Man at War – Excerpt No. 180

9 March 2026

“You weren’t waiting long, Warrant?” Marc said as he stepped into his office.

Without waiting for a reply he removed his sword belt before swapping coats with one of the appropriate rank. It did much to improve his overall appearance as the replacement was clean and not riddled with bullet holes and blood.

“…about ten minutes,” Murphy said.

Marc sat on his stool and turned around. His second was still dressed as he was during the operation. He must have come here.

“Someone put you through the wringer,” Murphy said.

a surreal and vibrant cinematic photo of a soldier with a distressed expression, being wrung through an old-fashioned wringer, with intricately detailed metal gears and wooden handles, set against a misty, dreamlike backdrop of a World War I battlefield, just before dawn, with the sky transitioning from deep blues to soft pinks and oranges, the soldier wearing a classic 1915 military uniform with brass buttons, leather boots, and a helmet, surrounded by faint, glowing film grain, captured in a photorealistic style with a mix of warm and cool colors, emphasizing the contrast between the harsh reality of war and the surreal, fantastical scene, with every element, from the soldier's worn, weary face to the rugged, mechanical wringer, rendered in precise, high-contrast detail.

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.