Rule 62 - Domino

Fabian caught me at the doors. He was covered in blood but smiling.

"I"ve never felt this good in my life." He was breathing heavily.

"What happened?" I croaked.

"Mattias is handled. We just have to see to Marisol. I was coming to check the cameras. I know she"s somewhere in the park."

"She"s at the Cyclone," I said.

"How do you know?"

"Because it"s the first ride Dad had built." I put my tired hand on his shoulder. "I"m going to do this alone. Go help Swayze and Koi downstairs."

"Downstairs? Okay, take this." He handed me a knife and headed into the building, and I limped away, starting toward the Cyclone. Marisol knew this was where this would end. She was waiting for me to come for her.

The sun was starting to rise on this horrible night. I would be glad when it was over.

As I limped along, feeling the nails embedded in my thigh, the stab wound in my calf, and all the other scratches and bruises, my mind went through what I"d learned from Dad"s diary over the last two days. None of what Marisol knew as truth was real.

Marisol, Monica, and everyone else made me feel like I was the worst thing that had ever been created, and yet, I"d been the only Risky child created from love. My mother was a simple woman from a no-name family. They"d fallen for each other in high school, but because of his wealth, he"d been forced to marry someone else. But he never stopped loving my mother.

His words made me sob and laugh, and my heart broke for the two of them. Neither got to be happy in the end, but they both loved me more than Marisol, Mattias, or Monica could ever love anyone. Fabian had read the book and explained that this was why he tried to look for me.

"You are the true heir to all of this. You should have been the only one born, not all of us. I think it"s time you take them down."

"What about you? Should you lose your inheritance too?"

"If that"s what you want, or, I could help you."

"Help me what?"

"Survive."

It was then that I discovered that the rest of the people here were back at camp planning my murder. I had nothing left but to trust Fabian. He promised me he"d help me, and I was going to trust that he"d done his part.

The blood on his shirt told me he had.

I made it to the Cyclone and saw the train of cars zip on past, doing the loop and going 97 miles an hour down the track.

"Hello, sister! I thought for sure you would have just laid down and died," Marisol called down to me.

"I don"t go down that easy." I gripped the banister and started the struggle up the stairs. My legs kept buckling, but I kept moving.

"Could have fooled me. Your boyfriend"s live-stream tell a whole other story. Who knew you were such a little cock-slut? I get it, though. They"re the first ones who gave you attention. Dating is a hard thing to navigate. Maybe in your next life, you"ll learn to wait a little more." She stood at the top of the stairs, mocking me.

"Are you limping because of the knife Beth put in your leg, or because you don"t have your ugly shoes? You know, if you would have just given up your part of the money, you could have returned to whatever hole you crawled out of and collected disability or whatever it is they"d give you for that thing. A welfare queen, like your mom."

With each step, my determination grew. Flashes of our childhood went through my mind. Her tripping me, starting rumors with her friends. She put gum in my hair once, forcing Monica to cut it all off. As a child, her bullying was torture, and it was all because she was jealous. Not because I was prettier, or nicer, or anything superficial, but because I was created from love, and she was born of hate.

Hate breeds hate.

I reached the top and she took her boot and drop-kicked me in the stomach, sending me flying back down a flight. I dropped my knife when I hit the cement. I rolled quickly to pick it back up, but she"d seen it.

"You know, I really thought you"d be smarter than that. I heard the gunshots a few hours ago. I watched you limp your sorry ass out of that ride. And you brought a knife, instead? Jesus, you deserve to die."

I got to my feet and gritted my teeth. I was making it up to her, hell or high water. I was doing this for everyone I"d met on my journey. The ones that had fed me, gave me a bed, loved me for who I was. I was doing this for Johnny Blue.

Marisol stepped back when I reached her for the second time and slowly clapped.

"Good job, sweetie, you did it. Dad would be so proud."

"I hate you." I gulped, my body shaking from the effort.

"Feeling is very, very mutual. It"s fine. You won"t feel that way for long." She reached behind her and pulled out a knife. It was smaller than mine, but she wasn"t injured, while I could barely stand. "I"m going to end this once and for all."

The coaster zoomed by so fast it was just a teal blur. I inhaled, making sure I was ready for this fight.

Marisol lunged for me, and I dropped to the floor, snatching her ankle, and pulling her down. I scraped my chin with the fall but barely flinched. Her head cracked on the cement, but she still got up, swaying.

"You fucking bitch." The knife was no longer in her hand, but on the platform. She saw where my eyes were looking and we both lunged for it. I made it there first and slapped it across the floor. It slid right off the platform.

"That"s fine, yours is bigger." She snatched mine from my grip and lunged, stabbing my other calf.

I screamed as she plunged it deep into me.

"Now, imagine if I picked somewhere more important. Maybe make you match your boyfriends. I could take an eye and a kidney."

"You are a monster," I cried. The pain was scorching as she twisted the blade.

"I didn't take their organs." She snickered. "They were the ones who kept coming back. Where are they, by the way? Shouldn't they be coming to save you from the big baddie?"

She pulled the knife out and blood poured from the gash. I had nothing to stop the bleeding. She stood proudly, knowing I was going to bleed out.

"I started that fire, you know. Well, me and Grace. It was her idea. I had to get the supplies though. We tried to drown you, but when you refused to go that way, we decided to go in the opposite direction." She paused, expecting me to react. "Get it, water and fire? Jesus. What do they see in you? This whole naive thing is a fucking joke, man. You used to do that act for Dad too, and he ate that shit up. It drove me and my mom both bonkers.

"She met your mom once. Did you know that? At the country club. Dad had given her his pass and assured her my mom never used it. She was there, having lunch with her gal pals like this was her life. Her life! She was born into poverty, and she was meant to stay that way. My mom made sure she knew that, and your cunt of a mother never came back to the club. She was banned. Her photo hung up on the wall. How fucking embarrassing. Like mother like daughter though, right? You"re not supposed to be here."

While Marisol was monologuing, I struggled to my feet. I winced but knew this was my only shot. The coaster was coming, and it was a two-minute wait after. She"d know my plan and would kill me before I got the chance again.

"You"re wrong," I stuttered. "About my mother. He loved her."

Marisol spun around, her back to the track. I walked forward, limping as best as I could. Blood dripped down my leg, pouring more and more with each step.

"He fucked her. Big difference. That"s what you"ll never understand, Domino. Men don"t love people like you, like your mother. You"re only useful for what"s between your legs. Just ask your boyfriends. Oh wait, you can"t. They don"t care about you. No one cares about you." She grabbed my arm and twisted it. I grimaced, and seeing the coaster barreling down the track, I lifted my leg and used all my remaining strength to launch my foot directly into her chest.

Her hand slipped off me as she flew back, landing on the track. I stared as she lifted her head to see the coaster, but had no time to react, as three seconds later, it collided with her, sending her exploding everywhere with a boom that sounded... wet. Blood splattered across my face and I collapsed.

It was over.

Fucking finally.