Rule 11 - Koi

My headphones blared Chevelle as I attempted to drown out the world and do the mind-numbingly tedious work that was getting the park ready to open. We'd been at it for a week, cleaning up leaves, grime, and animal shit. Today was our last day before opening, and I was ready to get the show on the road. I was testing the coasters.It was a pointless job. Even if I did report something, chances were high there would be no professional to come look at the ride. They'd wait until an accident happened and then close it for a week. I knew because that was what happened when the metal piece impaled Swayze's kidney. The Cyclone was up and running in seven days, minus that one specific piece they'd removed from his stomach.

I walked down the line, checking seatbelts and making sure no bolts were on the floor. This was our last summer here before we finally got real jobs and stopped fucking around. Before we'd gotten here, I'd been looking forward to five months of pure debauchery. Now, since she'd returned, I dreaded every minute I was awake.

Domino was so... nice.

I watched her as much as I could. At camp, while she was at the park, walking her dog, all of it. My eye followed her as much as it could. I had learned to spot her red and yellow hair out of a crowd with ease, even with her short height. The dog, Georgie, helped as well. She didn"t go anywhere without it. Although I was sure that would change once the park opened for guests.

I couldn"t find a single reason to hate her, as much as I wanted to. My best friend was dead because of her. If she hadn"t run off, at least one adult could have saved Dennis from drowning in the Gallows. Instead, her uncle had every staff member, policeman, fireman, and others out looking for her. The girl who didn"t want to be found.

I spent so much time looking for a reason to hate her, but I couldn"t. Everywhere she went, she had a kind, genuine smile on her face. She took her camera and snapped photos every few minutes of this or that. She joked and hung out with other staff members, unlike her sister, and people were realizing it. People were hesitant and downright angry at first to see her occupying Dennis"s cabin, but now, after spending a week with Domino, people were coming around.

People like me.

People like Swayze.

We hadn"t talked about it, but I knew he was starting to lose interest in Marisol"s deal. I"d been thinking about it all day and decided I was going to go up to her office and tell her it was off. However, she caught up with me instead. Still testing the Cyclone, I was bent over examining some bolts I"d found on the floor when cold, thin hands poked my sides.

I stood up quickly and turned.

"What do you want?" I snapped at Marisol.

"Aren"t you supposed to be planning a murder?"

"I was. Yours. What do you want?" I took out my buds and stood up straight, stepping away from the ride.

"It's been a week. Why does she look so happy and you look guilty as fuck?" She crossed her arms under her tits. Marisol had a nice face and body, but her personality made her unlikeable. I never understood how Swayze was able to keep his cock hard enough to do the deed with her.I guessed there was a reason it only happened once.

"Maybe because I took ten grand to off someone who seems downright pleasant? Don't you have anything better to do? Eat a baby or sacrifice a goat or whatever it is you do."

"You've got jokes. I thought you were a fireman, not a comedian."

"I won't be either if I do what you want me to do." I grew serious, and lowered my voice. "I think this was a bad idea."

"Why? You haven't even done anything yet."

"And neither has she. You have me watching her phone." I pulled out my own and waved it. "She doesn't use it. I think she leaves it in her cabin or something."

She didn't text, call, or search anything on the web. We even set it up to alert us when she did, and still, nothing.

"Bullshit. That's no excuse." She slammed her hand on the control system and the coaster roared to life, jerking forward and then heading up the track.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I asked. "I'll gladly give the money back right now."

"Then I'll fire your ass just as fast. You've done a lot of time here, Koi. You really want your legacy to be tainted by something awful?"

I laughed. "A firing? That's hardly tainting my legacy."

She cocked her head slowly. "No, but raping the owner's daughter is."

I blinked rapidly. What did she just say?

She poked my chest. "I'm a fantastic actor. I did loads of productions in school. If I didn't have this place, I'd probably would have gone to school for it. I'll cry as hard as I need to when I tell the cops what you did to me."

I stepped to the side and snatched my water off the bench. "Fuck you, Marisol. I didn't touch you."

"B-but—" she stammered and then burst into tears.

I stared at her, horrified, as she sobbed into her hands. "I don't know how he got into my room officer. I kept telling him no, but he was a madman. He wasn't listening. He tore my pajamas and then?—"

I rushed to her, clamping my hand over her mouth. "Will you shut the fuck up?"

Instantly, the tears stopped. She closed her eyes and then reopened them, grinning. I dropped my hand and stepped back. Just then, the coaster returned to station.

"You think I won't? I don't give two shits about you or Swayze. I paid you to do a job and I fully expect you to do it."

"Marisol, I'm not gonna kill your fucking sister."

I'd rather kill you.

Voices started coming around, growing louder. We turned toward the source but didn't see anyone yet.

"I better see something in the next forty-eight hours. Tears, bruises, something to show you're doing what I told you to do."

The voices came into view. I recognized the hair right away and perked up, going to the railing. Fabian was leading the group, with Domino in the back. There was a man with a large camera over his shoulder and another with a boom mic.

"What are they doing?" I asked.

Marisol ground her teeth.

"They are going to shoot a commercial." She gripped the railing tight, her knuckles growing white.

"Wait, isn't that your job?"

"Not anymore."

It hit me then. This was why she wanted her dead. She'd been dethroned. I burst into laughter.

Marisol whipped her head up. "What's so funny?"

"You're jealous. That's all this is. You're so goddamn vain, you can't handle having someone else in the spotlight. Someone?—"

"Don't you fucking dare." She pointed at me and stormed across the platform, poking me hard in the chest. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I think I do. I remember now. You were always jealous of your sister, weren't you? That's why you bullied the fuck out of her. You don't care about the money. You care that your daddy loved her more than he ever loved you. Didn't he have a nickname for her?"I tapped my chin, trying to remember.

Her chin began to tremble. I'd be more concerned if I hadn't just watched her accuse me of raping her.

"Domino is no fucking blessing." Her entire body shook with rage at the words. That was right, I remembered now. Her nickname had been blessing.

I went back to the railing and looked down at the crew. They seemed to be explaining to Domino what they'd want her to do.

"I bet she's a better actor than you too. I remember your commercials. They were kind of shit. ‘Come to Risky Rush Park, where the only risk you take is missing out on fun!'"

"You bastard." She came at me, pushing me so hard that I flipped over the railing and barely managed to catch onto a bar. I gripped it tight and reached up, grabbing onto it with my other hand.She popped her head over the rail and glared at me. "It's a long way down. I wonder if they'll catch your loud splat on camera."

"You really are Satan," I snapped as I strained my muscles to pull myself back. Slowly, I crawled up to the platform and looked back down. We were almost four stories up from the concrete. She could have killed me.

"Why don't you just do it yourself? You had no problem trying to take me out just now." I brushed my clothing off.

"It'd be too suspicious." She crossed her arms and turned toward the coaster.

A million ideas of how to kill Marisol ran through my mind, but I hadn't been able to think of a single way to do the same to Domino. She'd been here for a week, and all I'd managed to do was stare at her and do a little light stalking in the mornings when she walked Georgie in the woods.

Marisol took a deep breath and raised her head. She headed toward the exit and paused, looking back. "If you don"t do it, I'll ruin you, Koi. Don't think I won't."

I was just about to reply when my phone went off. I pulled it from my pocket, and my eyebrows shot up.

Domino was finally using her phone.

She'd searched my name.