get well soon. | five hargreeves

chapter twenty

"five."

he paid no attention to me, continuing to right on the wall in front of him.

for hours, he had been writing down equations, mumbling things to himself that made no sense to me.

he was writing down on a second wall, since he had already filled up the first. he stood on the bed, reaching higher to write.

"hold on, elle." he finally replied, an annoyed hint in his tone.

he stepped back from the wall, eyes scanning over the writing.

"alright, i think i got something." he informed, turning to me. "it's tenuous, but promising."

right before i was about to ask what he meant by it, luther walked into the room, confusion on his face as he studied the written walls around us.

"what is all this?" he asked, looking at five and i.

"it's a probability map." five replied plainly, continuing to write.

"probability of what?" i asked, leaning my head up look at all the math surrounding us.

"of who's death could save the world." five answered, as if it was the most obvious thing. "i've narrowed it down to four."

"you're saying one of these four people causes the apocalypse?" luther asked, quirking a brow.

"no, i'm saying their death might prevent it." five corrected, glancing at luther before continuing his work.

"oh." luther whispered. "i'm not following."

five sighed, turning around.

"time is fickle, luther. the slightest altercation in events could lead to massively different outcomes in the time continuum. the butterfly effect." he explained, waving his hands. "so, all i have to do is find the people with the greatest probability of impacting the timeline - wherever they may be, and kill them."

both luther and i's eyes grow wide.

five simply jumps off the bed, searching through the dresser beside it.

i stand up on the bed, looking at a phrase five had circled multiple times on the wall.

"milton greene? is he like a terrorist or something?" i asked, furrowing my brows.

"i believe he is a gardener." five furrows his brows, writing something down in the notepad in his hands.

i snap my head to five, shocked.

"you can't be serious." i chuckle lightly, though when five keeps a straight face, i began to get a little worried.

"wait- this is madness five." luther stops talking as five pulls a box out from under his bed.

we both watch him intently, and i feel my breath hitch as i peeked to see what was inside.

"where'd you get that?" luther asked, throwing a worried expression at me as five pulled out a large rifle.

"dad's room." five replies, picking it up. "i think he used it to shoot a rhinoceros."

he adjusts the weapon, positioning it. at that moment, i began to freak out.

"it's similar to the model i used at work." he raises the gun, placing his eye on the sight. "nice shoulder fit - and highly reliable." he grins at us.

"but you can't- this guy, milton, is just an innocent man." luther pleaded, pointing at the name.

"it's basic math." five blunty replied. "his death could potentially save the lives of billions. if i did nothing, he'd be dead in four days anyway. the apocalypse won't spare anyone."

i shook my head at five, begging with him. "no, no, no. we don't do these kinds of things."

"we," five points between us. "are not doing anything. i am."

"i can't let you go and kill innocent people, five. no matter how many lives you'll save." luther shook his head, reaching for the gun in his grasp.

"well, good luck stopping me." five scoffed, dodging luther's grab as he headed to the door.

i attempt to follow five, but an aggressive pull forbids me from doing so, and i land in luther's strong grip.

"you're not going anywhere."

luther grabs me by my neck, and i widen my eyes, scratching at his grip.

"luther, what the fuck-"

i let out a scream as he raises me, hanging me out the window of the room.

i helplessly claw at his hands, losing air quickly.

"luther." i whisper, tears appearing in my eyes as my throat begins to burn.

i felt almost betrayed. what was he going to get by hurting me?

he was slowly crushing the airway in my neck.

five quickly turns around, eyes widening in my condition.

he swiftly lifts the gun, aiming towards luther.

"put. her. down."

i feel my hands start to heat, and i press then against luther's hold, grunting as i realized he wore gloves over his hands.

"put the gun down. you're not killing anyone." luther speaks calmly, not even flinching as i continue to squirm in his hold. "i know she's important to you, so don't make me do this."

five doesn't back down, his gun still raised.

"it's either her or the gun. you decide."

when he sees five not taking action, he takes the opportunity to tighten his grip around my neck.

i whimper loudly, kicking at him.

i attempt to roll his sleeve up, trying to come in contact with his skin so it'd burn.

though, he held me so far away from his body, it was useless.

the only way i could get out was by lighting his clothes on fire.

i coughed, raising my hand to ignite the material, but before i could, i felt his hand let go.

i screamed, feeling myself fall for a couple of seconds.

before i could touch the ground, i heard a loud gust of wind, and suddenly, i had arms wrapped around my body.

"i can keep doing this all day."

i opened my eyes, shaking violently. luther was on the other side of the room now, a gun in his hands.

five had his arms wrapped tightly around me. he pulled me up from outside the window, gently placing me back inside.

he shot me a concerned look, placing a hand on my cheek.

i saw his eyes look down to my neck, and he visibly winced.

"it's so red." he whispered, and i felt him gently caress it.

i only whimpered weakly in response, my neck aching too much to give a nod.

he turned back to luther, glaring.

"i know you're still a good person, five."

five rolled his eyes, looking up at him.

"you almost killed her." he seethed, glaring at luther.

luther ignored five's comment, inching closer.

"otherwise, you wouldn't have risked everything coming back here to save us all." luther slowly walked up to us, and i held my hand up, signaling him to step back.

"but you're not on your own anymore."

five stood quiet, focused on comforting me.

"there is one way. but it's just about impossible."

luther crossed his arms, looking down at the two of us.

"more impossible than what brought you back here?"