The 23 Cannons Trilogy

Positions

Liam pushed past the thick greenery of the woods, with Emily trailing behind him. They had been running from the Cornucopia for around an hour now, and they were definitely beginning to feel the effects of fatigue. Liam's legs were burning, and his stomach was growling immensely. He looked back at Emily, who was panting and continually wiping the sweat from her forehead. It wasn't particularly hot, but these woods were quite humid.

"Hey, Liam," Emily said. "I think we're far enough for the moment. Can we stop for a while?" Liam hesitated before answering. Personally, he felt as if they were too close to the Cornucopia still, but at the same time, he knew that continuing when tired would only make them easier to kill.

"All right then," he finally decided. "But not for too long; I want to stay on the move for as long as possible." Liam then reached into his bag, and pulled out some wire.

"What's that for?" Emily asked, looking confused.

"It's a simple trap," Liam explained. "I'll set it up around the perimeter of where we're staying. If a tribute strays too close, then it'll make noise, and let us know."

"That's a good idea," Emily said. 

"I know," Liam replied. He then gave Emily a warm smile. "I'm just gonna go set this up now. You stay in this small clearing, and don't die: I'll be back soon."

"Okay then," Emily said as she watched Liam walk off into the trees.

Emily sighed as she sat on the ground. It was real: she was in the arena. Part of it all still felt like some disjointed dream, but Emily knew that it wasn't, as much as she'd like it to be. And there was something else that was bothering her: no cannons had gone off yet, meaning somehow, every last tribute made it past the bloodbath. That meant that there were twenty two other tributes alive, and ready to kill; in other words, Emily's rate of survival hadn't gone up yet, even though she was confident it would have by now. So to keep her mind of this disconcerting thought, she pulled open her large bag, and emptied its contents.

The bag contained a wooden staff and a pair of knives, several bottles of water in varying states of fullness, what appeared to be energy bars, and another bag inside it with a label. Emily read it; it said 'THREE MAN TENT'. Her eyes lit up. She had managed to get some weapons, some food and water, and a tent. The odds had really been in her favour here. Emily then opened one of the full bottles of water, and took a tentative sip. It was cool, and refreshing, and as far as Emily could tell, it wasn't toxic. She also opened one of the many energy bars, and consumed half of it. It wasn't particularly filling, but it was enough to get a strange buzz going.

Feeling somewhat more refreshed, Emily set her sights on the tent bag. Now, the next thing to do would be to set this up. The only problem was that Emily hadn't bothered with the shelter making station in training, and she was beginning to regret it. But she had to try.

Emily carefully opened the bag containing the tent, and pulled out what she assumed was the collapsed form of the sent. She set it out in the middle of the clearing, when suddenly, the tent sprang up right in front of her eyes. Emily gave a yelp of surprise, and leaped back from the tent. Liam suddenly came rushing back from the trees, panic all over his face.

"Em!" he cried out. "You okay? I heard yelling."

"Liam, I'm fine," Emily said, rolling her eyes. "I was just startled by the pop-up tent. That's all."

"Oh," he said, flushing. "Sorry for overreacting."

"It's fine," Emily said. "And besides, you can never be too careful here."

"You're right," Liam said, and then looked at the tent again. "So you actually got a tent in your bag? Awesome."

"Yeah," Emily replied calmly. "I also got some weapons, and a ton of food and water. I think we're set to go."