Hunger Games Entries

Task 5 - The Desert

I wake up one morning, the others still asleep in their sleeping bags. It's been two days since the beginning of the Games, and no one else has died since the bloodbath.

My allies and I have been prosperous. We've shared laughs. Genuine ones. Occupying the cornucopia, we have access to nearly all of the weapons and supplies we could ever need. Not to mention all the surplus from the tributes who died before the bloodbath started.

While we've decided to always take turns sleeping for safety's sake, last night fatigue and stress overpowered the three of us. So we all fell asleep, even if it's only for a few hours. But we know the other tributes know about our location, because we've lit fires two nights in a row. It's a miracle that nothing happened to us while we were all asleep.

I rub my eyes, and walk out of the cornucopia to look at my surroundings. Something seems different, but I'm still too half-awake to point out what.

The sun has yet to show itself. Under the dawn's dim light, I look at my wounded shoulder. The pain from touching it makes me groan a little. Ian got me pretty good there. Would've easily finished me with that spear if he wasn't so nice as to let his grip loosen after one big puncture.

I turn my head sideways to look at the other two, their sleeping faces facing each other. We're all so different, but we're unified by a single goal - survival.

The three of us had so much fun last night, protected under the cornucopia's roof, the warmth of blankets, and oddly, the company each other. So much that I forgot what I'm here for. As much as they are my allies, they are also my rivals.

They're both sound asleep. I look at the handle of the knife poking out of my bag. I pull it out and walk over to them, the knife ready in my right hand.

My hand is shaking a little. Why am I hesitating? I shouldn't be - it's my golden chance to get rid of them. So why?

I drop the knife to the ground, pick it back up, and return to my sleeping bag.

Just as the sun peeks out from behind the cornucopia, Xander and Lena open their eyes. They too, are surprised at the fact that they fell asleep in almost plain sight and woke up in one piece.

"Did any of the landmines we planted hit anyone?" Xander asks me.

"It doesn't seem so. No cannons, no sign of an explosion or blood. No..."

I scrunch my eyebrows and stand, looking around. The snow piles have drastically decreased. A lot of the soil is now exposed, and the pile of bodies are gone too.

"No what?" Lena asks.

"Snow," I reply. "Where did all the snow and bodies go?"

"Maybe they just melted away. And I guess the Capitol collected the bodies while we were asleep," Xander chips in.

Now it's as if the weather was never cold on the mountain. I can't help but be a little concerned. It's obviously not a natural occurence, but then again, the place we are in is far from natural.

Being out for hours in the sun's intense rays cause my sensitive skin to redden. As soon as I sit down again, I see the ground beside me turn into sand, grain by grain.

"What the-"

Before I have time to finish my sentence, a small flame sparks from the tip of a branch of the tallest tree in sight, alerting the three of us.

The fire spreads in an incredible speed, from one branch to another, then to the other tree. The heat isn't even half as intimidating as the mere sight of a fifteen-feet-tall wall of fire, in rage all around you.