Man at War – Excerpt No. 226

24 April 2026

Murphy showed up with the punctuality expected of the watchmaker’s son. He dropped by Marc’s office and there they ventured out behind their lines.

Given the heightened tensions, major offensives were non-existent and by extension casualties were light. Many were brought on by stray gunfire, or getting caught in the open during an artillery strike. The majority of injuries in a lull were mundane, sprained ankles from uneven terrain, or complications from living in the filth and squalor of the trenches.

a surreal and vibrant cinematic photo of No Man's Land during a heightened battle at night, with intense artillery blasts and mortars illuminating the dark sky, smoke billowing from the craters and trenches, troops in 1915 attire running for cover, dead soldiers scattered across the barren landscape, clothing and style accurate for World War I, including British and German uniforms, helmets, and gas masks, surreal photography with a photorealistic tone, film grain texture adding to the dramatic and chaotic atmosphere, the colors are muted yet vibrant, with flashes of orange and red from the explosions, and an overall sense of chaos and destruction.

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.