Hell 7, New York 0

Chapter 9

Everyone on the field jerked to attention as the sound of the giant beehive sprung to life. It quickly grew in intensity as the players began moving to their bench. The hum soon turned into the deep, deafening howl that they had heard in the tunnel. High above the field, the largest of the booths pulsated with a fiery red glow, like a slow heartbeat.

"I hope to god this is just the introductions!" someone yelled from behind Gil.

The noise grew close to unbearable as it reached a screaming crescendo. Many held their hands over their ears or ear holes on their helmets. A red light appeared behind the end zone at the far end of the field. The light grew brighter as the large door it emitted from opened wider. Apprehension gripped the players and coaches as a shadow stirred in the opening. The chant began again.

Finally, a man clad in a football uniform stepped from the doorway. His uniform was jet-black, with large red numerals and jagged red streaks crisscrossing the pants and jersey like distended blood veins. The black helmet looked to have the same streaks, and a small red emblem on the middle of the front, just above the brow.

There did not seem to be anything special about the man himself. He was tall, about six-foot-three, and looked to weigh about 220 pounds. His skin was dark or olive colored, the distance made it hard to tell. But the most noticeable thing about him was his white shoes. Of all the things they had seen in this dark place, the color white was not one of them.

"Ha! I’ll betcha that’s their quarterback!" jeered Looney, though he could barely be heard. "They don’t look any different than us!" In a moment he was ready to retract that statement. As "White Shoes" trotted over to the back corner of the end zone, a procession of his teammates began loping out the door in single file. Nothing the players had seen, even Cheeunk, had prepared them for what was stepping out onto the field.

One after another, enormous figures emerged from the opening. Even at some sixty yards distance, the men could see several of at least seven feet in height, each in various stages of physical decay. The white of bone showed in several places; forearms, hands, shins, and faces. Where flesh existed, its color was dark green or black. Their uniforms were torn and hung off in shreds on many.