Justin cursed under his breath with every step; moving them as fast along as he dared on legs that ached. Sajah’s faint rumble of pain helped Justin judge their pace. He had no clue what constituted a potentially fatal injury for Sajah’s species, and after Sajah kept him safe from being seriously hurt by one of the local animals, Justin wasn’t about to let him die because of his human ignorance.
They were farther from the village than Justin figured and even though Justin bore most of Sajah’s considerable weight, it was over an hour before they came close enough to see the fire light between the buildings. He quietly cheered, because holy s**t did he need help with Sajah.
Justin almost missed his next step when Sajah stumbled and the alien growled in a weak and insensate voice. The stead
