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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The heat was noticeable before my eyes were even opened. Sunlight so intense that I could only see a white hue if I didn't shield my vision.

Even before I saw anything I knew something was amiss. This place didn't look like the Giparu, didn't smell like the city of Ur. Even the heath was different. In the desert the sun was scorching, beating down on any living creature but here there was a moistness to the air as if it held an almost tortuous false promise of salvation.

Upon first glance I noticed that this land was indeed a dessert just like Akkad. But strange wooden buildings with illuminated stars, in constellations unlike any I had ever witnessed, lined the horizon as the sun was setting beyond it all. Before I knew it, my feet were dragging me towards the light as if I were a moth drawn towards the flame.

The closer I came, the more I realised that these stars were fixed in place, like fireflies trapped in spherical contraptions.

A small gasp drew my attention back to the ever-growing darkness surrounding me. "We really did it. She's really here." someone whispered.

Before I could even ask a second choice chimed in.

"Welcome to Carp, Enheduanna." The voice called out from beyond the stars.

I squinted my eyes to make out two silhouettes in the darkness of dusk. "That condescending tone of yours is very unpleasant. You speak to a high priestess of Inanna, princess of Akkad, daughter of Sargon-"

"Yeah, yeah. We know your many titles." The man waved off.

"Then your disrespectful manner alludes me even more so."

There is a moment of silence. "We brought you here to kickoff this year's Panic."

"Panic? I shall do no such thing."

The sheer confusion must have been written on my face because the man couldn't help but laugh. "The game of Panic has been a senior tradition in Carp for years. For us, it is the only way out of this godforsaken place."

His bitter words bring back memories of my life before priesthood. The trapped feeling of having no control over those monotonous days still haunted me.

"But this year," the man continued stopping only to swallow a lump in his throat. "The sheriff is trying to cancel Panic once and for all. We will lose our only chance at freedom if you don't help us."

However threatening the man tried to sound there was a hint of youthfulness to his voice. That high-pitched tone of a boy who had barely set his first steps into adulthood. It made me aware that he was as scared as I was.

And that knowledge have me power. "Step into the light," I said, making sure that my voice was steady and commanding.

From behind the fixed stars stepped a young man into the light. His skin paler than any person I had ever seen, and with hair the colour of sand. The girl beside him had the same pale skin, only her hair was almost as dark as mine. Whoever these people were, they were just that, people. No, children. Barely beyond my own years.

"This game, Panic as you called it, how does it work?" I asked.

"Every summer the graduating seniors risk their lives competing in a series of challenges for the chance to win life-changing money. Riches if you will." The girl answered.

The boy nodded in agreement. "But after the death of two players last year, the sheriff has been determined to cancel Panic."

I opened my mouth to voice my agreement with this sheriff person, but the look in the boy's eyed stopped me. His eyes mirrored my own sorrows to take control of his own life. For all the strength he projected there was an equal amount of fear and desperation in him. He knew I understood those feelings, and he was right. This place and these people might be strange to me but the feeling of not having control over one's own faith was all too familiar.

"What must I do?"

"There is an old legend that only the first in something can kick-off a Panic that will be unlike any other." The boy explained as he stepped closer. "You were the first author, so if you can fulfil the first challenge we can have our shot at freedom."

"And what is the challenge?"

"Let me show you." Without another word the boy ushered me past the wooden building down a dark path illuminated by just a handful of torches at the corners. The girl walked behind be, effectively trapping me between them. At the last torch the looming shadows of what lay before us entirely engulfed us. The cliffs were a tower of grey rock rising in salute to every star in the sky. Below the cliffs black water shimmered in the starlight. The scene was enchanting and threatening at the same time with the smooth water and rocky cliff balancing each other out with danger and beauty. 

"Players must leap off the cliff into the water below to announce their entrance into the game. All players get 100 points for entering. If players jump from the High Jump, they get an extra 25 points. If they jump from Suicide Leap, they get an extra 100 points or immunity in a challenge of their choice."

I tear my eyes away from the cliffs to look at the boy beside me for clarification. "That's it? You simply want me to jump in this lake?"

His eyes of lapis blue peered widely at me before glancing at the girl. "Yes, you don't mind?"

"Not at all, when we were younger my brothers and I always loved to jump into the Tigres from the rocky cliffs." I said as I made my way to the cliffs. The rocks were more slippery here than in Akkad, but with some steady footing and support from my hands it was hardly a challenge to reach the first ledge. "All you need is a speedy run before the jump to avoid the rocks below." Measuring out the paces I take my place at the very end of the ledge with my back pressed against the cold rocks. 

Before I could even take my first step the boy blocked my path. "It won't work unless you jump from the Suicide Leap." He pointed towards a tiny ledge at the very top of the cliff, barely big enough to hold two people judging by of the two silhouettes that were standing there.

All the confidence I had only a moment ago dropped like a bolder from my shoulders. There was no way anyone could jump from that and make it out unscathed. This boy was mad! "And why, pray tell, would I do that?"

A devious grin played over his lips. "Because we have something you want."

"Your so-called riches?" A raspy laugh escaped my lips. "Don't make me laugh. I grew up in a palace of marble. I was raised on a diet of honeyed figs and the finest wines. Your riches mean nothing to me."

He chuckled through his ever-growing grin. "That is the great thing about Panic. It's not all about the money. People will do anything to get what they want."

I step forward to meet his threatening grin in defiance. "You don't know what I want."

It didn't seem to face him. "Don't underestimate the power of a history buff, high priestess. I know you want someone called Kituzda."

It couldn't be. They couldn't have her here. That was impossible. But then again, me being here defied the impossible, so he could be telling the truth. A muffled cry pulled my attention back to the two silhouettes standing on the Suicide ledge. My ear couldn't tell if the voice belonged to Kituzda, nor could my eyes see her features clearly in the darkness of night. And with my mind screaming at the possibility that it might be her I couldn't stop myself from climbing up the slippery rocks, cutting my hands and legs more and more as I progressed. But the thought that they might hurt her was enough to blind me to the pain. I had lost her once, I wouldn't let anyone take her from me again.

Not if I could help it. 

With my bruised knuckles wrapped around the ledge I pulled myself up onto the highest leap. My knees had barely touched the stone, or a screech pulled my eyes up to the ledge where the brown-haired girl pushed someone over. My mind went numb, my body reacted before anything else registered. Before I knew it, my feet pushed me over the edge, hands reaching out to the only love I had ever known. In this moment of weightlessness nothing else mattered, my eyes saw nothing else but her. Her umber hair and dark skin were always just out of reach until we both hit the water. The coldness and sudden rush of darkness freeze my senses. Flailing around I desperately try to find Kituzda in the icy water, but the lack of oxygen eventually forces me to surface. 

As I break the calm surface the rising sun greets me, and the uneven flats of Ur lined the horizon once again. My arms and legs are once again without a scratch and the priestesses are calling me from the banks of the river. The relief on my face hid the bitter feeling in the back of my mind. I had bought my agency and freedom with the price of love. It was a price I had accepted even if the wound still hurt. But what about those pale children? What price would they have to pay to get what they desire? And how far would they be willing to go for it?