The 23 Cannons Trilogy

Mounting Tension

Ariella Grayson, 17, District 2 Tribute

"Hey, Ariella."

The voice is slightly fuzzy in my head as my vision comes into view. Everything is still blurry, and I have no idea what's going on. The last thing I can remember is shooting the boy from District 10, and the girl from District 12 throwing herself at me. And then, nothing. It's awful, having a gap in your memory. Is this what my father experienced when in a drunken stupor? No, I can't think about him right now. It is kind of odd where your mind drifts to when your other senses are dulled down.

Blinking heavily for a few seconds, the world comes into clear view. The blue sky is directly above me, meaning that I'm laying on my back. But where? I rub my hand along the ground, and feel soft grains of sand. The beach. So that answers that question.

But something feels wrong. I'm not sure what, but I have to find out. Ignoring the dizziness, I sit up, and look forwards. I have to wipe my eyes a few times to make sure what I'm seeing isn't a hallucination. The entire camp is a burning, raging fire, with smoke pouring from the smouldering remains of the tents. What happened here?

Suddenly, a figure comes into view, and I instantly recognise it as Ebony. He's holding his spear, and he looks more beaten up than ever. And if I'm correct, he almost seems to be remorseful.

"Ebony," I say, shakily standing up, ignoring my headache, "What happened here?"

"Oh, about that," He trails off, looking at the burning ruins of our camp, "Well, the boy from Ten managed to burn the place down by turning Emerald into a living candle."

"Is she okay?" I instinctively ask, hoping for a positive answer.

"What do you think," He replies, "She burst into flames, and fell into a tent, being coated in more fire for about three whole minutes. She died, Ariella."

"Oh," I say, my voice empty and hollow, "What about the other two? The boy from Ten and the girl from Twelve?"

"I managed to get the girl," Ebony explains to me, and I detect a slight amount of confidence in his tone, "She died a little while ago. And Ariella, I don't know whether or not this has occurred to you yet, but we're the only two Careers left."

No, that thought hadn't occurred to me yet. Me and Ebony, the last remaining Careers. Part of me wants to celebrate this fact, yet another part of me wants to be shocked at how quickly the numbers are depleting. This morning, it was me, Nick, Ebony, and Emerald. And they aren't the only deaths today. There's also been the boy from District 6, Ryder, the girl from District 3, and the girl from District 12, if what Ebony says is correct.

"Wow." I say in response to that, "The numbers sure are dwindling at a rapid pace. How many are left now?"

"Excluding us, four." Ebony replies, and a feeling of hope builds up inside me. Only four tributes besides us, and Ebony is so injured that I could pretty much kill him instantly. "The girl from District Five, the girl from District Six, the boy from District Ten, and the girl from District Eleven." And they're all pretty weak outliers as well. Except maybe the boy from 10, but I fail to see exactly how he'll survive an endless barrage of arrows.

Speaking of arrows, where is my bow? I glance around the immediate area, not seeing it. Could it have been taken in the fire? Surely not, otherwise I'll be pretty much without any way to defend myself.

"Ebony, have you seen my bow?" I ask him calmly, trying to not let my anxiety show. That bow is my lifeline. Without it, I'm pretty much dead.

"Yeah," He replies nonchalantly, pointing at the hill, "It's over there. I saved it from the fire for you. You lost one of your quivers though." That's a shame, but at least I still have my bow. I quickly walk over to the hill, and pick it up, enjoying the feeling of it in my hands. I was telling the truth when I told the boy from 10 that the bow is the best weapon to have. It's so light, meaning you can carry it without growing tired; it's ranged, which means that you can kill from a distance, and it's one hundred percent deadly. Which is why I find it odd that more tributes don't use the bow; the majority of victors were skilled in either the bow or the crossbow, and I'll be no exception.