Page 20 of The Art of Being a Psychopath

A magician, where magic has worn thin,

for those who play the game with no prize to win.

But pride?

That’s the gift that keeps on giving.

A currency that never ends.

A reason to keep living.”

We all gasped as sparks of fire appeared above him, lighting up the courtyard like the fourth of July. He held his arms up again as he proclaimed.

“So when the sky rains fire,

on your funeral pyre.

Remember, it’s all just a money game.

We come into this world,

and we all leave it the same.”

I couldn’t hold in my scream as he jumped off the wall. None of us could. His body slammed hard into the brickwork, making it look like he’d hung himself in front of this crowd. At least, I hoped it was fake.

It was fake, right?

CHAPTER

SIX

EMMA

The curtains stayed open as his body twitched then went still. I was shaking uncontrollably and I felt sick. Bile rose in my throat as I peered frantically around at the stunned crowd.

What the hell was happening right now?

Why wasn’t anyone rushing to get him down?

I grabbed my bag from the floor and stumbled over the rope that was holding us in our Press pen. I had every intention of running to the wall to do something. But as I escaped the confines of the Press area, and went to walk forward, Lloyd appeared in front of me, huffing and puffing. His cheeks were red, his face shiny with sweat, and his breaths were heavy and laboured.

“I’m so sorry,” he gasped. “I meant to get back to you to watch the performance, but I just got... tied up.”

“Is he okay?” I asked, my eyes darting from Lloyd to the curtain. It was closed now, but the memory of what I’d seen was still burned into my brain. I think it always would be. “What’s happening?” I asked. I was frantic, shaking like a leaf.

“Nothing’s happening,” Lloyd replied. “S.K.A.M. is fine. It was all fake.” And he frowned at me like he thought I was losing my mind. “Did you enjoy his performance?”

Did I enjoy being traumatised?

Watching a man take his own life?

Even if it was fake, as Lloyd was telling me, it still had that grotesque shock value that made me feel fucking sick. His performance and his words were everything. The ending was... something else entirely.

I glanced around, expecting to see everyone else in shock like me, but they all seemed to be in deep conversation.

“He hung himself,” I stated in exasperation.

“He hung from the wall, he didn’t hang himself,” Lloyd replied. “He was wearing a harness. But you already knew that. We told everyone at the entrance about the trigger warnings for tonight.”