Man at War – Excerpt No. 14

24 September 2025

While that killed the eerie glow it did nothing to help Roy recover. Murphy crept over, to Roy who appeared oblivious to what was going on.

“Roy,” Murphy whispered.

When there came no reply he snapped his fingers twice and still got nothing. Since they were sitting ducks, he grabbed the man and headed back towards their crater. The corporal followed on limply as though he were a mindless automaton.

a cinematic nighttime photograph set in the desolate and war-torn No Man's Land during WWI, with two ducks calmly sitting in the muddy terrain amidst the chaos of war, surrounded by destroyed barbed wire fences, scattered military equipment, and faint silhouettes of soldiers in the distance, under a dark and ominous sky with flashes of artillery fire illuminating the horizon, with the ducks' feathers glistening with mud and water, their beaks and eyes reflecting the faint light of the explosions, captured in a dramatic and poignant moment of tranquility amidst the devastation of war.

Disclaimer: This novel is an work in progress and readers may encounter grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Please view this a draft and not a published work.