Chapter 2: The Search Begins
White Blood Cell U-1146 looked at his traveling companions.
Next to him, pushing a cart of CO2, AE-3803 was happily humming to herself. She bobbed her head to her little song, the red curl on the side of her head bouncing up and down rhythmically. 1146 smiled as he thought she looked very cute.
Maybe if she opened her eyes as she hummed, she would get lost less.
Meanwhile, on top of her CO2 box sat Platelet Leader-chan, kicking her legs and looking side to side to see if she could catch sight of Eosinophil's lost book.
Ahead of them were Eosinophil and Backwards Cap-kun. Eosinophil was frantically scanning every inch she could, with Backwards Cap-kun tailing right behind her.
Poor Eosinophil, thought 1146. The two of them grew up in the same bone marrow together, and he felt as if she were a sister to him. Even when she was a myelocyte, she was easily flustered and unsure of herself, which may be why he was assigned to help her train every now and then. Although it had been long since they were myelocytes, and Eosinophil had grown more into her own, he still felt very protective of her. It hadn't been very long since the anisakis incident, and many of the cells who weren't there still treated her as if she were a useless immune cell. Even though she tried to ignore them, White Blood Cell knew that the gossip didn't help her self-esteem at all.
Anisakis: a species of parasitic worm that lives in marine animals. It can infect humans who eat raw or undercooked seafood, causing nausea and potential allergic reactions. Eosinophils are the immune system's response to multicellular parasites.
What's more, Eosinophil has no idea how to respond to compliments. Praise just flusters her and makes her feel embarrassed, which is the exact opposite of what 1146 wants for his friend.
The five began heading up to the lungs, since that's where Red Blood Cell was headed anyway.
As they walked, they looked for Eosinophil's book. When he heard her describe it, 1146 knew exactly which book she was talking about.
She had recently admitted to him that she would write poems with a band cell senpai, and that even after becoming an adult she would sometimes continue to write. He remembered as myelocytes she would often carry around a book- a pink book with red flowers.
1146 had no doubt that this is the book she lost. He also had now doubt she would be mortified if anyone read it.
Most of all, they had to find it before Dendritic Cell did.
Eventually, the five made it to the heart. Red Blood Cell put her cart in the drop-off area and picked up the box of CO2 as Platelet hopped off. There were many blood cells going through the heart, so they needed be as compact as possible. White Blood Cell picked up Leader-chan, while Eosinophil put Backwards Cap-kun onto her shoulders. Together, they approached the entrance of the Heart's Right Atrium.
The Human Heart: The heart pumps blood throughout the body. Red blood cells carrying carbon dioxide enter the heart's right atrium, through which they go into the right ventricle. They exit the right ventricle to go to the lungs, where they receive oxygen. The blood cells then return to the heart, entering the left atrium. From here they enter the left ventricle and exit to deliver oxygen to the rest of the body.
White Blood Cell looked up in awe at the mighty temple before him. Since he could migrate throughout the body, he didn't see the Heart as often as the red blood cells. The magnificent architecture took his breath away. A grand sign read "Right Atrium" in Kanji, hanging above the arching doors. The magnificent red walls flew upwards, meating the curved roof at top. From inside, a steady beat rang out.
1146 could feel that this was a sacred place, an important place in this body. The Heart commanded the utmost reverence from those who enter its chambers.
He glanced down at Red Blood Cell. While before, she was humming a song with a carefree smile, now she wore a serious, contemplative expression. Holding her box, she slowly closed her eyes as hundreds, thousands of other red blood cells crowded around and compressed their little group. Breathing evenly, she slowly opened her eyes and looked with reverent awe at the Heart's splendor. U-1146 could feel the awestruck energy radiating from her soul, as if he was watching her pray. He closed his own eyes, inwardly smiling as he knew that no matter how often she passed through the Heart, his friend would never cease to experience the wonder as if it were her first time ever.
Opening his eyes once more, White Blood Cell tried to adopt Red Blood Cell's spirit as they inched closer to the entrance. Glancing sideways, he saw Eosinophil with Backwards Cap-kun, both staring wide-eyed at the grandiose display before them. On his own shoulders, he could feel Leader-chan's breathing become slow and even. He imagined she was feeling the same as the others.
With the ever-present beat of the heart keeping time, the five finally entered the Right Atrium.
BONG. BONG. BONG.
The beat became much louder inside the Heart. The outside light quickly faded, making the interior dim and difficult to see. Blood cells pushed in at all sides.
With a determined gleam in her eye, AE-3803 forged ahead.
"Big Brother White Blood Cell, we need to stay together!" Platelet-chan whispered into his ear.
Striding forward, he passed Eosinophil and Backwards Cap-kun. Eosinophil was looking around wildly, unsure of where everyone was. He grabbed hold of Eosinophil's hand, guiding her with him to catch up with AE-3803. He placed a hand on 3803's shoulder, making a small chain passing through. Keeping at a steady pace, they passed through to the Right Ventricle, and soon found themselves approaching the exit.
With so many cells bumping and pushing, White Blood Cell was glad that the exit was fast approaching. As they made their way out of the heart, AE-3803 inhaled deeply, walked straight over to the cart pick-up area, and grabbed a cart for the CO2 she was carrying.
Turning to look behind her, she saw White Blood Cell still holding her shoulder, with Leader-chan still on his shoulders. Behind him, he was holding Eosinophil's hand, who still had Backwards Cap-kun on her shoulders.
"Okay!" said Red Blood Cell cheerily, "everybody's here! Let's keep looking!"
"But what if it got lost in the Heart somehow?" asked Eosinophil.
"I think it would be trampled to pieces before anyone picked it up and read it," said White Blood Cell.
Eosinophil nodded. She looked slightly relieved, but she clearly would rather retrieve the book than have it destroyed.
"Don't worry big sister! We'll find it!" Leader-chan said from atop White Blood Cell.
Eosinophil nodded once again.
"Come on, we need to get moving. We don't want to cause a backup" said Red Blood Cell. The group began moving up to the lungs.
As they approached, White Blood Cell could hear a rhythmic whirring. It came in phases of two- inhaaaaaale, exhaaaaale.
The Respiratory System: the lungs bring in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide due to contractions of a muscle called the diaphragm. Oxygen flows through the bronchioles, or air pipes, of the lungs into microscopic sacs called alveoli, where it enters the bloodstream. The alveoli then fills with the waste product carbon dioxide, which travels the reverse path of the oxygen out of the lungs and the body.
Red Blood Cell approached an aveolus sac. She took the canisters of CO2 out of the box and placed them on the conveyor belt. She then quickly folded up the old box and placed it in a recycling pile nearby. Next to the pile were new boxes, freshly labelled and ready to use. Red Blood Cell brought one to the cart, just as freshly-filled oxygen canisters arrived on the conveyor belt. She picked up the canisters, placed them in the box, and motioned for everyone to follow her as she walked ahead.
"MAKE SURE TO STICK TOGETHER!" shouted Red Blood Cell over the noise of the various gasses rushing through the lung's bronchioles.
"WHAT?" shouted Eosinophil.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Red Blood Cell replied.
"IT'S TOO LOUD IN HERE, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Eosinophil shouted over the roar of the lungs.
"SORRY, I DIDN'T CATCH THAT, IT'S TOO LOUD IN HERE," responded Red Blood Cell.
"LET'S KEEP GOING, IT'S TOO LOUD IN HERE!" White Blood Cell interjected.
They walked on, and the roar got quieter as they moved on. Soon they would exit the lungs and return to the Heart.
White Blood Cell was rubbing his ears when something caught his eye. Or rather, someone.
"Oh, Basophil!" shouted Red Blood Cell happily.
"Basophil-senpai!" exclaimed Eosinophil nervously. As she and White Blood Cell had learned recently, the band cell senpai who used to mentor them turned out to be none other than Basophil.
Basophils: the rarest type of white blood cell, basophils are thought to summon eosinophils and neutrophils to the scene of an infection. They also are suspected to play a role in allergic reactions and preventing blood clots. The full extent of their functions remains unknown.
"Greetings, travelers," said Basophil. "The winds of fate are upon us today."
"Hm?" asked Red Blood Cell, cocking her head.
Basophil was a strange cell. No one really had any idea what he does. He was secretive, covering his face with a black scarf and wearing a blue raincoat at all times. He always kept his hood up over his head, even though he was already wearing a blue cap and the black scarf. What's more, he always spoke in riddles and cryptic poetry, confusing almost everyone. Eosinophil was one of the few people who could understand his actual intent. U-1146 suspected that this was in part due to her continuing to practice poetry, even after maturing.
Although Basophil was so strange, finding out that he was their mysterious band cell senpai gave White Blood Cell a new respect for him. Afterall, Basophil taught him how to think carefully about his actions and nature, which served 1146 well and led him to appreciate the hard work of other cells. Basophil also taught Eosinophil many things as well. After they believed their senpai had gone forth and died, his brave actions inspired both of them to give their all in defense of the body.
It comforted White Blood Cell a little that his beloved mentor had managed to survive.
Basophil looked down to Red Blood Cell, who was almost a full head shorter than him. "Strange beasts are afoot in this land. The Cylindrical Terror approaches from the depths of an abdominal perdition, to lay waste to this world."
Basophil's voice did not change while describing this threat to the body. At least, it sounded like a threat. 1146 wasn't entirely sure, Basophil tended to be a little dramatic in his word choice.
"I am glad you have come," continued Basophil, who showed no indication in his voice or his eyes that he was actually glad. "This will be a dark hour for us all."
"Senpai, are you telling us that there's an infection?" asked Eosinophil.
White Blood Cell felt Platelet's legs clamp harder around his head as she held tighter. "Big Brother, I'm scared," she said.
Backwards Cap-kun looked like he was feeling similarly.
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
Basophil looked at a spot behind Eosinophil.
"The beast approaches."
A/N: All medical information from Healthline, WebMD, and my memory of human anatomy.