516 Diversion

"You shouldn't have stood up to Grosh." The balding man sighed with a sympathetic look of mixed anxiety and despair. "He's not the strongest around here, but he's known for his cruelty. For refugees like us, this place is the only one that will take us in, but I can see that you are different. You're not afraid."

Jake calmly inspected the warm, albeit fearful, attitude of this emaciated man toward him as well as that of the other two humans. He also glanced fleetingly at the other aliens within the group, but he had neither the time nor the inclination to pay attention to them.

He had not forgotten the purpose of his presence here. Accepting the human's compliment, he immediately bombarded him with questions.

"Why do you want to leave here? Is there always such a crowd gathered in front of the inner shelter barrier, or has something exceptional happened recently that caused this change?"