Earth’s shaking properly now. Grater’s given his signal. Soon we go up top. Soon we breed.
Only, it’s not right.
We’ve got the littleuns scrabbling at the tunnels. Got to move some rock before we can open the tunnels. Grater will do the rest, but the goblins got to help out a bit. Got to take down our walls.
The breeder-fighters are standing ready. We’ve armed. We’ve armoured. We’ve had our talks.
But it’s not right.
“What do you think, Brood Doc.?” Chief Boss asks me.
She looks nervous. I reckon she’s right to be.
“I think they’re the wrong kind of hungry,” I tell her.
Chief Boss nods. Looks stiff, she does. Stiff and brittle. “They’re definitely hungry.”
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So she smells it too.
“Listen up, boys!” I tell ‘em. “Remember what we’re here for! Remember why the earth shakes! Grater wants us goblins to live! He wants us to breed clan to hail his name and fill his halls! Don’t disappoint the earth father!”
“Grater wants us to get killing some Talls!” Big-boy shouts, and damned if the boys don’t like the sound of it.
“We kill the Talls ‘cos the Talls kill us! It’s not the job, boys and girls! The job’s to come back with bellies full of littleuns, and send the neighbours home with the same! Trust the cycle!”
Hard to hear over the shaking of the earth, the falling of the stones, the crunch crunch that’s normally proper satisfying. Hard to hear. Hard to think. Hard to shout. Real hard to shout louder than Big-boy.
“It’s the Talls what stop us from breeding!” Big-boy calls, beating his chest like Chief Boss ought to. “We kill the Talls and we can breed every cycle we like! Take ‘em down, brothers and sisters!”
The littleuns and the bigguns all like that. They’re cheering, chanting, clapping. They’re too far gone.
Chief Boss looks at me slow-like. She’s got some proper scared about her. She knows it’s her last shaking, and could be it’s the last for all of us. If we don’t breed, it’s all over.
Can’t tell them that, though. None what will listen.
The whole tunnel stinks of it.
They’ve got the Hunt Blood in ‘em.
They’re out to kill.