Man at War – Excerpt No. 269

“Exactly,” Marc replied. “That’s why I never take any chances.”

He had an idea of what happened. The men were attacked by two vampires, and Butter engaged them successfully. The difference was that one of the vampires was playing dead and attacked after the men let their guard down. That’s not what we taught them.

The proof was in the aftermath; there were several cigarettes strewn about. One was still holding a flask with the contents soaked up by the mud. Even surrounded by so much dead the scent of alcohol, a strong spirit, was easy to make out.

“What about the objective?” Marc asked.

Black and white nighttime photograph from the “Man at War – Carried by Six” series. Two soldiers in dark WWII-style uniforms crouch tensely in the grass. The soldier on the right, wearing a peaked officer’s cap, grips a submachine gun and stares forward with focused intensity. The soldier on the left, in a flat cap, holds a rifle and looks ahead with a grim expression. Military gear and packs lie in the foreground while a third figure is faintly visible in the shadowed background. The scene is moody and cinematic, evoking a tense night patrol or ambush.

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.