"They would need the bug to do that. We're on it," Kay said as he started towards the door.
"Before you go let me contact the agents that are still in the field and see if they've found anything," Zed said as he started for his office.
*****
A few minutes later, Jay and Kay stepped into the medical lab. Zed was still talking to the agents in the field so Jay had thought that they should take a little time to see Elle. He was shocked when he caught sight of her. She had several IV's attached and a respirator was breathing for her. Her arms were fastened down to the bed with restraints so she couldn't hurt herself. The drugs had calmed the seizures but her hands were still trembling uncontrolably.
"When we find that bug, I'm going to give him a world of hurt," Jay muttered as he stared sadly at Elle.
All of a sudden Elle's eyelids twitched and then slowly opened. Her lips trembled as she tried to speak but she was unable to due to the respirator.
"Elle?" Jay said as he came over to her bedside and awkwardly took her hand. Her eyes were wide and filled with fright. Jay wished there was something that he could do to help her. Just then he realized that his partner was gone.
"Here," Kay said as he came back in with an alphabet board from the classroom they had set up to introduce alien children to Earth. He pulled a chair over to the bedside and sat down. Then he carefully unfastened her arm and arranged it so it was touching the letters on the board.
Elle's hand shook as she struggled to move it over the board slowly spelling out the sentence, "What happened?"
"The bug bit you and injected some sort of poison," Kay told her. "It caused you to have seizures. They had to give you sedatives to stop them. That's why they have you hooked up to the respirator."
Elle's hand slowly moved over the board again spelling out a single word, "Dying?"
A stricken expression filled Jay's face at that word. How could they tell her the truth?
"No, you aren't dying," Kay said. "Why don't you try and get some sleep now?"
Elle slowly spelled out "Be here?"
"We'll be here when you wake up. Just rest now," Kay said as he eyes slipped shut again. He moved the alphabet board to a counter nearby and then headed out of the room with Jay following him.
"You lied to her!" Jay exclaimed as he followed Kay down the hall.
"No I didn't. Let's see if Zed has any news on that bug."