Chronicles of the Unknowns: Exposed

Chapter 24

I found Lili and told her about our plan. She was eager to join. Timothy led the way to the facility he was talking about. I just so happened to be the same place Lili and I raided not too long ago.

He must have used his powers to scope it out because once we were inside he knew exactly where he was going. We entered a large lab room inside the building.

"I will keep watch," Lili said.

Timothy and I entered the room and he led me to a microscope that was hooked up to a large television screen.

"You should stand back a little. You don't want to accidentally inhale the vapors," I said and he took a few steps back.

"Take one of the droppers and put one or two drops on the slide. Then take a second slide and push it back and forth a few times as you slide it on top. This way you'll have different levels of thickness in case one isn't suitable and we don't have to repeat it over and over," he said.

I did as he told me and then place the preparation on the microscope. I flipped on the light and turned the handles to move the slide around. After a few minutes, I could finally see something. When I turned around Timothy was looking at the television.

There were little organisms swimming around in the solution. They moved with shocking speed as they zipped about.

"This is definitely some kind of pathogen. Without a shadow of a doubt," my brother said.

He walked over to one of the cabinets and pilfered through them. When he came back he had on gloves, a mask and a two small needles and tubes in his hand.

"I need to see how it reacts to your blood versus mine," he said.

I put my arm out and felt a small prick as he drew blood. It poured into the little test tube until he removed it from my arm. He put the cap back on the needle and pulled it from the rubber stopper that was on the top of the test tube. I took them from his hands.

"Make sure you have one of the bottom corners visible on the screen and put just a drop on it," he instructed.

I did as he told me and watched through the microscope in awe at what happened. The virus cells attacked my blood and then immediately stopped in their tracks. My cells changed their shape entire, over and over again and the virus cells couldn't latch on. Eventually they became dormant and I watched as a large cell came and began to eat the invading cells.

"That's a neutrophil. It's your body's first line of defense - after external barriers like your skin," Timothy said.

"We should get your blood on there too. And then let's get out of here," I said.

Timothy handed me the second needle and test tube. I found a vein in his arm and inserted it. When the test tube was full, I removed the needle and place his blood on a different corner of the slide. This reaction was much different.

The viral cells didn't get act confused this time around. They attacked his cells without mercy. I watched as the virus burst through the cell and attacked what looked like the nucleus.

"It's looking for the DNA in the leukocytes," he said.

"Remind me why is doesn't attack the red ones?" I asked.

"Those don't have a nucleus. So they don't have DNA. It's looking for the genetic markers that make us Unknowns. Look - it's found it," he said in awe.

The cells all surrounded the cell that had been opened and ripped it apart. Then they moved on to the next with shocking speed. When I looked down at the slide itself, it wasn't spread out anymore. To liquid had shifted completely to where Timothy's blood was.