U-1149 sat with AE-3803 in one of the booths.
"Hankenkkyu-san, couldja gemme some… some water? M'throat's dry…"
U-1146 nodded. "Of course. Stay right here."
He exited the booth and made his way to the bar through the thick crowd. There seemed to be even more erythrocytes than when they first came in. U-1146 wondered how much alcohol had been consumed.
He even saw a squad of Killer T Cells grouped around their leader, Memory T Cell. Memory T Cell laid across several chairs on his side. He appeared to be holding a frozen, wrapped-up glucose treat to his crotch. U-1146 didn't know what that was about, and he quickly decided that he didn't want to know, either. He continued on his way.
Was there a germ attack? wondered 1146. He didn't think so. His receptor wasn't going off, but he kept his eyes and ears open just to be sure. AA-5100 was on the dancefloor, looking quite at home with the group of erythrocytes she had joined. Both 2626 and 2048 were in opposite corners of the room, looking out for trouble. He thought he had seen 4989 go into a booth with a sleepy-looking, auburn-haired erythrocyte. NT was slumped face-first on a table in a different booth, out cold.
U-1146 ordered a bottle of water from the bartender hepatocyte and returned to AE, only to see her sobbing uncontrollably.
"Sekkekkyū-san, what's wrong?"
The bawling blood cell held up a torn napkin.
"I don't understand," said 1146.
It took AE several tries to be able to speak, but she managed to take a gulp of breath and tell him what was wrong.
"I killed it!"
She began wailing anew after confessing her deed.
U-1146 blinked. "Sekkekkyū-san, you didn't kill anything. It's a napkin. Um, here is your water."
He placed the water bottle in front of her. She gulped a few times, got control of her breathing, wiped her eyes with the torn napkin, and promptly forgot about it. She opened the water bottle and began sipping on it, accidentally spilling some on the table.
"Hanko-san, I'm sleepy." she said. U-1146 could see that she was struggling to keep her eyes open.
"It's okay if you try to rest. I'll be right here."
Bing!
U-1146's receptor went off.
He tensed and looked at AE. "Um, actually, I have to go fight some germs. I'll be back as soon as I can, just stay here."
AE nodded, her eyelids drooping lower and lower. "Okee… see ya… be careful…"
U-1146 bolted away from the table, trying to find the source of the germs.
Ringing sounded out as the receptors of his fellow neutrophils also picked up on the disturbance. It was likely that there were multiple germs. U-1146 furrowed his brow. Did germs often get this far into the liver? The Kupffer cells would have taken care of that, wouldn't they?
Movement by some other booths caught his eye. From the nutrient baskets that some of the erythrocytes brought in, viruses floated out in search of victims. They looked like orange-colored multifaceted dice covered in bumps, and they moved through the air almost like ghosts. U-1146 never could tell if the viruses were living creatures or not. Viruses didn't taunt or fight like bacteria, they just… existed. And proliferated.
He whipped out his knife and slashed a lone virus from the air, but already a few others attached themselves to hepatocytes.
Hepatitis A:
The Hepatitis viruses come in several types, and affect the liver. Hepatitis A is a less serious form of the virus, though it still infects hepatocytes and Kupffer cells. Hepatitis often spreads through contact with stool, making it very important to wash one's hands after using the bathroom and before preparing food!
The infected hepatocytes' screams died in their throats as their eyes took on a glassy stare. U-1146 slashed another virus out of the air, pain in his mitochondria. Once infected, the hepatocytes were beyond saving. The uninfected screamed and ran.
He looked around for the infected hepatocytes, but he had trouble distinguishing them from the uninfected ones. Unlike other viruses, this one did not appear on infected cell's heads like a hat!
Hep. A Infection:
When Hep A infects a cell, it wraps itself in the membrane of that cell. To further avoid detection, they use enzymes like protease to prevent the infected cell from presenting viral antigens to the immune system, hampering the immune system's ability to respond with a specialized attack.
"Hep… Hep hep. Heppahh… Hep…" the infected cells mumbled, shuffling towards their former colleagues in order to infect them. "Hep. Hep hep."
One of the infected cells moved past U-1146. Aside from the glassy eyes, he could just barely see what looked like a honey-orange piece of virus sticking up from the back of the hepatocyte's collar. U-1146 dispatched it, but even more cells were getting infected.
"Damn it," 1146 muttered. A good number of hepatocytes were already infected. They were too numerous for him and his squad. He'd have to call for backup. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the Killer T Cell squad, still crowded around Memory T Cell.
"Yo! Killer T!" he called.
Memory T was still curled up on the chairs, trying to block out the noise around him.
"Killer T!"
Memory T winced and glared in the direction of the voice. "It's Memory T you numbskull!"
"Virus attack! Virus attack!"
Memory T's head snapped up. He jumped up from the chairs, wincing at the sudden movement.
He and the rest of his squad saw the viruses floating in the air and the infected hepatocytes roaming around.
"Rrr! False alarm my ass! Come on, boys, let's kill 'em dead!"
The Killer T Cells roared with approval and rushed towards the infected hepatocytes. The infected cells were no match for the Killer T Cells. Strong arms and bare fists bashed the infected cells into gooey pulp. Screams grew louder as the carnage spread. Defending the body was ugly work, but necessary. U-1146 hoped the hepatocytes would find peace in the next life.
U-1146 saw one of the Kupffer cells trying to fight as well. It seemed like she was having trouble, especially since it wasn't immediately obvious which cells were and were not infected. She had to look extremely closely, and even then he felt that some infected cells weren't showing any visible signs at all.
One of the infected cells rushed towards him, but he cut its throat with his knife and sent it reeling backwards.
U-1146 cringed, even as he slashed through infected hepatocytes. Focusing his gaze only on the task before him, he fought his way towards the exit and outside the club. Infected hepatocytes wandered the streets, and he could hear Helper T Cell's announcements over the loudspeakers. He could only see small numbers of immune cells fighting back.
He slashed two more infected cells, and saw his other three neutrophil friends rush out of the bar to help.
"Dammit!" shouted a voice nearby.
U-1146 turned around and saw B Cell furiously working on his antibody gun. A slain infected cell lay face-down next to him, its shirt ripped off. The virus, half-buried in its membrane, could clearly be seen on the dead cell's back. B Cell frantically compared various antibody components to the bumps and ridges on the virus' half-visible surface.
B Cell
B Cells are a type of immune cell who create antibodies which aid in the identification and destruction of threats.
B Cell muttered under his breath.
"B Cell! What's going on?"
The frustrated immune cell didn't look up from his antibody gun. "I gotta make new antibodies for this infection! I don't recognize them!"
"What about Memory Cell? He doesn't have any records?"
Memory B Cell
Memory B Cells are special B Cells that record antibody information from previous infections or vaccinations for use in the event that the body is infected by that particular pathogen again.
Memory B Cells are different than Memory T Cells; Memory B Cells only aid in antibody creation in the event of reinfection, while Memory T Cells are deployed for the specific purpose of directly killing a pathogen the body has faced before. It may be helpful to remember the difference with an analogy; Memory B Cells are responsible for the tools needed for defense against a threat that has appeared before, while Memory T Cells are responsible for doing the actual defending against a threat that has appeared before.
As if in answer to his question, 1146 heard Memory Cell cry out in frustration.
"Useless! Useless, useless, useless!"
Memory Cell's outburst was followed by a dull thunk! He was probably slamming his head against a wall, like he usually did when he couldn't remember something.
"I guess that's a no."
B Cell grunted. "You know that guy. He never finds what he's looking for the first time around. Remember the mumps invasion?"
An infected cell lunged towards B Cell.
"Look out!" U-1146 slashed at the attacker, dousing himself and B Cell in cytoplasm.
"Thanks for that."
U-1146 grabbed his radio and brought it to his mouth. "This is U-1146. We need backup in the liver. Unknown virus."
The radio crackled. "You're gonna be on your own for a bit. The body's dehydrated, it's gonna be awhile before we can get there!"
Dehydration
Drinking alcohol causes dehydration due to osmosis, the diffusion of water through cell membranes. It is very important for one to drink water before, during, and after consuming alcohol!
U-1146 slashed through two more infected cells. He dared not even think the jinxed question, "Could it get any worse?" The answer was yes, always, and asking that question was an open invitation for the universe to make the situation worse.
"Wait!"
U-1146's mitochondria froze in his chest. Did he accidentally think it?
"I found it! I found it!"
That was Memory Cell's voice. U-1146 sliced the throat of another infected cell and glanced behind him.
Memory Cell ran towards him and B Cell. He held his binder open in front of him, jumping over infected cells as they lunged at him. One infected cell ran between Memory Cell and the other two, spreading its arms and legs wide like a goalkeeper.
Memory Cell would not be stopped, however. While running, he dropped to the ground and slid underneath the infected cell's legs like a baseball player, grasping the binder to his chest. He slid to a stop beside B Cell, while 1146 dispatched the infected cell with a knife to the back.
"I found it!" gasped Memory Cell, breathlessly. He handed the binder to B Cell, keeping it open to the page he had found.
The page was titled "Hepatitis A," and it had a photograph of a dead cell infected with the virus, as well as instructions for the antibodies.
"There was a… hah, hah… vaccination a while ago," Memory Cell panted.
Vaccination
When dead or weakened germs are introduced into the body for the sake of allowing the immune system to learn how to fight and produce antibodies against said pathogen. Vaccination, also called immunization, is very important in order to prevent serious diseases such as measles, mumps, whooping cough, polio, and the like. Thanks to vaccination efforts, the disease known as smallpox has been eradicated.
"Great." B Cell got to work.
U-1146 continued to defend them from oncoming infected cells, but he began to tire. His throat burned, and he craved a drink of water. He noticed the air around him was very dry. Dehydration was setting in.
"Got it!" B Cell stood up and blasted the infected cells around them with his antibody gun. The infected cells staggered, the antibodies starting to affect them.
Now, it was much easier to identify infected cells from uninfected cells. The antibodies clung to the infected cells in clumps, marking them for destruction. Any non-infected cells hit with the antibody stream were able to brush the antibodies off easily, but infected cells found that it stuck like glue to them.
B Cell also shot the antibody stream into the air, hitting free-floating viruses and bringing them down.
It was heartening to see, but there was no backup in sight and the air was getting drier. The infected cells far outnumbered the immune cells. An ominous storm cloud hung in the air…
Wait.
A storm cloud?
U-1146 did a double take. Dark clouds quickly rolled in through the liver.
Treatment of Alcohol Poisoning
Part of hospital treatment for alcohol poisoning involves intravenous administration of water and vitamins for rehydration. It may also involve pumping excess alcohol out of the stomach to avoid further damage to the body.
The clouds obscured the liver ceiling. It began to drizzle.
U-1146 paused for a moment, just soaking in the rain. He felt reenergized. Gripping his knives tighter, he bolted forward, towards more infected cells, and raised his weapons.
He fought his way through the horde, catching glimpses of his neutrophil companions among the germs. Before long, more immune cells showed up. Killer T Cells, B Cells, Macrophages, all came charging into the fray.
Cutting, slashing, punching... Finally, the fight was decided. The immune cells killed the last of the virus infected hepatocytes, and the threat was no more. Kupffer Cells began to remove the corpses of the infected cells. The rain helped rise the gore from 1146's uniform. He stood still for a bit, catching his breath.
He looked back at the carnage. So many hepatocytes were infected. He crouched to the ground, bowed his head, and prayed. He prayed that the dead would find peace in the next life, and that the body would continue to be safe against threats.
When he finished, he stood up again, and began walking back to the club where he had left AE-3803.