The 23 Cannons Trilogy

A Change of Face

Kaye blinked slowly as the morning sunlight filtered through the leaves of the trees above him, landing on his face. The sound of the breeze rustling against the foliage reached his ears. His eyes opened, seeing the canopy of trees above his head. Kaye paused for a moment: how did he end up on the floor? He looked to his side, and saw bushes surrounding him. And then, Kaye became aware of a sharp pain in the back of his neck. He shakily sat up, and felt the back of his neck, discovering a large lump protruding from it.

It all hit him as he remembered: Kaye had been attacked by tracker jackers. But he had managed to remove the threat before he was seriously injured, or even killed, luckily. However, the swollen sting mark could prove to be a nuisance if he didn't do something about it. But for now, Kaye simply focused on getting back up onto his feet, and continuing onwards.

As Kaye stood up, he grabbed his bag, pulling out a bottle of water. He brought it to his lips, and greedily consumed the refreshing fluid. He continued to drink until nothing was left, and his stomach felt full; that also meant that Kaye could go without eating for just a little longer. Kaye then grabbed his dagger, and faced the trees, deciding to head north: that was roughly the direction that Salvera had taken, and depending on how long he had been out for, he could catch up to her.

The thought struck Kaye as unnerving. How long had he been out for? What if in the time that he had been laying on the ground, unconscious, the numbers had dropped enough to make it the endgame? No, Kaye was confident he hadn't been out for that long: if that were the case, then surely the Gamemakers would have woken him earlier. But still, there was no telling how much time had actually passed.

Suddenly, a shape appeared in the sky, and Kaye watched as a parachute slowly floated down. He grinned as he watched the sponsor package land in a nightlock bush. He rushed over, and opened the crate attached to the parachute. Inside he simply found a jar and a slip of paper. Confused, Kaye unfolded it, and read the message.

It's been just over a day. Use your surroundings to find a purpose for this gift.

Kaye looked over the note, making sure that what he had read was correct. So it had really been a whole day since he had passed out. How many tributes were left? Last Kaye recalled, that alliance of kids had died, probably at the hands of the Careers. Since then, who knew how many others the Careers had claimed?

But that was nowhere near as taxing as what the note meant. Kaye picked up the clear glass jar, and looked around the field. What was there here that he could use to find a purpose for this? He looked at the ground where he had fallen, and saw a few crushed tracker jackers, and some pitch-black stains where some nightlock berries had burst.

Wait. The berries! A devious plan formed in Kaye's mind as he began to pick as many of the small berries from the bushes as possible, shoving them in the jar. Once it was full, Kaye began to crush them with his hand: the pitch black juices filled the jar to the brim, and once done, Kaye sealed the lid. However, as he looked at the jar, a thought occurred to him: in some Games, the berries contained medicinal balls that would negate the toxic effects. He picked another berry, and crushed it between his fingers, finding no such ball, confirming that Kaye Nylon did indeed have a full jar of deadly nightlock poison.

Kaye couldn't help but snicker to himself as he held the jar. With this, he could finally begin to show the world his true colours: the whole camp, flamboyant act? That was just to blind-side everyone as Kaye prepared himself for the moment in which he could begin killing. And now, with this, the Capitol would finally see why Kaye deserved to live, because he was as sure as hell going to give them a show.

Kaye began to head north, leaving the field, armed with the dagger and the poison. He was following the same path that Salvera took, and what better way to showcase this murderous ambition by taking out the girl that could have indirectly caused Kaye to kill himself trying to steal her weapon? Oh, this would be perfect. And as he vanished into the foliage, Kaye was more than certain that next time he encountered another tribute, they would die at his hands.