3 It’s Just Not Right to Be Inside Your Uncle

Chapter 3 IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT TO BE INSIDE YOUR UNCLE Andrew slashed at the big-eater cell with his stone chip. Woofers! thought Andrew. This guy is a lot tougher than the red blood cell. Through the Schnozzle's earpieces, he could hear Judy's screams. As Andrew sliced through the white blood cell, clear goo began to leak out of it. The tentacles stopped wriggling and fell away. The white blood cell got floppy. "Erk! Oook!" came Judy's voice.

Andrew felt her poking his back and kicking his legs. "Judy, relax," sighed Andrew, still catching his breath. "The big eater is dead." "I know," said Judy. "I'm just trying to squash myself into this red blood cell." Just then, Andrew caught sight of his own empty red blood cell getting dragged off by the rushing blood. He snagged the baggy cell with the toe of his shoe and squeezed inside. "How did the big-eater cell know I didn't belong inside Uncle Al?" said Andrew. meep… "All cells got special code on outside," said Thudd. "Like label. Big eater read code. Code on Drewd cells say that Drewd not belong inside Unkie. Code on Unkie's red blood cell say it belong to Unkie. "Big-eater cell is part of immune system. Immune system protect body from invaders." WHAPPP! The capillary shook.

"Got it!" came Uncle Al's voice. "Uncle Al must have smacked the mosquito!" said Andrew. "Why hasn't he answered our purple-button call?" asked Judy. Another big-eater blob began squeezing through the capillary. Andrew and Judy pulled their heads inside the red blood cells. This time the big eater ignored them and wriggled off. More white blood cells followed like a herd of hairy ghosts. "Where are those stupid things going?" asked Judy. meep… "When body get hurt, when germs get in, body send signal to big-eater cells," said Thudd. "Lotsa big eaters come. Eat up bad stuff. "Big eaters going to mosquito bite, maybe. Mosquitoes carry lotsa disease germs." The red blood cell ahead of Andrew began to change color. It turned from bright red to dull red to dark red. Soon it was almost purple.

"It's getting harder to breathe," said Judy. meep… "Cuz oxygen leaving red blood cells," said Thudd. "When red blood come from lungs, got lotsa oxygen. Color is bright red. "As cell move through capillary, oxygen leave, go to other kindsa cells. Muscle cells. Brain cells. "When oxygen leave, cell get dark. Cell gotta go back to lungs. Get oxygen. Turn red again." The purple button in the middle of Thudd's chest began to blink. "It's Uncle Al!" said Andrew. The purple button popped open and a see- through hologram of Uncle Al zoomed out.

Uncle Al usually wore a crinkly grin. Not now. His eyes looked droopy and tired. "Andrew? Judy? Thudd?" he said softly. When Uncle Al used his Hologram Helper to visit Andrew and Judy he could hear them but not see them. "Hi there!" said Andrew. "We need help!" said Judy. "Hiya, Unkie!" said Thudd. "Where are you?" asked Uncle Al. "When I opened the Umbubble, you weren't inside." "Um, we're actually inside you," said Andrew. "SpongeBob SquarePants on a soda cracker!" exclaimed Uncle Al. His eyes were as round as golf balls. "How did that happen?" "Well," said Andrew. "We started getting smaller after we got zapped by an electric fish." "How small are you?" asked Uncle Al. "We're as big as red blood cells," said Andrew. "Good golly, Miss Molly!" said Uncle Al. "Red blood cells are tiny! Three thousand of them

would make a one-inch-long parade! "But how did you get inside me?" "You know that mosquito you just smacked?" said Judy. "It shoved us into one of your capillaries." "How are you guys able to breathe?" asked Uncle Al. meep… "Drewd and Oody got Schnozzles to breathe with," said Thudd. Uncle Al nodded. "And the Schnozzles and Hologram Helper are sending our thoughts back and forth. "Now the big problem is getting you out of me."