Masked

Chapter Four

        Number Five had immediately head inside, and so, naturally, we followed him. He had gone to the kitchen, and once we had all sat down, he set down a cutting board. We were sitting around the dining table. I was in front of Vanya, with Luther sitting across from me. Allison stood behind Vanya's seat, and Klaus was sitting criss-cross applesauce on the table. Diego was leaning on it behind Klaus.

        "What's the date?" Five asked impatiently. "The exact date."

        He had grabbed bread off the counter and seemed to be making a sandwich.

        Vanya decided to answer. "The 24th."

        "Of what?"

        "March."

        "Good."

        We watched him, some in bewilderment and others in shock. I had never seen Number Five, so I didn't know him that well, but I did know he had gone missing back when he was thirteen. Now he'd returned, and he had come through a rift in space-time. I had no idea what to think. Luther had a few questions.

        "So, are we gonna talk about what just happened?"

        Five laid out two slices of bread on the cutting board. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Allison and Klaus share a look. My elbow was on the table, and I propped my chin on my fist, waiting for an answer. None came, and Luther grew more frustrated, standing up this time.

        "It's been seventeen years."

        The boy scoffed in his face. "It's been a lot longer than that."

        He met Luther's gaze and stood in front of him before flashing into a blue light, and reappearing behind Luther, stepping on a stool to search for something.

        Luther murmured. "I haven't missed that."

        "Where'd you go?" queried Diego.

        "The future. It's shit, by the way." Five picked up a bag of marshmallows and spacially jumped back to his sandwich.

        Klaus pointed his finger. "Called it."

        "I should've listened to the old man." Five reached into the fridge. "You know, jumping through space is one thing, jumping through time is a toss of the dice."

        He now had all the ingredients he needed and, having taken out some peanut butter, popped open the lid. Looking up, he noticed Klaus' outfit.

        "Nice dress."

        Glancing down, Klaus waved its tassels. "Oh, well, danke!"

        "Wait, how did you get back," Vanya asked, needing to clarify.

        Without hesitation, Five responded. "In the end, I had to project my consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time."

        I slowly nodded my head. This was all in the book, and with an astounding knowledge of math, it was simple to comprehend. For the others, maybe not so much.

        "That makes no sense," Diego said.

        I spoke at the same time. "That makes perfect sense."

        I was given a look of approval from Five before he went on. Guess it pays to know some not-so-simple quantum mechanics. Yay for reading!

        "Well, it would if you were smarter."

        Luther held Diego back. "How long were you there?"