Seizure Read Online Free Page A

that?”
    Kit sighed. “Where do I start? The institute is in turmoil. We’ve had no director since Dr. Karsten . . .” awkward pause, “. . . left. The press has been brutal. Rumors are flying about Karsten running unauthorized experiments, maybe taking corporate bribes.”
    I sat bolt upright. That hit way too close to home.
    “Unauthorized experiments?”
    “They found a new lab in Building Six,” Kit continued, oblivious. “Secure. Unregistered. It had a ton of expensive equipment, but no records. Very strange. We have no idea what Karsten was doing.”
    My heart went hummingbird. Parvovirus. Cooper. Our illness.
    If anyone ever found out . . .
    I clasped my hands below the table to hide the trembling.
    Coop sensed my unease. He popped from his bed and padded to my side. I stroked his head absentmindedly.
    Wrapped in his own private gloom, Kit didn’t notice my agitation.
    “The recent publicity caught the eye of some environmental groups. Now they’re protesting the ‘monkey abuse’ on Loggerhead Island.”
    “But that’s stupid!” For a moment, I forgot my own distress. “The monkeys aren’t abused ; they aren’t even disturbed. It’s observational research.”
    “Try telling them,” Kit said. “We offered a tour of LIRI to ease their concerns. No dice. They don’t seem worried about facts, or that these animals have no place else to go. They just want to scream, ‘monkeys in captivity!’ and shut us down.”
    Kit leaned back and crossed his arms. “But that’s all secondary. Bottom line: CU lacks the funding to keep LIRI operating. The bad economy has gutted the budget.”
    “How big is the shortfall?”
    “Huge. The trustees have been told to make deep cuts, and LIRI is extremely expensive to run and to staff.”
    “Tell them to close something else!” Sharp. I didn’t care. Dominoes were falling in my head. The inevitable conclusions terrified me.
    Again, Kit avoided my eyes. “That’s not all.”
    I waited.
    “With LIRI closed, the university won’t keep these townhouses.” He waved an arm wearily. “We won’t be able to stay here.”
    Ice traveled my spine. I didn’t want to hear what was coming next.
    “We’ll have to move.” His shoulders tensed. “I’m sorry, but there’s no other way. There aren’t any jobs for me in the Charleston area. I’ve looked.”
    “Move?” Barely whispered. It didn’t seem real.
    Kit rose, crossed to the living room, and gazed out the bay window. Beyond the palm-tree-speckled common, waves lapped softly at the docks below. The tide was slowly rolling out.
    “I can’t afford Bolton on my own, Tory. Not without the LIRI subsidy.”
    The other Virals and I attended Bolton Preparatory Academy, Charleston’s oldest and most prestigious private school. Hoity-toity. Very expensive.
    As an incentive to live and work so far from the city, CU picked up most of the tuition for parents working out on Loggerhead.
    “Don’t worry.” Kit turned and locked eyes with me. “I saw some listings online that might work. I’ve already contacted a lab in Nova Scotia that needs a marine biologist.”
    “Nova Scotia?” I stared, dumbfounded by the turn of events. “Canada? We’re moving to freaking Canada ?”
    “Nothing’s decided, I just thought—”
    “Stop!” My hands flew to my ears. “Just stop.”
    Too much.
    Too fast.
    I stormed past Kit, up the stairs, and into my bedroom.
    Slammed the door.
    My face hit my pillows seconds before the tears began to flow.

CHAPTER 4
    T he pity party was short.
    I flew to my Mac, powered up, and had iFollow running in seconds.
    I needed the other Virals. Now.
    iFollow connects groups online. When users log in from a smartphone, the app will track the movements of all group members on a city map. The program also has file sharing and social networking functions. It rocks.
    We still use it, despite everything. We need a way to locate everyone in a pinch. To watch each other’s backs.
    I checked the map,