Virals - Only the dead know the truth

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Virals - Only the Dead Knows the Truth (Seizure) is the second book for young people by the American author Kathy Reichs , which she wrote together with her son Brendan Reichs. It was published in 2011 by Razorbill Verlag. The German translation by Knut Krüger was published by cbj-Verlag in 2012 .

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Since the virals - Tory Brennan, Hi Stolowitski, Shelton Devers and Ben Blue - rescued the puppy Cooper from a laboratory a few months earlier and contracted a genetically modified version of the parvovirus , with which it was illegally infected for research purposes , the lives of the four teenagers have changed radically: The virus has introduced wolf DNA into their DNA, which allows them to have so-called "thrusts" at times: phases in which their physical abilities and senses correspond to those of wolves are superhumanly good. For fear of falling victim to illegal experiments themselves, the four keep their superpowers to themselves and try to understand them better. They quickly notice that their abilities and senses are not equally strong in everyone; For example, Tory's sense of smell is a lot finer than that of the other virals during an attack, which even enables her to “smell” pheromones of her fellow human beings (and thus their feelings).

In order to solve fiscal problems, and since the illegally conducted parvovirus experiment there caused bad press, the University of Charleston, South Carolina, meanwhile, plans to close the LIRI research institute - for which the parents of the virals work. Since this would mean that the parents of the virals would each have to look for work elsewhere, and the four would thus be separated, they decide to somehow raise the money that is necessary for the continued existence of the institute. After a short search for ideas, Tory finally had the idea of ​​looking for the pirate treasure of the legendary pirate Anne Bonny , which is said to be found in the Charleston area. Ben, Hi and Shelton are skeptical at first, but due to the lack of alternatives, they let themselves be tempted to take part in the search.

After the four of them took away a treasure map made by Anne Bonny from the Charleston Museum and bought cheap letters written by Bonny at a pawn shop , which gave clues to the treasure, they finally found out that the treasure can be found below the Charleston old town have to be. They discover a system of tunnels - riddled with deadly traps - through which they can navigate unscathed using their pushers. Arriving at the end of the tunnel, they are disappointed to find that the treasure has probably been moved to another location, which is indicated by a hint - written in Irish - (Anne Bonny was Irish).

While they wait for Tory's great-aunt Dr. Temperance Brennan - who speaks a little Irish - translates the clue, the virals pursue a different trail: On the treasure map and in all of her letters, Anne Bonny drew a Celtic cross with a curved tip - almost as her trademark . After a short research, they find out that exactly such a cross is in the possession of the Claybourne family.

In order to get to the cross, they unceremoniously free Chance Claybourne - a former classmate of theirs and son of Hollis Claybourne who is in jail for the virals - from the mental hospital he went to after a nervous breakdown that he suffered when his father was arrested has been instructed. Together with Chance, the Virals get the cross from one of the Claybournes holiday homes and then the five of them make their way to Bull Island , where according to the - meanwhile translated - note the treasure is to be found. With the help of a clue and a cross, they finally discover a buried treasure chest. Before they can open it, however, Sallie and Chris Fletcher suddenly appear and want to kill the Virals and Chance to get to the treasure. The two are curators of the Charleston Museum and have been looking for Anne Bonnie's treasure for years. When they noticed that the Virals had stolen Bonnie's card, they secretly pursued the four and watched them go on their treasure hunt.

With the help of their skills, the Virals manage to overpower the Fletchers and escape from Bull Island with the treasure chest. Back home the disappointment is great: the treasure chest is empty! Unable to explain the superhuman strength and speed of the virals with which they overcame the Fletchers, Chase doubts his sanity and returns to the mental hospital.

After a closer examination of the box, Tory discovers that it is not completely empty: She finds another clue to the whereabouts of the treasure, which leads her to an old church on Dewees Island . There the four finally discover the treasure, which turns out to be less extensive than they had hoped: Just a sack of gold doubloons, the total value of which is perhaps $ 100,000 (and thus not enough to save the LIRI research institute) and an antique booklet . The joy of the find is suddenly interrupted when the virals are threatened again by competing treasure hunters. This time from Nigel Short - an archivist who became aware of the virals when he authenticated Anne Bonnie's letters for them - and his henchmen. Once again, the four succeed in overpowering their adversaries with the help of their skills and then hand them over to the police.

Later it turns out that the little antique book is actually some, previously lost, pages of the priceless Book of Kells , which Bonny was able to loot during one of her raids. The pages will be handed over to the Irish Government, which in return for this national treasure will set up a foundation that will henceforth finance the LIRI Institute and thus secure its future. The gold doubloons keep the virals to themselves.

characters

  • Victoria "Tory" Brennan
  • Hiram "Hi" Stolowitsky
  • Shelton Devers
  • Ben Blue
  • Dr. Christopher "Kit" Howard
  • Whitney Dubois
  • Claybourne chance
  • Jason Taylor
  • Sallie Fletcher
  • Chris Fletcher
  • Rodney Brincefield
  • Madison Dark
  • Ashley Bodford
  • Courtney Holt

expenditure