The Endzone Reunion

The first moment Octavia walked into Endzone from the front door—she was utterly stunned by everything around her.

The inside of this place—it was absolutely and amazingly endless. She couldn’t even see the furthest walls of the place from the front door; the dancefloor was in the center, an arcade area was in the farthest corner, a huge bar with stools and pool tables was off to the left, and along the right wall was a long line of booths beneath countless decorative posters, portraits, signs, lights, and random mounted items like a sword, a deer’s head, a replica of a sleek sports car, and more. Neon lights swept across the scene, and every area of the place was filled with people, music blaring, and several groups wandering in and out of the arcade area afar. There was also a single wide set of stairs just barely visible far across the ground floor, and there appeared to be people venturing up and down them as well.

“Holy crap,” Octavia breathed. “How am I supposed to find anybody in here…?!”

She sheepishly marched across the open space, glancing around and recognizing none of the people she saw, quietly dodging the people who walked past her or danced nearby her.

“Freaking place is like a nightclub, a bar, a Chuck E Cheese, and a freaking arcade all in one,” Octavia mumbled to herself, scanning around and wondering where she should go.

The place that most caught her eye was the arcade, and she smirked, breaking into a brisker stride and heading toward it.

Only mere minutes after she vanished into the gaming area—this was when Hailey pushed the doors open and swaggered inside, instantly heading for the dancefloor and feeling inspired to express how liberated and delighted she felt tonight.

A bit of time passed—and a short while later—Eli was marching down the wide stairway, still with his hat, cane, and coat with the fur collar. He raised his head and gazed over the massive crowd from above for a moment, then resumed his pace down the stairs, striding across the dancefloor and approaching the DJ booth around the corner from the stairwell.

“Put me a 2000s playlist on, my man,” Eli told his DJ, raising a finger at him. “Just leave out the Diddy songs. Don’t wanna hear that motherfucker in my club.”

The DJ laughed and nodded in agreement, turning the sound system off and causing the blasting music to die down momentarily. The crowd suddenly erupted in yells of protest from certain areas—but seconds later, the DJ started a playlist that had everyone shouting with hype and delight, starting with TI’s Whatever You Like .

Eli smiled and nodded with approval before sauntering off into the crowd.

After playing a bit of Ski-Ball, Octavia walked out of the arcade area and searched around the crowd again, still seeing no Eli anywhere among them. She sighed and ventured deeper into the mob of people, worming around everyone who was dancing more vigorously, and trying her best to avoid them.

She turned to the side, her eyes landing on someone dancing in a smooth, flawless way in the middle of the dancefloor, a slender blonde girl with her hair tied back in a tiny ponytail, her eyes closed, her hand in a cast, and her eyes closed, a content, gleeful smile spread across her face.

“I want yo' body, need yo' body… long as you got me, you won't need no-body… you want it, I got it, go get it, I'll buy it. Tell them other broke nigga; be quiet. Stacks on deck, patron on ice, and we can pop bottles all night… and baby, you could have whatever you li-ke… I said, you could have whatever you li-ke. Baby, I can treat you so special, so nice… I gas up the jet for you tonight, and baby, you could go wherever you li-ke…”

The music carried on, and the blonde girl seemed to lose herself to it completely, dancing without a care in the world.

Octavia’s eyes narrowed, staring at the girl and feeling as if she recognized her…

Someone grabbed her—and she inhaled a sharp little gasp.

A pair of hands slid around her from behind, coiling snugly around her and embracing her, his body pressed warmly to her back, and his chin gently resting on her shoulder.

Octavia’s heart instantly began to throb, glancing over, unable to see who it was—but her hand instinctively vanished into the pocket of her leather jacket, clasping onto her concealed .25.

“I don’t feel like dancing, bro,” she warned the person. “Let the fuck go of me. Now.”

The person leaned closer, whispering directly into her ear.

“Now that ain’t very nice,” Eli said in his smooth, silky voice.

His breath cascaded past her ear, and then, once she processed who it was, Octavia let out a massive sigh of relief, rolling her eyes and removing her hand from her pocket.

“Why do you feel the need to scare the fuck outta me like that?” she asked with a laugh. “Jesus…”

Eli chuckled, adjusting his grasp on her and intertwining his fingers atop her stomach. He moved gently to and fro, dancing side to side, moving with the beat of the music.

Octavia placed a hand on his, glancing down at the many rings on his fingers. She almost moved to peel his hands off her, but then, she sighed and decided against it, choosing to simply sway to the music along with him.

“I hope you realize you’re special,” she laughed. “I don’t dance… and I don’t let most people just grab onto me, either.”

“Well… damn… then I must be special,” Eli murmured, still smiling. “I’ll take that as an honor…”

Octavia flashed a smile as well, and for a while, the two simply remained together on the dancefloor.

Hailey continued to dance a short distance away—until the song ended, and she was just able to hear the sound of her ringtone echoing from her jean pocket. She huffed out a breath, stepping away from the dancefloor and answering the phone call when a new song began playing from the sound system.

“Hello?”

“Uh—hey, motherfucker, remember me?!” Samuel ranted immediately, standing outside in the parking lot and pacing back and forth in the middle of it. “I’ve been texting and calling you non-fucking-stop! What the hell have you been doing?!”

“Dancing!” Hailey beamed, marching farther away from the music and covering one ear with her cast. “Are you here?! I am! I’m inside!”

Samuel stopped pacing and dropped his arm by his side, his expression flattening. He turned on his heel and scanned over every vehicle in the parking lot for what must have been the tenth time since he arrived here, then faced the building again, slinging his sandy hair from his eyes and tossing up a hand.

“Then where the fuck’s your car?!” he griped.

“Oh—I got a ride!” Hailey grinned, breaking into an excited stride toward the front double-doors. “Ooooo, I have something awesome to tell you! You are not gonna believe what happened today! Hang on—I’m coming out!”

Samuel sighed and hung up, stuffing his phone away in his sleek black trench coat. Moments later—the doors of the club flew open, and he was able to hear Greenday’s 21 Guns echoing from inside for a brief moment before they swung shut again, his sister speed-walking toward him and looking overjoyed.

Samuel suddenly fell still, his eyes locking onto the cast on her wrist, and his face darkening.

“The fuck is that?!” he snapped, grabbing her arm and examining the cast before shooting her a wild look. “What the fuck did he do?! God fucking dammit , man! I swear to God almighty—I am gonna kill that motherfucker!”

“Shut uuup! ” Hailey pleaded, still smiling and hopping impatiently in place. “Sam—it was actually the best thing that could’ve happened! Just listen—”

“ What? !” Samuel raged in bewilderment. “He broke your fucking hand and that’s the best thing that could’ve happened? ! What the fuck , Hailey—”

“Listen to meeeee!” Hailey yelled, slapping him repeatedly on the chest and jumping up and down again. “I recorded it! I started recording when he started yelling at me, and I set up my phone, and I caught most of it on camera! He started it! He started the fight, and I got him! I finally got him!”

Samuel paused, seeming to diffuse a little bit.

“He hit me and pushed me down, and when I tried to open the back door, he smashed my hand in it and then yanked my hand back and hurt it—so I grabbed a knife and stabbed him, and—”

“ What —you d— what did —okay.” Samuel swatted the air and looked down, pressing his fingers into his temples for a second before speaking on. “Okay—fucking what? You actually fucking stabbed him? Hailey—did you give the cops the video? Or did you just leave?”

Hailey stared, her smile fading. “I just left… I was gonna go file a report and give them everything tomorrow…”

“Oh, fuck me…” Samuel tossed his head back and ran his hands down his face. “You should’ve given them the video today . You do realize that video is the only actual proof you have that he started the altercation, right?!”

“I can just do it tomorrow,” Hailey mumbled. “I can still file a report and press charges and everything…”

“Hailey—that video is what would have kept him in jail tonight ,” Samuel told her flatly. “Without that—they probably don’t have enough evidence to actually hold him right now. It’s his word against yours until you give them that video—and if he says you started it, and if they don’t have any evidence to contradict that, then they would have to let him go.”

Hailey fell silent for a several seconds, sighing and looking down at her shoes.

“Well… it’s just… one night,” she murmured. “Him running loose for one more night isn’t that big of a deal. I don’t think he’s gonna try anything… and he doesn’t even know where I’m staying tonight. In fact… neither do you.”

Samuel took back, giving her a befuddled look.

Then, Hailey’s smile gradually made a full return.

“Guess who I ran into today?” she said. “After we got in that fight… when the cops and the ambulance came… the EMT who came to the door was Mohinder.”

Samuel blinked and shot her a double-take, his hazel eyes shining with a glint of disbelief.

“Seriously?” he breathed.

Hailey nodded, her smile widening. “He helped me grab my stuff… he gave me a ride here… and he’s gonna let me stay at his place. He just lives right across the street over there.”

Samuel looked across the street, then back, making a face. “Oh, what, he lives in the poor apartments now? Holy fucking shit, man… the mighty have motherfucking fallen.”

He laughed, combing his hairs aside and fidgeting for a second.

“I can’t believe that,” Samuel muttered breathlessly, meeting her eyes again. “We haven’t seen him since he…”

“I know… it’s amazing,” Hailey grinned. “He said he had to give his friend a ride to the pharmacy real quick, and then he’s gonna come back over here. His friend lives over in those apartments, too… so it shouldn’t take him very long.”

Samuel opened his mouth to reply—just when a distant sound on the night air caught his attention.

The Ryder siblings both turned, staring at Williams Street as the noise grew quickly louder; it was the wailing of sirens, several sirens, seeming to be heading straight for them.

Samuel and Hailey traded glances, then they both marched across the clearing in front of the Endzone, gazing up the road at the source of the noise.

Up from the north end of the main road—the blinding flashes of red and blue dominated the entirety of Williams Street, and the many sirens howled louder and louder as the police cars barreled toward the south end at top speed.

Within a matter of seconds, they were directly in front of Endzone, the sirens almost deafening.

The police cars passed by the club, and they all slowed down just enough to turn, each of them driving past the liquor store and into the apartment complex behind it.

An ambulance came racing down the street shortly after the police, its siren screeching, red and white lights illuminating the night as it pulled into the apartments as well.

Hailey covered her mouth, Samuel watching with pocketed hands and a stoic expression.

“Oh no,” Hailey murmured. “What happened…?”

Samuel grimaced, turning to her. “How long ago did Mohinder go over there…?”

Hailey looked at him, swallowing and shrugging. “I don’t know… ten or fifteen minutes or so?”

Samuel faced the scene across the street again, his visage even graver now, staring into the rapid flashing that brightened the entirety of the complex and all the trees around it now.

Then—he suddenly broke into a brisk stride and marched across Williams Street.

Hailey quickly moved to follow him.

The two of them reached the other side and just managed to walk past the liquor store before a fire truck pulled in behind them. They both shuffled off to the side, allowing the fire truck to pass them with no issue before they continued on.

And amidst the parking lot of Fall Valley Apartments—police cars were parked all around the stationary ones belonging to the people who lived here. The ambulance sat parked in front of Wally’s apartment, and the fire truck stopped farther away.

Cops were swarming the scene, some of them urging the neighborhood bystanders to step back, others leaning into Wally’s apartment and taking turns surveying the grisly scene inside, many of them frowning and covering their faces before stepping back out. A paramedic and an EMT from Wallace Medical Center’s night shift entered the apartment shortly after the police examined it, the firefighters now joining the police in nudging all of the onlookers back from the scene—and throughout all of the commotion, Mohinder sat on the concrete, quiet, motionless, and still in the same spot, perfectly across from the open apartment, his head resting on his hand, and his eyes glazed as he stared into the dimly-lit darkness, still just able to see some of the blood splatter, and Wally’s limp hand, resting to the side, pale and white atop his ruined couch.

Mohinder’s eyes stayed on the hand, his expression devoid of feeling, everything around him seeming to pass by in blurs. He barely heard any of the footsteps or voices, didn’t visually register any of the people standing or walking nearby him; he simply sat on the pavement with his arm propped atop his knee, fingers pressed to his forehead, and eyes entranced by the lifeless white hand that remained directly in his view.

He couldn’t help but wonder why the events of his life always had to boil down to this exact scenario—a scenario in which he found himself unable to save someone.

What a cruel damned world, it was.

Samuel and Hailey approached a small crowd in the parking lot, a group of people who had walked down from the second-floor apartments, and a few police and firemen were standing in a line in front of them, raising their hands and instructing all of them to stay far away from the scene.

The Ryder siblings moved past the others and tried to walk around them all—but a stocky police officer side-stepped in front of them and blocked their path.

“No—you need to stay back,” the officer stated.

Samuel scoffed angrily, and Hailey stood on her tippy-toes and peered past the policeman’s shoulder, spotting Mohinder sitting in the distance.

“Please—please, our friend’s over there,” Hailey said sadly, giving the officer a pleading look.

The officer paused for a second, looking back at where Mohinder was, then faced forward again, sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Fucking goddamn already— move ,” Samuel snapped, ducking around the policeman and marching across the scene at once.

Hailey hurriedly ran around the cop and followed her brother. The officer cursed under his breath as he turned and watched them go, but he made no move to try and stop them.

Mohinder didn’t notice. He remained in his grave, mournful trance, sitting still, fingers to his forehead, glaring dead ahead, staring at the hand in the apartment… Wally’s lifeless hand…

Samuel stormed across the concrete and stopped a short ways away, eyeing Mohinder from the side, then looking to the open apartment, where he was just able to see a leg and a shotgun at the edge of a couch, spots of blood all around them, the police stepping out and swatting others back. One of the policemen leaned over to another, muttering something about a suicide…

When Samuel’s eyes landed on Mohinder again, he let out a deep, heavy breath.

“Mohinder,” he said loudly.

Mohinder didn’t move or react—but suddenly, somehow, he felt as if he could hear all of the people around him again, a voice nearby him seeming to set off a light in his mind.

His fingers slowly left his forehead, his hand beginning to lower, blinking and finally managing to tear his gaze away from the lifeless hand.

He turned his head away from the apartment, his neck aching, as he’d been staring at it for a long while—and he saw Samuel right there, just a few feet away, looking hardly any different than he had long ago, his sister just behind him, and his expression heavy with grave understanding.

Mohinder lowered his hand fully, his brow hardening, staring up at him as if he was vexing to lay eyes upon.

Samuel wore a serious expression, stepping forward and reaching out, offering his hand.

“C’mon,” he said, nodding to the side. “Let’s go. C’mon.”

Mohinder took in a breath, swallowing and reaching up—and Samuel clasped his hand and pulled him swiftly to his feet.

Hailey peeked past them, staring into the apartment and covering her mouth again with shock.

“Uh-uh—don’t look,” Samuel ordered, grabbing her and forcibly wheeling her around. “Come on. Come on.”

He planted one hand on Hailey’s back and the other on Mohinder’s, and he began to escort them away from the apartment of the suicide scene, striding across the parking lot and distancing them from it as much as possible.

“Hey—don’t take him anywhere!” one of the cops shouted after them. “We still have to talk to him!”

“Oh—bite my fucking ass!” Samuel screamed back at him in response. “We’ll be at the Endzone!”

He faced forward again and continued pushing his friend and sister out of the parking lot without paying the police any further mind. They passed by the liquor store, and Samuel glanced both ways before guiding them across Williams Street, the trio slowing to a stop at the curb in front of the Endzone.

A few groups of people were standing around outside of the club now, staring across the street at the flashing lights and trading gossip with one another.

Samuel remained at the edge of the concrete clearing, choosing not to tread any closer to the building so they could have a bit of isolation and privacy from the onlookers outside of the club. He looked to Mohinder, who was gazing absentmindedly at the ground, his face disturbed, and his stare distant, as if he was still looking into that apartment, even now.

Hailey frowned and stroked Mohinder gingerly on the back, hugging him from the side and sighing. He barely managed to raise his arm and return the embrace, still staring downward at nothing in particular.

Samuel observed him, his expression severe, and for a long while, none of them spoke. He knew for certain that no words could help right now.

So, after a moment of silence, he decided that action was needed instead, though he wasn’t sure what kind would offer any help or comfort.

“Mohinder,” Samuel said.

Mohinder gulped painfully, his eyes wandering back up to his old friend’s.

Samuel leaned slightly closer, raising his brows and giving him a profound look.

“What do you need right now?” he asked.

Hailey glimpsed between them, still patting Mohinder lovingly up and down his back.

Samuel simply waited with patience for an answer.

Mohinder’s mouth drifted agape, hardly able to form a thought, pondering on his apartment, the club, his car, all of the places he might go for comfort, though none of them felt right, none of them felt good, and none could help him at all. No place could help to ease whatever he was feeling right now. The only thing that felt like it might help him now was…

“Y… ah…” Mohinder stuttered, his voice rough and hoarse, coughing and clearing his throat, his eyes moving between Hailey and Samuel. “Y… ahm… y-you two. I need… I need you two right now…”

His tone cracked, his voice devolving and breaking, barely managing to get the sentence out.

Then, he hung his head and sealed his eyes shut as tears began to form, the emotions finally fighting their way out of him.

Samuel frowned and pulled him forward—snapping his arm around him and hugging him tightly. He opened his other arm and allowed Hailey to step into the hug as well—and then, for a long, somber, bereaving moment thereafter, the Ryder siblings stood quietly along the side of Williams Street, holding Mohinder as he hid his face in Samuel’s collar, tears burning his eyes, crying in total silence.

As more people began to step out of the club, and as the crowd outside of the Endzone began to grow, a couple of the police across the way began to march across Williams street toward them—and Octavia emerged from the front doors, Eli close behind her, both of them gazing across the scene and surveying whatever was transpiring out here.

The two cops, a stocky one and a skinny one, walked over the sidewalk and approached the trio by the curb.

Octavia’s eyes narrowed, spotting three familiar figures and feeling momentarily stunned with disbelief. She turned to Eli, who was also staring at the three people with intense fixation.

“No… your eyes don’t deceive you,” Eli murmured to her, as if reading her mind. “I see ‘em too…”

Octavia faced forward again, then pushed her way out of the crowd and approached them. Eli sighed and adjusted his hat before he decided to follow her.

The two police stopped next to the trio, who remained lost in their embrace, paying them no mind.

So, the stocky officer reached out and tapped Mohinder on the shoulder. “Hey, buddy, come on. We have a few questions for you. Come on, now. Let’s go.”

Samuel glared over at the police with apprehension, and Mohinder kept his head low, his eyes still closed, and his breaths still shaky and unstable.

“Officer… his friend just died,” Hailey said as gently and politely as possible, her arm still wrapped tightly around Mohinder. “Can you please give us a minute…?”

“I believe we already did,” the stocky officer replied tonelessly, showing no hint of understanding or empathy in his face or his tone. “We shouldn’t have even let you walk over here. We’ve already been plenty gracious, but we need to take him down to the station and talk to him now.”

“Hey—are you deaf?” Samuel snarled. “Did you not hear her? His friend just died , you unfeeling fuck.”

“You better shut your damn mouth,” she skinny officer spoke up, jabbing a finger threateningly at Samuel. “You’re about to get your ass arrested for obstruction if you don’t shut up.”

The stocky officer grabbed Samuel and tried to physically separate him from Mohinder—but Samuel yanked away and pushed his friend and sister back from them, cocking his head and glaring wildly at the policemen.

“Oh—oh really? Really? We’re doing that right now? Okay,” Samuel nodded, standing in front of Hailey and Mohinder and raking his hairs back. “Well, fuck me runnin’—I guess I’m going to jail tonight!”

“You’re about to,” the stocky officer warned, placing a hand on his holster. “I’m gonna give you until the count of three to step aside and let us take your friend to the station.”

“Or what?” Octavia called out.

Everyone turned their heads—and she stormed out of the crowd, her nostrils flaring, her hands balled into fists, and her eyes burning a fiery blue, thundering fearlessly over to the officers and leering furiously at them.

Then—she planted herself firmly between the police and her old friends, folding her arms and meeting the stocky officer’s eyes with nothing short of hate in her glare.

Samuel, Mohinder, and Hailey all stared at her in shock—and Eli now stood quietly behind the trio, several hands holding phones raising up from the crowd as ten or twenty people recorded the standoff.

“What did I just hear? That his friend just died? Okay,” Octavia nodded. “So—what—is he a suspect?”

“No,” the stocky officer replied. “This was a suicide, and your friend over there discovered the body. Now please step aside.”

Octavia scoffed ridiculously, giving him a baffled and incredulous look. “Oh, are you kidding me? You can’t make him go to the station over that. He has every right to refuse unless you have a warrant or a subpoena. Do you have a warrant or a subpoena?”

Both of the officers fell silent.

“Yeah… I didn’t think so,” Octavia said flatly, raising her hand and making a shoo-ing motion at them. “So, guess what? Bye.”

At this, several people in the crowd laughed and slowly began to clap, applauding her and chanting for the cops to go away.

Eli smirked, chuckling and stepping toward the others. He tapped Hailey and Mohinder on the shoulders, quietly motioning for them to move away from the confrontation before he tugged on Samuel’s sleeve and did the same with him.

Octavia remained standing at the curb with crossed arms and searing eyes, cocking her brow and waiting for the cops to leave. The crowd continued to yell “Go-a-way!” repeatedly, and after a long, tense moment of this, the two policemen finally faced away and began walking back across the main road from where they came.

The crowd positively exploded when the cops walked away, clapping harder as they whistled, yelled, and rejoiced. Octavia’s eyes followed the policemen all the way across Williams Street, and she watched them intently until they vanished into the apartment complex afar.

Then, at last, she turned back around to face the others, but her friends were no longer behind her. Eli was halfway back to the entrance now, escorting the others inside and waving for her to come along.

Octavia sighed, giving one more glance to the flashing lights across Williams Street before she marched off to join them.

And—as Eli took the group into the club and led them toward the stairwell, hoping to give them some privacy and peace—it came to be that the misfits five were all finally under the same roof together again for the first time in twenty long years.