Chapter 8: Duty
For the first time in his life, he finally tasted fear.
Looking at the blood vessel entrance, U1146 saw a surge of red blood cells all rushing toward the adjacent exit veins. Panic had ensued through their ranks, and a stampede could happen at any moment. His eyes darted from one red blood cell to another, desperately trying to find a redhead carrying a little platelet in her arms.
Where are they? RBC-san, where are you?
A few seconds ago, he dismissed all thoughts that distracted him from entering the frontlines, but now that he had finally entertained the gut-wrenching worry that had immobilized him, another part of his psyche protested.
His instincts screamed at him to go back to the battlefield and do his duty, but he couldn't. His rational side assured him that the two were safe and had already escaped into the veins, as per his instructions, but still, he couldn't go back.
True, he wanted to go into the fray, he wanted to fight alongside his adaptive immune cell comrades, but he couldn't stop worrying about RBC-san and Platelet-chan. He thought it was already enough for him to just tell the two to find safe shelter, but now when all hell broke loose, he realized he couldn't handle the anxiety of not knowing about their whereabouts.
He didn't like to admit it, but he was torn between his sense of duty and his feelings for the two cells he cared the most.
"Neutrophil? What are you doing?"
He turned around and saw the helmeted KT cell waiting for him to join the fight. The rest of his squad mates have already gone ahead to engage the traitorous maids.
"I uh," U1146 made a quick glance toward the sea of frantic red blood cells before looking back at the lymphocyte, his expression unsure and anxious.
"What the hell…" the helmeted KT seethed. He strode back toward him, grabbing him by the collar. U1146 didn't resist. "I know neutrophils are some time odd and unpredictable, but I've never heard your kind to be a bunch of cowards!"
The ground trembled, and an explosion somewhere in the heart of the battlefield boomed.
"No! I'm not a coward!" U1146 snarled, a moment of defiance against an insult to his honor. But then, his expression soon wilted away when he realized his reason for doing what he was about to do was in direct conflict of everything he stood for.
"I'm not running away," U1146 stammered, gone was his sense of defiance, now replaced with an expression of a cell about to go rogue. "It's just that… I need… I need to find someone."
He winced. He finally blurted out the real reason bothering him. He knew his reason was irrational. It was outrageous for anyone to even consider valuing the life of an individual cell more than the overall safety of the world. The death of one or two cells was of no consequence, but when the world dies, everything else dies.
He knows this, but he still chose the two.
"Are you insane?" growled the helmeted KT. "Will you abandon your duties, your oath, just so you can find someone else?"
"I'm not abandoning my duties!" U1146 shot back, but his words again sounded hollow even to his ears. "I'm a neutrophil, my mission is to kill. It's just that…"
"It's just what?" the helmeted KT asked. He raised a hand to point at the raging front lines. "You see that? We are dying against the macrophages! We are sacrificing our lives for the world! We die for the world!"
"You don't understand!" U1146 countered, his voice sounding exasperated. He could feel anger boiling in his cytosol as he started to clasped the helmeted KT's arm gripping his collar. "I'm not steering away from my duties, it's just that I want to fi-"
The ground trembled once more, but this time, a bright light suddenly flashed in the direction of where he left RBC-san awhile go followed by a massive roaring explosion.
The wind shrieked, and they got all hit by a violent shockwave. Hundreds of red blood cells near the blast site got thrown out high up in the air before falling into the ground crushed and scorched. The cries of the dying once again joined the chaotic chorus of battle as mighty chunks of the tissue walls encompassing the plaza got blown off from the explosion.
The shockwave knocked both U1146 and the helmeted KT from their feet, hurling them to the ground dazed and disoriented.
Every part of U1146's body ached in pain. He groaned in agony before mustering all his strength to stand up.
Urrgh...
He wiped the dirt and grimed from his face before he snapped his attention toward the direction of the explosion.
His pale face turned even paler.
Oh no…
A large gaping maw had opened up in a portion of the tissue wall that led to the outer realms of the abyss. Hot searing air that had enveloped him during the shockwave was now rushing out into the vacuum outside of the organ carrying with it scores of screaming red blood cells in an event called internal hemorrhage.
The helmeted KT beside him cursed under his breath as he staggered to get himself back again.
"I am not running away," the neutrophil declared. "I will fight these traitors with my life, but I need to look first for a red blood cell and a platelet that are friends of mine."
He pointed to the direction of the explosion where a tear in the world had opened up. "They could be there, I need to save them."
"Then go!" the helmeted KT snapped. "I can't stop you now can I? Just know this… You are just trading the lives of a hundred of your comrades for the lives of two insignificant cells!"
U1146 looked directly into the opaque visor of the helmeted KT. His face now neutral and devoid of the conflict that had torn him a moment ago. He had already made his decision, and he would see it all the way to the end.
"They are not insignificant," he muttered, barely audible from the turbulent noise around them. "They are my friends."
And with that, U1146 sprinted toward the opening of the abyss.
-0-0-0-
A minute ago, AE3306 was trudging her way amidst a sea of her frantic kind toward the exit veins, with Platelet-chan wrapped tightly in her arms, and a second later, a bright flash of light burst out from behind and she was hurled out into the air before landing hard back into the ground.
Her face grimaced into a soundless scream as her body writhed in pain that felt like a hundred hot needles getting jammed all over her membrane. Stars danced in front of her eyes with her head dazed from the impact.
Clouds of dust bloomed out in all direction, enveloping her with a reddish haze that made her surroundings looked bleak and hopeless.
With her thoughts still in a swirl, she tried to gather up all her wits and stand, but then her eyes snapped wide open as she realized Platelet-chan was no longer in her arms.
She forced herself to stand up, and her body immediately protested in agony.
Arrgh!
She gritted her teeth, ignoring the searing pain with all the strength she could muster.
"Platelet-chan!" she yelled. "Where are y-"
The words died out in her lips. A cold chill ran down her back when she saw the black gaping wound in the tissue wall.
N-No...
"Platelet-chan!" she shouted again, desperation cracking up her voice. She ran toward the direction of the wall opening, hoping and praying that the little platelet had not been sucked into the void along with countless of her fellow red blood cells.
"Please, Platelet-chan! Where are you?!"
She could feel the wind howling from behind as air and matter rushed out into the vacuum of the abyss.
She instinctively placed a hand on her head so as to secure her cap from getting blown off. The nearer she came toward the hole, the stronger the wind tried to reel her in.
The ground shook violently, and another large chunk of the wall and the ground broke off and got immediately swallowed whole into the black void along with anyone unfortunate enough to have been caught in the ruin.
She searched the remaining debris for any sign of the little platelet but only found the still bodies of crushed red blood cells and neutrophils. Tears now started to swell in her eyes as she became more and more desperate in every ticking second.
The thought of losing the little platelet tore her up to the very core. She hated herself for not being able to protect her. She even made a promise to help her find her teammates only to end up losing her instead amidst the chaos.
"Platelet-chan…" she cried. "Please be al-"
"Onee-chan!"
AE3803's head immediately snapped to the direction of the high-pitched voice that called her out.
There, on a bent lamp post close to the chasmal rift stood Platelet-chan, her tiny arms wrapped around tightly on the streetlight, holding for dear life as the suction of air tried to pull her into the vacuum.
"Platelet-chan!" she yelled as she sprinted toward the thrombocyte.
The sound of her footstep sounded like thunder in her ears, and the path toward the little platelet seemed to have stretched. She heaved mouthfuls of breath as she quickened her pace.
She muttered a prayer of thanks to the Consciousness that Platelet-chan was alright, that she was unha-
Her foot stepped on uneven ground, and she instantly lost her balance. She lurched a couple of steps forward as she tried to get back her balance, only to end up tripping, falling to the ground hard.
"Oof!"
Her face got introduced to the cracked pavement which sent jolts of pain shooting through all points of her body.
For a moment, she laid on the ground unmoving. Her face hurts like hell, and she wanted to continue crying again.
She hated this.
She clenched her teeth in frustration. True, she never had any illusions on how she was a total idiot who couldn't get even simple directions right. She knows she was not the sharpest red blood cell to have graduated from the bone marrow.
The very fact that her kouhai was more capable and reliable than her was proof enough of how big of a failure she was.
She hated all of it.
Perhaps lying here on the ground until the world comes to an end would be the best thing to do after all?
She curled her hands into tight fists.
No.
I made a promise.
She pushed herself back to her feet and then proceeded to move toward the little platele-
She stopped.
She didn't move, nor did she dared breathe.
Her eyes grew wide as her face turned ashen white from sheer terror.
"Oh dear, some rescuer you are," snickered a monster wearing heavy-rimmed glasses. She stood behind a terrified Platelet-chan, her pale, sickly hands resting on the tiny thrombocyte's shoulder. "Tripping at your own feet? Really child? I mourn your instructors in the bone marrow for letting you graduate."
AE3803 stood immobile. She dared not make any sudden moves for fear of provoking the traitor maid.
"Milady," AE3803 started, trying to suppress the fear in her voice. "I am the a-acting guardian of P-Platelet-chan. W-Will you t-turn… turn her over t-to me?"
"Acting guardian?" the maid scoffed. She placed a hand on the tiny thrombocyte's shoulder while patting her on the head with her other hand. "You acting guardian to this little angel here?! Don't make me laugh degenerate!"
AE3803 furrowed her brows, not really comprehending what the deranged macrophage was rambling about nor did she have the time to care. All that mattered to her now was to get Platelet-chan to safety.
"If I was as bold as I am now and I was your instructor," this time, the four-eyed maid snarled. "I would have already thrown you out to the spleen for recycling!"
"W-What are you talking about?" AE3803 shouted. "I j-just want you to release Platelet-chan!"
"Release this little one back to your filthy hands? Never!" the mad maid spatted. She proceeded to caress the cheeks of the little thrombocyte with the back of her hand.
Platelet-chan trembled at the touch, but she didn't dare make any sudden move to avoid the macrophage's hand. Fear had paralyzed her from sprinting away toward her onee-chan, and so she remained at the grasp of her captor while sobbing silently for rescue.
AE3803 could no longer bear the sight of the little thrombocyte crying.
"Pl-Please m-milady, I beg you!" AE3803 raised her arms to her side, as a sign of surrender, before kneeling to the ground in an act of submission. "Let go of P-Platelet-chan and take me instead! Y-You can do anything to me j-just let her go."
"And why would I want you degenerate?" the mad macrophage pointed an accusing finger at her. "You are a defect, a mistake that should have been corrected a long time ago."
"What are you talking about milady?" this was the first time AE3803 heard anyone call her a mistake. Sure she was a klutz and not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she was a normal red blood cell nothing more, nothing less. "I'm not a m-mistake!"
The deranged maid let out a cackle that outmatched the howls of the raging wind.
"You. Are. A. Sickle. Cell." the macrophage enunciated with every word full of venom and disgust. "You are damaged. You are imperfect. You are a mistake!"
AE3803's mouth fell. The maid was clearly mad, but her words carried out an answer that had evaded her all her life but one that finally provided an explanation regarding her true identity. She'd heard about sickle cells before when her teacher mentioned it during class. However, there had been no recorded case of a red blood cell being born as a sickle red blood cell.
But then, if she tried to put two and two together, everything would make absolute sense. She sucked at her work not because she was an idiot, she sucked because she was different.
"That's…"
AE3803 shook her head slowly. The maid's words seemed to ring true to her ears and every syllable she uttered felt like tiny knives being thrust into her chest.
But that didn't matter now…
What she needs to focus now was to get Platelet-chan away to safety.
"That's beside the point!" AE3803 declared, her voice cracking but defiant. "I… I don't c-care if I'm a s-sickle cell! Let go of P-Platelet-chan!"
The traitorous macrophage narrowed her eyes, glaring deadly daggers straight at her. AE3803 could feel a dark aura emanating from the mad maid, and she could hear her let out a low drumming growl.
"You insolent ingrate!" the monster bared her rows of sharp teeth. "Don't you understand?! You are not worthy for this little one! You are not even worthy to be re-"
"TRAITOR!"
Both AE3803 and the maid immediately snapped their attention toward a heap of debris to their side where a neutrophil stained with blotches of crimson stood.
AE3803's face brightened. Their savior had come… WBC-san had returned, and the very sight of him made her eyes watery with relief.
"Onii-chan!" Platelet-chan cried out. Instinctively, she tried to run toward him, but the macrophage had her hand gripping the back of her shirt, preventing her from moving anywhere. "Help me, onii-chan!"
"Unhand her traitor!" U1146 bellowed. He pointed his dagger at her goading her to rise to his challenge. "She's innocent! Do not involve her with this war!"
"Hah!" the maid's mouth widened into a grin. She revealed her long forked tongue as she proceeded to lick her lips. "A challenger appears! Perhaps you would prove to be far more amusing than that veteran neutrophil I slaughtered!"
"Shut up monster," U1146 shouted. "I will not tell you again… Step away from the platelet!"
"Platelet? Oh you mean this little angel?" the four-eyed monster hoisted Platelet-chan up by the collar of her shirt, dangling her above the ground like some backpack. The little thrombocyte wailed as she flailed her tiny arms on her side.
"Please!" AE3803 pleaded. "Let Platelet-chan go!"
The mad maid turned her gaze toward her, showing her a maniacal grin. "Child, you really are a stupid degenerate. Such a poor choice of words!"
Without warning, the macrophage hurled the little platelet at the gaping maw of the abyss before unsheathing her blade to parry U1146's daggers who had blurred his way toward her in a fraction of a second, his face twisted with raw anger.
"Monster!" U1146 exploded. He came down hard on the deranged maid, unleashing at her a series of blows full of his unbridled fury. "Why did you do that?! She was innocent!"
U1146's twin daggers sang each time they clashed with the macrophage's obsidian sword. The maid had the advantage of weapon length and strength, but he countered it with extreme agility and speed.
"You worry too much soldier!" The macrophage laughed as she blocked all his attacks with her blade. "Angels fly!"
U1146 roared with rage.
AE3803 sprinted past WBC-san and the maid. She paid them no heed as she ran all the way toward the opening. His neutrophil friend could handle himself, and she muttered a silent prayer to the Consciousness to bless him with protection.
The void beyond had sucked Platelet-chan into its mighty black expanse, but that didn't mean she was already dead.
She refused to believe that. She refused to believe her little friend was no more.
No! She thought. She's alive! She's not dead!
There was still hope. Until she saw the still body of Platelet-chan, she would go to the edges of the world to save her even if it means moving beyond the rift of the world.
AE3803 finally arrived at the precipice between light and darkness. Beyond lies the outer regions of the organs and blood vessels. To step in this realm was a death sentence but she would brave on, she would go and save the little platelet even if it's the last thing she'd ever do.
Even when the world was ending, at least she'd be able to save one tiny friend.
"Wait for me Platelet-chan, onee-chan is coming!"
A/N:
Ok wow, this chapter was harder to write than I thought. Maybe because in my outline, this was supposed to be just two bullet point summaries, but it ended up becoming one entire chapter of its own. In chapter 6 A/N, I mentioned that Chapter 6 was the first half of the First Plot Point arc but I now see that it was incorrect. There's just a lot more to write before we could end the arc and I think there's one more chapter to write before we could wrap everything thing up.
So anyway, there's a popular fan theory that AE3803 is a sickle red blood cell because she is clumsy in her work. But is she really a sickle cell? Was the mad macrophage correct?
Let's see and wait for the chapters ahead.
Until next time!
Revision History:
- Originally published on Oct. 28, 2018
