The Chamber [Sequel to Silence]

25

Crouched low and silent, Otto observed. Every move he made was thought out, from the position he assumed to the steady rhythm of his breathing. His nails dug in the dirt beneath his feet, his eyes wide and alert as he watched his prey. But it wasn’t a rabbit, nor a deer, or any other creature that he was waiting on. It was a boy.

 I loathed the way he watched the boy from 12 with eager eyes, his tongue sliding across his lips sickeningly as though hunting a child was sport. It was fortunate he was injured, the arrow wound that Elianna had given him slowing him down, sending waves of sweat pouring from his forehead, and in the process buying District 12 time to run. But he didn’t. I sat in my room, feeling frustrated as I willed the boy to run, but he stayed. District 12 stayed put, idly skinning a rabbit with his knife, his back against a tree. A twisted grin appeared on Otto’s face as he slithered forwards through the mist towards his prey. I lost sight of him, right up until the moment where he appeared behind District 12’s boy, a rope in hand. Quick as a flash, he tied the rope around the neck of the tribute and around the tree, tight enough that the boy couldn’t escape and dropped his knife in terror, but not tight enough to suffocate him. Because Otto wasn’t ready to kill yet. He wanted to have some fun.

 The boy from 12 looked up at Otto with pleading eyes, but Otto had never been a merciful boy. Otto’s eyes scanned over the boy’s impressive knife collection, laid out neatly a metre or so away from the owner. He picked one up and examined it carefully.

 “Knives, eh?” Otto said, pacing “I was never a very good knife thrower.”

 District 12 squirmed helplessly, letting out a strangled cry as his useless struggle caused the rope to dig into his windpipe. Otto frowned at the knife.

 “What do you say to a little target practise?” he asked the boy innocently. Suddenly, the knife was flying through the air, and a horrific cry filled the air as it lodged in District 12’s shoulder. Otto sighed.

 “That won’t do, will it? I have such bad aim. That wasn’t where I was aiming!” he moaned. Then his face darkened. He walked slowly towards the boy, grabbing another knife from the pile. I imagined being the boy from 12, whimpering as Otto knelt before me, his hot breath on my face. Otto teased the knife over the boy’s face, over his pale blue eyes, down to his chest.

 “You see,” he murmured “I was rather hoping I’d hit you…right…about…” He brought the knife to a stop, digging the blade in a little. Just above his heart “…here.”

 I switched the channel to watch Riley as the boy began to scream. It was too horrific to watch. At least seeing Riley unscathed and back on the move was a reassuring sight. She was marching boldly, though a little blindly, through the dark, her torch attached to her belt for later use. Elianna walked a metre or so behind quietly, talking even less than usual. They were an odd pair, Riley and Elianna, though not ill-suited. Since Milo’s death, they were ever closer, watching one another’s back constantly and keeping each other safe. It had been two days since I sent Riley the torch and only one more death had occurred, the girl from 3 who’d been lucky to make it as far as she did anyway. She’d died of dehydration, apparently. This had left the betting placements a little stale, and the Capitol citizens aching for a big event. As that thought struck my mind, District 12’s cannon sounded, marking his death, and there was a cheer from the streets. The Capitol people had been hungry for action, and they’d got it. That’s what they like about Otto. He provides the excitement I thought bitterly. Riley and Elianna stopped, shuffling closer to one another. The death meant danger for them. It meant Otto was either going for the Career pack, or for them. And I knew which was more likely.