Life was hard, but normal to the infant Derrick. He was mostly on his own by the age of three, and by eight he was cleaning carcasses and helping hunters. He started siring children at age 14, though most died at birth or shortly after. And he was good at catching fish, which became his daily task. None had names, but he was called the equivalent of 'the Fisher.' By the time Fisher was 20, he had 4 children alive and growing, though he did not acknowledge them as his. They were simply children of the tribe, cared for by females.
Fisher was 27, one of the older males, when he slipped into the water to catch fish and was attacked by several large eels. Crying out, the Neanderthal struggled to get away, but the eels tore his flesh and he gradually bled out too much and died.
Derrick woke suddenly and sat up with a start, pain from the eels' attack still sharp in his mind. He was back in the Spa! But something felt odd. The attendant held up a mirror and the reflection made him gasp.