I wished that my best friend was seeing things and mistaking them for danger. Sadly, he was not far from the truth.

A monster had appeared from somewhere and was charging us. It was a knight on a chariot that was being pulled by two white horses with golden manes. The knight's armor was silver and glistened, so we could easily see him.

I pointed a shaking finger at him. "Why is that person wearing armor that has been outdated for years?"

"Did it ever occur to you, Brandon, that the person within that armor suit is a trapped soul who beckons to be free?" Kobul stated.

"Oh. So it is a cursed knight. Just what the readers and I wanted to hear."

"If it is a trapped soul, we should free it from its prison," Jason made an excellent decision.

Neither the husband nor wife said anything in relation to that. Instead, Kobul ordered us to hide behind a trash can that was nearby, and Winifred spoke into the microphone.

"Boys? Tippy? Skippy? Tappy? Mommy and Daddy would like to see and talk with you. Please find us when you can."

Margie, Jason, and I ducked behind the trash bin, and Winifred put the microphone back where she had found it and used her spells and powers to launch an attack at the knight.

"Ka le mon!"

A red ball of energy shot out from her palm and hit the knight in his chest. The horses stopped in their tracks, making the chariot stop as well, and staggered back.

"I could use my crossbow and arrow on the knight, but he is wearing armor," Margie whispered.

"Why did Kobul and Winifred not say that my suggestion was genius?" Jason said. "I mean, it was a good idea, was it not?"

I shrugged. "Maybe they have their reasons or just did not hear you."

A shriek came from the knight, and he raised his sword, which was black, high in the air. Kobul said something about the soul deserving to be stuck in there and proclaimed a spell.

"Mo de den!"

Two purple balls of energy formed, one in each palm, and he threw them at the knight. They collided with the knight so hard that the knight flew off his chariot and landed on solid ground. He shrieked and leaped to his feet. He tightened his grip on his sword's handle.

"This is going to take the rest of the night," Winifred said.

"I know," Kobul replied. "That is why you must take the kids away from here and to our sons."

"What about you?"

"I am staying with the knight and fighting him until he gives up."

"That could take forever! Plus, you are too old to be by yourself and doing this on your own."

"If it means that you and those kids will be safe, that is a risk that I am willing to take."

She grabbed her husband's wrist. "I am not leaving you. I am not going anywhere without you."

He jerked his wrist away. "Go. Or I will have no other choice but to fight you."

A tear trickled down her cheek. She wiped it away. "I...I love you."

"I love you too."

The knight was back on his chariot and commanded the horses to run to where the couple was standing. Kobul shoved his wife and charged. Winifred hurried to the trash can and ordered us to follow her. We ran like that our lives depended on it and were soon out of danger and on the other side of the park.

Jason decided that it was time to ask his question. "Why did you and your husband ignore my idea from earlier?"

"Which idea was that, Jason?"

"I thought that it would be good if we freed the poor soul. That way, nobody has to fight him."

She let out a sigh of defeat. "Just because that it is a trapped soul does not mean that it is a poor soul."

I quirked an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean, Winifred?"

That is when she confessed to us that it was partly her and her husband's fault that the evil knight existed. Right before Territory of Terror shut down, she and Kobul captured a wicked soul that was strong enough to destroy Forlot and take over the world. They knew that they could not allow that to happen and tried trapping it somewhere. Nothing worked, and that is where the suit of armor comes in.

The soul was weak when it came to metal and had suffered being in that armor since. Kobul and Winifred assumed that it was the end. Little did they know...

The soul learned to control the armor and was bent on killing Kobul and Winifred for what they did to him. After the park shut down, the knight began stalking the couple and scaring anyone who trespassed. That is why Kobul and Winifred were still living in the abandoned park. They needed to keep their eyes on the cursed knight.

Winifred pulled back the flap of a small, red tent and motioned for us to go in. We did, and she followed us.

"Are we going to wait in here until Kobul takes care of the knight?" Jason guessed.

"Nope," Winifred answered. "We are going to wait in here until my boys find us."

"That could be a while," I commented. "I am a bit worried what they are doing to Ashlee."

"Tippy, Skippy, and Tappy would never do anything that would harm Ashlee. Especially Skippy. He has two children. Well, had two children...until they vanished."

We overheard rustling noises coming from outside. They sounded like that something - or someone - was in a bush. I figured that maybe the puppets were nearby. The puppets and Ashlee were nearby.

The tent's flap was pulled back, and my heart sank. No Ashlee. No puppets. Just a shadow monster that craved for humans to eat.