“Hey, as I was coming up, you weren't going to kill me, were you?” Taz asked.   “Taz, you know these bugs freak me out!” Jason shook off the sudden thought, adding, “Did you at least find what we came for?” Jason asked.   “Of course. Expect anything less from this Comp-Tech?” Taz boasted.   “Yeah, a bloody trail.” Jason began to relax.   “Oh. Well, thanks for not killing me as I entered camp.” Taz looked at Jason.    “I felt a Terracken, what happened? Were you followed?” Tammka questioned as Taz realized she’d be fine.   “One tried too. Caught me at the wood’s edge. It didn’t have a face left when I got done. I’m pretty damn sure it’s dead. Yeah, we're in the clear.” Taz said to Tammka.   “I hope so.” Jason kept looking into the woods for sign’s of movement.             Taz found a tree to sit down. Resting, he caught her looking at him again. He felt her smile. Never in his life had any woman looked at him the way she did. Soon he'd have to either reject her, or, fully accept her. Then again, never in his whole life had he had felt such worth. He felt important! Moreover, he was getting bolder, Cockier! Tammka was still smiling at him.   “So, you're not being followed?” Jason asked, still pointing his wrist laser off in the direction Taz had entered camp, not believing his words.   “I killed it. We're safe for the moment. Though you’re right, it was a very large mean one that had followed me all the way into the woods. It landed on top of the trees. I had to unload on it as it came through the branches.”   “You sure it's dead?” Jason asked, still holding his wrist laser towards the direction of sounds he'd heard.   “Took three of my shots, I'm pretty damn sure it's dead.” Taz admitted, beginning to pull out the papers and began to sort through them.   “You used three shot's?” Tammka asked.   “Yeah, all but the last one.” Taz admitted. Tammka remained silent.   “Okay. As long as you’re sure, it's dead. I can check her bandages and then we’ll need to start heading back.” Jason stated, starting to collect himself again.   “That was the plan. I just need to rest a minute or two to rest.” Taz agreed, rubbing his ankle.   “You’re sure, nothing’s following us?” Jason asked again adding, “Because I'm going to need a few minutes here,” Jason stated, pointing at Tammka's carefully wrapped leg.   “Yeah, yes, I'm sure. We're safe.” Taz said realizing Jason needed to attend to her wound.   “Good, then I can get this over with.” Jason said, realizing it was all right to recheck the bandage job he'd done on her thigh earlier.   “Cool.” Taz said, sinking deeper into the base of a nearby tree.          Pulling out the papers, he began to read in an effort to understand everything. He was going to get pissed-off, if these papers didn't hold any answers.   “He's alright girl. Time to let me re-check those bandages.” Jason told Tammka, as he knew she would resist the idea, again.   “You don’t need too, I'll be fine.” Tammka stated, not wanting to do this at all.   “And again, I'm back to square-one. Taz, talk to your girl.” Jason asked of him, knowing Taz could probably distract her while he’d checked her bandages.          Tammka and Taz had built that special bond. Everyone had seen it happening, and wasn’t going to doing anything to stop it. Lin would have called it love, yet, because of these bugs, none the women believed in that word anymore. Men here died too quickly to form a relationship. It was weird how Taz had seemed to be trapped in her clutches. It was supposed to be a good thing as both Jason and Lin was happily letting this happen to him. They both thought him and her we're a good match. The Geek and the Slut. Divine intervention? Imagine that.   “Come-on Tammka, the faster this gets done, the faster we can start back.” Taz's words seem to take the wind out of her sails. Jason smiled at the raw power he seemed to have over her.   “I’ll be good,” Tammka said meekly. As if for Taz, ANYTHING.          As Jason began to look over his own work. The blood didn't seem to be seeping through the glued pieces of skin. It was holding, for now. She seemed to twitch at his poking though.   “Stay still, I have to snug down these next wraps. Hold on, this is going to get rather uncomfortable.” Jason warned her, he began to unwrap and tug it tighter. She moaned through the pain.   “Z-Lat! That **** hurts. Hey, you’re going to give me a shot before you tighten that down, right?” Tammka pleaded, wanting to grip her own throbbing leg high above the actual cut. Jason looked over to Taz, who was shaking his head ‘no’.   “Girl, I hate to tell you this. But Taz says no.” Jason informed her.   “Please Taz?” Tammka pleaded to her savior.    “We’ll need those other two for later on.” Jason informed him.   “Please! I want it now. The pains getting to be unbearable. Taz,” Tammka stated again. Jason looked over to Taz, sure that the wuss was going to cave in. Taz shook his head ‘no’ again.   “Please?” Tammka said, not allowing Jason within reach until she had it.   “No I said. You can’t have it. Bite a stick or something.” Taz suggested.   “You got served!” Jason said which got her really mad.   “You son of a bastard!” Tammka stated under her breath.   “Now that’s no way to get us to build you a litter.” Taz said with a smile to her.   “Hun?” Tammka question what he’d meant.   “Do you want to walk, or be carried?” Jason stated to her.   “UGH!” Tammka gave in.   “Now, let’s just tighten this in,” Jason said, not mincing any words with her.   “I’ll get him for this.” Tammka stated about Taz, catching her breath. The pressure had let up and for those few seconds, but now the pain rushed in.   “Yeah, good. You're still not openly bleeding. Good. Now, hold still, while I rewrap this.” Jason told her.   “Kind of hard with all this pain. So what you're telling me is that I'm fine as long as I stay laying down?” Tammka stalling the whole time as Jason mentally pondered the best pressure required to rewrap this. He gave her a few more seconds by saying,   “...even if I was to pick you up and carried you. You wouldn't make it two hundred yards without beginning to bleed out again. Now, bite the stick and be quiet.” Jason informed her, starting to tug at the bandage. Sticking the stick in her own mouth had stopped her from talking. She eyed him for the truth in his statement.          He began to rewrap it, as the pain suddenly stabbed up into her belly. She clamped down on the stick before the second time around on the wrap. Her eyes began to bulge and fluttered north, as she thought to herself, ‘This litter had better be comfortable,’   “Here we go.” Jason said, continuing to wrap the cloth around her upper thigh.   “Z-lat, Z-lat, Z-lat!” Tammka hissed through the clinched wood as he tightened it in. Jason eyed her clenched fists. She had promised while Taz was gone, she wouldn't strike at him. Could she be held to her word? Her teeth started to crack the piece of wood in her mouth, as a squeal emanated deep in her throat. Just looking at her, Jason kept right on wrapping,   “That idea about the litter?” Taz asked as Tammka began sweating through the pain with the now broken twig in her mouth.    “It was a good idea, I know.” Jason said, happy how well her leg had clotted all the blood, watching her begin to chew on the stick.   “Yeah, surprised I didn’t think of it.” Taz admitted to Jason, as Tammka’s pain had become too much to bear. “I’m really impressed.”   “Well, now that I’ve impressed you, maybe we can work on building this thing together.” Jason smiled at Taz.   “Sure, what are we going to need?” Taz asked, as Jason slung the gauze around her upper thigh,   “Hold on... Okay honey, we have a little more to go. Okay, that’s it. We're done.” Jason said, sweating himself.           In a gurgle deep from her throat, and her eyelid’s fluttering, Jason knew what was happening. She was starting to pass-out. Her energy was gone, as she felt herself slipping into the darkness. She could have used that stupid shot! The stick dropped out of her mouth as her whole body relaxed.          Seeing her out, both men moved away in deciding to let her rest. Taz went back to studying these papers as Jason placed away all the medical supplies. Wiping his own brow, Jason came over and sat down at a tree’s base across from Taz. Even though they wouldn't talk too loudly, their words quickly dissolved in the evening sounds around them.   “Thanks. I know that was hard to do, but she'll need that shot for on the way home.” Jason stated.   “I figured as much.” Taz said, reading between Jason’s words.   “You’ve got a real trooper there. You know that she’s in love with you?” Jason smiled at Taz. He had built quite an admiration for the strong woman.   “Yeah. But she’s so ‘butt ugly’!” Taz said, acting scalded by the words.    “Still, you’d ‘beat hell’ to find another woman like her.” Jason said.   “You’re probably right; actually, she's starting to grow on me.” Taz admitted.           Scanning through the papers, he was trying to figure out how to end this.   “She ‘so’ doesn’t deserve you.” Jason pushed Taz’s shoulder, almost tipping him off the side of the tree. Though he pushed hard, it was all in fun.   “You want her?” Taz razzed back, sitting up quickly.   “She won’t have me, you’re her sweet.” Jason returned. They both snickered about it.          Taz began again to read over each of the pages. He began looking for those special few words, REVERSAL PROGRAM 8X. Then, like magic, three quarters through it, he found what he was searching to find.           Now, if this was what he thought it was, Taz began to read. As his face became blank as the words past his eyes. It sounded feasible. He read on in the understanding that the weapon was already set up and ready to use! They had it all planned out, ‘Why had they NOT implemented it? Why, what had happened?’ Taz franticly read on, ‘Why hadn't they pushed the damn button?   “This doesn't make sense!” Taz stated out loud.   “What?” Jason asked, hearing his concern.   “They never fired the damn thing!” Taz vocalized.   “Fired what damn thing?” Jason asked, now highly interested.   “They have a plan. It’s already in place, but they never started it.”   “What?” Jason asked not believing it himself.   “It’s all right here! I can’t understand,” Taz read on,   “They have a weapon that will kill these bug’s... And they never fired it?” Jason said, thinking he’d heard Taz wrong.   “Yeah, it’s all right here, ****.” Taz read on.          The thoughts in his head swirled all the words together, making it impossible to follow the story... his sister.