A Collection of my Writer's Games Entries

Hourglass Games: Task 8 (Maisy Bellon) D10 *Semi-Finals*

This was a song task - the song assigned to me was 'Madness in Me' by Skillet

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I hugged my knees to my chest and rocked back and forth.

The morning sun shone on my face and gravel crunched underneath my body as I rocked. Tears stained my cheeks and my nails were chewed to stubs.

Ransom's face was in the sky last night, but I knew it couldn't be true. I knew he was just faking it - the real Ransom would be hiding in the cave behind me, laughing at my tears. I don't even know why I was crying over him; he was out to get me from the beginning.

I should be glad he was supposedly dead - now I don't have to do it myself. I had to win. I was going to make the Capitol pay, they shouldn't be playing around with my head - they shouldn't be playing with fire. Killing Ransom off just fueled my insanity and my flames.

I thought back to when I was my true self - before Vega.

I didn't want to kill anyone, but I have. I was never a violent person, now I was. I tried not to be the person Ransom was - a cruel sadist who was plotting deaths - but now I realise that I was no better. I didn't plan to turn out like this.

"You already were," the same haunting voice said.

"Shut up!" I growled. My fingers dug into the ash and dirt in anger. No wonder I hadn't been acting like myself, it had been Vega: the enemy. Or am I just lying to myself?

"You just break everything you touch," it taunted.

I put my dirty hands over my ears.

"You're hopeless. Nothing but a -"

"At least I'm not dead!" I shouted to the sky.

"Yet," she whispered, her laugh echoed around me as it got quieter.

I uncovered my ears slowly. These voices, that felt so real, were inside my head. Just like everything else in this place. I have come to realise that the Hunger Games is a mental battle just as much as a physical one. And it was one that I had to win, or die trying.

Suddenly, a glint caught my eye. I jumped up and rushed down to it. My hands closed around the familiar feel of my dagger. I smiled to myself as it felt it's warmth I had become accustomed to.

Voices yelled at me to put it down, while others added to the flames.

My grip became tighter on it. I would win this. If the Capitol weren't going to do anything today - I would.

I sprinted down the volcano side; I would go crazy if I sat around all day. I slipped, tripped and skidded down the side but eventually made it to the demolished rose maze. I carefully picked my way through the thorns, searching.

I remembered Ransom as he stumbled around to find the ladder and I remembered the box of matches that fell from his pocket. The matches were what I needed.

The mud had dried a little, so it was easy to find the footprints, but I had no idea who owned what prints.

"Psst, Maisy!" a voice whispered to my left. It sounded familiar.

"Ransom?" I whispered, I bent down lower and looked around for him. I knew he couldn't be dead.

"Over here," he called quietly. I rushed over the prickles and debris to him. I gasped when I saw him. He didn't wear the same suit I was, instead he wore a fitted dark blue suit with a white undershirt. It was too clean to be from this place.

"Where have you been?" I hissed at him.

"Around," he shrugged casually, "You don't look too good, where have you been?" he raised an eyebrow at me. I knew what he saw. My tear stained cheeks, my tangled frizzy hair and my body was covered in ash, dirt and blood - I looked like a wreck.

But it didn't make sense. How could Ransom see me when he was blind? I only came up with one conclusion - the Capitol where playing mind tricks with me.

"He's not real," I mumbled to myself.

I couldn't believe that I let myself think he was back. Not only did I hate the Capitol, but now I also hated him.

"Maisy, I think you should put that dagger down before you hurt a butterfly or something," he eyed the metal in my hand.

"Just kill him," a voice egged me on,

"Go on, do it!" another jumped in.

I shook my head in frustration. Make the voices stop!

"May, you look like a psycho. Now hand over the knife." Ransom began to stand up.

"Don't call me that!" I shouted at him, "That's not my name!"

"He's asking for it," the voices whispered, "Kill him," they chanted.

I didn't need any more encouragement from the people - I lunged at him with my dagger. The blade went straight through him and I tumbled onto the ground.

I whipped my head around to find that Ransom was gone. I was right, he wasn't real. But with the voices, I couldn't tell the difference. All these mind games had broken me.

"You're so stupid, Maisy." I muttered to myself. I untangled myself from the thorns and got to my feet. The rattling noise stopped me. Where Ransom stood moments ago, was a small box of matches.

"Or maybe just incredibly lucky," I added to my earlier phrase. I picked up the matches with the corners of my mouth turning up, "And I think it's getting a little cold in here." I mused and began walking to the forest.

**

I stood back and admired my masterpiece. It was noon now and I had spent most the day building up a pile of wood. It was a mess of dry branches and logs I had found around the place, along with some ripped clothing that I had found along the way.

The wood was in a long line, stretching from an ancient tree that had fallen down to another dead tree that was on the verge of toppling over. I was hoping that once it caught fire, the tree would fall down and catch other trees on fire. I have no idea how I came up with this, but I had a feeling that it would work.

"Now for the finale!" I could hear the cheers around me. I bundled the cloth around a stick and got out my matches. I struck the bud down the side of the box, nothing more than a spark appeared. I struck it again and was rewarded with an orange flame. I gently touched the match to my torch and it slowly licked up the cloth.

I waited for it to catch. I felt the adrenaline rushing through my body in anticipation.

"That's it," the same voice purred, "Burn the place down. I. Dare. You."

Insanity and rage had fueled me this far, but now I had a new power in me.

This was the madness in me. The Capitol had started this, and I was going to finish it. The arena was going to burn. I dropped the flaming torch onto the pile of wood in the forest with a smirk on my face.

"Just one spark," I spoke up to the sky quietly, "And it all goes up in flames."

I will win. I am unstoppable now.

And to the Capitol - you have been warned.