Their only chance was to keep firing until they ran out of ammunition or it dropped dead. Therein lay the problem, sustained and continuous fire was a challenge for a section armed only with weapons with a limited ammunition capacity.

Nevertheless Murphy pulled back on the forend to pump and fired off another round. All round him the men kept firing, and several rounds struck the creature through the chest, arm and legs. 

Two…

“Vampire,” Murphy said over his shoulder and heard the word being passed down.

He distanced himself from the wall and circled around the corner with his shotgun leading the way. It did not take long for him to find the threat, a vampire hunched over and feasting on a rifleman. Where’s the third?

A good question but there was no time. He lined up the forward bead and pulled the trigger. The weapons roared to life sending a volley of buckshot at its target. Given his range it only grazed the vampire’s leg.  

One…

They approached from both sides of the church, meaning they risked crossfire if careless. Murphy kept a brisk pace while ensuring the steps of the man behind were audible.

When halfway to the rear a soldier was thrown clear from the cover. He knew by the way the man moved that he was dead before hitting the ground.

“Vampire,” Murphy said over his shoulder and heard the word being passed down.

Everyone brought their weapons to the ready, and sure enough in the distance they spotted an orange glow. As soon as the source came into focus a rifleman fired off a shot and extinguished the light.

Two other shots came from behind the church. The fact it was a trench gun gave him reason to worry. They shouldn’t be within our perimeter.

Murphy clenched his jaw as he heard screams from the other side followed by more gunfire. This time from a pistol, and since two of his sergeants were already looking at him he motioned for them to circle to the rear. Just in case he kept a team in place.

He moved the rest of his men closer to the spire. This way they controlled both the front and rear of the church, giving them full coverage of potential exits without being in each other’s line of fire.

At the seven minute mark they heard distant gunfire. While everyone had a trench club and were issued pistols, two also carried shotguns for close quarters fighting. The rest used their standard issue rifle with bayonets. That was definitely a trench gun.

Everyone brought their weapons to the ready, and sure enough in the distance they spotted an orange glow. As soon as the source came into focus a rifleman fired off a shot and extinguished the light.

The remainder formed an all around defensive perimeter and waited. Murphy pulled out his pocket watch. The crescent moon made it a challenge, but he noted their arrival on station.

At this time of night sounds carried, and he picked up the constant ticking as though the watch was against his ear. In the background he heard the men moving deeper into the church.

He dispatched two more teams. They would circle the outer perimeter of the church, and establish a position on the side facing the cemetery. After one minute, a hatch was pulled open from within the church. Let’s flush them out.

As there was no apparent threat, Murphy dropped into the trench and moved along it a part of the way to maintain cover.  The first section followed single file until he broke cover and closed in on the church.

As they neared the fallen bell, Murphy motioned for Sergeant Ryan’s team to break off and head inside. If their intelligence was correct the section would find a basement with catacombs. These are ideal locations for creatures feasting on the dead. The smell is already a giveaway.

Without prompting, a group of three broke off and ran towards the high ground. From there this team would provide fire support. Two of the men were from indigenous tribes back home, who grew up hunting and were deadly with a rifle at any distance. The lance corporal leading them was raised on a farm and spent his summers picking off prairie dogs to save the cattle from injury.

From experience, Murphy knew they would be in position in roughly three minutes and the rest of the team would reach the church in five. Prior to that they reached an old communications trench, so Murphy and two corporals approached with their trench guns.

After nightfall, a group of twenty men crept across the bombed out field that was once the front line. The allied troops recently gained ground, shifting the lines further east and left behind a feast for ghouls.

At the head was Warrant Second Class Murphy, followed closely by his three sergeants. Their objective was an old bombed out church on the outskirts of what was once a thriving community.

Despite months of artillery strikes several of the tombstones were still visible as was one of the spires. One of the brass bells was partially buried by what used to be the main doors.