Back in the grub room I eat two of the grubs then stuff two of my bandoleers pouches with them, I have about 5 in each, just to be sure I fill one of my belt pouches as well. Heading back to the room in which I was born in, stopping to grab some more material from the room down the corridor first. Once back I see the others are asleep. Putting the stuff near where I sleep, I start doing some stretches to help keep me awake longer and improve my body. Once I finished I sit near the pile of materials. Using my new tools I make my self a crude pair of underwear, it’s basically just a strip of cloth a couple of inches, with cord I made by plaiting strips of material and sowed on to act like elastic. Its in essence a bikini bottom, but it will stop my junk from flopping about under the loin cloth. My little knife I got I add a loop to it so I can wear it on my belt. The new needle and thread are working wonders. The knife, is a god send it makes shaping and cutting the fabric so much easier than the stone, but I keep the stone I should be able to create a crude spear with it eventually. Finally I make enough pouches for the other of my brood. Then I lay down to sleep telling my body to wake up early again.

As I wake up and stretch I see Tonka sneaking in, once she she’s me she stops. “ AHHH, why wake gain, want to kick you. Arggg.” She stomps her feet as she cant get what she wants. “ UP ALL NOW.” The others all startle awake, glaring around once their eyes fall on Tonka then stop apart from Lily as she really doesn’t like her. “ Follow.” Then she whips around stomping out if the door. “ FREAK!” As we start to follow I hand out the pouches to the others. Their eyes sparkle with happiness, I quickly show the how to tie them on as I undo and re-tie one of mine.

We reach the room. “ Only one.” We all frown. “ Have hunt teach ‘day.” All of are eyes light up. We all grab a grub stuffing our mouths and then follow Tonka back to the cavern room.

She leads us over to a different fire today. By it is a pile of sticks all different sizes, sitting by the fire is a female gob, she looks slimmer than Tonka more lithe and a few other gob children.

The female gob stand up. “ You go now Tonka. I teach.” A look of displeasure spreads across Tonka’s face, she then stalks off.

“ I name Thesa. I show how make spear for fishing. Later we hunt fish in under ground lake.” I feel a little disappointed at this I was hoping to see the outside world. “ All pick up sticks two or three for practice.” Everyone picks up a couple, myself I pick up three, one long, one about a third of the size as the first and the last barely more than a twig.

Thesa looks at all our selections frowning at some replacing others with longer ones, when she gets to mine she looks at mine with pity as all the longer sticks have now gone. “ I speak to Old Mag and Elder, say you smart. Why them sticks. No no. Surprise me.” She grins.

She then picks up a sharpened stick. “ This basic spear, crude but do for young like you.” She smiles while looking at me. She then picks up another stick unsharpened. “ Watch.” She instructs.

Taking a sharpened rock starts to cut one end roughly, after that she starts to grind the staked end on the floor to help make all the sides into a point.

“ Now you do.” She tells us. We all go and grab a rock each, even though my knife is better I do not want to let on to much that I have one, I pick the sharpest rock I can find it looks like a piece of flint so the edge is rather fine.

Sitting with my sticks. I sharpen the longest one, then I cut the sharpened tip in to quarters down the shaft, so now I have 4 tines. Using the twig I break it in two, I lodge each part between the tines forming a cross shape stopping the tines from coming back together. I reach into my pouch and pull out a reel of thread and then trapping a piece to the shaft with a finger, I loop it over one of the twigs sticking out, turning the spear 90o then under the next, turn 90o again and over the next, repeating this a few times making sure the thread stays tight, I then wrap it around the shaft a few time then cut and tie it off, putting the thread away, then I sharpen the tines.

I now have a 4 tined spear, much better for pining fish and smaller prey down, laying that down I pick up the last stick I plan to make an atlatl* out of it.

“ FREAK not do what told.” A childish voice shouts out. Looking up one of the other gobs that was sitting here when we arrived. Thesa looks over.

“ That ‘cause he has stuff as he try, he collect, he not stupid.” She responds while grinning.

“ H..H..HUH.” The little gob stutters. Thesa walks over to him.

“ You work bad, sloppy.” She picks up and snaps his first attempt. “ do ‘gain.”

She then approaches me looks at what I’m doing, picking up my spear.

“ What this?” She asks.

“ It’s to pin down fish and small things easier, the extra tips mean it has more chances to pierce and gives it a wider area to do so.” I tell her, she frowns.

“ And that?” Nodding to what’s in my hand.

“ This will help to throw the spear faster and with more power. Well once I have finished it.” I respond.

“ Show.” She asks.

“ I will when we go fishing.” I tell her.

She nods. “ It work you make me one, yes? ”

“ Ok. It will work though.” I proclaim. She looks a bit dubious.

I continue to whittle using the flint, I’m finished by the time the others have finished I also cut the bottom of the spear a tiny bit so it fits better onto the atlatl. Using a larger splinter I trim it so it looks more needle like and add a small hook like notch, pulling out a length of cordage I made I push it through the plaiting making sure to catch the hook into it. Now once I catch the fish I can string them to carry. Adding it to a pouch and the new rock to my rock pouch.

“ All follow.” Thesa tells us. We head to the far side of the room and into a corridor I can hear running water from it, the air smells damper as well.

It’s a sight to behold the lake is about the half the size of a football pitch and it’s fed by a waterfall. There is a few places around the room the water leaves from. The entire room is lit by small glowing rocks strewn across the walls and ceiling. In places underwater there is clumps of the rocks that glow lighting the water, the whole place has an ethereal look about it.

Taking us to the edge. “ Watch.” She heads to the edge quietly almost stalking, raising her spear, and then throws it. With a splash in the water it turns pink around the spear.

“ Spread out. If no catch you no eat.” She grins. We all spread out, I notice that Lily and my sibling all have tried to copy my spear to varying degrees, they have used strips off the bottom of their loin cloths to tie the splinters in place of my twigs together. Lily had made a 4 tined spear but had broken one of the tips due to not making the cuts even. The next best was on of the boys he had made a three tined one the tips all looking roughly a third of it, more than likely an accident but he went with it. It looks much better made than Lily’s attempt, he looks quite happy with it.

I head over to one of the streams that leave the lake. Fish like shallows that have deep places near to hide, and places like these have both. I can hear lots of splashing and random cusses from around the room, with all this noise and movement it will drive the fish to hide. Perfect I see a few juicy looking fish dart into a hollow near the entrance to the stream. Thesa is following me over. Ignoring her I hook the spear onto the atlatl and slowly creep to the edge making sure to keep back while peering over the edge. One thing most don’t know is that when fishing like this you actually need to aim bellow and behind the target as water refracts light, bending it slightly. I rip a handful of moss off the ground and grind in my hand so its only light fluffy stuff remaining. I throw a small amount into the air out over the hollow. It lightly lands on the surface not really breaking the surface tension. This lets the fish think that small insects and such are on the surface. One of the bigger and braver fish heads toward and lightly nips at the floating moss. I let the spear fly.

FUCK YES. Dropping the atlatl I jump in running my hand down the spear and grab the fish and then pull both the spear and fish out together. This way I don’t accidently loose the fish. Striding out smiling.

“ See Thesa, it works.” I happily tell her.

I pull out the line I made to carry the fish, tie one end to my belt and then pierce though the gills and out the other side of the fish with the other end, catching the needle end a bit of the bandoleer to keep it in place.

“ HUH.” Thesa peers at what I just did. Then nods her head in approval. “ You make me all later, show me to do yes.” I nod in reply.

“ Why you throw moss for.” She asks.

“ It make fish think that their food is on surface as they eat small bugs and things, and the little bits floating resemble it.” I inform her.

“ They right you freak.” I frown at that. “ I like.” She carries on while smiling.

Ok that’s better I suppose. She then wonders off to watch the others smiling at my brothers and sisters using there version of my spear.

Repeating what I did I catch another, its smaller but hey better than nothing. Stinging it on I notice a few larger bones riddled around the place. I see what looks like a thigh bone. Smiling I pick it up. It’s broken in half, perfect for what I have in mind. Using the floor and some of the rocks around the place I craft my self a bone dagger. It looks like a fatter, flatter spear head, so the edges are sharpened giving it a sharp edge not metal knife sharp. But enough to cause damage, and gut a fish.

Using the flint I make three notches around the bone under the blade, and again near the pommel . Pulling out the last of my cordage, I lay a piece in the groove and then wrap it around making a better handle, finally tying it off near the pommel. The head of the bone is perfect for placing my thumb when wielding in a reverse grip. As I finish this and begin gutting the fish, something catches my notice in the corner of my eye. It’s a bright green snake. It kinda looks like a water snake from back home. Keeping still I let get closer reversing the grip on the new bone dagger slowly. Then BANG, I lash out ramming the blade though the head and neck of it killing it instantly. Lifting it up I look in its mouth, no fangs means no venom, pity. I go back to finish the gutting and descaling. Once done I cut the head off the snake and throw it into the stream, then I pull the skin back around the neck and then pull all the skin off in one. I rinse it off in the water, turning it back the right way. I gut the snake I pop its heart straight into my mouth. UMMMMMMMM. Fuck that’s nice, it tastes much better than before. Must be a monster thing.

Stringing the snake on with the fish. I tie a knot at the tail end a couple of inches up. Then I fill it with water from the lake. I suspect that I’ll be needing water soon as I think the grubs up to this point has been supplying everything. Using the tail end I tie the opening closed, it now looks like an inner tube I throw it over my shoulder like a bandoleer.

“EVERYONE COME HERE.” Thesa shouts. Looking over every one she nods once her eyes fall on me the widen in surprise, I think it’s the snake, she licks her lips, yep it’s the snake. Every one has caught something, some of the gobs that where sitting before us look thoroughly soaked and knackered.

We head back to the cavern.

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AN: * https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spear-thrower

And here's another chapter enjoy