Free WidowMaker by Carolyn McCray, Elena Gray

she needed Showtime to pick up the Terror in the Trees documentary. They might not know it, but the men seated before her were not going to be allowed to leave this room until they made an offer.
    “Come on, Amanda. Look at what you are asking us to produce,” Tony, a junior executive with Showtime questioned.
    “ Truth or Scare ?” Amanda replied. Did they not understand the genius of it? “The real story behind Terror in the Trees .” The way the masses were eating up all of the publicity, Amanda was certain the documentary would really grab them. She continued, “Is it real, or isn’t it? That is the million-dollar question.”
    “A fake documentary about a fake documentary,” he answered, tapping his pen on the table. “I don’t know. And the cost ...”
    “But have you seen our latest ads?” Amanda interrupted, as Howie cued the projector.
    The screen bloomed to life as the lights dimmed. The deep baritone voice of the announcer filled the room.
    “Ever get lost in the woods?”
    The screen flashed to a group of teens treading carefully through a darkened forest.
    “Ever hear bumps in the night?”
    A group of teens huddled around a campfire. Eyes wide. Panicked. Searching around them.
    “Ever live to tell about it?”
    A young girl runs, terrified, through the woods. Blood splatters across the screen, and then goes black. A strangled scream, followed by a wet gurgle, then silence.
    Amanda relished the look on the executives’ faces as the second promo came up.
    “The day you’ve prayed for has come. Graduation. You’ve finally earned your freedom.”
    A group of coeds laughs as they throw backpacks and beer into the back of an SUV.
    “How better to celebrate than a little camping trip to the woods?”
    With a wink, one of the male students tosses a box of condoms into the SUV as two girls in short-shorts run up to the car.
    “No parents ... No teachers ... No responsibilities ...”
    Tents are set up in the background. The group of students drinks around the fire.
    “No one to hear you scream!”
    Amanda could feel her own heart beat faster, not out of fear but out of victory as the co-eds run through the dark woods. Screaming. Covered in blood. Then a smash cut to black. The only sound, a girl’s frantic panting as she whispers, “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death ...”
    Light flooded the conference room. Amanda pushed herself to her feet. Her eyes hit on each executive seated at the table. Now was the time to close the deal. To prove that she was worthy of carrying the Temple name. She was the one who insisted that they take the risk with Terror in the Trees . Amanda went against the majority in securing it.
    “Those promos, gentlemen, will be playing on MTV, the SyFy channel, and the WWE Smackdown next week.”
    The executives shared a glance with each other before Tony responded. “How much did you want for the rights?”
    Elated, Amanda sat down, ready to talk numbers. Jill had her skill set, Amanda had her own. She knew the crazy deaths, the hijacked reels, every bit of gore that Jill fretted over would ultimately help sell Terror in the Trees . It couldn’t have worked better if Amanda planned it herself.
    Amanda’s phone vibrated on the table. “Excuse me a moment, gentlemen.”
    She snatched the phone up as she rose, heading out of earshot of the executives. Was her assistant brain-dead?
    Answering the call, Amanda whispered, “I said, no interr—”
    “ I know, Ms. Temple. I tried to tell Jill that you were in the middle of a meeting. She says this is as ‘9-1-1 as it gets.’ ”
    “Fine. Put her through,” Amanda said, and then turned to the executives. “My Vice president,” Amanda nodded toward Howie, “can work out the numbers with you.”
    She stepped out of the room to take the call. This had better be something to do with the president’s need for organic, wild-caught salmon, or Jill would be facing a firing squad when she returned.
    When the