After the Fall

Special Bonus: Jump at Devil's Drop

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/

--

I'm no stranger to looking down a dark, cylindrical hole, but this hole stretched out for miles and went down two hundred feet from the side of the rugged mountain. The darkness extended far beyond the vast canyon as I stood on the edge of the peak and allowed my heart to race as fast as the water rushing below me.

My eyes strained to make out the silhouette of Vince standing on the edge of the water along with the several dozen contestants of this dangerous game, made up of graduating seniors looking for any chance to get out of Carp, Texas.

"Contestant number eleven..." chimes out through the megaphone from the shore where the crowd gathered. Diggins directed his attention to me. "...announce yourself."

I gulped, trying desperately to swallow my fear as I glanced at the number eleven scribbled on the palm of my hand in black marker. "Connor Nichols." The words came out hoarse and I instantly regret showing my fear.

Here I was at Devil's Drop, the highest cliff on the side of the mountain, ready to get one hundred points plus the extra twenty-five points and immunity from any challenge, with a road flare and its red flame in my grip. All for the chance of winning the pot worth fifty-thousand dollar and escaping this town with Vince by my side. And this was just one of many challenges.

"I can do this." I looked down through the darkness, towards the man that gave me butterflies and secret kisses, only to imagine the disappointment in his eyes as he watched me test fate.

For so long, he's tried to convince me not participate in the game. "You're supposed to be the smart one." He'd shake his head.

"You're saying I'm not?" I'd sneer.

"Getting involved in this stupid game is a stupid move." He'd scoff. "You're all brain. If anything, I should be the one doing the challenges. I'm the brawn."

"I might be brain but I'm also heart." I placed my hand over my chest. "You'd need more than brain and brawn to win, Vince. You need that drive, that willingness. Fifty-thousand dollars? This could be our ticket out of this dump. We can finally start our lives together, doing our own thing, making our own rules."

"This game will become more and more dangerous as it goes on." He'd huff. "Is this worth risking your life for?"

"No, but you are." I turned from the mirror and looked into his eyes. "A fresh start with you is very worth it."

He shook his head again. "I can see I won't be able to convince you otherwise. I see it in your eyes. That ... look."

I stared at the reflection in the mirror, zeroing in on my eyes to see what he saw. There it was. That something. A bit eerie to see it so clearly. "I'd do anything for you. For us. I'm sorry, but because I have that drive, I'm competing."

And now looking down fifty feet beyond the water and to the shore where he stood and watched, I didn't want to let him down.

I took a few steps back, raised the red flare above my head to light the path before me, a path I would soon pave. And with all the strength my legs could muster I ran forward toward the ledge. I needed to make sure I jumped far enough to clear the jagged rocks and mountain debris  below to land in the deepest parts of the water.

With one foot before the other, I continued to sprint forward, kicking myself from the crumbly edge of the cliff to the shocked gasps and screams coming from the shore. While in midair, I calculated where I would land.

Only the blur of darkness stared back, and I did the one thing you weren't supposed to do in this game.

Panic!

Air escaped my lungs in the form of a yelp as I hit the water, coldness instantly seized me and for a split second the disorientation made me paranoid as I scrambled to figure out which way was up.

I demanded my lungs to go against instinct and resist drawing a breath, but doubted they'd obey. As the seconds ticked by like minutes, a realization hit. Screw those one-hundred-twenty-five points.

I broke the surface to the sound of cheers and gasps from the beach. It wasn't until Vince's warm, yet wet arms snaked around me that I noticed he was there. His bare, muscled torso pressed against mine.

"You're insane, Connor." He quickly planted a firm and welcoming kiss on my trembling lips and the noise from the crowd drowned out the rapid beat of my heart that pulsated in my ears. "But you did amazing!"

I searched his eyes for the honey brown color that soothed me whenever they locked with my dark brown ones. The lights from the beach weren't strong enough to light the night enough for me to fall in love with his stare again. "I quit. I can't continue in this game."

"You serious?" Vince's facial expression seemed to conveyed disappointment. "You're willing to give up your chance for a new life?"

I nodded, surer than ever. "We'll make it work. We'll figure it out ... somehow."

Vince nodded, but even though the night made it difficult to see the honey color of his irises, I saw something else in his eyes as he stared up at the edge of Devil's Drop. There it was. That something. A bit eerie to see it so clearly.

That ... look.

The End