Higher Than Hope

Nail had managed to put his thoughts aside and got a good night's sleep, waking up feeling pretty good as he heard Magnus in the shower. The shower stopped a minute later and Magnus emerged from the bathroom a while after that, wearing shorts and a towel around his neck as he gestured to the now-empty bathroom. "It's all yours, we got the morning skate and a bit of practice later", he said.

After he took a shower, Nail was hunched over the sink with a towel around his waist and shaving. He had lathered up his face and was carefully shaving off the foam when he heard loud rock music coming from the room. Nail was careful not to laugh when he saw that Magnus had connected his Ipod to the deck and it played YYZ by Rush, the big Swede happily bobbing his head and playing air drums.

"You like those guys, they are old", he teased.

Magnus just laughed as the Ipod now played Limelight, his pale arms moving as he played air drums. "Ja, but they are awesome. I saw them last summer in Stockholm, they have an awesome show with lasers and videos and all, it was really great. And I like science fiction and fantasy so it all works together", he replied.

"Like Star Trek and Star Wars? I'm not into that sort of thing", said Nail as he carefully shaved the edges of his mustache.

"Sort of, I'm not really into that, though. I'm more into stuff like HP Lovecraft, Steven King, that sort of thing. You like them?", he asked.

"I have seen Carrie and the one about about the car, ah, Christine. Carrie was very scary, when she get pigs blood on her and she kill all the other students in the gym. Christine not so good, I thought it was stupid movie", he said dismissively.

"I didn't like it either, it's not one of King's better works. My favorite book of his is Needful Things, you ever hear of it?", he asked.

"Nyet, what is it like?", he asked.

"Awesome book. It's about a merchant who sets up a shop in this little town, he sells stuff that looks like junk but the people who buy them, it looks valuable. This boy wants a certain baseball card and is told he must play a joke on a mean woman. The mean lady things this little crazy woman did it and it escalates, the women later fight and kill each other. Brian thinks his card is a rare one but his brother actually sees that it is crap and worthless, everything in the store is like that. Then everyone in town wants something from this store but they have to do mean pranks to get it, people are killing each other for stupid shit. Only the town sheriff and his girlfriend don't go there, they are the last ones left alive and they see the store owner is actually a demon and he gets away in his carriage, only to set up shop in another town", Magnus explained.

Nail nodded slowly as he tried to process all this information. "Da, I think I understand. That sounds like a good book, is there a movie?", he asked.

"Ja, but the movie is crap. Trust me, the book is better. I suppose you can get a Russian copy off of Amazon or as an e-book, it's really good", said Magnus.

"Perhaps, I need to take my mind off Larissa", he muttered as he rinsed off his face after finishing shaving.

"Nail, I have a suggestion if you don't mind", said Magnus.

"Da, what is it?", he asked, wincing a bit as he splashed aftershave on his face.

"Since we can't just go and take Larissa with us and we are leaving after this game for Denver, I would suggest you stop brooding about this for the rest of the trip. If you keep dwelling on this, your play is going to suffer and you'll get sent back down to Oklahoma. When we get back to Edmonton, then you and Ryan will kick the old man's ass", said Magnus with a grim smile.

Nail had to chuckle at the big Swede's words, closing the door to put on his shorts. "Da, that is a good idea. It will make it much sweeter when I kick his ass", he said, determination in his voice and his dark eyes turned almost black.

"Remind me to never get you angry, my Russian friend", teased Magnus as they both got dressed for practice.

Nail couldn't help the excitement going through his body as he suited up for that night's game in the visitor's locker room of the Saddledome. "I know, I was nervous and excited as hell too before my first game against the Flames here in Calgary. They are really going to let you have it, they are going to boo really loud every time you touch the puck. Just ignore it and do your best", said Taylor, putting an arm around his shoulders and giving him a bro hug.

"Spasibo, Taylor. I have heard some pretty intense boos during the World Juniors when we played in Canada, it might be a bit louder but I can deal with it", he replied confidently.

"All right, let's kick some Calgary ass", said Taylor.

The team finished dressing as a whiteboard was wheeled out and Coach Krueger diagrammed some plays, using a black marker to show how he wanted the centers to pass to the wings and how the defense was to be set up. Nail watched intently and nodded in understanding, seeing that Ryan as the center would have possession most of the time and pass the puck when someone was open. When the coach finished explaining the plays, he wrote out the lines on the board in the order they were going to appear.

Nail was both pleased and surprised when he found himself on the first line with Ryan at center and Taylor on the left wing. "Dude, you are going to be on the first line", said Jordan excitedly, clapping him on the back.

"Da, I cannot believe it", he murmured.

"You have better believe it, Nail. If you do good, you can stay on the first line. The coaches have a lot of confidence in you", said Magnus.

Nail was still feeling very good when the team followed the coaches out of the locker room, walking towards the visitor's bench at the rink. The noise of the crowd was clearly audible here in the underbelly of the Saddledome, sounding not unlike the murmur of some prehistoric beast. The team walked single-file down a long tunnel into the entrance of the rink, surrounded on both sides by Flames fans in crimson and gold that shone brilliantly in the dimmed lights of the arena, the PA blaring If The House Is Rocking by Stevie Ray Vaughn. Both team skated onto the ice in their own zones, the spotlights tracing red and gold designs on the surface.

Nail skated on the Oilers end of the ice holding his stick horizontally, skating in tight little circles. From his vantage point, the full stands were a sea of crimson and gold and all sorts of Flames shirts with a smattering of Oilers fans in blue and orange scattered about. Tiny white flashes from innumerable cameras and phones flickered like fireflies in a jar as their owners took pictures, the first chapter of this year's Battle of Alberta about to begin.

The lights of the Saddledome were turned back on as the referee blew his whistle, the surplus players getting off the ice and leaving behind six on either side. Nail was over to Ryan's right and Taylor to his left as the referee got between the two teams and prepared to drop the puck. The black rubber disk was lowered to the ice and the referee immediately got out of the way, both teams vying for possession and Ryan winning the draw as the boos rained down on them. Ryan saw Taylor was open and passed him the puck as he skated furiously towards the Flames' goal with the defense in pursuit. He then passed it over to Nail as he blazed over to the net, lifting his stick just a bit and aiming a backhander that went past goalie Mikka Kiprusoff as his teammates embraced him and the home crowd booed mightily.

Unfortunately, the team was unable to hold on to the lead as the Flames proceeded to score four goals en route to a 4-1 victory. Nikolai had tried his best but his aging body was no match for the onslaught of shots the Flames unleashed, finally being yanked late in the game for Dubnyk as he trudged towards the bench. "Look at the bright side, Nail here got his first goal. And it's an exhibition game, we better not play like that during the season", said Taylor as they headed to the dressing room.

"And we arrive in Denver later tonight, we can have some fun in the Mile High City", said Jordan as him and Taylor exchanged a fist bump.

"Like what?", asked Nail.

"Denver's a gorgeous city on the edge of the Rockies and a mile above sea level, you see the mountains from the hotel. There's a lot of country bars and clubs there, and there's always sexy cowgirls", said Jordan with a knowing smile.

"Everything but the sexy cowgirls, I don't want Anna to kill me", said Ryan with a laugh.

"Of course not, dude. And what about you Magnus, you like sexy cowgirls and country music?", teased Taylor as the big Swede blushed.

"Ja for the girls but not for the country music, that's not my thing", he replied with a shrug as they all headed to the showers.