Nephilim

by Christopher Charles

  “Look, bro, maybe you’re under pressure because of today’s game. It’s a big deal, I know, and with you being quarterback it’s probably a weight on your shoulders at the moment. But you didn’t get to the college state finals because of luck bro; you’re good at what you do. Just stay focused man and if the voices persist speak to your mum, REMEMBER, she is a doctor ya know!”

  Andrew sighed and chuckled, somewhat relieved from telling somebody he trusted and not feeling belittled or ridiculed. “Yeah man, you’re probably right.”

  “NO, I am right,” interrupted Jaime. “I’m heading to class; I’ll catch you at lunch.”

  They parted ways with a fist bump and both headed to their classes.

  The corridors were alive with a buzz of loud conversations, vibrant young spirits and academic minds full of energy getting ready to learn and become the future of society. So many different lifestyles and intellects, creeds and colours, races and cultures. From the art majors to the jocks, to the law grads, college was a diverse society. Something Andrew had settled in well with and had become accustomed to. As he navigated his way through the crowds and headed to the gym, a voice rang out.

  “A.R, think fast.”

  With the instincts of a cat focused on its prey and with one hand, Andrew caught the football that was flying towards his direction.

  “And the crowd goes wild!!!” a voice cried out. “Nice to see you’re on your game today boy!”

  “I’m always on my game son,” Andrew replied. “But is my star receiver ready for today?”

  “Pssht,” replied the voice with cockiness, “Josh is always ready.”

  Josh was Andrew’s other best friend. Although a jock like Andrew, their friendship surpassed the field. Unlike Jaime, Josh only met Andrew when he started college but all 3 soon became best friends. He was mixed race, very good looking, about 6'3 in stature, shaved head and brown eyes.Very strong but lean build and his most noticeable trait was he was covered head to toe in tattoos. He was a very proud character, often having his pride mistaken as cockiness. He was a wide receiver on the football team and the friendship he shared with Andrew gave them a unique partnership and advantage on the field. He had big dreams to become a pro football player.

  They headed towards the locker room. Whilst they changed up for class, they discussed the state finals.

  “So, I’m thinking after we win…campus party? Josh had a mischievous look on his face. “I’ve already got the frat house ready, all we gotta do is win, no big deal right?” He was clearly oozing with confidence.

  Andrew looked at him with a smirk on his face. “Ok, Josh and what if we lose, have you prepared for that?”

  “Errrrm do you know who you are talking to? Do you know who YOU are? We are like, the dynamic duo right now bro. We've broken nearly every state record this year. Together, there is no doubt in my mind we are not losing tonight!” Proclaimed Josh.

  “Ha-ha, Ok, point made. So what you got in mind Mr. Playboy?” Andrew always questioned Josh’s ideas, as they mostly only ever ended in comical disaster.

  “Well, I’ve had the frat house decorated already, you’re gonna love it, a real heroes welcome type thing going on. Alcohol will be available and our ‘herbal friend’ will be present tonight.” A cunning smile crept across Josh’s face.

  “And girls?” enquired Andrew.

  “Come on bro,” he signalled with his hands, “Picture it, we’ve just won the college state finals, everyone rushes the field, and the crowd goes crazy, everyone’s celebrating, we get lifted up on their shoulders, and everyone is chanting our names. THAT is when I announce, in all my glory and splendour, PARTY AT THE ALPHA GAMMA FRAT HOUSE! And boom…instant invitation to everyone that remotely has a social life and those will no doubt include every hot girl on campus. Hold your applause, please. Yes, I know, I’m a genius.” Josh had clearly thought this plan through weeks leading up to the finals.

  Andrew laughed as he adjusted his wrestling headgear. “Cool, well I’m down man. If we get to celebrate may as well do it the right way.” They high-fived in agreement. Then he paused.

  “You think Louise will be there?”

  Josh looked at him with raised eyebrow, rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You and that girl man, when are you two gonna get it together, you know you both like each other. Stop being a pussy and just ask her out.” He barked.

  “Who you calling a pussy bro,” Andrew said jokingly

  “Errrm that would be you,” replied josh.

  They scuffled a little, laughing and slapping each other before the coach’s whistle went off and they entered the gym.

  “Don’t get your ass beat today, need you fresh for tonight,” said Josh.

  “You just worry about you, I know how to wrestle” replied Andrew.

  They lined up in the gymnasium and the coach paired them up according to win/lose record. Andrew was joint top of the class with another student called Brad. So they would go first.

  The competitiveness between the two was at boiling point now. There was a real big fight feel in the gym and every other hot bloodied, masculine student present in this class had been waiting for this battle for weeks. As they stood face to face and waited for the coach’s whistle to blow, they threw a little smack talk towards each other.

  “So, you ready to have your ass handed to you boy?” Declared Brad.

  “Umm, you wanna put your hands on my ass?”

  Andrew replied with sarcastic intent. “I thought we came here to wrestle?”

  He laughed as he could see his remarks were winding up his opponent.

  They circled, eyes locked sharply on each other.

  The whistle blew and they charged. Meeting with equal force, their arms engaged tightly and they continued to throw shots at each other.

  “This is the day that I become number 1 and you become number 2,” shouted Brad

  “Bro, all this talk is making me wanna go toilet,” joked Andrew.

  “THIS IS SERIOUS!” Brad got angrier and appeared to get stronger, overpowering Andrew. Slam! Andrew was now on the mat, and Brad looked like he was closing in on the victory.

  “COME ON A.R, STOP MESSING AROUND!” barked Josh from the side of the room. Andrew acknowledged with a head nod and manoeuvred himself into an advantageous position. Now he was on top and about to go for the pin, when suddenly, voices began to resonate in his head again. This time, the voices came through clearer, sharper and there was more than one.

  Please don’t, I don’t want to, I’m not ready yet. Not like this!

  It’s all I have, just take it and let me go!

  They push me around, I will make them pay, and they will all pay!

  Arrggghhh!

  The ordeal froze him completely and this gave Brad the opportunity he needed. He wrestled Andrew into position and slammed him hard to the mat. Everyone was in shock at what was happening, some cheering some booing. Everyone, except Josh. He could see something was wrong. Andrew’s eyes were wide and haunting and what Josh saw next made him call out in distress to his friend.

  “A.R, GET UP!” he shouted.

  Something’s not right, he thought.

  As he got up from the bench to assist his friend, coach blew his whistle at him and ordered him back. Brad lowered his shoulders to the mat, and the referee began the 3 count.

  1…2….

  Josh called out to him, “ANDREW, GET UP!”

  This second cry seemed to bring Andrew out of the trance-like state he was in. He looked around frantically, trying to familiarise with his surroundings. What happened next would leave the entire gym in an awry silence. Just as the referee was about to hit the 3 count, Andrew let out a spine-chilling roar. And with one arm he flung Brad, who was at least 190 pounds, like a rag doll through the air….half way across the gym hall! Everyone froze where they stood in complete silence. The coach looked on, mouth wide open. Andrew, still dazed, held his head, rolling in pain on the mat. Josh ran over, unstrapped his headgear a
nd held his head steady.

  “Andrew, can you hear me? It’s Josh, can you hear me? Focus dammit! LOOK AT ME”

  Andrew recognized the voice and finally looked up at Josh, who was instantly taken aback by what he saw. He then passed out in his arms. He was rushed to the nurse’s office for examination.

  Josh waited intently outside the office. He was clearly worried beyond belief. It had only been 25 minutes but seemed like hours. Suddenly the sound of high-speed footsteps could be heard coming up the corridor. As they got closer Josh looked up, his eyes met by Jaime’s.

  “I heard what happened, is he ok?!” said Jaime between pants.

  “I don’t know man, I don’t know.” Josh replied erratically, shaking his head.

  Jaime sat down next to him and assured him everything would be cool.

  “This is Andrew, he’s like never had an illness in like forever. I’m sure he’s fine. As long as I’ve known him he’s never been sick EVER!” he said.

  Josh looked up at him and with a scared, frightened tone in his voice he replied, “Are you sure? Because you didn’t see what I saw.”

  Jaime raised his eyebrow and turned to Josh with a concerned expression.

  “What did you see?”

  Josh explained. “When I took off his headgear and had his head in my hands, I-I told him to look at me. When he did, his; his eyes.” He paused.

  Jaime looked at him in disbelief as he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He calmly interrupted.

  “His eyes had changed colour right?”

  Josh became startled. “How do you know that?”

  Jaime sunk back into the waiting area chair and rubbed his forehead in confusion. “I spoke to him earlier today. He said that while he was brushing his teeth this morning, he looked in the mirror and his eyes were a different colour. I just brushed it off as nothing serious. That kinda thing happens to people all the time”

  Josh interrupted him sharply, “THIS, doesn’t happen to people all the time bro. His eyes were completely different man. They were like crystals and glowing and shit!” his voice shuddered.

  Jaime turned to him and distinctively ordered, “Bro, look at me.”

  Josh slowly turned.

  “This stays between us OK?! Until we can talk to Andrew about it, we don’t discuss this with anyone, understand?” Josh nodded in agreement. Then they sat and just waited.

  Slow, antagonizing minutes passed as it seemed time had stood still. Josh and Jaime had been there for at least 45 minutes now. They talked amongst themselves about stupid times they had got drunk and done crazy things. It helped to soften the situation and ease the time by.

  Suddenly Louise came running round the corner accompanied by Emelia.

  “This way Ms. Robertson.” She gestured towards the nurse’s office.

  Josh and Jaime looked up and met their gaze.

  “Is he ok, please tell me he’s ok,” she begged.

  “We don’t know yet Ms. Robertson; we’re still waiting to hear from the nurse. But I’m sure everything will be ok.” Josh tried to keep her calm and reassured. They all took a seat and waited.

  After a few minutes, finally the door creaked open slowly and Andrew emerged, surprisingly upbeat and seemingly unscathed by the whole experience. Following close behind was the nurse. Andrew smiled.

  “Hey guys, sorry for the-uh, scare.” He said.

  Emelia jumped up immediately and consoled him. Checking him over, searching his head, face and neck for any bruises, etc. She patted him down and turned his palms over, examining for anything unordinary. When she was completely satisfied he was ok, she hugged him again.

  “Don’t you scare me like that again boy!” she smiled and held him tighter.

  After she released her grip, he turned to Josh.

  “Did I win?”

  Josh looked at him, relieved but weary. “No, the match got thrown out. Coach says you’ll have a rematch when you’re 100 percent.”

  Just then the nurse intervened and addressed Andrew’s mum.

  “Ms. Robertson I take it?” She nodded.

  “I haven’t found anything wrong with Andrew.” He sounded stumped. “I ran some tests and he is in fact in perfect health. Today seems to be a freak occurrence, of one I can’t explain. Andrew explained you’re a doctor so maybe you can run your own tests and come to your own conclusions. As far as I’m concerned though he’s perfectly fine and can carry on his day as normal.”

  “Is he well enough to play tonight doc?” Josh interrupted.

  “I don’t see why not, depends on how he feels really.” The nurse turned to Andrew.

  “Yeah, I’m good to go man.” He smiled and fist pumped Josh.

  A spirit of relief came over everyone and the mood seemed to return back to normal. Ms. Robertson went back to work. Jaime returned to class, but his mind was running overtime, like a gerbil on steroids.

  What does this mean? He thought to himself as he headed back.

  “Everyone’s at lunch by now bro, let’s get changed and head to the cafeteria,” suggested Josh.

  “Ok man, you go on ahead. I’ll be with you in a sec.” Andrew winked.

  “What’s the hold up?” replied Josh.

  After a few seconds and a couple of not-so-discreet facial expressions given by Andrew, he finally realised what he was getting at.

  “Ohhh, OK bro I got ya,” he smiled and left.

  Andrew turned to Louise.

  Louise Court was in the same major as Andrew. He noticed her on the first day. A very attractive girl, she was mixed race, around 5’8”. She possessed beautifully warm, chocolate brown eyes that made his heart melt every time he looked into them. Full, ripe lips and a curvaceous figure to match. All topped off with long golden blonde flowing locks. They had an awkward relationship. They clearly liked each other but the timing never seemed right for them. Still, they remained friends throughout their time in college together. She was a strong female, shy in nature at a first glance but once you got to know her she revealed a very determined, hardworking and opinionated attitude. She shared a love of music with Andrew and they would always talk for hours about pretty much anything and everything. Other than Jaime and Josh, she was the only other person Andrew found that was close to his heart.

  Clearly nervous but at the same time thankful he hugged her.

  “Thanks for bringing my mum down to the nurses office. I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem. When I saw her in the lobby and she told me what happened, I just felt like I should help.” She replied.

  “So you are coming to the game later, right?” Andrew asked, hoping she’d say yes.

  “You want me to come and watch?” she replied jokingly.

  “Well it is the biggest game of my life so far, but Na I don’t mind if you’re not there…WOMAN, you better be there!” they both laughed.

  “Seriously, though, if you don’t come I’ll never speak to you ever again, so no pressure,” he smiled as he walked away.

  “OK, OK I’ll be there,” she said. “Talk about a guilt trip!”

  They headed in opposite directions down the corridor. Both smiling as they walked away.

  Andrew entered the locker room with a huge smile on his face. Josh was waiting for him with a childish yet creepy expression on his face.

  “Did you kiss her? Or did you finally ask her out? Huh? Well?”

  Andrew stayed silent throughout Josh’s interrogation and just replied with a smile. Once he was dressed, Andrew calmly said, “She’s coming to the game later.”

  Josh bantered with him. “Oh, you think you’re smooth don’t you.” They both laughed. “I swear to God, if you don’t ask her out at the game, I’m gonna put my foot up your ass!”

  As they exited the locker room, Josh’s tone lowered and seriousness could be felt in his voice.

  “Hey, what happened today, you really scared us, man. You know I’m here right, if you’re going through some shit, you can talk to me. I’m your
brother.” Andrew looked back. “I know bro. I’m fine, really I’m cool. Now can we go get some food, I’m starved.”

  They left the locker room and headed towards the bustling noise of the cafeteria. The noise of plates and trays hitting tables, knives and forks cutting through food, the slurping of soda through straws amidst the chit chat and laughter of students could be heard all the way down the halls. But as Andrew and Josh stepped through the entrance something strange happened. An eerie silence befell the room. As the two walked through the cafeteria slowly, acknowledging their fellow peers, whispers began to slowly rise in volume behind them.

  News of what had happened in the gym had spread like wildfire and people were gossiping like mad. Piercing eyes were fixated on Andrew, following him as he politely excused himself between tables and chairs. Jaime was already at a table waiting for him. He noticed straight away the uneasy silence that was occurring. He had to take the heat off Andrew. He looked around frantically until his eyes met the table of jocks. He ran over to their table, picked up the ball and screamed at the top of his lungs, “THINK FAST CHAMP!”

  Everyone’s gaze immediately switched and all eyes were on Jaime now.

  What the hell was I thinking? He thought, but he knew he had to do something. He aimed, said a prayer and threw. The throw was awful. What was supposed to be a straight ball, ended up veering to the right.

  Nonetheless, Andrew made a dart for the floating pass. His instincts took over and he effortlessly bobbed and weaved in between students, rucksacks laid on the floor, bins, tables and chairs. The whole cafeteria watched in amazement, the suspense killing everyone. Would he make the catch? Or mess up miserably and end up as just another fail video on the internet. Yes, people had their phones out, recording. This was a big deal. This was the day of the college state finals and the star quarterback was being tested.

  The ball seemed to get further and further from him. He knew he needed more leverage to make this catch. As he kept running, focused on the ball, his peripheral vision saw an empty chair and he knew this was it, make or break time. He bee-lined for the chair, timed his step perfectly and concluded with a miraculous one-handed dive through the air.