Trigger warning: Language, suicide, also general depression. This is a dark one.

Bentley Ford, District 6

"Maybe I'm headed to die but I'm still gonna try

I guess I'm going alone."

Lord Huron, Ends of the Earth

The 10 Saddest Deaths Bentley Ford Ever Witnessed

Davion Ford

Bentley Ford was born during the war. His father was off fighting the tyrant Capitol, and his mother raised him by herself for her first four years. He loved her more than anyone else in the world.

When he was four, his father came home to him a wreck. He'd seen horrors during the war that no one should ever have to see, and it made him lose his mind. Two weeks after he returned, he walked out of his house and shot himself in his backyard, early in the morning, before his wife and son were awake. What he didn't plan on was Bentley waking up early due to a bad dream, and watching his daddy take that metal thing he called a gun and press it to his forehead. He didn't understand why Davion was falling to the ground, that red stuf flowing out of the place where he'd put the gun. Later, when his daddy wouldn't get up, he just cried and cried. He didn't know why his daddy wasn't getting up. So he cried.

Cara Ford

Bentley's mother became his hero, the only source of care for him, and therefore the only receiver of the boy's love and adoration. He loved his mother more than anyone else in the world.

Bentley was an energetic boy. His mother started calling him 'steam train,' because he never stopped moving. At the time, Bentley thought Cara wouldn't, either.

Which is why, when he was ten, he didn't understand why she started getting so sick. She coughed all the time, and her face was green. She got so sick that Bentley had to live with his grandfather, but when it got really bad, he came back to see her. What he didn't understand was why his grandpa told him to tell her goodbye. She would get better, right?

He walked over to Cara and took her hand. She smiled up at him.

"I love you, little steam train," she said. "Remember. There is nothing in this world that can stop you from achieving what you want. Understand?"

He nodded. "I love you, Mom," he said. "I'll see you when you get better."

She nodded and waved goodbye. He smiled and walked out.

She was dead two hours later.

Lila Thomas

Six years later, Bentley was reaped for the Hunger Games.

He wasn't very sad. After all, the two people he loved more than any other were long gone. His grandfather was upset, of course, but Bentley never bonded with him like he had with his parents.

He arrived in the Capitol to find a new and improved Games waiting for him. Tributes would go through a parade at the beginning, equipped with stylists to dress them for it, train for three days to get the tributes strong enough to actually be able to fight, and at the end of the training, the Gamemakers would rate the tributes on a scale of 1 to 12 based on how likely they thought the tribute could win. Bentley got a seven, which wasn't bad, in his opinion.

His district partner was named Regine Conlee. She was a year older than him, but still very nice. She wanted to be a pilot when she graduated from school.

It was during lunch on the second day that Bentley finally asked her if she wanted to be allies. She agreed wholeheartedly. But a tall boy from One overheard them and asked if he could join, too. Bentley and Regine, of course, said absolutely.

Their alliance only got bigger. The girl from Eleven, Lila, wanted to join, as well. She was pretty small, only twelve, but Regine insisted that they let her in, so they did.

Butler, the boy from One, asked Ezra Stevens, the boy from Three. He said no. He didn't trust many people, especially strong ones like Butler. No one really trusted him, either, so there wasn't much love lost between the alliance and Ezra.

The beginning of the Games brought about the biggest change to the format. Instead of fighting in the Capitol Arena, President Ravinstill appointed a team of two dozen Gamemakers to design a completely artificial Arena, based off of an ecosystem that Ravinstill left up to their discretion. When the tributes rose into it, they gasped in shock. It was a simple forest, but it was unlike anything they'd ever seen. After all, the idea of an actual Arena was unknown and unheard of.

At the very center, a huge, golden cornucopia filled with weapons and supplies gleamed. When the gong sounded, every single tribute sprinted towards the hoard.

Bentley looked desperately around for his allies. Butler had risen right next to him, and Regine was only a few platforms away. They ran over to him, and all three scanned the cornucopia for Lila. Butler spotted her first. She was crouched behind a crate as the boy from Two walked up to her, the sword in his hand gleaming. Butler and Regine sprinted over, but it was too late. The sword split her skull, and she dropped to the ground, dead.

Butler Chassagne

Regine killed him. She didn't make it hurt, or draw it out, but she killed him all the same. As he fell, she and Butler ran back over and the trio sprinted away from the bloodbath, clutching what few supplies they had.

The bloodbath killed seventeen tributes, more than any other up to that point. Seventeen kids would never see their families again. Bentley, Regine, and Butler weren't among them.

But Lila was.

No one said much that first night. Lila was the life and soul of their team, the one who kept them all laughing during training. Butler tried to crack the occasional joke, but no one felt much like having fun without her. They missed her too much.

The second day claimed the lives of two tributes. No one in Bentley's alliance recognized them, but everyone knew who killed them. Ezra Stevens had been the first one off his podium, and first to make a kill. He knew what he wanted, and that was victory. He wasn't afraid to kill to get it.

The next three days were deathless. Bentley and his allies hid in a little cave they'd found, and honestly, they weren't doing half bad. They had a good amount of supplies, enough to last them a few more days, and the mood was starting to lighten. Without the whole, 'kids getting massacred' thing hanging over their heads, they started to have fun.

Until the Capitol got bored.

Midway through day six, the cave started to get hot. Regine, who was on watch, was the first one to realize what was happening. She sprinted back into the cave, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"FIRE!"

The trio jumped to their feet, sprinting out. Regine, the fastest runner, was in the lead, but Bentley was lagging behind. He tripped on a rock and crumpled to the ground. He turned and saw, to his horror, a huge wall of flame descending upon him. He screamed for help, and Butler, barely a couple of yards ahead of him, turned to help him. He grabbed Bentley's hand, helping him up, but the fire was too fast. Butler's leg caught fire.

It hurt more than anything he'd ever felt in his life. He couldn't describe how much it hurt, only that it wiped away anything else he was thinking about. Nothing else mattered.

Regine grabbed his arm and started to drag him forward. He hobbled along his good leg, but he was going too slow. Bentley tried to support him, but it was no use. They weren't going to make it.

Butler seemed to realize this and shoved himself backwards into the flames. Suddenly, without someone to support, Bentley and Regine could run as fast as they needed to. They took off like a shot, sprinting away from the fire.

After ten minutes, the fire faded. Only then did Butler's death settle on them. He was gone, and nothing could bring him back. He died saving them.

Regine Conlee

There were two faces in the sky that night. Bentley and Regine hoped that Ezra would join Butler, but to no avail. It was the girl from Nine, meaning that it was down to Ezra and the Sixs.

They hunted for the next two days. They both knew that killing Ezra was their only chance at making it out alive. However, it was on day nine that they finally found him. He was perched in a tree, watching them approach. Regine spotted him almost instantly, and he dropped out of the tree, grinning.

"I don't want to kill you," he said. Bentley grinned mirthlessly.

"That's what they all say. You're going to, though."

"You're right. I'm sorry." And he charged.

The fight was furious. Bentley and Ezra did most of the actual fighting, while Regine shot arrows in wherever possible. She actually nailed him right in the eye once, knocking him to the ground, screaming in pain. Desperate, he raised a knife and threw it at Bentley. He missed.

He hit Regine instead.

Ezra Stevens

There was no time to mourn. Bentley grabbed his sword, raised it over Ezra's chest, and plunged it down. Ezra gave a gurgling cough.

"Hey. Hey, Six," he said. Bentley looked back at him.

"What?"

"What's your name?"

Bentley hesitated before answering. "Bentley Ford. Sorry I had to kill you."

"Don't worry about it. I would have done the same thing. But I want to ask you a favor."

"What is it?"

"On the Victory Tour, when you see my family…" He stopped, gasping for breath. "Tell my daughter I love her."

He gave one last shuddering breath and died.

Bentley saw his daughter on his Tour. Her name was Rashida. She was a year old.

He tried to give his intended message, but he couldn't. The words just wouldn't come.

Gizmo Meloy

Bentley's first year in the Control Center, he lost both of his tributes to the bloodbath. He wasn't surprised. They were pretty sickly, not Victors at all. Then again, he wasn't the crowd favorite, either.

The tribute he did have his eye on was the boy from Three. Gizmo Meloy reminded Bentley of Ezra. It was almost uncanny how similar the two were. Gizmo had more kills in the bloodbath than anyone else, four. He rejected all allies, killed mercilessly, and even looked a little like Ezra. But it was on the ninth day of the Games that Bentley saw their difference.

It was on the ninth day that Gizmo won.

He killed the girl from Four and walked out of the Arena with his hands held high. The boy wasn't smiling, but he had a look of triumph on his face. He was a survivor.

The next year in the Control Center was an interesting one. Both Gizmo and Bentley still didn't know anyone, but Bentley sure wasn't about to talk to the guy. He killed eight people! However, he didn't expect Gizmo to talk to him.

"You won the year before me," he said to Bentley. The Six mentor turned, surprised to hear him talk.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I did. So?"

"Good job. You did it right."

"What do you mean?" Bentley asked, curious.

"I killed too many people. You only killed one, and that's because you had to."

The look of grief on Gizmo's face was so genuine that Bentley stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. Gizmo smiled.

"You're a good person," he said. And from that day forward, Bentley and Gizmo were friends.

Gizmo was undoubtedly the more successful mentor. He led three people to victory, while Bentley only got two. Joseph Byton, Beetee Latier, and Stevie Xander would all pass through the Arena unharmed, with Beetee mentoring one of his own, Wiress Gray. Bentley's duo, on the other hand, just became drug addicts.

It was during the 71st Hunger Games that their streak took a hit. Gizmo mentored every year, against his friend's advice. He said it was his penance for eight kills. Once he saved eight kids, he would retire. Bentley, on the other hand, only mentored because Tesla couldn't keep a kid alive for an hour. But during the bloodbath, Gizmo, who was watching his boy so intently that he almost froze, suddenly collapsed to the ground. Stevie rushed out to get a medic, while another victor, Finnick Odair from Four, started performing CPR. Bentley hurried over, but he couldn't do anything as Finnick tried to restart his friend's heart. But it was useless. Finnick sat back a second later, shaking his head.

"He's gone," he said.

Bentley gave up that year. He quit mentoring, locked himself in his house, and almost stopped eating. Tesla and Tamara took over mentoring, but they were hopeless. Six didn't have a tribute survive the bloodbath since.

A week after the Quell announcement, Bentley got a phone call. He picked it up and heard Beetee's voice through the receiver. The legendary victor quickly told Bentley about the plan to break a select number of victors out of the Arena.

"Whoopee," Bentley said sarcastically. "Good luck with that." He made to hang up when Beetee started talking again.

"I'm not asking you to go in," he said. "I need them. Look, would Gizmo want you to give up?"

At the sound of his best friend's name, he stopped. "Don't talk about Gizmo," he said in a low, threatening voice. "No one knew him better than me."

"That's where you're wrong," said Beetee. "Joseph spent his whole life with Gizmo. I lived with him for a year. You may have been best friends, but you're far from the only person who cared about him."

Resigned, Bentley agreed.

Tesla Brock

Bentley knew which of his tributes would die first. Personally, he didn't think either would make it past the bloodbath, but if either did, it would be Tamara. She, at least, had the good sense to run. Tesla had nothing.

As it turned out, he was right. Tamara turned tail and swam out of the circle at top speed, headed straight for the jungle. Tesla, on the other hand, charged straight in. He came face-to-face with Enobaria, and then it was over. Tesla tried to defend himself, but Enobaria just shredded him with a sword. At least she kept his throat intact, Bentley thought to himself.

Tamara Wilks

Tamara crept around the Arena, silent as a mouse. She stayed near Katniss and Peeta, just like she was supposed to. Bentley knew she didn't stand a chance at survival, but he couldn't help but be proud of his girl. There was no morphine in the Arena, and she was handling withdrawal quite well.

That is, if death by monkey mutts qualified as quite well.

As soon as those mutts made their move on the alliance, Tamara made her move. She jumped in front of them, letting the monkeys tear her to pieces, but the other three sprinted away, making it out injured, but alive.

Bentley Ford

Bentley didn't leave when his two tributes were dead. Rumor was that the rebel mentors were planning something, and Bentley, cursing his own curiosity, didn't want to miss it.

As soon as night fell, the victors made their move. Stevie was hunched over a computer, desperately hacking into something. The other victors, Mako Devlin and Oaken Cash in the lead, formed a circle around her as the door suddenly slid open. A squad of peacekeepers swarmed into the room and the fight began.

Bentley quickly realized he'd made a mistake. Gunfire every which-way, bodies flying, and all the screams and explosions served to create a nice air of chaos. He dropped to the ground, desperately cowering, hoping that the bullets didn't hit him. Suddenly, he realized there was someone next to him. It was Haymitch Abernathy, that crazy drunkard from Twelve.

"I need your help," Haymitch whispered. Bentley raised his eyebrows.

"No shit, man!" he said.

"I'm serious. You have to get me out of here."

Bentley sighed. "Go get someone else. I'm gonna survive this."

"Please? It's about the rebellion."

"Everything's about the rebellion, Twelve! Go have Mako or Oaken get you out."

"No. They're busy. Please?"

Bentley thought about it for a second. It was suicide, obviously. He wouldn't make it for ten seconds. But then he saw something.

In the midst of the chaos, a silver form appeared. He was smoky, and not entirely corporeal, but Bentley recognized him instantly. It was Gizmo.

"Giz!" he cried. Gizmo smiled.

"Hey, Ford. How's it going?"

"How do you think?" Bentley said. "I'm about to die!"

"Are you? You look fine."

"I-" Bentley stopped. Gizmo was right. He was okay. He wasn't going to get hit, not with the peacekeepers busy fighting the rebels.

"So why don't you help Haymitch?" Gizmo asked. "If you don't, Wiress and all the other people here died for nothing."

"What do you mean? Why can't someone else survive?"

"Look around you, Ford. Who else is left?" Bentley looked around and saw, to his shock, that Gizmo was right. Everyone around him, Mako, Stevie, Oaken, were all dead.

"Oh, God, Giz. Why?"

"You know why. Don't worry. I'll be with you."

Bentley took a deep breath, and jumped to his feet. He grabbed a fallen gun and started firing on the peacekeepers. They didn't know what hit them as the bullets started dropping them like action figures. The ones who made it past the first volley grabbed their guns and started shooting at Bentley, but for some reason, they never seemed to land. Bentley just kept shooting and shooting until there was no one left. He looked around. Sure enough, Haymitch was gone.

He turned to Gizmo. "Okay. I did it. Now what?"

Gizmo grinned. "Now we leave."

"We?"

"You don't want to?" Gizmo asked, extending a hand. Bentley shook his head.

"No, I'm coming." And together, the two walked off, into the sun.

Holy long chapter, Batman!

I'll be honest, once I came up with the idea for this chapter, I knew I was going to be a mess by the end, and I was right. I made the enormous mistake of listening to Ends of the Earth by Lord Huron while writing this, so now I'm just sobbing.

Most of you probably think I should see a counselor by now, what with all the angsty, depressing chapters. I would like to say it gets better, but this is Panem. Let's be honest here.

One more thing. My little political reference is probably going to come back to bite me (he, he, Byte me) in the future, but I just couldn't resist.