Page 15 of Brutal Knight

Lupita stopped her work, her hands resting on the countertop. As her eyes took me in, there was an uneasiness to her expression.

"Please, please, please." I flashed the smile that usually got me anything I wanted. "I swear, just a couple of rides. We’ll lock the gates when we leave."

Lupita shuffled on her feet, glancing behind me, watching as Eduardo, the security guard, locked the entranceway gates, and my heart sunk in my chest. If he was leaving, there was no way she would let us in.

"Night, Lupita," he waved at her, speaking in Spanish. "See you tomorrow."

She nodded at him, forcing a smile. When he was gone, she finished bundling the stacks of money with rubber bands, ignoring us.

I guess we had our answer. I turned to Tatiana, about to apologize, when Lupita gave a big sigh, shoving the rest of the money into a big purple pouch. “Okay. For the Knight of this island, I will let you in.”

"What?!" My voice sounded as surprised as I was feeling. “Are you serious?”

"Yes," Lupita's smile had grown soft, "I can never say no to you." She shook a finger at me. “But only three rides. After that you need to get home. I heard the storm will be a big one, and I don’t want Abuelo mad at me, eh?”

"Thank you!" Grinning, I jumped up onto the counter and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I promise, just a few rides and we'll lock it up tight."

"Come here," she beckoned us behind the counter, then led us towards the back door of her booth. "Everything else should be locked up, except for this door." She pressed a key into my hand. "Lock the door with this key, and drop it off at my place when you leave." She shook another stern finger at me. "And don't lose it, or I'll have to report you to your Abuelo."

"I won't!" I was so excited, I could hardly stop from shouting. As soon as she'd gone and we'd locked the door behind her, we ran through the park, screaming and whooping at our good luck. Tatiana took off once again, running ahead of me to pick which one to go on first.

We finally found one we could get started and the smile that lit up her face made me feel incredible. It made me feel like, with the wave of my hand, I could open every door Tatiana ever needed to get whatever she wanted.

We went on every single ride we could, and rode the ones she loved the most four, five, ten times.

I gave her one magical night of happiness and we didn't stop until the first drops of rain fell on us.

I looked up to the sky, a grin on my face, ready to call the rain down on us, when suddenly, I realized that the sky wasn’t dark or grey, but a horrid shade of green.

My bright smile slipped away, terror raining down on me.

Tatiana immediately sensed my discomfort. “Knight? What's wrong?"

We were on the Scrambler, and everything around us was silent, except for the drip drip drip of the rain building slowly, and the whirl of the wind echoing through the park.

I grabbed Tatiana's hand, pulling her out of our seat. "We gotta go!"

"What's wrong?" she cried as we raced through the maze of the park.

I didn't answer her, pushing her faster and harder towards the exit. Then the blood drained from my face when I realized that somewhere along the way, I'd lost the key.

"Oh, no," Tatiana said, "we can go back and look for it."

"There's no time," I said, forgetting it. I pushed her out the door of the front booth and slammed it behind me.

The streets were empty and it was almost dark. The wind turned into a howl, the rain picking up.

Tatiana shrieked with joy but I frowned, knowing what was coming. I ran towards the first hotel and banged on the door. No one answered. The doors were locked and windows blocked.

Door after door, and no one answered. It was like all the people on the shore had packed up and gone home.

Tatiana was beginning to get worried, and the wind grew even stronger, as trash and dead palm leaves began to sweep the streets. The worry on her face did something to me; it brought out a protective instinct inside me. I had to get us to safety.

By the look on her face, she had no idea what to expect.

I felt it in my bones, in the howl of the wind, and the green sky—a hurricane was blowing in.

We could race for my house where I knew wemightbe safe, but the palm trees lining the road were beginning to sway dangerously and the rain had turned into sheets pouring down on us.

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