The 23 Cannons Trilogy

Forming Bonds

Alexis stood in the elevator, opposite her stylist, a strange man with various flame decoration by the name of Solus. She folded her arms, and looked at him, her green eyes narrowing. He was a pretty aloof guy, but with the Capitol, that meant nothing. He was still as guilty as the rest of them, celebrating the deaths of twenty three kids every year without a care. It made her feel sick, thinking that these people would be watching her in the arena in a matter of days, willing for the Careers to mow her down. And from the reapings, the Career districts this year, 1 and 2 in particular, seemed especially dangerous.

The elevator came to a stop, and the door opened. Alexis stepped out, and looked at Solus.

"Aren't you coming out as well?" she asked, moving her light brown hair from her face.

"Oh, no; I'm not!" he chirped. "All the stylists this year decided to not join the tributes for the chariot parades so we can make your interview outfits to die for!"

"Okay then," Alexis said, barely unable to conceal the relief in her voice. Without a stylist present, she would be free to roam the chariots, and search for potential allies. "Well, see you then."

"Oh!" Solus said. "Good luck!" He blew her a kiss just before the elevator shut, Solus vanishing from sight. Alexis sighed in relief, and began to walk through the large hall. The floor was a dark grey concrete, and the middle of the room was lined with horses and chariots. Each chariot had a number on it, denoting which district it belonged to. Alexis quickly found District 5's chariot, and saw Markus standing there, looking bored. He had the same outfit on as Alexis; a black jumpsuit with an atom symbol on the chest that glowed various colours. The back had another flashing symbol, this one being for a radiation hazard. It was a cheap attempt at trying to represent District 5 based solely on stereotypes from the district. Next to Markus was Maia Kentner, last year's victor, who was talking to him; Alexis couldn't make out what they were saying from here. Her father was nowhere to be seen, despite him being the other mentor for District 5. She supposed he was probably hanging around the Training Centre, or he had already taken his place in the crowd, and was trying to win sponsors; most likely he was just trying to avoid her. It was a rather unprofessional move as a mentor, but as a father, Alexis understood why entirely.

She looked away from District 5's chariot, and eyed up the other chariots with tributes. Districts 7, 9, and 10 were nowhere to be seen, but the others had their tributes on it. Districts 1, 2, and 4 were instantly crossed off Alexis' list; she wouldn't ever go near those monsters. She looked at the other end of the spectrum of tributes, seeing District 12. They both seemed to be the trusting type, but far too weak, and probably the type to crack under pressure. There was no way they could keep a secret. Alexis crossed them off her mental list as well. District 11's girl was in the same vein as 12: too wimpy to be of any use. And probably not that intelligent either, from the looks of it. The boy, however, seemed smart and capable, but he looked distracted. Alexis had seen that distracted type before in the Games; they were usually thinking about someone close to them, and something like that usually led them to their deaths. District 11 was no good either. 10 and 9 weren't there yet, so Alexis looked over to District 8. The red haired girl was leaning on the edge of the chariot, looking vacant. But there was a deadly spark behind her eyes; there was a dangerously unpredictable side to her that would most certainly cause problems. And the boy, well, Alexis was just glad she had an uncanny ability to read right through people. The entire camp, flamboyant mannerism was just an extremely clever ruse; he was dancing behind a mask which hid his sinister intentions. Alexis was surprised his district partner hadn't caught on; it was clearly obvious that no self-respecting person acted like that without an ulterior motive, and from the looks of it, he had murder in his eyes. Still, she had to give him credit for playing the role so well, even if she was convinced he would try and kill quite viciously in the Games. District 8 was also a no-go, Alexis realised dully.