Man at War – Excerpt No. 274

They moved the top three bodies out of the way. All that remained was Corporal Morin, whose breathing was practically non-existent. His heartbeat was so faint that even a vampire might miss it. Sure, a vampire could get sloppy, but Marc felt otherwise. When he fed, Marc knew full well how strong the heart was pumping. That’s how I avoid killing them.

When Marc drained a man, he sensed the heart falter before stopping entirely. Morin should be dead by now.

The vampires were quiet, and purposefully so. Marc checked the body before distancing himself until the heartbeat could no longer be heard. Aelred followed suit with a good idea on where this was headed.

“The telltale detail was blood around the lips, as though it was smeared on,” Marc whispered.

Black and white photograph from the “Man at War – Carried by Six” series. In a muddy, war-torn trench at night, a German soldier wearing a pickelhaube helmet aggressively bites or tears at the neck of a British soldier in a Brodie helmet. The British soldier has a pained, desperate expression while holding a rifle. Explosions and flares light up the dark sky in the background, with barbed wire and battlefield debris visible. The image is raw, violent, and intensely dramatic, evoking the primal brutality of close-quarters combat.

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.