getting up. By now, Crockett was holding down his struggling
legs, and Lysa and Charlotte had each taken one of his flailing arms.
“Take it easy, Yves,” I told him. “I just need to get the contacts out.” using my thumb and index finger, I pried open one
of his eyes. The contact was just starting to cloud over but had not turned black.
Yves stopped fighting me as I plucked out both contacts, cutting off his connection to the 'quiet. I handed the lenses to
Crockett. “I'll put these in solution,” he said.
When we let go of Yves, he didn't jump up. The energy seemed to have drained out of him. I had to help him up into a sitting
position.
“What were you thinking, Yves?” I demanded. “Why were you using a 'quist. You knew that you would be infected!”
“I'm different than you…,” he said, his words slurring. “Better than …” Yves slumped back, and I caught him just before his
head hit the floor. His eyes were closing.
“Wait!” Charlotte cried. “He has to tell us who he was talking to yesterday just before the adults collapsed!'”
She was right. Yves might hold the key to the identity of the bad guy. I gave him a gentle shake. “Yves? You have to stay
awake.” But there was no response. I sighed and carefully laid his head back down on the floor.
“I don't get it” Charlotte said. “If he had a 'quist, why didn't he get infected when the adults did?”
“He must have had the device turned off so it wouldn't be detected when he passed through customs,” I said as I got to my
feet. “It's illegal for him to have a 'quist because he isn't eighteen.”
“But he's above the law,” Charlotte said sarcastically.
Lysa added, “But not above getting sick.”
Crockett had put the contacts in a glass of solution and now knelt on the other side of Yves. He checked his pulse and examined
his eyes. Yves groaned and then was quiet again.
“How bad off is he, Crockett?” I asked.
Crockett looked up at me. “He didn't have the 'quist on long enough to get a full blast of the virus like the adults did.
But he
still got enough of it. He might not be as sick as they are now, but he'll catch up.”
This might be my last chance. I had to try and get through to him again before he sank into a deep unconscious state. I leaned
over him and said loudly, “Yves, who did you see when the elevator stopped right before our parents got sick?”
CROCKETT HANDED ME THE CONTCTS.
But he didn't respond. His eyes remained closed.
“We have to make him comfortable,” Crockett said. “Otis, help me carry him to his room, and I'll start an IV to keep him hydrated.”
After we got Yves settled, the four of us met back in the Common Room. Once again, we sat around a table, considering what
our next plan of action should be.
“I guess this rules out Yves as a suspect” I said. “After all, he probably wouldn't give himself a deadly virus just to cover
his tracks.”
“Now what?” Charlotte asked.
A thought occurred to me. “Let me see the contacts.” Crockett handed me the glass. I held one of the contacts up to the light.
It was clouded over like a dirty window. “We can use this. It has a microchip in it that will let us plug into his 'quist.”
“That's crazy!” Crockett cried. “If you hook up to the Net, you'll get infected!”
“You're right,” I agreed. “We can't use it to connect to the Net. We don't know where the program that turns on the virus
is lurking.”
Lysa threw her hands in the air. “So what's left? Everything's connected to the Net.”
“Not everything.” I was thinking.” I was thinking about my secure hard drive around my neck. Maybe I'd made a mistake. I was
looking for a way that my family's journals could help us, but I shouldn't have been looking for a single thing. Instead,
I should have been searching for the one thing they all had in common. A plan began to take shape in my head.
I told the others what I was
legs, and Lysa and Charlotte had each taken one of his flailing arms.
“Take it easy, Yves,” I told him. “I just need to get the contacts out.” using my thumb and index finger, I pried open one
of his eyes. The contact was just starting to cloud over but had not turned black.
Yves stopped fighting me as I plucked out both contacts, cutting off his connection to the 'quiet. I handed the lenses to
Crockett. “I'll put these in solution,” he said.
When we let go of Yves, he didn't jump up. The energy seemed to have drained out of him. I had to help him up into a sitting
position.
“What were you thinking, Yves?” I demanded. “Why were you using a 'quist. You knew that you would be infected!”
“I'm different than you…,” he said, his words slurring. “Better than …” Yves slumped back, and I caught him just before his
head hit the floor. His eyes were closing.
“Wait!” Charlotte cried. “He has to tell us who he was talking to yesterday just before the adults collapsed!'”
She was right. Yves might hold the key to the identity of the bad guy. I gave him a gentle shake. “Yves? You have to stay
awake.” But there was no response. I sighed and carefully laid his head back down on the floor.
“I don't get it” Charlotte said. “If he had a 'quist, why didn't he get infected when the adults did?”
“He must have had the device turned off so it wouldn't be detected when he passed through customs,” I said as I got to my
feet. “It's illegal for him to have a 'quist because he isn't eighteen.”
“But he's above the law,” Charlotte said sarcastically.
Lysa added, “But not above getting sick.”
Crockett had put the contacts in a glass of solution and now knelt on the other side of Yves. He checked his pulse and examined
his eyes. Yves groaned and then was quiet again.
“How bad off is he, Crockett?” I asked.
Crockett looked up at me. “He didn't have the 'quist on long enough to get a full blast of the virus like the adults did.
But he
still got enough of it. He might not be as sick as they are now, but he'll catch up.”
This might be my last chance. I had to try and get through to him again before he sank into a deep unconscious state. I leaned
over him and said loudly, “Yves, who did you see when the elevator stopped right before our parents got sick?”
CROCKETT HANDED ME THE CONTCTS.
But he didn't respond. His eyes remained closed.
“We have to make him comfortable,” Crockett said. “Otis, help me carry him to his room, and I'll start an IV to keep him hydrated.”
After we got Yves settled, the four of us met back in the Common Room. Once again, we sat around a table, considering what
our next plan of action should be.
“I guess this rules out Yves as a suspect” I said. “After all, he probably wouldn't give himself a deadly virus just to cover
his tracks.”
“Now what?” Charlotte asked.
A thought occurred to me. “Let me see the contacts.” Crockett handed me the glass. I held one of the contacts up to the light.
It was clouded over like a dirty window. “We can use this. It has a microchip in it that will let us plug into his 'quist.”
“That's crazy!” Crockett cried. “If you hook up to the Net, you'll get infected!”
“You're right,” I agreed. “We can't use it to connect to the Net. We don't know where the program that turns on the virus
is lurking.”
Lysa threw her hands in the air. “So what's left? Everything's connected to the Net.”
“Not everything.” I was thinking.” I was thinking about my secure hard drive around my neck. Maybe I'd made a mistake. I was
looking for a way that my family's journals could help us, but I shouldn't have been looking for a single thing. Instead,
I should have been searching for the one thing they all had in common. A plan began to take shape in my head.
I told the others what I was
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