Man at War – Excerpt No. 209

It helped to avoid naming the creature they were hunting. While ‘enemy’ was vague, it did not draw unwanted attention. Whereas using terms like ‘ghoul’ and ‘vampire’ bent the ear of any eavesdropper.

The fact they entered a ghoul infested mine certainly explained what was going on. Intelligence claimed the nearby town was known for factories and mining. The latter, especially when abandoned, left little trace of its existence.

“I’m surprised their artillery didn’t create a sinkhole,” Marc said, dismissing the statement as the random thoughts of an officer.

a surreal and vibrant cinematic photo of a massive sinkhole that exposes a worn and dusty mineshaft with old wooden beams and rusty mining equipment, set in the midst of No Man's Land at night in 1915, with individuals in the foreground wearing clothing and hairstyles typical of the World War I era, including newsboy caps, overcoats, and picks and shovels, under a dark and foreboding sky with only the faint light of the moon and stars, captured in a photorealistic style with a pronounced film grain, evoking a sense of grittiness and realism, with muted earthy tones and deep shadows, and an overall atmosphere of unease and tension.

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.