Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.

When the Grim Reaper Knocks

Chapter V

Kat and the other rangers were so relieved that Sky was awake. Everyone took a turn hugging Sky. Now that Sky was awake, he was able to drink the glass of water. Kat decided to follow through with her plan to collect blood samples from the other rangers.

"Syd, Z, Jack, and Bridge, I need the four of you to follow me to the lab so I can take blood samples," Kat instructed.

The four of them exchanged glances with each other unsure of why Kat asked them to come to the lab with her. Whatever it was, they decided it must be important. They all followed Kat asshe left for the lab except for Bridge. Soon, Jack, Z, Syd, and Kat realized that Bridge wasn't with them and returned to the infirmary.

"Aren't you coming Bridge?" Syd asked.

Bridge didn't answer. He was silent. Bridge was afraid that if he told the others the truth, that they would laugh at him or make fun of him. Instead, Bridge just looked at the ground.

"What's wrong?" Z asked.

Bridge's gaze remained fixed on the floor. He didn't dare establish eye contact with them. He didn't wish to see their reaction when he told them why he was hesitant to go with Kat to the lab.

"I'm afraid of needles," Bridge replied.

Z snickered which caused Syd to elbow her in the ribs. Z rubbed her ribs where Syd's elbow had come into contact. Even Jack had a grin on his face that he tried to hide although he wasn't doing a very good jobof it.

"Come on Bridge. You won't feel a thing," Kat said reassuringly.

Bridge slowly brought his eyes up from the ground and looked into Kat's eyes. He could tell that she was being honest. Bridge trusted her. Kat must genuinely understand Bridge's fear of needles. He had a pretty good idea why Kat wanted to take blood samples in the first place. Bridge theorized that Kat wanted to draw blood from him and the other core rangers to compare it to the blood sample she had taken from Sky. Knowing that him allowing Kat to draw some of his blood might potentially help them figure out what exactly is wrong with Sky; Bridge decided he would go if it would help Sky get better.

5-5-5

Word had spread like wildfire throughout the Academy that Sky was awake now. The other cadets worked on bringing all of Sky's presents into the recreation room. Some other cadets brought in the birthday cake and placed it on a table in the room. Everyone was thrilled that the birthday party might be able to take place after all. It's a good thing nobody decided to take down the decorations. Boom was overseeing how things were turning out.

"Sky is going to be so surprised," Boom said.

Nobody had even wished Sky happy birthday yet, but like they really had an opportunity to with Sky being sick for the majority of the day. However, that worked out to their advantage though. Itfit in well withthe grand master plan. This plan called for Sky thinking that everyone forgot about his birthday and then surprising him out of the blue with a birthday party.

Boom noticed that all the presents were in place as well as the cake. All that was left was the food. "Okay, now it's time to bring the food in," Boom stated.

A menu had already been made for the occasion. It was even already prepared. All that was left was to bring it in. The cadets scattered and went to gather the food and bring it in to the recreation room. They could've just used the food replicator, but the truth of the matter was that when it came to special occasions, they preferred to make food themselves. Besides, they didn't want to take the food replicator for granted and become too dependent on it. Aside from that, eating food that didn't come out of a food replicator is a nice change that everyone at the Academy liked to enjoy from time to time.

"Am I late?" a female voice asked.

Boom looked to see where the voice was coming from and saw Sophie. This was certainly a surprise. Sophie had been assigned to the theta quadrant earlier in the year after the run-in with Valko and Goradon. Sophie remembered that day all too well. Sophie was the only technology that was able to control the legendary Goradon. Valko had kidnapped the Series One Processor Hyper Intelligent Encryptor and attempted to use her to destroy S.P.D. However, Sophie freed herself and with the help of Cruger, made her way back to the Academy. There she was able to sequence the logarithms for D.B.D.S. Stage Two. This enabled the rangers to transform the base into the Delta Command Megazord and defeat the legendary Goradon.

"Not at all. You're just in time. Sky's going to be so surprised to see you Sophie," Boom answered.

Sophie gave Boom a warm smile. She had received an invitation to come to Sky's twenty-first birthday party. Nobody knew for sure if she was coming, but they know now.

5-5-5

In the lab, Kat had taken blood samples from everybody except for Bridge. Bridge had stated that one of the conditions to him agreeing to have blood drawn was that he'd have his blood drawn last. Maybe by then, his nerves would have calmed down or so Bridge thought. Bridge was just asnervous now as hewas when he agreed to have blood drawn in the first place. Actually, he was more nervous now if that was even possible. Bridge wondered if maybe it would've been better if he had his blood drawn first that way he'd have it done and over with. The setup that Bridge had dictated allowed him to think more about a sharp piece of metal being jabbed into his skin, so maybe that wasn't such a wise setup after all. However, that was a moot point now.

"Okay Bridge, everyone's had blood drawn now except for you," Kat said.

Kat began to roll the sleeve of Bridge's S.P.D. uniform up exposing his skin. She placed a blood pressure cuff on his upper arm and squeezed the pump causing the veins in Bridge's arm to bulge. Next, Kat wiped the spot she selected on Bridge's forearm with an alcohol swab. Then she dried it off with a gauze pad.

"You know you don't have to look Bridge," Kat said after she observed Bridge nervously watching Kat.

Bridge shook himself out of his curiosity. He had always been afraid of needles as long as he could remember. He never looked before because he was always too afraid. However, that didn't stop Bridge from wondering what actually happened when he was getting blood drawn. On second thought, he was shocked that he actually wanted to watch as he got blood drawn. Bridge wondered what he was thinking. Bridge picked out a spot on the wall that was facing away from Kat and he fixed his gaze on it. He swallowed a lump that was forming in this throat and took a deep breath.

"Okay. Just make it quick and let's get this over with," Bridge said. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the feeling of a sharp piece of metal breaking through his skin.

Kat stabilized the vein by holding it between her thumb and index finger. She inserted the needle with her other hand and drew Bridge's blood.

"Didn't you hear what I said Kat? I said let's get this over with!" Bridge exclaimed.

"I've already finished," Kat answered.

Bridge was shocked. He found it strange that he didn't even feel anything. Kat couldn't have already drawn blood. It almost seemed too good to be true. Bridge felt a dry gauze pad being pressed against where the needle was inserted in Bridge's forearm. That was the only sign that Kat had indeed drawn blood after all. "That wasn't so bad after all," Bridge thought to himself.

5-5-5

In the infirmary, Cruger was sitting with Sky. Cruger was so glad that Sky was awake. He hoped that Sky was no longer in danger anymore.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Cruger asked with a concerned tone of voice.

Sky was shocked that Cruger was so worried about him. He found it to be very touching. Sky thought about his answer for a second.

"Yeah. I feel fine thanks," Sky answered.

He was not one to milk an opportunity for all it was worth. While Sky could say that he still wasn't feeling well and have everyone cater to his every need, the truth was that Sky was an honest individual. Besides, it was clear from the worry in Cruger's voice that he was concerned for Sky's well being. It was probably safe to say that everyone else was concerned as well, so there really was no need to have them worry any more than they have to.

"I'm glad to hear that. Welcome back," Cruger said.

"Do you have any idea why this happened?" Sky asked.

This didn't make sense to Sky at all. He takes really good care of himself both on the inside and the outside. Sky eats healthy food, and exercises regularly (which is a must when you are a cadet at an S.P.D. Academy) so he was rarely ever sick. As a matter of fact, Sky only got sick once a year, but Sky was already sick this year and that was a long time ago. He wasn'tusually sick for that long either. His illness only lasted one or two days.

"I think that is why Kat wanted to take blood samples from the other rangers. The five of you don't have normal human DNA because of back when your parents worked on your morphersin 2001 and an experiment went wrong that altered their DNA. Kat has a hunch that if this disease is affecting you, it could affect them too. However, she is not sure what this disease is. There's nothing like this documented and besides that, there are a myriad of diseases out there that have yet to be discovered and given a name. We have no knowledge of what these diseases are or how they work," Cruger stated.

Sky nodded his head while his mind tried to process all of the information Cruger just presented it with. He certainly hoped that the other rangers didn't get what he had. Just then, Boom entered the infirmary.

"It's time," Boom said to Cruger.

"Do you feel well enough to take a walk with me Sky?" Cruger asked.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Ok, so hopefully this chapter sort of answered some of the questions that some of you had about the disease. If not, it'll be explained further in later chapters, so stay tuned. I was thinking of getting a beta-reader. I'm sorry I don't know if this is a requirement or not and I certainly have no idea how to go about getting one in the first place. Is anyone interested? In addition to helping me spot spelling and grammar mistakes, you'd get a sneak peek at my stories before I submit the actual chapters. With that being said, it'd probably be a good idea if you think I'm a good writer because I mean why subject yourself to reading stories if you don't even like them? Anyways, if you're interested, click on my profile to find my e-mail address and send me an e-mail. How many beta-readers can you have anyways? Geez I'm so clueless. I guess that's what happens when you're pretty new huh? I know I sound like a broken record, but thank you so, so, much for taking the time to review my story. Haha now it's time for me to study for my midterm tomorrow. I'll try to get an update up soon, but I can't promise anything. I'll conclude with the usual, please read & review and no flames please.