Gabe's brain momentarily shut down.
He didn't think to move. Didn't even think to flinch.
He just sat there in his wheelchair, eyes blown wide as the ball came flying straight toward him fast, heavy, unforgiving.
Everything happened in a blink.
A body slammed into him from the side.
The impact knocked the breath clean out of his lungs as the wheelchair jolted backward, its wheels screeching faintly against the concrete. Gabe's vision blurred for a second, the world tilting violently as his hands instinctively gripped the armrests.
The ball struck flesh instead of metal with a dull, sickening thud before bouncing harmlessly away across the court.
A sharp groan followed.
"Gabe!!" Fred shouted, panic cracking through his voice as he sprinted toward them without hesitation.
