Haunting Hallucinations
Kinny’s First NHL Fight (To Raffi Torres)
Nathan’s POV
I took the ice with my teammates, launching onto the cold surface of the rink. It felt so good to be back here, skating with the boys. I mean, it was okay to kick back and relax, having time to myself. But it was too long and I was itching to feel the smooth, glossy surface of the ice rink once more.
To open our season up we had to play the Minnesota Wild, the same team who banished us from the playoffs last season, sending us home in the first round. It was disappointing, but this was hockey. It was a new season and we were ready to give it our all and hopefully come out with the “W”.
I came out flying, scoring two goals and two assists in our 7-2 victory over the Wild. I was shocked given the amount of sleep I’d had. But that was about as good as it got. During our second game against the Blackhawks, we fell 3-0. I looked like a walking zombie and I couldn’t skate well at all.
Our third game against San Jose was even worse. I arrived to the rink and warm-ups went great, before I settled down for a tiny nap before the game. I had a dream that Sidney Crosby had transferred to San Jose and that he was calling me out like Richard Sherman calls out Michael Crabtree. I was just so shocked that someone who was always considered my idol could be like this.
When I was shaken awake by Ryan O’Reilly and Gabriel Landeskog, I noticed that they had concerned expressions on their faces. The Avalanche Captain told me that it was five minutes until game time and that I was late. The entire locker room was alive with nerves as to where I was. They finally found me asleep in a small side room, behind the ice.
I shook away the terror of Sidney’s haunting presence and hoped that it wouldn’t affect my play. But it did…
I hopped onto the ice, after rapidly going through my mundane routine. I made my way over to the bench across the way and took my spot there momentarily. This was all apart of my routine I tell you. The slick blond captain of Colorado zoomed over, skidding to a halt before the railing and where I sat. He removed his helmet and tossed his head back and forth, shaking his hair out.
Show-off! I thought.
He put his helmet under his arm and gazed at me, curiously. “What’s going on with you Kinny? Everything alright?”
“Yeah. Why?” There was no way I’d ever tell him about being haunted by Sidney Crosby nightmares!
“First, you had a horrible night last night, then you fell asleep and when we found you, you were screaming about Sidney Crosby.”
Shit! He knew. I couldn’t help myself, as I stared at him, obviously revealing that something was wrong with me. He hopped the railing, smoothly and sat down next to me. “Come on, Nathan, what did that Penguin do to you?”
“Nothing. It’s just that I’ve been suddenly getting these crazy nightmare-ish dreams and they all have to do with Sid. I idolize him, but he’s tormenting me and I can’t sleep at night. What am I supposed to do, Landy?”
“Have you tried to take sleeping pills?”
“Yes. But nothing works. I was lucky opening night, but I feel so incredibly tired and...and...bewildered. I’m distracted and can’t focus.”
Gabriel looked at me, sympathetically. “Do you wanna sit out? I can tell Coach you injured yourself in the warm-ups here?”
“No!” I was quick to the reply, as I hated that idea, not wanting it to happen at all! I wanted to play and I would try my best to remain awake and alert.
“Are you sure?” My captain flashed me a shocked look, full of skepticism.
I nodded. “I’ll be fine. I’m just going to clear my head and try to focus on the game.”
Gabriel patted me on the shoulder, sighing heavily and went back over the boards to rejoin the others in warm-up. I cracked my neck, tapping my stick on the floor a couple of times, before I felt a rush of adrenaline propel me to my feet and onto the ice.
Before long, the game was underway. I faced-off against the Sharks’ centre, winning the draw. Everything was fine and going fantastically….until the second period.
Around 8:00 minutes in, I was rammed against the boards by the Sharks’ goon, Raffi Torres. As he finished his check, he chirped into my ear, “Hate to damage your pretty little face, MacKinnon, but--” He didn’t finished his thought, because I went down in pain on the ice. A whistle blew, but I grunted and scrambled back to my skates.
I wasn’t going down that easily. I ignored the searing pain in my shoulder, skated over to the bench for a quick drink from my water bottle and then joined my concerned teammates for the face-off.
“Are you okay, Kinny?” Gabriel Landeskog asked.
“I’m fine!” I snapped back, lowering myself into position at the center dot. The puck dropped and I got tangled up, tripping and crashing to the ice, cursing loudly. I got right back up and when I did, I saw him.
Skating behind the net, Sidney Crosby came into view, smirking wickedly. “Hiya, MacKinnon!” He sent the puck in his blade away to the side. Then faced me, glowering. He was begging me to fight him.
“Leave me alone Sid!” I shouted, looking for a way around him.
He moved with me, blocking my path. It was really starting to piss me off. I didn’t care if I liked the guy, he was acting like a first class a-hole and I didn’t like it.
“Come on, pretty boy, just drop your gloves man and fight me. You know you want to? I’ll even let you pick the hand I beat the shit out of you with.” The Penguin player had his gloves off and his stick flung to the side. He held his hands out motioning for me to come at him. “Let’s rearrange that pretty little face, MacKinnon!” It was strange how deep his voice sounded, but I was so over him.
“Alright!” I shouted back. “I’m going to make you leave me alone!” I flung my gloves off and darted forward. I could hear him cackling, as I hit him. My arms wrapped around him in a massive bear hug, as I attempted to knock him off his skates.
When I hit him, I was grabbed and flung into the boards. Instinctively I put up a fight, raising my fists up into the ready position, like a boxing match. But as my eyes landed on where Sidney Crosby should be, I saw only Raffi Torres there.
“Let’s dance MacKinnon,” he growled, spitting to the side and reaching out with one hand.
I tried to dodge him, but his meaty fingers grabbed my left shoulder, holding me in place, firmly. The next thing I knew, a fist made contact with my face and I felt a warm and tangy sensation on my lips. His fist came again and again, until I was screaming and on the ice, beaten to a pulp by a vicious goon.
I saw him back away, blinking and confused, as a ref led him to the box. He was chirping something at me, the refs, and other Avalanche players, but I couldn’t make it out. I raised a shaking hand and touched my face, drawing back to see the blood that was on my fingertips.
When I dropped my hand down, Sidney was back, laughing and shaking his head. “Pathetic...I don’t understand why you went to pick a fight with a goon in the first place.” He skated off, vanishing in a cloud of sinister cackles.
“LEAVE ME ALONE SIDNEY CROSBY!!” I wailed, as I left my head fall back on the ice.
The next thing I knew, a group of people, including my captain were gathered around me. They had concerned expressions and also puzzled looks. Gabriel hovered over me and passed me my water bottle. “Kinny, it’s okay, you’re going to be okay!”
I wasn’t so sure. I finished drinking from my water bottle and put it to the side. But then I freaked out again, screaming, as Sidney returned, gripping a dagger in his hands. He stood behind Gabriel, holding it over his back, ready to kill.
“What do you think, MacKinnon, should I do it? Should I kill your beloved captain?”
“NO!!!! No, please!! Sidney, please!” I cried, reaching out to him. I begged, but his eyes glimmered in the arena lighting and his smile twisted into a darker look. “No!!”
“Yes...I should?” Sidney clarified, raising his arms up.
“NO!!”
The Pittsburgh Penguin followed through, plunging his weapon into Gabriel’s back. The blond man toppled to the side, as Sidney yanked the blood-stained dagger out. He chuckled, as he lunged forward and stuck the weapon before my eyes. I gulped, tears flooding my eyes, as I saw my friend bleeding out on the ice.
“GABRIEL!” I screamed, reaching out toward him.
“He’s dead, Nathan. You killed him. Because you can’t sleep, you killed your captain. YOU did this!”
I scrambled backward on my hands, backing away, terrified. Sidney threw the dagger to my side and vanished into thin air again. I felt my arms being restrained and I panicked. I struggled, trying to pull free from the hold. “GABRIEL!! NO!!!! I KILLED YOU! I KILLED YOU!!”
Suddenly my captain’s body disappeared and I saw him, alive, hovering over me. He was gazing into my eyes. I now knew that the doctors and medical staff were restraining me, as I thrashed about in an episode.
“Kinny, what’s….what’s…” The man before me couldn’t formulate his sentence. His mouth hung open, as I was pulled to my skates and led off, like I was being arrested and charged for murder. I was dragged down the tunnel, away from the ice.
The last thing I saw was my poor best friend gaping in horror at me. He couldn’t speak or move or do anything...oh and he picked up the dagger, holding it in his hands...
I took the ice with my teammates, launching onto the cold surface of the rink. It felt so good to be back here, skating with the boys. I mean, it was okay to kick back and relax, having time to myself. But it was too long and I was itching to feel the smooth, glossy surface of the ice rink once more.
To open our season up we had to play the Minnesota Wild, the same team who banished us from the playoffs last season, sending us home in the first round. It was disappointing, but this was hockey. It was a new season and we were ready to give it our all and hopefully come out with the “W”.
I came out flying, scoring two goals and two assists in our 7-2 victory over the Wild. I was shocked given the amount of sleep I’d had. But that was about as good as it got. During our second game against the Blackhawks, we fell 3-0. I looked like a walking zombie and I couldn’t skate well at all.
Our third game against San Jose was even worse. I arrived to the rink and warm-ups went great, before I settled down for a tiny nap before the game. I had a dream that Sidney Crosby had transferred to San Jose and that he was calling me out like Richard Sherman calls out Michael Crabtree. I was just so shocked that someone who was always considered my idol could be like this.
When I was shaken awake by Ryan O’Reilly and Gabriel Landeskog, I noticed that they had concerned expressions on their faces. The Avalanche Captain told me that it was five minutes until game time and that I was late. The entire locker room was alive with nerves as to where I was. They finally found me asleep in a small side room, behind the ice.
I shook away the terror of Sidney’s haunting presence and hoped that it wouldn’t affect my play. But it did…
I hopped onto the ice, after rapidly going through my mundane routine. I made my way over to the bench across the way and took my spot there momentarily. This was all apart of my routine I tell you. The slick blond captain of Colorado zoomed over, skidding to a halt before the railing and where I sat. He removed his helmet and tossed his head back and forth, shaking his hair out.
Show-off! I thought.
He put his helmet under his arm and gazed at me, curiously. “What’s going on with you Kinny? Everything alright?”
“Yeah. Why?” There was no way I’d ever tell him about being haunted by Sidney Crosby nightmares!
“First, you had a horrible night last night, then you fell asleep and when we found you, you were screaming about Sidney Crosby.”
Shit! He knew. I couldn’t help myself, as I stared at him, obviously revealing that something was wrong with me. He hopped the railing, smoothly and sat down next to me. “Come on, Nathan, what did that Penguin do to you?”
“Nothing. It’s just that I’ve been suddenly getting these crazy nightmare-ish dreams and they all have to do with Sid. I idolize him, but he’s tormenting me and I can’t sleep at night. What am I supposed to do, Landy?”
“Have you tried to take sleeping pills?”
“Yes. But nothing works. I was lucky opening night, but I feel so incredibly tired and...and...bewildered. I’m distracted and can’t focus.”
Gabriel looked at me, sympathetically. “Do you wanna sit out? I can tell Coach you injured yourself in the warm-ups here?”
“No!” I was quick to the reply, as I hated that idea, not wanting it to happen at all! I wanted to play and I would try my best to remain awake and alert.
“Are you sure?” My captain flashed me a shocked look, full of skepticism.
I nodded. “I’ll be fine. I’m just going to clear my head and try to focus on the game.”
Gabriel patted me on the shoulder, sighing heavily and went back over the boards to rejoin the others in warm-up. I cracked my neck, tapping my stick on the floor a couple of times, before I felt a rush of adrenaline propel me to my feet and onto the ice.
Before long, the game was underway. I faced-off against the Sharks’ centre, winning the draw. Everything was fine and going fantastically….until the second period.
Around 8:00 minutes in, I was rammed against the boards by the Sharks’ goon, Raffi Torres. As he finished his check, he chirped into my ear, “Hate to damage your pretty little face, MacKinnon, but--” He didn’t finished his thought, because I went down in pain on the ice. A whistle blew, but I grunted and scrambled back to my skates.
I wasn’t going down that easily. I ignored the searing pain in my shoulder, skated over to the bench for a quick drink from my water bottle and then joined my concerned teammates for the face-off.
“Are you okay, Kinny?” Gabriel Landeskog asked.
“I’m fine!” I snapped back, lowering myself into position at the center dot. The puck dropped and I got tangled up, tripping and crashing to the ice, cursing loudly. I got right back up and when I did, I saw him.
Skating behind the net, Sidney Crosby came into view, smirking wickedly. “Hiya, MacKinnon!” He sent the puck in his blade away to the side. Then faced me, glowering. He was begging me to fight him.
“Leave me alone Sid!” I shouted, looking for a way around him.
He moved with me, blocking my path. It was really starting to piss me off. I didn’t care if I liked the guy, he was acting like a first class a-hole and I didn’t like it.
“Come on, pretty boy, just drop your gloves man and fight me. You know you want to? I’ll even let you pick the hand I beat the shit out of you with.” The Penguin player had his gloves off and his stick flung to the side. He held his hands out motioning for me to come at him. “Let’s rearrange that pretty little face, MacKinnon!” It was strange how deep his voice sounded, but I was so over him.
“Alright!” I shouted back. “I’m going to make you leave me alone!” I flung my gloves off and darted forward. I could hear him cackling, as I hit him. My arms wrapped around him in a massive bear hug, as I attempted to knock him off his skates.
When I hit him, I was grabbed and flung into the boards. Instinctively I put up a fight, raising my fists up into the ready position, like a boxing match. But as my eyes landed on where Sidney Crosby should be, I saw only Raffi Torres there.
“Let’s dance MacKinnon,” he growled, spitting to the side and reaching out with one hand.
I tried to dodge him, but his meaty fingers grabbed my left shoulder, holding me in place, firmly. The next thing I knew, a fist made contact with my face and I felt a warm and tangy sensation on my lips. His fist came again and again, until I was screaming and on the ice, beaten to a pulp by a vicious goon.
I saw him back away, blinking and confused, as a ref led him to the box. He was chirping something at me, the refs, and other Avalanche players, but I couldn’t make it out. I raised a shaking hand and touched my face, drawing back to see the blood that was on my fingertips.
When I dropped my hand down, Sidney was back, laughing and shaking his head. “Pathetic...I don’t understand why you went to pick a fight with a goon in the first place.” He skated off, vanishing in a cloud of sinister cackles.
“LEAVE ME ALONE SIDNEY CROSBY!!” I wailed, as I left my head fall back on the ice.
The next thing I knew, a group of people, including my captain were gathered around me. They had concerned expressions and also puzzled looks. Gabriel hovered over me and passed me my water bottle. “Kinny, it’s okay, you’re going to be okay!”
I wasn’t so sure. I finished drinking from my water bottle and put it to the side. But then I freaked out again, screaming, as Sidney returned, gripping a dagger in his hands. He stood behind Gabriel, holding it over his back, ready to kill.
“What do you think, MacKinnon, should I do it? Should I kill your beloved captain?”
“NO!!!! No, please!! Sidney, please!” I cried, reaching out to him. I begged, but his eyes glimmered in the arena lighting and his smile twisted into a darker look. “No!!”
“Yes...I should?” Sidney clarified, raising his arms up.
“NO!!”
The Pittsburgh Penguin followed through, plunging his weapon into Gabriel’s back. The blond man toppled to the side, as Sidney yanked the blood-stained dagger out. He chuckled, as he lunged forward and stuck the weapon before my eyes. I gulped, tears flooding my eyes, as I saw my friend bleeding out on the ice.
“GABRIEL!” I screamed, reaching out toward him.
“He’s dead, Nathan. You killed him. Because you can’t sleep, you killed your captain. YOU did this!”
I scrambled backward on my hands, backing away, terrified. Sidney threw the dagger to my side and vanished into thin air again. I felt my arms being restrained and I panicked. I struggled, trying to pull free from the hold. “GABRIEL!! NO!!!! I KILLED YOU! I KILLED YOU!!”
Suddenly my captain’s body disappeared and I saw him, alive, hovering over me. He was gazing into my eyes. I now knew that the doctors and medical staff were restraining me, as I thrashed about in an episode.
“Kinny, what’s….what’s…” The man before me couldn’t formulate his sentence. His mouth hung open, as I was pulled to my skates and led off, like I was being arrested and charged for murder. I was dragged down the tunnel, away from the ice.
The last thing I saw was my poor best friend gaping in horror at me. He couldn’t speak or move or do anything...oh and he picked up the dagger, holding it in his hands...
Notes
Oh good lord, this is...DARK!!
Sorry Sid fans, just think that he isn't really doing this, it's an illusion....this is just a Hallucination.
Which reminds me, I decided to change the title of this story, because I think it's safe to say that they are both "hallucination" and not having dreams...In fact I'm going to call this "Haunting Hallucinations"
Poor Kinny...what's real, what isn't...
Oh and I'm sure It's just eating you all to know the reason behind the tormenting hallucinations of Valeri and Nathan. This will be revealed later on. There's a reason for it.
For now enjoy this horrible chapter I have for you....
Next up: That's what a team and friends are for, to help one another out, through difficult times...
How awesomely evil is Jonathan Drouin??!! Haha! He's EVIL! Sid trained him! ;)
11/4/14