Friendship
If someone had told AC 4293 a few weeks ago that she would be best friends with a neutrophil and be regularly hanging out with him, she would have taken that cell straight to the liver for detox.
But life was strange and now there was hardly a day when she didn't cross paths with 4989, who would eagerly join her on deliveries whenever he could, something that never failed to attracted a lot of puzzled looks, which embarrassed her a little, but didn't really seem to bother him.
Still, she couldn't deny that her days were a lot more fun with him around. She actually couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so much or so often. Little by little he'd also begun to tell her stories from work, starting with the less gruesome ones, but always making sure to depict every battle as grand as possible, as if they were the epic tales of some great, classic saga and occasionally he would try to re-enact them as well. One time he'd even gotten some platelets to help him, letting them play the neutrophils, while he took the roll of the 'evil germ'.
It all had been quite fun and adorable, watching 4989 play with the platelets, until the one he'd carried on his shoulders had gotten a little too into character and hammered his little shovel too hard onto the neutrophil's head, when depicting the final blow. AC had spent the next ten minutes holding a cup with frozen glucose against the bump, while 4989 had tried his best to reassure a crying and very guilty feeling platelet that he was alright.
All in all, things certainly didn't get boring.
The only thing that worried AC were her friends, CT 2980 and AD 5022. Both of them would probably throw a tantrum if they were to see her being friends with a neutrophil, or rather several; after all, she met and talked with 4989's friends as well, if not as often. Given how they had reacted the first time seeing her just conversing with 4989, they'd probably be horrified. Thankfully, probably thanks to sheer luck, she hadn't encountered either of them, whenever she's been around neutrophils. Of course AC knew things couldn't stay like this forever, but for now she wasn't too keen on properly introducing everyone to each other. Somehow she had to slowly accustom her friends to the idea first. They had already noticed that something had changed and at least according to AD she was apparently smiling more nowadays.
Currently AC was leaving the lungs alone however, a box of fresh oxygen in arms, starting her new circulation. She'd made it about halfway down the pulmonary vein, when she was suddenly blinded, her vision covered by two, gloved hands.
"Guess who?" a merry voice asked her.
Warmth spread through her chest. "Oh, I wonder who it could be?" AC wondered aloud, chuckling a little. "You know there is that distinct scent of neutrophil soap."
"You narrowed it down to only a few thousand possible cells," came the teasing reply.
"Perhaps, but I also know your voice, 4989."
The hands were pulled back and she turned around. "The only fault in an otherwise flawless plan," the fluffy haired neutrophil lamented with feigned disappointment, but was ultimately unable to hide a playful smirk.
"So, how have you been?" There was something that looked like an almost healed cut along his left cheek, but otherwise he looked just as lively as always. Good.
He shrugged. "You know, just the usual pathogens straying into the body. Nothing we couldn't handle. You?"
AC lifted her box. "Busy as usual; right now I have to go to the left kidney."
This made his eyes light up. "Mind if I join you? I'm not on a set patrol, so I'm free to go anywhere at my own discretion."
"I'd love that." Suddenly the erythrocyte got an idea; it was right up his alley. "Hey, ever rode down the aorta?" she asked him excited.
Curiously he inclined his head, looking at her quizzically. "Rode?"
Smiling AC nodded towards the heart. "Come; it'll be fun."
A few minutes later AC was standing on the cart, rushing down the aorta, but where her oxygen should have been 4989 sat, box secure in his arms. Somehow she managed to navigate them safely between the other speeding carts, though she needed to keep a hand on her beret to prevent it from flying away, eyes narrowed due to the biting airstream. Still, both of them were yelling and laughing loudly, like two children on their first rollercoaster-ride. And this time AC didn't care if anyone looked, she was far too preoccupied and having way too much fun, and apparently so was he. Today started out great.
The next time AC was on a nutrients delivery alongside one of her friends, she got a reminder as to why she'd neglected to tell her them about 4989. As they walked along one of the body's many veins, the two erythrocytes came across a pair of neutrophils, currently disposing of a few germs, Pneumococci, fresh kills by the look of it. Their enzyme spray was doing its work, dissolving the violet bacteria, creating frizzling sounds and an acidic scent AC had become rather familiar with.
"That's revolting," CT 2980 remarked, looking quite disgusted at the half melted bodies as they passed by.
"Has to be done," AC merely replied. It wasn't like she enjoyed the sight; it simply just didn't bother her anymore. Frankly when you met a friend and his mates covered in red every other day, there wasn't much of choice. At least cytoplasm washed off easily.
Her friend frowned. "They could at least do it someplace else, not here on the main road for everyone to see," she noted, not entirely unreasonably. Still, the suggestion wasn't exactly practical.
"If you want to help them carry half a dozen germs around just to dissolve them, go head. I mean it's a lot more viable to do it right where they made the kill." They worked hard enough as it was; she'd seen them injured, exhausted from battle and even gotten a glimpse at a scar or two.
"Point taken." Suddenly she looked curiously at AC. "Since when doesn't this kind of thing disturb you anymore?"
Oh; how to explain that? "I guess after having been saved by a neutrophil more than once now, I just don't mind it so much anymore," the auburn haired erythrocyte told her with an innocent smile, hoping it was a convincing enough explanation.
Thankfully CT seemed to buy it, yet nonetheless regarded her friend with a concerned look. "You really have to be more careful, you know."
AC played with one of the messy strands framing her face. "It's not like I want these things to happen to me."
Playfully CT tugged at her friend's plait. "In any case, cut it out. We don't need new habits like that," she joked with an encouraging smile, while AC freed her plait from her friend's lose grasp; she'd never liked people touching her hair.
"I know; I'll try to do better," the auburn haired erythrocyte promised. Admittedly since the E. coli incident she hadn't actually encountered any germs, only ever seen the aftermaths, so that was something.
Her friend appeared satisfied with her responds. "Good; don't want one of those creepy leucocytes winnow you, because you got injured or something."
AC suppressed a sigh. Everyone knew that red blood cells too damaged or too old were removed from circulation, usually in the spleen. By now however AC had been through the regular check-ups several times and never had one of the macrophages even considered retiring her. Sure, the first few times after the parasite invasion she had been terrified, not knowing how the phagocytes would react to her scar, but by now she knew that she was perfectly functional.
That 4989 was so protective and caring towards her had only increased her confidence. By now she probably didn't even need to wear the bracelet anymore, but she liked it; it had been such a wonderfully thoughtful gift and AC had no intention of taking it off for that reason alone. No, she wasn't afraid of the phagocytes anymore, despite their almost manic drive to kill, whenever a pathogen was near. They weren't cruel or monstrous, not towards those they had sworn to protect, even with their lives, as she herself had witnessed.
But how could she make her friends see that, without having them go through everything she herself had? How change such a deeply ingrained image, when every time they took notice of a neutrophil he was usually bloodied, with a murderous glare in his eyes, which even AC still found unsettling, while screaming one of their battle cries?
Perhaps she could tell them a bit of what she got up to with 4989, without disclosing that he was a neutrophil? If she got them to develop a positive imagine of him, maybe the eventual revelation would be met with more acceptance. She had to try something. Sooner or later they would find out about 4989 and his friends, one way or another.
...
Meanwhile in a marginating pool 4989 was taking a break from his last patrol, high above the red blood cells travelling along the artery below, a still steaming tea next to him. With his back resting comfortably against the wall, feet up on a large buttress supporting the roof, he let his mind wander off. The past few weeks had been great. When he had first thought about befriending erythrocytes, improving the image of white blood cells and more specifically approach AC 4293, he'd never expected things to turn out quite like this. Not that he was disappointed, at least concerning the latter, on the contrary.
Ever since the battle against the E. coli, their relationship had made a dramatic leap forward. It seemed after every previous encounter had created cracks, on that day the ice had finally broken. Now when he approached her on the streets, AC greeted him with a warm smile, with no trace the apprehension that used to be ever present, talking with him as she would with any other friend. Even when he was still bloodied from battle, she didn't shy away, though that development had taken a bit more time. The first few times he'd seen her struggle to keep her face straight, but it seemed that she was now almost as used to it as AE 3803.
In fact, whenever they met shortly after an engagement she would first ask him about his wellbeing and he could see her swiftly checking him for injuries. 4989 just couldn't put into words how happy that made him. She actually cared, even worried for him, though perhaps given what had happened to her friend FP 1564 not that long ago, it was all too understandable.
Still, when she'd first hugged him on the battlefield after the E. coli had been dealt with, told him that she considered him a friend he'd been so elated. They had spent the rest of the day together, her company both welcomed and comforting. After such a day, after so much loss, simply talking with her had been helped him immensely. Now he understood even better why 1146 enjoyed his time with AE 3803 so much.
Perhaps it had something to do with their rather peaceful occupation, but there was a light-heartedness to these erythrocytes that was often difficult to find with most immune-cells, especially with AE 3803, who he had rarely ever seen without a smile.
Even AC, despite what she'd gone through since the Malaria-invasion and how she'd been affected by everything, was at least still quick to smile and laugh again, as well as empathetic to a fault. 4989 had also learned that she had a curious mind, asking about regions of the body she never or rarely got to see, or how leucocytes worked with each other and interacted when there wasn't an enemy to repel. Just the gory details weren't exactly her thing and were thus rarely addressed. Who knew, maybe in the future.
In turn she had also truly opened up to him. Among others he'd learned of her friends, what they were like and her hope to introduce him one day. He now knew of her wish to see the REM-sleep unfold in the brain and her weakness for several sweets, among them fresh buns from a shop at the nasal cavities, something he all too well understood; they were delicious. Many of the others he planned to try out, when he got the chance.
She also got along very well with the other three, even though AC still seemed unsure as to where she should look when speaking with 2626; the lack of visible eyes amusingly seemed to throw her off a little.
All in all, despite him not having really gotten closer to easing relations between immune cells and none-immune cells, 4989 looked back happily at these past few weeks and looked forward to what the next few would bring.
A few days later AC found herself walking through the venules near the spine, carrying a heavy box of CO2 she'd just received from a tissue cell. There was very little traffic between the high apartment buildings at the moment, but she could hear chatter from some of the balconies, even music from an open window somewhere above. It was really inviting just to stay around for a while and listen, before she would head further to the busy vein just a few more blocks away, but it was then that she picked up on someone close by already whistling along to the tune.
Curiously AC headed further down the road and looked around the next corner. Uphill on the street, at the very top of the elevation she spotted a cell dressed in white, crouching, though from this angle the erythrocyte couldn't quite see why. Had he just killed a bacterium?
In that moment he stood up and AC's haemoglobin jumped, when she discovered it was none other than 4989.
Delighted the auburn haired erythrocyte jogged uphill to greet him, seeing him turn as he noticed he was being approached, smiling when he recognized her. "AC!" he greeted her enthusiastically, waving, clearly just as happy to see her.
"Hi, 4989." She reached the top and saw that curiously he was standing next to an empty erythrocyte delivery cart. "What are you doing here?"
"Seeing how fast I can get down this road," the neutrophil simply replied, pointing down the empty street.
AC raised an eyebrow. "Why do I get the feeling you're looking into the offensive applications of our delivery carts." She had already borne witness to some of his more improvised weapons. There were hits and misses, and this looked like the latter.
Her questioning expression seemed to surprise him a little. "What? Hunting down bacteria can be a hassle, no one wants them to escape, plus with the right velocity it might be possible to just run them straight over," 4989 explained excitedly.
She hated to do this. "Yeah, I'm going to have to step in here."
"Huh?"
"You just can't do that."
Now he really did seem confused. "Why not? How is it different from what we did in the aorta?"
"Because the aorta is a vessel designed for blood to flow through at high speed and under great pressure. In a vessel like this you're only going to cause damage, might hit an innocent bystander. Also we didn't run over any bacteria," AC told him, feeling a little guilty, given that she had inspired this particular idea and was now crushing it. But she just had to dissuade him from doing something so risky. Not to mention that these carts were notoriously difficult to steer, if you intended to do anything else but go straight forward.
He looked at her pleadingly with big, round eyes, hands clasped. Oh, why did it have to look so cute? "At least a test run, just to see if it could work?" No, she had to stay strong.
AC put her box aside and stepped in front of the cart, arms akimbo. "If you want to run me over."
For a moment he stared at her stunned, but then his eyes narrowed, while his mouth turned into a thin line. "You don't play fair."
The erythrocyte grinned triumphantly. "Then I win?" But seeing how disappointed he was, she gave him an encouraging smile. "Look, if it's an immediate emergency, grab one and drive it straight into a germ's face for all I care, but we're not making it a standard, alright?"
4989 sighed defeated. "Fine."
AC stepped closer and placed a hand on his chest, her voice soft as she spoke to him. "Hey, I don't want to hear stories one day about how a crazy neutrophil crashed into some poor cell's living room."
Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow questioningly. "Crazy?"
"Eccentric?" AC offered in return.
He paused, pondering this for a moment. "I'll concede to that."
This made her chuckle and she could see him smile again. Suddenly she had an idea. "How about this; there are some regions in different bones, which are no longer producing new blood cells. They have undergone a bit of reconstruction, but they are rather low-traffic areas."
His eyes lit up, his smile broadening. "You think I could try it out there?" 4989 asked hopefully.
"Under the supervision of a more experienced driver, of course." AC gave him a meaningful wink. "Deal?"
He grinned. "Deal."
Satisfied with having resolved the situation, AC picked up the CO2 again. "Good; I'll be taking this then, thank you." And put said box on the cart.
"Don't you trust me?" 4989 asked, clearly only acting a little insulted, head tilted sideways, once more looking at her with big, puppy eyes.
It was still adorable, but he'd already used it today, therefore all she gave him a knowing smile. "Oh, I trust you…to get up to some mischief."
"Hey!"
AC gave him a rather piercing look, even though she kept smiling. "Am I wrong?"
Sheepishly he looked to the sky, tapping his index fingers against each other. "…not necessarily," he sheepishly admitted, making her chuckle.
She was however interrupted by a voice from his transceiver. "U-4989, you hear me?"
Quickly he grabbed the device, putting on a much more serious expression. "Loud and clear 2626. Got something?"
"Trouble at the paranasal sinuses. Can you get up here?"
"On my way." 4989 gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry, gotta run."
AC merely shrugged; it couldn't be helped. "Don't worry, just be careful alright?"
He smiled again. "Promise! See ya!"
"Good luck!" the erythrocyte shouted after him as he ran off down the hill, and soon he was out of view. Time for her to get back to work as well.
…
Some time later AC left the heart and finally reached the lungs. She made her way through the crowd of fellow red blood cells, before entering the network of capillaries spanning the alveoli, exchanging her CO2 for a new box of oxygen. Curious she looked at the new address; seems like she'd be visiting a cell of the cheek muscles. A good excuse to take a little detour and visit the nasal cavities again.
Satisfied with her new destination, AC left the little room where she'd exchanged gases and headed for the elevators. Luckily there was currently on this floor, another erythrocyte entering it. "Hold the lift!" she shouted and started running.
"Sure," came the reply and a red-haired erythrocytes put her hand against the elevator door, stopping it from closing.
Hurrying up AC made it, practically jumping inside. "Thanks."
"No problem," the other red blood cell chirped, a friendly smile on her lips. She was maybe half a head shorter than AC and had almost chin-long, red hair, with a single curl standing up.
"AE 3803?" She looked at the beret and indeed, there was her number.
"Yeah?"
AC smiled. "Sorry, you probably don't remember, but I was one of the other red bloods cells who got a bracelet from AB 2934." The word 'parasite' had been on the tip of her tongue for a moment, but that particular term just made her skin crawl.
Meanwhile AE's eyes widened. "Oh!" she exclaimed and quickly apologized. "I'm so sorry I didn't recognise you."
The auburn haired erythrocyte shook her head. "It's alright; that was weeks ago and it's not like we had a chance to talk back then." If it hadn't been for that distinct hair curl, and having seen her around U-1146 that one time, she probably wouldn't have recognized AE either. "Glad you recovered."
The other erythrocyte smiled again. "Thanks, you too. I guess you got found quickly as well?"
"Not exactly," AC admitted, just as the elevator's door finally closed.
"Huh?"
The auburn-haired cell took a deep breath. "Well, I was close to the stomach when I came across a commotion in the blood vessel. I checked what was going on and saw AB 2934 on the ground, unconscious…perhaps she was already dead." It was an image she would never be able to forget. "I was shocked, paralysed actually, and then shortly after two neutrophils and a NK cell showed up. They examined 2934's body, but had no idea what was going on…until her bracelet moved. They killed each parasite before anyone else could get infected, but it took me a while to snap out of my state of shock, knowing I had the same thing on my wrist. I was desperate and begged for their help. I had never been so afraid before in my life," she confessed. "They teach you how to run from bacteria, but never prepare you for stuff like that."
"That's when you met U-4989?" AE carefully inquired
AC smiled and nodded. "Yes; he immediately tried to get it off me and when the NK-cell suggested to…eliminate me, he and 1146 stepped between us without hesitation. They convinced her to at least try to cut it off. That's how we found out it could be removed." Afterwards 4989 had brought her to the bone marrow for recovery, before joining the search for the Plasmodium falciparum. It still had taken her far too long to do what she should have done that day. Thank him. Frankly now, she felt silly for originally having been so afraid of him.
"And then you told 1146 about me," AE 3803 concluded, flushing a little.
"He asked me who else got one, and there were only two others I knew off." Curiously she looked at the redhead. "Never would have expected his reaction though."
To her amusement, AE's cheeks turned a darker shade of red. "Do you know if the other one made it too?" she quickly asked.
"RD was how her designation began I think," AC thought aloud. "To be honest I don't know; I haven't seen her since. But given how many of us there are that doesn't necessarily mean anything."
AE 3803 nodded, but looked a little worried. "True. I hope she made it though."
"Yeah." AC then shook her head. "Wow that was a bit dark. Let me try this again." With a smile she bowed her head to her fellow erythrocyte. "Hi, I'm AC 4293; nice to meet you."
The redhead giggled and bowed as well. "Hi, AE 3803…but you already knew that."
The elevator door opened again and together the two erythrocytes exited into one of the halls where several of the lung's venules and capillaries flowed into, joining together into one vessel. The vein that started here would later merge with others, until all were united into the large pulmonary vein, leading the blood back into the heart.
As they crossed the hall, AC picked up their conversation again. "Hey, can I ask you something?" Actually there were a few things she was curious about.
"Sure."
"4989 told me you and U-1146 are close, not just that you're together, but that you've been friends pretty much ever since you've started working in the blood vessels."
Once again the other erythrocyte suddenly turned bright red. "You could say that," she admitted somewhat evasively.
Still, AC pressed on. "May I ask how your friends reacted? You know, the other erythrocytes." If she'd gone through the same situation AC now found herself in, maybe she could help. She would appreciate any advice really.
"Frankly, I never really had many friends," AE told her apologetically, scratching her cheek with a finger. "I had my senpai, but most others tended to make fun of me for making mistakes, but mostly for getting lost. Those I did occasionally speak with were usually confused that I spend so much time around a neutrophil." She looked at the auburn haired erythrocyte curiously, but also with a bit of concern. "Why? Did your friends say something?"
AC tugged at some of the strands framing her face. "Well, a few of them are shall we say…a little prejudiced."
"And they don't like you being friends with 4989?"
"As of now they don't know," AC admitted, feeling a little abashed. "I've been wondering how to tell them. I mean it would be awkward if they just saw me together with 4989." And she was not keen on the conversation that would follow.
"My senpai actually encouraged me to be honest with 1146," the redhead confessed. "Sure, she found it strange, still does, but she was never…against it. Maybe because she knew how often he's saved me, or helped me out when I was lost."
"Considering how often 4989 has been there for me, I wish I could make them see that they are not terrible people." She sighed. "4989, 1146, 2626, 2048; they've all been so kind, but my friends have that bloodthirsty image of leucocytes that just seems to get reinforced every time they see one of them on the job."
"Sorry I couldn't help," AE apologized.
Quickly AC shook her head, though admittedly feeling just a little disappointed. "Don't worry," she told her and put on a genuine smile. "But it's nice to finally talk with someone who too doesn't think their just killers." Someone else who knew how they really were.
AE beamed happily at that. "Likewise."
"Let me through!"
Many of the erythrocytes leaped aside as 4989 rushed down the road in hot pursuit. Through a small opening in the sinuses several germs had gotten into the body proper and while most of the pathogenic bacteria had been taken care of, some other bacteria, which commonly were merely commensals, had also made it inside where they certainly did not belong; here they would only cause damage.
Commensalism
A commensal is a life from that closely interacts and benefits from another, but without harming it like a parasite, or having the other life form benefit in return like in a mutualistic relationship. An example would be the countless bacteria living on the surfaces of our bodies, like the skin, which are usually harmless, and but have among them facultative pathogenic/opportunistic species.
4989 was following one such germ, Staphylococcus epidermidis, her fear of him only spurring her on. He was gaining on her however several minutes into his pursuit, her beige body sticking out between the red blood cells, the surface of her membrane shimmering due to the sticky biofilm, and she too realized that. In her desperation she suddenly grabbed one of the surrounding erythrocytes, the rest of them dispersing, screaming.
"Ah!"
"No!" another one called out, but did not dare approach, as the bacterium pulled the female red blood cell towards herself, using her as a shield. The Staph had her back turned towards a building's outer wall, making sure she could not be flanked. Her claws were against the black haired erythrocyte's throat.
4989's pupils shrunk, the sight sparking disgust and fury within him. "You have some nerve," he snarled, baring his teeth, blade lifted to strike.
"Stay back! Or I'll haemolyse this erythrocyte!" The bacterium dug her dark claws a little into the membrane of her hostage, not yet breaking it though. The erythrocyte whimpered fearfully, closing her eyes, a tear now running from one of them across her cheek.
"And then what?" 4989 barked back. "What will you do without a hostage?"
The Staphylococcus hesitated for a moment, clearly not having thought that far ahead. Meanwhile the neutrophil considered his options; attack the germ directly would only endanger the red blood cell, likely mean her death, something he wouldn't risk unless there was no other way. Somehow he had to force the germ to release her. Suddenly the bacterium's swaying tail caught his eye.
Finally the Staph had come up with a retort. "Why don't I keep killing them?" Her eyes narrowed. "Though I suppose you won't care as long as you get to kill me, neutrophil. I'm right, aren't I?" And her claws dug a little deeper into his hostage's throat, drops of red emerging.
With his free hand 4989 slowly reached for his throwing knives. "Don't you dare!"
"Then leave me be!" she demanded. "I will not be killed today."
"Then you should have stayed outside," 4989 snapped back and with a swift move of the wrist released one of his knives.
The small blade embedded itself deeply into the bacterium's tail, pinning it to the wall, the beige creature responding with a cry of pain. And a loosening of her grip.
Without a moment of hesitation, 4989 dashed forth. He took hold of one of the erythrocyte's arms and pulled her close against his chest. His other arm went over the dark haired cell's head, knife in hand, straight towards the germ's throat.
The pain hadn't distracted it for long though and it managed to block the attack, using both its clawed hands. Quickly 4989 pushed the erythrocyte behind him and drew a second knife. This time it wasn't fast enough. His blade cut open the Staph's abdomen and then slashed upward across the torso, cutting it open, finishing the kill. Bright red cytoplasm sprayed forth from the massive injury, covering the neutrophil's front completely, head to toe.
The Staphylococcus collapsed, utterly drained as it seemed and 4989 took a deep breath to calm himself down, putting his blades away again. With a hand he wiped across his face, trying to get some of the prokaryotic 'blood' off, noticing that the short strands of hair surrounding it, peeking out from under his cap, were soaked as well.
Finally he turned around to check on the red blood cell's condition.
She was cowering on the ground behind him and now that he got a better look at her, 4989 recognized her. His eyes darted to her beret ; CT 2980. He'd just saved one of AC's childhood friends.
"Are you alright, miss?" the fluffy haired neutrophil asked carefully due to her state of shock, kneeling down in front of her.
His voice seemed to jolt her back into reality. "Ah!" She leaned back away from him, her voice shaky as she spoke. "Yes, yes! I'm perfectly fine." Her eyes were still filled with horror. But they were not looking at the germ; she was staring wide-eyed straight at him.
"CT! Are you hurt?" Another red blood cell, the one who had cried out earlier rushed to her side. AD 5022 according to the little round tag.
"Just a scratch I think." CT 2980 replied weakly as her friend helped her back to her feet.
"Might I…" 4989 carefully began.
"We're fine!" The male erythrocyte hastily insisted, pulling his friend closer as they both stepped back. He even covered his friend's wound with a hand.
4989 actually flinched at that. Everyone knew that erythrocytes that got hurt too badly were removed from circulation; did they really think he would do that to her because of some scratches at her throat? Looking at their fearful faces he didn't need to ask.
Hurt he could only watch as the two erythrocytes all but fled back into the blood stream, disappearing into the crowd. 4989 looked around to the audience battles usually attracted. Commonly he didn't pay much attention to them, mostly because he tended to be occupied with other things, but now he took his time. Fear, disgust, uneasiness, only to name a few; it was lysosome-wrenching to take them all in. The cells around him, mostly other erythrocytes noticed that they had his attention and quickly dispersed again, hurrying along, leaving 4989 still kneeling there next to his kill, feeling strangely hollow.
AC 4293 and AE 3803 were still on their way towards the pulmonary vein and continued to chat, getting to know each other a little better. AC got the impression that while a bit scatty at times, at least from what AE herself told her, the redhead was a very kind-hearted and upbeat cell. Not to mention incredibly passionate about her job; despite mentioning her short comings so often, there was a determination that was actually quite admirable. AC of course liked her job, but she couldn't deny that deliveries all day could occasionally be rather boring…unless 4989 was around.
"Hey, what do you think about getting a bite to eat before starting with the circulation proper?" the auburn haired suggested. "I know a vendor in the pulmonary vein, who makes excellent daifuku."
"Oh, sounds great." Erythrocytes very rarely said no to any kind of confection; every single one of them was a sweet tooth, as glucose was their only source of energy.
Apparently AE 3803 wanted to say something else, but both erythrocytes stopped, when they heard some commotion behind them. "What's going on there?" AC wondered aloud and frowned.
Suddenly they heard shouting, the crowd of red blood cells hastily parted and… "Get down!" The redhead quickly threw herself at AC getting her out of harm's way, before something leaped over them, its claws missing them by mere inches. Whatever it wsimply ignored them and continued to run.
"Thanks AE." AC gasped, suddenly finding herself sitting on the ground, next to the shorter erythrocyte.
"No problem; this kinda happens all the time" came the meek reply, accompanied by a small smile. "What was that though?"
In all likelihood it had been a pathogen from outside, these were the lungs after all, but which one? Looking after it, AC caught sight of a spider-like creature covered in white fur with pink patterns.
Moraxella catarrhalis
Moraxella cartarralis, formerly known as Branhamella and/or Neisseria catarrhalis is a diplococcic bacterium and lives commensalistic as part the mucosal flora of the human upper respiratory tract. As a facultative pathogenic bacterium it can cause sinusitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, Otitis media among others if displaced.
"No idea," AE confessed as the two got back on their feet. "But surely there has to be a white blood cell around to deal with it."
In that moment a tall cell emerged from the crowd and stepped into the fleeing bacterium's path. Swiftly the cell brought down what appeared to be a pole arm of sorts, the top crushing down on the germ's back with great ferocity. And that was all it took. The bacterium crumbled and lay motionless at the immune cell's feet.
It appeared to be a macrophage, yet her dress wasn't quite as wide and was of a pale blue colour, while there was a dust mask currently hanging around her neck. Her weapon was a bit strange looking, a pole-arm that looked like a mix between a maul and a broom. Despite the small diameter of the hammerhead, or maybe because of that, it had carved a deep hole into the germ's back. "My, my; that one almost got away there."
Alveolar macrophages
A specialized type of macrophages found in the pulmonary alveoli, responsible for the removal of not only microorganisms such as invading bacteria, but also that of dead particles such as dust, which is why they are also known as 'dust cells'. They can also release lysosomes and antimicrobial peptides to deal with invaders, as well as call in circulating white blood cells such as neutrophils for support and cause an inflammatory response.
Calmly, unbothered by her now bloodied dress, she took out her transceiver. "Here is Alveolar Macrophage. The escaping bacterium has been neutralized and the route to the heart has been secured." She chirped merrily.
It was strange. Everyone seemed to fear neutrophils and most lymphocytes, but for some reason no one seemed to be too disturbed by the macrophages, who always smiled, even when they killed. It truly puzzled AC now that she thought about it; yeah, neutrophils looked intense, but macrophages seemed to enjoy it. Was it maybe because erythrocytes were raised in part by macrophages, so such fears never developed?
Her train of thoughts was however soon interrupted, when she heard a familiar voice behind her and AE 3803 hastily jumped to her feet. "Sekkekkyū!" Getting up herself, AC turned around and spotted U-1146 making his way through the crowd, or more accurately, dividing it with his bloodied appearance alone. He'd probably been involved in the same battle that spider-like germ had tried to escape from, given the direction he was coming from.
AE's cheeks flushed red and excitedly she waved at him. "Hakkekkyū-san!"
The neutrophil reached them and seeing that the threat had been dealt with, he put his knife away. "Sekkekkyū, are you alright?" Worriedly he examined AE for any injuries, though refrained from touching her with his red, dripping gloves.
"I'm fine, not even a scratch," the redhead quickly assured him, putting on a warm smile.
"What about you, AC 4293?" he asked, addressing the auburn haired erythrocyte.
"Oh, me? Same, thank you for asking."
Apparently satisfied with her answer 1146 turned back to AE 3803. As they started to talk with each other, AE beaming, offering him a tissue to at the very least clean up his face, 1146 looking at her with a soft, affectionate smile, AC couldn't help but think that 4989 had been right; they were cute together. Romantic relationships were a rare thing among cells, and gestures of affection were often not exchanged in plain view, but that an erythrocyte and a neutrophil had somehow found together surely had to be unique. And one could plainly see the affection the two had for each other.
And suddenly AC felt misplaced; maybe it would be best to leave those two alone, she really was just a third wheel here. "Well I better get going," she excused herself, drawing the two's attention. "It was nice meeting you, AE 3803."
The redhead nodded happily. "You too, AC 4293. Have a good day," she wished her brightly, waving goodbye
"You two as well." AC replied, smiling back and picked up her box. "Bye!" Hopefully there would be a next time.
He'd really screwed up, hadn't he? So much for winning hearts and minds.
4989 was crouching next to the slain Staphylococcus and reached for his enzyme spray. He hesitated for a moment, fingers lingering on the pocket's clasp, but eventually he took it out nonetheless. After terrifying those two erythrocytes, and after seeing all those other red blood cells, he'd kind of lost his appetite. Better just dissolve it.
AC had mentioned that her friends were like most a little fearful towards leucocytes, but he never would have expected such a reaction from the two of them. Did he really look that scary, when he fought? They'd been as frightened of him as they'd been of that germ; the memory of that image alone was enough to give him a painfully tight feeling in his chest. His duty was to protect, they had to know that...right?
Some of the currently passing erythrocytes briefly stopped to watch for a moment as he began to dissolve the bacterium. He could hear them, despite the lowered voices, just like countless times before. Only that today he couldn't help but actually pay attention.
"Ugh, that's so disgusting."
"Look at all that cytoplasm. Brutal."
"What do you expect; it's a white blood cell after all. They are merciless."
"So creepy."
No he didn't hear that. Any of that.
He bit his lower lip, trying to focus on his task at hand and blank everything else out. Just dissolve the germs as usual. This kind of talk had never bothered him all that much before, it shouldn't now…even if he knew now that it didn't have to be this way.
"Let's give him a wide berth. You never know with them, maybe he'll lash out."
"Yeah, I've seen them in battle once, it's insane. They are insane."
"Why can't they stay in the lymphatic system too, like the lymphocytes? It's irresponsible to have killers like them around normal blood cells."
Freaks, abnormalities, killers, assassins; he had all this before. Had he been an idiot to think that perhaps he could have changed that attitude? Their job was to dispose of all threats…violently. He couldn't change that. That was how things were.
"4989!"
That voice jolted him out of his dark thoughts.
AC. She sounded so joyful.
4989 looked up as he got back to his feet and saw her jogging towards him, a smile on her lips and a box of oxygen in her arms, that plait of hers swaying left and right with each step. Yet all he could do was to stare blankly at the erythrocyte as she put her box aside. "You're okay?" She tugged at one of the bloody strands of hair, getting it away from his eye. "That prokaryotic cytoplasm really does go everywhere, huh?" AC asked with a chuckled. There wasn't even a hint of disgust, neither in her voice nor her expression.
Now he really wanted to cry, his lower lip trembled.
But he didn't. Somehow. Instead he quickly wrapped his arms around her; he was so glad she was here. He just really needed to hold her right now.
While he occasionally liked to greet her with a hug, this time he appeared to have taken her by surprise. "Hey, you're alright Hachikyu-kun?" She sounded confused; maybe because he hadn't actually said anything yet, which was admittedly unusual.
He took a deep breath and gently squeezed her a little tighter for a moment before releasing her from his embrace. Quickly he readjusted his cap, trying to sneakily wipe away a few treacherous tears from his eyes without her noticing. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just happy to see you." And he really was right now and so indescribably grateful. Then he picked up on something. "Hachikyu?" He was a bit puzzled that she'd only used his last two digits.
"Just trying something out; my friends and I would always shorten our names, in part for convenience," she told him. "I can go back to '4989', if you don't like it."
Quickly the fluffy haired neutrophil shook his head. "No, no; it's just I never had someone call me that before," he explained and mustered a smile. "I like it." It certainly felt more personal.
The auburn haired erythrocyte seemed content with this and smiled back. "Good. Oh, and you owe me a tea."
For a moment he was baffled. "Huh?" What had he missed?
AC didn't answer, but merely pointed at her now bloodied shirt, giving him a meaningful, yet somewhat amused look. Oops.
4989 laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Hehe; third time's the charm?" He really needed to watch that; thankfully she was very forgiving.
"Maybe I should ask an intestinal cell for an apron next time I'm down there," the auburn haired erythrocyte mused aloud, checking the rest of her clothing. Even though it wasn't too noticeable on the red jacket, one could still see where his arms had been when he'd hugged her.
His cheeks warmed. "Sorry."
But AC only chuckled and tapped his nose with one of her fingers, still smiling softly at him. "Get me a warm tea afterwards and we're fine." Right now he'd get her anything she wanted.
