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On the other hand, the human was clearly worried about its friend. Something in its frowning, watery-eyed expression tugged at Jagga’s heart, and he knew what he had to do.
He took off the earpiece and tossed it to Serenity, who put it on.
“All right,” Jagga said. “We’ll help your friend.”
Grodd growled with displeasure.
“Cheer up,” Jagga said. “You get to carry the human. How about that?”
A broad grin broke out on Grodd’s bearded face.
CHAPTER 25: SERENITY
For the second time today, Serenity found herself draped naked across a massive ukkur shoulder. The fact that she barely knew the giant who was carrying her was a little disconcerting, especially considering how their first encounter had gone down. Under other circumstances, Serenity might have objected, but now was no time for modesty. They needed to get back to Hruk as quickly as possible, and the ukkur could move faster than her.
Muchfaster.
The trek that had taken Serenity over an hour was now traversed by the ukkur in a matter of minutes.
Though she thought she’d done a good job of not leaving a visible trail, the one named Jagga had no trouble retracing her steps. Was that based on scent? Serenity didn’t know, and she didn’t care. She was just grateful that these two savage ukkur hunters had agreed to help her, and she prayed Hruk was still alive when they got there.
As they arrived at the cluster of boulders, Serenity squirmed on Grodd’s shoulder. Reluctantly, the giant set her down. The hard packed dirt was warm against her bare feet.
Her first instinct was to race in between the boulders, but then she remembered the awful little poison slug that had caused all of this trouble in the first place, and she proceeded more cautiously, scanning the ground in front of her before each step.
“Hruk?” she called softly as she moved into the shade of the boulders.
As she came around the edge of the biggest boulder, her heart jumped.
He was there. Right where she had left him. The steady rising and falling the ukkur’s chest showed that he was still alive. Serenity nearly broke down and wept with joy, but she managed to keep her emotions in check.
Hruk was not out of the woods yet.
He looked worse than before. His skin was pale and tinged with a sickly green around the corners of his eyes. The swelling from the bite had worsened too. It was gradually spreading up his leg.
Behind Serenity, Jagga grunted. She stepped aside and let him inspect her friend.
The young ukkur knelt beside Hruk’s supine body and looked him over, nodding and grunting to himself. He peeled back one eyelid then the other. Checked the pulse in Hruk’s neck and at his wrists. Listened to his chest.
Serenity wanted to ask if he would be okay, but she didn’t want to break Jagga’s concentration. Besides, she was wearing the translator now.
Jagga moved to Hruk’s leg. He studied the little pinhole wound and gently palpated the swollen flesh around it.
“Zlorge,” he muttered.
“Zlorge?” Serenity asked.
Jagga nodded.
“The animal that bit him,” he said, pointing to the squashed slug on the boulder nearby. Its slimy guts had dried in the heat. “It’s called a zlorge. Poisonous. Rotting hard to see too. Strange that one would be all the way out here in the wasteland…” Jagga shrugged, “but they are resilient little bastards.”
Serenity wanted to know if Hruk would be okay, but she didn’t know how to ask it properly in the ukkur language. She tried her best.
“He live?” she asked.
“Yes,” Jagga answered, and the relief that washed over Serenity was so profound she swooned on her feet. It was a good thing Grodd was behind her to keep her steady.
“We’ll take him back to our camp in the woods. I’ve got herbs there. I’ll make a poultice for the wound and a drink to cleanse his body. He should be healthy again in a day or two.”
