NovelEnglishLeopold was growing more and more certain that Aurelia had contracted the superbug Medusa.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“What do we do if it's Medusa?” he asked.
“There's only one way to treat it,” Skyler said, leaning back on the faded couch, “Phage therapy.” “Where can we find these phages?” Leopold pressed.
The Amazon was vast; searching for these microscopic lifesavers was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
“Phages parasitize bacteria,” Skyler explained, “Each phage is specific to one type of bacteria. Medusa's host is this tiny hedgehog. To find the phage, we gotta find the hedgehog.” Leopold's eyes lit up. No wonder the search teams had come up empty-handed, and they hadn't been looking for the right host.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“What's special about this hedgehog?” “It's tiny, even smaller than a pygmy hedgehog, and it's a master at hide and seek in the jungle,” Skyler said, “Its spines are tri- colored—white at the base, brown in the middle, and black at the tips. It has pure black claws too. | heard Geoffrey found one near the thickets by the Parana River.” Leopold whipped out his smartphone and sent the description to the search team. A direction to search was better than a wild goose chase.
“Can phages be cultivated artificially?” Skyler’s eyes held a hint of mystery, “To cultivate phages, you've gotta grow Medusa itself. In Geoffrey's experiments, these tiny hedgehogs are the perfect Medusa hosts. They coexist without the hedgehog succumbing. But in humans, without phage balance, Medusa is lethal within days. You've got a week to inject the right amount of phages after infection.” “So, we need to find the hedgehog to cultivate the phages.” “Exactly,” Leopold muttered, stroking his chin thoughtfully. The key was the elusive hedgehog.
Skyler glanced at him, “Leopold, someone's caught Medusa?” Leopold clapped him on the shoulder, “Just curious. And thanks for saving Mira today.” Skyler scratched his head with a grin, “Next time we hit the beach, let's watch out for those jellyfish stings.” Back at Stirling Mansion, Aurelia embraced her son Kane tightly. “Don’t worry, baby, Mommy's here.” Kane, small but strong beyond his years, hugged her back, “Mom, I'm not scared. I'll be careful, and I'll make sure Nina and Mira are too.” Aurelia gently touched his hair, “Mira’s fine now. We'll take care of the bad guys soon, and then you can play like any other kid.” Kane whispered, “Just make sure William is careful too. It would be bad if the bad guys saw his face and took him for me.” “You don't need to worry about William. Just focus on yourself,” Aurelia reassured him, her heart aching at his maturity.
Kane looked up at her, “Mom, William is my brother, right?” A sharp pang shot through Aurelia, and she responded, “Of course he’s your brother.”
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