The pattern is: $$-3, -6, -9, -12, -15, \cdots $$  Thus, $$17-15=2$$ 
What is the next number in the sequence below?  $$47, 44, 38, 29, 17, \cdots $$ 
Options:
a: $$12$$ 
b: $$8$$ 
c: $$5$$ 
d: $$2$$ 
e: None of the above 