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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"We're here!" my new foster mother announces cheerfully. Candace "Candy" Carlton is way too cheerful. She's like the cute cuddly puppy that always wants attention and you feel like you have to be nice to them because it's a cute cuddly puppy. Same thing here.

This evening she's wearing shorts that are perhaps a little too young for her. I mean she's in her forties and she's wearing shorts that I wouldn't even wear. You can practically see her um...bum I think the UK people call it. Her strawberry blonde hair is up in a high ponytail and she's makeup free. She does have kind eyes, though. Which is why I'm extra snarky to her on most days. I hate the look of pity that she's always wearing when she sees me.

I get it. I mean, I am a victim of a psychotic serial killer that was my last foster mom. Mrs. Olsen is the reason I've had several surgeries to try to repair my hands. She smashed them both with a sledgehammer, taking away the one thing I could do—draw. And that's why I'm so angry. The one thing I was good at, the one thing I thought could get me into college on a full scholarship is gone now. The doctors don't think I'll ever be able to draw again.

My sketchbooks and pencils are still stuffed away in my bag. I haven't been able to bring myself to look at them. Not that I'd be able to even pick them up anyway. I can barely feed myself as it is. Just holding silverware hurts to the point I want to cry, but I force myself to do it, to work through the pain. That old saying what doesn't kill you makes you stronger is an apt analogy for me. I've survived a lot in my sixteen years and I've come out stronger for it.

I'll survive this too.

But I can be as snarky and angry as I want in the meantime.

Which is why we ended up on a road trip to some unknown little town called Carp. Candy decided a change of scenery would do us both good. Her sister lives here and offered to let us stay with her for the weekend.

It's just a weekend. I can deal. Plus, its warm. Most people would say it's hot, but since I see ghosts as a living reaper, my body temp always runs cold and a hundred degrees to me feels like its barely forty. I'll take all the heat I can get. This is why I plan on applying to schools where its always warm. I like North Carolina, don't get me wrong, but I want warmth all year round, not just in the summers.

The little diner we stop at is quaint. That's actually being kind. There's more room at the counter than there are tables. At least it looks clean. The boy behind the counter is cute, if a little scrawny looking. Looks can be deceiving, though. I know for a fact the scrawny ones are who you watch out for. They're scrappy and usually the best fighters. His brown eyes remind me of Officer Dan, the police officer who helped me. I wouldn't be alive if not for him. I owe him my life.

Shaking my head, I sit down at the table and awkwardly attempt to pull the menu from between the napkin dispenser and the salt shaker. It's no use. I just can't grip it.

"Here, darlin'." Candy pulls it out and hands it to me. "What do you think looks good?"

I glare at her, hating that I can't even grab a stupid menu.

She nods toward the menu, ignoring my rude behavior.

I am hungry so I grudgingly look at it. They offer standard diner food so there's at least a bacon cheeseburger. What's the point of cheeseburger without bacon?

"So?" Candy asks after a long drawn out moment. "What do you want, hon?"

"Bacon cheeseburger with a strawberry milkshake."

"Good choice."

I nearly jump out of my chair at the voice right behind me. The guy behind the counter managed to sneak up on me and I don't like it. Not one little bit.

Candy's worried stare forces me to calm myself down. She might make me start seeing my shrink every day instead of three times a week. I've been having nightmares about being strapped down and tortured in that basement. People sneaking up on me doesn't help.

"What can I get you ma'am?" Counter guy is giving me curious looks, but I studiously ignore him.

"I'll have a cheeseburger and fries with a large root beer float please."

"Coming right up." He disappears through a door that probably leads to the kitchen.

Shivering, I look around. Everyone's wearing shorts, tanks, and t-shirts and here I am freezing to death. I wish I could be warm for just a few minutes. I don't even remember what it feels like to have the sun heat your skin.

The teens in the place have their faces basically glued to their phone screens. No one even glances around. It's weird.

"Are you entering tonight?" a girl asks as she sits down beside us. She's tall with long dark hair and the boy with her is her complete opposite. His honey gold hair matches the exact shade of his eyes.

"I don't know. People died last year."

"Yeah, but I hear the pot is the biggest they've ever had. It could be our ticket out of here, Lee."

What are they talking about? I pretend to study the menu more as I listen in. Candy has her phone out too texting. She's been seeing some court clerk for a few months and they text all day with each other. It's cute.

"Janie, it's dangerous."

"No risk, no reward. Isn't that what you always tell me?"

He frowns, but they both stop talking when counter guy comes over to take their order.

"Come on, Lee, I can't do this without you."

He sighs and rubs his hands up and down his arms. "They must have the AC on steroids or something. It's cold in here today."

I look around, but I don't see any ghosts. Doesn't mean they're not here, though. The little buggers can sneak up on you at the worst of times.

"Yeah, but it feels great. I think they said it was like close to a hundred or something."

"The police are already sniffing around, following some of us hoping we'll lead them to the start of Panic. We could end up in jail."

Panic? What is that and why would it land them in jail?

"Aunt Candy!"

A girl bounds through the door followed by a woman who has to be her mother. They look that much alike. Candy stands up and hugs the girl.

"Bless your heart, darlin, you look fantastic. How does it feel to graduate? I wish I could have been here earlier to see you walk, but I couldn't get the time off work."

"You're here now and that's all that matters. Hey, Janie. How's it going, Lee?"

They both nod and I think they only just notice me and of course, their gaze lands on my hands which are bandaged beneath the air casts. A regular cast wouldn't work since they do so much work on a regular basis. The ortho surgeon is determined to at least give me mobility in my hands. They're useless right now.

"Cara, this is Mattie."

"Hey!" Cara smiles and then startles me by giving me a hug, being careful of my hands. "I'm so glad to meet to you. It's going to be fun hanging out."

I shrug, deciding I don't like this chick. She's too chipper, but then she is related to Candy.

"Traffic is terrible." The woman sits down next to Candy. "Good to see you, sis."

"I'm going to a party later tonight. Do you want to come, Mattie?"

A party? In this dead little town? Can't be much, but it'll get me out of the house and away from Candy's concern. She means well, but she's suffocating me with it.

"Sure, I'd like that."

"Awesome."

Counter guy comes out and takes their order. The rest of the visit there is spent eating and the three of them chatting. The guy and girl beside us quit talking about Panic altogether. I wanted to know more about it.

When we get to Candy's sister, it's a small house, but it's clean and there are pictures on the walls of Cara from a baby to what looks like her on a beach. This is a home where you can tell there's love. They don't have much, but you don't need a lot when you care about the people around you.

Being a foster kid, I've never known that. Sure, I've had some good homes, like Candy's, but you know you're not loved. You're there so they can collect a check. Its why I end up acting out. I want to see how much it'll take before I become more hassle than the check's worth. So far, Candy's been stubborn and refuses to chuck me back into the system.

I'm bunking on an air mattress in Cara's room, which is covered in high school memorabilia from pictures taped to her mirror to the school flags on the wall. Her cheerleading pom poms are sitting on the dresser.

"I know I should return them, but I want something to remember my senior year by." She gestures toward the pom poms. "I was the cheerleading captain. I should be able to keep something."

I don't care. Technically, it's stealing, but then I'm used to that. I steal all the time.

"I'm not telling."

She grins. "Do you need a shower before we go? Being on the road for hours has to be tiring."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

I get all my stuff and follow her to the bathroom. "We've got maybe half an hour or less before Matt picks us up."

"Hey, can I ask you a question?"

She nods, bouncing on her feet.

"What's Panic?"

She looks up and down the hall and holds a finger to her lips. "You'll find out soon enough, but don't say anything about in front of Mom or Aunt Candy."

"I won't."

"I'm entering and if Mom knew, she'd lock me up and throw away the key. Go on and shower. We can't be late."

It only takes me about fifteen minutes to shower and get dressed. I wish I could wash my hair, but it's difficult and requires more time than I have to get ready. I put on clean jeans and long sleeved cotton shirt. My first instinct is to put on a sweatshirt, but the heat is apparently suffocating and I don't want to look to weird.

"Aren't you going to be too hot?" Cara asks. She's wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

"Yeah, but I'm severely allergic to mosquitos and bug spray never works for me. It's easier to just deal with heat and the long sleeves."

I don't say it helps to cover the casts, but her eyes dart there anyway.

"Come on. Matt's here."

Matt is waiting for us in an old Ford Taurus. It's got rust around the fenders. He needs to fix that before it starts to spread. Rust can eat away at your car like termites feasting on wood.

"Well hello there, beautiful." When Cara doesn't say anything, I glance up to see his green eyes focused on me.

Normally, I'd flirt back, but after the basement, I'm so not in the mood.

"I'm not interested." I keep my voice flat and bored.

Cara laughs. "Good for you. Most girls bat their eyes and push their boobs up."

"Girls like that are stupid." I climb in the back seat and Cara shuts the door for me. She's growing on me.

"See?" Cara preens as she gets in the front seat. "I'm not the only one who thinks that."

Matt grins, his dark hair fluttering in the breeze. Only there is no breeze. And it's colder. A tingly feeling crawls up my spine and spreads outward until the hairs on my arms are standing up.

The car starts and we're moving, but I keep my eyes forward. I know something is sitting beside me. Cara turns on the radio and fiddles with it until she finds a clear station. Country music blares and the two of them start to sing along to some song about singling people up or something. I don't listen to that kind of music so I tune it out.

But I can't tune out the ghost sitting beside me.

It's not going away, but I don't want to look.

The cold creeps closer and I feel an icy hand grips my arm and I flinch. It wont go away until I acknowledge it. I hate that by helping my foster sister, I opened myself up to ghosts. They know I can hear them now and they won't leave me alone.

Best to get it over with.

Taking a deep breath, I turn my head and fight back the scream. Sitting beside me is a girl. Only her entire body has been crushed. Her skin is gone in places and the bones are shattered. She's misshapen and bloody. Half her face is smooshed into the back of her head. She's blindfolded and the white dress she's wearing is in tatters. Her head is turned toward me and she tries to speak, but her mouth is just...gone.

"So you asked what Panic was." Cara turns to look at me and I have to look away from the girl who's still gripping my arm with what's left of her hand.

"The guys beside us at the diner were talking about it." I keep my voice soft and calm. I get the feeling the ghost is here because of Panic.

"Every year, the senior class donates a dollar a day for the whole year. No one is exempt, even if they don't play. The winner of Panic gets the pot after the judges are paid. Last year it was over fifty thousand dollars."

"Holy cow!" Fifty thousand dollars?

"Every graduating senior is eligible to enter."

"But what is it exactly? They said people died last year."

"It's a series of challenges you have to complete. The person with the most points at the end wins. Two died last year. It was awful."

"But you're still playing?"

"Of course. Accidents happen, but Panic will always go on. No matter what, it's always going to happen. The police can't stop it. Now, to your question, Mattie, the point of the game is not to panic. If you stay calm and complete the task as fast as you can, then you'll win. And I want to win. I could leave this place and go to a good school instead of community college if I had that much money."

The town looked small and poor when we drove through it earlier. I understand why she'd want to play to get out. If I lived here, I'd play for the chance to win fifty thousand dollars.

The ghost digs her hand in my arm harder and I wince. She's not happy with them talking about panic.

"This year, we have to jump off a cliff into the water below to enter. It's the first official challenge."

"I still don't think you should enter."

"Unlike you, I didn't get a football scholarship. I have to have money to get out of this place."

Matt's lips thin, but he doesn't argue.

It doesn't take long to reach our destination. We all get out and Matt takes a cooler and blanket out of the trunk. "Come on, beautiful, you can hang out with me while we wait on the idiot to officially enter panic."

Cara flips him off and disappears into the throng of people. There is easily a hundred people here, all of them drinking and having fun. A bonfire is lit and I head toward it for the heat. The ghost from the car follows along beside me, a constant companion.

When I reach the fire, Matt places the blanket down and gestures for me to sit. He offers me a beer and I decline. I don't drink. Ever. That's how people get killed and or raped at parties. I don't know anyone here, not really, and I'm not taking chances.

"You don't want a beer?" He cocks an eyebrow and plops down beside me.

"I'm diabetic. I can't drink. It would put me in the hospital."

"That sucks."

I shrug and glance around, hoping the ghost girl has disappeared into the crowd too.

But she hasn't.

More ghosts have gravitated to us, standing beside her, all of them pointing toward the cliff.

The boy has a piece of wood stuck through his chest, a trickle of blood falling from his mouth and nose. He's not nearly as gross as the girl, but somehow he's more terrifying. It looks like he fell and the wood went through him. Something that could happen to anyone. Maybe he was part of Panic?

The other boy is almost normal if not for the bullet hole in his head. He's pointing at the cliffs the same as the other two, but I don't understand. Was there a challenge involving a gun?

"Be right back, beautiful." Matt winks and gets up, but I don't move my eyes from the three ghosts.

"What do you want?" I whisper.

"Stop them." The words are broken and hollow, but the gunshot boy gets them out. "Stop them or more will die."

But how can I stop them? I'm only here for the weekend. Maybe if I was here longer, I could, but there's literally nothing I can do.

Cara said it herself. Panic will always go on.

All I can do is watch the start of the game and pray no one dies.

The announcer booms out the name of the first contestant and then there's a loud splash.

It's started.

And there's nothing anyone can do to stop it.

https://youtu.be/uci9ZDTL7zQ