Man at War – Excerpt No. 39

19 October 2025

“He’s in his office,” Private Monaghan, the day sentry, said.

“Thank you, Private,” Murphy said. “I can find my way.”

Given how small most of these dugouts generally were, that was usually true. Either way, when Marc was in his office it was to get noticed. People find it suspicious if you’re only out at night.

Before the Sergeant could interrupt him, Marc wrote down the appropriate sequence onto his pad before putting away the latter. While the message was encoded he had no desire to share the contents.

a cinematic photo of a British Soldier wearing a traditional Scottish kilt with tartan patterns and a Brodie helmet with a chin strap, is speaking to a sentry who stands at attention by the entrance leading into a dugout with sandbags and wooden beams, the setting and clothing are appropriate for 1914 in No Man's Land with muddy terrain and barbed wire, the soldier has a serious expression with a strong jawline and a pale skin tone, the sentry has a firm gaze with a rugged facial feature and a medium skin tone, the photography style is in color with a warm tone and a shallow depth of field, the focus is on the soldier and the sentry with the blurred background of the dugout and the battle-scarred landscape.

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.