Quarantine

symptoms, and why they're different from everyone else's.'

Kyle's heart gave a sickening bounce. 'We're aliens because Max healed us?' he repeated.

'When he heals, it changes the person. It changes their DNA,' Liz whispered. 'We have alien DNA mixed with our own. Not like them, not like the real aliens. But we have a little. And this thing, the virus or whatever, it's affecting our alien DNA.'

'It activated our alien genes just like it activated Ms. DeLucas gene for asthma,' Kyle said.

'Yes,' Liz whispered. 'It went to our alien genes because it's alien too.'

'What?' Kyle could tell Liz thought this was important, but he didn't really understand everything she was saying.

'In the lab, when I cleaned up the chemical spill,' Liz said. 'Whatever that chemical was must have changed me.'

'Wait, are you saying this virus is alien?' Kyle asked.

'I think so. And it's my fault.' She started to cry again. 'I did it.'

Kyle didn't know what to think. For a second there, Liz had sounded like her old science-nerd self. Now she was

delirious again. 'You didn't do anything,' he said helplessly.

'The spill. I cleaned it up, and it got on me somehow. It made my alien DNA mutate into this virus. Then I gave it to you. I gave it to everyone. And they'll never find a cure for it because they don't know it's alien.'

At that moment a door at the far end of the room swung open. Four doctors with a gurney rushed in. They checked with the nurses' station, and then all four turned… -and looked right at Liz.

'Uh-oh,' Kyle said.

'What?'

'Um, a bunch of doctors are coming toward you with a stretcher,' Kyle told her.

'They know it's my fault,' she whispered. 'They have to study me to try to solve the problem.'

'What?' Kyle cried. 'No! They'll find the alien DNA.'

'They won't know what it is,' Liz said. 'They'll just think it's a mutation.'

The doctors had reached Liz's bed. One of them took Kyle by the arm. He gasped in pain; her hand felt like a vise. 'You need to be back in bed,' she said, helping him to his cot.

The others were lifting Liz onto the gurney. Kyle could see her wincing as they jostled her sensitive body.

'Where are you taking her?' he asked.

'We need to run some tests on Miss Parker to figure out what's wrong with her,' the doctor told him, sitting him down on his cot.

'Kyle, you have to tell Max,' Liz whispered. 'He's the only one who can figure out how to help these other people. Tell him what I told you.'

They were pushing Liz away as she said this, and Kyle knew none of the doctors standing right next to her could even hear what she said. But he could, with his alien-enhanced hearing. 'Liz, hang in there,' he whispered back.

Then they pushed the gurney through the doors and out of the quarantine room. Liz was gone.

Isabel was the last to get back to Valenti's house. Michael and Max had been there only about five minutes when she showed up, looking worried. Michael felt his shoulders slump. He'd been hoping Isabel had some good news, since he and Max certainly didn't. 'What did you find out?' Max asked. 'Hello to you, too,' Isabel retorted. 'Where's Valenti?' 'On the phone,' Michael told her. 'Did you find the CDC headquarters?'

'Yeah. And they were talking about Liz.' 'What?' Max cried. 'What did they say?' Isabel dropped onto Valentis couch. 'That she's Patient Zero, and that the virus started spreading from the Crash-down. Apparently they found something funky in your soup,' she said to Michael.

'That's crazy!' Max said. 'How could Liz possibly be the cause of all this?'

But Michael already knew the answer. 'The water,' he said. 'Liz had just come from Meta-chem. She said the soup was too thick, so I took her water bottle and poured the water into it. And then I served it to Kyle, and Maria’s mom, and half the other people at the Crashdown. I served it all day.' He sank down next to Isabel. 'This whole thing is my fault.'

'But why would Liz's water be infected?' Max asked.

'The CDC doctor said something about a chemical spill,' Isabel put in.

'Yeah, that's why she got sent home early,' Michael replied. 'She said her boss knocked over some gunk but that it was no big deal.'

'Did you heal Liz?' Isabel asked. 'Maybe she can figure out what happened.'

Max slammed his fist down on the coffee table. 'No,' he growled. 'I couldn't heal her.'

Isabel blinked in surprise. 'Why not?'

'I don't know, it didn't work,' Max said. 'I made her worse.'

Michael watched as Isabel took this news in. 'So you can't heal any of the sick people?' she asked Max.

'I'm afraid it will make them all worse.'

Isabel looked down at her hands, frowning. Michael knew how she felt. They seemed to be out of options. 'Kyle is still sick too,' he said. 'And Maria's mom.'

Isabel just nodded without meeting his eye. She was taking it pretty hard, he thought.

'I have some news,' Valenti said, coming into the room. 'Though it's not especially good.'

'What is it?' Michael asked.

'That was the CDC outreach person on the phone. They're setting up hours for family members to visit the people in quarantine.'

Max frowned. 'Is that safe?'

'They've determined the virus is waterborne,' Valenti said. 'So they'll put the patients in plastic tents and you can talk to them from outside.'

'If we get in and talk to Liz, she can tell us where that water bottle came from. Maybe that will help us figure it out.' Michael knew he was grasping at straws, but he couldn't think of anything else to do.

'It'll be a while,' Valenti said. 'They're doing it alphabetically by last name. I won't be able to see Kyle until tomorrow, probably. And in the meantime they won't even tell me how he is.' Valenti's voice broke, and Isabel reached over to take his hand.

'Maria,' Michael said.

'What about her?' Max asked.

'Her name starts with D. She'll get in to see her mom today. Maybe they'll let her talk to Liz too.'

'It's worth a try,' Max said.

And it will give me an excuse to find out how Maria's coping with her dad, Michael thought as he dialed Maria's number into his cell phone.

Maria's phone was ringing. Sadie turned away from her examination of Maria's jewelry box and flung herself on the bed. She grabbed up the phone from the bedside table. 'Maria's phone!' she said into the receiver.

'Hey, kid, it's Michael.'

Sadie grinned. 'Hi, Michael! How are you?'

'I'm fine. Listen, is Maria there?' Michael said.

'No, she's in the shower,' Sadie told him. She rolled over on her back and stared at the ceiling, where Maria had put tiny glow-in-the-dark stars. 'Maria let me sleep in her room last night. She's the coolest sister ever.'

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

'Are you and Maria gonna get married?' Sadie asked.

'Because if you do, then you'll be my brother-in-law. Wouldn't that be weird?'

Michael started coughing. While Sadie waited for him to finish, she sat up so she could bounce on the bed. That's when she noticed her father standing in the doorway. He didn't look very happy.

'Uh, Sadie, can you ask Maria to call me?' Michael said. 'Tell her it's important.'

'Okay,' Sadie said. 'Bye.' She hung up the phone and turned back to her dad.

'Was that Michael?' he asked.

'Yeah,' Sadie said. 'He's been Maria's boyfriend for two years.'

Her father frowned and went back out into the kitchen. He was distracted, she could tell. Sadie sighed. She'd been trying to pretend that everything was fine, but her father was miserable, and Maria was even more