The 23 Cannons Trilogy

Endgame

One week had passed since the tributes had first entered the arena. In this time, sixteen tributes had perished, leaving only eight. The final eight.

Alexis regarded this fact with surprise. She had known it would happen sooner or later, but not just yet. The pacing of the Games was changing. It was probably because these Games had gone on now for nearly twice as long as last year's, and the Capitol was probably getting bored. And that was ignoring Alexis' concern. Judging from the cannons during the past two days, it was highly likely every other remaining alliance had seen some action, whilst her allies had just sat around in this house, making subtle conversation about the escape plan. Rose and Xander were still hopeful, but Dixie seemed to be losing hope. Yet the girl still stuck around. Probably because it was pretty safe here, and they had a large food supply. The possibility of Dixie ditching them concerned Alexis. If a Career left them, then there was no way in hell the Capitol would sponsor them, final eight or not.

Rose and Xander were sat around the dining table, talking to each other. Alexis was also sat at the dining table, but looking out of the window. Dixie was outside, idly throwing her spear about. Alexis watched as the weapon slammed into the dirt ground with a thud. The crack in the window allowed her to hear it. She looked away from the window, and over to Rose.
"Hi Alexis," Rose said. She was smiling warmly.
"Hey," Alexis replied. "How are you today?" It was small talk, and nothing meaningful, but Alexis felt that over the past few days, she had spent more time focusing on how to go about this plan than actually interacting with her allies. And she knew that without these people, there was no way Alexis would be able to escape. She relied on them as much as they relied on her.
"I'm fine," Rose said. "But I am surprised that we're already in the final eight. Do you think they'll be doing the family interviews yet?"
"Maybe," Alexis said. She realised that she had forgotten about the interviews. Capitol workers would go out to the districts, and interview the friends, family, and loved ones of the remaining third of the tributes. For a brief moment, Alexis considered who they would interview for her. Her mother had died in childbirth, and she had been raised by a traumatised victor for a father, who was currently mentoring her. Could they even interview mentors? It didn't matter, Alexis told herself: the interviews would barely have any effect on the Games. But they seemed to matter to Rose, so Alexis decided to go with it. It would also work to fool the Gamemakers. "Who do you think they'll be interviewing for you?"
"Definitely my parents," Rose said. "But they might also interview Elektra, since she is a close friend of mine. I'm not sure if they can interview mentors, though."
"Me neither," Alexis said. "I can't see why they couldn't, but at the same time, especially in our case, our mentors have two tributes to look out for." Actually, Alexis was almost entirely sure Maia and her father had left Markus to his own devices, considering how much of a grade-A psychopath the boy was. He didn't need mentor advice. He just needed a powerful weapon, and the spilled blood would do the rest. Part of Alexis felt that Markus would not deserve the freedom he would get when the escape plan was put into motion. If it weren't for the fact that she would be playing entirely into the Capitol's hands, Alexis would wish the boy dead. But she didn't.

Alexis looked at Rose, who now seemed to be in thought. Rose then sighed, and looked at Alexis.
"Alexis, the thought just occurred to me," Rose said. "I've just realised we're in the final eight. It's a little unbelievable, really."
"Yeah, it is," Alexis said.
"Just, I can't believe that sixteen of us are dead," Rose said. Alexis felt a chill. Talking about the dead tributes in a negative light was dangerous.
"It's a little odd," Alexis said coolly. "But don't let it get to you. It was kind of inevitable that they were going to die." She gave Rose a reassuring look, hoping her ally would understand that they were treading on risky territory. Rose's eyes widened. She understood.
"I guess so," Rose said, shrugging it off. "It's just that we're now part of the final eight. I know we've earned our place, but it still all feels surreal."
"I know the feeling," Alexis said. "Things are progressing at a much faster pace."
"Hey," Rose said. "Does that mean we'll be getting out of this house soon?"
"Probably," Alexis replied. It was now that it hit her. They were part of the final eight, and they were going to have to execute the plan very soon. An anxious feeling was building up inside Alexis the more she thought about it. The endgame was coming. She knew there would be no time at all until they were running for their lives out of the arena. It was all happening so fast. But Alexis had to be prepared for this. She couldn't just let these things catch up to her. Now was the time for preparation.
"Really?" Rose said.
"Really," Alexis replied. "In fact, we'd better start preparing ourselves. We're in the final stretch of the Games, Rose, and we have to be prepared to fight." Rose understood the true meaning of Alexis' words, and a surprised expression crossed her face. Alexis said nothing, and decided to let Rose come to terms with it herself. Otherwise it could be seen as suspicious. And they couldn't risk it. Not now. Not so late on in the Games. Rose's expression changed. She understood. Alexis felt relief wash over her.