Contents
Chapter Five
Overview
Holland is contacted again about a bank box she believes is from her father, but Jake calls in panic: the Watch Man has predicted his death at 6:47 p.m. unless he complies. Torn but loyal, Holland goes to him. At the Roosevelt she sees an Adam-like stranger no one else notices, suffers another nosebleed, and leaves after Chance urges caution, deepening the sense that the myths are turning real.
Summary
Holland receives confirmation from a bank about a box she believes her late father left. She tries to call her sister January despite Vargas’s warning to tell no one, leaving a voicemail. Mid-call, Jake calls in terror: the Watch Man has told him he will die at 6:47 p.m. unless he does something Jake refuses to say. Feeling responsible because she urged the myth chase, Holland agrees to come to him.
Holland heads to rejoin Cat and Eileen at the Roosevelt to retrieve her bag before leaving. Cat points out a man on the mezzanine in a white dinner jacket who resembles Adam Bishop but older and colder. The stranger meets Holland’s eyes with unsettling familiarity, then disappears. When Holland points him out, her friends can’t see him.
Holland’s nose begins to bleed again, worsening her dizziness and suggesting something is wrong as only she perceives the stranger. She apologizes and prepares to leave quickly for Jake’s nearby address, while Cat reminds her about the hotel’s Halloween Ball.
Chance intercepts Holland, noticing her distress and the bloody napkin. Holland withholds details about Jake, worried Chance would stop her. Jake texts urging speed. Chance, unnerved by a bad feeling since arriving, releases her with a sober warning to be careful. Holland departs for Jake, her fear that the Professor’s myths are real now colliding with the ominous bank message and her disturbing vision.
Who Appears
- HollandProtagonist; contacted about a bank box from her father, rushes to Jake after the Watch Man’s death warning, sees a mysterious Adam-like man, gets a nosebleed.
- JakeCalls in panic; says the Watch Man predicted his 6:47 p.m. death unless he complies; begs Holland to come.
- Chance GarciaFriend with a troubled past; senses danger, confronts Holland, and warns her to be careful as she leaves.
- CatFriend at the Roosevelt; teases about a flirtation, promotes the Halloween Ball, confused when the stranger vanishes.
- EileenFriend; concerned for Holland, hands her a napkin for the nosebleed, doesn’t see the stranger.
- White dinner jacket strangerAdam-like man only Holland perceives; locks eyes with her, then disappears, heightening the chapter’s eerie tension.