The Chamber [Sequel to Silence]

20

 It was later that evening, and Antonia, Marcia and I met up with the stylists to watch the Games. Settling on the couches, Roberta poured us all wine, and I drank it quickly to steady my nerves. We’d gathered several sponsors that day for Riley, but a lot had wanted to support Otto instead, which had left me feeling drained. We watched Riley and Elianna come to a stop somewhere in the middle of the arena, exhausted and drenched in sweat and rain water. Earlier on, just after they’d escaped, and the rain had mostly stopped, Elianna had stopped to revive Milo, using the resuscitation method. She’d clearly been one of the rare tributes who paid attention to that workshop during training, but he was still weak, and she persisted carrying him. When they stopped this time, however, the ground had soaked up much of the water and the tremors in the ground had gone. They were safe for a while. Elianna lay Milo carefully on the ground, brushing his hair off his face. He spluttered slightly, and Riley quivered.

 “Will he be OK?” she asked quietly.

 “I think so. He needs to get all the water out of his system, though. Help me sit him up.”

 They positioned him with his back against the tree for support and he coughed miserably, drifting in and out of consciousness. Riley sat close to him, rubbing his arms to try and get some warmth into him. Elianna stood, her stance strong, but her expression nervous. She turned and began to walk away.

 “Where are you going?” Riley asked.

 “I won’t stay here.”

 “Why not?”

 “I can’t have allies. I don’t want to get attached,” Elianna mumbled timidly. Riley stood tentatively.

 “Elianna, isn’t it? You’ve just saved our lives. I’m not letting you go. You must come and share a meal with us, at least. Please? We have plenty, and you don’t have much.”

 Elianna wavered, chewing on her lip. Riley smiled and reached in her pack, bringing out a soggy loaf of bread, waving it around to lure Elianna in. A peal of giggles escaped Elianna’s lips, and she blushed shyly, covering her mouth. Riley broke a bit off and threw it to Elianna. She caught it smoothly and nibbled delicately at it, before joining Riley at Milo’s side. Elianna watched Riley closely, observing how she leant her head on Milo’s shoulder and laced her fingers with his limp hand.

 “Is Milo your boyfriend?” Elianna said with a blush. Riley ruffled Milo’s hair and laughed.

 “No. He wouldn’t be interested.”

 “What makes you say that?” Elianna asked curiously. Riley blushed.

 “Well, I just mean…I don’t have the right qualities. Like, I’m not pretty or anything,” she replied, clearly unaccustomed to girl talk. She stood up abruptly and grabbed the axe that she had, swinging it skilfully.

 “This is what I’m good at. But boys don’t look for that.”

 “I think you have lots of good qualities, Riley,” Elianna said softly “You’re brave and selfless, strong and kind-”

 “Reckless and wild, manly and sympathetic,” Riley countered. She let out a small belch as though to prove her point about her masculinity.

 “What’s wrong with sympathetic?”

 “Nothing. But it’s seen as a weakness, isn’t it? Like you said, you don’t want to get too close to people in the Games because it’s a weakness when you start to feel attached to people. You know that you either have to lose or lose them…”

 Riley let her arms fall to her side, her axe swinging. The cameras zoomed in on her face, but if they were looking for a reaction, they weren’t going to get one. After all, Riley is a brilliant actress.