Star's Crossing

Partnership Bonus Chapter: PANIC

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 Star's Crossing 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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Devil's Drop.

Mare took every ascending step through the brush with that name echoing through her skull.

Devil's Drop.

Devil's Drop.

Devil's Drop.

Moonlight cleaved the low clouds, laid the cliffs bare and stark as a photo in negative. She could hear the water churning hungrily below. During the day these scrubby cliffs, dry and yellow-golden as Elysium, offered surprisingly pastoral lake and hill views. During the day, the placid surface kissed clay walls and gritty beaches.

But right now the familiar landscape was nightmarish. Every dip in the earth was a trap, every burst of the wind a taunt. The night was sharp with danger, the air itself too thin. Her flare had died on the way up, and she was shaking too hard to find or light another.

Mare's feet finally stopped. She was as high she could go. She forced herself to look up.

Stars and bone-white moon wheeled dizzily overhead, sparkling between the rushing clouds. Her stomach lurched. They called it the Devil's Drop for a reason. You didn't just find yourself up here—you chose it. The highest cliff. The highest risk.

The highest points.

Mare stole a glance down the way she'd come. The other players—twenty-two of them—were gathered in an anxious knot on safe ground, jittery as they awaited their turns. A crowd of drinking teens flanked them, laughter and amusement subdued by Mare's ascension. Her stupid ascension.

Do it for the money. Do it for the family.

Mare bit her lip, turning her eyes from the crowd below. She knew how it looked from their perspective, but it wasn't bravery or courage that put her up here—it was desperation.

You could still back down, said the voice in the back of her mind. It's not too late. Her hands were clenched into fists, her stomach pitted and knees weak. This jump had killed in the past. Not players—but people, nonetheless. She wondered what it was that did it. The rocks? The deceptive shallows? The concrete-hard surface, a body breaking on it like overripe fruit?

Panic. That was the name of the game. It was only the first of the challenges, and Mare couldn't afford to back down. Besides, she never did anything halfway.

She stepped to the edge.

A hand caught her wrist. Mare turned, gripping the figure's arm in reflex, her back to the water. She blinked moonlight from her eyes—

"Teddy?"

His grip was sure, urgent, his brown eyes in the dark bright with fear. "Wait."

"I can't." But she didn't pull free. He was an anchor, and though she'd never admit it, she was grateful to be moored. Grateful her fall was delayed, if only for a moment. "What are you doing up here? You're not..."

"No." Teddy shook his head once, brown curls wind-blown. He tugged her back a few steps, and she let him. At the foot of the hill, the players and spectators were getting antsy, conversation harried and rising on the wind. "You don't have to do this."

Oh, Teddy. They weren't friends, not really—so why did he care? Why was he giving voice to the exact thoughts in Mare's head? "I want to."

"Mare..."

"You don't understand." Of course he didn't. Teddy Bridge was rich. His entire family was rich. They were Carp legacies—unlike Mare. Teddy would never have to strip his dignity and play in a game like this. Money would never be an object for him. "It's just a jump."

"You could die."

"I could win."

"Why this one?" Teddy looked past her, pale with fear. His grip on her wrist tightened, if only a little. If Mare wasn't so terrified, she might be moved by his concern. "Why not one of the others?"

Two jumping cliffs came before this one. But they were worth less points. Mare smiled, felt the cold wind cutting up through her ribs. Is this what it feels like to fly? "I'll be fine."

He searched her eyes. Mare reached for him, touched her hand to his chest. Beneath her fingertips, his heartbeat was rapid. He placed his palm over her hand, held it against him. "Promise."

I can't. But she did. "I promise."

The wind blew between them. A cloud drifted over the moon, and for a moment they were in velvet darkness. Mare felt a sudden, dangerous urge: to lean forward, to press her lips to his. She could die, after all. And even though they weren't much more than old acquaintances, he was here, wasn't he? Trying to save her? It was more than she could say for anyone else.

But still—she resisted the impulse.

Something to look forward to. It was an intrusive thought, one that turned the terror pounding through her veins into something else entirely. "I have to go."

Teddy hesitated. But he released her, and she took a step back. The moon emerged from the clouds, and they were back to reality: back to the cliff.

Devil's Drop.

"Wish me luck," Mare said, tasting a smile. She turned her back, walked to the edge.

And dove, gliding into the waiting darkness below.