Author's Note: I'm so sorry it took so long. I had a serious case of writer's block and started a new job, aside from life just being busy sometimes. One more chapter to go, which I hope to finish in a more timely fashion.
Mycosis
Part 1
Things had quickly gone back to normal after 4989's return, though during the first few days the neutrophil had still been comparatively subdued, tiring easily even when they were just walking. AC had been very understanding, the image of him covered in bandages still fresh in her memory, so the two had spent most of their time together just sitting idle and talking.
Today he'd brought her to a calm little place in the large intestine, more specifically one of its countless crypts, a place red blood cells admittedly shouldn't be as they were currently just outside the blood vessel.
Crypts of Lieberkühn
Tubular pits, further increasing the surface area of the intestine for optimal nutrient absorption as well as serving as glands for secretion of enzymes.
This however was one of the best places to encounter good bacteria. The colon harboured the majority of them, vital little and sometimes large helpers the body could not properly function without.
Along what AC could best describe as a coastline piers had been built by the local cells of the intestinal wall, who maintained the epithelium and oversaw the absorption of nutrients as well as water, which reached far into the waters. The two circulating cell had made themselves comfortable on one of those piers, with more than a dozen of the small oval lactic acid bacteria surrounding them, partially because 4989 had brought biscuits with him. Where he'd gotten them from remained a mystery to her, as he'd only replied with a cheeky "trade secret".
AC had dropped the subject with a shrug and she surely wasn't going to complain about the results. One of the little black and white germs was currently sitting in her hands cooing as she petted it. "They're adorable. How did you learn of this place?"
"Well, that day U-1146 was escorting a normal cell through the entire gastrointestinal tract, helping him return some of these stray lactic acid bacteria," 4989 explained, giving away another biscuit, which was immediately fought over by several tiny flippers.
"Did you join them on their little tour?"
He shook his head. "Nah, I was helping with a clean-up at the stomach, until I got a call about some obligate pathogenic bacteria here in the large intestine. I teamed up with a few others and when we arrived at the scene it turned out it was the very cell 1146 had accompanied we got to save."
"Where was 1146?"
"Dealing with yet another threat…oh, I forgot to mention the flu virus that had gotten in as well and Dendritic Cell activating everyone even remotely close to the intestine." He sighed. "Damn that was one busy day."
A grin spread across the erythrocyte's lips. "Activated, huh?"
She saw his eyes widen before he turned to her. "Don't get any ideas; I ate the picture just to be safe."
AC shrugged. "I'm sure Dendritic Cell has a copy."
"Please don't ask him for it," he begged her.
Unfortunately for him that only made her more curious, which frankly he should have predicted. "Why? What was on it?"
His cheeks turned a pale pink. "Oh, you know, something embarrassing from my childhood," 4989 said.
"I was guessing that much," she laughed amused. "Come on; how about some details?"
"Weren't we talking about cute little bacteria?" the neutrophil noted evasively, giving her a pleading look.
"Alright. So you rescued the cell."
"Yes." His body visibly relaxed and his smile returned. "Well, we were still outnumbered, as some opportunistic bacteria had joined the enemy's ranks, and just as the real fight was about to start, suddenly a large force of good bacteria literally crashed in through a wall. Turned out one of the little guys the cell had brought with him had escaped and alerted his friends." He gave the little ones sitting by his side the last biscuits they'd been eyeing all this time. "They really helped us out that day. Ever since I've been coming here once in a while, see how they are doing."
"Oh, you brave little guys saved our neutrophils," the auburn haired erythrocyte praised the small bacterium in her hands, tickling it affectionately.
"Assisted," 4989 insisted.
Giggling, AC nudged him gently with her elbow. "Just teasing."
For a while to two sat in silence, watching and petting the bacteria, enjoying the moment of peace and quiet. Things after all could drastically change within moments, especially here. But today they were lucky and his receptor stayed down.
"So about those driving lessons…"
AC shook her head, but with a smile on her lips. "Still haven't gotten those out of your head I see."
"Well, there is a tiny bit of room for improvement," he admitted, quite aware that his usual method of stopping with the cart involved crashing into something. "I mean should we really risk having me practise on my own?" the neutrophil jokingly added.
"Nyu, nyu," the bacterium in AC's hands chirped.
The neutrophil gave her the biggest grin. "See, he agrees."
"Nyuuu!"
"I must say he is quite persuasive," she conceded.
"I know…hey!" 4989 exclaimed with feigned indignation.
AC chuckled at his reaction. "I'll think about it, okay?" she promised. "In any case we should wait until you've made a full recovery. No offense, but you're already quite accident-prone with the cart as it is."
The neutrophil twisted his mouth, but couldn't exactly argue with her assessment. "Fair enough."
It was in that moment that several larger bacteria broke through to the surface of the intestinal waters. The penguin-like prokaryotes jumped up, only to crash back into the waves, while a bunch of smaller bacteria rode the billows they created. Suddenly one leaped close to the coastline, its shadow touching the pier.
"Watch out!"
Before AC could react, 4989 had thrown himself at her, just as the billow hit them. Bracing herself the erythrocyte closed her eyes, curling into a ball, haemoglobin twisting in fear. The wound at the foot, FP getting washed out of the body...
The images flashed before her eyes, however his time there was an arm around her, holding her tightly and the wave subsided just as quickly as it had come.
"You're okay?" she heard 4989 ask, feeling him let go of her.
AC spat out some water as she rubbed her eyes with one of her hands. "I think we need more than a towel," she eventually noted between two coughs, hoping he wouldn't notice her trembling or at least attribute it to the cold and she was feeling cool, being completely drenched.
Apparently it worked, as 4989 smiled and pulled her back on her feet, rubbing her arms in an effort to warm her up. "Come, there's a wash station a few blood vessels from here."
Cleaning up the intestinal residue was not a peaceful affair. It was a battle. It was only the two of them at the station, a wall between them and the bloodstream, both with a hose in hand, showerheads raised. Just like back at the ear, the first time he'd brought her to one of these facilities. This time however they remained alone, though that didn't mean that the fighting was any less fierce.
4989 was blind the entire time, not feeling the cold despite being drenched, almost unable to hear even his own laughter over the sound of the rushing water. But whenever he managed to open his eyes, even if just a tiny bit, he saw her smiling or laughing as well, which frankly was enough to make him feel warm inside.
Still, this was a stalemate and that would not do.
The fluffy haired neutrophil looked around the station and saw that AC was standing close to the pool that framed the room on two sides. His smile shifted into a mischievous grin.
Showerhead kept in front he suddenly charged towards AC, who due to her mostly closed eyes didn't realise what was happening. In the last moment he dropped the hose and wrapped his arms around her, hearing the erythrocyte yelp in surprise. Somewhere behind them the two showerheads fell to the floor with a loud, echoing sound, just as 4989 leaped into the pool, dragging AC with him.
The water was cool and rushed loudly in his ears, literally drowning out every other sound for a moment. Then his foot touched the ground and he pushed himself off, getting both their heads back above the surface.
Immediately AC gasped for air and to his surprise clung desperately to his uniform. "4989! I can't swim!" she coughed, eyes closed.
Not the reaction he'd expected, but it was kind of funny. "AC? Put your feet down."
She opened her eyes and he felt AC straighten herself, until her toes touched the ground. "Huh?" AC stood in front of him, looking surprised as she realised that the water didn't even go up to her shoulders, which made him bite his own lower lip in an effort to stifle a snicker. The erythrocyte noticed that and gave him a glare. "Don't you dare laugh."
"Sorry." He couldn't hold back anymore and burst into laughter.
"Oh, you…!" AC slapped his chest, now no longer holding on, but that did nothing to stop him from guffawing; quite the opposite actually. Eventually she just huffed and shoved him, before getting out of the pool.
As 4898 calmed down, wiping tears from his eyes, AC got herself a much needed towel. She started drying her hair with it, her braid having completely unwound during their fight, both their hats currently lying around on the floor. When the silence between them continued on the neutrophil suddenly began to worry. Had he gone too far with tackling her into the water? She was still a none-immune cell after all, maybe he'd been too rough.
He left the pool as well and came up behind her, wrapping another soft towel around her, hoping to help her warm up, ignoring for a moment that he too was shivering. "Hey? You're alright?" the fluffy haired neutrophil asked hesitantly, studying her expression for any clues.
He seemed to have roused her from some deep thought, as she briefly looked puzzled. "What? Oh yes, I'm just…just not a fan of water, I…I mean being in it, you know."
Now it was his turn to be confused. Why wouldn't she like water? He never would have guessed after the fun they'd had at the wash station near the ear. Then it dawned on the neutrophil. The next time he'd seen her had only been days later, after…oh no. No, no, no, no, no. "I'm so sorry, I hadn't considered. I'm such an idiot," 4989 groaned, burying his face in his hands. The foot; her friend had been swept away and she almost along with him. How could that have slipped his mind?
"It's fine, Hachikyu-kun," she softly assured him.
"It really isn't though," the fluffy haired immune cell protested, before gingerly taking her hands, bowing his head. "Again I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to…"
But AC squeezed his hands, interrupting him. "I know, I know. So, let us forget about it and just not do that again, okay?"
4989 breathed a sigh of relief. "Absolutely. Still, is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know," he admitted with a shrug. "How about fixing your hair for starters?" For emphasis he playfully tugged at two of the loose strands falling over her shoulders.
Much to his delight she chuckled, making him smile again, glad that everything was still alright between them. "Okay. But let's get some tea first; I don't know about you, but I need something to warm up."
The two blood cells returned to the lungs, slowly drying with each step. Their clothes were still clinging to their membranes though and a few other cells looked curiously at them, but that was nothing new.
At the lungs 4989 went ahead to the little shops and booths, while AC got a new delivery of oxygen and by the time she joined him he was waiting by the side of the road. He stood close to the tree that had become one of their usual meeting spots, in each hand a mug of tea with steam still rising from them.
"Look who I found hiding in on my cart," the erythrocyte greeted him and lifted her beret. When taking the carbon dioxide box, AC had found one of the little lactic acid bacteria in it, looking at her in wonder, likely confused as to where it was. She assumed it had been swept to her cart, when the wave had hit them and had then sought shelter.
Now it sat in her hand and lifted its tiny flippers as if to greet the white blood cell as well. "Nyuuu."
"A little stowaway, huh?" 4989 quipped, poking the little germ's cheek with an outstretched finger, careful not to let the hot mug touch it. "Guess we should return you."
"I have a delivery to the left shoulder."
Her friend merely shrugged. "Then I bring it back and afterwards meet you here again; shouldn't take too long."
She loved that idea and smiled, though she would have preferred to go with him. "Alright, sounds like a plan."
"Good, but first things first; I promised to fix your hair." With that he gestured to a place on the lawn, right next to the tree. "If you would sit down right here."
AC chuckled and did as he ask, parking her cart a few steps away at the side of the road, yet he little lactic acid bacterium remained in her hand. Meanwhile 4989 sat down behind her, handing her a mug and setting down his own before he took off her beret, so he could start to work on her braid. For the next few minutes she felt him move and tug at her hair, AC admittedly being quite comfortable, nipping at her tea every now and then.
Eventually she noticed that he had slowed down, pausing every now and then for a moment. "What are you doing?" she asked after several more minutes, wondering what he was up to. Given that his fingers were now going up and down along the braid he had to have finished.
He replied with a snicker. "Be patient; I'm almost done," the fluffy haired neutrophil assured her.
"You've been working on my braid for a while now," she explained. "Don't blame me for being curious."
"I'm not, it just…fiddly work you know."
"No I don't, that's the point." AC laughed, though not even thinking about stopping him; now she just wanted to see the results. She turned back to the little bacterium in her hand. "Do you know what he's doing?"
The oval shaped prokaryote covered its mouth with its flippers as if to shush itself. "Nyuuu," it merely chirped.
"Hang on," 4989 told her and she felt a final tug. "There." An arm came around and he was holding something in his hand.
"A flower?" It was small and blue, looking somewhat like a dandelion; she'd actually seen quite a few of them around the lungs recently. "Thank you." AC took it and held it up to her nose, but found that it had no scent.
"You like it?"
She turned her head. "It's pretty, but what does it have to do…"
AC didn't get to finish her sentence, as he was holding her braid, presenting it to her with a broad smile on his face. "Ta-da!"
She laughed again. "Along the entire braid?" There were flowers everywhere and she was pretty sure he'd only given her the one, because he'd run out of places to put them.
"Yep." He proclaimed proudly. "You like it?"
"Yes, it's beautiful," AC told him; frankly she'd never done anything like this with her hair. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Taking the braid she admired his handiwork more closely, her fingers brushing over the flowers. "I should have you make my hair more often."
4989 gave her a mischievous grin, making her wonder for a moment if she would come to regret that remark someday. "At your own peril."
"Surprise me." Worst case scenario she had to fix her hair afterwards. More importantly it meant more time they could spend together.
"AC, 4989!" Both cells looked up when they suddenly heard someone shout their names and the erythrocyte spotted AE 3803, who all but ran over to them, 1146 following at a leisurely pace. "What happened to you guys?" the redhead asked, seeing as their clothes weren't yet completely dry.
"Oh, we had a little accident at the intestine, so were catching our breaths before the next circulation," AC explained.
"And the little guy?" 1146 asked, nodding towards the lactic acid bacteria still sitting in one of AC's hands.
"Yeah, it kinda hid on her cart. Gotta get it back too," the fluffy haired neutrophil explained.
"Well, I need some glucose first. Can you wait for me here?" AC's last meal had been some time before they'd gone to see the good bacteria and by now she was famished.
AE nodded with a cheerful smile. "No problem."
"Great." She handed 4989 the bacterium. "I'll be back in a second."
…
4989 watched AC disappear in the crowd, trying not to feel a little disappointed. A part of him had hoped for another peck as a thank you just like at the brain, but that had probably been a bit presuming.
"So, did you tell her?" AE asked excitedly almost as soon as AC was out of earshot.
"What?" The neutrophil needed a moment to realise what she meant. "Oh, no! No."
His reply seemed to surprise her. "Why?"
"Not you too." It was bad enough that his friends didn't get off his back about it.
"I just thought…you know the flowers…," the redhead mumbled sheepishly.
4989 sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "That was really more a spontaneous idea. I'm waiting for the right moment to tell her."
"And when will that be?" 1146 asked, an eyebrow raised.
"When I find another location as breath-taking as the retina or the neuron-fireworks." He saw his friend's frown deepen. "I'm working on it," the fluffy haired neutrophil promised.
"Don't you think that might be a bit risky?"
4989's hand wandered to the scar along his shoulder and chest. "You think I might never get the chance, if I wait too long."
His friend hesitated. "It's possible."
Of course he'd considered that, but truthfully he was still more afraid of ruining what they did have.
"I can see why you'd like to tell her at some special location, but it's not what matters most," AE explained, breaking the silence. "If I think back to that day, it's not the light falling into the eye I think about, as beautiful as it was."
"Are you afraid to tell her?" 1146 inquired, probably recalling his own girlfriend's reluctance to confess her feelings.
"No! Yes?...Maybe?" 4989 sighed, shoulders sagging; it was difficult to describe. "Look, this wasn't exactly planned and I don't want to mess things up between us by pushing too far. If she only wants to be friends it could make things really awkward between us."
"I could ask her."
Both neutrophil looked at AE, 4989 surprised by her suggestion. "Huh?"
"I ask AC how much she likes you and then you don't have to worry about it anymore, right?"
The fluffy haired neutrophil turned back to his friend. "Your girlfriend is adorable," he told him and then smiled at AE. "Alright, but don't tell her about me; I want to be the one to tell her." But this could actually work and fix his dilemma; if he hadn't been holding the little bacterium in one of his hands he would have hugged her.
The redhead nodded. "Right."
"AC's coming back." 1146 warned them and 4989 felt his mitochondria jump.
She was quickly jogging through the crowd to re-join the group, a bag in hand, which probably contained some backed goods. "Thanks for waiting."
"No problem," the fluffy haired neutrophil assured her, his mind still lingering on his friend's advice. Yeah, he did want to tell her, despite any excuses he made.
"Now; my delivery is to the left shoulder at the collarbone, so I guess we split up?"
"Oh, mine's to the left triceps," AE told her brightly. "We can go together."
"Of course."
"Then we'll just return this little guy," 1146 decided, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Nyuuu!"
"Meet back here for the next circulation?" 4989 asked, hoping they could stick to the original plan.
"Sure," AC confirmed.
His fellow neutrophil nodded. "Alright, you two stay safe." 1146 then leaned in to place a kiss on his girlfriend's cheek and 4989 glanced over to AC, who he noticed was tugging at one of the strands of her auburn hair. Strange; usually she only did that when she was nervous or abashed.
Waving one last time the four cells split up, 4989 unable to keep himself from grinning seeing those blue flowers in AC's braid, making her stick out among her peers.
Not long after their departure from the lungs AC and AE found themselves travelling up from the heart, talking about places and organs of the body they had most recently visited. Despite being around as old as the auburn haired erythrocyte, AE was still in awe of pretty much everything she saw for the first time. Every cell in the body worked with a great deal of enthusiasm, but hers was something else, even a bit infection for the lack of a better work.
"And then I've been to the gallbladder, which at the time was filled with this viscous, green liquid and it had that crazy serpentine coastline. They had put up signs everywhere, warning not to swim in or even touch the liquid."
"I'm not sure how much those liver enzymes could do to us, but I suppose you could always get dragged out into the duodenum if you're unlucky." The idea of being on the wrong side of the mucosa was actually terrifying; there was no coming back from that. Same might have happened earlier today, if 4989 hadn't covered her.
AE apparently had imagined something very similar, as she visibly shuddered. "I wasn't going to find out, but it took me so long to find my way out again. There were just so many folds," she said, blushing a little. "So, what have you been up to?"
AC shrugged. "Oh, not much, aside from visiting the good bacteria today."
Her red-haired friend's face lit up. "1146 took me to see them as well; they are so adorable, even the bigger ones. It was one of the first things we did after we got together," she confessed, now truly flushed, making AC chuckle.
Moments later however the redhead got distracted by someone ahead of them in the crowd. "Oh, senpai!"
One erythrocyte turned around and AC recognized her as AA 5100. She had only meet her a few times, usually in AE 3803's company, a level-headed woman, who was truly like a big sister to the younger red blood cell. "AE, AC; good to see you two again," she greeted them both, having stopped so they could catch up.
"Likewise," AC replied.
"What happened to your hair?"
"Oh, I had to visit the wash station earlier today and U-4989 offered to fix my hair afterwards. He took a few creative liberties."
This earned her a mischievous grin from the older erythrocyte. "Usually boyfriends will just give you the flowers," AA noted.
Now it were AC's cheeks which turned red; she could feel the heat radiating from them. "We're not…he isn't..." Even to herself she sounded horribly defensive.
Clearly the other erythrocyte wasn't convinced either. "The twenty or so blossoms in your braid beg to differ."
"It's complicated," the auburn haired cell said, still hoping to avoid the subject.
The smile was exchanged for a questioning frown. "Are you sure?"
"I…," AC sighed. "I'm just overthinking things, I'm sure."
"And what are you thinking?" the older erythrocyte inquired.
AC hesitated. She was comfortable enough discussing this with AE 3803, yet didn't know her senpai that long. Then again, she had given her kohai good relationship advice in the past. "Honestly? I'm not sure how to put it, but I don't know if I feel…well, strongly enough. Does that make sense?"
"As if anyone can measure feelings, but I think I know what you mean. Here." AA 5100 put down the basket with nutrients she'd been carrying and covered AC's eyes with her hands.
"What?"
"No thinking," the other erythrocyte instructed. "Clear your head. Now, just picture him."
It was almost impossible to do that without imagining him grinning or at the very least smiling, regardless of whether is uniform was in pristine condition or bloody and torn up. He was just a positive person, a trait she'd come to cherish, especially whenever she'd needed someone to comfort her like after FP's death. Yeah; no matter how silly he seemed at times with his antics, brightening her days, you could count on him and when things got serious so did he. He undoubtedly cared for her and admittedly he meant the world to her too.
"You're already smiling," AA's voice suddenly told her amused, interrupting her thoughts.
"Seems like there was no reason to worry after all," the redhead chimed in merrily.
AC managed a timid smile, before turning to her friend. "AE, when did you realise that you had feelings for 1146?"
"I just did," the she confessed, smiling warmly. "I saw another couple kiss and I just thought of him, us doing the same. I thought of all the things I loved about him and knew that I wanted to be with him. Though back then I thought it was just one sided."
"Well, that shouldn't be an issue in this case," AA pointed out. "You're neutrophil friend is hardly subtle, even if he hasn't said anything yet."
"Maybe he too is nervous," AE 3803 suggested. "It's a big step."
"Well, when you two first met you were afraid of white blood cells, weren't you?" AC nodded, making the other red blood cell sigh. "I could see how that might play a part in making him hesitant to push things further."
"Yeah," AE agreed almost feverishly. "Maybe he's waiting for a sign from you…or something."
"Maybe you should be the one to tell him," AA suggested. "That way you also won't have to worry about getting caught off guard and can prepare yourself if that's what you need."
"You have a point." Frankly she had no idea how to start such a conversation, but initiating it itself did sound better than getting caught unawares by it.
"Hey, things are going to be fine," the older erythrocyte assured her, probably seeing how she was starting to think everything through. "You two are practically acting like a couple already."
AC looked at her surprised; was that really the impressions others had? Then again CT had implied much the same not long ago as well. "We are, huh?"
"A little," AE agreed.
So, everyone already thought they were a couple and 4989 did seem somewhat infatuated. He tried to be subtle, but as AA 5100 had already mentioned, he wasn't particularly good at it and so AC had picked up on how differently he treated and acted towards her compared to anyone else. Maybe it really was time to talk with him about that, about them. "Well, then I guess it's time I make a move. Right?"
AA sighed and placed her hands on both her and AE's head as she shook her own. "You two are hopeless."
"You want to say something, don't you? I know that look."
4989 glared suspiciously at his friend, who briefly chuckled. "I just still find it strange that you stall confessing to AC," 1146 explained. "When I found out how I felt about AE, I wanted to clear things up as soon as possible."
"Well, she was actively avoiding you, so it was a somewhat different situation," the fluffy haired neutrophil reminded him.
"True, but it was because she thought I didn't return her feelings and feared to ruin our relationship forever." 4989 gave his friend a meaningful look; that was exactly what he was worried about. 1146 sighed and continued. "Look, it really messed her up and I don't want you to go through the same."
"Sure I'm nervous, but it's not that bad."
"Yet," the other neutrophil added. "Tell her."
Suddenly the lactic acid bacterium on 4989's shoulder threw up its little flippers. "Nyuuu!"
The immune cell picked it up, letting it sit in his palms as he held it in front of him. "So you too think I should, huh?" he asked it.
"Nyu! Nyu!" the cute prokaryote chirped excitedly, nodding its head as it seemed. It was difficult to tell with the lack of neck.
"You're right," 4989 finally, if begrudgingly, admitted. "You both are." And he wanted to, he really did. He wanted what his friend and AE 3803 had with AC.
Suddenly 1146 placed a hand on his now free shoulder. "Then promises me this: the next time you're with her, just the two of you, you'll be straight with her. There are plenty of little parks around everywhere where you can have some privacy."
4989 took a deep breath. "Promise."
Wait; if they met the erythrocytes back at the lungs again, would 1146 purposefully lead AE away just to force him to fulfil his promise? That would mean he'd have to tell AC…today. 4989 gulped and petted the little bacterium in his hands, hoping to calm his nerves.
He could do this, right?
Well, he still had a bit of time to come up with the right words.
"Is it just me, or is the elevator slower than usual?"
AC and AE had both completed their deliveries and were back in the lungs, having taken the elevator to reach the alveoli. For some reason however it was all but crawling, as if it was struggling to move.
"Maybe we have a very slow breathing pace. According to the circadian rhythm the body is sleeping right now," AE said.
"Oh, right." With the body being always so busy it was often hard to tell. This was still strange though.
Finally the elevator reached their floor, shaking as the doors opened with a screeching sound. Having never experienced something alike AC got disconcerted and as soon as possible jumped out of the cabin into the hallway, AE right behind her. They didn't get very far though.
AC's eyes widened. "What is…?"
"Vines?"
The once spick and span hallway was overgrown with plants, vines crisscrossing from with greenery covered wall to wall and ceiling to floor. "How did these get here?" AC wondered aloud, noticing that along the vines were a lot of the same blue flowers 4989 had put into her hair.
"I don't know," AE confessed. "Should we turn around maybe?"
Both erythrocytes looked back, seeing that the elevator's doors had closed, equally covered in vegetation from the outside; no wonder they had struggled. "Elevator is already gone and we're not exactly supposed to go back that way." Not to mention that she didn't want to go back into that thing, not after the way it had shook.
"I think we could squeeze through," AE suggested with a nervy smile in a unsuccessful attempt to look confident. "It doesn't look narrower than most capillaries."
They really didn't have much choice, did they? "Okay, but we should report this as soon as we see a leucocyte. I'm sure the alveolar macrophages should know about this."
Her fellow erythrocyte nodded and boxes in hand they began to search their way through the vegetation. They were slow, needing to push aside smaller vines, while finding themselves blocked by thick curtains of greenery they needed squeeze past. Once or twice the boxes almost got stuck, but eventually they reached a door leading into a chamber for the gas exchange.
AC tore a vine off and went for the handle. "The door is a bit stuck," she said as she tried to move it.
"Can you open it?" AE asked, looking around as if she was worried the plants would attack them.
Using more strength and pushing her body against the door, AC managed to shake it loose, green dust snowing down on her. Finally the door opened. "Yeah. Meet you at the end of the corridor."
AE nodded. "I'll try to hurry up; really don't want to linger here any longer than necessary."
"Me neither," AC confirmed. "Good luck."
AE disappeared behind another plant-curtain out of view and AC entered the small chamber. For a moment she wondered if she should keep the door open just in case. She decided to leave a gap, enough for her hand to fit through and turned to the machines. They were just as covered as the walls in the hallway, making her question if they would even work.
She sighed and walked across the room, until there was a cracking noise beneath her and AC froze up. The erythrocyte looked down, staring at fissures surrounding her feet. Through some vines had already broken through into the chamber, more flowers sticking out here and there.
AC took a deep breath and swallowed hard. Very carefully she lifted a foot, only to see the cracks around the other multiplying. No, no, no, no, no. Screw this, she had to get out, find another chamber. If she had mitochondria they'd probably be drumming in her chest right about now. Just go back to the hallway.
Slowly she placed the lifted foot behind her.
AC heard the floor crack again, she felt herself lose footing, as it collapsed. She was too surprised to even scream at first, when suddenly there nothing beneath her feet and she fell.
