Piece by Piece

65. Murmurs

Davyn's research was not going well at all. When Benjamin had first entrusted him to find the rest of the jewels, he hadn't expected it to last more than a month, maybe two. After all, how many books could there be on the matter?

As it turned out, there were none, which made the task impossible at first glance. Upon second glance, he realized he had to exclude everything he had access to, and it drove him insane.

"It's a long-term thing, Davyn," Simon said calmly as he flipped through books. "Considering they've been struggling for nearly fifty years to find one jewel, what makes you think it won't take us another fifty to find the rest?"

"I don't have fifty years." Davyn slammed his book shut. His temples were throbbing.

The lack of progress had a negative effect on his mind, making the endeavor seem pointless. It meant his scattered brain was free to wonder about other things. Millie, Freider, Ron, Baron. The rest of his life. Things he'd rather avoid.

"You actually do. I think you're the youngest one here, after all."

Davyn waved him away. "You're four years older. That's nothing." But it was a lie. He'd always considered the age difference between himself and Ron very big.

"It is nothing," Simon agreed. "Especially since you're so much better prepared than anyone else here."

"Well, my dad did a really good job with me." It wasn't pleasant saying it, but Simon was a friend.

"Oh," he simply said.

Davyn squinted at him. "Is there something wrong?"

"Well..." Simon drummed his fingers on his chin. "I've been wondering something ever since we all returned. How exactly were we all able to leave our lives behind and come here?"

That was a very good point, one that Davyn had considered before as well. But he hadn't asked anyone and only deduced why Phillip could. The two of them were both running from things best left behind.

"So I asked Rachel," Simon continued. "Turns out, she's lost her family just like me."

"Wait, what?" Davyn shook his head. "You both lost your families?"

Simon shrugged. "It happened years ago, really. My folks were coming back from a late night function and got into a car crash. I was in collage when it happened, but as much as it sucked, they'd taught me to be independent. I don't have any brothers or sisters, so I'm alone. For her, it was a school shooting and both her parents were teachers there."

"Holy shit!"

"That's why we don't say anything about it." He gave another shrug, but the bitterness was obvious in his posture. "We know it's not something people want to talk about or even necessarily hear."

"But you both lost your families!"

"And I think you lost yours as well. It's why you're here, isn't it?"

Davyn pondered on this and realized Simon had found a pattern. He believed they were all orphans with nothing to lose, so it was much easier to get them together and make them forget about other people. The Counters gave them all purpose.

It would be easy for him to just nod and end it, but Simon had shared something private and he'd learned that for friendships to work, he needed to give something back.

"Not exactly," he said. "My mother is still alive, but she went insane when my father died. I also have three brothers."

Simon's eyes widened. "Really? You actually have a family?"

"Walt had a family, too. He had a wife and kid."

Simon fell into deep contemplation. "That's true," he said after a long while. "But why are you here, then?"