The Chamber [Sequel to Silence]

21

 When they fired the cannons that night, another five tributes had fallen, leaving a mere ten tributes left alive. I guessed the floods must have had a huge effect on the weaker contestants. While Antonia hunted down more sponsors, I spent the day watching Otto. And I was in for a very interesting day indeed.

  As the sun rose, the rest of Otto’s posse slept, but he was wide awake. Never did he remove his omnipresent smirk, though his eyes were tired and his body surrounded by fog. His knees were tucked up to his chest and the low drumming of his dirt covered fingers on his knees made me feel nervous. His eyes seemed to always be trained on a camera, though I didn’t know how he managed it. The cameras can’t be seen by the tributes. It felt like he was constantly watching me. That’s why it was a huge relief when the other tributes began to wake up, lighting a fire and gathering around it. They knew no one would approach them, with their numbers making up half the remaining contestants, so it was safe for them to have a fire. Otto had caught a rabbit, and they cooked it on a spit for their breakfast. I noted that the two females, Cassia and Summer, sat on either side of him. In fact, they were practically squished against him. They’d clearly taken a liking to him, chatting with him cheerily, competing with one another for his undivided attention. Otto just sat there, smug and basking in his popularity. What he had going for him in their minds, I’ll never know.

 At around midday, Otto and Cassia slipped off into the woods, much to Summer’s annoyance. They told the others they were going hunting, but as the camera followed them, they made no attempt to catch animals. They headed for a small lagoon just out of sight from their Career camp. And something about the brown murky water told me they weren’t there to fish or drink the water. Settling down opposite each other on some rocks, Cassia leaned towards him, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

 “So. Tell me the plan.”

 “Meet me here at midnight,” Otto said quietly “I will invite Summer to join me here. She won’t know what’s hit her.”

 “Literally. I’m going to hit her so hard with my mace that her head will cave in,” Cassia said darkly.

 “Remember our deal. If you get to kill Summer, you leave Riley to me,” Otto said quietly.

 “That’s fine. We’ve got ourselves a deal.”

 With that, their short conversation was over, and they turned and headed back to camp, collecting some berries and hunting along the way. But I suspected that Otto was up to something more than killing Summer. Something was off about everything. Frowning, I waited a few hours, occasionally checking up on Riley to make sure she was OK. She was fine, seemingly, chatting to Elianna animatedly as she tended to Milo. As the sun began to set, with no deaths that day, Otto and Summer went on a walk together, leaving Cassia back at the camp with the two Career boys. Summer was around Otto’s age, a pretty girl with brown eyes and an eager to please smile, and she hung on to Otto’s every word. As they went further into the arena, she slipped her hand in Otto’s.

 “You’re different from a lot of guys, Otto,” she gushed “I mean, you’re smart and funny and strong-”

 “I’m very flattered,” Otto said a little coldly, though Summer didn’t seem to notice. He plastered his best smile on his face, looking Summer up and down with alluring eyes “I like you, Summer. And that’s why I think you and I should get away.”