Man at War – Excerpt No. 272

Had Marc been on the offensive, he would have gone for the fire support team. From there he would be free to pick off the men one by one. The evidence corroborated the chain of events, but he would confirm prior to leaving.

The animalistic quality to the wounds implied this was a vampire driven into a frenzy. The initial stages were the worst, leading to a slew of mangled dead, with barely a drop consumed. Only after the body count mounted did they regain enough senses. That was evidenced further out; several men were dead with their bodies intact, but their skin was blue despite shedding their mortal coils recently. Exsanguinated.

Black and white photograph from the “Man at War – Carried by Six” series. A devastated battlefield is strewn with dozens of fallen soldiers lying motionless across the muddy ground amid scattered equipment and wooden stakes. In the right midground, a lone helmeted soldier stands grimly surveying the carnage, while another figure stands farther back. The barren, mountainous landscape and heavy sky create an overwhelming sense of slaughter and desolation, evoking the horrific cost 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.