Chapter 4

"Ozzy, I'm sorry but you heard him. There's only one way to get rid of it." Drix readied his arm cannon.

"Drix! What the hell is wrong with you!?" Ozzy grabbed Drix's arm and furiously pushed the cannon aside.

Drix looked at his partner with a remorseful pout as he dropped his cannon. "I don't want to Ozzy! But what other choice do we have? If we don't do something, the entire city will be in danger of a major meltdown, like last time."

"You don't think I know that!?" Ozzy shook his head as he tried to regain his composure. He paced back and forth anxiously. "Alright, let's just think this over. There's gotta be something we can do."

"We should alert the Mayor before this gets out of hand."

"No, Drix!" Ozzy massaged his forehead. "If we tell them now, they'll just send an army of immunity cells to attack me along with the virus."

"Are you sure we can't just reason with them to not harm you?"

Ozzy sighed, "If they find out I'm infected, they may not reason. I won't take that risk."

Drix had the most perplexed and guilty look on his face. "You're putting me in a very unethical predicament here, Ozzy."

"But there's got to be a way... If only..." Ozzy looked down in deep thought.

"Wait!" A lightbulb turned on in Drix's head. "Maybe Dr. Eosinophil can figure out a way to get rid of it."

"Ah, spit!" Ozzy looked down at his stained pants. "We may not make it in time to get to his office. My water just broke!"

"Ozzy, try to hold on as long as you can." Drix had taken the wheel of Ozzy's car and was swerving to and fro between traffic on the vein interstate.

"I don't think holding on much longer is going to be possible!" Ozzy hissed in annoyance at the front seat driver. He was laying down in the back seat of the car as he hugged the head rest of the back seat trying to keep his balance. Drix was driving the car at insane speeds. Ozzy started huffing as another contraction hit him hard.

"Damn!" Drix pounded the steering wheel with his fist as the car slowly rolled to a hault. "There's a clogged artery up ahead!" Drix turned around to look at Ozzy. "Are you alright back there?"

Ozzy groaned and sat up against the passenger door. He panted frantically and brought his knees up to his chest. "I don't think the baby is going to wait any longer, I might be having it in the car-AAH!"

"Ozzy!" Drix put the car in park in the stilled traffic and opened the back seat door opposite from Ozzy.

"Drix, I'm scared... Oh Frank, oh Frank!" Ozzy hissed through clenched teeth as another contraction hit, pushing the baby down further.

Drix held onto Ozzy's hand. "It's ok Ozzy, I'm right here with you. Take deep breaths." Drix removed Ozzy's pants and jacket and placed the officer's jacket over his midriff.

Curious cells started to emerge from their cars in the traffic jam. Ozzy's screaming caused several people to surround the car. Many bystanders started to talk amongst each other.

"What's all the commotion about?"

"There's a white blood cell in that car going into labor!"

"What!? That's impossible! White blood cells reproduce by mitosis, not childbirth!"

"Did you see? It's a male white blood cell! Isn't that the strangest thing you've ever seen?"

"Oh my Frank..." An FPD officer got out of his cop car and pulled out his handheld radio. "I'm en route to the Liver, stuck in a large traffic jam. I have a code 10-89 in progress, I repeat code 10-89! I'm going to need backup!"

The officer went up to the car to inspect further. He gasped as he saw into the backseat window the victim that was causing the crowd to stir into a commotion. "Osmosis Jones!?" The officer spoke again into his radio. "Mayday! We have an officer down, I repeat, Osmosis Jones is the 10-89!"

Beads of sweat ran down Ozzy's face. He panted as he pushed, his efforts seeming fruitless as the baby was still inside. "Drix, it's not coming out!"

"You need to keep pushing. Just breathe and push, it's going to be all over soon." Drix rested his free hand on Ozzy's stomach, trying to coax the baby out of its position.

Ozzy started to hyperventilate as he saw out of the corner of his eye several flashing lights of FPD police cars surrounding their car. "Drix! They're here! I can't be seen like this! They're going to try to get rid of me!"

"Ozzy, listen to me. All that matters right now is that we get this baby out of you. I'll protect you, no one is going to harm you." Drix held Ozzy's hand and reassuringly smiled at him.

"Alright everyone, back to your vehicles, nothing to see here!" The officer in the crowd started escorting everyone away from Ozzy's car. He approached the car and tapped Drix on the shoulder. "Mind stepping out of the vehicle, sir?"

Drix hesitated as Ozzy looked up at him frightened, not wanting him to leave his side. He gave him a comforting nod, "I'll be just a moment."

"What seems to be the problem officer?" Drix looked down calmly at the intruding officer.

"Officer Osmosis Jones is in there and he's screaming in pain. Do we know for certain it's a virus?"

Drix nodded. "I'm afraid so."

"How far along is he?"

"Um..." Drix glanced over to the car as Ozzy moaned loudly in pain. "Very far, it could be any moment now."

The officer let out a exasperated sigh, "Do you know who the father is?"

Drix nodded, "It's Thrax, the Red Death."

"Holy spit!" He turned to his handheld radio and yelled, "Get immunity backup here now!"

Drix looked startled after hearing the officer's abrupt command. "Sir, you're not doing to do anything to Jones, are you? He needs our help right-"

"Listen cold pill," He started to lower his voice to a whisper, "We need to diffuse this situation carefully. With a virus that deadly, it's unlikely Jones is going to survive the birth. Just stay calm, don't touch the virus, and leave the rest to the immunity team. They're on their way now."

Drix's face began to pale as he watched the officer return to his patrol car.

"DRIX!"

"I'm coming Ozzy!" Drix shook his head to gather his nerves and returned to the car.

"FRANK! IT HURTS!"

"Stay with me, Ozzy. Remember to breathe." Drix grasped Ozzy's hand and took deep breaths.

Ozzy followed suit and breathed shakily. He cringed as another contraction urged him to push.

"That's it Ozzy, you're doing a great job. The head is starting to crown!"

Ozzy started to scream as he felt a burning sensation where his membrane began to split, allowing the baby's head to pass through him. He pushed as hard as he could, his grip on Drix's hand squeezing him tightly.

"Come on Ozzy, one more push! That's it!"

Ozzy screamed at the top of his lungs as he beared down. The rest of the baby's body slipped through him so quickly that it came as a shock and relief when the pain subsided so quickly. He sighed and rolled onto his back, closing his eyes for a brief moment.

Drix let out an melancholy sigh as he looked down at the small baby lying on the car seat.

"Drix? Is it ok? Is the baby ok?" Ozzy sat up and opened his eyes, trying to glimpse at the new born.

Drix's downturned eyes told him everything. The cold pill remembered the officer's warning, yet he grabbed Ozzy's jacket and wrapped it around the baby. He carefully picked it up in his hands. Tears started to well up in the white blood cell's eyes as he looked at the bundle in Drix's arms. Not a single cry had come from the new born's mouth. It looked like a miniature version of himself, except it's cytoplasm was tinted red. A sinking feeling began to wash over Ozzy as he stared at the body.

Drix saw the look on Ozzy's face and held his hand to comfort him. "Ozzy, it's better that it happened this way."

Ozzy shook his head, his cheeks wet with tears. "It's not fair. Why did Thrax do this to me? Why did it have to be me?"

"I'm really sorry, Ozzy."

"AAAAAAAAH!"

Ozzy's scream startled Drix, causing him to hit his head on the ceiling of the car. "Ozzy, what's wrong?!"

Ozzy doubled over in pain. "Frank! DAMN IT!"

"Ozzy?!"

Ozzy let out a blood curdling scream. Drix gasped and backed away as a familiar red boiling acid spurted out of the same exit wound the virus emerged from.

The congestion on the interstate started to let up. Cars started slowly rolling around the crime scene surrounded by all of the police cars. A paramedic vehicle pulled up to the scene.

"Get this officer to the nearest hospital, stat!" The officer had ordered the paramedics standing by on site.

The paramedics had pulled Ozzy out of the car and placed him onto a gurney. They loaded the white blood cell into the paramedic vehicle with the large red and yellow pill following in after them. Traffic started to pick up and the paramedic vehicle sped down the highway swerving through traffic.

One of the nurses in the vehicle filled a syringe needle. "We're going to have to work fast, we don't have much time."

Ozzy could hear his heart pounding loudly in his ears. He could feel his body heat rising rapidly and his vision becoming blurry. He let out a shrill cry as the nurse with the syringe approached him. "What are you doing?!"

"It's ok Mr. Jones. You'll feel just a pinch, then you won't feel anything after that."

Thrax sneered into the wall mirror at Ozzy's horrified reflection. "I promise this will only pinch a little bit. And then you will no longer feel anything, dear Jonesy."

"NOOOO!"

"Ozzy, calm down!" Drix held down Ozzy by the shoulders. "They're trying to help."

Shock started to settle in. Just as Ozzy started to hyperventilate and struggle in a state of panic, one of the nurses put a mask over his mouth. "Take deep breaths Mr. Jones."

Ozzy's frequent shallow breaths began to turn into deep breaths as the narcotic started to take effect. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Drix's red and yellow head looking down at him.