River Of Horrors - A Schlattbur Story

PART 9 - REACTION

RIVER OF HORRORS

PART 9

───── ❝ REACTION ❞ ─────

"Remember earlier when I mentioned that I wiped some of the blood on a scrap piece of tissue?" Technoblade reminds the others as he unlocks the laboratory doors and opens them with careful precision. Directly behind Techno is Wilbur, and behind Wilbur are the other three boys. "Well, I'm gonna to put it under the microscope and examine it's cells — before the blood dries completely."

Wilbur feels his hopes perk up just a little — this sample... If it's blood were possibly from an infected, could that mean that they could use this to figure out a potential cure? He subtly grips the sleeve of his jacket in anxious anticipation.

The lab exuded orderliness and amenity; narrow shelves are distributed symmetrically inside — each mounted with various equipment and forensics. 

Technoblade paces over towards the desk, which is sitting along the far side of the lab. A x2000 microscope and its components takes a third of the space, with scattered papers and test-tubes taking up the rest. There is also a projector linked to the microscope, which displays its screen on the whiteboard.

He plugs the microscope into the power source, turns it on, and opens a drawer, taking out a watch glass and needle. Using the needle, he pricks the tip of his finger, and a drop of his blood falls elegantly onto the watch glass. He painstakingly puts the watch glass beneath the microscope.

The others gather tightly around him, intrigued at the experiment Technoblade is conducting. Wilbur in particular pays extra attention to this.

Then, he pulls out the piece of tissue with semi-coagulated blood smeared over it from his pocket, placing it next to the equipment.
Techno switches on the projector so the others can see without having to peer into the microscope. Everybody gasps as the image of the zoomed-in blood droplet projects onto the board.

"This is my blood," Techno announces, looking into the scope despite it being on the screen. "As you can all see, the red and white blood cells are all moving in commensurate directions."

Wilbur's eyes grow wide as he watches; zoomed up, close inside, the single drop of blood are millions of cells flowing in a single direction. Tommy and Ty's innocent eyes are big with wonder, as they both watch the screen in amusement. On the other hand, Connor looks more disturbed than amused, but he still doesn't take his eyes off the image.

"This means that my blood is completely healthy," Techno says with full confidence. 

The statement takes a second to process in Wilbur's mind. Completely healthy...

Completely healthy?

. . . You mean to tell me that even despite encountering multiple infected cannibals, and not only that but engaging in fight with them...

He's not infected whatsoever? 

Is this why he seemed so confident that he wouldn't get the virus when going out on that mission? But even so... how could he predict that? Techno's a risk-taker, but even he should know where the boundaries are.

His incessant train of thoughts subsides as Techno continues. "Now, if my deductions are correct, if we take a look at this blood sample on the tissue. . ."

He removes the watch glass from underneath the microscope, replacing it with the tissue with blood. Techno readjusts the objective lens, until the microscopic image focuses.