1 DeVile

The screechy sound of athletic shoes, sliding on polished maple wood, echoed through the basketball court while densely packed energetic fans cheered their team on.

"What a final this has been! Absolutely sensational." A commentator said.

"Sensational plays from a sensational player!" Miles Parker, the combo guard for the Stars, has brought this game back to life. With his clinical passing and lethal shooting abilities, he has allowed his team to claw their way back to a tied position." The other commentator said.

"The score is 100-100 with just thirty seconds on the clock and twenty on the shot clock. What can the Ogre's who now have the ball make of it?"

The Ogre's point guard had the ball; he dribbled it down the line and passed it to his shooting guard, near the three-point line. The Stars used a man to man defence to defend against the opposition. With the defence so tight, the shooting guard struggled to shoot for three. Seeing that he had been locked down, he bounced the ball to the small forward, near the baseline. The Stars tried to block the pass, but it reached its target anyway. Then the small forward, using his athleticism dribbled past the opposing small forward and drove it home. The center tried to stop it, but he was countered with an underarm reverse layup.

"OH MY GOSH! The Ogre's just scored! The score is now 102- 100. The Stars need to score a three to win or a two for a tie. What's going to happen?"

"I don't know, but this is the setting where legends are made. With just six seconds on the clock, can Miles Parker bring home the trophy?"

Miles Parker dribbled the ball forward then passed it long to the shooting guard on the midcourt line. The shooting guard received the ball and dribbled it down until he met the opposition. The Ogre's were double-teaming him, for he was known, for his long-range shots. This left Miles Parker briefly open for the three. He received the ball and ran behind his center that provided a screen for him. With only two seconds on the clock, he couldn't go for a layup, he had to shoot. Miles Parker jumped in the air and pushed the ball forward, releasing it from his hands while being contested.

The ball floated in the air and headed towards the rim. As it did, it descended and hit the backboard then bounced on the inside of the rim, bouncing back up again. As it came down, it was directly under the net, ready to go in. However, just in the nick of time, the opposing team's big man slapped the ball away, denying the three-point shot.

As soon as the ball hit the ground, the buzzer went off signifying the end of the game. The Ogre's jumped on their center with jubilation as their shouts echoed across the stage. The cheers off their fans were equally fervent. However, for Miles Parker and his team, there was no joy, they felt discontent and defeated, as the scaturient tears streamed down their faces. They looked at the cheering team, and regret washed over them; it could have been them, had that ball just gone in the first time...

"What a match Mike! The Ogre's beat the Celtics 102-100 and take home the trophy."

"It is as you say, Alan. They will be speaking about this day for weeks to come."

"Indeed and although the Ogre's won the game, you have to give credit to the Stars. They were so close but yet so far. Had that last ball gone in, Miles Parker would have become a living legend..."

As the commentator said that, a notification popped on Miles Parker's TV screen, 'Do you want to restart your career?" Miles looked at the prompt and sighed, "A restart on life wouldn't that be nice." Then using the controller in his hands, he clicked yes.

That's when his mother, Lyra Parker walked into the poky tv room. She was a rather attractive woman. The surface of her lips was soft, pink and full where her eyes: green, closed-set and narrow. She had strikingly long and luscious hair that fell seamlessly over her round and smooth shoulders. The black, crew neck, work dress embraced her silky-smooth, pecan brown, figure accentuating her slender waist and supple curves. She stood 181cm tall.

"C'mon on now Miles! Dinner is ready, you can always play again tomorrow." Her tone was melodic yet stern.

Miles acquiesced and turned off the TV. Then he leaned forward and put the controller down. Coming back up, he widened his large hands and placed them on the wheel beneath him. Feeling the coldness of the metal, he rolled his hands, moving the wheelchair forward.

Miles Parker was richer in pigmentation to his mother. He had a milk chocolate complexion similarly to his father. That same skin was gripping his body so tightly, you could see the outline of his bone structure. He looked like a skeleton with a thin layer of skin. Yet, despite his emaciated body, his face was a sculptor's masterpiece. His eyes were a resplendent shade of green bursting with vigour. He had a defined jawline and a symmetrical face. If he could stand, he would be 190cm tall.

Miles moved to the room three meters away. This was the kitchen but also the dining room. It was cramped room in the shape of a U. The counters, basin, stove and microwave ran all along the perimeter of the U, while the four-seater table was on the inside. As Miles rolled his wheelchair into the kitchen, his older sister walked in the house through the front door, that was in the kitchen.

She looked at Miles and then sighed, "Here's your medicine. Drink up." She stretched her hand to him and offered him a vile with a transparent liquid inside.

Miles didn't take it, instead, he furrowed his brows, "I thought you said you didn't have money? So how did you buy this? It can't be from mom, all her credits cards have been maxed and you only get paid in two weeks..."

She glowered at him and then whipped out her hand once more, "Do you want it or not!?"

"Of course, I do. If I don't drink it my condition will deteriorate rapidly." Then he took the vile from his sister's hand.

Sheilah sighed, "I know that's why I bought it. This should last you a month. Use it sparingly because I've exhausted my last resource getting you this!" She said then widened her eyes to show she was serious.

Miles gulped and nodded his head then he looked straight because he was afraid to look up. Miles was in a wheelchair, so her knees were at his eye level. He looked at her knees and furrowed his brows. Her knees were red and there were small droplets of blood flowing out of her alluring amber skin. He gasped, "Sheilah! Your knees are bleeding. Let me go get some toilet papers!" He put his hands on the wheels and thrust forward.

He was halfway there when she firmly interjected, "NO! It's okay, I'll clean it myself. In my room!" Then she left the kitchen and walked to her room.

"Where are you going? It's dinner time we are having hotdogs as a celebration. I got nominated as one of the four for an upcoming promotion." Lyra Parker said tapping her high heel on the floor.

Hearing her mom, she halted and turned around, "No thanks, mom. I've had enough sausage to last a lifetime," Then she turned back around and walked to her room.

Upon entry, she slammed the door shut as anger, bitterness and just sadness came over her. She felt tainted, she felt low and filthy. She placed her hands on her arms and hugged herself tightly alternating between embracing herself and wanting to tear her own flesh away with her nails. She didn't feel comfortable in her body anymore, even her tears were betraying her.

Her tears were ruining her mascara she had put on before she left the house. Her clear and innocent tears were turning into a sludgy black mess. It was as if the world was mocking her, she couldn't even cry pure anymore. The more she cried the more aggrieved she felt. She scrunched her face as the tears continued to roll down. Then she walked to her pillows and began beating it with a fist. She unleashed all hurt and pain on them, as a barrage of fury filled punches hit it. The sound of her punches flowed through the thin walls.

Hearing his sister's furious punches, Miles gritted his teeth then he looked at his mother, "I'm sorry mom, but I'm not hungry. Congratulations though, you deserve it! It would have come to you a lot sooner if you didn't have a son like me..." He said as his eyes flashed with pain.

His mother saw this then got up from her seat and got on her knees in front of him. She placed her affectionate hand on his shoulder, "I love you. No matter what condition you are in. No matter what you do. And if you hate yourself, I love you enough for both of us. You are my little boy." She said embracing him as the tears fell from his face... "I know how much you love basketball and I know what happened to you isn't fair. But that's life these things happen and most of the time it happens to the good ones... It's going to be tough but you need to find a new raison d'être. I know you can do it and so does your sister. You see this bangle you wearing, it says, 'we believe in you' and we still do, that hasn't changed just because you have." Then she released him from her embrace, "Put your food in the microwave you can eat it later." Then she stood up and went to Sheilah's room.

She knocked on the door, "Sheilah baby, can I come in?"

"GO AWAY!" A disembodied voice intoned apoplectically.

Lyra shook her head and then opened the door regardless of what her daughter said. Once she was in the room, she closed the door.

In the kitchen, Miles clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth, "How long is this brittle body going to hold my family back!? My sister is beautiful and smart yet she couldn't go to University because of me. Now she works a crap job that's way beneath her just to keep me alive. And even with it, it's not enough. I saw her knees, I'm not stupid, I know how that happened." He clenched the vile in his hands as his hands quivered, 'I just want to throw this away. But if I did, I would die. I'm already feeling the constant pins and needles flaring in my body. If I don't drink this then what my sister did was for nought. She sold herself to buy me life… It makes me sick just thinking about it, but I still need to drink it.'

Then he took vile with the transparent liquid inside and put it to his mouth and drank some of it. As it went down his throat, a cold chill went down his spine and he squirmed. Drinking what his sister had sold herself for made him sick to his stomach, he almost threw it up. But he stopped that from happening and kept it down.

Nausea wasn't a normal reaction. When you drink the liquid, it stops your muscles from feeling like they are on fire and or being stabbed repetitively by pins and needles. Yet despite the constant pain dwindling, he was in more pain than he'd ever been in.

His body tensed up making him fall off his wheelchair. He laid on the ground in a foetal position sobbing as a puddle of saltwater accumulated beneath him. He continued to cry until he heard a woman's voice in his mind.

[How long are you planning to bitch about how life did you wrong?]