Chapter 3: Ascaris Lumbricoides
The ground shook violently. Eosinophil nearly dropped Backwards Cap-kun, but she managed to regain her balance.
Suddenly, the wall behind her burst open. A thunderous roar split the air, downing out even the ever-present whir of the lungs.
RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHGHHGHGHHHHHHHHH!
Ascaris lumbricoides: a parasitic roundworm that can enter the human body through the consumption of soil infected with the parasite's eggs. The eggs will hatch in the small intestine, then migrate through the bloodstream to the lungs where they mature further. From there, the worms are coughed up and usually swallowed. They mate once in the small intestine again, and they release their eggs in the host's feces.
They can cause coughing, bloody mucous, vomiting, intestinal blockage, and growth impairment in children, among other things.
Red blood cells ran screaming from the blood vessel's entrance as a horrifying monster slithered through. The enormous feind was a sickly yellowish-white color, and its gaping expanded and contracted as it searched for nutrients. It had no eyes, but still seemed to know where it wanted to go as it headed towards the alveoli with another ear-splitting screech.
RRRRRRREEAAAAAAAAAAAAGAHGHGHGHHHHGHGGHHHH!
She could feel the platelet on her shoulders trembling with fear. She quickly picked him from her shoulders and set him down near U-1146.
"Big sister, what are you doing?" he sobbed.
Eosinophil booped him on the nose. "Don't worry, little one," she said seriously. "I've got this."
Picking up the bident spear she always carries, she turned to face the monster. While it was true that she was weak against unicellular antigens like bacteria, and also that she had low self-esteem, Eosinophil felt nothing but determination as she stared down the beast. I've got this, she thought. It's what I was made to do.
Eosinophils: Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell that specialize in attacking and destroying multicellular parasites.
She began to walk towards the worm, her bident lowered. Despite the worm's blindness, it seemed to sense that danger was approaching as it turned to face Eosinophil. Death had come for the roundworm.
And Death wore pigtails and a pink uniform with white fluff on the inside to keep her warm.
Eosinophil came to a halt several micrometers in front of the parasite. For a moment, neither moved. The only sounds were the whir of the lungs and the screams from cells running away. Then, without warning, faster than a blink (if the worm had eyes to blink), Eosinophil pounced.
The creature roared and reared it head as Eosinophil launched herself above it and began to come down, her bident pointed straight down.
"DIE YOU PARASITE BASTARD!" she shouted.
RRRRRRREEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHGHGHGGGGHHHHHH! the monster replied.
Eosinophil landed spear-first on the monster's back, the points of her bident piercing the skin and penetrating the work deep.
RRRREEAAAAAGHHHH! it protested.
It thrashed back and forth, but Eosinophil's grip did not waver. She twisted her bident further into the monster as it whipped her around. Completely unfazed, Eosinophil reached into her uniform jacket and retrieved a vial labelled "granules" as she continued to hold her spear one-handed.
Eosinophil Granules: Eosinophils have hundreds of granules filled with enzymes and proteins, the functions of which are only partially known. Eosinophils release these granules to damage and destroy parasites that infect the body.
Eosinophil threw the granule into the wound created by her spear. It broke against the worm's flesh and immediately started dissolving every bit of worm it came into contact with. As the hole around her bident widened, Eosinophil dislodged her spear and ran along the length of the worm. Every couple of micrometers she would stab the worm, before retrieving another granule from her inside jacket pocket and hurling it into the wound. The enzymes released from the smashed granules dissolved the worm's flesh and made a sizzling noise as the worm thrashed. However, its thrashing became more and more sluggish as Eosinophil ran.
RRREEYAAAAHGHHH…
When Eosinophil reached the creature's tail, she doubled back, again stabbing and throwing granules every now and then. When she returned to the monster's head, it could barely move.
RRREAAAaaaahghhggghhhhh…
And then the worm lived no more.
Eosinophil jumped down from the monster's head. She looked back and studied her handiwork.
Already the enzymes she released were breaking the worm down. Almost half of it was gone already, and she could see the worm continue to dissolve as the enzymes continued tearing it apart. Soon, it would be a mass of waste that could be easily coughed out.
Nodding she looked back around to her friends.
U-1146 was smirking, clearly admiring the result of the battle. AE-3803 was looking awestruck at Eosinophil, her brown eyes wide with admiration. Eosinophil started fidgeting. She didn't like being the center of attention. She looked over at Basophil, who remained as unreadable as ever, then down to the platelets.
Leader-chan had her eyes covered, and she was tugging on Red Blood Cell's jacket. Backwards Cap-kun, however, was looking at Eosinophil with even more admiration than Red Blood Cell.
Eosinophil lowered her eyes to the ground and reached up to the bill of her cap. She pulled her cap down to further shield her face from onlookers, a habit of hers. She heard little feet running towards her.
"Big Sister Eosinophil! Big Sister Eosinophil! That was AWESOME!" shouted Backwards Cap-kun excitedly.
"R-really?" Eosinophil asked, blushing. She really hated being the center of attention.
"Yeah!" Backwards Cap-kun zoomed into her line of vision and launched into a hug, wrapping his arms around her knees.
"Whoa!" she called out, using her bident to steady herself.
"The monster was like, 'Rawr,' and you were like, 'Die!' and, like, you killed it! It was so cool!" Backwards Cap-kun's words spilled out of his mouth like a river.
"Y-you don't have t-to m-make such a big d-deal…" Eosinophil stuttered.
"But you're a hero! Thank you so much for your hard work!"
Eosinophil looked down at the little platelet. He was beaming up at her, and she felt her face flush.
She hated being the center of attention, but this little platelet was just soooo cute…
She knelt down and hugged Backwards Cap-kun, tears in her eyes.
"T-thank you very m-much."
"Big sister, why are you crying? You won."
Eosinophil sniffed.
"I'm crying because I'm so happy."
A/N: medical info from HealthLife, WebMD, and Cincinnati Children's Hospital website.