CHAPTER 30: ICE AND FIRE
(Lorain’s POV)
The air inside the Northlake Athletic Arena didn't just feel cold, it felt dense, heavy with the sharp smell of fresh ice, damp leather, and metallic frost.
It was 4:55 PM on Thursday. The echoing thuds of rubber pucks slamming against plexiglass rattled through the concrete rafters as I stepped through the heavy double doors into the lower rink level.
I held my clipboard tight against my chest, the silver keycard Saviour had given me hanging around my neck on a navy lanyard. Down on the ice, the Northlake Varsity hockey team was finishing up their late-afternoon scrimmage.
They looked monstrous in their full padded gear, a sea of white, dark navy, and crimson jerseys moving at terrifying speeds. But even amidst a dozen elite athletes, it was i
