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 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

http://primevideo.com/

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Staring down into the water, I don't know what I was thinking.

It's too dark to make out the rocks at the bottom, and cold wind tickles my skin, raising the hair on my arms and legs. I shift my foot an inch forward, closer to the edge of the cliff I'm standing perched on. My breath comes heavy and my heart pounds against my ribs, blood rushing in my ears and blocking out the sound of waves crashing below.

I must be crazy.

"Declare your name!"

The words ring out loudly in the distance, a command to me like all those before me and those to come after.

I turn my head slightly to look into the distance, the flickering of torches and hazy figures moving in the shadows. They're all watching me, non-silent spectators of what they assume I'll back out of. Even from the distance, I can hear them loud and clear, judging me, assuming I'll back out and refuse to take the plunge. They don't want me to do this, not because they care about me, but because they want to see me fail. They want to see me live up to what they've always thought I was.

A loser.

A freak.

Someone just going to rot away.

My chest heaves and my breathing comes heavy as I search the distant crowd for the familiar face. I finally see her near the very back, standing there alone with a hand over her mouth. Even from miles away, I can see the tears in her wide eyes, her hair a disheveled mess.

Haley.

When everybody yelled at me and murmured behind my back, she stood by my side. When everybody talked bad about me or called me a freak, mocked my mom and ridiculed my life, she fought for me. When I had nowhere to go, no place to stay, and not a penny to my name, she gave me all of it. A home. A family.

Today, though, she's in the same boat as everyone else here.

She doesn't want me to do this.

'You don't need this money, Xavier,' she'd told me over and over before I came here. 'We'll find another way.'

'What way?' I asked.

'You'll get a scholarship.' Her eyes were wide and pleading.

'I won't. I'm not as smart as you are.'

We both knew I was telling the truth.

'We can try to find you a job,' she suggested.

'What job can a high school failure get?'

'You're not a failure.' She sounded offended; she hated when I talked bad about myself. 'You underestimate yourself.'

'You overestimate me,' I corrected her.

Haley had rolled her eyes and made a disgruntled sound. 'You think risking your life is worth a few thousand dollars?'

'I think the risk is worth the chance that I might make it out of here with you.'

She stared into my eyes, hopelessness in her brown ones like I'd never seen before.

'I can't lose you,' she'd breathed.

Now, standing here hundreds of meters above the ocean, I see the panic in her eyes. Panic that causes my heart to beat wildly and my palms to sweat. Panic ... my ticket to a good life.

It's just a game, they say; the year's graduates getting a chance to win enough money to have the chance of a lifetime. If I win, I can make it out of here, without asking Haley or her father for help. I'll be my own man, independent, able to start a new life away from this stupid town and everyone who's always judged me. Haley knows that. She's just scared. Two teens died last year because of the game. I might die this year.

Yet, I'm willing to risk it.

So I open my mouth and force the voice out of my throat.

"XAVIER HUNT."

My voice rings out in the near-silent night, echoing off the waves and the jagged rocks below me. The clouds reverberate with the sound and the distant crowd seems to sense it. Some of them snicker, some gasp. I even hear a distant 'loser' that just makes my blood boil.

Loser, that's what I've been all my life.

But I look at Haley, and I see the only thing I've ever won.

Her heart. Her father's trust. The hope that maybe everything isn't lost just yet.

Relief washes over me. I'm wrong. She might not support my decision, but she supports me. She's here to show that, that she's standing beside me, whether I jump off a cliff to show my dedication to the game or whether I compete against thirty other recent graduates for the chance of a lifetime to win my ticket to freedom. She's here whether she wants to be or not.

For me.

I smile, as my heart begins to slow down and my breathing no longer distracts me. I meet her gaze from the distance and hope she'll see me smiling, see how much I love her and how much she means to me. I hope she can see in my eyes that I'm doing this for her, so she won't have to choose to stay back in this town for me or leave me behind, so we'll be on equal terms.

But I'm also doing this for me.

Just for me.

I've spent my whole life never thinking of myself. This is my chance. This game is my way of doing something for myself for the first time in my life.

And Haley is here to support me.

So I inhale a deep breath through my nose, straighten my back and stiffen my shoulders, stare unblinking at Haley, and take a step back.

Before plunging straight ahead.

Right off the cliff and into the freezing water.

I squeeze my eyes shut as I splash into the air and the cold darkness engulfs me. Ice bites against my skin and I hold my breath, suddenly relieved that the impact didn't kill me. A few meters to the left or right and I'd have landed on the rocks, never to breathe again. I still can't breathe, as I force my eyes open under the water and shoot towards the surface.

My head breaks through the surface and I gasp for air, shaking my head. I sputter water and lift my hands to push my soaking hair out of my eyes. Sounds rush towards me and I can make out the cheering from the distance. The Emcee for this year announces that I'm officially in the game, which ensures more cheers and a few boos. I don't care, though, my blurry eyes searching for the only one I care about.

As I swim to shore through the chilly water, I see her standing near the edge. I pull myself out of the water, my feet hitting the ground as the next contestant makes his way up to the cliff. My mind doesn't register who that is and neither do I care. I straighten up.

Haley's arms wrap around my neck and I hear her warm breath on my cold, wet skin. She's not crying but I can feel her arms trembling around me.

"I'm okay," I mumble to her, kissing the side of her head. "I'm fine."

She doesn't answer, just clinging to me as I return my gaze to the water again. Standing here now, after what I've done, I feel it all.

The adrenaline.

The thrill.

The rush.

The cold.

The hope and prospect of winning.

The only thing I don't feel ... panic.

...