Virus Chapter Summaries
English Chapter Summaries of the book Virus by Jaco Jacobs
Part 1
Deel 1
We meet Jake. He wakes up nervously to a noise. The only thing he can hear is his breathing. A week ago he could quite easily sleep through his alarm clock, but now he is very alert to noises. It has been one week since the outbreak. The week went very quickly. It was all on the news - an epidemic that has appeared in America and it is very dangerous. It carried on spreading around the world and all of it was documented on Television. It was chaos. All the public services were down. Jake and his mom were trying to phone his dad, but couldn't get through. The TV stations then started to change and then the stations started dying out. There was gunshots and screaming in the streets - it was then that Jake and his mom decided to make a plan to leave. There plan was fast tracked because people tried to break in during the night: they escaped. Nothing was normal anymore. He is planning to leave the city. He turns his radio on and he finds one station. He is sleeping in the school hall. As he is leaving he sees a girl I school uniform - dead. He knows exactly how to work a pistol now. There is no water in the city now. He is walking in Johannesburg and there are many cars that have been left abandoned. The epidemic is about zombies. If they kill you, you die. If they just bite you, you become one of them. While he has looking among the abandoned cars, he saw a BMW motor bike which he talked to his best friend about. He decides to use the bike as a mode of transport. He just needs to find fuel. As he was about to start the bike he hears a dangerous noise. He looks up and sees a shotgun. He meets a girl who wants him to get off the motorbike.
Deel 2
The girl fires a shot at a yellow body (zombie) just behind Jake. She tells him again to get off the bike and this time he listens. She stopped to get food and water. Jake tries to introduce himself again but she leaves. Jake tries to stop her, but fails. He hears a group of zombies as he pulls his pistol out. He sees a man, a women and a child zombie who speed up as they see him. He fires a shot and only has 4 left - he needs to be accurate. There is now a second group that look like business men. They manage to catch up to him and one grabs his sneaker. They were about to kill him but then the girl that had the bike came back and saved him. The name of the person that saved him was Liza. Jake and Lize get on the bike and ride away.
Deel 3
Besmettes - infected = what they refer to the zombies as.
Jake and Liza are riding on the motorbike without a helmet. Here and there they pass crows who are eating dead bodies. They are slowly leaving the city and he feels sad about all the people he is leaving behind. Liza stopped the bike on higher ground and in an open area. Liza learnt to ride the motorbike from her dad. She also learnt how to shoot from him - he was a policeman. Liza then starts asking Jake about his family. His dad is a camera man and his mom was killed in one of the army camps they sought refuge in. Jake asks her where they plan to go and she stares down the road and notices something is wrong. There are a whole lot of motorbikes coming their way. The leader of the riders stopped right in front of them. There is eleven of them - 9 motorbikes and a jeep. The leader starts talking to them and circling their bike. They laugh at the fact the Liza owns the bike, not Jake. The leader offers Jake and Liza the opportunity to join their group. The group is going to the city. At the back of the Jeep there was a trailer that contained zombies. Liza denies the offer of going with the group. Liza makes up the excuse of going to look for Jake's dad. Bruce (the leader) and his group part with Liza and Jake. DJ Max now says that most radio stations get their money from adverts- the more people listen, the more money you get - he doesn’t work like this though because he is the only one broadcasting. Jake and Liza now start looking for petrol stations as it starts getting dark. After a while they saw a light in the distance
Deel 4
Jake is looking at the light in the distance. He thinks it will give him comfort because there must be people there. Jake says maybe they shouldn't get to near to the farm house because there might be things (zombies) by there. They park near the gate of the farm. They try do get in, but the fence is locked. Liza suggests trying to shoot the lock. Jake thinks they should just climb over the fence, but Liza points out that it is an electric fence. As they were standing there, a dog started barking. There were three men there. One of them is named Vincent. Another named Walter and another named Meyer. Meyer is the oldest of the three. The three of them are asking Jake and Liza questions. The three men were talking about the last new news they heard about the virus.
Deel 5
It very hot at the house. Jake is tired but is still having trouble falling asleep. Jake is having a nightmare about the time when he and his mom were at the army camp. Jake couldn’t sleep. Jake leaves the house through the kitchen. He takes out a pen and a sketch book. He finds calm in drawing. Liza woke up as well. She comes and sits with Jake. She complements him on his drawing ability. Jake wants to become a graphic designer. Liza is currently the lead singer of a band called "bloedhond". Liza thinks it is better for Jake to stay at the farm. Jake tries to say that he wants to go with his dad and says he can look after himself. Jake then asks why she wants to leave. Liza then says that she doesn't want to stay still and wait for the zombies to come to them. Jake pulls out a photo out of his wallet. He was four years old with his mother and father. Jake believed a long time ago that there was a troll under each bridge he went under. The one day when they were traveling to Cape Town they stopped under a low water bridge. They then stopped and painted his name under the bridge in red. His mother is an artist. Jake's mother and stepdad are both dead. Jake then asks Liza about her parents and she says that not all monsters have to come out and try to eat you, there are many monsters dressed up in casual clothing that you see everyday. Liza's mom was abused by her dad. She is saying her dad is a monster. Liza then says that her mom got revenge for what her dad did. It is unknown if she killed her yet, but it is most probable.
Deel 6
Sarah, the little girl, asks Liza, in a heartbroken voice, why Liza and Jake are leaving. Liza then says that they are going to go and find Jake's dad. Vera went to go give Edna breakfast. Vera comes back down and immediately Jake can see that something is wrong. Vera saw her dead. Meyer didn’t see her. They can only assume she is a zombie. When Meyer examined her earlier he says he could have missed a bite mark. Vincent is going to find Walter. When Vincent went out he left the security gate open. All of them are sitting in the living room when they hear a commotion in the kitchen. Jake storms out and is the first one there. He tells Liza to stay out when he sees Edna with a crossbow through her neck and Vincent on the ground. Walter saved Vincent's life. Edna nearly killed him.
Deel 7
After the incident, Vincent started to blame Meyer, but everyone tells him to keep quiet. Meyer checks Vincent for any bite marks. Walter made a good suggestion saying that Meyer should check everyone for bite marks. DJ Max then says that he has run out of food and might have to stop. Jake is very tired that morning because they didn’t have any sleep last night. Walter then came to take over his guard duty. Liza then says that Vincent will teach her how to siphon fuel. Jake then says something sarcastically because he obviously likes Liza and is jealous. Jake wakes up in the afternoon after a nap. Liza then welcomes him up. She says Vincent saw two helicopters but they were far away. Liza says that he missed two fights while he was asleep. The first fight was when Walter wanted Liza and Jake to stay and the second fight was about burying Edna. We learn that Sarah is from an orphan.
Deel 8
Vincent stole Liza's keys while he was supposed to be on guard. Liza is quite angry because he was the one who showed her how to siphon the fuel. Vincent is now on the road with the motorbike. It may be a blessing in disguise for Liza and Jake. During the whole commotion Jake was the only one to keep quiet. He noticed that Liza was dressed and ready to leave - without him. Later that afternoon, the alarm went off. Lavender managed to quickly find them. There was 5 zombies. This was their first contact with many zombies at the farm. Jake stands guard while the other two men take a midday sleep. Vera came out of the house and is gardening. Jake tries to apologise for invading their home but Vera says that she is glad they came. She says Sarah is like the daughter they never had. Vera picked up that there is something going on between Jake and Liza - she says he must just be patient. DJ Max is actually not a DJ. He was just a traffic reporter.
Deel 9
Jake had a bad dream. He was by a bridge and he saw his dad coming towards him, but then a zombie pulled him back. Jake is drawing a picture of zombies when Sarah asks her what he is drawing. Sarah asks him to draw a dog for Lavendar and she also asks him to draw Liza. Liza said that Sarah needs to go and see Meyer because he will hurt her. Immediately Jake and Liza become suspicious. Jake asks her what she means and she says that sometimes Meyer takes her into the room and says she must keep it a secret. Liza goes and storms off to go and find Meyer and she pulls out her gun. She is pointing the gun right at Meyer. There is now a confrontation with Walter and Vera there. Jake says Meyer is molesting Sarah. Jake says the explanation in such a way which makes it sound dirty. Vera takes Sarah away to the kitchen. Meyer says that he was lying when he said that everyone had not been bitten. Sarah had been bitten.
Deel 10
Meyer has known about the virus for three weeks. It has only been out for two. The Americans contacted everyone who could help when they found out about it. Jake is looking at Liza and she is very comfortable with the way this story is going. The first outbreak of the virus in SA was at the orphanage Sarah was at. Meyer has seen the Virus under a microscope. Sarah is immune to the virus. Meyer takes out his doctors bag and shows them some aluminum tubes. Meyer says he could have injected Edna with Sarah's blood. Later that day Jake is waking through the garden and is wondering about the situation they have. Jake got a fright when Lavendar was barking. He goes and looks as to where the sound came from. He finds Liza taking a swim in the water. She invites him in. She was teasing him and then he jumps in the water and dunks her. She is getting quite annoyed because he dunks her again. They then kiss.
Deel 11
Late that evening he heard a shout if Walter and a gun shot. There was also continuous barking. Jake then got out and went with his pistol. He then sees a fire and the lights start flickering. He assumes something is wrong with the generator. Liza also arrived there and Walter says they must shoot. The zombies were coming fast. Liza shot one of the zombies and looks at Liza who has run out of ammunition. There were way too many of them. One of the zombies knocks Jake down. A zombie was about to bite Liza but then someone saved her. It is all happening very quickly. Jake saw a zombie bite a body and was not sure what it was but it was a human.
Deel 12
Jake wakes up and is sore. He tunes his radio and all there is is static. They went Togo and see what happened. There were many bodies. He arrives at the gate and he sees the motorbike. Vincent was there and was dead. He drew the monsters and lead them right to the house. They walk into the generator room and Walter can immediately see that. Jake and Walter are taking turns on guard. The zombie that Jake saw bite someone but Meyer and he died. Meyer is dead. Even though they fixed the gate they will have to stay inside to be safe. The garden is not damaged. They have a plan b which is to use the jeep and go and find other people. Walter says that they have to leave early the next morning. Liza has bite marks on her. Jake walks into the girls' room and sees Sarah sleeping but no Liza - just a note. The note says that she didn't want to leave this way but it was her only option. She wanted to keep all of them safe. She has injected herself with Sarah's blood. She has taken two more tubes and wants to go and find a laboratory. She says he must say sorry to all of them for leaving. She says that she will remember the kiss they had forever.
Part Two
Deel 1
It is now comic strips. They modify the jeep and leave the next morning. There were a few incidents on the road but the modifications did well. They also saw that Bruce had become a zombie. The good news is that they found a police station that had been barricaded. They are seeing less and less Zombies. The virus dies out after a while. The bad news is that there are stories that there are zombies which have evolved and they start eating people and thinking for themselves. Walter has a conversation with Jake about how he is not himself anymore. The policeman who are in the place. The leader is called Vlok. They were checked for bites when they arrived. Jake stays with Lavendar. Once in a while Vlok and other policeman go out and get supplies. Water wasn't a problem because they police station had a bore whole. Vlok had caught one of the younger policeman taking drugs (Rasjaad). Many people like Lavender and Sarah. Jake was drawing and then Walter asked him what he was drawing. Jake was drawing all the things that had happened in the passed few days. Jake is thinking about plans to leave. Jake is going to Vera and Walter's cell to go and get something. He looks around and sees the satchel with sarah's blood. As he was looking at the tubes Sarah came in and gave him a fright. Jake makes up a lie and says he came to find her. Jake gets caught up playing snakes and ladders with Sarah. His face, hair and weight had changed when he was looking at himself in the mirror. Jake sees an old man called Petrus in the shower. Petrus mentions that there is a possibility that they could maybe have hit water because of solar panels. The old man suddenly has sharpness in his eyes and starts talking about to Jake about how lucky they are. Jake starts feeling uncomfortable. The old man then says that the virus has come to change the world. Jake then tells him to keep quiet. Jake was then angry. Walter then arrived and Jake let the old man go. The old man then continues. Jake then burst out in tears.
Deel 2
Jake wakes up quite early. The policeman actually lock themselves in their cells during the night. Jake had a nightmare about snakes coming to get him and he couldn't get away. He was stuck on the snakes and ladders board. The policeman have a list as to what needs to be fetched on the next run. Jake put shampoo on the list so nobody gets suspicious. He has a bag full of supplies. The only thing he is missing is his pistol. Vlok had a policy of only the policeman can have a gun. The infected started to become less in numbers. In the night there will be shots because now the zombies only move at night. Jake wanted to go but Vera said that Vlok said no to another policeman. There is a person called Herman who questions Vlok's authority. Eventually Vlok lost his temper because Herman wanted democracy. Jake is scared someone will find has bag at the entrance. Jake feels so guilty that he thinks Vera can read his mind. When the gates opened for the supply van to go out, Jake snuck out. When he got out he got a pistol and a motorbike. It is quite difficult outside. There are some scavenger people. There are some weird people. There is awoken pushing a trolley of Monet and there is a person running for president. People want guns a lot.
Deel 3
Petrol is the hardest thing to get because there is no electricity. Most vehicles were designed so that you can't siphon fuel from them. He tries to find fuel in a beetle. His motorbike is running out of fuel. He was so involved trying to siphon fuel and then someone said, "Hello". Jake brings out his pistol. The man is chubby and has a lot of hair. The voice sounds familiar and it turns out it is DJ MAX. DJ MAX managed to get out of the city on his quad bike. Max asks Jake to help him put fuel in the bike. Jake smells found and it makes his mouth water. Max offers him a place to stay at his workers house. Jake has told DJ Max everything what happened. DJ Max then tells Jake his story. Max saw people shot outside a police station that were not bitten. Max went into a park and wanted to die but there was nothing. Max then stood there and start laughing and didn't want to die. Then they all came. Max gives Jake a beer. In the movies everyone becomes a hero but in reality that is not what happens. They start drinking the beer and Max gets comfortable. Max asks Jake what his plan is. Jake says he wants to go and find his dad. They then talk about the differences between the zombies and them. They the. Say goodbye the next morning.
Deel 4
It has been 4 days on the motorbike. He is now by his childhood bridge. He realizes now that he needs to find safety. He now has a flashback. When he got underneath the bridge it was dark and there was a familiar smell. He can remember his dad's voice and face. He looks at the writing and sees there is a new painting. There is an arrow to a package with a camera in it. He turns the camera on. There is an out of focus video that Liza made. She says that she is sorry for taking his photo out of his bag but it is how she found this place. She found Jake's dad. His dad was looking for him everywhere. His dad is going to a quarantine area that is 200km from the bridge. Liza is going to a laboratory with Sarah's blood. He then reflects about all the good times that he has had. He then draws himself sitting under the bridge. He then writes Liza a letter.