Chapter 59

I found my locker and took out the bow for me. They were beautifully made compound bows. I held mine up and pulled back the string. It seemed hard at first but eased off considerably as the cams broke over. I released the string slowly and set the bow down. If they were all like mine I was sure none of the women could use them. I got out my Blackberry and quickly asked about it.

The return message told me all the bows were set to the lightest draw weight now and each was made specifically for the woman who owned it. They were all made with exactly the draw weight which would be most comfortable for the women now. As they became accustomed to the bows they could be set for more power. The Aliens had done a better than expected job of this.

All the women were wondering what in the hell these things were. They had all seen their rifles in the lockers too. Even though it didn't look like the one I had been using they could still recognize what it was.

"You all have rifles of your own now. Please do not try to use them until you have watched a lesson teaching you how and I have made sure you understand everything. If you are still afraid of the rifle afterward you do not have to use it."

I held up my bow then and an arrow.

"This is a bow and this is an arrow, let me put on the things needed to use them and I will show you how they work. First I must say you should never draw back the bowstring and let it go if there is not an arrow ready. It might damage the bow and I would have to get you another one."

I put on an arm guard and picked up a trigger. I loaded a quiver of arrows and walked to the first archery practice station. I hit the switch and ran the target to about fifty feet. After nocking an arrow and letting fly there was only silence behind me. Finally Dieta spoke.

"That is more than magic John. That little spear flew so fast I could barely watch it. How far will it fly?" she asked.

"I'm not sure and you must aim higher if what you want to hit is farther away. I will move the target farther away and try again."

I sent the target out to about a hundred feet and let go again. I still got it well in the target so I sent it out another fifty feet and I still hit it. I thought I was doing a hell of a job since I hadn't had a bow in my hands in the last ten years.

"I can tell it can still go much farther. It will be even better than a spear cast by the best of hunters," Roweea said.

"Yes it will. It will take some time for you to be able to use it well and you will be sore at first from pulling the string. As you get stronger we can make the string harder to pull and the arrow will fly faster and farther."

"This is magic, but it is magic I like. It will be so much better for hunting than a spear is," Delia said.

"It will be better, but you will have to practice. That is what this big cave is for. You will be able to practice without even going outside."

"Can we start practicing now?" Merita asked.

"Not until I get some bread. You must finish your bread lessons and then Frank will have some lessons about the bow and the arrows. Later he will have some lessons about the rifles. You will be having lessons for a long time."

"I had forgotten about the bread and I want to make some soon. It looks like it will be good to eat. What is toast though?" Gema asked.

"Toast is one of my favorites and it is the main reason I got the bread things. I'm sure you will have a toast lesson soon. I might watch that lesson to make sure Frank tells you how to make the toast I like best."

I put up my bow and things then after running the trolley in and retrieving my arrows. All the rest put up the things they had been examining and we returned to let Frank finish the bread lessons.

"What has happened to Frank?" Maia asked, since she was the first to notice it.

"Something has climbed on top of him, but I have never seen it before. I make sure to look at him every day since he started flashing at us sometimes," Gema said.

"It is a bigger screen so it will be easier for all of you to see at once."

"There are more chairs too. They aren't like the ones at the new table, but they must be chairs. Can we sit down for our lessons now," Winna asked.

"Yes you can. That will be better too won't it?"

"I think it will. We will see. Though I don't know why I am doing it. I have never been able to cook anything right," Roweea said.

"Maybe you will do better with bread Roweea," Waaya said, trying to cheer her.

"Maybe, it does look easy," Roweea agreed.

I left them at it and went to lie down for a few minutes. I let my thoughts drift to the new pussy I would be getting tonight and slipped into a nap.

I got no dream to Argent land and I wasn't sorry. When I woke I smelled freshly baked bread. Looking out toward the cave's entrance showed me the sun had set already. It had been a long nap.

My sugarplums were all over in their new kitchen rattling the new pots and pans. It was music to my ears. Easing off the side of the bed I bent over to put my boots back on. They were gone, replaced by a pair of moccasins of the same design all my mates had now. Grumbling to myself about Argent's meddling I pulled them on anyway.