The Compound

They take Rex to the infirmary.

Eli tells his mother about the night before their ninth birthday. He had told Eddy about a surprise that led him to hide in the range rover. Eli had known that Eddy would get sick because of his allergies and the proximity to the kitten. Then Eli would be the only birthday boy. This is why Eli has always blamed himself for what he thought was Eddy’s death. He apologizes to his mother, but she tells him that children make mistakes.

Eli breaks into his father’s office with an axe. He can’t find a way to switch on the Internet. He returns to the infirmary, hoping that Rex will be conscious and that he will tell him how to get online.

Rex’s temperature has dropped and now and he has diarrhea. Eli gets a medical diagnostic book from the library and reads about his father’s symptoms. He believes he has ergotism, from eating ergot-infested flour. His mother had allowed Rex to eat the flour, hoping it would only make him sick, but would not endanger him. Rex is awake enough to tell them that he has an antidote for ergotism. He has the antidote because, if taken in too large a quantity, it results in cyanide poisoning.