Let the Games Begin // Dodge Mason

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ Chapter Twenty-three ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Anyone can play Panic, but only one person can win. Everyone else walks away a loser. That's why Panic is a game about fear, but not in the way we think. To beat the game, you have to set the challenges yourself. To win the game, you have to believe in something worth the risk. The opposite of fear isn't courage, it's believing. And finding something worth believing in. Yourself is a good place to start. Luckily you can find that anywhere, even in the middle of nowhere, Texas.

"Hey, remember to wear your flip-flops in the shower." Natalie reminded Bishop.

"Remember to take pictures of the library," Heather reminded him.

"Wow, you are truly a staggering nerd." Bishop laughed at her.

"Not a nerd, libraries are beautiful, all that amazing literature in one place." I defended Heather.

"Mm I wouldn't if I were you, she might kill you off in the novel." Natalie joked.

"I told you, it's fiction!" Heather reminded them.

"Oh, yeah. A totally fictional novel about a nowhere town where a group of teens play a scary game every summer?" Natalie nodded.

"They're not teens, they're ghosts." Heather rolled her eyes.

"Oh, yeah, that's right. They're ghost teens. Yeah."

"You have to Facetime us every day." Natalie told Bishop.

"Minimum." I added.

"I will, I promise." He smiled.

"Oh, shit, uh, I-I got to go." Bishop said, looking at his phone that had just vibrated moments prior.

"Oh," Natalie said as both her and I stood up from her bed.

"My dad's..." Bishop tried to explain.

"Yeah, yeah." I nodded.

Heather turned to look at him from across the room, she was dreading him leaving- it was written all over her face.

"Look, uh, don't cry. If you cry, I'm gonna cry." He told Heather, who looked like she was indeed on the verge of tears.

"If you cry, I'll laugh." Heather walked across the room towards us.

"Well now you're going to get us started," Natalie awkwardly chuckled, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.

"I'm really going to miss you guys." Bishop sighed.

"No stop because I will cry," I told everyone as tears started to form in my eyes.

"I swear if I ever find out what happened to the bagman and the winning pot..." Natalie complained. I told Natalie that I knew she was one of the judges the same night of Joust, but I wonder who the other judge was?

"Forget the money, I'm just glad it's over." Heather said, parking Anne's truck.

"You're a hero Heather, you know that, right?" I chimed in from the back seat.

"I was just doing it for Lily," Heather shrugged.

"Promise me you guys won't tell anyone that I was a judge."

"No, of course not." Heather said, Natalie turned to face me for my answer.

"Hey, I had many times to tell everyone that you were a judge. Your secrets safe with me."

"I had to say those things on the bridge, guys. Otherwise, the other judge would think I was helping you two win." She explained.

"You're not going to pick anyone for next year, right?" Heather asked her.