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.”

 “Away?” Summer replied dumbly.

 “Away from the others. We don’t need them. But there’s just one problem.”

 “Which is what?”

 “Cassia. She’s jealous of you.”

 “Why?”

 “Because I like you more than her,” Otto murmured. Summer practically swooned. They were quiet for a moment, approaching the place where Cassia and Otto had been earlier by the lagoon. Otto sat down and pulled Summer onto his lap.

 “What we have could be special,” he said. I felt like vomiting at his words “But she will always try and get in the way.”

 “So what should we do?” Summer said desperately. Otto stared at her, long and hard, in the eyes, before leaning in and kissing her lips. Summer’s eyes widened comically, and I held back a laugh. Although he clearly had her under his thumb, I knew it was all an act. He was up to something, and not something good. I almost pitied her senselessness. When the kiss ended, he pressed his forehead to hers.

 “We’ll have to kill her,” he murmured. Summer nodded eagerly.

 “Yes, yes, of course. We’ll kill her.” She watched in awe as Otto reached up to touch her face, slowly tracing his fingers across her features.

 “Of course…it should be you who does it, really. I mean, she’s the one trying to ruin everything for you,” Otto said softly. With another nod, Summer pressed her lips to Otto’s again.

 “I’ll do it. I’d do anything for you. I won’t let you down,” she blurted. Otto smiled.

 “OK. Meet me here at midnight. If she shows up to ruin things for us, all you have to do is kill her. Bring your bow and arrow. She won’t stand a chance against you.”

 “Then we can be together? Just us?”

 “Of course. Just you and I. I’ll keep you safe,” Otto said.

 The pair of them stayed there a long time, having a nauseating kissing session. Venus and Claudius had a lot of fun streaming endless jokes about the pair of them, guffawing at their “puppy love.” I wondered how the girl could be so stupid. Otto was double crossing her with Cassia. It seemed that he had it all worked out, and I was intrigued, almost, to see how it all worked out. Personally, I hoped Otto would wind up dead somehow, but as midnight crept ever closer, it didn’t seem so likely.

 Cassia and Summer both went to sleep early, and when Cassia woke first, she realised Otto was gone. She grabbed her bag and her mace and headed off to the meeting place. Summer woke not long after and panicked, getting her bow and arrow shakily and stumbling off into the night. Meanwhile, Cassia was waiting patiently for Otto at the lagoon, her arms tight around her body to keep her warm. Neither she nor Summer could see Otto, but I could. He lay flat on his stomach around ten metres away from Cassia, concealed completely by the thick layer of fog that covered the ground.

 Summer crouched behind a tree, her bow and arrow at the ready as she aimed it at Cassia. She was blinded by her lust for Otto, willing to kill her ally simply to be with him. Her breathing was heavy as she pulled back the string shakily and let go. A horrifying cry was heard as the arrow buried itself in the back of Cassia’s leg. She whipped around with a snarl, locating her assailant and limping quickly towards her, mace raised. Summer fumbled desperately for another arrow, this time hitting Cassia right in the stomach, but not soon enough to save herself. With an enraged cry, blood trickling from her mouth and the incision in her stomach, Cassia smacked Summer across the head with her mace. True to her word, I watched her create a dent in Summer’s skull, and she fell to the ground, her cannon sounding moments later. Cassia sunk to her knees, coughing up blood as Otto approached them innocently.

 “Oh dear,” he murmured “What have we here? My two favourite girls…and neither of you looking too good.”

 Cassia glared at him breathlessly, writhing in pain. Otto sighed, using his foot to turn Summer’s head over.

 “And to think I thought we had a chance at love,” he said dramatically.

 “You tricked us,” Cassia screamed.

 “I prefer the word confused, if you don’t mind. This has been such a disaster…” he said, pretending to wipe a tear from his face. Cassia was sobbing, the blood draining fast from her body as she cried, and for once, she looked her age. Just twelve years old, she was. I almost felt empathy for the cruel hearted girl. No one deserves to be murdered.

 “I trusted you, Otto,” she whispered. Otto laughed cruelly, bending down next to her.

 “Cassia. Sweet, sweet Cassia. I’m going to let you in on a secret. If there is one thing you should never do, it is trust people. And if you really did trust me…you’re more of a fool than I thought.”

 With that he turned on his heel, leaving the two girls to die, the Capitol in shock and me hating him more than ever.