AUTHOR'S NOTES: I imagine that some years the Capitol leaves plenty of building materials in the arena with which the tributes can work and sometimes create rather interesting contraptions. This is one of those times. Also, sponsor gifts remain a thing, and betting on the tributes is part of Hunger Games culture now. Crazy tributes will start becoming more and more common.
Of course, there are different definitions of crazy, and so while some might be wild or ferocious, others might be fierce or even in some rare cases, downright feral. Never underestimate the mind of someone put into a desperate situation.
Happy Reading!
The 8th Annual Hunger Games
With all of these rural and outdoor environments, tributes from some of the urban districts such as 6, 8, or even 3 started to feel like they were at something of a disadvantage here. Perhaps they were. Advantages and disadvantages were very real things, which was why tributes from more survival-oriented districts seemed to be doing fairly well.
But the 8th Annual Hunger Games was going to be something different. The arena was located on a large, mountainlike plateau, and was chock-full of old, overgrown ruins. Perhaps the most interesting thing about them was that this year there was plenty of building materials lying around as well. Despite the clearly man-made ruins, the place still didn't seem terribly urban, and so as the tributes rose from their pedestals, even Districts 11 and 12 looked ready to go.
The boy from District 12 that year, Corey Deal, seemed to be a promising candidate for the victor's crown. Coming from a hardworking mining family, he proved that using a pickaxe could translate fairly well into using an actual axe—which he demonstrated on a District 10 boy in the bloodbath.
Similar to other recent years, the career pack from Districts 1 and 2 formed quickly, and tried to seize control of the cornucopia. This year they were led by a fellow named Saul from District 2.
However, Saul, Corey, and their alliances weren't the only threats this year. Lisa Barkley from District 5 and Robin Titania from District 11 were a formidable force that year, and would be a reminder that the female tributes shouldn't be counted out just yet. Alliances this year were different and sporadic, but the tributes still bonded and kept allegiances for much of the game (or rather, much of the tribute's life).
While the career pack navigated through the ruins to hunt down the other tributes, a District 6 boy named Malcolm Reed found himself a remote corner of the arena lodged between some of the still-standing ruins, and essentially anchored himself down there and got to work building something. Lisa had the same mindset (albeit in a different part of the arena), and started constructing an elaborate little weapon using cornucopia supplies and building materials found in the arena.
She helped ensure that the trend of sponsoring tributes would continue, for some of the citizens from her district ended up sponsoring her certain electrical parts for the device she was building. There was a popular rumor starting to buzz around the Capitol that District 5 would be one of the most successful districts in the Hunger Games. So far they were right—2 of the 7 victors were from there, while 6 districts had still never won.
Soon, the careers had gone from being the hunters to being the hunted. Lisa ended up nearly backstabbing Robin by 'testing' the device on her. It stunned her, which proved to Lisa that it worked. She was merciful, however, before she turned up the power and went on the prowl. Lisa began hunting down the career pack with her newly made electrical weapon. The Capitol found this gizmo rather interesting, and so more sponsor gifts started flowing.
They also began flowing to Malcolm in his little corner of the arena, where he seemed to be putting together a rather elaborate trap. Luckily for him, Saul's group was too busy being chased down by Lisa, and so he was left alone for the most part.
Halfway through the 2nd week (about Day 9 or 10), Lisa had finally killed Saul, as well as his allies. Just when she thought it was safe to rest though, Robin came out of nowhere, landing on top of her with a handaxe that went through the District 5 girl's skull. She smirked, muttering something about karma and backstabbing, before lifting up Lisa's weapon and going on the prowl herself.
She nearly walked into Malcolm's trap before she realized that it was there. Firing Lisa's electrical weapon, she set off the trap nearly like a bomb, which essentially blew the ruins apart, and Malcolm with it. The boy landed only a few meters away from Robin, a large metal shield in his hands. Robin continued shooting and trying to attack him, but the injured boy seemed to be using his shield to absorb the electricity. How he was grounding it was anyone's guess.
The finish was almost anticlimactic by contrast, however. Robin fired the weapon one last time, right as Malcolm hurled his shield almost like a Frisbee.
The result was Malcolm on all fours, barely avoiding the attack, and Robin on her back with a metal shield sticking out of her chest. The final cannon rang out, signaling the end of the games. Malcolm was the 1st victor from District 6, and the 8th Victor of the Hunger Games.
Malcolm always took extra special caution whenever there was a lightning storm, and even after his victory, he enjoyed being alone in his little corner, building things just as he had been in the arena. He was definitely an introvert—much more so than before, but luckily, he appeared to be one of the stabler victors… for the time being…
VICTORS BY YEAR:
1HG: Fukaya Kerezaki (#1, District 5)
2HG: Lucy Takamatzu (#1, District 11)
3HG: Naseru Litzak (#1, District 3)
4HG: Naisha Szasz (#1, District 2)
5HG: Jade Prima (#1, District 1)
6HG: Cedar Hardin (#1, District 7)
7HG: Susan Jackman (#2, District 5)
8HG: Malcolm Reed (#1, District 6)