The Hardest Puzzle || Death Note

6-All Fall Down

Chapter Six * All Fall Down -
You had no idea how long you cried, just that when it was all said and done you had the puffiest, reddest eyes on the planet.
For the long while you cried the white-haired boy just sat there unemotionally. He had calmly solved the puzzle, upended it, and restarted it during the time you sobbed.
After your loud, racking sobs died down to small hiccups and gasps, you managed to completely calm yourself down with the prospect of food.
After all, you had been sleeping for three days.
"Who are you?" you said softly to the teenager.
"You can call me Near."
"Near...I'm hungry."
Near paused in placing a puzzle piece. He gently put the puzzle down and walked out into the hallway.
You couldn't hear all of what was said, just the buzz of the whispers being said.
After a minute or two Near, the nurse, and a new woman came into your hospital room.
The nurse handed you a tray and abruptly left, while the other two remained.
You dug into the food, neither truly seeing or tasting it.
After you had finished most of the food on the tray, the new woman spoke.
"I'm Hal," she said to you. "You didn't react too well to Rester, so they sent me to ask you some questions."
You gulped and tightly nodded.
"Do you know who I work with?" Hal asked.
You shook your head.
"I'm with the FBI," she replied. "I work with Near and Rester on cases. Your parents killed people in at least three different states, and their rap sheets are also eclectic, so we got involved. Or, more specifically, Near did."
You looked at Near, who now twirled a lock of his own hair with a finger.
"Before long, Near had a few suspects," Hal continued. "But eventually he narrowed it down to someone in your neighborhood. Your parents were one of the prime suspects."
You stared at Near. He didn't look too old. Who exactly was he, to do something like that? Was he some sort of young genius?
And who was he to ruin your life, too, a small, rude part of your mind sneered. You brushed it off, though, because he had kind of saved you life.
"We were already en route when we received the call for help placed by your neighbor, which is why we were able to get to you so fast. You're lucky, really," Hal finished.
You nodded, throat tight.
"So what do you want to ask me?" you hurriedly choked out.
Hal leaned forward, a serious look on her beautiful face. "Did you know anything about their...crimes?"
You shook your head violently.
"Are you absolutely sure?"
How could they seriously think you knew about the murders?
"If I'd known...I wouldn't have stayed. I'd have turned them in myself," you stuttered. It hurt to say that, but you really would have done that. It was the right thing to do.
Hal scribbled something down and moved onto the next question.
"Why might your parents have tried to kill you?" she questioned.
Right to the point.
You sighed, your shoulder throbbing in remembrance.
"I...don't know. They might have thought I was a...a burden. They-I heard them talking beforehand about that." You choked up slightly.
"That leads us into the next question. What led up to them attempting to kill you?"
"I..." You paused, steeling yourself up to give your response.
"I walked home from school and got inside. I hurried upstairs to my room, so I could avoid my parents, and I heard them in their room. They were talking about...getting rid of a gun. And then getting rid of..." You took a deep, shuddering breath.
"Getting rid of me."
You blinked back the tears brimming in your eyes.
Hal nodded somewhat gently, scribbling down something else.
"One last question. They're already going away for life, but we need to know everything they did. Did your parents abuse you?"
You nodded slightly. Your head and shoulder pounded with each up and down motion.
"What did they do?"
"They..." Your voice was barely above a whisper. "They yelled at me. And they hit me...and hit me with things like sticks too, sometimes. And..." You paused nervously.
"And?"
"And...My dad, he..."
It took a moment for what you were implying to sink in.
Once it had, though, Hal's eyes widened.
"Oh," she said. "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
"No," you whispered. "It's okay."
"Well, he's going away for life, so don't worry. They both are."
"Going...away?"
"To jail," Hal specified. "And he jut got out of ICU, too. He got shot when he tried to shoot at us."
It sank in.
Your tormentors...the two people who'd made your life hell for the past seven years were going to jail. They weren't going to hurt you ever again. You were free of them.
But that freedom made you alone.
"Where will I go?" you whispered softly. "I don't have any relatives to go with...I don't have friends...I-"
"She can stay with us," Near interrupted. He turned to look at you. "If you'd like."
You looked at him, surprised. You didn't even know him...He didn't know you. So why was he...
"Everyone falls at some point. We just have to help you up and you'll be on your merry way," Near said emotionlessly, the click of a puzzle piece following behind his statement.
Everyone falls. Everyone falls down. You all fall down. All fall down.
Falling down, you thought bitterly, eyes clouding with tears.
That's an understatement.