Number Five Novels & Stories

Her breath was stuck in her throat as she compared the photographs one by one. Sure enough, the four number 9743 was on all of them. 'Could it be that the password mother set is the number of shows Mr. Lewie ran? It seems somewhat like what a die-hard fan would do. Then, what are the other two numbers, number six and five, for? Since nine, seven, four, and three are related to Mr. Lewie, the numbers six and five should also be related to him, right?'

“So with no further ado, Rachel will call the winners.” He steps back, and Rachel steps forward happily as she opens the envelope in her hand. My hands grow sweaty again and they tremble and I fold them over my chest to not make them out so obvious. I notice Dane’s concerned eyes on me and I shake my head, trying to tell him I am fine even though I am not, at least not until they have read the result. I hold my breath as she reads. “The fifth position goes to India Lopez, and the fourth goes to Quinton Smith.”

So as not to reveal himself. My eyes widen with this sudden realization. “You´re...” The Five comprises of Silas, Lunamara, Tabitha, Abel, and... “Yes, Laura. Speak my name.” “Barnabas.” “The Third Wolf.” “Although how is this possible?” “The Five possess impossibly long lives. Perhaps not immortality, although long enough for me to live for a millennium. Two of my brethren were killed by this dagger. Silas was betrayed and went to his death. And--”

All of that was a version of what the fifth described. But incomplete. Instinctive. Not held. Not sustained. The beginning needed the fifth to sustain the connection between the isolated packs as they woke into the new foundation. Without it they would feel the change alone. And alone was where fear lived. “I need to reach you,” I said. “The formal contest. The headquarters. I need to be there within forty-eight hours.” “Yes,” the voice said. “And I need to be at the original site. The fifth cannot function from inside a building on a secondary Lunara site. It needs to be grounded at the primary site to produce the full connection frequency.” He paused. “We need to exchange positions.”

She covered her nose and walked back into the house, pointing the camera inside. "Look. Miles has turned the house into a landfill. "I want to bring him back too, but look at how filthy he is. How am I supposed to bring him home like this?" I felt terribly wronged and muttered stiffly, "I'm not filthy." What can a five-year-old do? I've been dead for five years, and you still don't know. "Let me see Brother's house! I want to see!" A bright, lively voice came from the video. An eight-year-old boy in a little suit appeared on the screen, looking like a small prince.

"Why did he suddenly change his mind? And what was that note about?" When Dad heard the discussion, he turned to look at the sobbing Phoebe. "Fifi, where is the note Zachary gave you? What did he say to you?" Phoebe guiltily lowered her head. "Dad, I never saw any note…" Just as Dad was about to continue questioning Phoebe, his phone rang. As he answered the call, his secretary's anxious voice came through. "Mr. Chapman! We've located a mound of earth where the signal source is coming from!"

“Harley. What is Project Five?” My heart slams. I see memory flashes. My father yelling at Vaughn in the basement, “Five is unstable,” “it should’ve been terminated,” “the Other is the key.” I force myself to speak. “I– I don’t know, it’s all vague in my head. Just– flashes of memories and um, I… think… I think maybe Five refers to a subject. A girl. Maybe it’s connected to the picture Luca’s uncle saw.” Gavin stiffens. “A girl? So maybe there’s someone else or–”

“I may be able to help on something.” My face lit up at the thought. "Really? That could be so helpful.” "If that’s the case, let me borrow your laptop for a minute.” I handed it over, and Trevor accessed a specific website, entering his credentials. I watched as he entered a username and password. "This is the official website of the Elite Five. Only those who've had projects with them get access." He then turned to me and smiled. "I'll let you use my credentials to get the information you need."

The fifth bond was nothing like the others. Veyra had expected it to be a surge of passion, a crackling storm like the others, like the ones with Kael, Zevi, Rune, and Lioren. She had imagined it would come like lightning—sudden and violent, an electric connection that would bind her to her fifth mate with the force of a storm. But this bond, the fifth, was different. It didn't arrive as a whisper. It didn't ease into her senses with the quiet, comforting pulse of connection.

She casually picked it up to glance at the screen, and what she saw frightened her so severely that she froze in place at that instant. "One...two...three...four…five...five zeroes. The first digit is seven, the second digit is five…and then it's five zeroes after that…" Felicia counted carefully. After confirming that it was indeed seven-and-a-half million, she could not help but jump up excitedly. "Haha! Seven-and-a-half million! It's seven-and-a-half million! We've struck big this time!"