LAUGHANDJOY Presents: Pestilention Character Interview + NEW BOOK REVEAL

3:43 AM. I had entered the room, which only had a simple couch and some awkwardly dimmed lighting, at 12:00. I was expecting to meet up with the cast, get the interview over with, and get at least a couple hours of sleep in before writing the next day. But nooo. There I was, alone at 3:43 AM with nothing to do but wait. I sighed and sank into the black leather. At this rate, I didn't think that they were going to show up.

"Where are they?" I asked a man who had been guarding the door. His shades covered his eyes, but I could tell that he was drifting to sleep by the way his body was nearly falling over. Once he heard my voice, his head snapped, and he rubbed his bald head anxiously.

"Not sure, ma'am," the man replied. "My partners were supposed to grab them a while ago."

Great, they're late. At a time like this. I sprawled my body on the couch and closed my eyes. They won't be here for a little while. Might as well get some sleep.

Knuckles rattled against the door, causing me to slip away from my slumber. I sat up and smoothed my hair. As drowsy as I felt, a feeling of anger was also filling my chest. And it only got greater as the three figures entered the room.

"Do you realize how late you three are?" I snapped.

Aster, who was leading, turned red. "Sorry, we stopped for coffee."

"And there were a couple people that stopped us along the way," Kat added.

I shook my head. They all sat on the couch. Aster and Kat rested close together to make room for Tilly, who sat on the very end. I wasn't sure why they were trying to make so much room. The girl was so small that she could fit in a jar.

Once they all got comfortable, I started to chew them out again. "You guys don't understand how important this interview is. People are actually going to be seeing you all for once, we have to make a good first impression."

They mumbled their apologies. I released a long breath and slid my fingers through my hair. I had calmed down by then and began to gather up my note cards. "Alright, I have a couple questions to ask you guys."

"Go for it," Aster replied.

"Let's start with the easy question," I said. "Would you three describe yourselves to our new audience?"

Kat nodded. "I'm Kat Parsons, the main protagonist of the story. I was entered into the Pestilention involuntarily and had to run it with Aster, Ed, and Tilly by my side. I haven't quite been everyone's favorite, but I've managed to make a few friends while being there."

"And I'm Aster Sullivan," Aster explained. "I'm a side character who made an alliance with Tilly and Kat halfway through the course. I was created to be a perfect character-"

"Not true!" I cut in.

"Not perfect like perfect, I meant perfect as in the character that people were supposed to like. Not that they have to like me, I just thought-oh lord, everyone's going to think I'm a douche now," he placed his face in his hands, flustered. "I think that's all I really have to say."

Everyone looked at Tilly. There was a moment of silence as she twiddled her fingers and stared at her shoes. She then muttered, "I'm Tilly, the youngest character in the book."

When I realized that that was all she was going to say, I continued. "Kat mentioned The Pestilention. What does that mean?"

"The Pestilention is an event that's put on once a year for the whole world to see. It's a deadly obstacle course that tests your teamwork, survival skills, and mental and physical abilities. It's placed in a different country each year. We ran for the United States, and managed to all win," Kat said. Her face was red and she was breathing heavily by the end of it. She probably didn't breathe throughout that entire explanation.

I leaned over to look at Kat's arm. I caught the black ink that was smudged down her wrist. "Seriously, you wrote down that answer?"

"I didn't want to mess up, okay?" she shot back.

"Okay, sheesh. Let's start from the beginning. How was your guys' experiences in the Main Hall?"

"The Main Hall is terrible!" Kat exclaimed. I snorted. Doesn't need the ink for this one. "There are so many people and all you can do is find a corner to hide in and try not to cry and-"

"But it's also where we met," Aster piped up.

"I guess," she mumbled, sliding down the couch.

"The Main Hall isn't the best place, but it's definitely a great place to get to meet new people and to figure out who to trust and who to stay away from. I think that without it, even though there are ceremonies, we wouldn't be able to know some people more than we do," Aster explained.

I beamed. Not bad, Aster, not bad at all. "Transitioning to the ceremonies, how do you all feel about the Welcoming Ceremony?"

This time, Kat didn't try to speak. Her gaze was set on her coffee so intently that I thought that it was going to sprout wings and fly away. I looked at Tilly. She was staring at the ceiling. Sighing, I looked to Aster to start.

He gladly did so. "It was really fun to see all the outfits that the designers had in store. Even though I didn't get to see mine, he or she did a fantastic job."

"You didn't get to see your designer?" Kat inquired. Aster and Tilly shook their heads. "Well then." Even though her hair was covering her face, I could tell that she was smiling.

"How did you like your dress, Tilly?" I asked. She snapped her head up. After registering my question, she replied with a shrug. Well, I tried. "Okay. What was everyone's first encounters with each other?"

"Like Aster said before, we met in the Main Hall," Kat said. "Our first conversation was about chewing on fingernails."

Lovely. "And with Tilly?"

"I found her after Mo-my other ally died," Kat explained sadly. "We both knew that we needed each other, so we became allies."

"And I met Tilly after stopping Kat from chasing after a guy," Aster told me. "She was scared of me at first, but I think that we're friends, now."

I flipped my notecard around to reveal another set of questions. "While eating dinner, Kat asked you for an alliance, Aster. Why did you reject it?"

Aster's shoulders tensed. I knew that he wouldn't like the question. I also knew that he had been expecting this question ever since he came into the room. Aster took a swig of his coffee in an attempt to stall. When I didn't move on, he set his cup on the floor and sighed.

"I didn't want to reject her. I was just scared of the commitment."

"I was asking for an alliance, not marriage," Kat muttered into her coffee cup.

"I wasn't ready back then," he continued. "But the next time I saw her, I knew that I was. And I haven't regretted it since."

Perfect segway to my next question. "When did you guys, Kat and Aster, realize that you were in love?"

Their faces immediately flushed. Kat slid away sheepishly. Aster placed his hand over hers.

"I have been in love with Kat for a long time. Ever since I saw her in the Pestilention. We only discovered that we loved each other after a small argument we had, though."

I waited, expecting them to start making out or do something to show that they were a couple. They only sat there, though, with the awkward space between them and Aster's hand on Kat's. You did a great one with these two, didn't you? I thought with an eye roll. I guess not every romantic comment had to end with making out, but it still would've made the interview a hit.

"What?" Aster asked.

"Nothing," I replied quickly. "What was the worst obstacle that you guys had to encounter?"

Aster slowly lifted his hand. He wiggled his fingers, which were all wrapped tightly with bandages. "Remember that obstacle where you had us spin on the wheel? And then I stopped it by placing my fingers in the crack? And then my fingers were permanently disfigured? That had to be the worst obstacle."

"And remember where you made me go in a cart with a Backstabber?" Kat asked. "That wasn't fun."

"The slamming wall," Tilly whispered.

Hey, finally got something out of Tilly, score! "How did you guys feel when you saw the Game Master for the first time?"

"I thought that it was a good sign, at first. Then I realized that he has never shown his face on camera before," Aster explained with a shudder. "And now I'm just confused as to why he did what he did."

Kat nodded, signaling that she didn't have anything to add. I switched to my next notecard and picked up Aster's coffee from the ground. I took a swig. The bitter taste caused me to have a coughing fit. My cards fell to the floor as I choked on the beverage. It had to be the worst drink I had ever tasted.

"Is this black coffee?" I asked him. Aster nodded. "Jesus, go to a Starbucks next time. And bring me back a drink if you're going to take three hours to get here."

"Next time," Kat said. "What's the next question?"

"One second." I bent down to pick up my notecards. Once they were all in my hand, I took a minute to reorganize them. I took my time, nearly laughing at Kat's impatience. I plopped back onto the couch and crossed my legs. "Okay, what did you guys do when you got home after The Pestilention?"

Kat beamed. "There was this huge parade right where I was dropped off at. The crowd was so big that I thought that I'd never find Caden. After hanging out with my brother and Stace for a bit, I went home, showered - again - and went to bed."

"I had a parade, too!" Aster said. "I partied with a bunch of random people all night. Then I went home and hologrammed Kat."

"There was a small party for me, but I went home instead," Tilly muttered.

"I know that this is a deadly obstacle course and that jazz, but were there any obstacles that you guys mildly enjoyed?" I asked, smiling. The interview was going so smoothly, and we were so close to finishing. I couldn't help but think about how I could've been in bed right then if they only showed up sooner. Oh well, I had to let that go sooner or later.

Before anyone could answer, the ground began to shake. I clutched onto the arm of the couch. Confused, I went through all of our options of what could be happening. Is it an earthquake? Is there a rocket being released next to the building? Are a group of fans coming to see Kat, Aster, and Tilly? I snorted. It couldn't be the last one, they weren't famous enough to have fans.

Before I could contemplate it further, the floor completely fell from underneath us. I shrieked as we plummeted. My hair flew into my mouth and eyes as the wind shrieked in my ears, slapping at my clothes and skin. What's going on? Is this part of the interview?

As quickly as it happened, the floor stopped falling. The couch flew into the air at the sudden impact. My head flew into the cushion, saving it from snapping. Out of breath, I looked around. The room was dark, but light enough so that I was able to see Kat, Aster and Tilly, who were clutching onto each other. The walls were a couple feet away from the couch. Instead of the freshly painted ones, these walls were a rusty, metallic material that reminded me of the underground hideouts in the action movies. I looked up at where we had been before. We had dropped so deep that even if we all were put on each other's shoulders, we'd still be ten feet short. Wherever we were, we were stuck.

"Wh-what just happened?" Aster stammered.

I shook my head. "No idea."

A knock came from above. We all looked up to see one of the guards that had been guarding the door. I hadn't noticed her before. She had short blonde hair and a wide smile. She reminded me of a character that I had created before...

The woman took of her shades, revealing the rest of her face. I face palmed. How could I not recognize my own character? Maybe I needed glasses. I would have to get my eyes checked, if I was able to get out of the hole.

"It's so great to see you all again," Jane Winters said.

Kat's eyes widened. Her eyes shot daggers the lady's way and I swore that if she was standing in front of her, would've popped her jaw. Tilly looked like a deer caught in headlights. She refused to move from Aster's side.

Aster's face turned red. He clenched his jaw and dug his fingernails into his palms as he said, "What do you want?"

Even though she wasn't shouting, the reporter's voice boomed down at us. "I was sent here by the Game Master. You know, it's funny how you won't get another interview with me, yet this girl is fine."

"Excuse me, I'm the author!" I pointed out.

Aster shook his head and repeated his question. "What do you want from us?"

"Asking questions won't get you anywhere right now. Only answering them will." She then walked away, leaving us all confused. Answer what? Not questioning what? Aster got to his feet, muttering about how we didn't have anything to worry about and that we would all be fine. Because being stuck in a big hole is fine.

A groaning sound filled the air. I pulled my knees to my chest and covered my ears. Why was it so loud? I closed my eyes. I just had to imagine that I was home. Like Dorothy. There's no place like home...there's no place like home...

"Come on!" Aster screamed into my ear. "We have to hurry, the walls are closing in."

Magic Oz powers, get me home faster! When the groaning didn't stop, I finally accepted the fact that I wasn't going to get teleported to safety. I looked up at Aster, who was now collecting all the coffee cups from the floor. He folded them up and pushed them under the wall, hoping to slow it down. It merely shoved them away and continued moving towards us.

"We have to do something!" I shouted.

"As if we haven't figured that one out yet!" Kat snapped.

Aster slammed his shoulder into the wall. It only dragged him along with it. Tilly and Kat attempted to do the same thing. Aster looked at me from over his shoulder and glared when he saw that I was still on the couch. "Hey, a little help would be great."

"I'm an author, do you think that I work out?" I asked. "I wouldn't be able to help even if I tried."

He turned back and continued to try to push against the wall. I massaged my temples with my fingers. Answer questions...answer questions...My eyes widened. Of course! "Everyone, how did you all feel when your name was first called?"

"Are you crazy?" Kat shrieked. "Now is not the time to continue the interview!"

"She wants us to get the interview over with. Hurry, just answer!"

"Okay," Aster said. "I was shocked and scared. I nearly had a panic attack."

Kat didn't skip a beat to answer. "I wasn't expecting my name to get called, so I was surprised and near tears."

Tilly was shaking on the couch. She just stared at me silently. "Gosh darn it, Tilly, if you want us to survive, you better open your trap and start yapping!" I screamed.

"My name wasn't called, my brother's was," Tilly said. "I snuck into the van, and the guards took me, so I wasn't really sad. I was kind of hopeful."

I stared at the wall, which was only a few feet from the couch. The ceiling was starting to lower, too. "Fantastic. Who would be your perfect ally?"

"Aster," Kat said.

"Ed," Tilly responded.

"A Backstabber," Aster replied.

"Do you have a new outlook on The Pestilention or even life now that you've overcome the obstacle course?"

"Why do you have so many questions?!" Kat asked.

"Just answer!"

"Yes, I realize how awful it is and I see all the deadly sides of life now," she said quickly.

Aster attempted to shove a cup under the wall again. "I feel more fortunate to be alive, and don't take anything or anyone for granted anymore."

"I've learned that many people are selfish, and would rather have someone do something for you just to save your life," Tilly said. I would've applauded her for speaking so much if it wasn't for the situation we were placed in.

"What is your guys's favorite color?"

"...Seriously?" Aster said.

I shook my head. "I was running out of questions. Just answer!"

Aster and Tilly both said blue. Kat said red. I flipped to my next notecard, relieved to see that we only had two questions left. Good thing, too, since the wall was now only inches from the couch.

"Alright, what are your opinions on EatWell?"

"They suck," Kat answered. "Absolute human-controlling trash."

Aster shrugged. "It keeps me from eating too much junk food, so I don't hate it."

"I don't mind the EatWell," Tilly whispered

"Is there going to be a sequel to The Pestilention?" I asked. Finally, the last one.

Kat snorted. "I think that you can answer that."

And so I did. "Yes, there is! In fact, the second book is out now. It's called The Eradication and already has a couple chapters posted. So if you've already read The Pestilention, then go check that out. If you haven't read The Pestilention, I'd be so grateful if you did so."

The wall was touching my shoulder by then. I closed my eyes and rested my forehead on the couch, waiting for the wall to slam shut. When it didn't, I opened my eyes. We were back into the room we were in before. Kat's hair was wild from her nearly tearing it, and Aster's glasses were dangling on the tip of his nose. We were all just staring at the ceiling, breathless.

"Well," I collected all of my notecards and placed them in my pocket, "that's all the questions I have for you guys today. Thanks so much for coming in and talking to me."

Kat released a long breath. "Yep. That was definitely the most interesting interview I've ever been to."

"Even without the crushing-wall obstacle, we'd be more than happy to come back," Aster said.

"Especially without the crushing-wall obstacle," Kat added.

"What I'm trying to say is," Aster slid his glasses to the bridge of his nose. "That we'd do anything for you. You created us, after all."

Except for getting me that coffee. "With that, I'll see you three in book two. The guards should be able to take you guys back home. Bye!"

After saying goodbye to me and to each other, the three went with the men - who had been next to the door the entire time, not bothering to help us - to head back home. Once they were all gone, I fell back onto the couch and passed out almost immediately.

***

Hey, everyone! I hope that you enjoyed the interview with my three main characters of The Pestilention. If you haven't read the story yet, I'd be so grateful if you did so, as I said before.

Before I continue with my second part of my entry, I just wanted to thank Kelly Anne Blount for letting me come back on to the Wattpad Block Party. You're so amazing for putting on this event, and just truly an awesome person altogether. I'll be forever in your favor for letting me have this opportunity once again.

Now, as the title says, I am going to discuss my new book, which was talked about a little bit in the interview. The Eradication is the sequel to The Pestilention, and I am so excited to share it with everyone today.

You may be wondering: what's in store for this book? Well, The Eradication is not just a story that tests the main characters' physical and survival skills, but how much they'll do to get to the top. Past runners will have to do one-on-one challenges against each other to see who truly should be #1.

Need more information? Well, here's the blurb:

BILLIONS OF PEOPLE

Watch the Pestilention every year.

THOUSANDS OF TRIBUTES

Have run the Pestilention.

TWO HUNDRED YEARS

And the obstacle course still runs.

NOW FORTY RUNNERS

Have to come back.

TWO PEOPLE

Go head-to-head.

BUT ONLY ONE PERSON

Can win.

It's back, runners, and worse than ever.

~~~

After a month of facing horrible obstacles and having to witness death and pain, Katherine Parsons thought that The Pestilention was finally over with. Two years later, though, Kat has to come back and face The Eradication. She faces this challenge blindly, for no one knew what The Eradication had in store for any of the tributes.

It turned out to be worse than anyone ever imagined. Experience the twists, surprises, and new mysteries that this new event has in store for Kat and her friends, for The Pestilention is nothing compared to The Eradication.

***

That's everything I have for today. Thank you so much to everyone who stuck around to read my entry. Each and every one of you is amazing, and what makes Wattpad such an amazing community. I can't wait to read all of the other entries with you guys.

Stay awesome. :) 

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