pushed the button in and held it. After a few seconds, the door slid halfway across. It shook for a few more seconds and then opened fully.

‘This technology is garbage,’ remarked Jeff as he left the box.

‘It’s stiff because it’s new,’ said James as he got up to close the door. He pressed the button, and the door immediately slammed closed.

‘These new doors look dangerous,’ remarked Ryan. ‘How many have you installed in this stadium?’

‘Every door, in the stadium,’ said James as he walked back to his seat. ‘Nothing to worry about. They are designed to keep us safe. No troublemakers can run amok in our stadium.’

Ryan shrugged his shoulders as he watched the crew wheel on the halftime set.

Shortly afterwards, the halftime show began. The halftime show was timed for just after sunset. Several celebrities zip-lined down from the top deck of the stadium to the centre of the field. Music blared out as the stadium went dark. The darkness was interrupted by lights that shone across the stadium, lighting up sections of the crowd with images of team logos. Then the lights came back on, and the celebrities began singing songs in praise of Pound Ball.

The celebrities ran to the sides of the field as a giant wedding float entered the field.

‘Looks like your brother is going to miss it,’ remarked Ryan as he looked over at James as he shook his head.

‘Well, I told you,’ replied James as he shrugged his shoulders.

The stadium went dark as images of Ryan and Saliyah were flashed across the crowd. They were showing their story.

‘Unbelievable,’ remarked Sally to Joan. ‘It’s still all about them.’

‘Their story is still incredibly popular,’ replied Joan. ‘Listen to the excitement from the crowd. They are the continent’s most loved couple.’

Waldo was at home in his cottage watching the Grand Final. ‘I married them last year,’ he said to his wife as he pointed to the screen.

‘You did wonderfully, dear,’ replied his wife, who was busy solving a crossword puzzle.

The images stopped flashing as a spotlight shone on the giant float. The centre of the float raised, revealing Saliyah.

Just as her music began, loud screams were heard from the crowd. First from the north end, and shortly after from the south end. The music stopped playing, and all the lights came back on.

Both Ryan and James got out of their seats.

‘What’s going on?’ insisted Ryan as he turned to James.

‘I’m sure it’s nothing,’ said James. ‘Just some overexcited fans.’

‘They don’t sound excited. They sound terrified,’ said Ryan angrily.

The screaming intensified as the crowds converged towards the centre field section of the stands and the lower rows in general.

Joan and Sally were pushed out of their seats and were forced towards the plexiglass barrier. Joan and Sally grabbed each other’s hands so that they would not be separated.

For some reason, the crowds in the upper rows were pushing forward towards the lower rows.

‘It’s too crowded,’ said Ryan to James as he looked from side to side as he could see panic everywhere in the stadium. ‘We need to get them out.’

James picked up the phone, but it still was not working.

‘Well, do something,’ said Ryan in frustration. ‘We have to help them.’

Ryan rushed over to the door and began frantically pressing the button on the wall for it to open.

‘You can’t go out. It’s too dangerous,’ said James as he approached Ryan.

‘I’m not going to just stand here and watch,’ said Ryan as he turned to James. ‘Now open this damn door!’

James reluctantly held the button in, but nothing happened.

‘It must be a safety feature,’ said James. ‘Guess we’ll have to wait.’

Ryan pushed the button in as hard as he could, but the door would not open.

‘Let’s smash this thing down,’ called out Ryan’s younger brother.

‘There is no need for this,’ said James as he stood in front of the door. ‘The stadium staff will handle everything.’

‘Why aren’t the enforcers coming in yet?’ demanded Ryan angrily.

‘I’m sure they know what they’re doing,’ replied James, sounding a little more nervous.

Meanwhile, outside the stadium, the enforcers were trying to get in, but they could not open the doors. A group of enforcers was preparing to smash a door down with their vehicle, but Percival instructed them not to do so because of the crowds on the other side of the door.

Inside the stadium, the crowds had now piled into the front few rows nearest the field. The plexiglass was preventing them from escaping onto the field. The screaming continued.

Saliyah had climbed off the float and had walked over to the other celebrities who were on the sidelines of the field. They were trying to calm the crowds down. They could see hundreds crushed at the bottom of the pile. The pile kept growing as more pushed forward towards the field.

There was also panic and chaos at the venues airing the game. Yensid Media decided to cut filming as the scenes were becoming quite graphic.

With any furniture item they could find, Ryan and his family members were hammering the plexiglass surrounding their box. This separated them from the crowd. James was looking frantically to see if he could see his brother anywhere outside.

The crowds continued to pile forward, but it was unclear why they were behaving in such a manner.

Saliyah was on the field screaming at the crowds to go back as she could see the dead bodies piling higher in front of her. Some of the crowd were almost at the top of the plexiglass.

The crowds were also being crushed against several of the structural pillars holding up the roof of the stadium.

There was a loud explosion on the west side of the stadium. One of the pillars came crashing down on top of the crowd.

Ryan stopped hitting on the plexiglass of his box. He looked over at Saliyah, who was still standing in front of the plexiglass, screaming at the crowd.

‘Is it going to break? Is it going to break?’ shouted Ryan to James as he frantically pointed to the plexiglass holding up the crowd.

James had now completely lost his composure as he watched the disaster unfold before him.

‘It’ll hold,’ he replied sheepishly. ‘I’m sure it’ll hold.’

Saliyah continued screaming at the crowd as she looked up at the mountain of bodies that had piled up against the plexiglass. Suddenly, cracks started to rapidly appear. They quickly spread along a large section of the plexiglass.

Saliyah stopped screaming and stared at the huge cracks. She was about to run away from the plexiglass, but it was too late. The plexiglass broke, and hundreds of the crowd fell on top of Saliyah and a few dozen other celebrities.

Ryan watched in disbelief as Saliyah was buried under the crowd. Ryan slammed the plexiglass of the box with his fists as he screamed.

James had retreated to a corner of the room. He was in shock.

The lights in the stadium went off as the screams continued. A few minutes later, a second pillar crashed down. This caused part of the roof to collapse on top of the crowds.

On the outside of the stadium, the enforcers were still trying to get in, but to no avail. Finally, Percival agreed to use their vehicles as battering rams. Even this did not work, as the vehicles crumpled on impact with the doors. Percival instructed the enforcers to use their firepower on the doors. Eventually, one of the doors was sufficiently damaged for them to pry open.

On opening the door, a panicked crowd forced their way out. In doing so, several of them were injured. The enforcers took several minutes to take control of the situation. Finally, the enforcers entered. After clearing the lobby, the stadium had become eerily quiet. Percival led a group of enforcers up into the stands. They stopped when they heard a loud sound as another part of the stadium collapsed. They waited a few minutes as they continued up into the stands.

The enforcers shone their lights over the mass of dead bodies. Down on the field was a large crowd of survivors. They stood in silence. The enforcers could not reach them. They climbed back down to the lobby. The Head Enforcer was there with another group of enforcers.

‘There are some survivors on the field,’ said Percival to the Head Enforcer, who was heavily clad in protective gear.

‘Break in through the players’ entrance,’ said the Head Enforcer. ‘You’ll be able to access the locker rooms and the field. I’ll check the boxes for survivors.’

Percival saluted the Head Enforcer and left out through the broken door.

Ryan had stopped shouting. He was sitting in silence on the floor with his family. He was in disbelief over what had just happened. James had not moved from his previous position.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion outside the door. This was followed by another one and then another. This caused the door to the box to fall off. A few moments later, the Head Enforcer walked in. There was another loud crashing sound from inside the stadium.

‘Alright, get up and get out,’ shouted the Head Enforcer to all those in the box.

Ryan ran past the Head Enforcer. He sprinted into the stands. He saw the group of enforcers on the field helping the survivors.

‘Is Saliyah down there?’ he shouted as he tried to run towards the field. He tripped over a body. He shrieked in pain as he touched the ground with his hand. He frantically rubbed his hand on the clothes of one of the dead bodies.

Ryan got back to his feet and called out, ‘Saliyah! Is Saliyah down there?’

‘You have to come down to the players’ entrance,’ shouted Percival.

Ryan left the stands. He ran down to the lobby, where emergency services had now gathered. He then ran out through one of the broken doors.

---

Sapien Loop: End of an Era

Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my @spectrumecons account, and in individual chapters in my @captainhive account.

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