The Ultimate Hunt

8.

Once Hanako finished creating the dictaphone for me, I felt a sense of calm settle in. I was prepared. Now, all I had to do was stay careful and play my role.

I started to notice a shift among the other players. Some were talking more, mingling with people outside their original groups. Maybe they were beginning to believe that this game could somehow end without any deaths. I had no doubt it was Adam behind this illusion, making everyone think they could relax. That was his strategy; get everyone to lower their guard.

But I stayed away from it all.

I spent most of my time alone, either in my cabin or the library, carefully analyzing my surroundings. While the others laughed and talked, I sat in silence, my mind always racing, always calculating. 

It became tiring at some point though. 

The only time I really interacted with anyone was during meals. I ate with Lydia, Peter, and Hanako, but I didn't talk much. I just listened, absorbing everything, letting the others carry the conversation. It wasn't that I didn't like them, on the contrary, they were the closest thing I had to allies here. But the less I said, the safer I felt.

Hanako, of course, was different. He was clingy. He'd been trying to spend more time with me for some reason, even though he had Peter and Lydia. He even started talking to some other participants from time to time.

I kept pushing him away, unless we were alone. I didn't want him to get into my mess, everything was ahead of us and it could put us both at risk.

After breakfast, I made my way toward the library, my mind already focused on what I was about to do. I had been spending my mornings buried in the books about past games, trying to piece together any possible patterns, anything that could help me understand how the host chose their traitor. 

But as I walked down the hallway, that familiar sensation crept up again. Someone was watching me. Again. But now, I had a pretty good idea of who it might be.

I kept my pace steady, pretending I hadn't noticed. Clueless. I decided to confront them this time. As I approached a corner, I saw my chance. Without breaking stride, I took a sharp right turn, slipping behind a nearby wall. I quickly turned on the device I had in the pocket of my skirt.

My plan was to wait for them to catch up and give them a heart attack.

The moment they turned the corner, I moved fast.

In a swift motion, I grabbed them and pushed them against the wall, pinning them there with my arms resting on either side of their body. They gasped, clearly not expecting this.

"Looks like I earned myself a stalker. Mind telling me the reason you've been hanging your eyes on me all the time Samuel?" I spoke harshly and glared at him.

Samuel's eyes darted around, clearly panicking as I held him in place. His breath came in quick gasps, and he looked like a deer caught in headlights. His face was redder than a tomato.

"I-I wasn't stalking you!" he stammered, raising his hands defensively. "I swear, it's not what it looks like."

I leaned in closer, my voice dropping to a low, threatening tone. "Oh really? Then what is it? Spying on me because Adam told you to? Think I wouldn't notice?"

His eyes widened even more, and he quickly shook his head. "No, no, Adam didn't tell me to do anything! I swear, I was doing this on my own! Out of my own free will!"

I narrowed my eyes at him, not convinced. "Your free will? So you're telling me you've been creeping around, following me, because you just felt like it? Not because someone put you up to it?"