Page 56 of Alien Barbarian's Little Human

“Not much we can do about that, I suppose.”

I grab the handle and pull up. One of my patients is a civil engineer, and he rigged up hydraulics to make the heavy hatch easier to lift. But he didn’t do his best work, which is understandable considering he suffered a lot of physical trauma, including the loss of his left leg.

The hydraulics must be jammed. I can’t lift the hatch more than an inch. Suddenly, a red-scaled hand darts in and grabs the handle next to my own. Without so much as a grunt of exertion, Magog opens the hatch.

I quickly scamper inside, then motion for him to follow.

“Come on, hurry up! Before someone sees you.”

The big man sidles in, easing the hatch closed behind him without a sound. His left eye flashes in the dark, hinting at cybernetic enhancement. I lead him through the short tunnel to the entrance to our clinic proper. He has to stay hunched the whole way.

As the door opens, a spindly bundle of dirty limbs rushes over and hugs my leg.

“Neri! I knew you weren’t dead.”

I pat her head and smile.

“Who said I was dead, Jessica?”

“Mr. Orboch.”

I lean down and whisper in her ear.

“We both know Mr. Orboch is grouchy ande says things he doesn’t mean. No one is going to kill me.”

“She’s right,” Magog says. “I will not allow it this time.”

Jessica gapes at the sight of the huge Magog as he steps fully into the light. The patients, roughly a dozen of them, look up from wherever they’re trying to rest with alarm.

“It’s okay, everyone. This is Magog, and he’s a friend.”

“Wow, you’re really tall,” Jessica says, craning her neck and almost toppling over as she stares up at him.

“My vertical height is approximately average for a member of the Vakutan species, though my mass and density are much greater.”

Jessica scrunches up her face in confusion. He turns to me with wide eyes.

“What did he say?”

“He talks like a computer sometimes. Don’t worry, he might look scary but he’s actually nice.”

“He has pretty eyes.”

I laugh, and tousle her hair.

“That he does.”

My nursing assistant struggles up to his feet, left arm in a sling. His blue scales flex and gleam as he approaches us.

“Nice to see a proper ridged face,” he says, nodding at Magog. “I’m Velial.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Velial.”

Magog frowns as he stares at Vel’s arm.

“Your arm is broken?”

“Yeah, something like that. Neri healed the fracture, but it still doesn’t work right.”

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