Cells at Work: Ebola

Chapter 20: Intimacy

"Iiiiiiitttttttt'sssss usssselessssss," hissed the dying infected Natural Killer cell. "We wwwwwwillllll ttttttrrrrrriiiiuuuuummmmpppphhhh!"

NK had her pinned down to the ground with her sword plunging deep into the infected huntress' chest. She glared at her full of rage and hatred.

NK opened her mouth as if to respond but instead smashed her fist into her opponent's face, obliterating it into a slush of goo and nucleus matter.

As insisted by their master, both NK and MT detached themselves from their group, which continued to fight the archtraitor in the liver. At the same time, they race their way back to the Thymus HQ. Though she would prefer to journey alone, her burly partner would not have any of it, and so she begrudgingly accepted his company.

They moved with extreme haste, avoiding ongoing battles, or already compromised lymph nodes as much as possible. Many times they were forced to make detours, and many times they had to leave their fellow lymphocytes to their inevitable doom, knowing there was little they could do to change their fates.

The defense of Thymus HQ was far more valuable than the lives of any cells. It was of absolute importance to keep it from falling into the clutches of the enemy.

If the Thymus falls, then the forces of the immune system would also fall.

After what seemed like forever, they finally reached the upper levels of a vast cavern shaped like a dome that stretched as far as they could see. Below them, in the middle of this massive cave, was the Thymus base that consisted of the headquarters of the Immune System and the various training fields for the young thymocytes.

"You done with that?" her partner asked.

NK turned and saw MT drenched in the enemy's cytoplasm. Behind him lay his kill count, all eviscerated by his chainsword.

NK inhaled deeply before standing up. She then flicked her sword a couple of times, removing the cytoplasmic stains, before sheathing it in her scabbard.

"Yeah, I'm done."

"Good," MT nodded before extending his hand toward her.

NK stared at his extended hand for a long moment before fixing her gaze at him.

"What? You want me to shake your hand?"

MT rolled his eyes. "No, numbnuts. I'd like to borrow your sheathed sword if you please?"

NK narrowed her eyes with suspicion. Instinctively, she placed a hand on the hilt of Libertas. "What for?"

"I need that as a handle."

"Handle?" NK tilted her head to one side. "Handle for what?"

MT let out an exasperated sigh, somewhat annoyed by her constant questioning, while pointing at a wire hooked at the ceiling of the cavern that slid down to a watchtower situated near the entrance of the HQ below. "So, we could slide down the zip-line."

NK's lips formed a straight line.

"Are you dumb? Because that plan is really, really dumb," she said dryly. "Oh, and did I mentioned that it is dumb?"

The muscular Memory T Cell shot her an annoyed look. "I don't hear you coming up any helpful suggestions either, so just shut it."

"And I suppose you're just going to leave me here while you slide down to fight off Dendritic cell all alone?"

"Hah?" MT gave her a confused look. "Of course not! You're coming with me. Why would you even think I'm going alone?"

NK straightened up as she crossed her arms.