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/

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Neither Corbin nor his companions could have anticipated how their night would evolve when they rolled into Carp - a forgotten town in Texas. The dusty truck inched down the main road where an old movie theater stood with its glowing marquee. They had taken a detour before heading into Mexico, with the plan to rob a few locals.

However, they scrapped the plan when they learned about a game called Panic. At first, it was just whisperings Luna overheard while sitting in the diner, searching for a perfect target to ransack. But then fireworks erupted, illuminating the sky in bursts of pastels over the small dusty town. She rushed from the diner to the truck, where Corbin stood with Jasper while Archibald sat behind the wheel. Breath escaped her mouth in tiny puffs of fog as the chilly night clung to the swaying trees, and she exclaimed they needed to head to the lake.

And fast!

A competition was underway, where players were required to leap off a cliff into the water below to announce their participation. Luna overheard all players would receive one hundred points for entering and gain an additional twenty-five after plunging from the High Jump. However, if they dived from the Suicide Leap, they'd earn one hundred points.

"So... You want to play their game?" Corbin quirked a brow at her.

"Of course not!" Luna snorted.

"Then what are we doing?"

"Yes, what are we doing?" Jasper circled her, amusement creasing the edges of his mouth.

"I want to rob their bagman."

"You want to rob a bunch of kids?" Archibald leaned over the passenger seat, the leather squeaking.

"Money is money, and we're going to need it in Mexico," Luna replied.

"So, how are we going to do this?"

"Easy." Luna grinned and pointed to her father. "You and I will scout around for the bagman while and Jasper and Corbin take part in the game."

"Oh, no, no, no!" Corbin crisscrossed his hands. "Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"I'm afraid of heights."

"Oh, come on, cupcake..." Jasper threw his arm around him and squeezed. "Let's have a little fun."

∆∆∆

The first challenge wasn't as tricky as Corbin expected. Even with countless teens observing within the trees while standing under twinkling stars in the raven sky. It was unusual for adults to play, and there had been upset murmurs from the crowd, so the emcee, Diggins, came up with a compromise. They could continue to play, but they would have to split the prize with the top three contestants if they won.

With that out of the way, the game began.

And just like the previous night, everyone gathered to watch the next challenge take place as a sharp crackle caused everyone in the crowd to slap their hands over their ears.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Diggins said with a megaphone to his mouth. "Tonight the game of Panic continues, and if you thought jumping from a cliff was scary, try walking the plank!"

Extending his arm, he pointed towards two rusty water towers. The metal structures stood almost as tall as the swaying trees and were lit by various floodlights someone had rigged together. Yet, even with the chill in the air, a trickle of sweat rolled down Corbin's back.

"Wait..." He grabbed Jasper's arm. "We're supposed to walk across that rickety thing?"

"Scared, princess?"

"Uh, yeah. Did you forget I have issues with heights?"

"Corbin," Jasper sighed. "You've been hunted cross country by The Hounds and enslaved to sell at auction, but this scares you? Where are your balls!"

"I dunno, but maybe I'll find them after taking a walk. I need to get my head right."

"Oh, come on, I was just joking," Jasper called out as Corbin faded into the crowd.

"Go easy on him," Archibald interjected. "He didn't ask to be part of this, but he's a good sport, despite his fear."

"Fine, fine. Ruin my fun..." Jasper grumbled.

"I mean it, son." Archibald narrowed his brows. "Luna and I need to canvas the area for the bagman, so I need you to stick by Corbin. Be supportive. It's a long drop from those towers, so he'll need your confidence to help him across."

"Yeah, yeah. I've got this, old man."

"Lord help me..." Archibald glanced at the sky.

"Ready?" Luna asked. "I figure we'll just make our way around, listen closely, observe body language, see whose coming and going. Spotting the bagman should be easy. These kids are amateurs."

"They'll never see us coming."

"Hey, Jasp..." Luna circled him and wove her arms around his waist. "Maybe while you guys are up there, you can observe the crowd since and let me know what you see? Since you'll have a birds-eye view advantage."

"You can count on me. As for Corbin..."

"Be nice." Luna smacked his chest. "He's one of us now."

"I know. I just love teasing him."

In the crowd, Corbin wove through teenagers staring at the towers as a participant wobbled across the plank. He froze when someone latched onto the elbow of his jacket and when he glanced to his right, a frightened girl with curly hair and bronze skin stood there. Her eyes were fixed on the rusty metal structures, a hand over her heart as she chewed her lip.

"You know her?"

"What?" She blinked her attention to him and relaxed her grip on his jacket. "Sorry."

"It's ok. This is kind of intense. So, is that your friend up there?"

"Heather? She's my best friend." Flashing a smile, she added, "I'm Natalie."

"Corbin."

"Wait... You're one of the adults participating, right? I think your friend jumped from the Suicide Leap the other night."

"Yep. That's us. And if I recall, your friend also jumped from the Suicide Leap. Kind of a daredevil, huh?"

"She really needs the money. Her mom stole all of her savings."

"Oh..." Corbin furrowed his brows and glanced back at Luna. Their plan to rob the bagman was sounding selfish. "Well, I wish her luck."

"Thank you and to you as well."

Just then, Diggins' megaphone crackled, followed by another piercing screech. "Is everyone ready for the next participant?"

"Yes!" Everyone roared.

"Next up, Jasper!"

Eyes shifted, searching for the adult who dove from the Suicide Leap the night prior. When they spotted him, they parted like the sea, giving him space to make his way. He ate up all the attention, blowing kisses at the girls and high-fiving the boys. It was all part of the plan to keep the audience distracted with his charm while Luna and Archibald scouted the area.

But, after learning what happened to Heather, Corbin couldn't push aside his conscience. Sure, they needed money to head into Mexico, but they could find it a different way. In a manner that wouldn't lead to stealing from teenagers.

"Luna, we need to talk," he said upon returning to her and Archibald. "This plan... It still feels wrong to me."

"Corbin..." She focussed her green eyes on him, the flicker from a nearby fire barrel causing her brunette hair to glow. "We talked about this. The prize is fifty-thousand dollars. That's a lot of money - money that would benefit us crossing the border, renting a place to live, and surviving in Mexico."

"But, Luna-"

"We need the money."

"Listen, Corbin." Archibald placed his arm around him. "I understand why you don't like it, but you're one of us now, which means we're going to do things that are... Morally questionable. It's how we survive."

"I know, but some of these kids need the money, too. That girl who just crossed the plank was robbed by her mother - and I bet she's not the only one with a story like that."

"Your heart is in the right place, Corbin, but we live in a cutthroat world," Luna replied and motioned towards the towers where Jasper sprinted across, grinning, with arms out, imitating a plane landing. "Besides, at the rate he's going, we'll probably win this thing fair and square."

As soon as Jasper made it to the other side, an eruption of applause echoed off the trees like a boomerang and Diggins brought the megaphone to his mouth, announcing Jasper's time. So far, he was the fastest, resulting in a susurrus as people compared participants and adjusted their wagers on who would win.

"Is everyone ready for the next contestant to make their walk of doom?" Diggins asked, and everyone answered with cheering as they begged for more. "Corbin, your time has come!"

"Looks like you're up." Luna bobbed her brows. "And so am I. It's time to search for the bagman."

As she disappeared into the crowd of teens, Archibald sighed and patted Corbin's shoulder. "Good luck up there."

All eyes fell on him as he made his way to the tower with its decaying ladder. The scent of smoke from logs burning in barrels wafted his way on the cool night breeze. Sweat coated his hands, so he wiped them on his jeans before reaching for the first rung. It was a long climb to the top, and the pulse of music from someone's car stereo faded the higher he climbed. Over the years, Corbin had spent countless days, weeks, and sometimes months in complete silence while living in his grandfather's abandoned home. Yet, it didn't compare to the loneliness of being high on that unstable ladder. With each trembling step, he questioned if the rungs would disintegrate from the weight of his feet.

When he reached the top, his knees had reduced to a gelatinous state as his legs quivered while hiking himself onto the rusty landing. From where he stood, the crowd looked like coffee grounds spilled on a kitchen counter. Amongst them, phones glowed as they snapped photos, while Diggins gave a play-by-play of his movements.

Inching towards the plank, his heart drummed with a ratatat that caused the flesh of his chest to vibrate.

"Easy... Easy, Corbin," he said to himself and slid his boot forward while gripping the railing.

The towers seemed like ancient giants that had weathered storms and lived to tell the tale from down below. But from above, they creaked and groaned, their metal legs swaying with each sweep of wind.

"You've got this..."

Taking a deep breath, he let go of the railing and exhaled. It was just him, the wind, and a thin plank connecting to the other side. One wrong step and he would plummet to the ground like an anchor headed for the ocean floor.

"One step forward..." he encouraged himself. "Two steps forward..."

Repeating the mantra, he placed a foot in front of the other, and little by little, he closed the gap between himself and the tower. When he was within reach of the railing, he dove for the landing and crashed into the water tower wall like a gong. A roar of applause skyrocketed towards the star-filled sky as Corbin rolled onto his back, his lungs expanding and contracting with rapid breaths. Diggins's megaphone screeched once more, and he announced Corbin was the slowest to cross the plank so far. Some teens laughed, but he completed the challenge. That was all that mattered as he got to his knees and hauled himself to his feet.

By the time he made it down to the ground, a new participant was on their way up. A few onlookers patted Corbin on the shoulder with congratulations as he walked past, but Natalie stepped in front of him.

"So, your friend Jasper was the fastest, and you were the slowest. Was that planned?" She grinned.

"Nope. Heights just freak me out."

"Well, hopefully, the rest of the challenges don't involve heights because watching you cross the plank was..."

"Pathetic?" Corbin chuckled.

"A little." She rocked her hand.

Corbin was about to excuse himself to find the others, but a succession of gasps from the people around them made him pause. As he glanced around and the local teens had their gazes centered on the towers.

"Oh my god!" Natalie braced his arm, her finger, pointing. "Look!"

There, high in the sky and dangling from the plank, was a contestant named Dodge. It was dead silent as everyone watched with hands going to their mouths while others held each other. If the young man fell, it would be a straight drop to the ground and splatter his skull like an egg. Another collection of gasps rang out as Dodge lost his grip and held on with just one hand.

"I can't watch..." Natalie buried her face in her hands.

"We should do something," Corbin said.

"He won't fall," Luna whispered as she and sided up to Corbin. "I had a small vision while scouting for the bagman."

"I hope you're right."

"I'm always right. Just watch." She nodded towards the towers.

Glancing back at the plank, every vein in Dodge's arm bulged as he used all of his might to hang on with one hand and latch back on with the other. It was quiet as everyone stood by, watching. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath, and the trees leaned forward on the edges of their roots, waiting in suspense as Dodge struggled to pull himself up. Only a few seconds had passed, yet it felt like he'd been dangling for thirty minutes. He gave one final grunt before dragging himself up and onto the plank, followed by a clamor of applause that shook the trees.

"See?" Luna bobbed a brow.

"Guess you were right," Corbin sighed.

"Yes, and now we should get going." She tugged on his arm and began pulling him through the crowd. "This place is about to get raided."

"Right now?"

"Right now! As soon as Dodge finishes climbing down, he's getting into a fistfight with another kid named Ray. That's when the cops come, so let's find my dad and Jasper and get out of here."

"And you saw this in your vision?"

"Yep!"

"So, what else did you see in your vision?"

Spinning on her heels, she paused in front of him and grinned. "I found the bagman, and my vision told me who wins the game."

"Who?"

Behind them, people shouted as Dodge and Ray began fist-fighting like rams claiming territory. In the distance, sirens blared and flashing lights drenched the trees in shades of red and blue. Teens scattered towards the forest as patrol cars drove in at full speed.

"That's our cue." Luna extended her hand, flexing her fingers at Corbin. "Let's get out of here."

"Right. Let's book it!" Corbin took her hand, and together they ran to the truck where Archibald and Jasper waited.

Jumping inside, Archibald revved the engine and peeled out of the forest, with the back tires fishtailing.

"So who wins?" Corbin glanced over his shoulder at Luna, who sat in the backseat with Jasper. "You never said."

"And I'll never tell..." Luna smiled.

"Oh, come on! Tell me."

"All I'll say is, everything will turn out fine, Corbin. Trust me."

"I do trust you."

"Good. Then we'll continue with our plan to rob the bagman."

"I guess we well," Corbin replied and turned to face the road as Archibald swerved onto the highway, heading for their hotel.

Even though Corbin disagreed with how his companions earned their money, he couldn't deny they always kept him safe.

For that, he was grateful.

For that, he would always follow their lead.

Even if it meant conquering his fear of heights in a game called Panic.