When will this Hunger Games end?

After a week in the arena, I'm starting to get restless. For Holly and I the first day of the Hunger Games had been the most intense at the Cornucopia. Things slowed down afterwards. We searched for water, which we found the second day; we laid traps and snares for food, which supplied a variety of small woodland critters; and we constantly watched our backs for any remaining tributes.

However, we didn't have to watch our backs. In the entire week we have spent in the arena, we haven't come across another tribute yet. The only news we receive about the others reaches us through the firing cannons and the projections in the sky. There are only four of us left, if the cannons haven't deceived me.

Still, Holly and I are always on edge, especially at night. It turns out that the ring of fire, with monsters inside, appears every night and switches locations each time. So whenever we see the fire start somewhere else, we breathe a sigh of relief that we managed to escape it once again. Though, the pessimist within me assumes that it won't be long before our luck runs out.

Now we've sort of fallen into a routine. We leave our tall grass hiding place in the morning, go to the small creeks where we get our water from and drink as much water as we can swallow. During the day we often return there to make sure we stay hydrated. After the creeks, we check our traps and snares and immediately skin and gut our game.

In the evening, we go back to our hiding place in the tall grass and go to sleep with one of us keeping watch. Today was no different as we arrive at our secret patch in the field of waving grass.

"I'm exhausted," I sigh as I lie down on the ground. I bring my dart guns to my face and check if they're still strapped on properly. They are.

"Me too," Holly sits down. "I wish we could just go to sleep next to a warm fire. It's too bad that we would give away our position if we did."

One of Anthony's constant reminders before the Games was that I not make a fire at night, lest I wish to die a violent death. After a week alone with Holly, I would do anything to hear his strict, deep voice again. Not that Holly isn't nice company, but if you are together 24/7, conversations become pretty monotonous.

"Indeed, and not to mention that massive fire that starts every night. I hope we never run into it," I say, shivers running down my spine. The nightly ring of fire terrifies me more than anything.

"We've been doing good at not running into it so far. I wonder what is inside the fire. It's probably not delightful, but it is a mystery," Holly shrugs.

"Let's hope it stays that way. I have no intention of finding out first hand what's inside that ring of death."

"Maybe someone actually survived it in there and we can ask them," she jokes.

I snort. "If whatever monstrosity inside the ring didn't kill them, I bet the fire burnt them to a crisp anyway."

"Which of the tributes are still alive anyway? There is only a handful of us left."

"If I'm not mistaken, the only ones that are still alive are the girl from 7 and Vexare, the girl from 12. And us of course."

I'm conflicted whether I like that. I'm happy Vexare was able to survive for over a week too, but this also means we might have to fight one another to win. We only talked for a short time during training, but she impressed me. Fighting her would be challenging.

"The finale should be coming soon then," Holly realises. "Don't they normally bring the remaining tributes together when there is four or three left?"

"They do. Usually with a feast. They really should call it 'massacre' because no one's really enjoying the feast," I grumble.

If the Games get boring or when there are only a handful of tributes left, the Gamemakers have the sociopathic tendency to invite them to 'feasts'. At such a feast, supplies that the tributes are in dire need of will be provided and when they arrive, other tributes will of course try to kill them. Going to the feast basically means going to the slaughter.

Holly laughs. "It's a feast if you take all of the bags and get triple the amount of supplies. But, yes, there is more massacring going on then feasting there."

"You know, if they did hold a feast, we could make it. It's two against two and we're a team," I put forward.

"That's true. What do we really need, though? Water maybe?"

"No, we're good on that so far. Those small creeks we found on the second day will pull us through as long as they don't get polluted," I point up to the sky in a meaningful way. I wouldn't put it past the Capitol to do so.

"That's true. We're practically set on everything."

"True. Anything else would be a luxury, so to speak. You're right about the feast, though. We are the final four. Something needs to happen, something big."

"We should keep ourselves on high alert tonight just in case they are bringing us together."

"Good, but I really need some sleep. Do you mind taking the first watch?"

"Okay. I'll wake you if anything important happens."

We eat the game we roasted earlier today and then I go to sleep while Holly takes the first watch. Unfortunately, my restlessness from the day continues into the night. I keep struggling to fall asleep and when I do, I have a nightmare.

In my nightmare, I'm back at the Cornucopia on the first day of the Hunger Games. Just as I leave the Cornucopia, I get shot at with arrows. I dodge each one manoeuvring closer every time. The archer runs out of arrows and that's when I kick my leg up.

As I see my leg penetrate the archer's diaphragm, the person's face turns into Ian. I want to pull my foot out again, but somehow I can't stop and my toe indents the right ventricle of his heart. Wobbling on his feet and his bewildered gaze upon me, Ian opens his mouth. Yet it's Holly's screaming voice that leaves it:

"Finn!"

I wake up instantly, only to find Holly hunched over me shaking my shoulders and screaming my name. Behind her, a roaring fire reaches up to ten feet high. The ring of fire, I panic.

"Finn, get up! We need to go!" she yells.

I jump up and grab a bag of supplies that once held apples. I turn to Holly:

"Grab whatever you can and stay close behind me."

She quickly gathers the rest of our stuff and we run off together. Without hesitation, we flee the tall grass and speed in the opposite direction of the fire. It must have started just now because it hasn't formed a complete circle yet. We can still escape this. I run like the wind, but all of the sudden Holly tugs at my cloak and pulls me to the ground.

"Watch out!" she shouts as she takes cover.

A blazing fireball crashes in front of me missing me by a hair. If Holly hadn't pulled me down, I would have been blasted to ashes. With my legs spread out in front of me, I gawk at the crater of fire.

"They're after you," Holly tells me. "I didn't see fireballs flying around the ring of fire on the other nights."

After a quick analysis, I realise she's right. I didn't hear or see any fireballs before either, so this must be a special treat from the Gamemakers. This is how they'll make sure I don't start a rebellion if I win. They'll fry me before I get the chance!

"You're right. You better run in front of me then. It will be easier for them to hit me from behind," I explain.

"What? You're not going to put yourself in the line of fire, are you?" Holly asks.

"It's me they want. I can't risk them firing at you to hit me," I see a fireball coming the other way, "Run!"

She jumps to her feet and bolts away as I run behind her. The fireball hits right next to the previous crater and destroys the place where we stopped. We got out just in time, but we still have the ring to deal with. While we pulled back for the fireball, the ring of fire spread and completed a semi-circle.

We hurry to stay ahead of it, but smoke and heat lick at our bodies as we sprint across the meadows. Butterflies, sparrows and other flying creatures rise up from their hiding places and soar up high into the sky. All sorts of rodents scurry past and beneath us in an attempt to escape.

Another fireball flies past us from the left and obliterates the meadow before us. Holly gives its crater a wide berth and heads out to the opening that separates the one end of the ring of fire from the other. I follow her leaving a gap between us. If a fireball hits me, I will be far away enough for her to flee unharmed.

As we rush closer to the opening, the smoke and heat increase. Both of us start coughing, which means we need to get our butts out of this mess fast. The two ends of the ring of fire raise closer to each other and before Holly has reached the opening, they meet and seal off the ring of fire. We're trapped, I panic once again.

"Holy cow, what do we do now?" Holly panics too.

"I don't know. Let's follow the circle from a safe distance. If we keep near the fire, whatever's inside the ring will take a while to find us." I'm not sure how that would work, but it's as good a plan as any at this point.

"But what if it does?"

"Then may the Great Mother help us."

We stay closer together now and run along the bends of the ring of fire. Several times we hear the growls of large animals, but they always seem far away and as we follow the ring further, their sounds shrink.

Then all of the sudden a platinum blond flash jumps in front of us. It's Vexare, the girl from District 12. She's covered in dirt and ashes and her glossy hair has gone dim. She has a sword in a scabbard on one side of her belt and a rolled-up whip on the other. An expression of fear, panic, anger and now surprise contorts her face.

"Well, well, long time no see," she grins.

"Hello Vex. How have you been enjoying your stay in the arena?" I raise an eyebrow sarcastically.

"Oh, I've been busy. You know, surviving, killing others, running from fire and monsters...the usual."

"Have you seen the monsters?" I ask, sincere interest in my voice. Holly, unsure what to think of Vexare, stays behind me with a dagger ready.

"Yeah, and they're not pretty. I barely made it out just now," she switches her gaze to Holly, "Who's she?"

"Hi, I'm Holly. I'm from District 6 too," she introduces herself in her own quirky way.

"Hello. Vexare, District 12."

"Well, we'd love to stay and chat, but we have a ring of fire to escape..." I turn around and signal Holly to follow, but Vexare calls to us.

"Hé, wait! You're not just going to leave me here?"

"Are you going to stab us in the back if we don't?" Holly replies.

"What good would that do me?"

"You'd be crowned Victor," I retort. The smoke's starting to thicken again. We need to move.

"Not quite. There's still that other girl. From 7. I've been looking all over for her," she smirks mischievously.

"Yeah, she's a psycho. Let's go before she starts laughing like a mad scientist," Holly whispers to me.

Suddenly, another fireball travels in our direction. I grab both Holly and Vexare by the arm and drag them away. They start running when they see the fireball too. The fiery projectile explodes on impact and sends all three of us rushing through the meadows and bushes.

Our escape is short-lived, though. That last fireball drove us deeper into the ring of fire...right into the monsters. At the edge of a small forest, the growls become the loudest they've been so far and I know we've made a huge mistake. The trees start to give way and enormous beasts step out from between them.

The mutated monsters look at us licking their lips and baring their long, sharp fangs. Right in front of us stands a 9ft. tall grizzly bear with the heavy tusks of an elephant. A massive black wolf with six snake-like tails crouches behind it. Next to it, a lean, muscular tiger rests on its hind legs. A number of other terrors lurks behind us too.

"Crap. Not these things again," Vexare snarls.

"Okay, we need a plan. Any suggestions?" Holly asks.

"Spread out. Divide and conquer," Vexare nods confidently.

"No, we need to stay together. If we separate, they'll take us out one by one."

"She's right. We have to fight back to back," I agree.

"Fine, but if I die because of this, I'm going to be real pissed," Vexare remarks.

The three of us turn our backs to one another, stick together and keep a weapon ready. The big mutts start to circle around us stalking us like prey. To them, we probably are prey. First, the tusked grizzly bear lashes out at me with its claws. I quickly fend them off with the bronze gloves of my dart guns and kick the beast in its gut.

Meanwhile, the six-tailed wolf lunges at Vexare and the lean tiger lashes out at Holly. Vexare firmly knocks the wolf's jaws shut with the hilt of her sword and knees it in the chest. Holly fends off one tiger paw with her kitchen knife and stabs its other paw with her dagger. Both beasts recoil and circle us again.

The tiger then stands up on its hind legs and kicks its right hind leg up to the side of Vexare. She jumps backwards to avoid getting sideswiped, but this pushes Holly and I closer to the bear and wolf.

The bear tries to impale Holly with its tusks, but she ducks down to the front, going underneath the tusks. She takes both her kitchen knife and dagger and impales the mutt in return. It howls and brings its massive head down to bite her. She quickly rolls from under it and slashes its hind legs in the process.

In the meantime, the wolf spread its six tails and struck me with them like a whip. I couldn't block them all and some hit me in the face and on my arm. As its tails hit me, the wolf lunged forward, its sharp teeth oozing with saliva.

I manage to push off the ground and throw myself in the air. The wolf bites down on its own teeth as it misses me. Once in the air, I twist my left leg a bit, which unsheathes a dagger. It falls down hilt first, I catch it in my hand, arch my back, fall on the wolf's back and roll over it.

I land behind the wolf on the ground, jump back up and stab my dagger into its pelvis. It yelps, whirls around with a ferocious growl and lunges at me again.

But then Vexare cracks her whip and hits the mutt hard on its right shoulder. It turns around again and tries to strike her with its whip-tails, but she cracks her whip first, which gets entangled with the wolf's tails. The two are at a tug of war when the tusked bear attacks me again.

"Vex!" a young girl yells all of the sudden. The yell comes from a Jabberjay resting on a branch of one of the trees. Jabberjays are genetically engineered birds that can perfectly imitate any sound. Vexare immediately recognises the voice and turns to the large slick bird.

"Avriette!" she gasps, but then she sees the Jabberjay. The young girl's call distracts her long enough for the wolf to lunge at her and bite down on her shoulder. She screams and the wolf bites down even harder, blood streaming from Vexare's shoulder.

I immediately stretch my arms and hands. This shoots a poisonous dart from my left dart gun at the bear and a regular one from the right at the wolf. The bear releases me and the wolf releases Vexare, only to turn to me. The wolf lunges at me, but I duck under it and stab a dagger through its heart. It yelps one last time and drops dead on top of me.

Vexare lies behind it bleeding heavily from her shoulder. I push the dead mutt off of me and crawl to her. A large pool of blood has formed around her since the wolf bit down hard and deep. By the time I reach her, I hear a cannon fire. She's dead.

Enraged, I turn to the remaining beasts. Holly is still fighting the standing tiger. It was able to scratch one of her arms, but she withstood the pain and is close to killing the monster. I turn to the tusked grizzly bear instead.

The poisonous dart I shot at it has kicked in and the beast is wobbling on its feet, blood dripping from the cuts Holly made. The monstrosity throws itself at me in a final strike, but I jump away instantly and it misses. Then I hear a familiar sound. I pinpoint its origin and get an idea.

"Hé, ugly!", I wave my arms to grab the bear's fading attention, "Is it me you're after? Come and get me!"

"Finn?" Holly calls. She's pushing the tiger off of her with her sharp weapons and looks at me in confusion.

"Trust me!" I reply as I lead the tusked grizzly into the desirable position. Heavily weakened by my poisonous dart, it lumbers in at the right spot. It raises it head and growls, but then I jump to the side. A fireball hits the large bear full frontal and blows it to warm slabs of second-rate steak.

I wasn't fast enough, though. The fireball scorched my lower left leg and now I can't stand up properly. Yet all around me new fiends are creeping up on me.

Holly notices my predicament and finishes the tiger off. She knocks its head up under its jaw and slashes its throat with her dagger. Blood sprays her face as the humanoid tiger gurgles its final breath.

Meanwhile, an anaconda slithers towards me baring its several rows of hook-like teeth. I stretch my right arm and hand, and shoot a dart through the anaconda's skull. As it slumps to the ground, Holly warns me:

"Tracker Jackers!"

The golden, extremely venomous wasps buzz towards me in a small wave, but I get up on my good leg and bite through the pain as I limp towards Holly. I've faced worse pain during Mother's humanity test. Bring it on, Capitol!

Holly catches me when I reach her, supports me on the left and helps me run. A few Tracker Jackers torpedo themselves at us and 'successfully' sting us. We pick up the pace and cut through the small forest, but in there a new terror awaits us.

As Holly practically drags me further, she rustles up one of the bushes. A bat-size moth flies up from it and spreads its massive white-specked orange and brown wings. I recognise the insect at once.

It's the Atlas moth, the largest moth in the world. At least, that's what its ancestor used to be. The Capitol genetically manipulated this harmless moth to inject its victims with a powerful neurotoxin. This paralyses anyone within a minute, slows down their metabolism and keeps them in a coma for several days until they die of organ failure.

It's this beautiful yet fatal bug that flies towards me. It's this mesmerising yet lethal insect that stings me. It's this seemingly innocent yet dangerous creature that makes me collapse instantly on the ground pulling Holly with me.

The Tracker Jacker venom already had me hallucinating, but as the colourful moth flutters away, my mind loses its grip on reality. I hear noises and feel roughness beneath and beside me, but all I can see is blurred and twisted. As I close my eyes, I catch a glimpse of the ten feet high ring of fire that dies down. I survived the ring of fire, barely.


*Announcement*

Hello dear readers!

This is where The Writing Games of 2013 ended. Since PotterOwl didn't post her final assignment, I automatically won, which also means Finn Hartman won :D I want to thank you all for reading this story and supporting it as you did. It really means a lot to me! I gained so much experience from this and I met some amazing people in the process.

However, that the contest ended doesn't mean Finn's story has to end. You will see that the next chapters are completely freeform, i.e. they don't have to live up to contest requirements. You will also see that some of them will be written from a different perspective. Or at least I hope I will have such chapters if PotterOwl and AwesoMEbeing_ would like to help me :p

Furthermore, I asked in one of the previous chapters whether you'd like to read a prequel, or sequel to Finn's story, but no one responded. Thus I re-ask the question. After this story is finished, would you like to read a PREQUEL or a SEQUEL? (I'll probably write both, but this will give me an idea what I should write first.)

Thanks again for all the support and I hope you continue reading! In the next chapter, Finn will have to face his inner demons. Enjoy!