Author's Note

In celebration of Amazon Prime Video's newest series Panic, I am thrilled to be teaming up with Amazon Prime Video and Wattpad to write this exclusive chapter that puts my characters from this story into the world of Panic!

I hope this chapter intrigues and inspires you to learn more about Panic. Visit the #PanicWritingContest on Wattpad for the chance to put your creative writing chops to the test and learn more about the show!

To find out more about the contest, prizes, and how to enter, check out the #PanicWritingContest here: wattpad.com/AmazonPrimeVideo

Don't forget to watch the series premiere on May 28th, only on Amazon Prime Video, here: http://primevideo.com/

***

I stare across the inky blackness of the lake, to the shadowy cliff that rises from tall, to taller, to suicidal in height.

Sember tugs on my hand, and I look down at her. "Maybe this is a bad idea," she whispers. Her green eyes look dark in the night, but I can still see the trepidation in them.

Her thoughts mirror my own. Maybe this is a bad idea.

"Wow, Siena, look at all these people!" Nirrin, who has posted herself on my other side, gawks at the throngs of my peers who are milling about, slurping purloined beer and laughing like this is some backyard party on a normal Saturday night. "This is going to be fun!"

Fun. Sure, okay. That's one word for it.

"Hey," a random guy says in our direction. "No kids allowed." He glances at Sember and Nirrin with disdain before turning his eyes to me. "You a babysitter or something?"

I open my mouth even though I have no idea what I'm going to say, but Nirrin speaks first.

"Why, do you need one?" The twelve-year-old lifts her chin in that way I've always admired. "If no kids are allowed, then maybe you should go home."

The guy raises his palms as if placating a wild dog and backs away, shaking his head.

"Maybe we should go home," I muse aloud. "I shouldn't have brought you guys here."

"You know I would have just come here on my own." Nirrin flips her brown hair. "Besides, Bren needs us. If Foresthome shuts down, they're going to stick us all in foster homes and we'll never see each other again." She crosses her arms and glares at the ground. "With my luck I'll probably end up with a molester."

I know she's exaggerating for dramatic effect, but it works anyway. I have to remember why I'm here. Not because it's fun, not because I need to win this contest to escape the clutches of this nowhere town, but because Foresthome needs me.

Bren lost the meager funding that was keeping the doors open for the Foresthome Youth Center, which also serves as a group home for displaced children. She has two months to secure new funding, or it's lights out. As the only graduating senior in the facility this year, I'm uniquely qualified to save Foresthome. That's assuming I don't die trying.

That's where Panic comes in. Panic—ironically named because you're not supposed to panic—is an underground event organized by high school seniors. Also it's forbidden because it's dangerous. Students pay an entry fee to face challenges and earn points. The one with the most points wins the entire pot. This year, that pot is worth fifty thousand dollars.

That's right. Fifty. Thousand. Dollars.

That's a lot of food, blankets, and rent money.

"Ooh, someone's jumping!" Nirrin squeals.

I swivel my head in time to see the glowing streak of a flare, clutched in the hand of a boy who has taken a running leap off the cliff. The crowd holds its collective breath as they watch his descent, burning an orange path through the night.

Sploosh.

"One hundred points!" the emcee shouts into his bullhorn.

"That doesn't look so hard," Nirrin says, watching as the grinning boy lumbers onto shore like an emerging sea creature. "Are you sure I can't participate? I have some babysitting money."

"High school seniors only," I emphasize.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

I nibble on my lip and peek at Sember, as if the nine-year-old will suddenly have alternatives to this Panic madness. Her lips are pressed together in an expression that I feel as well.

What choice do we have? Do nothing and watch the only stable home we've ever known shut down forever?

I clench my jaw with grim resolve. I can do this. If I was able to stand in front of a crowd and give a speech about why I deserved to stay in Foresthome, then I could certainly do this.

"Okay." I guide Sember's hand into Nirrin's. "Take care of each other while I do this." I start backing toward the cliff before I lose my nerve, pointing a quick finger at Nirrin. "And no beer!"

She pretends to pout.

Time for me to get up there.

I strike the flare I was given when I signed up and start marching.

My pace slows as I get higher, as the blackness of the lake looms farther and farther away.

And then I'm there.

At the edge of the cliff.

Gaping down... down... down at the fathomless chasm below.

I wish Remi was here. He'd help me find my courage. Hold my hand and tell me everything was going to be all right. But he's away at college. He'd proven everyone wrong by escaping the tar pit that was Carp, Texas. He would've dropped everything to come back and help, which was why no one told him about Foresthome's financial troubles. If he came back, he might never break free again.

"You can do it, Siena!" I hear Nirrin screech from below.

I smile a little. This isn't complicated. I just need to jump into some water.

From a rocky precipice.

In the middle of the night.

With nothing but a flare in my hand to protect me.

Oh my god, am I insane?

The tremor begins in my knees and travels up my spine until my whole body is trembling. I could dash my brains out on a boulder. I could shatter every bone in my body if I slap the water wrong. I could even have a heart attack and die before I even reach the water. This whole thing is a bad, bad idea.

But they're counting on me.

I squeeze my eyes against all the terrifying ways I could die. The bright glow of the flare penetrates my eyelids, so I concentrate on it. I can feel its warmth near my hand. I inhale deeply, its faint sulfurous odor drifting into my nostrils.

I take a few big steps backward.

And a few more.

It's just you and me, flare.

I open my eyes, focus on the edge in front of me, and sprint toward it.

Steady.

Wait for it.

Don't trip.

And... jump!

Gravel flies off my toes as I sail into the air.

I am weightless.

And then I'm falling.

Flying.

Hurtling toward the abyss.

I want to scream, but my lungs and other organs seem to have abandoned me. Maybe they're still waiting for me at the top of the cliff.

I can't look. My eyes slam shut again as I squeeze my body into itself.

And then I'm engulfed in the cold, feet first. Water shoots up my nose. I start flailing to the surface. It's only been a few seconds, but I splutter into the air like I've been drowning.

I'm alive.

I'm cold and have the worst wedgie ever, but I'm alive.

"One hundred points!" the bullhorn squawks.

I did it.

I didn't win Panic yet, but I made that first step. I'm in.

I've got a shot.