by Richard Dee
He followed me and I tried to duck in anticipation of his next swing. This punch skimmed past my ear, but even the glancing blow was enough to make me see more bright lights.
I shook my head as I straightened up, he was stood in front of me, all stubble and broken teeth, but in his excitement he was unprepared for retaliation. Summoning up all my strength, I drove my fist into his stomach. I heard his breath whoosh out, and as he doubled over I raised my knee into his face. There was a satisfying crunch and he collapsed.
I felt my arms grabbed from behind and saw the third man advancing, looking over I could see that my new friend was down, there were pieces of chair scattered around his prone body.
I thought that I would be clobbered for sure, and the man raised his fist, preparing to punch me into orbit. My head throbbed and I still couldn’t think straight. My arms were pinned tightly at my sides and I was surrounded by fighting drunks and shattered furniture. There was nowhere to go. He saw this and grinned.
A huge female figure appeared between us and waded in. My head was clearing and I remembered something that had been done to me once before, I kicked back with my boot and felt it rake the shin of the man holding me, he yelped and his arms briefly relaxed. With a wriggle and a lunge I was able to pull free.
He tried to hold on to me, but he was too slow, I grabbed one of the man’s arms and pivoted on it, building up my momentum until I was in range, then I lashed out with a fist to his jaw. It felt like hitting a rock, only with less give, but he sank to his knees and slowly folded onto the floor.
“Thanks,” I said to the woman, who was standing over the body of the third miner, “I needed that.”
She grinned. “Not too much of a workout, I only hit him twice.” Looking at the size of her arms; twice would be enough to stop most men, and probably many medium sized animals as well.
“Buy you a drink? I’m Dave.”
“Cheers, Dave. I’m Elana, my friend behind the bar says you’ve been looking for me, and I had a message from Ria. I’ve been following you for a while, so what’s it all about?”
Afterword
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this story. As an independently published author, I have no huge marketing machine, no bottomless budget. I rely on my readers to help me gain attention for my work. And next to the readers who love my work; reviews, either by word of mouth or online remain one of my most important assets.
Talking about my books, telling your friends and family and reviews on websites help bring them to the attention of other readers. If you’ve enjoyed reading this book, please would you consider leaving a review, even if it’s only a few words, it will be appreciated and might just help someone else discover their next great read!
Find out more about me and my worlds at richarddeescifi.co.uk. where you can see details of my other novels and short story collections.
Thank you very much.
Richard Dee.
Also by Richard Dee
The Dave Travise Series
The Dave Travise Series
Freefall
Myra
The Balcom Series
Ribbonworld
Jungle Green
The Lost Princess
Steampunk
The Rocks of Aserol
A New Life in Ventis
The Sensaurum and the Lexis
Andorra Pett
Andorra Pett and the Oort Cloud Café
Andorra Pett on Mars
Andorra Pett and her Sister
Stand Alone
Life and Other Dreams
Survive
Non-Fiction
Creating a Sci-fi World
Flash Fiction
Vol One-Sci-Fi
Vol Two-Sci-Fi
Vol Three-Steampunk
Richard Dee
Richard Dee is from Brixham in Devon. Leaving school at 16 he briefly worked in a supermarket, then he went to sea and travelled the world in the Merchant Navy, qualifying as a Master Mariner in 1986.
He has also worked as an Insurance Surveyor, Lockmaster, Harbourmaster and Ships Pilot, taking over 3,500 vessels up and down the Thames, passing through the estuary, the Thames Barrier and Tower Bridge.
Since the publication of his first Science Fiction novel, Freefall, in 2013, Richard has written another twelve novels, a textbook and a selection of short stories. He has been featured in several anthologies, including 1066 Turned Upside Down and Tales from Deepest Darkest Devon.
He writes Science Fiction and Steampunk adventures and also chronicles the exploits of reluctant amateur detective Andorra Pett.
Richard is married with three adult children and three grandchildren.
He can be found at https://richarddeescifi.co.uk
and contacted at [email protected]
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Chapter Thirty Five
Chapter Thirty Six
Chapter Thirty Seven
Chapter Thirty Eight
Chapter Thirty Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty One
Chapter Forty Two
Chapter Forty Three
Chapter Forty Four
Chapter Forty Five
Chapter Forty Six
Chapter Forty Seven
Chapter Forty Eight
Chapter Forty Nine
Chapter Fifty
A Sneak Peak at the next book
Afterword
Also by Richard Dee
Richard Dee