Chapter 29: Sacrifice Denied
The screams of the damned were everywhere.
NT4201 paused to look back but only saw a fog of darkness despite the illumination given out by the cap-light she borrowed from her senpai. The creeping howls of unseen nightmares seemed to be microinching closer and closer on them, and still, she couldn't see anything.
They were inside the lightless planes of the abyss, the place outside the organs and blood vessels, but still inside the encapsulated epidermal space of the world. The battle between the traitorous macrophages and the loyal forces of the immune system broke the walls of a major blood vessel flowing towards the liver, causing massive internal hemorrhaging. The destruction of the vascular wall sucked out countless of her kind along with scores of the infected.
As for her, she descended into the abyss by herself. For all intents and purposes, she should have died in the land of the living. However, circumstances orchestrated by a mad macrophage made her stray into the land of darkness to search for her senpai, whom she wanted to kill.
She tightened her grip on her blade and immediately felt shame. To think she was ready to commit the final act of damnation with the hemoglobin of her senpai. Fortunately, her senpai's love for her trumped-up all her hatred and jealousy. The erythrocyte named AE3803 never left her for a thrombocyte, she was always there for her as her beloved senpai.
Now it was her turn to protect her.
As an erythrocyte, she should not be able to wield a knife much less fight. Red blood cells were not made to battle the world's enemies, but she was no longer any ordinary red blood cell. Though she had finally controlled the voices in her head, strips of the virus's RNA were still inside her. Since she was enucleated, she couldn't be infected, but she still obtained the fighting capabilities from the virus's RNA.
"Neutrophil, are we there yet?" She shouted as she resumed to catch up with her companions.
"Not yet," replied U-1146, his voice calm, but stern.
NT4201 could see the Neutrophil carrying the little platelet on top of his shoulders while holding her senpai's right hand as they ran. The thrombocyte was awfully quiet, but she could see her hands trembling as she clutched the Neutrophil's head tightly. As for her senpai, she seemed bewildered at their sudden flight. One minute they were hugging each other, and the next, they were running away from an unseen horde.
They quickened their pace. The junior erythrocyte could feel her whole membrane screaming for respite. Still, she ignored the pain, knowing to rest now would mean certain doom.
"Um, Onii-chan, something's coming." the little platelet exclaimed.
NT4201 saw the thrombocyte sitting up straight on the Neutrophil's shoulders as she turned her attention to her right despite seeing nothing but darkness. She had her hands cupped near her ears, trying to amplify her hearing. The Neutrophil had muted off his receptors as it already sensed approaching hostiles. Still, it couldn't figure out the exact direction from where these enemies were coming.
The junior erythrocyte's eyes went wide. Before any of her companions could react, she dashed towards the direction the platelet was looking at, her blade ready in her hand.
It didn't take long before a howling cell came rushing in towards her. Her cap-light showed her a mindless neutrophil missing a portion of his neck, which caused his head lolled to one side.
NT4201 spun at the very last moment, evading the charge of the mindless cell before she slashed her knife at the remaining membrane of his neck. The infected Neutrophil's head flew off as he crashed to the ground, never to move again.
NT4201 then located the decapitated head before crushing it into bits of cellular goo with her boot.
"Kouhai-chan! Are you alright?" she heard her senpai call out to her.
NT4201 turned and saw the Neutrophil, and her senpai had stopped to check on her.
"Don't stop!" she snarled. The chorus of the damned crying out for carnage had grown louder by the instant. If an infected cell had already reached this point, then it meant they only had seconds before they got overwhelmed by the approaching swarm. "Move it, Neutrophil! You have to protect my senpai!"
The ashen-faced white blood cell opened his mouth to speak but then decided to close it. He gave a curt nod before grabbing the little platelet from his shoulders, raising her up. He then placed her on top of her senpai's shoulders.
As for her senpai's part, she gladly carried the little thrombocyte on her shoulders as she held her legs tightly.
"Don't worry, Platelet-chan, I got you," her senpai assured her passenger.
"Platelet-chan, you will be our sensor for now," the Neutrophil told the little platelet. "Don't worry, I will protect you and RBC-san from any threats, alright?"
"Alright, Onii-chan," the little platelet concurred. She then turned her cap in reverse as if to show her seriousness. "I will do my best."
The white blood cell gave him a smile and a pat on the head. She then saw her senpai squeezing the little thrombocyte's legs as a way to assure her.
Though NT4201 would never acknowledge it, a part of her did feel envious at how different her senpai treated her and compared to how she treated the thrombocyte. However, if she did give in to her jealousy, then she would not be here to run alongside her beloved senpai. She shook her head and brushed the thought away.
The Neutrophil turned towards her.
"I'll take the front, you guard the rear." He commanded.
"I know," NT4201 replied impatiently.
The white blood cell nodded then resumed his run, followed by her senpai and the platelet. The junior erythrocyte immediately took the rear.
For a good full minute, they ran. With only the faint illumination of their cap-lights, they navigated the uneven and rocky plains of the abyss. Her senpai struggled to keep up with the Neutrophil, and there were even times when NT4201 thought she would trip and fall. However, her senpai persevered, not giving way to exhaustion or fear. Like that time when the world was about to end, her senpai never gave up, and they instead pushed on to victory.
The little platelet turned her head to the left and pointed to a hand towards the blackness. "Onii-chan! Left!"
It didn't even take a second for the Neutrophil to respond as he swerved and charged toward the direction pointed by the platelet. He became a silhouette in the darkness, with only the light from his cap-light giving faint illumination. The light blurred and faded, and NT4201 could hear the sound of a knife ripping into cellular membrane followed by the agonizing screams of the Neutrophil's prey.
Her senpai started to slow down, distracted by her friend's fight. The junior erythrocyte gave her a shove from behind, telling her to keep up her pace.
"Sorry, Kouhai-chan!" Her senpai apologized as she quickened her run.
Done with his slaughter, the Neutrophil then moved back to their formation, but then the little platelet once again pointed her hand to the right.
"Kouhai-nee-chan, right!"
NT4201 sprinted to the right and immediately spotted an infected Eosinophil wielding a rusted spear charging straight towards her.
The junior erythrocyte deflected the spear with a sharp swing of her blade as she connected it with a heavy jab. Knuckles met disfigured face, and the fallen white blood cell was hurled back to the ground dazed. NT4201 then plunged her knife right into her opponent's eye socket. The Eosinophil let out an ear-splitting scream as she squirmed.
NT4201 didn't wait for her opponent to lay still. She pulled out her knife and hurried back to her companions.
This cycle of spotting, intercepting and neutralizing approaching enemies went on for far longer than the junior erythrocyte expected. The rate of infected cells rushing towards them kept on increasing until they were battling out multiple attackers at once.
She fought an infected Killer T cell, followed by another score of fallen white blood cells. Each kill made her insides boil with rage.
No erythrocyte could ever do what she'd done. With the virus's RNA inside her, she had acquired the fighting instincts of the deadly virus. All this knowledge made her able to stand her ground against the forces of the damned.
The last of the infected cells she fought was a Natural Killer cell that still possessed a tinge of her sanity. They battled, and she out bested her to the absolute shock of the fallen NK. The damned huntress never expected an erythrocyte to fight her, and her mistake earned her a knife straight to her mitochondrion.
Gradually, the cries of the damned started to sound distant. They encountered two more stragglers, which she made sure to never get back up on their feet, and then no more.
For what seemed like an hour of running, they finally reached the outer walls of the liver.
"Turn off your lights," the Neutrophil told her as he also turned off his cap-light. "We've arrived. Just give me a moment to figure out where the hatch is."
Though she couldn't see him in pitch darkness, she still nodded her head in acknowledgment. She then heard the sound of the Neutrophil knocking on the wall and searching for something hollow.
A pair of hands suddenly grabbed her left arm from the back. It was not the touch of an enemy, but the gentle touch of someone who cared for her. She could feel her senpai leaning closer to her with the little platelet still on her shoulders.
"Thanks for protecting us, Kouhai-chan," her senpai whispered. "After this whole mess, let's hang out sometime."
For a moment, NT4201 didn't reply. She felt embarrassed to admit it, but she didn't know what or how to respond to her senpai. After all, she did accuse her of ill will and almost tried to kill her.
And yet, even after all that, her senpai still decided to hug and make peace with her. She was loved, and that was all that mattered.
"Yes, let's hang out after," she whispered back. Then she added. "Let's also take your neutrophil friend and Platelet-chan with us."
"Kouha-nee-chan, let's all go on a picnic!" the little platelet chimed in. "We could drink tea and eat all the sweets we'd want. "
"Aye," NT4201 replied. Amidst the darkness, she raised her hand and searched for the thrombocyte. Once she felt her, she then patted her on the head. "I'd love that and sorry."
"What for?" the little platelet asked.
The junior erythrocyte never had the chance to reply as the darkness was interrupted with a soft glow coming out from a secret opening in the liver wall.
"Here!" the Neutrophil hissed. He gestured to her senpai to get in first. "RBC-san, you go first, then Platelet-chan."
Her senpai concurred and then brought the little platelet down from her shoulder. She then dropped to all fours and crawled into the opened escape shaft.
"Your turn, Platelet-chan," the Neutrophil gestured.
The little thrombocyte gave the white blood cell a tight hug before going into the shaft.
"Your turn Kouhai-san," said the Neutrophil. "I'll go on last."
With only the glow of the light coming out from the shaft, NT4201 could only see the grim silhouette of the white blood cell's face.
She took a step forward, then stopped.
"I…," she paused, contemplating her next words carefully. "You should go first."
A loud roar from a distance reminded them that the enemy was still out there to get them.
"Kouhai-san, what is this all about?" the Neutrophil asked. He took a step forward to stand so close to her that he loomed with his full height over her.
NT4201 averted his gaze for a second before looking up to stare directly into his eyes.
"I am not going to survive this war." She declared with absolute certainty. "Even by some miracle I survive, do you think those NK cells will permit me to live?"
She imagined the infected Natural Killer cell she killed. Even as a traitor, she could still see the fiery eyes of zealotry in her eyes. They were this world's relentless huntresses, and any deviation to the order would earn a not so pleasant visit from them.
"You don't know that." The Neutrophil countered.
"You think?" she snapped, before adding. "And before you point to your sensor telling me I'm not hostile, you are not an NK."
"I can vouch for you."
"Hah, like that would work," she let out a mirthless laugh. "Face it Neutrophil, I am going to die before I can go on a picnic trip with you, Platelet-chan, and Senpai. I know it, you know it, it's a fact."
She lowered her head and focused her gaze on her hand, holding the knife given by the Neutrophil. The ground began to shake from the trampling of a thousand boots. The howls of their unseen enemy were growing louder and louder. They only had perhaps a couple of seconds before they were spotted.
"Let me die fighting these monsters and not by the blade of an overzealous inquisitor."
"Alright," the white blood cell nodded. "I understand."
But before she could reply, he grabbed her by the collar and hauled her into the shaft. NT4201 didn't even have the time to protest as she tumbled inside the cramped and dilapidated passageway.
The Neutrophil immediately followed her before closing the lid of the secret shaft once again.
Anger shook her entire being as she was denied a chance for martyrdom.
Her face contorted into a snarl to hurl her rebuke at the Neutrophil, but her words died in her lips as the lid boomed from the pounding of fists and the roars of rage from the other side.
The unseen horde had finally arrived, and they barely missed their prey by mere seconds.
A/N:
The pieces are now converging into their final positions. Finally, NT4201's team has entered the liver, and I'm definitely excited for what comes out next.
The next chapters would now focus on the Liver Arc and we might finally see the 'Shrine Maidens' that Lady Si was taunting a few chapters back. ^^
Alright for some other news.
Over the past month, I have been writing a second CAW fanfic which deals with the SARS-COV-2 virus which causes Covid-19.
The fanfic is called, 'Cells at Work! Code Black: Covid-19' and I just published its first 2 chapters in the last two weeks. As the name suggests, it follows a new set of characters from 'Cells at Work Code Black' (which is getting an anime next year, 2021!), a new world, and a new deadly enemy.
Now, unlike this Ebola fanfic of mine which is heavily influenced by W40k, this new Covid-19 fanfic deals much more with what the medical science says on how the virus attacks our body.
I highly suggest you all check it out, follow/favorite it, and leave some thoughts in the review section. XD
Once again, thank you all for the continued support. Back in 2018 when I started this fic, all I wanted was to get some experience and exposure to writing. Now I have written a couple of stories and I'm definitely not stopping any time soon!
Stay safe everyone!
Revision History:
- Originally published on May 12, 2020
