Free The Reluctant Warrior by Pete B Jenkins Page A

“Okay, so she is incredibly beautiful. What man wouldn’t notice that? But after Cassie I’m determined to steer clear of women for a while.”
    “We shall see,” Rex said. “Nature has a strange way of disrupting a man’s plans.”

Chapter Seven
    Over the next few days Jed set about finding out as much about Montrose as he could. He was about Jed’s age according to the Noragin, and firmly in control of his people. Apparently, several years ago he had conquered the Yakros, a warlike people who lived a long way from the Noragin and had incorporated them into his army. His forces were now about fifteen thousand strong, according to Erik. The Noragin were also up against half a dozen death-birds, which Jed took to be the Noragin name for helicopters. Just where Montrose was getting his fuel to run them was anybody’s guess, but apparently he had six of them and they had killed many of the Noragin and Skraelings from the air.
    Jed discovered the Noragin had split into many smaller tribes so Montrose couldn’t find and attack them all at once. From what he could gather there were about four thousand Noragin warriors altogether and three thousand Skraeling allies. With odds like that and against enemy carrying firearms they were on a hiding to nothing before they even started.
    Montrose was in possession of all the countryside hereabouts, and now all that belonged to the native inhabitants were the forests. Montrose had also taken hundreds of Noragin and Skraeling women for his men, killing all the males over the age of puberty in every village he conquered. He had no interest in peace, conquest was his sole aim. It appeared he was the Adolph Hitler of this hollow earth and would not stop until he had either conquered or destroyed everything.
    “The way I see it,” Jed said to Rex, a few days later, “we can’t defeat Montrose in a head on conflict. We will need to run some sort of guerilla campaign.”
    Rex strolled along beside, hands in pockets. “Pick them off a few at a time?”
    “It’s the only way.”
    “Fifteen thousand is rather a lot to pick off a dozen or so at a time,” Rex said doubtfully. “Even if things did go our way it’d take years for us to make any inroads like that.”
    “Have you got a better idea?”
    “No.”
    “At least we’ll be seen to be doing something, and that’s imperative, because if we don’t act soon then our welcome will run out very fast.”
    Rex sighed. “I never thought I’d see the day I’d be running around the countryside playing at being a commando.”
    “If we ever get back home we could market a doll based on you,” Jed said, leaving his serious side out of it for the moment. “We could call it…G.I. Rex.”
    Rex chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind if it made me a bit of money.” He walked along quietly for a while. “She’s been asking me questions about you.”
    “Who has?”
    “Amora has.”
    “Aw come on, Rex, give it a rest.”
    “Well she has,” Rex said defensively. “She wanted to know if you’ve got a woman back home.”
    “I hope you told her about Cassie.”
    “No.” Rex looked genuinely surprised. “Cassie’s ancient history, I told her you were single.”
    “Thanks a lot.”
    “Well for crying out loud, you are single, Jed. Move on from Cassie, you’ll never see her again.” He placed a hand on Jed’s shoulder. “Find some happiness here, and if Amora wants to offer that to you then take it.”
    “And are you going to take your own advice?”
    “You bet your last dollar I am. I would have made a play for Amora if she didn’t have eyes only for you.”
    “What else have you been telling her about me?”
    “She wanted to know if back home you’re considered to be a mighty warrior.”
    Jed’s face took on a look of pure horror. “You didn’t…?”
    “Of course I did. I told her you were the mightiest warrior in our land, and that men ran in fear from you on the battlefield.”
    “You rat, Ferguson. How am I going