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return with super-human strength. I think we might call
it hyperactive adrenalin. Without a tremendous amount of meat to
consume, though, the metabolism of their overactive body consumed
itself from the inside, and the Jombi would die within days.”
    “He claims to have access to a cure which
will calm, and eventually remove, the aggressiveness. Once the
Jombi no longer feel the urge to attack, they are no longer a
threat.”
    “Unfortunately, Tanis says the Jombi have now
evolved. He told me is had something to do with bugs, but I did not
understand what he was talking about. These new Jombi show the same
aggressiveness, but are able to sustain their bodies for years
without any food or water. They also do more than attack their
prey; they now pass on their deadly infection to those they are
able to bite or scratch.”
    Manon spoke quietly, “If this disease leaves
the jungle it will be uncontrollable. Even if a percentage of the
population is immune to it they will be killed by the rest who are
infected. Without a treatment, millions of people will die. We have
got to get this shaman’s cure, and your brother, back to
civilization and into the hands of someone who can study this.”
    “There is another problem, though” Pauley
remarked. “I think it is safe to say the spiders have picked up the
disease and can pass it along as well. What do we do about
them?”
    Manon had no answer to the question.
     
    ~ Chapter IX
~
     
    Manon had given Tanis one of Rock’s thin
khaki undershirts to hide his nudity. The shirt was massive on the
little man. It dragged the ground when he first put it on. With a
knife, Manon had hacked off a hand’s breadth of the length from the
bottom and tied it in the middle with a piece of rope. With the
shirt and his short walking stick he looked ridiculous; like a
miniature Jedi Knight. Tanis was thrilled with the luxurious gift.
Unable to stop himself, he unconsciously stroked his hands over the
silky cloth continuously.
    Tanis had been without his necklaces and
bottles for days. When he finally made it to the tree, after a long
slow trip, he was happy to place his familiar belongings back on
his shoulders and around his waist.
    At Manon’s request, Pauley had accompanied
Tanis on the trip to retrieve the shaman’s possessions. Manon did
not trust the little man to return on his own. He would be a
valuable resource to surviving the hike out of the jungle, and
would be able to assist with a cure.
    Handing a green bottle to Pauley, Tanis
explained how a single drop would calm an infected creature for
many hours, allowing it to be cautiously controlled, and even led
around using a leash. A Jombi in this state would follow wherever
it was pulled. He also mentioned one drop of the tonic could be
used on a person, and would result in a very deep sleep lasting for
days.
    The shaman also explained how he had
discovered administering four drops from the green bottle would
cause the Jombi to collapse and fall into a deep sleep for days.
When the creature awoke, it simply stayed wherever it had dropped
to the ground. It would no longer attack, and could no longer be
persuaded to do anything. The Jombi was unwilling to even stand.
Its only reaction to the world was to follow any nearby movement
with its eyes.
    The two started to walk back towards the
camp. Pauley moved quietly, watching out for any spiders in his
path, lost in thought. The liquid in the green bottle had to merely
be a drug. With modern science and access to the components the
drug was made from, it should be easy to recreate in the hands of
an experienced researcher, he thought.
    “What is used to make the liquid in the
bottle?” Pauley asked.
    There was no answer.
    Pauley turned and looked around. The little
shaman was nowhere to be seen.
    Pauley jogged all the way back to the tree
where the two had retrieved the man’s possessions, but there was no
sign of the missing man. He then retraced all of their steps
looking for any