Chapter 1

"You know." Caden licked at the milk on his spoon. "Sometimes I feel like you don't know how to tell time."

"Nine isn't that late," I retorted with an eye roll.

"I don't know how you even wake up for school."

"Don't add school into this; it's the Pestilention. You're supposed to sleep in."

"The early bird catches the worm," Caden said.

"And the bird that sleeps in makes the early bird prepare her food." I grinned as my brother sighed in defeat.

"What would you like for breakfast, Sleeping Beauty?" he asked. He turned his back towards me as he walked to the cabinets. Caden swung open the doors to display shelves that were piled with random snacks that were never eaten and opened boxes that we had been too lazy to close. I leaned over the table so that I could see my options better.

"You know," I propped my elbows on the table and placed my chin in my hands, "just three of your fluffiest pancakes with syrup leaking down the top and a side of—"

"Cereal it is." I chuckled as Caden slid a bowl of toasted oats my way.

"You were supposed to help me out two hours ago. You know that, right?" he said, exasperated.

"I'd like to have you know that there is a video on how to tie ties," I said. I stared at my brother, who was still in his sweats and a t-shirt. His hair was gelled back. It was the only thing he had done that morning to get ready, and quite frankly, it was the only thing he cared about.

"But you promised!"

"I promised to help you in the morning, not when the sun woke up."

"I have to head to work soon, though."

"Well, the kids can wait for me to finish my breakfast before getting their cotton candy." Caden let out an irritated breath as he walked out of the kitchen and into our living room. I hid my smile as I scooped a spoonful of cereal into my mouth.

Caden worked as an employee at a busy amusement park a couple of miles away. He loved working the rides or just handing kids candy at a gift store. It gave him the money he wanted and plenty of hours. After we moved out of our parent's house, he worked harder than ever.

We moved into a small apartment that was paid off in less than a year with money that was saved for college. Though using it to pay for school or for a roof over our heads wasn't a difficult decision. After two years, we had finally been able to take the lead in our lives and to get everything we had wanted, even though it wasn't much.

As I finished my breakfast, Caden came back into the kitchen with a suit on. He wore his white, button-up shirt and black pants that draped over his black shoes and almost hid his untied shoelaces. He had wrapped his striped tie around his neck, waiting for my assistance.

"What's with the suit?" I asked once I started fiddling with the tie. "The last time I saw you dress so nicely was at our cousin's wedding ten years ago."

Caden's eyes lit up. "I have a meeting with my boss today. Asking for a promotion."

I couldn't help but smile a little wider. Caden had nearly given his soul to this job, and even he knew that he should've gotten a promotion a long time ago. It was about time he spoke up about it.

"I'm heading out," he announced once I finally tucked his collar over the tie. Caden approached the door and grabbed his keys. "Don't have Stace stay for too long."

I chuckled. "How did you know that she was coming over?"

"She's just everywhere." He swung the door open, placing his shoe between it and the doorway so it left a crack. "By the way, can you head to the store today? There are a couple of things we need."

"Okay," I replied before the door closed with a soft click.

I finished cleaning the last dirty bowl in the sink when I saw Stace slither into the room.

A gasp emitted from my mouth as two hands slapped my shoulders. My heart leaped, causing my body to jump with it. I spun around. My nose nearly touched hers. My best friend tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and gave me a large grin.

"Hey, Kit-Kat!" Stace squealed. She wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack." I laughed, awkwardly patting her back.

Stace yanked back and skipped to the living room. Her shirt lifted up every time she bounced and revealed a flower tattoo on her back. Stace got it recently to celebrate her seventeenth birthday.

Even though it had been a full year since we could legally get a tattoo, I had never bothered with the idea. Tattoos were typically things people got when they were a part of a gang or wanted to be known as rebellious. Stace, though, ignored the social norm and got one just because she thought they looked pretty.

I grabbed a bag of pretzels from the pantry. I jumped as a loud beeping sound rang through the room.

"Warning: you have nearly reached the maximum amount of calories for today. Would you like to replace this snack with another? Options are a cup of celery, one banana..."

I rolled my eyes. "No thanks, EatWell. Just make my next meal smaller."

EatWell was a device installed in pantries, freezers, and fridges worldwide. It calculated how much of everything you were supposed to eat to have an even, "healthy" diet. It was meant to help people stay fit, but many people just ignored its recommendations. This resulted in them paying a tax, but most people found eating that extra scoop of ice cream worth it.

I took the pretzels and joined Stace on the couch. She had her legs flung on the arm of the sofa as she wiggled her hot pink toenails. I rested on the couch, lying on my stomach. Stace sat up and stole the pretzels from my hands.

A random show blared on the TV. She wasn't really paying attention to it, though. It was too boring to actually watch. It was just used as background noise.

We sat in silence for a while, allowing the noise of the screen to fill the room. It was only when the commercials came on that we broke away from it.

"Hey, are you ready to hear who's going to be in the Pestilention this year?" Stace asked.

Though television was boring, the Pestilention was the only exception. It was a giant obstacle course that was set in a different place each year. Like last year, when it was set in Canada. They had a world record of fifty-three deaths in only two weeks.

The United States was the chosen country for this year. For a year and a half people had been entering their names into the drawing, hoping to be selected to represent their state. Sometimes they did it for themselves, bets, or because someone else entered their name. After the endless wait, today was the day where everyone would finally know who was running next week's course.

I had always wondered why people entered their names into the Pestilention. It was just opening their arms to death. Maybe it was for the large cash prize that was promised at the end. They would have to guarantee a spot as the only winner to even get that. If multiple people beat the obstacle course, then they'd have to all split the check. Whether it was a large or small amount of money, was sacrificing themselves worth it?

I shrugged. "I guess so. Did you enter your name?"

"Definitely not," Stace laughed. "The craziest thing I do is eat takeout. How about you, Sugar?"

I snorted. "We all know that the world needs me too much to sacrifice myself."

"You never know." She stuffed two pretzels into her mouth. "Maybe someone will enter you into the course."

"I'd kill them before they could even touch the computer." I laughed and changed the channel, now playing a rerun of the Pestilention from three years ago. It was set in Europe. I rewinded to the beginning and resumed right when someone was puking on their ally's shoes.

Stace scrunched her nose as a closeup of all the corpses on the floor appeared on the screen. It zoomed in on a pair of milky eyes before showing the dark sky. Music turned on, causing the scene to be more dramatic than it already was. "Why are we watching this? We already have to in a couple of days."

I shrugged. "It amuses me."

"To see people dying?"

"Nope." I couldn't hide my grin. "To see you look like you just ate a lemon."

"No!"

"You look like this." I puckered my lips and tightened my face before cracking up. Stace chucked a cushion at me. I placed my hands over my face to defend myself.

By that time, we were both shrieking with laughter and chucking pillows at each other. I ignored the pretzels as they fell on the floor. They could get eaten later.

By the time Stace left, the sun was going down. My room was trashed; makeup scattered everywhere on the ground from the makeovers we gave each other. Pretzel crumbs littered the carpet, and somehow, I was missing a sock.

I deserted the messy room, deciding to clean it later. I leaned on the counter and watched as the sky darkened. Caden wouldn't be home for another few hours. That meant that I had the house to myself.

I opened the fridge, searching for something to make for dinner. It was practically empty. My eyes widened when I realized that I had forgotten to head to the store.

I grabbed the sticky note with the list of groceries off of the fridge. Throwing my jacket on and struggling with the zipper on my boots, I swung the door open. I checked my pocket for my keys before slamming the door. I had to make it to the store and back before Caden arrived and the tributes for the Pestilention were announced.

First chapter up! After writing the preview (which if you didn't read, that's totally okay), I am pumped to continue and, fingers crossed, finish this book! Unfortunately, it might take a while to publish chapters because school is starting up again. I will make sure to do it, though!

Please do read on, and try to hit that vote button with your striped tie. Stay cool my friends. :)

The song is called Stay by Zedd and Alessia Cara. I hope that you enjoy listening to it while you're reading this chapter.

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