The Chamber [Sequel to Silence]

14

The next few days passed without incident. Antonia and I kept a close eye on Otto, as well as watching Riley steadily improve in combat, whilst unnoticed by the other tributes. She and Milo stuck together like glue, training together and eating their lunch on the same table. Otto still stuck with the Careers, but we heard no more of his plotting against Riley. Unsurprisingly, after Antonia's threat. Having said that, she kept quiet about her confrontation with Otto, and I didn't mention it.

I'd often sit with Riley in the evenings, and we'd talk about life at home. She told me about her three younger siblings and her older brother who cared for them after their parents died during the flu epidemic. I told her stories of my Grandmother and what I could remember of my parents.

"What happened to them?" she asked me.

"Shot for stealing," I said simply. Riley's eyes had widened.

"Just for stealing?"

"It was at a time with an old mayor. If it were now, perhaps they would have been whipped. But it was a different era, Riley. A darker era than you can imagine. Things are bad now, but they were worse then."

"It's hard to believe," Riley muttered "One day Arrian...do you think we'll be free again? Do you think anyone has the power to start a revolution?"

"There have been...attempts," I replied quietly.

"Really? By who?"

"I probably shouldn't be telling you. It's dangerous information," I said quietly. I shook off the feeling that somebody was listening in.

"Please, Arrian? Come on. We'll go to my room. It's more private," Riley said. I think she realised my fears of being overheard. When we reached her room, I turned on her television and began scrolling through past Hunger Games.

"What are you doing?" Riley asked, bounding to my side.

"What do you notice?" I asked her, showing her the listings of the previous Hunger Games. Riley's eyes widened.

"It doesn't have the footage of the 31st Games," Riley exclaimed, squinting at the screen as though it might suddenly appear. I nodded, turning the screen off, and Riley eagerly sat down on the couch to hear more.

"The victor was a girl named Raven. I know her well. She was from District 10. But the Games were the end of hope for her. She lost the boy she loved during the Games, then her mother. Her brother was gone too. And so, feeling she had nothing to lose, she married a man she didn't love, and then..." I paused, unsure what to say.

"And then?" Riley pressed.

"Then...she tried to start a revolution. She used her Victory Tour to blow lots of important Capitol people up. She killed most of the Gamemakers, and half the most important sponsors of the Games. But she didn't get the President. And now she is being punished for it."

"Punished how?"

I gulped "They cut out her tongue. She's on the run, now. Who knows what they'll do if they catch her."

"Do you know where she is?"

"No," I lied "But I know that she's still working to avenge the deaths of her loved ones. She'll make a break through one day, just you wait."

"How did they explain her disappearance? And the loss of the footage?"

"They used the bomb Raven set off as an excuse. They didn't say it was her, but they implied that it was a deliberate attack. As for her disappearance, they said she was being treated for severe depression in the Capitol, with another victor, Drew. He went with her."